Chapter 39: Elixir Refinement (2)


    One hourter.


    Tarek''s eyes were partially hooded with intense concentration. The fingers on his left hand twitched with small jerks against the Ignition te, almost mirroring the me that danced along the bottom of the cauldron.


    Every once in a while, strands of Profound Qi swam to his fingertips to ensure the persistent connection between the Ignition te and his tiring Soul Force, reflecting the increasing weariness hidden behind his calm expression. His right hand was manipting the stirring rod, continuously maneuvering the concoction with practice swirls to ensure even heat distribution.


    Suddenly, a refreshing fragrance blossomed from the cauldron, causing his eyes to open wide, blue irises rippling with recognition.


    ''Sess!''


    His left hand lifted from the Ignition te, me dissipating as his right hand removed the stirring rod. Then, he reached to the side of the cauldron to quickly turn a small knob, which caused a fine mesh strainer to ascend from the bottom of the cauldron, lifting the dregs away from the glistening, yellow-colored Spirit Elixir. He unhurriedly boxed those dregs away, as they were still full of vitality necessary for the concoction of Fertilizing Elixir.


    When he ced an empty elixir bottle directly underneath the cauldron, a smile couldn''t be suppressed as he watched the yellow liquid quickly emptying into the small ss. After it was full to the brim, Tarek carefully ced a metal cap on top.


    At this moment, another explosion erupted nearby.


    <em>Boom!!</em>


    From afar, an Elder instructed, Examinee number 1, your Examination isplete. Please patiently wait at the seating area to your right. Examinee number 7, please remain standing by your work-surface for the time being."


    The barrier dispersed, unleashing the pungent smell of cinder. Small sniffles caused Tarek''s eyebrows to lift. Subtly, Tarek nced forward towards the figure standing closest to the ming barrier.


    ''She should be that Grade 1 Dao Root genius''


    A couple silent inhalester, he judged, purely from the burning smell, that she must have been very close to sessfullypleting a Qi Refinement Elixir.


    Rubbing her face with her sleeves, the girl quickly turned away and towards the row of mostly upied chairs, leading Tarek''s gaze towards the seated, golden-haired child smiling with his thumb raised in his direction.


    Tarek smiled in return before turning back to examine the rest of the examinees refining their Spirit Elixirs. Looking backwards first, he saw that there were only six disciples still working. But once he turned back towards the front, to Tarek''s surprise, he realized that was not the first to finish.


    A startlingly tall disciple standing rxed against his work-surface. As if feeling Tarek''s gaze, the disciple turned around with a careless smile that shook Tarek''s self-assurance. From the disciple''sckadaisical posture, he seemed to havepletely refined his Spirit Elixir long ago!


    If Tarek had been utilizing a difficult Elixir Refinement Technique, he wouldn''t have felt so disconcerted. But his Dual Petaled Elixir Refinement Technique was one of the simplest within Tier 1! The fact that he, someone from a distinguished family with plentiful Elixir Refinement experience, was outpaced by some unknown bloke within the Outer Sect caused doubt to roil about inside Tarek''s heart.


    ''No way. Who exactly is this guy? Even if he''s from another Outer Sect mountain, I should have heard of someone like this...''


    Although Tarek smiled back, his mind couldn''t resist spinning with fervent concentration, contemting his previous refinement process and where he could have performed better.


    ...


    Elder Judas patrolled the work-surfaces belonging to the remaining eight disciples, eyes thoughtful as he nced ever so briefly at theirpleted assignments.


    "I have to say, I''m surprised."


    Walking back towards the front, Elder Judas'' voice was suddenly ringing with jubtion as he continued, "Eight of you have managed toplete the refining process safely, which is more than we expected. But what''s truly surprising is that two of you refined perfectly stable Spirit Elixirs with no seepage of Profound Qi!


    Pointing three fingers forward, three metal-embellished, wooden boxes floated towards three disciples. The box thatnded in a twenty-year-old disciple''s excited grasp was iid with bronze metal. The silver box fell into Tarek''s grasp. And finally, the tall youngster standing received the gold box.


    "Congrattions to the winners! Each of you will be receiving a Lesser Spirit nt as your reward for disying proficiency beyond your peers. And to the rest of you who made it this far, be sure tomend your three fellow disciples for their outstanding skill and acumen in this final assessment."


    pping rang through the hall as the disciples jumped up to congratte the winners, some admiring the winners of the Spirit nts while others secretly envious of those receiving them.


    ...


    Auslen smiled with praise as he skipped up to Tarek, whispering, "Hey, remember to show me what you gotter."


    "You''re curious?" Tarek asked, slightly surprised.


    After hanging around Auslen for some time, he had noticed that Auslen was a rather withdrawn child, somewhat even hermit-like at times. He rarely showed much interest in things that didn''t involve him directly and almost never left his cave-abode, outside of his time at the Elixir Refinement Hall.


    Though, if Tarek had his own over-the-top residence like Auslen''s and wasn''t forced to reside in that dingy, damp cave, perhaps he also would be a bit of a home-body.


    "I can just show you now." Tarek smiled, not worried about the prying eyes of the surrounding disciples. Disregarding his connections within the Sect, no one within the Outer Sect would dare covet an item so publicly gifted by a Chief Sect Elder.


    Seeing as Tarek was willing, Auslen felt it unnecessary to argue.


    Tarek held the silver-iid box a little lower, pressing gently on the top until it burst open to reveal a jade interior. Sitting inside was a gorgeous nt with dozens of red, tri-petaled flowers, each emitting a soft, warm radiance. The feather-like petals fluttered in spite of the absence of wind, and with Tarek''s every movement, the stems released faint rattling sounds that resembled the distinctive calls of a crane.


    <em>Is that...</em>


    "Holy Heavens, it''s a ming Crane Flower!" One of the nearby disciples shouted.


    "What?! That''s a Spirit nt with a Rare Grade Bloodline!"


    "Let me see!"


    As neither of the other two winners showed any inclination of revealing their prizes, the rest of the disciples flooded over to Tarek''s side, trying their best to get even a small glimpse of the Spirit nt.


    During this episode of excitement, Xue Yimeng''s white-robed figure silently stepped down a nearby flight of marble stairs. Even as she walked through the second floor with her strangely slow pace, not one of the disciples was able to perceive her existence.


    <em>"Natalie."</em>


    Once the cold voice transmission entered her mind, the blonde girl, who was still sitting by herself in the seating area, raised her slightly wetshes as she gazed up to the beautiful woman standing in front of her.


    <em>"We''re leaving."</em>


    With no words of motivation or encouragement, Xue Yimeng turned away from Natalie and continued her slow journey towards the descending staircase.


    As if her earlier brimming confidence had shattered, Natalie began tearing up once again. But she had no choice but to follow along, ncing back towards the winners and the other disciples, who all seemed to have forgotten about her presence.


    ...


    "She won''t make it far as a cultivator if such a small failure could affect her so heavily." One of the Elder''s softlymented, voice so low and fast that it resembled a wisp of wind that only the surrounding Elders could perceive.


    "Don''t be like that" Elder Judas replied from a distance, lips blurring from the speed. "She''s one of the few Grade 1 Dao Root geniuses within the Sect, so it''s only natural that she''ll be a bit spoiled. No one expected much from the girl today. But by achieving first ce in the theoretical portions, she at least managed to not disgrace the abundant preference the Sect has shown her so far.


    "Her upset is purely from failing to meet her own expectations, which is better than a talent thatcks motivation. Give her some time."


    Elder Judas smiled as his gaze scanned the nodding Elders, who were all silently standing up with the intention to lead the newly-promoted Apprentice Alchemists out of the Alchemy Assessment Pce.


    <em>"You don''t have any opposition about the results, do you Lin?"</em> Elder Judas'' voice transmission held notes of teasing. Even if the gray-haired man did haveints, Elder Judas didn''t care. <em>"Don''t forget to send me what you promised!"</em>


    Elder Lin''s teeth were clenched, but he ignored the jab. After ncing towards the tall, grinning youngster one final time, he set his doubts aside and stepped forward, instantly arriving in the mob of disciples surrounding Tarek.


    With an upward wave, five figures, including Auslen and Tarek, shot up into the air before floating down outside the crowd.


    "It''s time for us to leave. We still have work to do. Lets go!"


    Elder Lin stalked off like usual, forcing the rest of the disciples to quickly follow behind him.


    As they walked down the stairs, someone whispered, I know that it''s only been about an hour or so outside of this Ruin Fragment, but couldnt he have given us a day off or something? Weve been testing for ten hou


    Elder Lins head whipped back to re at the talkative disciple, shocking them into hurriedly closing their mouth.


    In a wlessly designed and decorated bedroom, far away from the Heaven-Reaching Mountains of the Eastern Empyrean Continent, a heavy wooden door was being pushed open with a pair of fair, white hands.


    Excuse me for my rudeness, Your Highness, A gentle, subservient voice resounded. Its nearing time for your Coming-of-Age Banquet.


    On a bed far toorge for any one person, a young boy was lying there underneathyers of thick bedding, wrapped in a thin, silky-smooth ck robe.


    After several moments of silence, a pretty young maidservant stepped forward into the room.


    As usual, the napping boy didnt show any response to the wake-up call, however, as soon as the maid approached, hisshes flew open, revealing a pair of piercing, metallic blue irises that darted straight towards the enclosing maids figure.


    Noticing the adorable boys exorbitant, but habitual vignce, the maid stepped back with a harmless smile adorning her face, waiting for the young child to calm himself. After the past year as his personal maidservant, she had gotten used to this strange ritual the two of them enacted nearly every day.


    This six-year-old had a difficult time getting to sleep, and he had just as difficult a time waking.


    Recognition shing in his young eyes, the boy remained silent but his ashen eyes grew a modicum more approachable. He reached out his arms towards the maids outstretched hands, finally allowing her to assist him out of his bed.


    Once his feet hit the carpeted ground, he turned to march himself directly towards the balcony doors, his pale skin and small red lips visible in the reflection of the closed ss doors. Warm light from the evening sun washed over his undeveloped features beautifully.


    Familiar with his routine, the maid hurriedly followed him, sessfully opening the balcony doors by the time the boy arrived.


    Walking forward into therge balcony, he stopped after a few steps. His hands held onto the wrought-iron railing, which was still dripping wet from the earlier spring shower, as he gazed out past the Apricot and Orange trees into the environment that epassed him.


    Underneath the cloud-filled sky, heedless wealth radiated from the vast swathes of magnificent architecture. Golden pces, intricate carved embellishments, crimson-tiled roofs, shining marble statues immortalizing both human and animalistic figures.


    But none of the oppressive opulence moved the child.


    Maria?


    Hmm? She couldnt help the audible surprise that slipped from her closed lips after being acknowledged by the silent boy. As far as she could remember, this was the first time he had spoken a word to her.


    Standing at a respectful distance behind the boy, Maria straightened her posture to rid herself of her embarrassment while she quickly amended, Yes, Your Highness?


    Ive turned six today.


    That you have, Your Highness.


    Ivee of age. He made another uncharacteristic announcement.


    Smiling happily, Maria repeated, That you have, Your Highness.


    ... Then, Ill be leaving this ce soon, wont I?


    After the conclusion of the boys soft, enunciated sentence, Maria paused, staring at the small back in front of her for a few silent moments.


    Yes, you will, Your Highness. She answered quietly.


    It wasnt until then that the boy turned around. His expression remained muted, however, his eyes gleamed with discernible expectation.


    The boy stepped from the balcony, allowing Maria to close the ss doors once more.


    Dress me, the child ordered.


    Laughing internally with both amusement and faint heartache, the maid rang a bell that was hanging from the midsection of her robe.


    A secondter, droves of servants entered through the bedroom door, surrounding the boy with serious efficiency as they worked busily. While somebored on his long, inky ck hair, others draped thick, ck ptial robes around his small frame, golden images of a coiling flood dragon and a fiery phoenix expertly stitched onto the expensive, satin exterior.