*Ten Steles, First Place!*
The entirety of the three peaks on the South Bank of the Spirit Stream Sect was shaken to its core.
Inside and outside the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion, a deafening roar of voices erupted, echoing in all directions. Countless people rushed over to see the ten steles—all now topped by the image of a little turtle. Gasps filled the air.
"First place on all ten steles—this little turtle actually did it!"
"The last time someone in our Spirit Stream Sect achieved this was a thousand years ago. I never thought I'd live to see it with my own eyes!"
Exclamations rang out from the crowd. Although many had somewhat expected this result, witnessing it happen was still shocking. Especially since, in the final three months, the turtle had taken a stele each month—it was a blazing pace that left everyone awestruck.
"Just who is this little turtle... In only half a year, he's swept from the third stele to all ten, like a force of nature, making a name for himself!"
"His knowledge of plants completely surpasses Zhou Xinqi. Could it be that Fragrant Cloud Peak will soon have another apothecary besides her?"
At that very moment, as the little turtle claimed first place on all ten steles, the steles trembled and let out deep rumbles. The sounds merged together and, incredibly, a low humming bell-like sound rose from the peak of Fragrant Cloud Mountain.
It was like a massive wooden mallet was striking a medicinal cauldron. The deep, booming tone echoed throughout the mountain, spreading across the South Bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. Even a faint medicinal fragrance drifted through the air, invisibly blanketing the surroundings. The clouds around Fragrant Cloud Peak visibly thickened.
Atop the mountain, inside a cave abode, Elder Zhou was feeding his cherished multicolored spirit birds with spirit food. When he heard the cauldron chime, surprise lit his eyes.
"The Fragrant Cloud Cauldron is ringing?" His divine sense immediately swept out, instantly detecting the changes at the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion. His expression shifted, and he soared into the air.
Not long after, Elder Sun and other Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared one by one, all drawn by the ringing of the cauldron. They looked on with joy and astonishment.
The last to appear was Li Qinghou. He had been in meditation, but when he heard the sound, his expression changed too. He flew into the sky in a streak of rainbow light, heading straight for the Pavilion.
As the bell-like chime echoed, more and more people were stirred into motion. Outer and inner sect disciples alike stepped out of their dwellings and gazed toward the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
"That's… the sound of the Fragrant Cloud Cauldron, our peak's greatest treasure!"
"There must've been someone who achieved first place on all ten steles in the Pavilion! This hasn't happened in a thousand years!"
Even Green Crest and Violet Cauldron Peaks were disturbed. Zhang Dapang was hanging his head while a gorgeous, seductive woman scolded him—this was the "old hag" he had once complained to Bai Xiaochun about. Her expression changed when she heard the chime, raising her head to look. Zhang Dapang blinked in confusion and followed her gaze.
"The Fragrant Cloud Cauldron is chiming… could a disciple have achieved perfection in some assessment?"
A similar scene unfolded on Green Crest Peak, where elders and peak leaders turned their attention to the Pavilion.
More and more people gathered outside the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
Bai Xiaochun stood among the crowd, listening to the commotion and gazing at the ten steles. For once, he didn't join the cheers. Instead, an indescribable feeling rose in his heart. He stood quietly, a gentle smile on his face—free of pride or arrogance, just pure joy and contentment.
In over a year, starting from the first stele, he had created a miracle—first place on all ten. But that fame meant little to him. What truly mattered was the solid foundation he had built: his mastery of plants, spirit beasts, and everything a medicine apprentice needed to know.
Looking back on those countless days and nights spent obsessively studying herbs and creatures, Bai Xiaochun felt emotional and introspective.
Across the entire Spirit Stream Sect, not even inner sect disciples could claim a stronger foundation in medicinal plant knowledge than him. At that moment, Bai Xiaochun felt truly satisfied.
Soon, streaks of rainbow light whistled through the air. Each beam carried a cultivator radiating astonishing power—Elder Zhou, Elder Sun, and even Li Qinghou were among them.
They all stared at the ten steles and the little turtle ranked at the top of each one. Their eyes glowed with admiration. Li Qinghou, in particular, blinked upon seeing the turtle image. Then, his expression turned strange before he burst out laughing. As he swept his gaze over the crowd and spotted Bai Xiaochun, a flicker of deep, hidden praise flashed in his eyes—visible only to himself.
He flicked his wide sleeve, laughed heartily again, and flew off in high spirits. He had guessed immediately: this little turtle could only be Bai Xiaochun.
