A Thought Through Eternity

Chapter 45 - Ain’t That Hard To F*ck You Up

With his eyes bloodshot, only refinement existed in Bai Xiaochun’s mind. He paid no heed neither to the promotional examination’s results, nor to how many times he had succeeded. At that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was how to ensure success for the next batch.

Unless he was absolutely certain, the furnace would never start.

After all, he had that meticulous personality, and its extremity was reflected in his refinements.

But at this moment, he felt that it was to no avail. Unless he condensed the black components from the Black Spirit Fruit, the problem wouldn’t be resolved. If he did that, it would be a small adjustment, and it wouldn’t be considered as changing the recipe. Having considered it for a moment, he settled on it.

“Looks like those small adjustments are the only way to go. I can’t follow the recipe completely.” said Bai Xiaochun as he squeezed the fruit in his hand.

Under the pressure, the fruit was crushed as many droplets of its juice dropped down. They didn’t land in the furnace, but remained suspended in mid-air. Bai Xiaochun was controlling the concentration of the liquid, condensing the droplets together.

This did not impress the audience, nor did it impress Bai Xiaochun. He used this method because of a personal preference for the stability it provided, that was all.

Elder Xu, however, did not view it the same way, in fact, his eyes were burning with shock. Compared to the seven successes in a row which had managed to only surprise the elder, this shock was much stronger.

“This kid, he’s trying to adjust the recipe! It’s no wonder I was asked to keep an eye on him!” Elder Xu thought.

A moment after, Bai Xiaochun swung his fist hard, removing the excess black components, leaving only a small amount which was the size of a fingernail. Only after he threw it in the furnace did he finally take out the rest of the herb set. The eighth batch was then in progress.

The furnace was turning visibly red, and before an hour had passed, the furnace once again shook from the medicinal aroma exploding out. It was, once again, a success.

Elder Xu immediately focused his attention on the furnace. In the furnace, an incense stick ten inches long lay, it had a faint purple hue that could easily be distinguished from its black colour!

“It has almost reached the medium quality!” Elder Xu was astonished.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes shone, he finally understood why the medicine he had refined before were all low quality.

“Recipes aren’t set in stone… they have to be adjusted according to the person making the refinements, that’s how you reach above medium quality!” Bai Xiaochun felt enlightened, his body filling up with excitement. He then began the ninth batch before the crowd even had time to burst into an uproar.

No one spoke; they were all in shock. Bai Xiaochun had succeeded eight times in a row, it was too much to take in.

Not only had Bai Xiaochun surpassed Zhou Xinqi, he had reached the level of the legendary disciple from the Jade King Mountain!

Bai Xiaochun’s speed had increased. This time, it only took half an hour; this refinement only consumed the time it took for an incense stick to burn. Rumbles followed, and the ninth batch… was successful as well!

“Never before-!”

“Never before has anyone done that! And the fact that these are Black Incense sticks… Bai Xiaochun did use an incredible amount of time for scrutiny and thinking, but his success rate broke all records!”

Xu Baocai could only blink as he stared at Bai Xiaochun. As for Du Lingfei, she was suffering a headache.

Han Jianye, on the other hand, was actually relieved. He was bitter about the whole thing, but Bai Xiaochun was simply on a another level. There was no point for him to compete with him. It was his loss.

“The last one… Will Senior Brother Bai create history? Will he create a… miracle?”

“It’s worth it! It doesn’t matter how many days we wait for him! It’s all worth it now!”

They were all on Bai Xiaochun’s side now, excitement filling them as they waited for Bai Xiaochun to create history. Even Elder Xu stared at Bai Xiaochun, not daring to turn away, the shock he felt was far stronger than the rest of the audience.

Soon after, Bai Xiaochun started working again, his face filled with seriousness. He sorted out the components and ingredients, placing them into the furnace accordingly.

Time flowed by, the spectators were so silent that their heartbeats could be heard. One incense stick burned up, half an hour had passed.

As an explosion resounded, the furnace shook. No smoke of failure spread out, nor was an aroma exuded. At this moment, the tension was high.

“Did he fail?” Xu Baocai asked hoarsely.

Staring at the furnace, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes brightened up. He had some idea what would happen next.

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 Xiaochun was weaker than them.

With no other methods available, they could only go home grudgingly. The only one left was a freckled youth who stared at the pavilion with a cold glare.

“Don’t think I can’t do anything to you just because you’re hiding in the pavilion. You beat up my cousin Chen Fei, you bullied my dear Junior Sister Zhou… Even Junior Sister Hou, you took the girl I was interested in away from me! You have some talent, Bai Xiaochun, but it ain’t that hard for me to f*ck you up!” The youth laughed coldly. He was the inner sect disciple, Qian Dajin!

Bai Xiaochun was without a worry in his room, refining medicine every day. Sometimes he’d cultivate. He improved as the days passed.

His skin grew harder, and his speed increased.

“Two more days and my impenetrable iron skin will be utterly complete!” Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, feeling pleased.

But on dusk that day, a ray of light shone from the Mission Exchange Pavilion, aiming straight for the pavilion, bypassing the security measures. It appeared in Bai Xiaochun’s room.

After a closer look, Bai Xiaochun was stunned. It was a token!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here’s a bonus chapter for our dear readers. Enjoy!

Translated by: Marcus

Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard