Naruto returned to the sect humming a little tune and feeling secretly delighted. After reaching his courtyard, he sighed.
"I practice immortal cultivation to live forever. People like that who are always fighting and killing are complete lunatics."
He sat down in his courtyard, and began to organize the various items he had taken from Ebisu and his friends. They were by no means rich, which meant that Naruto didn't actually make off with very much, although he didn't really care either way. When he was finished, he took out the medicinal plants he had just purchased and examined them carefully for a while.
Although he had a profound foundation in plants and vegetation, he actually didn't have much experience dealing with the plants themselves. Now that he was able to examine these plants in person, his observations melded with the information that already existed in his mind. He even scratched the surfaces of some of the plants off to examine their internal structure.
After doing some tests, a thoughtful expression appeared on Naruto's face, and he pulled out the two random formulas he had acquired. After glancing at the formula for replenishing spiritual energy, he focused on the other formula, designed for mortals who wished to strengthen their physical bodies.
"Longevity Incense..." he murmured. This particular medicine formula didn't require the use of very many medicinal plants, only seven. Furthermore, there wasn't anything very special about the way they interacted. However, by using the techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, it was possible to draw up the power of those seven medicinal plants, crush them into a powder, and then turn that into incense.
Two of the plants were even toxic. If a cultivator consumed them, it would merely lead to two weeks of diarrhea. To mortals, however, they would be fatal.
"There are many types of of spirit plants in heaven and earth. Some can be directly ingested, whereas others need to be concocted into pills to bring out their optimum effects. There are many which, because of their toxicity, can only be used to concoct incense." Muttering to himself, Naruto took out the medicinal plants needed for the Longevity Incense, whereupon he began to study them in minute detail.
"I'm still not totally confident in this," he thought. "The most important thing to think about in concocting medicine is the success rate. Even the simplest tier-1 spirit medicines still have a high rate of potential failure.
"I have ten sets of each medicinal plant. I can't waste them." Naruto was a cautious person, and prefered to be confident before doing anything. That was exactly how he had been back when he had absorbed himself in memorizing all the different types of plants and vegetation, and the current situation was the same. Instead of immediately trying to concoct the medicine, he preferred to pore over the medicine formula first.
Seven days passed. After fully absorbing the information from the medicine formula, he then closed his eyes and began to analyze the matter further. It was evening when he finally opened his eyes. Then, after a bit more thought, he produced the formula for the spiritual energy replenishing medicine and began to review it.
Two more weeks passed. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, but by now, he felt that he completely understood all of the various medicinal plants that were part of these medicine formulas. After more thought, he rose to his feet and walked out of the courtyard.
Medicine concocting required a pill furnace, but those were quite expensive, more expensive than Naruto could afford. Thankfully, in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, there were pill furnaces available for use by disciples in their medicine concocting, at the price of a few merit points.
The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was on the east side of Fragrant Cloud Peak, not too far from where Naruto lived. It wasn't like the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, which was always teeming with crowds of people. The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was a relatively quiet and peaceful place. After all, even on Fragrant Cloud Peak, people who qualified to concoct medicine were relatively few in number. Of that small number, quite a few already had their own personal pill furnaces, and didn't need to come here to rent one.
Naruto paid for the right to use the Medicine Concocting Pavilion facilities for an entire month. He was given a personal workshop, complete with a protective spell formation that prevented any interference from outside while he worked.
Clutching the wooden key he had been given, Naruto quickly found workshop #13 and walked inside. It wasn't very large, and was completely empty except for the pill furnace and the flame which burned beneath it.
After sitting down cross-legged, Naruto took a deep breath, then examined the pill furnace closely. When he tried to manipulate the flame with some spiritual energy, he found that he could cause the flame to grow much hotter, filling the entire room with intense heat. At the same time, the pill furnace itself began to glow bright red.
Drawing upon his foundation in the Violet Chakra Control Art, he performed some tests, and quickly got used to the intense heat. It didn't take long before he became familiar with how to control the level of the flame. Finally, he slapped his bag of holding to produce the various types of plants and vegetation.
"The Longevity Incense is too important to put first on the list to concoct. First I'll get familiar with the general concoction process, then I'll try. I'll start out with the Spirit Replenishing Pill. That's a tier-1 pill, useful for the fifth level of Chakra Condensation and lower." Naruto was now completely determined. Expression very serious, he mentally reviewed the medicine formula for the Spirit Replenishing Pill, then began to concoct.
He produced the first medicinal plant, then waved his hand, causing the leaves to fall off. Eyes gleaming with concentration, he sent his internal spiritual energy out, forming a powerful yet gentle force that crushed the leaves together into nine beads of sap, which he then dropped into the pill furnace.
A plopping sound could be heard, and a green mist instantly rose up within the pill furnace. Naruto's eyes gleamed brightly, and as soon as the mist actually appeared, his hands flew through the air as he extracted the stems and veins of the medicinal plant, which he then tossed into the furnace as well. Occasionally, he adjusted the flame, ensuring that more and more mist built up inside the furnace.
None of that mist escaped outside, though. It congealed together, swirling as Naruto pulled out the second medicinal plant. After catalyzing it briefly, the medicinal plant bloomed with flowers, the petals of which he plucked and put into the pill furnace.
Time passed. Naruto was completely focused on what he was doing as he pulled out one medicinal plant after another. Soon he was on the eighth plant, and his eyes were shining brightly as he stared at the pill furnace. As he continuously adjusted the temperature of the flame, sweat dripped down his face.
Two hours later, a muffled rumbling could be heard from inside the pill furnace. Black smoke poured out, to be absorbed by the room's spell formation. Naruto was choking and coughing, and a frown could be seen on his face as he stared at the charred slag inside of the pill furnace.
"Failure..." he murmured. Sitting down and placing his chin on his hand, he began to think. After reviewing everything he had done, he didn't begin another batch immediately. After all, he was a cautious person, and whether it came to memorizing plants and vegetation or concocting medicine, he always wanted to do it in the most prudent way possible.
He contemplated the matter for three full days. During that time, he reviewed what he remembered regarding his first attempt at least a thousand times. That helped him to identify at least fifty problematic areas. Finally, he took a deep breath, rested for a moment, and then once again heated up the furnace.
The actual time it took to produce the pill wasn't very long. Four hours later, the pill furnace emitted rumbling sounds once again, and when the smoke cleared, the spoiled remnants of the pill once again became visible.
At this point, his stubborn determination once again rose up. Removing the slag from the pill furnace, he examined it closely, then compared it to the information he had gleaned so far about medicine concocting. He then spent ten more days further examining the medicine formula, as well as the plants and vegetation involved. Finally, eyes bloodshot, he began to try a third time.
The third batch seemed much more stable, but just in the moment when the pills were about to solidify, everything fell apart, accompanied by muffled booms. Naruto leapt forward and stared at the slag again. After more thought, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to ponder the matter further.
This time, he spent nearly half a month. His time in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion was almost up. Finally, his eyes opened, and he gritted his teeth as he began a fourth batch.
Eventually, his time was up, and the most recent batch was a failure.
If any journeyman apothecary could observe what was happening, he would find it hard to believe. Almost any other person would have attempted at least dozens of batches of medicine within a month's time, and would have succeeded in at least some of them.
Even if they only came up with one pill in the end, it would still count as a success.
After all, most people viewed medicine concocting as something extremely difficult. If that weren't the case, then there would be more than a mere two master apothecaries in all of the Eastwood Continent.
Even journeyman apothecaries were not very common, and most of them didn't have any hope of ever becoming master apothecaries.
Of course, the real reason for that was... most people didn't have access to the resources which were needed to truly develop as a journeyman apothecary.
