Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 512 The Third Round of the Heavenly Ladder and the Advanced Potion Master

A week later, Locke arrived at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion and showed the red dragon half-dragon shopkeeper the seven bottles of Geras Aging Potion that he had recently concocted.

The red dragon half-dragon shopkeeper glanced at Locke strangely, and his usually calm face now showed a drastic change in expression.

He looked up at Locke with a puzzled expression. The moment Locke walked in, he suddenly became very nervous and inexplicably felt a fear of Locke, as well as an involuntary desire to submit.

However, he quickly activated the advanced meditation technique, maintaining his mental state in a state of neither anger nor joy, his soul calm and undisturbed, thus overcoming this fear from the level of biological instinct.

The red dragon half-dragon glanced at Locke with a puzzled look, then took out a transparent gemstone ring from his astral ring. But as soon as he took it out, the transparent gemstone ring turned golden.

The next moment, a deep purple dragon shadow suddenly appeared in the ring, and the surface of the gemstone ring shattered.

The red dragon half-dragon bowed slightly to Locke. "My apologies. This ring was created by a bloodline testing ring crafted by someone who was both a bloodline wizard and an alchemist. Only beings of extremely high purity can cause the ring to change."

"Generally speaking, it is very difficult for a wizard to cause changes to this ring."

Do you possess the Immortal Dragon Scale?

Locke hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

A hint of awe and subconscious submission appeared on the red dragon half-dragon's face. "That explains it. Immortal dragon scales are the mark of a true dragon."

"One who possesses immortal dragon scales is a true dragon, needing no dragon body, for the power of a dragon comes from its scales."

Locke said, "I only own one piece, does that count?"

The red dragon half-dragon smiled and said, "I was truly disrespectful to you earlier. How many more immortal dragon scales do you want? Although it is said that the more powerful a dragon is, the more immortal dragon scales it possesses. Legend has it that the ancient dragon king in the deepest part of the Dragon Mountain Range had immortal dragon scales all over his body, but for a dragon, possessing just one immortal dragon scale is enough."

"The Feathered Serpent Pavilion welcomes all true dragons."

"You enjoy special privileges here."

Locke never expected that the Immortal Dragon Scale he had accidentally obtained from the first-level wizard's secret realm would grant him special treatment in the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

Locke asked, "For example, what privileges?"

The red dragon half-dragon said, "First of all, other potion masters cannot pause their participation in the ladder. Once they join, they must participate in the ladder tests continuously, otherwise they can only quit."

"Either participate, withdraw, or fail; choose one."

"But you are a distinguished guest of our Feathered Serpent Pavilion, so you have the right to pause freely. You can stop participating in the next ladder test after completing a section of the ladder test, and you can rejoin the ladder when you want to participate again."

"In addition, you have the highest viewing access to every Quetzalcoatl potion recipe, and you can trade one potion recipe that you like in Quetzalcoatl every day. This can solve your problem of needing rare potion recipes."

Locke raised an eyebrow, clearly somewhat tempted.

Unexpectedly, his immortal dragon scales were also a symbol of his status.

The benefits that mysterious true dragon bloodline brought him were simply too many.

Locke could also sense that a huge secret was hidden within, one that he, at his current stage of liquefaction, was not capable of uncovering.

The red dragon half-dragon said, "In addition, you have one last great privilege, which is that you can use our potion room at half price."

Locke nodded slightly. "I understand."

He suddenly asked, "Is there a high-level alchemist behind the Feathered Serpent Pavilion who is connected to dragon-like creatures?"

The red dragon half-dragon looked at Locke in surprise. "How could you think that? The Feathered Serpent Pavilion only cultivates, does not possess."

"If we already have powerful potion masters ourselves, why should we train them for the wider society instead of training our own students?"

“Unlike other chain stores, Quetzalcoatl is neither in it to make money nor to train the next generation; we are a neutral organization.”

Locke's eyes flickered; indeed.

That's the big shot behind the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, who desperately needs some powerful potion masters.

Is the other party a wizard associated with the dragon race?
The red dragon half-dragon stepped forward, picked up a bottle of potion from the tray, smelled it, and confirmed that it was the Gerast anti-aging potion.

"I gave you ten sets of refining materials before, and you have now provided seven sets of Glass potion. Your success rate is very good."

"You are better than many potion masters."

Locke nodded.

