The Divine Physician System

Chapter 4

"Lily..."

Adrian's voice had become hoarse from crying.

He knelt in the middle of the hospital courtyard, cradling Lily's lifeless body against his chest. Her blood had soaked through his uniform, staining it a deep crimson.

The crowd surrounding them had grown larger.

Patients.

Doctors.

Nurses.

Visitors.

Security guards.

They all watched silently.

Some pitied him.

Others whispered among themselves.

No one dared to step forward.

Director Victor Kane remained standing at the entrance of the hospital with his hands in his pockets, his expression as indifferent as ever.

"Take the body away."

He spoke as though he were discussing the disposal of medical waste.

"We're blocking the hospital entrance."

The security guards looked at one another hesitantly.

Neither of them moved.

Adrian didn't seem to hear him.

His eyes remained fixed on Lily's peaceful face.

Only this morning...

She had smiled at him.

She had reminded him to eat breakfast.

She had worried about him despite being the one lying in a hospital bed.

Now...

She was gone.

His only family.

Gone forever.

"I'm sorry..."

His voice trembled.

"I failed you."

"I promised Mother I'd protect you."

"I promised..."

His shoulders shook violently.

"If only..."

"If only I had more money..."

"If only I weren't so useless..."

His words dissolved into sobs.

Fresh tears streamed down his face.

But after crying for so long...

There were no ordinary tears left.

Instead, a warm sensation spread through his eyes.

Drip.

A crimson drop landed on Lily's bloodstained hospital gown.

Someone gasped.

"W-What is that?"

Another person pointed in disbelief.

"His tears..."

"They're red!"

"Tears of blood!"

The murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Blood continued to flow from Adrian's eyes, tracing two crimson lines down his cheeks.

It dripped onto Lily's body.

It dripped onto his trembling hands.

Then...

One drop landed on the ancient jade pendant hanging beneath his shirt.

The pendant had accompanied him for nearly twenty years.

His mother had placed it around his neck shortly before her death.

She had held his shoulders tightly as she spoke with unprecedented seriousness.

"Adrian... never lose this pendant."

"Even if you lose everything else..."

"Protect it with your life."

He had never understood why.

It looked ordinary.

A dull green piece of jade carved into the shape of a dragon encircling a lotus flower.

Over the years, he had almost forgotten it existed.

Now...

The mixture of his blood and Lily's blood slowly seeped into the jade.

Buzz!

A faint vibration traveled through the pendant.

At first, it was so slight that Adrian failed to notice.

Then...

A soft emerald glow appeared beneath the surface of the jade.

The glow became brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter still.

Until the entire pendant shone like a miniature sun.

"What is that?"

Someone shouted in alarm.

"The pendant is glowing!"

Victor Kane frowned.

"What trick is this?"

Before anyone could react…

Boom!

A deafening roar exploded inside Adrian's mind.

His vision instantly turned white.

The hospital courtyard disappeared.

The crowd disappeared.

Even Lily's body vanished.

He found himself standing within an endless expanse of darkness.

Countless stars floated around him like scattered diamonds.

Ancient golden symbols drifted through the void, each radiating an indescribable aura.

"What..."

"Where am I?"

His voice echoed into infinity.

A deep, ancient laugh suddenly reverberated through the darkness.

"Hahaha..."

"You have finally arrived."

Adrian spun around.

An elderly man in flowing white robes stood several meters away.

His long silver hair cascaded to his waist.

His eyes resembled endless galaxies, containing countless years of wisdom.

Although he merely stood there quietly, an overwhelming pressure filled the entire space.

Adrian instinctively felt the urge to kneel.

"Who... are you?"

The old man smiled.

"I am Sage Physician Cassian Hale."

The name struck Adrian like lightning.

"Hale..."

"Our ancestor?"

Cassian nodded slowly.

"The first patriarch of the Hale Clan."

"The founder of Divine Meridian Medicine."

"The physician once honored as the Saint of Healing."

Adrian stared at him in disbelief.

"My ancestor..."

"But..."

"Our clan was destroyed."

"I know."

Cassian's expression became solemn.

"They coveted the inheritance I left behind."

"They slaughtered your family in search of this jade."

"They believed it contained limitless wealth."

He shook his head.

"Fools."

"The greatest treasure has never been gold."