In the end, though, if anyone worked long enough at it, their chances of eventually becoming a master apothecary would be much greater. Therefore, most people believed that the best way to increase one's success rate in medicine concocting was simply to practice a lot!
And that was why most people simply pursued practice.
After you got familiar enough with the process, your confidence in success would increase. Of course, simultaneously, journeyman apothecaries came to view failure as an ordinary thing. After a failure, one could just begin again, and thus slowly improve. That was especially true of the more ordinary medicinal pills. Ingredients for pills like that were not very expensive, and could be used as fuel for that hard work and practice.
However, Naruto walked a different path than others. He went much slower, and after every failure, he would spend more time analyzing why he had failed than he had in the actual concocting process.
This had a lot to do with his caution. It would even be appropriate to call him scrupulous. Only a bit of that scrupulousness had come out during his time studying plants and vegetation. Now that he was making his first foray into medicine concocting, his scrupulous nature increased dramatically, becoming the most outstanding aspect.
Because of that scrupulousness, he was able to identify even more problem areas than the average person would. In fact, the number of problems that other people might identify couldn't even compare. He thought and pondered the matter in ways that others wouldn't even consider, and thus identified various fishy areas.
Because of his caution, even the slightest problem was something he would wish to control before he continued with any concocting. It was because of these reasons that he spent so much time thinking.
The month had passed; Naruto's hair was disheveled and his face was streaked with ash. Exhausted, he left the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and returned to his courtyard, where he sat there thinking and reviewing.
"There are still nine problem areas. Once I solve those problems, I should be able to continue with the medicine concocting." Gritting his teeth, he sat there in his courtyard, eyes closed, analyzing the matter, occasionally taking a medicinal plant out to observe and study.
Half a month passed before he suddenly rushed out, spent the merit points, and entered the Medicine Concocting Pavilion again.
The fifth batch... was a failure!
After analyzing the matter for seven more days, he found more problems, solved them, and then tried again.
The sixth batch... was a failure!
His eyes were bright red. He spent twenty days contemplating the matter before trying a seventh batch.
Two hours into the process, no rumbling sounds could be heard. Instead, a medicinal aroma spread out, and Naruto's face lit up. There inside the pill furnace were two green medicinal pills. The seventh batch was a success!
He tried again, and the eighth batch... succeeded, producing three pills!
The ninth batch... succeed, producing five pills!
The tenth batch... also succeeded, However, in the end, only one pill appeared. It was not green, but rather, black. Furthermore, it emanated no medicinal aroma, but rather, different odd scent.
Even as Naruto pondered the matter curiously, the entire Medicine Concocting Pavilion was thrown into an uproar.
There were no rats or mice on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Such things could not exist in a cultivation location such as this, not unless they were actually spirit creatures. However, ants were a common thing on the mountain.
Ants were an ordinary part of nature, and usually lived in the cracks and crevices of the boulders which could be all over the mountain. They didn't cause problems for the cultivators, and were essentially just an ordinary part of mountain life. As such, few people paid them much attention.
Today, however, the disciples on duty around the Medicine Concocting Pavilion were shocked to find that innumerable ants were filing across the ground toward the pavilion itself.
The disciples on duty gasped; there were so many ants it was impossible to determine how many they were. The sight itself was enough to make their scalps go numb. "What's... what's going on!?"
At the same time, many of the disciples in the various pill-concocting workshops cried out in alarm, and the sound of explosions caused by failed batches of pills could be heard. Although the pill-concocting workshops were protected by spell formations, they were also built into the mountainside, which meant that the ants could easily get into them through the various tiny crevices that riddled the mountain.
All of them were heading toward one particular workshop.
That was of course the workshop occupied by Naruto, who wore an expression of curiosity as he looked at a black medicinal pill. It was at about this time that he noticed the clamor outside, and suddenly realized that the workshop he was in happened to be filled with ants.
The ants almost seemed to have gone insane, and all of them were heading directly toward him.
"An ant apocalypse has struck Fragrant Cloud Peak!" Naruto shrieked, leaping to his feet. Unexpectedly, even as Naruto leaped to his feet, so did the ants, heading directly toward the black medicinal pill he held.
Naruto's scalp was completely numb, and the first thing he could think of to do was throw the medicinal pill away. Almost as soon as it left his hand, the ants changed directions, pouncing onto it.
The pill was instantly engulfed, transforming into a ball of ants, the sight of which caused the blood to drain from Naruto's face.
A moment later, the ant ball suddenly collapsed, and the ants scurried back into the cracks and crevices. No trace remained of the medicinal pill.
In fact, not an ant remained in the entire Medicine Concocting Pavilion. The ants had come quickly, and vanished just as quickly. Of course, many of the disciples who had lost the spirit medicines they were working on felt a bit depressed at what had happened, but there was nothing they could do about it. Furthermore, the disciples on duty, having determined that no major losses had occurred, decided not to report the strange incident.
Naruto knew exactly why the ants had gone crazy, but as for everyone else, the only thing they saw was a mass of ants passing through.
Naruto's heart was still thumping in fear. There hadn't seemed to be anything unusual with the pill he had just concocted. However, he had been very focused on doing a perfect job, a job even better than the previous attempt. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he had actually made some adjustments to the ratios in the last Spirit Replenishing Pill batch.
"Could it be that the final Spirit Replenishing Pill was something extremely beneficial to ants?" Naruto shook his head as he thought about how incredible he was. Not only could he concoct shocking medicinal pills, he could concoct pills drove ants crazy.
Upon leaving the workshop, he heard the depressed mutterings of the other disciples, and felt a bit guilty. Ducking his head down, he quickly hurried away.
A few days passed, during which Naruto confirmed that the incident in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion didn't cause any waves in the sect. Finally, he went back, paid his merit points, then selected a different workshop within which to concoct medicine.
This time, he started working on the Longevity Incense.
Concocting incense and concocting pills were two different things, and required the use of different techniques. Pills were consumed, whereas incense was inhaled. Of course, the final form was different too, one being a pill, the other being a stick of incense.
Considering what happened last time, Naruto was very careful in the way he went about working on the Longevity Incense. Two months passed, and after using ten batches of ingredients, he ended up with seven portions.
He left feeling quite satisfied, seven portions of Longevity Incense in hand. Back in his log cabin, he performed a threefold spirit enhancement, after which the Longevity Incense changed to a deep violet color. Although the threefold spirit designs were somewhat faint, they were still visible. Furthermore, the feeling he got when looking at the incense was completely different than before.
Naruto looked thoughtfully at the Longevity Incense, and realized that he himself was also very different than he had been. Before, he didn't understand much at all about spirit medicine, but after concocting some on his own, he was much more knowledgeable. For example, he knew that any type of spirit medicine would have impurities, impurities that shouldn't be absorbed into the body, and yet were difficult to separate out. Such impurities could build up inside the body and eventually become so-called medicinal toxins.
That was why many experienced members of the Inner Sect were hesitant to recommend that less experienced disciples consume medicinal pills. Theoretically speaking, much of the medicinal toxins could be expelled out of the body. However, if someone consumed too many medicinal pills and accumulated too much medicinal toxin, it could influence their future cultivation.
Therefore, depending on how many impurities existed within a given spirit medicine, it would be classified as one of six different levels.
"Low, mid, high, superior, premium, supreme..." he murmured, looking down at the Longevity Incense. If the medicine was more than ninety percent impure, it would be considered a toxic medicine, and wouldn't be classified in the hierarchy. Furthermore, such medicines would never be consumed unless absolutely necessary.
If the medicine was around eighty percent impure, it would be considered low-grade, which was the most common type of spirit medicine. Sixty percent impurity was considered mid-grade, and such medicines were not common. In fact, only true master apothecaries were known to produce such medicines.
