Chapter 187: Thunder’s Older Brother

“Very well. I’ll assemble the personnel.”

Before long, five experienced Craftsmen were gathered inside the alchemy lab. Kei instructed them on how to incorporate the Light Anise essence, manage thermal profiles, and determine the exact timing to halt the simmering process. He left five stalks with the manufacturing squad, giving them ample stock to kick off production of a fresh batch of Healing Potions under the upgraded recipe.

As for the remaining four stalks, Kei carried them away into a private workspace.

Closing the door behind him, he laid the Light Anise stalks flat on the desk and opened his Divine Space Ring.

*Swish.*

The four sprigs of herbs vanished from the tabletop.

An instant later, they materialized deep within the interior boundaries of Kei’s Divine Space Ring.

He stared down at them for a beat before offering a faint, confident smile.

As long as he could cultivate Light Anise right here and harness magic to accelerate its growth cycle, raw material shortages would cease to be a bottleneck, this represented Kei’s ultimate secret weapon!

Before long, the inaugural batch of the new-style Healing Potions was complete.

The pale crimson vials were lined up neatly across the desk. Clark personally poured in the supporting solvent, dividing the concentrated medicinal fluid into three equal portions. He executed the task with utmost precision, even double-checking every single vial after pouring to guarantee the medicinal potency was distributed with absolute uniformity.

When the final vial was set down, Clark gazed intently at the row of Potions before him.

Each individual vial gleamed crystal clear, carrying a balanced, moderate shade of pale red. Without prior knowledge, no one would ever suspect they had been produced from an ingredient quantity that traditionally yielded only a single vial under the standard formula.

“As expected…” Clark murmured quietly, a touch of admiration in his voice. “Kei truly is the person who shared the Purification Necklace blueprints with every single Craftsman in South Korea.”

He reached out to lift a single vial, inspecting it against the illumination of the lamp. The deep, saturated crimson hue of this Healing Potion served as undeniable proof that its efficacy remained extraordinarily potent despite being diluted with solvent!

“He is exceptionally talented indeed.”

Clark muttered under his breath, feeling as though he were gazing straight at a youth blessed with a brilliantly radiant future right before his eyes.

In truth, the moment Kei had set foot into the workspace, Clark had recognized him.

He was Thunder’s actual older brother.

In their rare letters and conversations, Thunder frequently spoke of a fiercely talented young Craftsman who had newly emerged in Dong-san City, someone capable of devising fabrication methodologies completely detached from conventional dogmas, while generously sharing the Purification Necklace blueprints so fellow Craftsmen could reap the benefits.

Clark had wanted to meet Kei in person ever since hearing Thunder wax poetic about this young man.

After witnessing him operate firsthand, he realized Thunder’s accounts hadn’t even done justice to the full extent of Kei’s brilliance. The young man wasn’t merely gifted at crafting. He could dissect an outdated formula, pinpoint waste streams ripe for optimization, and engineer a revolutionary overhaul within an unbelievably brief window of time.

Clark’s hands trembled slightly as his fingers brushed against the Healing Potions.

He couldn’t help thinking of the crisis currently plaguing Thunder, a wave of intense internal turmoil churning within his chest.

*Should he tell Kei?*

Clark knew the companion traveling alongside Kei was none other than Kai. Black Dragon Kai ranked among the five most formidable hunters in South Korea. If anyone possessed the capability to extract Thunder from his current predicament, it was likely Kei, backed by the formidable might of Black Dragon Kai.

Yet if he spoke up, Kei would inevitably get dragged into a life-or-threatening hazard.

A young Craftsman like him still had countless contributions to offer humanity. Clark refused to let a rash, impulsive decision of his own push the young man straight into a death trap.

If that transpired, he would become an unpardonable sinner.

Clark tightened his grip fractionally around the vial, then slowly relaxed his trembling fingers, his eyes brimming with heavy inner conflict.

“Clark?”

The voice snapped him out of his reverie, prompting him to lift his head.

Kei had just emerged from his private workspace. In his arms rested a lush, flourishing bundle of freshly harvested Light Anise, so voluminous it practically obscured half his torso.

Catching sight of the armful of herbs, Linda let out a bright cheer.

“Light Anise! Oh my god, that’s so much Light Anise!”

She hurried forward, relieving Kei of the bundle. The pale-green leaves still retained lingering moisture, their stems thick and sturdy, looking precisely as though they had just been plucked straight from an herb garden.

Linda cradled the bundle against her chest, her eyes sparkling.

“Kei, where on earth did you manage to source this much Light Anise?”

Kei merely smiled, offering a shake of his head without providing an answer.

Regarding the secret of his Divine Space Ring, he preferred keeping the circle of knowers as confined as humanly possible.

“Hand those over to the Craftsmen currently brewing Healing Potions. Make sure to remind them to strictly adhere to the exact dosage of essence we used earlier.”

“Got it!” Linda nodded eagerly. She stared down at the bundle of Light Anise in her grasp as though hugging an entire vault of priceless treasures.

Kei prepared to pivot back toward his private workspace. He still needed to plant additional Light Anise inside his Divine Space Ring, test the limits of accelerating their growth cycle via magic, and draw in ambient mana from his manastones to replenish his rapidly depleting mana reserves.

Kei’s personal mana pool had plummeted drastically ever since arriving in Ji-pong City; he was currently operating on a critically low buffer of remaining mana, leaving him with an underlying sense of vulnerability.

Yet the instant he took a single step, Clark’s voice called out from behind him.

“Kei.”

He halted and turned back.

Clark had already set the Healing Potion vial down. The shock that had previously defined his features was entirely gone, replaced by a heavy, suffocating hesitation.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

No mass release, New book is coming.

1 castle – 5 chapters bonus