What is this fellow trying to do?

Can it be that he can’t find the answer for the five medicines and chose to give up?

Amaki Hamasaki inwardly sneered. Wouldn’t that mean that he could win as long as he wrote down five answers?

He had analysed that the difficulty of the medicines was slowly increasing. It was not only the treatment function, but the composition was also getting more complicated. Hence, you would spend more time writing down the prescriptions.

The first medicine was made with three medicinal compounds, while the second was made of four… The composition kept getting more complicated. Although it didn’t take long for Amaki Hamasaki to figure out the medicines, he had to spend time relying on his memory to write down the prescriptions, spending more time in this process. Furthermore, many compounds were hard to write, which increased the difficulty for Amaki Hamasaki.

As time passed, Amaki Hamasaki had spent six minutes to write down the answer for the sixth medicine. During this time, Su Tao had tasted all the medicine before he returned to his seat. He then took out a paper and brush from his medicine box.

All of a sudden, Amaki Hamasaki was stuck as he pondered over one composition, the Ampelopsis Japonica, a special ingredient used in anti-infection powder.

The anti-infection powder originated from the book, Common Prescriptions. It’s made of Ampelopsis Japonica, Betel Palm, Fructus Gardeniae, White Popular, Bletilla striata, White Mustard, Trogopterori Faeces, and Momordica Cochinchinensis. It could be used to treat swelling, bites, and burns.

However, time wasn’t too sufficient, so Amaki Hamasaki could only write down Ampelopsis Japonica before he turned to look at Su Tao. He was a little surprised since that fellow had already finished writing four answers.

Amaki Hamasaki locked his brows together, refusing to believe that Su Tao could have such high efficiency.

The ability to analyse so many prescriptions with just a rough examination wasn’t humanly possible.

However, he still couldn’t help feeling somewhat nervous in his heart. When he was analysing the eighth medicine, he seemed somewhat anxious since he spent a minute or two before he managed to analyse the composition.

The ten minutes slowly passed for the two competitors, but it felt as if they were being boiled in the purgatory.

But for the audience, it was only a short period of time.

Everyone knew how difficult this segment was, since it’s not easy to analyse all the medicine prescriptions in such a short time. Although most of the medicines originated from ancient prescriptions, they’ve been optimised by research for the international market.

“Time’s up!” The host announced when Amaki Hamasaki was just going to start analysing the last medicine. In the end, he could only helplessly place it back down.

Su Tao just happened to finish writing the tenth prescription and had calmly stowed his brush back into his medical box. The entire venue instantly turned quiet as everyone waited for the final results.

The answering methods used by the two participants were different. Amaki Hamasaki wrote down his analysis as he went, while Su Tao tasted everything before he wrote everything. From the methods used, Amaki Hamasaki’s approach was more scientific.

“Everyone must be feeling anticipation of the results!” The host collected the answers written by Su Tao and Amaki Hamasaki before she announced, “The results will be revealed in a few minutes, so please wait patiently and enjoy the performance arranged by the committee.”

After that, the host came down before several dancers holding onto the traditional umbrellas of Japan and started performing. But even so, the performance did not ease the solemn atmosphere in the venue.

“Looks like the difficulty was great. Amaki Hamasaki has always been known to be familiar with medicinal books, and he’s even comparable to his master, Mamoru Onizuka. I never expected that he could only write down nine answers.” Someone amongst the audience sighed.

“It’s mainly because those medicines have yet to be released to the market. It’s already not easy for Amaki Hamasaki to write down nine of them. This has also proved that Iwata Chinese Research Facility has put in a great deal of effort. Who knows if the secret to our new medicine was already in their hands?” Another person bitterly smiled.

“The Iwata Chinese Research Facility has done a great job in their intelligence work. After all, they have a good relationship with Europe and America’s verification systems. The moment we submit ours, they will immediately obtain the news and seize our secret recipes.” Someone said with indignance.

The rest of them nodded their heads. They all knew about this in their hearts; it was just that no one had spoken it out loud.

However, they knew that the person who spoke earlier had a grudge with the Iwata Chinese Research Facility. It was because the Iwata Chinese Research Facility stole one of their secret recipes, meant to treat liver diseases, causing a loss of over tens of millions in USD.

The Iwata Chinese Research Facility had used dirty tricks in the process of competition to steal the secret recipes of those in the same industry.

When some small enterprises submitted the specimen along with relevant information about their products, the Iwata Chinese Research Facility would take a step and test it. This had occurred more than once, and it was undoubtedly a great disaster for those smaller enterprises.