Medicines which were only forty percent impure were high-grade, and were rare. As for medicines that were twenty percent impure, they were considered superior-grade, and if they were only ten percent impure, they were premium-grade. Those were medicines that usually only appeared in large auctions.
Then there were the spirit medicines that had no impurities whatsoever, the legendary supreme-grade medicines.
Before, he hadn't really understood what he was doing when he performed spirit enhancements on the spirit medicines. But after closely examining the Longevity Incense, he realized that it didn't make it more powerful, the way it did with magical items. Instead... it actually improved the quality of the spirit medicine!
The Longevity Incense he held was now only forty percent impure, meaning that it was a high-grade medicine!
As soon as he realized this, Naruto got very excited. Then he considered the matter a bit more, and decided to make a trip to Violet Cauldron Peak. His purpose was not to visit Big Fatty Choji, but rather, to visit the only Spirit Enhancement Hall that existed on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect.
There, Outer Sect disciples could spend merit points to get help from the elders in the Spirit Enhancement Hall to perform spirit enhancements. Although there was still a chance of failure, many disciples frequented the place.
After looking around the Spirit Enhancement Hall, and also making some discreet inquiries, Naruto was able to confirm that performing spirit enhancements on spirit medicine did indeed reduce the impurities and make them more effective.
After returning to Fragrant Cloud Peak, Naruto looked excitedly at the incense he had made, then finally lit one stick and took a deep breath. Almost immediately, he felt as full as if he had eaten a big meal. Furthermore, as the aura of the incense spread out within him, he felt warm and comfortable. It was as if the flame of his life force had been fueled, and was now burning a bit hotter.
Continuing to inhale the incense, he went on to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique. As soon as the feeling of hunger hit him, he took a deep breath, and the feeling quickly faded.
The seven sticks of Longevity Incense enabled Naruto to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique for half a month. During that time, he could sense his Undying Iron Skin growing tougher and stronger.
Feeling in very high spirits, he organized his bag of holding, then went down to the market and sold some of the things he had acquired from Ebisu and his friends. Using the profits, he purchased ten more sets of ingredients for Longevity Incense, and then once again began to concoct medicine.
Thanks to his constant caution and attention to detail, his success rate in concocting the Longevity Incense increased, rising from seventy percent to eighty, and eventually reaching one hundred percent.
However, he still wasn't satisfied. Although his success rate had reached one hundred percent, the quality of the resulting spirit medicine was merely low-grade.
His skill was not something that could be changed in a short period of time, leaving him with only one option: use spirit enhancement to remove the impurities. When he used the Longevity Incense in cultivation, he would breathe in deeply and feel the true happiness that could be attained in Heaven and Earth.
His Undying Live Forever Technique improved with each day, as did his cultivation base, which was now nearing the great circle of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation.
His greatest progress was with this Undying Live Forever Technique. With only a bit more work, he would be able to achieve a major success with his Undying Iron Skin. Naruto's body was far tougher and more durable than before, and when he used the Throat Crushing Grasp, his fingers were an even deeper black color than before.
By that time, though, the Longevity Incense was beginning to slowly lose its effectiveness. In the end, it did virtually nothing, causing Naruto to sigh. He was aware that if you consumed enough of any given spirit medicine, the body would eventually adapt to it, and it would lose effectiveness.
If he wanted to continue his cultivation, he would need a spirit medicine that was even better than the Longevity Incense. Unfortunately, the formulas for spirit medicines like that were strictly controlled. It was impossible to purchase them at the market; they could only be acquired with merit points after being promoted to journeyman apothecary.
The only other option would be to go to a larger market, but places like that were some distance away from the sect. After considering the matter, Naruto lit up with determination.
"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."
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 Naruto, 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.
Naruto wasn't the type of person to sit around like an idiot meditating. After glancing around, he caught sight of Sora and walked over. When Sora 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 Sora finding out about it.
"Elder Brother Naruto," he said, "did you hear that about half a year ago, Ebisu 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 Naruto carefully to see his reaction.
Naruto 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, Naruto 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.
Naruto was a bit disgusted to hear people gulping dramatically, even Sora.
Sora licked his lips, and his eyes shone with infatuation "That's... Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, Ryuzetsu!" 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!" Naruto said derisively. He simply watched as Ryuzetsu got closer. Suddenly, her phoenix-like eyes flickered with a murderous aura as she glared straight at Naruto. She had long since come to admit that Naruto'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.
Sora stared at her in a daze, completely oblivious to Naruto's derision. In fact, he seemed more infatuated than ever.
"So Ryuzetsu is going to take the test too..." Naruto 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, Tokuma appeared, and when he noticed Naruto, he hesitated for a moment, then grinned and called out a greeting. Naruto smiled and clasped hands in response, after which Tokuma sat down off to the side to wait.
Eventually, even Iwashi showed up, whom Naruto 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 Hayate 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 Naruto blinked in response, a long-faced young man walked out from the crowd. After clasping hands and bowing to Elder Hayate, 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.
Sora leaned over and whispered, "Five reverberations means that his skill with plants and vegetation encompasses the fifth volume..." He definitely deserved his reputation of knowing about everything in the sect.
Naruto blinked again. Before coming, he'd had no idea of how exactly the test would be carried out. Having heard Sora'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. "Kurenai's fans are still combing the mountain for me."
Soon, more people approached, most of whom received five reverberations. However, one of them only received four reverberations, upon which Elder Hayate flicked his sleeve, sending that disciple spinning away.
"Elder Hayate!" the disciple exclaimed, face flickering. "I thought volume four of plants and vegetation was the minimum requirement to be able to take the test!"
"The rules have changed. Now it's the fifth volume."
"But..." The young man stared in shock, then bitterly clasped his hands and bowed. Not daring to say anything further, he left.
This turn of events caused the sound of whispered conversations to swell. Sora's eyes flickered with surprise, and he suddenly produced a tiny notebook, within which he began to take notes. Naruto looked over and saw a page filled with lines of handwriting, each character as small as the head of a fly. Apparently it was a record of all matters pertaining to the sect, large and small alike. Naruto couldn't help but admire how seriously Sora took the whole matter.
It was at this point that Iwashi stood up and entered the passageway. The reverberations echoed out six times, after which Elder Hayate opened his eyes and nodded slightly. Iwashi clasped hands and then stepped out of the passageway.
Tokuma's eyes flickered. He and Iwashi had never gotten along, so he snorted coldly and walked into the passageway, after which six reverberations could be heard.
After giving Iwashi a meaningful stare, and sat back down cross-legged off to the side.
The fact that both Iwashi and Tokuma had received six reverberations caused a buzz of envious conversation to rise up. At the same time, Ryuzetsu's eyes flickered, and she walked through the passageway. As she did, six reverberations could be heard, which caused even more envious gleams to appear in the eyes of the onlookers.
Murmured conversations instantly broke out.
"Tokuma, Iwashi, and Ryuzetsu are all persons of outstanding talent within the Outer Sect. Not only have they mastered five volumes of plants and vegetation, but they also have command of the first volume of spirit creatures. I would say that they have a seventy to eighty percent chance of passing the test and being promoted to journeyman apothecary."
"Historically speaking, anyone who takes the journeyman apothecary test having already mastered six stone steles will pass, as long as that disciple's performance in medicine concocting isn't lacking."
Even as everyone discussed the matter, Naruto gritted his teeth. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about Kurenai's fans. Just as he was about to take a step forward, a figure suddenly appeared off in the distance, speeding along the mountain path. It was a middle-aged man, his hair completely disheveled, but his eyes sparkling with life. Even before he arrived, his voice echoed out to be heard by all.
