Three days had passed since the grand auction ended, and during that time, Li Yun had locked himself away, wholly devoted to a single goal, refining a perfect-grade marrow cleansing potion.
When the final wisp of medicinal essence fused together and a brilliant white glow shimmered from the jade bottle before him, his hands trembled, and his heart surged with uncontrollable excitement.
For the past month, he had poured his time, energy, and spirit into this pursuit, yet failure had been his constant companion. Each attempt had ended with nothing more than ordinary-grade or intermediate-grade results, and though he occasionally produced excellent-grade potions, it never once satisfied him.
To others, such results would have been astonishing enough, but for Li Yun, anything less than perfection gnawed at his pride.
Now, at last, after countless failed batches, the moment he longed for had arrived. A true perfect-grade marrow cleansing potion sat in his hand, radiating purity.
His eyes burned with determination. "Let's refine some more," he muttered, refusing to stop with just one.
But the road to mastery was never smooth. Some batches still came out as excellent-grade, others ordinary, while only a few reached perfection.
Dissatisfied with inconsistency, Li Yun set himself to the furnace again and again, pushing his focus and control to the absolute limit. The failures no longer discouraged him; they became stepping stones.
He dissected each mistake, refined his every motion, adjusted his timing, and forced himself to repeat the process without rest. His obsession left little room for food or sleep, only the cauldron's glow and the faint medicinal fragrance filled his world.
Two more days passed in relentless effort. Finally, his persistence bore fruit. With each attempt, flawless potions emerged one after another, until not a single failure remained. He had done it, Li Yun had reached the point where every batch he refined yielded perfect-grade marrow cleansing potions.
For the first time, he truly felt worthy of calling himself a master.
Li Yun let out a quiet breath, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Now, I can truly be called the supreme senior pharmacist of Azure Wind City."
In this city, the hierarchy of pharmacists was strict and absolute. Anyone capable of producing a Bone Refining Potion earned the recognition of a junior pharmacist, while those who managed to refine the rarer Marrow Cleansing Potion were elevated to the esteemed rank of senior pharmacist.
But Li Yun had gone beyond that, he had successfully created a perfect-grade Marrow Cleansing Potion, something no one else in Azure Wind City could boast of.
By that accomplishment alone, he stood unrivaled, a class above every other pharmacist.
Supreme Senior Pharmacist.
A title of Supreme was only given to those who could refine prefect grade medicine.
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[Ding! Quest Completed: "Tough Alchemist Path – Noob Challenge."]
[Reward: 5000 gold coins, 500 Experience Points and pill formula of Body Tempering Pill]
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"Oh? The mission's completed?" Li Yun's eyes lit up as he glanced at the notification. Without wasting a second, he flipped through the list of ingredients required to concoct a Body Tempering Pill. His gaze halted the moment he spotted it, purple fruit, listed as one of the main components.
A satisfied smile curved his lips. "Good." He had managed to secure two full batches of the fruit, ten in total, entirely for himself. Even though he had already given one to Li Hua, he didn't regret it in the slightest. For her, it was more than worth it.
With that thought, Li Yun put everything aside and left his room. Today was the day his sister, Li Hua, would depart from the Li Family of Azure Wind City to return to Stone Wood Town.
He met her in the courtyard, and together they walked out of the Li Family estate. Along the way, Li Yun accompanied her a little farther, the two siblings talking warmly, sharing laughter and memories that softened the weight of parting. But eventually, Li Hua's figure grew smaller in the distance, until her back finally vanished from his sight.
Only then did Li Yun turn back, swiftly returning to his courtyard. Before entering, he ordered the guards to ensure that no one disturbed him under any circumstances. Once inside, he shut himself away and threw his full focus into refining. Batch after batch of perfect-grade Marrow Cleansing Potions took shape beneath his steady hands.
By the time he finally stopped, a hundred flawless batches were lined before him. Li Yun's eyes gleamed as he whispered to himself, "With these perfect-grade Marrow Cleansing Potions, my cultivation will soar. My strength will far surpass anyone at the same level."
Without hesitation, he uncorked a bottle and downed it in one smooth gulp.
The moment Li Yun swallowed the potion, a violent, searing warmth erupted inside his body. It surged through his veins like molten fire before burrowing deep into his marrow. Agonizing pain exploded from within his bones, making it feel as though his entire skeleton was being shattered and reforged at once.
But Li Yun did not flinch. Gritting his teeth, he immediately sank into a cross-legged position and began circulating the second move of the Iron Pulse Fist Art, the Myriad Marrow Breathing Technique.
His breathing slowed and deepened, every inhalation drawing in the medicinal essence, every exhalation releasing the impurities lurking within his marrow. He could almost hear the faint crackling inside his bones as threads of black, foul impurities seeped out from his pores.
One bottle after another, he continued. The bitter, fiery liquid slid down his throat again and again, each time unleashing another storm of scorching energy within him. He clenched his fists and endured the torment, forcing the Myriad Marrow Breathing Technique to guide the rampaging energy into every corner of his marrow.
Hours turned into days. Bottles piled up around him, the air thick with the acrid stench of expelled impurities. Li Yun's body was drenched in sweat and filth, his robes clinging to him as though soaked in poison. Yet his eyes remained firm, unyielding. He refused to stop.
Fifty bottles. Seventy. Ninety. Still, he pushed forward. Only after the hundredth batch had been consumed did he finally halt, his body trembling, his marrow cleansed to its very limit. His breathing steadied, his aura stronger and more refined than before.
But when he opened his eyes, a flicker of frustration flashed within them. His strength had only risen to the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Even after consuming one hundred batches of perfect-grade potions, he had not broken through further.
Li Yun let out a long breath, a faintly bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Supreme Foundation… The name is fitting. The resources it demands are beyond anything I've ever encountered."
In truth, what he had consumed was enough to shake entire families. In Azure Wind City, a hundred bottles of perfect-grade Marrow Cleansing Potions would be treated as family-protecting treasures, jealously guarded, only taken out for the most gifted heirs when their futures were on the line.
By ordinary standards, just twenty of those potions would have been more than sufficient to push a martial artist from the early stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm straight to its peak.
But Li Yun was anything but ordinary. He had devoured all one hundred bottles, absorbed and refined every last trace of medicinal essence to its absolute limit. And yet… his cultivation had only risen to the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.
His wry smile lingered, but his eyes gleamed with determination. The path he walked was not one that could be measured by common standards.