During the past year, he had frequently discussed potion-making with Alicia, naturally leading to rapid progress and a success rate far exceeding his expectations. The red dragon half-dragon handed Locke a magic box and a key. "This is your reward for passing the second round of the Heavenly Ladder. This is the Water Magic Box, and this is the key."

Locke took the key, then inserted it into the Water Magic Box, opening it. The Magic Box immediately turned into liquid and evaporated completely.

A blue stone floats in mid-air.

The surface of this stone is covered with tiny holes.

Upon seeing this, the red dragon half-dragon immediately said, "Lord Locke, you are very lucky. This is a treasure that is a gem to potion makers, called the [Purifying Flow Filter Stone]."

"It is an elemental core from a mutated elemental lord, which is extremely rare. Although it is only a first-level item, and the elemental lord is not considered difficult to deal with, the problem is that only one in a million elemental lords might produce a mutated elemental lord that could potentially produce a [Pure Flow Filter Stone].

"Therefore, it is extremely precious."

"When you are making potions, adding this stone to the potion will filter out various materials in the raw materials of the potion, which can increase the potion's effect by about 10% out of thin air."

"Even a second-ring potion master would find this gem useful."

Locke stored the Purifying Filter Stone into his Astral Ring; this rare potion-making equipment was part of his accumulated wealth.

This kind of thing is very difficult to buy on the market, since it's purely a matter of luck and chance. If it were to be traded on the market, the premium would probably be huge.

Locke said, "I didn't expect the rewards for the Heavenly Ladder to be so good."

The red dragon half-dragon said, "You're lucky. You also have the ladder rewards from our Feathered Serpent Pavilion, which are of very high quality. Otherwise, so many potion masters wouldn't be willing to join our ladder test."

"Of course, your luck in the Feathered Serpent Pavilion will definitely improve."

Locke looked at the red dragon half-dragon with a puzzled expression.

The red dragon half-dragon explained, "All the Feathered Serpent Pavilions are blessed by the [Dragon's Nest Protection] spell."

"As a true dragon, your luck within the Feathered Serpent Pavilion will automatically rise to a higher level. This can be considered a hidden privilege within the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. Whether it's concocting potions or drawing rewards from the Heavenly Ladder, you will have a greater advantage than other potion makers."

Locke increasingly felt that the powerful wizard behind the Feathered Serpent Pavilion had a close relationship with the dragon race.

However, as long as the Feathered Serpent Pavilion is useful to me right now, that's fine.

The red dragon half-dragon said to Locke, "Lord Locke, would you like to participate in the third round of the Heavenly Ladder now?"

Locke thought for a moment and said, "I'll participate."

Although he might soon enter the Advanced Institute of Truth, that wouldn't stop him from researching the third round of test potions along the way, and he could still discuss potion science with Alicia.

Therefore, there's really no reason not to participate in the third ladder event.

On the contrary, during the fourth ladder test, I stopped whenever possible, because according to the increasing difficulty of the ladder, the fourth test would likely require a second-level potion.

Second-ring potions are not ordinary first-ring potions; potion masters of second-ring and above are extremely rare.

Many first-circle potion masters, even if they become second-circle wizards, may not necessarily become second-circle potion masters.

A second-ring potion master is already a high-level potion master.

Therefore, in the fourth round of the ladder, I do need to use the privileges granted by my Immortal Dragon Scale and take a break.

The red dragon half-dragon said, "This test will last for three years."

"You need to use ten ingredients to successfully concoct one... Lucky Potion."

Locke was taken aback, because the Lucky Potion was the most difficult potion among the first-level potions, bar none.

Moreover, its formula... in theory, is something that ordinary potion masters cannot access.

As I had guessed, the third round of the Heavenly Ladder test actually tested the most difficult part: potion making.

The fourth round of the ladder test will inevitably require reaching the second-ring potion level.

Locke gave a wry smile. "Lucky Potion, that's really too difficult to make, but as long as I have the opportunity to see the recipe for Lucky Potion, this trip will not have been in vain."

The red dragon half-dragon said, "Lord Locke, you are too modest. In fact, very few potion masters can enter the third round of the Heavenly Ladder. You are already very outstanding. And you may even be able to concoct lucky potions within three years."

"Similarly, this time, you still cannot use the Primal Fire, nor can you use the Purifying Filter Stone."

(End of this chapter)