"I, Amai, having spent seven years in secluded meditation, and have finally made a huge breakthrough in my skill with plants and vegetation. Finally, I have emerged once again into the world, not just be promoted to journeyman apothecary, but to become the top journeyman apothecary in the entire test!" Looking very proud and lofty, he flickered through the air toward the giant pill furnace's passageway.
Elder Hayate didn't pay the man any heed, not even deigning to open his eyes. However, everyone else in the crowd seemed astonished to have heard the name Amai.
"Amai? Who's that? I've never heard of him before."
"Considering how old he is, he must be an Outer Sect disciple from seven or eight years ago... He wants to be the top journeyman apothecary, which isn't a very easy thing to do."
Even as everyone expressed their shock, Amai stepped into the passageway, looking extremely proud and confident. Almost immediately, powerful reverberations began to echo out into the air.
One reverberation, two reverberations... five, six, seven... before anyone in the crowd could even react, eight reverberations echoed out from within the pill furnace.
Elder Hayate's eyes snapped open, and he looked over at the middle-aged man, a broad smile of praise on his face.
"Five volumes of plants and vegetation, and three volumes of spirit creatures," he said. "Excellent!"
Looking very excited, Amai clasped hands and bowed to Elder Hayate. Then he turned, and when he looked at Ryuzetsu and the others, the pride in his eyes was very clear. Swishing his sleeves, he sat down confidently in front of the center-most of the pill furnaces.
Finally, gasps could be heard from the crowd, as well as the clamor of conversation.
"Eight reverberations! Not only did he master everything about plants and vegetation, he even got through three volumes of spirit creatures!"
"It seems he might be able to do exactly as he said and become the top journeyman apothecary!"
When Naruto witnessed what happened, he was left feeling quite underwhelmed. Therefore, when everyone in the crowd started getting excited, he almost couldn't believe it.
"He only mastered three volumes of spirit creatures, right?" he asked of Sora. "Why is everyone making such a big fuss?" If he remembered correctly, when it came to the third stone stele of spirit creatures, over a thousand people were listed as having passed it. Even the tenth stone stele had been passed by hundreds of people.
Sora rolled his eyes, feeling more contemptuous than ever of Naruto. Of course, he didn't dare give voice to that contempt, and instead cleared his throat and said, "Elder Brother Naruto, you just don't understand. To master all five volumes of plants and vegetation is hard enough as it is. The volumes of spirit creatures are even harder! Even mastering one of them is enough to make you the subject of much envy. Obviously, to master three is even more shocking. Do you think everyone can be consummate Chosen like Kurenai or the little turtle? Look, just forget about those two. On all of Fragrant Cloud Peak, there are probably less than fifty people who have passed the stone steles of all five volumes of plants and vegetation plus all five volumes of spirit creatures!
"Each and every one of those people are dragons and phoenixes among mortals. Think about it! There are a lot of names on those stone steles, but those name lists are thousands of years old. Plus, many of those people have already moved on to the Inner Sect, leaving only their names behind here in the Outer Sect!
"Furthermore, you only need to master five volumes to take this test. This guy has eight! Just as he said, he's definitely going to become the top journeyman apothecary, which will earn him the 5,000 merit point prize."
Although Sora's words were actually a bit contemptuous if you paid close attention, Naruto didn't really notice. Eyes gleaming with elation, he looked at Sora and said, "Did you just say that Kurenai and the little turtle are consummate Chosen? Are they really that awesome?"
"Of course! Especially the little turtle. He's completely shocking. He's the first person in a thousand years to get first place in all ten stone steles. Elder Brother Naruto, I have to say, you really shouldn't aim too high." Even as the contempt in Sora's heart rose to new heights, Naruto laughed heartily. The more he was around Sora, the more he liked him. Clapping him on the shoulder, he suddenly strode forward.
Sora gaped in shock as Naruto walked toward the passageway. Of course, Naruto was somewhat well-known for his skill with plants and vegetation, considering that he had defeated Ryuzetsu. It was a given that he would eventually take this test.
However, what happened next caused Sora's eyes to bulge. Naruto strode proudly into the passageway, after which a flash of light could be seen, and the muffled reverberations began.
One, two, three... six, seven, eight!
Everyone became deathly quiet. However, the reverberations didn't stop. A ninth reverberation echoed out and then... a tenth!
RUMBLE!
When the tenth reverberation echoed out, Elder Hayate's eyes shot open, and they glowed with unprecedented brightness. He looked over at Naruto, completely shocked.
It must be stated that it would be rare enough for one of the thousands of Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak to master all ten of the volumes, including the five for plants and vegetation, and the five for spirit creatures. Virtually all of them would have already taken this test. For someone to be so patient as to wait until they had mastered all ten was something that Elder Hayate had never seen, not until this very day.
Even Kurenai had taken the test after having mastered only nine.
Ryuzetsu's eyes went wide as she stared at Naruto standing there in the passageway. Although she had already known that he was far more advanced than her in his skill with plants and vegetation, she had never imagined that he would have reached such an astonishing level. Not only had he completely mastered plants and vegetation, he also had shocking skill with spirit creatures.
Her mind was spinning, and she could do nothing but gape blankly. She couldn't help but recall how she had demanded to compete with him in skill with plants and vegetation, and how he had cautiously and even nervously asked about her ranking. Then she thought about how anxious he had looked when he had agreed to compete.
As of this moment she realized that Naruto's nervousness back then had been a front, concealing the wide smile that had blossomed in his heart.
"Bai. Xiao. CHUN!" she thought, gnashing her teeth.
Tokuma and Iwashi also gasped and stared at Naruto in astonishment.
As for Amai, who had spent so many years in secluded meditation, he began to tremble. He was glaring at Naruto, his mind spinning, waves of shock crashing into him as he realized that Naruto was definitely his lifelong archenemy.
"The most important part of the journeyman apothecary test is medicine concocting!" he thought. "He might be strong, but I refuse to believe that he can outdo me in concocting medicine. I spent seven years in secluded meditation just to take the top spot in this test!"
At the same time, the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were gasping and even crying out in shock.
"That was... ten reverberations! That means he mastered all five of the volumes of spirit creatures too! He passed all of the stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion! There aren't even fifty disciples in the entire Outer Sect who can do that!"
"This guy has incredible patience! He waited to pass all ten of the stone steles before taking the promotion test!"
"Don't tell me... he's the little turtle!?" The crowd was in an uproar.
Of course, most flabbergasted of everyone was Sora, who was staring at Naruto with eyes so wide they seemed to be on the verge of popping out of his head. Moments ago, he had despised Naruto for not thinking much of having mastered three volumes of spirit creatures, but now, he clearly had every right to have that attitude...
"Mastery of plants and vegetation and mastery of spirit creatures... Naruto was clearly just messing with me! But this is simply unbelievable. He's only been in the sect for a few years! Could it be... that he really is the little turtle?" Gasping, Sora pulled out his little notebook and began to write down the new developments. Inwardly, he was rejoicing that he had chosen to smooth things out with Naruto, and was also rejoicing that he hadn't said anything too derisive earlier.
Even as everyone was giving voice to their shock, Naruto walked out of the passageway, sighing. Actually, if there had been a way to conceal his accomplishments regarding the ten stone steles, then he would have. After all, there were still Inner Sect disciples among Kurenai's fans.
Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about it. He couldn't just give up on the promotion. Despite the fact that he had been forced to reveal the truth, when he saw how excited the crowds were, and when he heard people calling out his name, he was actually quite moved.
"What wonderful fellow disciples. Ah, if only everyone were like that!" Sighing emotionally, and under the eyes of everyone in the audience, he selected a pill furnace and sat down.
