Lin Yan moved quickly. After heading to Green Sun Town and buying the medicinal ingredients he needed, he soon returned home.
This was mainly because the Lin Clan was now backing him financially. Before, he had to consider whether his savings would be enough before every purchase. Now, buying medicinal ingredients had become much easier.
As soon as he arrived home, he went straight to the backyard and took out the Medicine Cauldron. Then he began refining pills.
No matter what kind of pill one was refining, the first step was always to purify the ingredients.
Only by purifying them and extracting their most essential components could one make it easier to combine their medicinal properties and form a pill.
If the purification was poor and too many impurities remained in the ingredients, it would not only affect the pill's quality, but could even cause the refinement to fail outright.
So Lin Yan began by purifying the medicinal ingredients.
After obtaining Purple Fire, purifying the ingredients had become much more convenient for Lin Yan. This flame was a true flame, not a false flame created from the Yuan Power inside his body. So when purifying the ingredients, it was easier to control and burned at a higher temperature.
As usual, Yao Lao watched Lin Yan refine the pills from the side.
This time, he did not remind Lin Yan of anything. After successfully getting started, Lin Yan needed to think things through more on his own. If he relied on Yao Lao's reminders for everything, he would have a hard time making any real progress in pill refining.
But Lin Yan's work this time was clearly flawless.
Although some ingredients used to refine second-rank pills could withstand lower temperatures while others could withstand higher ones, and purifying them required a more delicate touch, Lin Yan had by now become extremely adept at using Purple Fire.
So one could even see that although Lin Yan was refining a higher-rank pill this time, he seemed to find it easier than last time.
"Mm, not bad, not bad!"
Seeing this, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with Lin Yan's performance.
Lin Yan continued refining the pill.
Once the purification was done, he poured the liquids from several ingredients into the Medicine Cauldron, then relied on his control over the heat to refine the pill.
This step tested Lin Yan's control over the flames as well.
But as mentioned before, Lin Yan's control over the flames had by now become much more skillful than before.
So it wasn't long before Lin Yan successfully finished refining the pill.
As the Medicine Cauldron opened, a green pill emerged, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted through the air.
Yao Lao snatched up the pill. First, he examined its sheen closely, then he sniffed its medicinal fragrance. At last, a smile spread across his face, his gaze brimming with approval.
"Excellent finish, top-tier quality! Very good!"
He smiled at Lin Yan and said, "Congratulations. You've successfully become a Second-Rank Alchemist."
Lin Yan's eyes filled with excitement.
Every increase in an Alchemist's rank was a major breakthrough. After all, it meant they could refine a wider range of pills.
"Who would have thought, young friend, that after only a few months since you started, you'd already become a Second-Rank Alchemist?"
"Such talent is truly humbling."
Yao Lao couldn't help but sigh.
In the art of pill refining, Yao Lao had seen plenty. Yet he had never met anyone who advanced as quickly as Lin Yan. Many Alchemists called themselves geniuses, but even they usually spent several years progressing from beginner to second rank.
Lin Yan, on the other hand, had reached the second rank in just a few months.
"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Senior Yao."
Lin Yan smiled as he replied to Yao Lao.
He was just about to say something more when the Yuan Power inside his body erupted like a volcano, nearly impossible to suppress. His expression turned grave. "I think I'm about to break through."
Yao Lao smiled at this. "Wouldn't that make it a double blessing?"
He quickly said, "Hurry and swallow this pill. It's a Clear Spirit Pill. It enhances perception and steadies the mind, making it very useful for cultivation and breakthroughs."
Lin Yan nodded quickly, swallowed the pill in one gulp, then sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed and entered a state of breakthrough.
Yao Lao watched as Lin Yan broke through. As Lin Yan's face grew more flushed and the aura around him grew stronger, Yao Lao stroked his beard and smiled with satisfaction.
"Whew."
After a long while, Lin Yan successfully emerged from his cultivation state. He opened his eyes and breathed out a mouthful of turbid air.
"Did you break through?" Yao Lao asked with a beaming smile.
"Mm, I did. I'm at the mid Earth Origin Realm now." Lin Yan nodded to Yao Lao.
He soon threw a punch and immediately realized that his physical strength had improved by more than a little compared to before the breakthrough.
The Yuan Power in his body had also grown much stronger.
Lin Yan smiled with satisfaction.
The next day, the Hunting War began.
The Hunting War in Green Sun Town was the largest event within a hundred-mile radius, held only once every few years. The younger generation who stood out in it would not only win generous rewards, but also greatly raise their own and their clan's reputation.
Because of this, the event drew not only the various factions of Green Sun Town, but also factions from outside the town.
Early that morning, the Lin Clan members headed to the competition grounds.
The venue was the Arena outside Green Sun Town. It covered an enormous area and was also the largest structure belonging to the town.
When they arrived, the area around them was gradually filling with people. Lin Xiao began explaining the rules to everyone:
"That forest ahead connects directly to the mountains. It's full of vicious demonic beasts, and it'll be the main battleground of the Hunting War."
"Every competitor will receive an identity token. The goal is to cross the forest and reach the finish line."
"Along the way, the competitors will have to rely on their own abilities to escape the demonic beasts' claws."
"But the Hunting War has another rule: anyone who reaches the finish line must have ten identity tokens in hand to climb onto the stone platform there. That means the competitors will also have to fight one another."
Lin Xiao explained the rules in detail. In fact, the Hunting War's rules were not complicated, so Lin Yan and the others understood them fully in no time.
Lin Xia and Lin Dong both looked excited.
After all, this was a great chance for them to represent the Lin Clan and show what they could do. And their strength seemed to have improved quite a bit lately.
Lin Yan carefully scanned the venue.
Come to think of it, the Hunting War was a fairly important arc in the early part of the original story.
Lin Yan remembered that Lin Dong, Wu Yun, and the others had obtained the Fire Python Tiger here.
Lin Yan wasn't particularly interested in that.
He only cared about one thing: could he get a sign-in reward here, too?
Heavenly Flames? Cultivation techniques? Treasures? Even getting just one of those would be an enormous boost for Lin Yan.
Before you continue