Chapter 193: Advancement Planning

The next day, after finishing his morning routine, Li Luo heard a knock at the door.

He went to open it and saw Jiang Qing'e standing there; the morning light fell upon her exquisite and perfect face, her skin like crystal, seemingly reflecting the light.

Seeing Li Luo, she lifted the box in her hand.

"This is the resonant liquid and light that Cai Wei purchased for you earlier; I've brought it all over."

Li Luo hurriedly took it, his eyes filled with joy. He had used up his previous resonant liquid and light while at the academy, so he hadn't refined any for several days, which had truly made him feel uncomfortable all over.

This new batch solved an urgent need.

"You've come at just the right time, thank you, Sister Qing'e," Li Luo laughed.

"You should thank Sister Cai Wei instead. She manages the estate's finances, and to squeeze out the funds to purchase these for you without affecting the stability of the Luolan Mansion, she spent quite a lot of effort," Jiang Qing'e smiled and said.

Li Luo nodded with a sigh. The current situation of the Luolan Mansion was poor, and large amounts of funds were needed everywhere to maintain stability. For his resonant liquid and light to cost hundreds of thousands of gold in a single purchase, one could imagine how much of a headache it was for Cai Wei.

Perhaps even Sister Cai Wei hadn't expected that one day she would also have to live such a frugal life.

The two walked side by side. Jiang Qing'e looked at Li Luo from the side and said, "Now that you only have about four and a half years left, I think you must plan your advancement properly in the future; you cannot just do as you please."

When she said these words, her expression was somewhat stern, leaving Li Luo with no choice but to nod honestly.

"Based on my calculations last night, if you intend to reach the Marquis stage within the next four and a half years, then by the end of your first year at the academy, your own strength must reach the second transformation of the Resonance Transformation stage."

The Resonance Master stage has three segments: the first is the Seed Opening stage, the second is the Pattern Growing stage, and the third is known as the Resonance Transformation stage.

The Resonance Transformation stage is divided into four transformations, akin to four minor realms.

"Resonance Transformation stage, second transformation..."

Li Luo muttered to himself. Currently, he was only at the upper level of the first segment, the Flower Seed stage, and was about to step into the Pattern Growing stage. Within the Pattern Growing stage, there were five patterns in total... This was enough to make many of his peers struggle to climb and spend a significant amount of time there.

According to the information he knew, the vast majority of even quite excellent students were only at the level of the second or third pattern of the Pattern Growing stage by the end of their first year at the Astral Sage College. Only some top-tier, hardworking students might reach the fifth pattern, and as for stepping into the Resonance Transformation stage and pushing to the second transformation... the difficulty was truly extremely high.

One had to know that even among the second-year students, there were likely a large number who hadn't cultivated to that step; only some of the top students among them might have that strength.

"When I finished my first year at the Astral Sage College, I was at the second transformation of the Resonance Transformation stage. By the end of the second year, I had stepped into the Earth Fiend General stage."

"Because you have a limit on your lifespan, your time is even more pressing, so you absolutely cannot be slower than me."

Jiang Qing'e stared intently at Li Luo and said, "Therefore, by the end of the year, you must cultivate to the Resonance Transformation stage and reach the second transformation!"

"If you are sluggish even in completing this first step, what chance will you have? You must know that future cultivation will only become increasingly difficult!"

"For the next half a year, you must cultivate with all your might. I will exchange all my credits for energy liquid for you. Outside the academy, any cultivation resources you need, the Luolan Mansion will purchase."

Li Luo stopped in his tracks and looked at Jiang Qing'e with some helplessness: "Sister Qing'e, you also need to cultivate. If you exchange all your credits for energy liquid for me, how will you compete for the Seven Star Pillars at the end of the year?"

Jiang Qing'e said calmly, "I possess a ninth-grade Light Resonance; in terms of cultivation speed, no one can compare to me. You don't need to worry about me."

"A ninth-grade Light Resonance isn't invincible either. Although you are very powerful, don't look down on the other Seven Star Pillars," Li Luo said with a bitter smile.

