Although cultivation is an act of defying the heavens, at least it is still a human practice. Heavenly tribulation usually only makes a token appearance when a Daoist ascends, dropping a few bolts of lightning and calling it done. Corpse cultivation, however, is different—not only is it about defying the heavens, it also goes against the very trajectory of all living things. Don’t even think about waiting until ascension for the heavenly tribulation to arrive. Every hundred years, the tribulation will descend upon a zombie once.

For zombies who have cultivated for a hundred years, their intelligence still hasn’t fully recovered, so trying to evade the tribulation is basically impossible. That’s why, although there are quite a few fully formed zombies, they’re all wiped out by the tribulation before long.

Accumulating merit is the best way to avoid heavenly tribulation. For Ethan Carter, perhaps these few tribulations won’t have much of an impact, but his lazy nature still led him to choose a way to avoid facing the tribulation altogether.

Chapter Six: Cafeteria Debate

John Bolton had been in a foul mood these past few days. Once the number one handsome guy at Binhai City First People’s Hospital, he had been forced to settle for second place because of Ethan Carter’s arrival.

In his five years at the hospital, he had risen from an intern to an attending physician in a certain outpatient department, though he hadn’t yet reached the rank of full physician. But in the seniority-obsessed environment of the hospital, he had always been called the most promising young man in the place.

In the past six months, John Bolton had been working hard to advance his career even faster. He seized the opportunity to launch a fierce pursuit of the old director’s only granddaughter, hoping to win over the well-educated, gentle, and pretty Emily Foster in the shortest time possible.

Although John Bolton’s half-year-long pursuit had shown little effect, he had never been worried. With his outstanding looks and solid medical skills, he was the most likely candidate to win Emily Foster’s heart.

But all of that changed with the arrival of Ethan Carter. For the first time, John Bolton felt pressure. Always dismissive of traditional Chinese medicine, John Bolton found himself increasingly in awe of Ethan Carter after seeing the people he cured with TCM methods.

Ethan Carter had only been at the hospital for just over a week, yet he was already sitting in at the expert outpatient department. Even Dr. Walker, whose qualifications were nearly at the veteran level, had shamelessly gone to the director to discuss the matter, only to be rebuffed.

The crucial time for professional title evaluation was fast approaching. Although Ethan Carter’s time at the hospital was short, his outstanding performance, along with the attitudes of the old director and several other department heads, made many believe that the hospital’s most promising candidate was now Ethan Carter, not John Bolton.

Although Ethan Carter hadn’t shown any signs of pursuing Emily Foster yet, who could say what might happen in the future?

In the hospital cafeteria, Ethan Carter casually ordered a few dishes, picked an empty table, and sat down, pretending to eat food he couldn’t actually digest.

By coincidence, the seat Ethan Carter chose was just one table away from where Emily Foster and several other female nurses were eating.

When John Bolton saw how close their tables were, he couldn’t help but frown. In his eyes, this was a move by Ethan Carter to start his pursuit.

Carrying his tray, John Bolton walked over to Ethan Carter’s table, smiling gracefully as he said, “Dr. Ying, I wonder if it’s alright for me to sit here?”

Ethan Carter looked up at this young man he didn’t know at all, sensing a hint of arrogant troublemaking in his brows, though he hid it well. But in front of an old zombie who had seen countless people over a thousand years, it was a bit of an amateur display. “Go ahead.”

John Bolton tried to make every move as suave as possible, sitting down across from Ethan Carter and slowly eating his meal.

At the table two away, the nurses sitting with Emily Foster noticed the hospital’s two most handsome men eating together and excitedly whispered to each other, “Look! Look! Ethan Carter and John Bolton are eating at the same table.”

One nurse observed their eating styles: every move John Bolton made was suave and charming, while Ethan Carter seemed more lazy and distracted.

John Bolton noticed that Emily Foster’s table was paying attention, and quickly tried to think of a topic that would make him look good.

“Look! John Bolton looks so suave when he eats,” said a nurse who often assisted John Bolton at work, a little intoxicated by the usually kind and friendly John Bolton. “Dr. Ying seems a bit…”

The women immediately started discussing the scene of the two handsome men eating together. Emily Foster glanced over and quietly said, “John Bolton does look suave when he eats, but it feels too fake. I always feel like he’s putting on a show for others. Dr. Ying doesn’t seem to care what people think of him at all.”

John Bolton tried to focus, but hearing Emily Foster’s comment made him feel even more upset. With a forced smile, he asked Ethan Carter, “By the way, Dr. Ying, do you have any plans for tonight?”

Ethan Carter, who was busy thinking about how to scam Li Tianlong out of his money and how to eat him, absentmindedly replied, “Eat, go online, play games.”

The smile on John Bolton’s face became genuine, tinged with a hint of schadenfreude.