Elder Hayate looked thoughtfully at Naruto. A smile flickered across his face, but quickly vanished. After recovered his composure, he calmly said, "The bag in front of you has ten sets of medicinal plants, which you can use to concoct ten tier-1 spirit medicines, specifically, Inkspirit Incense!
"You will be judged based on your success rate, with a minimum of two successes being the requirement to pass. Whoever has the most successes... will be awarded 5,000 merit points! You may begin immediately."
The Outer Sect disciples in the audience instantly began to buzz with excitement in response to Elder Hayate's explanation.
"This time the test is to concoct Inkspirit Incense!"
"Inkspirit Incense isn't the most difficult tier-1 medicine to concoct, but it's not easy... It's not like Spirit Condensation Incense or other spirit medicines like that, which many apprentice apothecaries have experience with."
"Hmph. They're only refining the ways to test one's qualifications in medicine concocting. Can't you see what's happening? Before, they required four volumes of plants and vegetation, now it's five. They even increased the level of difficulty of the spirit medicine to be concocted. Presumably, things will only continue to get harder in the future."
As everyone discussed the matter, the group sitting in front of the pill furnaces in the square had very serious expressions on their faces. Although some of them smiled bitterly when they heard that the test involved Inkspirit Incense, they didn't allow themselves to be distracted, but instead opened the bags and began to inspect the medicinal plants.
Sora had mentioned the matter of the 5,000 merit points earlier. Now that Naruto heard confirmation from Elder Hayate, his heart was thumping. He was already running low on merit points, which he needed to get medicine formulas and medicinal plants.
"If I can get those 5,000 merit points, it will save me a lot of time and effort." With those thoughts on his mind, Naruto opened the bag, within which were the ten sets of medicinal plants, plus a jade slip, which was none other than the medicine formula for the Inkspirit Incense.
He didn't immediately begin to concoct the medicine, but instead settled his Chakra and cleared his mind, then began to study the formula.
He took his time, which was how he had grown accustomed to concocting medicine. Even the slightest question about anything needed to be analyzed completely until he felt completely confident.
His initial research alone took him two hours.
By that time, Ryuzetsu and everyone else had already finished inspecting the plants, and were beginning to actually concoct the medicine. In fact, most of them were more than half finished with their first batch.
It didn't take long before everyone except Naruto was already in the middle of medicine concocting. Naruto was the only one who was sitting there, looking thoughtfully at the jade slip. That sight left Sora somewhat shocked.
By now, the first batches of spirit medicine were coming out. Rumbling sounds began to emanate from the pill furnaces of everyone except Naruto. Most of them had long faces as black smoke rose up, indicating that their first batches were failures.
Amai, on the other hand, threw his head back and laughed loudly. His pill furnace was trembling, and a medicinal aroma began to spread out. Shockingly, a three-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples all craned their necks to look.
"He succeeded with his first batch!"
"This Amai sure has talent in medicine concocting!"
An excited expression appeared on Amai's face as he glanced around at the other test-takers. His gaze lingered for a moment on Naruto, and when he realized that he was still studying the medicine formula, a look of disdain appeared in his eyes. Finally, he pulled out the second set of plants and began concocting a second batch.
Ryuzetsu and everyone else all had unsightly expressions on their faces, and gritted their teeth as they began to work on a second batch.
Time passed. By the time the fourth hour of the test had passed, most of the group was finished with their second batch. Muffled rumbling could be heard as... not a single test-taker succeeded.
It was at about this time that Naruto put the jade slip down. His mind was now permeated with the medicine formula for Inkspirit Incense. However, just when everyone thought he was about to begin, they were stunned to see him take out one of the medicinal plants and begin to study it closely.
"What is Naruto doing? He already studied the medicine formula for four hours! What's the point of studying the plants?"
"I know this is a test, but does he really have to go so slow...?"
Sora's eyes were wide with disbelief as he watched everyone else starting their third batches.
The audience waited in befuddlement as the sixth hour of the test arrived. By now, eighteen of the test-takers had all consistently failed. Soon eight hours had passed, then ten. Eventually, four people succeeded in concocting the Inkspirit Incense, including Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, and Iwashi.
The aura of the incense spread out in all directions. Amai was chuckling proudly at being the first person to concoct a second stick of Inkspirit Incense. Looking around proudly, his contempt for Naruto grew.
At this point, Naruto was studying the fourth of the medicinal plants. Occasionally he would even tear a perforation into the plant itself, which left the audience shocked. Even Elder Hayate had noticed.
Time flew by. Soon, twelve hours had passed. Everyone failed in their sixth batch of spirit medicine, except for Amai, who was the only person to succeed.
That caused quite an uproar, and even elicited a slight nod from Elder Hayate.
"This Amai has already concocted three sticks of incense! Nobody else even has more than one!"
"In tests past, two successes meant you passed the test, and four successes made you a Chosen. All Amai has to do is concoct one more stick to become a Chosen!"
As everyone discussed the matter, a gleam of self-confidence could be seen flickering in Amai's eyes as he murmured, "I'll definitely concoct a fourth stick of Inkspirit Incense. I'm going to be Chosen, and I'm going to be the top journeyman apothecary!"
Swishing his sleeve in grand style, he began to work on his seventh batch.
Ryuzetsu's face was ashen as she gritted her teeth and began working on her own seventh batch.
When the fourteenth hour arrived, Ryuzetsu's eyes shone with elation as a medicinal aroma began to spread out from her pill furnace. Even as black smoke rose up from everyone else's seventh batches, she produced the only success!
"I've met the minimum, but mere promotion is not enough!" Ryuzetsu constrained her excitement, taking a deep breath as she, along with the ashen-faced Amai, began work on another batch.
In the sixteenth hour, more rumbling sounds could be heard as yet again... everyone met with failure.
As of this moment, of the nineteen other people besides Naruto who were taking the test, Amai had three successes, Ryuzetsu had two, Tokuma and Iwashi both had one, and everyone else... had nothing but failures.
As for Naruto, he was studying the last of the medicinal plants.
"This test is so hard..."
That was the thought running through the minds of the Outer Sect disciples in the audience. They could feel the anxious pressure building up. Most of the test-takers only had two sets of ingredients left. With the exception of Ryuzetsu and Amai, who had already met the minimum requirement, and Tokuma and Iwashi, who both had one success already, the other test-takers had to succeed with both sets of ingredients, otherwise they would fail completely.
Those remaining disciples were now extremely nervous. Essentially, this ninth batch was the most crucial batch; if they failed, then Elder Hayate wouldn't allow them to waste the ingredients set aside for the tenth batch.
If that ninth batch failed, then... their test-taking effort would be a complete failure.
Filled with apprehension and nervousness, everyone focused completely on their ninth batches... Each and every step received complete and utter attention; those who had already met the minimum requirement wanted to get a better final score, and for those who hadn't met the minimum, they had to do everything they could right now to pass.
Naruto, on the other hand... was sitting there holding the final medicinal plant. Apparently, he was considering some important question about that plant, as his brow was furrowed thoughtfully. By now... few people were paying attention to him.
The eighteenth hour seemed to pass very slowly. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Soon, rumbling sounds echoed out. As for the disciples who had not succeeded at all, they rose to their feet, faces pale, chuckling bitterly. After clasping hands to Elder Hayate, they dejectedly left the square.
One by one, the disciples left, until soon, only six people remained concocting medicine.
Soon, rumbling sounds echoed out from the six test-takers' pill furnaces, and yet a medicinal aroma emitted from only one of those furnaces, the one belonging to Iwashi.
Iwashi's hands were clenched tightly into fists, he was panting, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was more excited right now than he had ever been before; he had met the minimum requirements. With two successes, he passed!
