<strong>Chapter 873: Chapter 861: Zhou Fu Sets Three Trials</strong>


    Upon hearing that the assessment was about to begin, everyone grew serious.


    After all, the people who came here all wanted to be Zhou Fu’s apprentice.


    Zhou Fu cleared his throat and continued, “The assessment consists of three stages: the first stage is to select the specified herbs from a pile provided by Wonderful Hall within the given time.”


    “The second stage involves presenting a treatment n and your insights on a specific ailment that I assign.”


    “As for the third stage, well, this person has to be pleasing to me, Zhou. Even if their medical skills are exceptional, if I don’t find them agreeable, I won’t take them as my apprentice!”


    As soon as Zhou Fu finished speaking, everyone began whispering, discussing in small groups.


    “It doesn’t sound very difficult, does it?”


    “Yeah, I feel like anyone who has studied medicine could pass.”


    “The first stage seems very straightforward, just picking herbs, right? We are all proper medical students, and if we can’t even pick the right herbs, haven’t all those years of studying medicine been in vain?”


    “But I have a feeling it won’t be so simple. If it were truly without difficulty, wouldn’t everyone here be Master Zhou’s apprentice? Then why bother with the assessment?”


    “Moreover, Master Zhou only mentioned that the second stage involves suggesting a treatment n and giving opinions on an ailment, but what kind of ailment are we talking about? What if it’s aplicated, rare condition? How many here could handle that?”


    “That’s right. In conclusion, bing Master Zhou’s apprentice is definitely not an easy feat!”


    “…”


    For a moment, everyone expressed differing opinions.


    Qiao Lin’s thoughts were like most, feeling it wasn’t too hard.


    She pulled Qiao Hong and Qiao Jing close and whispered, “After hearing about the assessment, I suddenly feel much more confident!”


    Qiao Hong’s thoughts were contrary to Qiao Lin’s. She cautioned, “Don’t get happy too early; when things sound too good, there might be a catch. It sounds simple, but when you do it, it’s another story.”


    Qiao Jing naturally didn’t think it would be that easy, but she said nothing, silently observing from the side.


    Sure enough, when the herbs for the assessment wereid out by the people from Wonderful Hall, Zhou Fu added, “Within ten minutes, find Pubescent Angelica, tycodon, Fragrant Add-on Bark, Heavenly Mallow Seeds, Chicken-Blood Vine, and White Flower Snake Tongue Grass from this pile.”


    “If within the time limit, not a single mistake is made, you may sessfully advance to the second stage; otherwise, you are eliminated.”


    The pile of herbs, coupled with Zhou Fu’s words, instantly caused an uproar among the crowd.


    “We really oversimplified it; I recognize all seven herbs, but mixing in lookalikes that are easy to confuse raises the difficulty significantly!”


    “Exactly! With Pubescent Angelica, there is surely Notopterygium; with tycodon, there’s American Ginseng; Fragrant Add-on Bark means Acanthopanax Bark; Heavenly Mallow Seeds means Cyperus; Chicken-Blood Vine means Large Blood Vine; with White Flower Snake Tongue Grass, there’s Ranunculus Sceleratus… these are all hard to distinguish. Even knowing they look simr, I’d surely make mistakes trying to identify them!”


    “Looks like the first stage might eliminate around half of the people here!”


    “…”


    The previously confident ones became deted in an instant.


    Qiao Hong nced at the slightly stunned Qiao Lin beside her and quietly asked, “How about now? Still confident?”


    Qiao Lin, with a gloomy expression, shook her head, “My confidence vanished as soon as I saw that pile of herbs.”


    Seeing Qiao Lin’s dejected look, Qiao Jing felt the need to boost her spirits, to revive her confidence.


    She patted Qiao Lin on the shoulder, “Don’t be discouraged, Second Sister. Believe in yourself; as long as you put effort into it, you can surely do it.”


    “You’re right!” Qiao Lin nodded, encouraging herself, “Nothing is impossible to a willing mind; I can do it!”


    Just as she said that, Zhou Fu’s voice rang out again, “Everyone, the assessment starts now and will end in ten minutes. Manage your time well.”


    Upon hearing this, everyone quickly took their positions around the pile of herbs and began earnestly selecting.


    Zhou Fu stood with his hands sped behind his back, silently observing everyone’s performance.


    The reason he chose herb identification as the first stage of the assessment was because distinguishing herbs is a necessary skill for apetent doctor.


    Some herbs may look simr but have entirely different effects.


    If a doctor can’t even discern herbs urately and uses the wrong herb on a patient, it could easily result in a life lost!


    As the assessment time neared its end, people began passing the stage one after another.


    Yang Xiaoxiao was slightly ahead of Qiao Hong and Qiao Lin.


    Qiao Hong and Qiao Lin just made it through on time, and fortunately, after verification, all seven herbs were correctly identified, with no mistakes.


    Sessfully advancing to the second stage, both of them sighed in relief.


    Qiao Jing also smiled slightly, feeling happy for the two.


    Qiao Lin clutched her chest, still visibly shaken, “It really scared me; I almost thought I was going to be eliminated!”


    Qiao Hong agreed, “Yes, it was really tight. Good thing we made it; otherwise, we’d be out in the first round.”


    Just then, Yang Xiaoxiao’s mocking voice echoed again.


    “I told you already, with you two sisters’ half-baked skills, going home early is the best choice.”


    Qiao Hong and Qiao Lin red at her with displeasure.


    Before the sisters could say anything, Yang Xiaoxiao proceeded to speak with disdain in her tone, “You struggled even with such basic herb identification, yet dare aspire to be Master Zhou’s apprentices? Aren’t you afraid of bing a joke?”


    Qiao Lin snorted coldly, retorting, “You think you’re so impressive? You only outpaced us by a minute; if you were truly capable, would you need that much time?”


    Qiao Hong also scoffed, “Exactly. You only beat us by a minute and yet here you are unting it? You’re just about aspetent as us; I really don’t know where you get the nerve to mock us!”


    “Who said I’m aspetent as you?”


    Yang Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes to show her disdain for Qiao Hong and Qiao Lin, then retorted derisively, “Stop ttering yourselves, sisters. With your ability, what qualifies you to evenpare yourselves to me?”


    “You may have been lucky this time, but let’s see if your luck holds in the next round!”


    Upset by Yang Xiaoxiao’s arrogance, Qiao Hong and Qiao Lin seemed ready to confront her physically.


    Seeing this, Qiao Jing quickly held them back, whispering, “Eldest Sister, Second Sister, calm down. This is an apprenticeship event; it’s inappropriate to act out here. If you need to teach her a lesson, wait until this is over.”