“I’m going to get promoted to journeyman apothecary!”
Considering his experience concocting medicines, as well as his skill with plants and vegetation, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to qualify for promotion. However, just to be safe, he spent the following several days buying a few more random medicine formulas. After concocting each one a few times, then analyzing his failures, he felt much more confident, and went to sign up for the journeyman apothecary promotion test.
Of course, the promotion test wasn’t something held for a single individual. Only when enough people had signed up would the test be held. After waiting for another month, even as he was pondering some matters regarding spirit medicines, his identity medallion inside of his bag of holding began to vibrate. When he pulled it out, an ancient voice filled his mind.
“Tomorrow at dawn, come to the Journeyman Apothecary Hall, where the test for journeyman apothecary promotion will be held.”
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Chapter
42: Promotion Tes
Chapter 42: Promotion Test
The Journeyman Apothecary Hall was located on the south face of Fragrant Cloud Peak. It was surrounded by lush trees and vegetation, and could only be accessed by a narrow limestone path which snaked off of one of the main thoroughfares that ran up and down the mountain. Unless there was a promotion test underway, few people would walk along that path. However, when the time came for the test, it would be packed.
In addition to the disciples who had come to take the test, there were also friends who had come to support the test-takers, or even people who weren’t confident enough to take the test without first observing it being held a few times.
From a distance, the Journeyman Apothecary Hall actually looked like a person sitting cross-legged in meditation. In front of that person was a pill furnace, beneath which was a passageway that led into a main square.
Set up in that main square were twenty pill furnaces, all of which looked completely identical. Laid out next to each of the pill furnaces was a bag containing various types of plants and vegetation that could be used in medicine concocting.
It was dawn, and Bai Xiaochun, worried about getting lost, had come very early. However, when he arrived, he found that there were people who had arrived even earlier than him. There were dozens of people standing around in groups of two or three, chatting quietly, and even some people who stood apart from the others alone, waiting cross-legged in meditation.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t the type of person to sit around like an idiot meditating. After glancing around, he caught sight of Xu Baocai and walked over. When Xu Baocai saw him approaching, he clasped hands in greeting, and the two of them began to chat. It quickly became apparent that virtually nothing went on in the sect without Xu Baocai finding out about it.
“Elder Brother Bai,” he said, “did you hear that about half a year ago, Chen Fei and his friends were mysteriously beaten into bloody pulps? They’ve been bed-ridden ever since, and for some reason, won’t talk at all about what happened.” Even as he spoke, he looked at Bai Xiaochun carefully to see his reaction.
Bai Xiaochun yawned dramatically, and was just about to start boasting about what had happened when all of a sudden, a buzz of conversation rose up in the crowd. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun felt as if someone had suddenly looked in his direction. When he turned his head, he saw a young woman walking toward him.
She wore the long garment of an Outer Sect disciple, but it did nothing to conceal her curvaceous figure. She had a waist as slender as a willow tree, which only served to accentuate the rest of her curves, and make her seem incredibly beautiful. She had long legs, and a perky rear end, and as she approached, people couldn’t stop from staring.
With her pretty face, and clear white skin that seemed so delicate it might be broken by a faint breeze, she oozed an attractiveness that could easily prove fatal to almost any man.
Bai Xiaochun was a bit disgusted to hear people gulping dramatically, even Xu Baocai.
Xu Baocai licked his lips, and his eyes shone with infatuation “That’s… Elder Sister Du, Du Lingfei!” he whispered excitedly. “She’s one of the five hottest women on the south bank! She’s the Immortal beauty of my heart…. Oh my goodness, she just looked at me!!”
“She’s looking at me!” Bai Xiaochun said derisively. He simply watched as Du Lingfei got closer. Suddenly, her phoenix-like eyes flickered with a murderous aura as she glared straight at Bai Xiaochun. She had long since come to admit that Bai Xiaochun’s skill with plants and vegetation exceeded hers. However, she was still filled with complete and utter revulsion for him. With a slight snort, she walked off to the side.
Xu Baocai stared at her in a daze, completely oblivious to Bai Xiaochun’s derision. In fact, he seemed more infatuated than ever.
“So Du Lingfei is going to take the test too….” Bai Xiaochun thought. After looking over the twenty pill furnaces, he calmed himself down and focused. “Ah, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’m not here to compete with her. This is an exam administered by the sect, not a contest. Everybody has a chance to get promoted.”
Soon, Chen Zi’ang appeared, and when he noticed Bai Xiaochun, he hesitated for a moment, then grinned and called out a greeting. Bai Xiaochun smiled and clasped hands in response, after which Chen Zi’ang sat down off to the side to wait.
Eventually, even Zhao Yiduo showed up, whom Bai Xiaochun had first encountered outside the Missions Offices. Then, more and more people began to appear, and a good-sized crowd built up.
Before too much time passed, the main door of the Journeyman Apothecary Hall creaked open, and an old man walked out. He had a full head of white hair, and piercing eyes, and as soon as he appeared, everyone quieted down.
The old man’s expression was calm as he strode forward with hands clasped behind his back. He came to a stop at the front of the square, looked around at all the Outer Sect disciples, then nodded his head and began to speak.
“I am surnamed Xu, and I shall preside over this test for promotion from apprentice apothecary to journeyman apothecary.
“The test will consist of one portion regarding plants and vegetation, and another regarding medicine concocting. To pass the portion regarding plants and vegetation, simply walk through the passageway.” Elder Xu didn’t seem to want to offer any further explanations. After speaking only three sentences, he simply closed his eyes and ignored everyone.
Even as Bai Xiaochun blinked in response, a long-faced young man walked out from the crowd. After clasping hands and bowing to Elder Xu, he strode toward the passageway leading under the giant pill furnace.
As entered the doorway of the passageway, a beam of light appeared, which surrounded him, then vanished. A moment later, the pill furnace trembled, then let out a five muffled reverberations.
Xu Baocai leaned over and whispered, “Five reverberations means that his skill with plants and vegetation encompases the fifth volume….” He definitely deserved his reputation of knowing about everything in the sect.
Bai Xiaochun blinked again. Before coming, he’d had no idea of how exactly the test would be carried out. Having heard Xu Baocai’s explanation, he examined the huge stone pill furnace, and suddenly had the feeling that it must be connected to the stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines pavilion.
“What do I do now…?” he thought hesitantly. “Zhou Xinqi’s fans are still combing the mountain for me.”