The Medicine King is a xuanhuan novel set in an alternate world, written by the web novelist Yingnian Zaofei (later writing under the pen name Dao Yigeng). It began serialization on Qidian in 2009 and concluded on September 7, 2012, running about 886,900 characters in 288 chapters including related material and an epilogue. The story begins in the modern world: the protagonist, Huo Meng, is a disabled orphan abandoned by his parents. He longs to stand on his feet, and when science cannot help him he turns to "immortals"—only for a treasure manual he found online to send him to an unfamiliar world. When he opens his eyes, he is a six-year-old child in Medicine King Village on the Yunding Continent, with a mother who coaxes him gently and a father disappointed in him. Given a second life, Huo Meng does not rush to make his mark but chooses to grow up quietly in this small mountain village, enjoying an ordinary life surrounded by family affection and warmth while training hard—because he knows that the finer things are the more fragile, and the only way to protect this home of the heart is to become stronger. In a talent test he shows aptitude far beyond his peers; he then obtains the thousand-year heritage, the Medicine King Art, and begins his path of cultivation step by step. The cultivation system of the Yunding Continent, from low to high, is Cloud Person, Cloud Knight, Cloud Master, Grand Cloud Master, Cloud Sect, Cloud Venerable, and Cloud Sage, paired with unique techniques, wondrous cloud arts, and fierce battles. With "protecting one's home" as its main thread, the novel follows Huo Meng from Medicine King Village to sect trials, national wars, and larger arenas, with the final volume, "Dragon War Under Heaven," bringing the ultimate showdown and the continent's situation to a close. Main characters include Huo Meng, Zhou Dashan, and Zhao Yun.
这是一部典型的“早期起点式”玄幻爽文：穿越、天赋异禀、千年传承、等级森严的修炼体系，套路熟得能背下来，但胜在作者笔力老到、节奏明快。 英年早肥是历史、都市、玄幻都写过的多面手，后来以“刀一耕”之名写出《完美人生》等作品。他的长处是文风鲜活、人物对话生动，写起乡村日常和少年心气来很有生活质感；短处也明显——中后期容易套路重复，结尾常被读者诟病收得仓促。《药王》基本体现了他这两面：前段药王村的亲情戏、乡里乡亲的烟火气，是全书最好看的部分；越往后格局越大、打斗越密，爽感在，惊喜却渐少。 全书不到九十万字，在同类作品里算短小精悍，适合补一波“古早网文”的怀旧感，也适合不想啃几百万字长篇的读者。抱着看经典名著的期待来读则会失望；把它当成一部轻松的热血成长故事，反而能读得开心。
Yingnian Zaofei is a web-fiction author about whom little public information is available; no confirmed details on nationality, birth or death dates could be found. Judging from the five works held in the library, the author's writing spans fantasy, alternate history, urban fiction and time-travel narratives, and is commonly grouped under premium fiction and male-oriented fiction. Representative titles include Yao Wang (The Medicine King), Hongshao Datang, Pin Hua Shilu and Datang Chun; Yao Wang appears more than once in the collection, suggesting considerable reader interest. Overall, Yingnian Zaofei tends to build stories around time travel and alternate historical settings, with occasional forays into urban themes, and the works show a clearly genre-driven, entertainment-oriented style suited to readers who enjoy light reading and imaginative settings.
