The speaker was Lu Ping, a student from Class 5 of the Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine program. Before this, he had always been the top student among the first-year Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine majors. Not only were his grades excellent, but he had also published articles in medical journals like *Shu Region Medical Tales*.
While the journals were only second or third-rate, for a mere freshman to publish an article in a professional journal was already quite remarkable; many of his upperclassmen lacked this ability. Because of this, he was hailed as the top freshman, becoming a Divine Level figure to be looked up to and admired!
Those were Lu Ping's glory days at West Hua Medical University.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. With Zhao Yuan's sudden rise to become the hero and pride of West Hua Medical University, the title of top freshman was no longer his. This thoroughly infuriated the proud and arrogant Lu Ping. He naturally hated and resented Zhao Yuan, the person who had stolen his honor.
The people with Lu Ping were both his classmates and his lackeys. After hearing his mocking words, they all chimed in to agree.
But one of them voiced a doubt. "Strange, this Medical Ancient Texts exam wasn't hard. Logically, with Zhao Yuan's skill level, he shouldn't still be working on it. Also, why are so many teachers gathered around him, watching him take the test?"
Lu Ping was puzzled by this as well. "Yeah, that kid Zhao Yuan has a deep expertise in Medical Ancient Texts, otherwise he never would have been able to produce a whole new punctuation and translation of the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*. The Medical Ancient Texts exam should be effortless for him, so why hasn't he finished the paper yet? And what's the deal with those teachers?"
A lackey beside him guessed, "Could it be that the recent series of events made Zhao Yuan too arrogant, causing him to neglect his studies, so when it came time for the exam, he was at a total loss? And the teachers, they're only gathered around him because he's famous and want to see how he'll handle the questions?"
As soon as he said that, many others voiced their agreement.
"That must be it!"
"As the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. Zhao Yuan serves him right!"
"Those teachers probably wanted to see Zhao Yuan's brilliant performance, but they ended up seeing him fail at showing off instead. They must be furious!"
"Exactly! Look at those teachers—every single one of them has a furrowed brow and a stern expression. They're clearly frustrated!"
Even Lu Ping felt that this was most likely the case.
After a cold snort, he said pretentiously, "Studying is like rowing a boat upstream; if you don't advance, you fall back! Classmates, what Zhao Yuan has done is a cautionary tale. You must not learn from him! Otherwise, no matter how great your talent or ability, it will all be squandered!"
His tone and cadence were just like a teacher giving a lecture. His few lackeys played along enthusiastically, nodding and agreeing, which stroked his ego and made him feel immensely satisfied.
One of them started sucking up even more. "Brother Lu, if Zhao Yuan does poorly on this exam, won't you be able to crush him and take first place in our year? If that happens, the 'top freshman' title will be yours once more!"
Lu Ping's heart skipped a beat. He sensed an opportunity.
'An opportunity to defeat Zhao Yuan and reclaim the title of top freshman!'
'Indeed, when it comes to clinical Medical Skill, I know I'm far inferior to Zhao Yuan,' Lu Ping thought. 'But in this final exam, Zhao Yuan seems to be off his game. This is my chance!'
'As long as I can beat Zhao Yuan and take the top spot, not only can I reclaim the title of top freshman, but my prestige will also reach new heights!'
'Zhao Yuan was the one who defeated the Jinling Zhao Family. If I can beat him in the final exams, wouldn't that mean I could boast that I'm even more impressive than the Jinling Zhao Family?'
Lu Ping's heart began to race with excitement.
But he spoke with false modesty, "I don't really care about the 'top freshman' title, and I don't want to one-up anyone. But an exam is an exam. You have to give it your all. Of course, with my grades, getting first place in the entire year is no big deal for me!"
His whole posse got excited and chimed in:
"Go for it, Brother Lu! You have to take first in the year and teach Zhao Yuan a lesson he'll never forget!"
"The people from Class 3 of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine have been basking in Zhao Yuan's glory lately, getting all the attention. You have to do well, Brother Lu, and lead us so we can show off for once, too!"
"With your grades, Brother Lu, you can definitely take Zhao Yuan down!"
Amid their adulation, Lu Ping's fighting spirit soared.
After a moment, he waved his hand and said, "You guys head back first. I'll stay here and see when Zhao Yuan finally finishes his paper."
The lackeys left one by one, while Lu Ping took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and watched Zhao Yuan while playing on his phone.
It wasn't until a few minutes before the exam bell rang that Zhao Yuan finally finished answering and began to check his paper.
The Medical Ancient Texts teachers weren't as excessive as the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine teacher had been. Though they were incredibly anxious, they still gave Zhao Yuan enough time to check his paper, only snatching the test from his hand when the bell rang. They also didn't forget to collect the other students' papers.
The Medical Ancient Texts teachers left in a hurry, their expressions impatient. Lu Ping, however, saw this and mistook their impatience for anger.
'Looks like Zhao Yuan didn't do so well on the test,' Lu Ping mused, gloating. 'Look how angry he made the teachers.'
After waiting a few more minutes, Zhao Yuan walked out of the classroom with Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan.
Lu Ping immediately followed them to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Wu Yan asked as they walked, "Third Brother, how come you took so long on the exam today? You only finished your paper right before the end."
"I couldn't help it." Zhao Yuan sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what these teachers were thinking. Yesterday's Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine exam was already hard enough, but today's Medical Ancient Texts exam was even harder! I had to bust my ass just to finish the paper before time was up…"
Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan were surprised. "Was the test really that hard? We didn't think so."
Zhao Yuan retorted, "Of course you wouldn't think it was hard. You guys were cheating the whole time!"
Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan looked sheepish and didn't press the issue.
Lu Ping, tailing them from behind, heard this exchange and became even more certain of his guess. 'Zhao Yuan definitely got too arrogant and neglected his studies. This time, the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Ancient Texts exams were both extremely simple, yet he claimed they were incredibly hard! Heh heh, looks like he's going to bomb the test this time!'
At the thought of crushing Zhao Yuan and reclaiming the title of top freshman, Lu Ping felt thrilled and excited, even a little giddy!
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