Beyond Master was Grandmaster and then Sage. However, as long as one didn’t encounter some kind of mythical medicinal plant which only existed in legends, Master-rank Gathering was generally good enough.

Nie Yan glanced at his bag which was packed to the brim with various medicinal plants. He had collected more than several dozen kinds and at least two full stacks of each. Red Dragon Herbs, Fire Serpentine Grass, Turtleback Root... they all had their different uses. Some were used for creating Antidotes, others for Fire Resistance Potions, all of which were high rank.

These medicinal plants would sell for a fortune in the marketplace.

Besides this, Nie Yan also acquired a large amount of skill books. He had close to a full stack of Gathering Master skill books and quite a few copies of skill books for other crafting and gathering professions.

One of the skill books in the pile caught Nie Yan’s eye—Alchemy Master. The player would obtain twice the skill proficiency, and the potions they concocted had a high chance of coming out a higher rank. However, the caveat was that the potions they concocted only worked on themselves and would have no effect for others.

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing...” Nie Yan muttered. This was his first time seeing an artisan skill book like this.

With the appearance of this Alchemy Master skill book, Nie Yan sank into deep thought.

As Nie Yan progressed along the Luminous Dancer class advancement quest line inside the Ancient World, he would have to face stronger and stronger monsters. So, being able to concoct high rank potions would be quite useful.

Nie Yan had once heard that a Thief with the Alchemy skill could talk to Master Alchemist Yvette to become a Poison Specialist. Their Alchemy skill would undergo some changes. For one, they would improve at a much faster rate, taking no time at all to reach Master or Grandmaster rank. However, the concoctions they made were restricted to only personal use. Nevertheless, it was a desirable title. Being capable of making high rank poisons on the fly could significantly improve one’s combat effectiveness. In the same school of thought, Mages often learned Alchemy to craft their own Mana Potions.

Imagining all the possibilities, Nie Yan was tempted to learn the Alchemy Master skill right away.

“I can’t deny that Alchemy is a pretty useful supplementary skill for levelling.”

After thinking it over, Nie Yan learned the Alchemy Master skill.

From then on, apart from hunting monsters and gathering medicinal plants, Nie Yan also started working on his Alchemy skill.

Alchemy Master was a fairly special variant skill. It was super easy to train, with rank ups requiring less than a tenth of the proficiency of the regular Alchemy skill. By concocting just a few dozen basic potions, Nie Yan reached the Intermediate rank. A few hours later, and he was already 30% of the way to Advanced.

“Once I get Alchemy Master to Master rank, I can make all sorts of concoctions that will be really helpful to me in battle!”

The more Nie Yan learned, the more he realized how lacking his knowledge was, Shadow Dancers operated even more differently than he thought. It was a brand new world where combat prowess couldn’t be judged on raw stats alone. Even supplementary skills like Alchemy were part of the equation.

Nie Yan never had any friends who reached this realm in his past life. So, he only had his shallow understanding and lack of knowledge to blame. The very concept of a Shadow Dancer was still hazy in his mind, and though he had mastered a few techniques, he was still lacking in other respects.

While carrying out his monotonous work in the Ancient World, Nie Yan’s heart was tranquil. He didn’t feel restless or anxious.

Just like before, Nie Yan hunted down the Rank 2 monsters that spawned around him. As he spent more and more time in the Ancient World, he gradually came to comprehend more and more things. The originally simple Kick skill could actually be executed in many different ways, such as a side kick, roundhouse kick, or flying kick, mirroring real world techniques. The superhuman bodies of the characters inside the game ensured that these attacks were delivered with much greater speed, lethality, and accuracy.

Conviction took cues from the real world and expanded upon them, far surpassing reality.

While passing through a large stretch of forest, Nie Yan spotted a large monster walking among the trees up ahead. With golden fur, a powerful frame, and a majestic mane, it was the king of beasts.

Nie Yan made his way over and started tailing the monster from behind, softly humming in his mind, “In the jungle, the mighty jungle...”

Transcendent Insight!

Health: 130,000/130,000

“Wow, the first Elite I’ve encountered in the Ancient World.” Nie Yan felt a domineering pressure coming from the Lion King. He couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive. “Can I actually beat this thing?”

At this moment, the Lion King suddenly sensed something and looked over at where Nie Yan was hiding, a profound light flickering from its eyes.