Hence, many small enterprises would pay special attention after suffering a loss. When they develop a medicine, they would choose those side-door prescriptions. If the profit that it would bring did not reach Iwata Chinese Research Facility’s satisfaction, the Iwata Chinese Research Facility would generally choose to give up on them.

Right now, there’s an unspoken rule in the international Chinese medicine industry. A major enterprise like the Iwata Chinese Research Facility, mainly focuses on those high-profit Chinese medicines. In contrast, the small ones were given to smaller enterprises, forming a pyramid hierarchy that resulted in the slow development of the Chinese medicine industry.

The big enterprises could rely on those successful Chinese medicines to earn a profit, while those smaller enterprises have to research on new ones and face the trial of the market. If they fail, it would result in an enormous loss.

When the host returned to the stage, she held the results in her hand and smiled. “I have already obtained the results. I believe everyone is waiting in anticipation for who will be the winner. Actually, even I’m curious about it as well, and now, I will announce the results of the first round. The winner is… Su Tao!”

When the result was announced, it practically caused a commotion in the venue.

The result was too surprising. How could Su Tao possibly obtain the victory for the first round?

“Impossible!” Amaki Hamasaki hammered his fists on the desk with indignance. “The judges must have made a mistake. How can I possibly lose?!”

After that, he went over to the judges, whom he was all familiar with.

“I would like to know the reason!” Amaki Hamasaki asked, fuming with anger.

Tetsuto Kobashi inwardly sighed. He was optimistic of Amaki Hamasaki, and he also hoped that the latter could win. But in a public venue, how could he possibly lie as a judge?

Coldly pointing at the two answers on the table, Tetsuto Kobashi replied, “You wrote the left one, and Su Tao wrote the right one. You can verify them yourself.”

Amaki Hamasaki immediately took the answers written by Su Tao and his expression started to turn dark.

Heart Calming Pellet, made with Panax Ginseng Leaf Extract, Acacia Pennata, Schisandra Chinensis, and Ganoderma Lucidum. Its effect is to calm the mind and nourish the heart. It’s effective for those who suffer shortness of breath, insomnia, declining memory, and declining of the nervous system.

West Mind Clearing Powder, made with Chebulic Myrobalan, Cape Jasmine, Costus Root, Borneol, Baical Skullcap Root, Fourstamen Stephania Root, Licorice, Radix Tinosporae, Betel Palm, and Peppermint. Its effect is to clear up the throat and remove heat in the body. It’s effective for those who suffer from mouth dryness, swelling throat, uneasy, stuffy, and tinnitus.

Aside from those, there were also eight other prescriptions. Aside from the prescriptions, Su Tao even provided the composition and even stated the inefficiency of the medicines. Such as how they could be improved.

Although those advices still needed to be validated if those advices were right, it was more detailed than Amaki Hamasaki’s.

“Hamasaki, you’re also from a Chinese research facility, so you can tell the distance between you and him.” Tetsuto Kobashi bitterly smiled. If they announced Su Tao’s performance, he predicted that those merchants would definitely go crazy on inviting Su Tao as their technological director.

“There must be something fishy about this. How can he write them down with such detail in ten minutes?” Amaki Hamasaki’s face sank.

Tetsuto Kobashi bitterly smiled as he replied, “Do you suspect that the committee leaked the questions? Not only are you disrespecting us, but you’re also disrespecting yourself.”

Amaki Hamasaki was briefly stunned before he subconsciously realised that he had lost his composure and apologised, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I have lost this round.”

Nodding his head, Tetsuto Kobashi comforted, “There are two more rounds, and you can win if you win those two. I believe that with your ability, the two rounds won’t pose any problems to you.”

Tetsuto Kobashi had been friends with Mamoru Onizuka for years, and he had personally witnessed the growth of Amaki Hamasaki. He would naturally do anything to help him, but Su Tao had performed too brilliantly in the first round, and there’s nothing he could nitpick about.

Japanese placed great importance on their honour, and they would naturally not do anything dirty to cover it up. Furthermore, Crown Prince Tomohito was also present, and he seemed to have a pretty good relationship with Su Tao.

If they showed prejudice that roused the unhappiness of Tomohito, then they would be in trouble.

After Amaki Hamasaki left, Tetsuto Kobashi inwardly sighed. He never expected that Su Tao would be so monstrous.

It’s impossible for the questions to have been leaked, so that meant that Su Tao had purely relied on his ability. Even such perfect answers gave goosebumps to Tetsuto Kobashi. Based on how Su Tao could analyse the composition by licking the medicine, it’s not something that anyone could achieve in a day or two.

Most importantly, the composition that Su Tao provided was perfectly identical to the ones provided by the manufacturers. Even 

he

 had nearly suspected if the questions were leaked beforehand.