Chapter 36: Refiner Qualifications

At this very moment, someone spent a hefty sum to pin a message at the top of the chat channel in Yunhuang City.

From the leader of a major guild, [A Drop in the Ocean]: “F*ck, what’s the deal with this Lone Ranger at the top of the level rankings? Is this a BUG or what?”

Soon after, players all opened the level leaderboard.

[Yunhuang City Level Leaderboard]

1. 1. 1. 1. Lone Ranger — Lv17, Elemental Archer.

1. 1. 1. 1. Han Gongque — Lv16, Holy Spirit Mage.

1. 1. 1. 1. Qingfeng Beiqi — Lv15, Wandering Blade (Assassin).

1. 1. 1. 1. Huaxia Junhun — Lv15, Dragonblood Swordsman.

…

After seeing who was at the top of the rankings, players immediately exploded in shock.

The leaderboard had 100 spots, and no one had ever seen the name [Lone Ranger] on it before. Although he had a decent reputation, his level had always been unremarkable.

Yet suddenly, this person jumped straight to first place, skipping multiple levels in one go. This kind of monstrous leveling speed was absolutely unheard of.

“F*ck, the Lone Hero is finally showing his true strength!”

“Insane! I checked his level half an hour ago—he was only level 12! He just shot up 5 levels at once. The man is a walking bug!”

“Even golden bosses don’t give that much experience when killed, right?”

“Too badass for words! Leveling up 5 times in one go—stuff like this only happens in dreams, but now it’s real…”

“This is total bullshit. How could anyone level up 5 times in a row?”

In the chat channel, players were spamming messages like mad…

It wasn’t just casual players—even guild leaders from major alliances were utterly baffled.

Gaining two or even three levels at once might still be plausible, but five levels? That’s just too much!!!

What’s more—he even had a hidden class.

…

In Yunhuang City, a player wearing nothing but white boxer briefs twisted his face in rage when he heard the system announcement. He looked to the sky and howled, “F*ck you Lone Ranger! You stole my stuff—you’ll die a terrible death, you heaven-damned bastard!”

“What’s that dude doing?”

“No idea. I think he said Lone Ranger stole his woman.”

“For someone like Lone Ranger, who works quietly behind the scenes for the good of the people, what woman wouldn’t fall for him? If I were a girl, I’d be into him too.”

“A poor guy, truly.”

…

The scene returns to Misty Rain Forest.

There wasn’t a single drop of loot left on the Purple Horned Python King.

Jiang Chen turned and entered the mountain cave behind him, enduring the pungent stench as he headed deeper in.

The visibility inside was terrible—pitch black. It took quite a while before his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

After carefully surveying the area, he noticed a few rare herbs growing sporadically on the walls of the cave.

However, none of them were the Jade Serpent Orchid he needed. Although they were high-grade ingredients that made Jiang Chen drool, he had no herbalism skill, so he had to leave them.

There were no extra monsters in the cave, and Jiang Chen kept exploring deeper and deeper. Finally, in the very deepest part, he spotted a white herb with serpent-like scales.

Squatting beside it triggered the quest’s collection mechanism, and soon Jiang Chen obtained the Jade Serpent Orchid.

Quest complete. He immediately returned to Coldflower Valley.

He was in such a rush only because he wanted the Revival Potion—the final step in resurrecting the Lava King. With this tanky golden boss as a pet, his monster farming speed would increase dramatically.

…

Back in the small hut deep in Coldflower Valley, Jiang Chen found Han Yunmeng.

“That was fast…”

The beautiful NPC didn’t seem surprised. She calmly took the Jade Serpent Orchid and gave a few generic lines of dialogue before handing Jiang Chen his reward.

“Congratulations on completing the quest [Proof]. You’ve earned EXP +10,000, Gold +1.”

“[Hundredfold Reward] triggered. Final reward: EXP +1,000,000, Gold +100!”

As the notification chimed, golden light rose beneath Jiang Chen’s feet. His level increased to Lv18—the milestone of Lv20 was now within reach.

“To become a Refinement Master, aptitude is essential.”

Han Yunmeng said this as she headed back inside her hut.

“Refinement Masters can fully unleash the medicinal properties of herbs. The potions they create are several times more potent than ordinary ones. This is a lost art, and I’m one of the few who still carry the ancient tradition.”

“What do I need to do?” Jiang Chen asked.

Han Yunmeng returned to the counter and began taking out herbs from the medicine cabinet behind her. It was unclear what she was planning.

Soon, thirteen different medicinal ingredients lay on the table.

“The simplest way to test one’s aptitude is through practice. If you truly possess the talent of a Refinement Master, you’ll gain some insight even during your first attempt.”

Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched. So now he had to refine medicine…

“Ding! You’ve received guidance from Han Yunmeng. Obtained [Refinement Recipe — Life Potion · Refined]!”

A new recipe appeared in his memory—it felt like a sudden epiphany. The system said he’d learned it, and just like that, he had.

Han Yunmeng rested her delicate chin on one hand and watched Jiang Chen with a slight smile.

She had no expectations at all.

To successfully refine a complete refined potion just from a recipe?

Impossible.

As for why she’d arranged this “assessment,” it was simply because she wanted this so-called “adventurer of the future” (according to Jona) to understand how noble the path of the Refinement Master truly was.

In fact, the moment Jiang Chen mastered the Heart of Elements, Han Yunmeng had already decided to take him as a disciple unconditionally. But the greatest taboo for a Refinement Master was arrogance—so he needed to be taught a humbling lesson.

“Don’t you need a cauldron for refining medicine?” Jiang Chen asked.

“Here, use mine.” Han Yunmeng’s snow-white hand flipped, revealing a jade-white three-legged cauldron.

“Bloodleaf Grass.”

“Hui Su Fruit.”

“Scarlet Apricot.”

…

Following the timing and order required by the recipe, Jiang Chen placed the ingredients one by one into the white jade cauldron.

“Zhenmu Vermilion Fruit.”

The last herb went in. Inside the cauldron, a purplish-red flame began to refine the materials on its own.

“Boom—”

Suddenly, the white jade cauldron trembled slightly. Then it glowed intensely. A muffled bang followed, and the light faded away.

Jiang Chen frowned.

Han Yunmeng assumed he was discouraged and gently consoled him with a smile: “It’s perfectly normal for refining to fail. Cauldron explosions happen. Don’t lose heart—you have potential. I’ll teach you properly in the future…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Chen silently pulled out a potion.

Han Yunmeng’s beautiful eyes widened in shock. Her exquisite face was filled with disbelief.

This wasn’t just a success—it was perfection!

Because the potion shimmered with a tricolor glow!