Light shone from the furnace, gradually seeping through the cracks. Elder Xu walked toward the furnace where the audience had their eyes fixated. Within the furnace, there was an incense stick that was completely purple and one inch long. The elder’s lips widened as he smiled.
“Medium quality!”
Elder Xu laughed, and flung his sleeve to the side.
“This examination has concluded! Bai Xiaochun, Han Jianye, Du Lingfei, Chen Zi’ang, and Zhao Yiduo, you five have passed the promotional exam. Bai Xiaochun… first place... and five thousand contribution points!”
The crowd roared, their cheers shook the ground.
“Ten in a row! Ten in a row!”
“That last refinement actually produced medium quality… Medium quality! And he’s just a Medicine Apprentice! Unbelievable!”
Everyone still found it hard to believe and all of them were still in shock.
Bai Xiaochun felt helpless. He didn’t have the chance to look at his medium quality work before Elder Xu took it away. He wanted it for himself, but it didn’t seem likely that something like that would happen.
Taking in a deep breath, he walked out of the plaza, exhausted. The people looked at him with respect and admiration. They knew that ten in a row would never be a coincidence, and it wasn’t something an ordinary person could achieve.
“Congratulations to Senior Brother Bai for making history!”
“Senior Brother Bai, you have my admiration!”
“Senior Brother Bai, there’s something I want to learn about herbs, can you help a lady out…”
Bai Xiaochun blinked. He was so focused on his refinement that he hadn’t noticed what happened around him. It took him a moment to realise that he did something phenomenal, and the excitement and passion of the crowd touched him. He turned to the crowd and raised his fists.
He felt warm and happy. He never got to do anything big in front of ten thousand people like he wanted when revealing himself as the Little Turtle, but it had finally happened; it had now finally happened.
As for the Junior Sisters who requested help with their studies, he nodded without hesitation. He did not forget to remind the other Senior Brothers that his name was Bai Xiaochun, worried that they might forget who he was.
Just as he was enjoying himself, he noticed a youth staring at him with a death glare. With a glance, he knew that it was one of Zhou Xinqi’s admirers, so he hurriedly left because of the killing intent that youth displayed.
Bai Xiaochun’s head was spinning when he reached his wooden house. The days he spent on refining medicine took a great toll on his body, and he fell asleep right after collapsing on his bed.
His slumber lasted two whole days.
On the third afternoon, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, the exhaustion and throbbing in his head swept away. He recalled his medium quality work and sighed. Elder Xu had taken it away. However, he still felt better when he checked the five thousand contribution points in his pocket.
With these contribution points, Bai Xiaochun readied himself to continue his cultivation and refinements. He went to the sect and exchanged the points for eight recipes. Choosing one that replenished Qi, he also brought home a great amount of herbs.
The trip was fast, but it was unpleasant. He felt changing expressions as people looked at him, one of them being an admirer of Zhou Xinqi, who smiled icily, taking out a jade piece as if to inform other admirers.
Panicked, Bai Xiaochun had went straight to the Refinement Pavilion instead of the courtyard after obtaining the herbs. With his remaining contribution points, he rented a room for a year’s worth of time and rushed in.
“I was too careless this time… Just you wait, when I return, my impenetrable skin will be way stronger. Any of you who dare to challenge me will get beaten to a pulp, and if you bring ten, well, I… I’ll go to an elder for help!” Bai Xiaochun ranted, and began refining, without leaving the room.
He knew perfectly well that during the two days he had spent asleep, the news about his success would spread to all corners of the Scented Cloud Mountain.
Actually, people inside the sect had already started suspecting him of being the Little Turtle!
It would be way too coincidental otherwise - the herbs used were all the culmination of what was available to them. Not to mention Bai Xiaochun’s final medium quality product and that he had even succeeded ten times in a row during the examination.
Zhou Xinqi’s admirers became even more active, even Du Lingfei’s admirers joined in. They, however, did not expect Bai Xiaochun to be so cautious that he went to the pavilion instead of returning to his cabin. They were unhappy when they learned that Bai Xiaochun had the room rented for an entire year.
They couldn’t just charge in the Refinement Pavilion, after all. Bai Xiaochun was also a disciple, they couldn’t really do anything to him either. If they did beat him up, however, the sect wouldn’t make a fuss - should that happen, it would just mean that Bai Xiaoch