Some people were excited, some were depressed. Five people had failed, two of them being disciples who hadn't succeeded a single time. Sighing, they rose to their feet and left.
Tokuma couldn't be more on edge. He was glaring at Iwashi, heart filled with bitterness and anxiety. Then he looked with bloodshot eyes at the final set of medicinal plants.
Ryuzetsu frowned, then closed her eyes to think. Amai felt the least pressure of all, and yet, he wasn't happy to be stuck with only three successes. He wanted to break through to become Chosen.
"The last batch!" People took deep breaths as they looked out at the square, and the five people left behind. Amai. Ryuzetsu. Iwashi. Tokuma. And of course... Naruto.
Three of them had already met the minimum requirements. Tokuma had one chance left to do so. As for Naruto... people weren't even paying attention to him, and were actually beginning to wonder why he had even come. After eighteen hours, all he had done was study the medicine formula and the medicinal plants. Some people were even wondering... if he had just come to be a part of the excitement.
It was with unprecedented seriousness that Ryuzetsu and the others began to focus completely on their tenth and last batch of spirit medicine. As everyone looked on with fixed gazes, the twentieth hour slowly passed.
Rumbling sounds could then be heard from Iwashi's pill furnace, after which black smoke rose up. He sighed. He had failed in the final batch, but at least he still met the minimum requirements.
In almost the exact same instant that Iwashi failed, Tokuma's pill furnace began to emit a medicinal aroma. His wasn't the only one. Medicinal aromas were also spreading out from Ryuzetsu's and Han Jianye's!
In that instant, all three of their faces lit up with joy as they realized that they had succeeded!
"I did it! Four sticks of Inkspirit Incense! I took the top spot!" Amai shot to his feet and his excited laughter began to ring out in all directions. Ryuzetsu sighed in relief. Although she hadn't reached the level of a Chosen, three successes was still astonishing.
Tokuma felt almost as if he had been resurrected from the dead, and began to laugh heartily.
As of this moment, the feelings that the four of them had been suppressing for the last two hours finally erupted out.
"What a difficult test! The fact that Amai could succeed four times despite this level of difficulty shows that he really is a Chosen!"
"Ryuzetsu got three successes, Tokuma and Iwashi both got two... They all met the requirements to be promoted. I bet if the test wasn't so hard, they all would probably have been able to get four successes!"
Even as everyone began to discuss the matter, as the friends of the test-takers were cheering in support, as Elder Hayate nodded approvingly at Amai and was about to announce that the test was over... Naruto moved.
After fully studying the final plant, and resolving all of the issues he had, Naruto continued to completely ignore all of the clamor around him. He had focused hard on the information in the jade slip, had become completely immersed in the Dao of plants and vegetation, and had even entered a sort of trance.
Nothing short of the crash of thunder and lightning would be able to break his concentration, nor did he even glance at the results of the others' concocting efforts.
Of course, that attracted the attention of some in the audience, including Sora. Curious expressions could be seen on their faces as they looked over, clearly wondering why Naruto had spent so much longer in his initial observations.
"This Naruto is just too slow. Everyone else is finished and he's just starting. Shouldn't the test be over by now?"
"Hmm. You know what, I don't think I ever heard anything about the journeyman apothecary promotion test... having a time limit..." It wasn't clear who exactly said that last sentence, but when people heard it, they began to turn toward Elder Hayate, blank expressions on their faces.
Elder Hayate hesitated for a moment, but the truth was that the journeyman apothecary promotion test really didn't have any time limit. Therefore, he continued to stand there watching Naruto concoct medicine.
Amai wasn't worried at all, and was even chuckling coldly, eyes flashing with disdain. At first, he had been worried that Naruto would be a formidable opponent, but after the way this part of the test had played out, he was convinced that there was no way Naruto could surpass him.
Ryuzetsu's brow was furrowed; Naruto rubbed her wrong no matter how she considered the matter.
Naruto's movements were blindingly fast, and his eyes glowed brightly. To him, the entire world consisted only of that pill furnace. The various medicinal plants rapidly changed form as he kneaded them into pastes, broke them down into powders, or made other preparations. Then, after putting all of the ingredients into the pill furnace, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed at the pill furnace, causing the earthflame underneath to burn brightly.
Two hours flew by, and soon a strong medicinal aroma emanated out from the pill furnace. Naruto waved his hand, causing a four-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense to fly out. As soon as it landed in his palm, he examined it, and then frowned.
Everyone in the audience had very serious expressions on their faces, and Elder Hayate's eyes were flickering. However, just when everyone was expecting Naruto to start his second batch, they realized that instead, he was simply... studying the incense.
"What is he doing?"
"He succeeded! Why hasn't he started the second batch?"
Everyone was looking on, stunned.
As for Naruto, he was looking at the Inkspirit Incense, feeling quite unsatisfied. Although he had indeed succeeded, he knew that based on the ingredients he had used, the incense should have been seven inches long.
"What went wrong?" he thought. Then he contemplated the matter... for six hours.
Just when everyone was getting to the point where they were running out of patience, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he produced a second set of ingredients and began to concoct. Everyone in the audience anxiously watched him work.
Yet again, two hours passed. This time, the medicinal aroma was even stronger than before as a five-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense flew out.
Ryuzetsu's face flickered, and shocked expressions could be seen on the faces of both Tokuma and Iwashi. As for Amai, his eyes flickered, but his expression remained calm. Only he knew that, inwardly, he was starting to get anxious.
Of course, what made him anxious was not just that Naruto had succeeded two times, but that... he might continue to succeed!
Under the shocked gazes of all present, Naruto flicked his sleeve, sending the third set of medicinal plant ingredients out. His third batch was now beginning, and all of the Outer Sect disciples were watching closely.
Two hours passed in silence. Suddenly, the pill furnace shuddered, and a medicinal aroma even stronger than before filled the area as a six-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared!
"Three times in a row! How... could this be happening!?"
"How is Naruto doing this? Could it be that he has actually concocted Inkspirit Incense before?!" Cries of astonishment could be heard because of the successive successes; people could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Ryuzetsu's breath came in ragged pants as she glared at Naruto, waves of shock battering her heart. Tokuma and Iwashi were both gaping dully.
"Three in a row..." Amai thought, clenching his hands into fists. His eyes were now completely bloodshot. "He must already be familiar with Inkspirit Incense. Well, he got lucky with this batch, but the next batch will be a different story!"
Just when everyone was expecting Naruto to start his fourth batch, he held up the six-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense, then frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then everyone waited... for ten hours.
If this sort of thing had happened with the first batch, everyone would have left. But after having seen Naruto succeed three times in a row, they knew that a fourth success would push him past everyone else to the same level as Amai. That was something everyone was itching to see happen.
"Naruto takes way too long! It's only a tier-1 spirit medicine! Why does he need so much time to think about it!?"
Of course, Ryuzetsu and Amai were the most invested of all, and were staring dead at Naruto, completely unwilling to leave.
It was at this point that Naruto's eyes glittered brightly. His eyebrows shot up as he waved both hands, sending plants and vegetation flying out as he began his fourth batch. Everyone was now looking on in complete excitement.
Two hours later, rumbling sounds could be heard, but not the type that indicated a failure had been met. Instead, a powerful blast of medicinal aroma spread out, filling the entire area in the blink of an eye. Then, astonishingly, a seven-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared!
The fourth batch was another success!
The audience went wild.
"Four in a row!"
"I can't believe something like this actually happened... Just how many times will Naruto actually succeed!?"