The Seven Star Pillars of the Astral Sage College were the highest honor for students. The students who could sit in those positions all possessed the potential to become Marquises. Jiang Qing'e's ninth-grade Light Resonance was indeed rare, sweeping away all enemies, but the Seven Star Pillars had the advantage of age. Moreover, after becoming a Seven Star Pillar, the academy would provide abundant cultivation resources. While Jiang Qing'e was progressing, others were progressing too. Even if their progress wasn't as fast as a ninth-grade Light Resonance, with the accumulation of massive cultivation resources, it might not be so easy for Jiang Qing'e to catch up.

With Jiang Qing'e's intelligence, how could she not know these reasons? Saying these things now was truly a case of being so concerned that she had lost her composure.

Li Luo was very moved by this, but he could only refuse.

Jiang Qing'e stared at Li Luo with a sharp gaze.

However, this time Li Luo did not back down. Instead, he met her strong and sharp gaze, a peaceful smile appearing on his face: "Sister Qing'e, I am very moved that you care about me so much, but I hope you can trust me. Isn't it just the Resonance Transformation stage? By the end of the year, I will break through for you to see."

The two gazed at each other for a moment, and finally, Jiang Qing'e turned her head away.

"Where is there extra time until the end of the year? Do you think you have plenty of time? I will give you two months; you must reach the fourth pattern of the Pattern Growing stage. If you can't reach it, then we will do as I said," Jiang Qing'e made a concession.

"Two months, fourth pattern of the Pattern Growing stage..."

Li Luo estimated in his heart; in truth, the difficulty was immense, but he didn't bargain further, because if he wanted to reach the Marquis stage within five years, this progress was indeed necessary.

"Alright."

Li Luo nodded with a smile, but at the same time, his heart began to feel a sense of urgency due to Jiang Qing'e's stern attitude. In the past, although he always kept the five-year lifespan limit in mind, he was still somewhat carefree and hadn't truly made detailed plans for every step like Jiang Qing'e.

From now on, with Jiang Qing'e's urging, he really wouldn't dare to relax at all. Perhaps this could also be considered a good thing?

Looking at it this way, he really was a bit of a glutton for punishment.

Seeing that Li Luo did not push back again, Jiang Qing'e nodded. She did indeed have the intention of pressuring him, but there was truly no other way. Li Luo's lifespan of less than five years made her heart burn with anxiety; she didn't dare let Li Luo have even the slightest bit of relaxation.

Otherwise, she truly couldn't imagine how she would endure it if the day of Li Luo's lifespan limit were to arrive.

Master and Mistress had entrusted Li Luo to her, yet she couldn't keep him safe. This would make Jiang Qing'e live in guilt for the rest of her life. Of course, perhaps not for a lifetime... because with her personality, if Li Luo's limit really arrived, she would likely just follow him to the grave.

After the previous conversation, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e both lost their relaxed mood. They walked through the corridor and arrived in the living room.

Cai Wei was already waiting there.

"We need to go to the Xiyang House headquarters today. Those resonant crafters from the branch, under the instigation of Pang Qianchi, are already causing trouble there." Cai Wei's beautiful and charming oval face was filled with gravity.

"Right now, the resonant crafter circle in Xia City is all watching. If we don't handle it well and it leads to infighting within Xiyang House, it will likely be even harder for our Xiyang House to recruit resonant crafters in Xia City in the future..."

Hearing this, Jiang Qing'e also furrowed her willow brows, feeling it was somewhat troublesome. Although the Xiyang House branch had long been controlled by Pei Hao, it still bore the Xiyang House signboard. If it were truly seen by others as infighting, it would damage the reputation of Xiyang House and the Luolan Mansion.

If it were in the past, Jiang Qing'e might not have cared, but after what happened last night, she already knew that the protective wonder array of the Luolan Mansion provided power based on the "momentum" of the Luolan Mansion...

Xiyang House was a part of the Luolan Mansion; if the reputation of Xiyang House was damaged, it would also implicate the wonder array.

With her thoughts turning, Jiang Qing'e looked up and met Li Luo's gaze. Both understood that if today's matter wasn't handled well, it would likely be a real problem...

"Let's go. No matter how troublesome it is, it must be handled."

In the end, Li Luo smiled, then took the lead and walked out of the Luolan Mansion headquarters.