"It has always been knowledge."

The jade floating between them suddenly emitted another brilliant flash.

"This heirloom has waited thousands of years."

"It recognizes only the blood of the Hale Clan."

"It could only awaken through overwhelming grief... and the willingness to sacrifice everything for another life."

Adrian lowered his head.

"If it had awakened sooner..."

"My sister..."

Cassian sighed softly.

"The dead cannot be reversed."

"But countless lives yet remain to be saved."

The old man's sleeve gently waved.

Suddenly Millions of golden characters filled the sky.

Ancient medical texts.

Human anatomy.

Acupuncture diagrams.

Meridian charts.

Herbal illustrations.

Surgical techniques.

Poison manuals.

Everything spun around Adrian at astonishing speed.

"I now bestow upon you..."

"The Divine Physician System."

The golden words surged toward Adrian like a tidal wave.

Boom!

An unbearable pain exploded inside his head.

He cried out as endless knowledge poured into his consciousness.

Every medical principle.

Every forgotten prescription.

Every ancient technique.

Thousands of years of accumulated wisdom.

His mind felt as though it would split apart.

Yet the transfer continued.

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed throughout the void.

[Divine Physician System Activated.]

[Host Confirmed: Adrian Hale.]

[Bloodline Authentication: Complete.]

[Medical Legacy Successfully Inherited.]

One translucent screen after another appeared before him.

DIVINE PHYSICIAN SYSTEM

Host: Adrian Hale

Medical Rank: Apprentice Physician

Medical Points: 0

Reputation: Unknown

Patients Saved: 0

A second panel appeared.

Unlocked Abilities

Diagnostic Vision

Basic Meridian Acupuncture

Ancient Prescription Library (Level One)

Surgical Knowledge (Level One)

Poison Identification Herbal Identification

More information flooded into his mind.

Unlike ordinary systems that rewarded money...

The Divine Physician System rewarded mastery.

Saving lives.

Healing illnesses.

Advancing medical knowledge.

Every achievement strengthened both the physician and the inheritance.

Cassian's voice echoed once more.

"The system will never shower you with wealth."

"It grants only medical excellence."

"Wealth..."

"Will naturally follow."

Another panel materialized.

Methods of Growth

Save Patients → Earn Medical Points

Complete Difficult Treatments → Unlock Ancient Prescriptions

Cure Rare Diseases → Improve Medical Rank

Resolve Medical Mysteries → Gain Diagnostic Evolution

Eliminate Deadly Poisons → Unlock Poison Techniques

Develop New Medicines → Receive Pharmaceutical Formulas

Master Meridians → Unlock Lost Acupuncture Arts

Advance Through Real Combat Healing → Learn Martial Healing

Adrian's breathing quickened.

There was even more.

A final golden screen emerged before him.

Elite Recognition Rewards

Every major breakthrough would attract increasingly influential individuals.

Hospital Directors.

Medical Professors.

Government Officials.

Business Tycoons.

Military Generals.

International Leaders.

The wealthiest and most powerful people in the world would eventually seek him out—not because the system gave him riches, but because his medical skill would become irreplaceable.

Cassian looked at Adrian with approval.

"Remember this."

"A true physician does not chase wealth."

"He saves lives."

"When your medical skills stand at the pinnacle..."

"The world itself will place wealth and power in your hands."

The old man's figure slowly became transparent.

"Our enemies still exist."

"They have searched for this inheritance for decades."

"They will come for you."

"When that day arrives..."

"Show them why the Hale Clan was once feared by the world."

His body dissolved into countless particles of golden light.

The entire void began collapsing.

The system's voice rang out one final time.

[First Mission Activated.]

[Save Lily Hale.]

[Remaining Vitality Detected: 3%.]

[Reward: 100 Medical Points, Divine Meridian Needle Technique, Diagnostic Vision Upgrade.]

Adrian's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Lily..."

"She's still alive?"

The world around him shattered like glass.

His consciousness snapped back into the hospital courtyard.

The emerald glow around the jade pendant slowly faded.

Lily still lay motionless in his arms.

Everyone believed she was dead.

But now...

When Adrian looked at her through the System's Diagnostic Vision, countless streams of faint golden light flowed through her body.

Most had gone dark.

Yet one...

One tiny strand of life still flickered deep within her heart.

There was still hope.