Nie Yan’s heart shook. He quickly activated several skills that boosted his stealth. It was nearly impossible to detect him now.

Just as Nie Yan thought he was safe, the Lion King opened its mouth and let out a thunderous roar. A powerful shock wave swept out.

Nie Yan felt a sharp pain in his ears as the sound violently shook his eardrums.

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With Stealth dispelled, Nie Yan materialized into view.

The Lion King’s gaze immediately locked onto Nie Yan. “GGROAAH!” It arched its back, claws digging deep into earth, and then pounced toward him.

The Lion King was as fast as lightning, closing in almost instantly.

As the Lion King’s claws came swiping down on him, Nie Yan ducked down and escaped to the side.

CRAAASH! The large tree behind where Nie Yan originally stood was snapped in half and collapsed on the ground.

Sensing the might of the Lion King, Nie Yan didn’t dare to dally and fled for his life.

The Lion King immediately went into pursuit as a game of cat and mouse began.

Nie Yan didn’t flee too deep into the forest for fear of encountering even stronger monsters.

He had many close calls while being chased around. Although Shadow Steps and Illusion Steps were fairly useful, he could only use them to dodge once or twice. The Lion King’s intelligence was fairly high. It would quickly see through his tricks.

Nie Yan wasn’t sure he could survive even a single hit from the Lion King.

It was much stronger than ordinary Rank 2 monsters.

After numerous brushes with death, Nie Yan learned many new fleeing techniques, such as running in a curved path, making use of nearby obstacles, and abruptly changing directions right before an attack came down.

Nie Yan employed every tactic at his disposal.

Nie Yan gradually pulled further and further away. Just when he thought he was in the clear, a deafening roar shook the forest. The Lion King came leaping out from behind the trees.

As the enormous beast came barrelling towards him, Nie Yan narrowed his eyes. He leaped into the air with a flying kick. BANG! He crushed the Lion King’s windpipe.

?2,048

“GRAGHHK!” The Lion King let out a pained cry. Its body curved inward from the impact of the kick and was sent flying back before crashing into the ground.

“No time to lose!” Nie Yan shot out a web line at a thick tree branch above the Lion King’s head. With a forceful tug, he soared into the air, Zennarde’s Sword gripped in his hand leaving a trail of black flames behind him. As he came swinging over, he borrowed the momentum to deliver a powerful slash. PSHFFT! Blood sprayed out of the Lion King’s throat.

?5,311

Letting go of the webline, Nie Yan kicked off a nearby tree, then came plunging down.

Backbreaker!

After receiving two successive attacks, the Lion King struggled back to its feet. Before it could react, however, another powerful blow was delivered to its back. BANG! It was forced back down to the ground.

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“If I let this overgrown cat get back on its feet, I’ll get chased around all over again!” Nie Yan gritted his teeth. He then threw out a sweeping kick, putting all his weight behind it.

BANG! Nie Yan’s foot struck the Lion King in the head. It let out a wail and thrashed around on the ground.

?21,933

It wasn’t over yet. Nie Yan stepped to the side, pivoted into a spin, then swung his elbow back. BANG! He landed a heavy blow on the Lion King’s abdomen, causing it to flip back over to the other side.

?36,444

As his feet touched the ground, Nie Yan slid several steps forward. He raised his leg high into the air, then drove his foot down with an axe kick. Yet another powerful blow was delivered to the Lion King’s back. C-CRRACK! The frightening sound of bones breaking rang out through the forest.

?59,648

“GRAAaaaohh...” The Lion King let out a loud wail and collapsed limply on the ground.

“Oh, wow...” Even Nie Yan was taken aback by his frightening damage. The axe kick he delivered at the end shaved away close to half of the Lion King’s health.

A notification jingle rang out.

6-hit combo! Flying Kick → Cut Throat → Backbreaker → Roundhouse Kick → Spinning Elbow → Axe Kick

Nie Yan started. “So the attacks I used just now linked together into a combo without me even realizing... No wonder I dealt so much damage!” The first hit in the string would dictate the combo’s damage potential. Afterwards, every subsequent attack would deal roughly double the damage of the previous. Generally, the force generated from your arms couldn’t compare to your legs. So, kicks were the preferred starters.

This discovery shook Nie Yan to the core. If he could pull off such combos regularly in the future, his battle prowess would be beyond terrifying.