After the elders departed, inner sect disciples began arriving. They stared at the turtle on the steles with expressions of disbelief. Having once been outer sect disciples themselves, they knew just how difficult it was to challenge the stele tests.
"For an outer sect disciple to reach this level, he must be a true prodigy…"
"Hmph. We inner disciples focus on refining actual medicine. No matter how deep his plant knowledge, if he can't make pills, it's useless!" Some of them showed admiration, while others looked down on him. But regardless of their opinions, they had all deeply taken note of this turtle. Many even felt a subtle sense of wariness.
Though they didn't know how well this person could refine pills in the future, the strength of his foundation would make becoming a true apothecary far easier.
The commotion around the Pavilion continued—until Zhou Xinqi appeared.
Standing on a strip of flowing blue silk, she looked at the ten steles and the turtle image, and the crowd gradually fell silent, turning their eyes toward her.
Being completely suppressed across all ten steles left a trace of unwillingness in her gaze. She had always been the one to make others feel inferior—but now, the tables had turned, and she was forced into silence.
"Who are you…?" Zhou Xinqi bit her lip. Though she resented this outcome, her past attempts had proven that the little turtle's knowledge of plants was on an unimaginable level. She no longer felt confident she could surpass him. After a long pause, she engraved the turtle into her memory.
"In medicinal plant knowledge… you are indeed stronger than me. But once you become a medicine apprentice, let's see if you can outshine me forever!" Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath, her expression slowly calming. She had already taken the assessment and advanced to become an apprentice. After one last look at the steles, she turned and vanished.
"This is only the first stop on my path to becoming a great apothecary!" Bai Xiaochun, still in the crowd, gave one final glance at the ten steles, then turned and walked away.
The shock of the ten-steles-first-place achievement continued to ripple for months. People kept discussing it—especially whenever they visited the Pavilion and saw the turtle etched onto each stele.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xinqi's admirers searched everywhere, determined to uncover the turtle's identity at any cost. The young man surnamed Qian was particularly furious and threw himself into the hunt.
The entire South Bank of the sect was stirred into chaos. As everyone talked about the little turtle day after day, Bai Xiaochun was in his courtyard, eyes bloodshot, focusing intently on a floating leaf.
He was studying the realm of treating light as heavy. In truth, he'd been experimenting with this concept for over six months, but he had only been able to sense a trace of it and couldn't fully integrate it.
Now that the events at the Pavilion had passed, and with Zhou Xinqi's fanboys frantically trying to uncover his identity, Bai Xiaochun felt a growing sense of danger. So, he decided to lie low and devote himself entirely to this technique.
"Treating heaviness as light is about speed. But treating light as heavy… is about control!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes reflected deep contemplation—this was his current insight.
"Or rather, it's a way to generate explosive force from within using one's spiritual energy!" His eyes gleamed. He had already reached the sixth level of Qi Condensation. His spiritual energy flowed like a great river, and he had long since mastered treating heaviness as light, achieving incredible speed.
He realized that these so-called realms were essentially different ways to channel spiritual power—like how a flat leaf might lift a small stick, but a curled one could lift a pebble, and if woven together, even heavier objects.
The material was the same—the difference was how it was combined. That's where the strength came from.
And treating light as heavy was exactly that—a method. Once mastered, it meant stepping fully into that realm.
Bai Xiaochun pondered this deeply. He waved his hand, and a leaf from a distant tree floated before him. Through relentless experimentation, the leaf would sometimes move like lightning, and other times descend as if burdened by a mountain.
If one try failed, he tried ten. If ten failed, he tried a hundred. If a hundred wasn't enough… then a thousand, ten thousand more.
He didn't know how many times he had attempted it. Every leaf in his courtyard had been destroyed. He went out and collected more. Eventually, he had harvested leaves from every non-spiritual plant on Fragrant Cloud Mountain.
And finally, one dusk, Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up. He formed a hand seal and pointed. The willow leaf before him seemed to float gently—but the moment it dropped, it landed with the force of a falling boulder.
*Boom!* The ground of the courtyard shook violently. The leaf seemed as heavy as a mountain.
"I did it!" Bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement. Bai Xiaochun stood, flung out his hand, and his wooden sword shot forward like a black streak. It vanished in a blur, now not only faster than before but at least twice as powerful. A faint piercing whistle even accompanied its flight.
*Boom!* In the distance, a massive rock shattered into fragments on impact.
That kind of power was far beyond what a sixth-level Qi Condensation cultivator should possess. Even those at the seventh or eighth level would be stunned to see it.