"Two successes are the requirement to pass, and four makes you Chosen! If I remember correctly, Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai got seven successes back when she was promoted!" As the crowd clamored, Ryuzetsu's face turned very unsightly. Although she was aware that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation far surpassed her own, to see that such a vast gap existed between them in terms of medicine concocting filled her with mixed emotions.
As for Amai, he was grinding his teeth, and his hands were clenched tightly into balls. He was trembling, and couldn't bear to believe what he was seeing. And yet, everything was happening right in front of him, making it impossible for him to deny it.
"Four successes! Four successes has to be his limit. The rest will definitely be failures!"
Everyone in the audience was now buzzing with speculation regarding how many total successes Naruto would achieve. But then, they realized that Naruto was simply staring at the Inkspirit Incense.
"What is this guy doing? He's doing more studying?!" Although they were a bit chagrined, the audience members weren't about to leave now. Instead, they sat there, waiting and watching, looking forward to seeing the results of Naruto's next study session.
Sixteen hours passed before Naruto finally took a deep breath. His eyes were completely bloodshot. Although no one else realized it, the fourth batch he had just produced had come very close to failing.
"This Inkspirit Incense is much, much harder than any of the other spirit medicines I've concocted in the past." Naruto was prudent and meticulous. After thinking back to all the other batches he had produced so far, he identified what the problem was, and after confirming that he could prevent it from happening, began a fifth batch.
He was completely oblivious to any of the conversations around him; when he was concocting medicine, his level of focus exceeded imagination. It didn't matter what anybody said, he wouldn't begin to concoct unless he was absolutely confident in succeeding.
Everyone in the audience had been sitting here for so long that they were completely exhausted, and were having trouble staying focused, and yet they were now all craning their necks to see what was happening.
It didn't take long before more rumbling sounds could be heard, and a medicinal aroma spread out in all directions, a fragrant odor that sent shock into the hearts of everyone present.
The fifth batch was a success!
Amai sat there dumbfounded, heart overwhelmed with bitterness. After a long moment, he simply sighed quietly.
This was the moment the crowd had been waiting for. Naruto waved his sleeve and began the sixth batch.
Before long, more rumbling could be heard, and smell of incense spread out. The sixth batch was a success!
Naruto's eyes glittered. Not pausing for even a moment, he pulled out more medicinal plants and started his seventh batch. However, in almost the exact same instant that he started the seventh batch, an acrid odor suddenly wafted out. It was very faint, and could only be detected by Naruto, and yet it caused his heart to begin pounding.
He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed out, reducing the earthflame temperature. After manipulating the ingredients with the greatest care, he succeeded with the seventh batch!
However, this stick was only three inches long, and contained many impurities, leaving it on the verge of being low-grade, almost toxic. However, as far as the audience was concerned, that still counted as a success!
At this point, the audience was completely and utterly wrapped up in what was happening. Everyone was panting in excitement, especially Sora, whose eyes glowed with disbelief.
"Seven successes... Heavens! Naruto actually succeeded seven times!"
"He's just as good as Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai! I remember hearing that the only person to ever exceed eight successes was a disciple from years ago named Wang Qingshan, an Elder Brother who is now in the supreme position of being in the legacy echelon!"
"Succeeding nine times... is completely unheard-of. Nobody has ever done it!"
The audience was in an uproar, but Naruto was sitting there quietly, looking at the pill furnace. His eyes were bloodshot, and by this point, he wasn't even thinking about the test. He was immersed in thoughts of concocting medicine, and was analyzing the near failure from all angles. Next, he pulled out the ingredients and began to examine them again to try to determine the cause.
"This spirit plant is called inkfruit, and the ink elements within each one are slightly different..." He held the inkfruit in his hand and continued to observe and analyze it.
Time passed, and more wry smiles could be seen on the faces of the audience as they realized what was happening. Although they were excited, Naruto was so thoughtfully slow in medicine concocting that it could make one bristle with anger.
And yet, nobody was willing to leave. The Outer Sect disciples all sat there cross-legged, some of them meditating as they waited for Naruto. Others were so exhausted that they leaned up against nearby boulders to sleep.
A strange expression could be seen on the face of Elder Hayate. Coughing dryly, he sat there cross-legged, waiting.
Of course, Ryuzetsu and Amai weren't going to leave. Although Naruto left them physically and mentally exhausted, they had no choice but to sit there quietly.
Everything was very quiet, except for the occasional snores which echoed out. And yet, people were still waiting, and watching Naruto. Sora was among their number.
Hours passed, during which some people awoke from their sleep to find Naruto sitting there in contemplation. They couldn't help but sigh.
"I can't believe he's still studying."
"The sun is rising..."
Eventually, after more than twenty hours had passed, Naruto suddenly looked up, and his eyes were completely bloodshot.
Naruto was panting. By this point, he was focused to the point of tuning everything else out. He wasn't even worried about whether or not he would succeed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind was occupied with only one thing: how to be completely and utterly confident!
Unless he was totally confident, he wouldn't start the next batch!
When it came to concocting medicine, his cautious and prudent personality was fully on display.
However, even after all the thought he had put into it, he still couldn't figure out how to solve the problem without first standardizing the ink elements within the Inkfruit. Although that wouldn't count as changing the medicine formula, it would be a slight adjustment to it. After a moment of thought, Naruto's eyes flickered with determination.
"The only way is to adjust the formula on a case-by-case basis!" He quickly crushed the Inkfruit.
A squishing sound could be heard as juice flowed out, although Naruto didn't send it into the pill furnace. Instead, he congealed it in the air in front of him, then began to make adjustments here and there.
Most people in the audience were surprised, but didn't really understand what he was doing. Even Naruto himself didn't really think that his actions were anything special; he just felt that this was the best course of action considering the circumstances.
However, Elder Hayate had opened his eyes, and a gleam of shock flickered deep therein. Although he had been a bit surprised that Naruto had succeeded seven times in a row, what he was doing now was far more shocking.
"This Naruto is actually trying to adjust the medicine formula! Incredible! No wonder the peak lord told me to keep an eye on him while he was away from the mountain!" Elder Hayate continued to observe Naruto silently.
A moment later, Naruto waved his hand, flushing away the extra ink elements, leaving behind a drop about the size of a fingernail. After sending it into the pill furnace, he produced the rest of the medicinal plant ingredients and then began his eighth batch!
The pill furnace instantly turned bright red. This time, it didn't take two hours. After enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn, the pill furnace trembled, and a medicinal aroma spread out. The eighth batch had succeeded!
Elder Hayate looked at the pill furnace, and what he saw was a seven-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense that was black with violet specks!
"That's almost mid-grade!" Elder Hayate thought, his eyes shining brightly.
Naruto could also tell that this stick of Inkspirit Incense was different than the others. Although he was initially confused, he suddenly realized why all of the other spirit medicines he had produced before were low-grade.
"The medicine formula isn't standardized... If you adjust things based on your current needs, you can concoct... mid-grade spirit medicines or higher!" Naruto suddenly felt as if the world had been opened up to him. Feeling very excited, and before even waiting for the crowd to break out into an uproar, he started his ninth batch!
Everyone was panting, and nobody was talking. They were all completely and utterly shaken. They might have been excited before, but now that they had personally witnessed Naruto succeed eight times in a row, they were in a state of complete and utter incredulity.
Not only had he surpassed Kurenai, he was now on almost the exact same level as the legacy echelon cultivator Wang Qingshan!
Before everyone could recover from their shock, Naruto rapidly went about concocting the next batch. He only used the time it takes an incense stick to burn before rumbling sounds could be heard from the pill furnace, and a powerful blast of medicinal aroma spread out. The ninth batch... was a success!
"This is unheard-of!"
"Nobody has ever succeeded nine times, and especially not with Inkspirit Incense! Naruto spent an infuriatingly long time thinking, but... but his success rate is completely astonishing!"
