Seeing Chen Xiao agree, Miyamoto Hayashi laughed heartily. "It’s a deal!"

Fearing Chen Xiao might back out, he dropped to his knees with a thud before William Dodge. "Mr. William, please bear witness for us!"

William Dodge sighed. "Both of you are pillars of the medical community. Why insist on a fight to the death? Losing either of you would be a tremendous loss to our medical community!"

Miyamoto Hayashi’s tone was firm. "Mr. William, my mind is made up! This man has shamed the medical community of Yang Country today. I, Miyamoto Hayashi, must restore its honor!"

"You’re not worthy," Chen Xiao sneered.

Luo Qingli and the others grew anxious. They hadn’t expected Chen Xiao to agree to this so rashly.

Lu Jue also narrowed her eyes. She knew Miyamoto Hayashi well. His medical skills might not guarantee a victory over Chen Xiao, but his Poison Art was truly formidable; it was his greatest strength. For Chen Xiao to gamble against him so recklessly was incredibly unwise. Still, she didn’t say anything. After all, it was his choice. In fact, she found herself rather curious. Can he really turn this situation around?

Despite Li Zhengming and the others trying desperately to stop him, Chen Xiao was determined to face Miyamoto Hayashi in this life-or-death duel.

At that moment, Watanabe Ichiba arrived again.

"Chen Xiao, it seems you have a death wish. Our Mr. Miyamoto is regarded as a Semi-Saint in the medical community of Yang Country! Do you even understand what a Semi-Saint is? Moreover, Mr. Miyamoto has another title: the Poison King!" he announced. "In our Yang Country, three hundred and twenty-one poisons came from Mr. Miyamoto’s own hands! Among them are thirty-two types with no known antidote! That means Mr. Miyamoto just needs to pick a few herbs from this medicine cabinet... and your time will be up!"

"You arrogant fool. You have no idea what you’re up against. Today, you’ll find out what ’death’ truly means," Jiang Tianquan sneered.

If Miyamoto Hayashi can poison Chen Xiao to death in this duel, it would be perfect. It would be revenge for my brother!

Zhu Baixi watched the scene from a distance, not getting involved, but a trace of worry still flickered in her beautiful eyes.

Chen Xiao stared coldly at the two men. "Why don’t you two join the bet as well? We can see if I can kill all of you."

His words made both men shrink back. They weren’t fools. Why would they bet their own miserable lives against Chen Xiao?

Just then, a medicine cabinet was carried out, followed by two cauldrons, both blazing with intense fire. The two men began selecting herbs and concocting their poisons. Afterward, they would hand their finished poison over for the other to inspect. Based on that inspection, they would then attempt to create the corresponding antidote.

Soon, the first stage concluded as both men finished brewing their poisons. They then moved on to creating the antidotes.

The atmosphere grew incredibly tense. This was a duel between masters, both of whom were staking their lives. The slightest mistake could mean death for them both.

"Boy! This poison is the culmination of my life’s research! It has no cure, so don’t waste your energy!" Miyamoto Hayashi laughed wildly, already looking like a victor who had seen through Chen Xiao’s every move. "As for your poison, it’s nothing but child’s play to me! I bet I could drink it without an antidote and walk away just fine!"

"Then drink it," Chen Xiao challenged.

Miyamoto Hayashi snorted. "To be safe, I’ll whip up a little antidote anyway."

Soon, both men had prepared their antidotes. Before each of them sat one bowl of poison and one bowl of antidote.

An insidious glint flashed in Miyamoto’s eyes as he extended his hand in a feigned gentlemanly gesture. "Please—"

"Time for your medicine," Chen Xiao said, sliding the bowl of poison across the table to Miyamoto Hayashi.

Miyamoto Hayashi snorted and pushed his own poison toward Chen Xiao.

At the same time, they both downed the poison in a single gulp!

Everyone’s heart was in their throat!

An instant later, they both quickly drank the antidotes they had prepared. After drinking the antidote, Miyamoto Hayashi let out a wild laugh and smashed his bowl on the floor! "You’re dead, boy!" he yelled, ecstatic. "After drinking my poison, you will be dead within one minute. Guaranteed. I saw the herbs you took earlier. They can’t possibly counteract my poison!"

"Is that so?" Chen Xiao’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Luo Qingli’s and the other women’s hearts pounded in their chests, their palms slick with sweat. Li Zhengming and the rest of the crowd held their breath.

"Ten... nine... eight..." Miyamoto Hayashi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice cold and triumphant as he began to count down. Each number was like a nail in Chen Xiao’s coffin, his expression a mask of arrogant delight.

However, Chen Xiao remained completely composed.

"Five... four..."

Just as Miyamoto Hayashi spat out the word "Three," his face suddenly twisted in agony. He coughed violently, spraying a mouthful of black blood across the table and staggering, propping himself up weakly on it.

"Mr. Miyamoto!"

"Mr. Miyamoto!"

Sato Taka and Jin Nanxi rushed forward to support him, but Miyamoto Hayashi coughed up another spray of foul blood, splattering it all over them. The two scrambled back in alarm.

Miyamoto Hayashi collapsed to the ground, a wretched sight. He was clearly in excruciating pain, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. Chen Xiao, in contrast, remained perfectly calm and composed. His expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. He was completely unharmed.

Luo Qingli and Zhang Yaqing let out the breath they’d been holding, a wave of relief washing over them. Li Zhengming and his followers relaxed as well. Chen Xiao had won the duel.

Miyamoto Hayashi struggled to push himself up. "Impossible... It’s absolutely impossible! How could you have possibly neutralized my poison?"

"A poison of that level? My master used to feed it to me for dinner when I was a child," Chen Xiao said indifferently, his tone dripping with disdain. "I could cure it by grabbing a random handful of herbs from that cabinet."

"That... That’s impossible!" Miyamoto Hayashi retorted coldly. "I clearly..."

Chen Xiao cut him off. "When you were concocting your poison, you hid one of the key ingredients, didn’t you? That way, even if I memorized every herb you took, and even if I could devise a perfect counter, I would fail because I wouldn’t know about that one hidden ingredient. A guaranteed win for you, right?"

Chen Xiao’s words sent another wave of shock through the crowd.

"Despicable!"

"Shameless!"

"That old bastard has no shame!"

Miyamoto Hayashi smiled bitterly. "And you still found out."

"And do you know how I won?" Chen Xiao sneered again. "Want to guess?"

Miyamoto Hayashi froze, realization dawning in his wide eyes. "But I neutralized your poison..."

"That’s right, you did neutralize my poison. But I let you," Chen Xiao shrugged. "Since you wanted to play dirty, I didn’t feel like giving you an honorable duel. When I pushed my poison over to you, I accidentally bumped your bowl of antidote, adding a little something extra: a dose of your own poison."

"So, you were killed by your own creation."

He laughed, his voice laced with mockery. "You think you’re worthy of playing dirty with me, you old bastard?"