When the broadcast announcing the end of the exam sounded, the staff quickly collected the students’ test papers, sealed them on the spot, and then the students left the venue.

As they walked out of the auditorium, some were happy while others were worried; most were downcast.

"Tang Ming."

As soon as Tang Ming stepped out the door, Zhou Xiaoqian, Wu Fangyue, and Liu Xinlong gathered around him.

"How did you do on the exam?"

Tang Ming greeted them with a smile.

"You were amazing, it feels like everything you taught us was on the exam."

Zhou Xiaoqian excitedly clutched Tang Ming’s arm, "These questions seemed tailor-made for us. I should be able to pass the preliminary round."

"Yeah! Except for some combination-style questions in the comprehensive section, I couldn’t understand. But the questions in the ’Observation, Listening, Asking, Cutting’ part, you covered them all. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember everything and don’t know if I’ll pass."

Wu Fangyue looked at Tang Ming with a worried expression.

"You will definitely pass. Tang Ming is phenomenal, the questions on medicinal identification were exactly what you taught us. Even though I hadn’t seen many things before, I could still answer them."

Liu Xinlong nodded repeatedly.

"Not bad, not bad, this preliminary round was indeed tailored for you."

Tang Ming looked at Zhou Xiaoqian and the others curiously. If it were a practical assessment, these three might not have passed, but with the test format, as long as you have a good memory, there should be no problem since he explained most of it.

After all, this is the preliminary round of the medical competition. The organizers didn’t include difficult diseases in the test, as long as one has a vast knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine, one should be able to pass.

While Tang Ming and his group were standing together chatting, Hua Yingjie and Meng Xianjun also walked out.

"Oh my, what’s up, Old Meng? Did someone cook you?"

Tang Ming looked curiously at Meng Xianjun.

"Feels like it’s hanging in the balance."

Meng Xianjun sighed, "This isn’t a competition, it’s just an exam, and with so many questions, who can pass?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"That’s not necessarily the case, right, Old Hua?"

Tang Ming smiled faintly, glancing at Hua Yingjie.

"Haha, I think I’m fine, it was very simple."

Hua Yingjie grinned, "If I can’t even pass the preliminaries, how can I talk about competing for the championship!"

"You two are masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine, of course it felt easy. I just don’t know if I can pass."

Meng Xianjun rubbed his hands uneasily.

"Alright, let’s go to the school bus and meet with the school leaders, and come out again tonight."

As someone called out, Hua Yingjie greeted them and dragged Meng Xianjun away.

"Let’s go back too, I bet Teacher Huang Di and the dean are eagerly waiting."

Zhou Xiaoqian clung to Tang Ming’s arm, and they walked towards the school bus, chatting and laughing.

Approaching the school bus, in stark contrast to Tang Ming and his group’s excitement, Lu Zhengyi and his group were downcast as they faced inquiries from Guo Dahai and Huang Di.

"Why are none of you speaking? You should know how you did on the exam, right?"

Guo Dahai stared frantically at Lu Zhengyi and the others.

"Dean, I can’t guarantee anything, I can only say I tried my best, whether I pass is up to fate."

Lu Zhengyi looked at Guo Dahai helplessly.

"Fate, my foot! The school spent so much time training you, and now you’re telling me it’s up to fate? Are you joking?"

Guo Dahai roared angrily.

"Senior Brother Lu can still count on fate, I’m completely screwed. After all, we’re just students, we haven’t treated that many patients, how can we diagnose diseases based on written descriptions?"

Another boy muttered under his breath.

"You..."

"Dean, Tang Ming and the others are back."

Just as Guo Dahai was about to continue his outburst, Huang Di quickly reminded him.

"Tang Ming, how do you think you did?"

Guo Dahai hurried over to Tang Ming.

"Great! We should all be able to pass the preliminaries."

Tang Ming replied with a smile.

"That’s wonderful! I knew you would pull through without issue."

Guo Dahai and Huang Di were instantly thrilled.

"Hmph! Braggart! The results haven’t come out yet, how can you say you’re sure to advance."

Lu Zhengyi grunted discontentedly.

"Because I have comprehensive knowledge and have provided reasonable answers to all questions."

Tang Ming smiled faintly, looking playfully at Lu Zhengyi, "It seems Lu Senior Brother doesn’t look good, are you lacking confidence in passing the preliminary round?"

"They’re hopeless, now whether the Medical University can make a mark in this medical competition depends entirely on you."

Guo Dahai looked dismissively at Lu Zhengyi and the others, eagerly watching Tang Ming and his group.

"With Brother Tang Ming here, there’s absolutely no problem. If he’s willing, this year’s Youth Medical King will definitely belong to Medical University."

Zhou Xiaoqian was filled with confidence in Tang Ming.

"Yes, we also believe Tang Ming will lead us to a strong finish."

Wu Fangyue and Liu Xinlong were equally confident.

"Look at them."

Huang Di looked at Lu Zhengyi and the others discontentedly, "Look at their morale, then look at your current state, this is the difference."

Lu Zhengyi and the others blushed but couldn’t refute and could only silently hope that Tang Ming and the others didn’t pass or that they could also advance, otherwise they would indeed lose face.

"Oh! Dean Guo, when will the preliminary exam results be out, and what standard is set for advancing?"

Tang Ming uncertainly asked Guo Dahai.

"No rush! Typically, preliminary exam results are announced simultaneously with each university’s end-term exam results. After all, the medical competition results require the organizers to send highly skilled personnel for scoring, and only after strict review can results be released."

Guo Dahai explained with a smile, "There’s really no standard, the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine sections directly let the top twenty achievers advance, and the rest are eliminated."

"The top twenty? So out of these thousands of contestants, only forty can advance?"

Tang Ming’s face slightly changed, this elimination rate is steep.

"Forty is already a lot."

Guo Dahai gave Tang Ming a sidelong glance, "When the medical competition was first held, only ten from each division could pass the preliminary round; because now the population has grown and talent has emerged, it increased to forty."

"Primarily, there weren’t as many universities back then, now they’re everywhere and the number of talented people has grown significantly."

Huang Di quickly explained.

"That’s still quite exaggerated."

Tang Ming swallowed.

"Little Tang! Think about how many provinces there are nationwide, plus a few special administrative regions, with forty people from each region, it’s nearly a thousand in total."

Guo Dahai looked at Tang Ming with a face of awe, "The medical competition is a grand event nationwide, selecting talent from across the country, with tens of thousands signing up to participate; if the rate isn’t strict enough, it would take forever to finish."