The ninth tier of the Refiner branch was the key that had allowed Yaoguang to turn the tide in a single stroke just moments ago.0

Through his negotiation, he had successfully obtained all the spoils of war on the battlefield. Whether it was the high-tier battle armor or the divine weapons carried by individuals like Lei Ting, they were all, without exception, among the most elite products of this world. Each item started at a value of tens of billions of asters, with the most expensive reaching hundreds of billions.1

Furthermore, every member of the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family carried protective artifacts. Since their souls had been directly harvested by the Five-Emperor Soul-Refining Furnace, these refined artifacts never had a chance to activate and thus became Yaoguang’s spoils in pristine condition.0

Relying on these massive profits, the experience of his Merchant branch skyrocketed. Without hesitation, he poured it all into the Refiner branch, directly causing that branch to grow to a tier comparable to the ninth tier of the Martial Dao branch.1

However, the artifact refinement system was clearly different from the body refinement system. It consisted of only three tiers: apprentice refiner, refiner, and high-level refiner. Because the high-level refiner tier was not yet at perfection,...0