Sora's mind was spinning, and his jaw hung wide open. Ryuzetsu felt her heart being battered by waves of astonishment, and couldn't help but think back to the competition, and how Naruto had analyzed that grafted plant.
Amai simply sighed bitterly. Although he was disappointed, he was no longer enraged. If Naruto had surpassed him by a small amount, he might have continued to pursue a grudge, but now, he had to admit that he had lost...
"With only one more success, Elder Brother Naruto will do something nobody has ever done, not even in ancient times! He... is going to pull off a miracle!"
"Boy was it worth it to come watch the test this time. We got stuck here for a few days, but it was definitely worth it!"
As of this moment, Naruto was the center of all attention. Everyone was panting, and their eyes gleamed with intense anticipation. Even Elder Hayate felt completely shocked, and was staring with wide eyes.
Finally, Naruto moved. His eyes shone with focus as he produced the final set of ingredients. After organizing them into the order that he would use them, he began to feed them into the pill furnace, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture to stoke the earthflame.
Time passed in complete silence. The only thing the audience could hear was the beat of their own hearts as they waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn...
An intense rumbling sound could be heard from within the pill furnace. No smoke of failure poured out, and yet, neither did a medicinal aroma. Everyone was shocked.
"Did he fail?" Sora thought, so nervous that his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth.
Naruto stared in shock, but then he suddenly realized what was most likely happening, and his eyes began to shine.
It was at this point that everyone watching could see a scintillating light shining out from the joints and cracks in the pill furnace. Elder Hayate suddenly leapt forward to peer into the pill furnace, within which was a one-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense that was completely violet. His eyes danced with elation.
"Mid-grade!" he said, laughing loudly. Flicking his sleeve, he collected up all of the pill furnaces and sticks of Inkspirit Incense which had been concocted.
"The final round of the test is over. Naruto, Amai, Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, Iwashi, you five have all been promoted to journeyman apothecary! Naruto, you take the top spot and... are awarded 5,000 merit points!"
The crowd dissolved into wild commotion, the sound of which echoed out in all directions.
"Ten successes! He got ten successes!"
"Plus, the final batch produced... a mid-grade product! He's only a journeyman apothecary, but can already concoct mid-grade spirit medicine!"
Sora, Ryuzetsu, Amai, and everyone else present were completely stunned.
It was somewhat grudgingly that Naruto watched the only mid-grade spirit medicine he had ever concocted be whisked away by Elder Hayate. He was of a mind to give voice to his discontent, but Elder Hayate seemed too imposing, and was clearly not going to return the incense.
Naruto sighed and left the square, exhausted. As he walked through the crowd, people looked at him with excitement and admiration. Obviously, the fact that he had succeeded ten times in a row was no fluke, and was something that an ordinary disciple could never do.
"Congratulations on pulling off a miracle, Elder Brother Naruto! This is completely unprecedented!"
"Congratulations, Elder Brother Naruto, I truly admire you!"
"Elder Brother Naruto, I have some questions about plants and vegetation, do you think you could help a Junior Sister out...?"
Naruto blinked. He had been so engrossed in medicine concocting that he had completely tuned everything else out. After seeing what a commotion he had caused, he quickly clasped hands and bowed to the audience.
At the moment, he felt nothing short of elated. Back when no one knew who the little turtle was, he had never been able to find the right opportunity to make a big debut. Now that he had, he was experiencing exactly the feeling he had hoped for.
As for the female disciples who were asking for his help, Naruto instantly nodded in agreement. Furthermore, as for all of the disciples who were calling him Elder Brother Naruto, he asked them to call him Naruto, lest people be unaware of his full name.
Just as he was feeling exceptionally proud of himself, he suddenly caught sight of a young man in the crowd, glaring at him. Naruto instantly recognized him as one of Kurenai's devoted fans. Naruto's face flickered, and he quickly extricated himself from the crowd and sped off.
After hurrying all the way back to his log cabin, he realized that he was feeling a bit dizzy. Having spent days concocting medicine, he was completely drained, and instantly fell asleep on his bed.
He slept for two days straight.
In the afternoon of the third day, he opened his eyes, feeling completely refreshed. Then, he thought back to how he had personally concocted a mid-grade spirit medicine, and how Elder Hayate had then taken it away. Sighing, he took a look at his identity medallion to confirm that 5,000 merit points had been added, and then felt a little bit better.
With those merit points, he could continue to work at concocting medicine, which would also help him cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique. Next, he made a quick trip out of his residence to retrieve seven or eight medicine formulas from the sect. After picking one for vital energy replenishment, he spent some merit points to get a large quantity of medicinal plants.
The entire process went quickly, but he was jumpy with fear the entire time. Wherever he went, it seemed people recognized him, and he even noticed some of Kurenai's fans, who glared at him with cold smiles, then produced jade slips to transmit messages to their cohorts.
Naruto nervously got all the medicinal plants he needed, then headed, not to his courtyard residence, but to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Using the remainder of his merit points, he bought an entire year's worth of time, and then holed up.
"I was a bit careless this time... Hmph. Just wait 'til I come out. I'm going to make a big breakthrough in my Undying Iron Skin, and if you people mess with me... Well, if you come at me one at a time, I'll take you out. If you gang up... then I'll just call for the peak lord!" Snorting coldly, he began to concoct medicine there in the workshop.
He could well imagine how, during those two days in which he had slept, word of him being promoted to journeyman apothecary had spread. In fact, it wouldn't take long before the entire Fragrant Cloud Peak was talking about it.
And of course, that was exactly what happened. Furthermore, many people were already speculating that Naruto... was the little turtle!
There were too many coincidences for there to be any other explanation. Not only had he shown amazing talent with both plants and vegetation and spirit creatures, but Naruto had concocted a mid-grade spirit medicine. He had even passed the journeyman apothecary test with ten successes in a row.
Kurenai's fans immediately sprang into action, as did Ryuzetsu's fans. However, none of them realized how cautious Naruto was, so much so that he would never return to his residence, but would instead stay at the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Then they found out that he had purchased an entire year's worth of time in one of the workshops, and they were instantly enraged.
However, the Medicine Concocting Pavilion wasn't a place that they could just barge into. Furthermore, Naruto's new status struck fear into their hearts. Although they couldn't really do anything to him, if they roughed him up to teach him a lesson, the sect wouldn't care. After all, people who provoked those above their skill level would get what they deserved.
However, there was nothing to be done now, so the group which had gathered to catch Naruto dispersed begrudgingly. However, there was one of their number, a pock-faced young man, who looked at the Medicine Concocting Pavilion with a cold smile.
"You think that hiding in there will keep you safe from me? I couldn't care less that you beat up my cousin Ebisu. However, you bullied my beloved Junior Sister Kurenai, and also my most cherished Junior Sister Du. Plus, my favorite of all, Junior Sister Hou, won't stop talking about you. Naruto, you might have talent in plants and vegetation, but killing you won't be any trouble at all for me!" The young man laughed coldly. He was none other than the Inner Sect disciple surnamed Zori, Zori!
Naruto spent one carefree day after another in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, either concocting medicines or cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique. As the days went by, he truly did advance by leaps and bounds in the Undying Live Forever Technique.
His skin became tougher and more durable, and he could move even faster than before.
"Another two days, and my Undying Iron Skin will be complete!" Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with elation.
However, it was on that very night at dusk that, all of a sudden, a green beam of light shot from the Missions Offices toward the Medicine Pavilion. It completely bypassed the protective shields surrounding the pavilion, and appeared right there inside of Naruto's workshop.
Naruto gaped in shock at the command medallion which was now hovering in front of him!