Chapter 27: First-Grade Refining Room

After leaving the academy, Li Luo did not rush back to the old mansion, but instead headed straight for the Xiyang House.

The guards outside the Xiyang House had long since grown accustomed to Li Luo’s frequent appearances here, so after bowing in greeting, they allowed him to pass.

Walking into the Xiyang House, which was filled with a faint fragrance, Li Luo felt his spirits lift slightly; his studies during this period had made him increasingly interested in the profession of a Resonance Refiner.

"Heh, the Young Mansion Master has been quite diligent in coming to the Xiyang House lately." Just as Li Luo was thinking about the first-grade Spirit Liquid and Light he had been practicing, a laugh suddenly sounded from the side.

Li Luo turned his head and saw Vice President Zhuang Yi of the Xiyang House looking at him with a smile.

"I heard the Young Mansion Master has awakened a fifth-grade water resonance?" Zhuang Yi asked, appearing somewhat curious.

Li Luo had been practicing resonance refining at the Xiyang House for many days, and news of his fifth-grade water resonance had long since spread.

Li Luo gazed at this Vice President who had defected to Pei Hao, nodded slightly, and said, "I am learning resonance refining from Sister Lingqing."

Zhuang Yi smiled and said, "Vice President Yan is a top student from the Saint Xuanxing Academy, and her skills are indeed not bad, but her experience is a bit shallow. If the Young Mansion Master truly wishes to learn, I, though humble, could also offer some advice."

Li Luo smiled. With Zhuang Yi being so kind, he wondered if the man wanted to bring him under surveillance to confirm his true condition and report it to Pei Hao, or if he genuinely wanted to guide him.

However, between Jiang Qing’e’s best friend and this Vice President who had defected to Pei Hao, Li Luo’s choice was clearly not something to hesitate over.

So he shook his head and said, "I think Sister Lingqing is doing quite well. If I have any needs in the future, I will come to find Vice President Zhuang then."

"That is truly a pity," Zhuang Yi sighed, appearing very regretful.

Li Luo did not say anything more. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and said, "By the way, Vice President Zhuang, I heard from Sister Lingqing that some of the refining rooms here sometimes face shortages of materials. I heard that material procurement is handled by you, so could you ensure they are replenished in a timely manner?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yi frowned and said with some difficulty, "Young Mansion Master, this is not my fault. It is just that the procurement of materials can sometimes be troublesome, so occasional shortages are quite normal. Of course, since the Young Mansion Master has brought it up, I will pay more attention to this aspect in the future."

Facing the other party’s seemingly respectful and polite, yet actually indifferent and evasive excuse, Li Luo said nothing. He simply gave the man a deep look and walked past him.

Zhuang Yi watched his departing back, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

"Vice President, I didn't expect this Young Mansion Master to have suddenly awakened a fifth-grade resonance. It really is surprising," a subordinate loyal to him whispered beside Zhuang Yi.

"It is highly likely that the two Mansion Masters left him some rare heavenly treasures. Using such treasures on him is truly a waste," Zhuang Yi said indifferently.

"However, it is only a fifth-grade resonance after all; it cannot be considered too outstanding. Therefore, it will not be so easy for this Young Mansion Master to rise."

He waved his hand and said, "Pass this news on to Young Master Pei Hao."

"Also... the matter of seizing control of the first-grade refining rooms should be pushed forward a bit. That woman, Yan Lingqing, is becoming more and more of an eyesore."

"Yes!"

When Li Luo walked into the first-grade refining room, he saw that it was divided into dozens of cubicles separated by crystal walls, with a figure busy in each one.

Among them, Li Luo saw the tall and slender Yan Lingqing. She was wearing a long coat, her hands tucked in her pockets, and her expression was cold as she inspected the area.

He saw her stop in front of a crystal wall, watching indifferently as a first-grade Resonance Refiner finished refining a bottle of Spirit Liquid and Light.

Under Yan Lingqing’s gaze, the young first-grade Resonance Refiner was somewhat nervous. He took a thin, long crystal needle from the side; the needle had precise markings on it.

This was a Testing Needle, which, as the name suggests, was a tool used to verify the degree of refining power reached by the finished Spirit Liquid and Light.

The crystal needle was inserted into the bottle of Spirit Liquid and Light, and the markings on it could be seen gradually climbing from low to high.

Finally, it stopped at the forty-six percent mark.

Seeing this, Yan Lingqing said coldly, "If Spirit Liquid and Light with this level of refining power were sold, it would only ruin the reputation of the Xiyang House."

The first-grade Resonance Refiner lowered his head in frustration.

However, Yan Lingqing did not soften, instead saying sternly, "In the previous refining process, you made no fewer than four mistakes. The heat for the White Leaf Fruit was insufficient, the Moonlight Sap was too thick, the Smokeless Water was too thin, and during the final blending, your water resonance power did not meet the saturation requirements."

"Refine it again."

After speaking, she turned and walked away, her cold gaze sweeping over the many first-grade Resonance Refiners in the room. Everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter, burying their heads to focus on their refining.

Yan Lingqing adjusted her silver-rimmed glasses, her pretty face icy. Clearly, she was very dissatisfied with the performance of these first-grade Resonance Refiners.

A flash of annoyance crossed her eyes. Although she had come to help hold the fort at Jiang Qing’e’s request, she was ultimately an outsider parachuted in. If it came to prestige within this branch, Zhuang Yi was indeed stronger than her.

This Xiyang House branch was divided into three types of refining rooms, from first to third grade, and different grades of refining rooms were responsible for refining different levels of Spirit Liquid and Light.

With Jiang Qing’e’s appointment, Yan Lingqing had taken control of the first and second-grade refining rooms upon her arrival, but the third-grade refining room remained firmly in Zhuang Yi’s hands.

The two sides had been locked in a struggle over the control of these refining rooms for a long time. After all, whoever controlled the refining rooms controlled the majority of the Resonance Refiners. For the Xiyang House, whose sole purpose was the refining of Spirit Liquid and Light, Resonance Refiners were undoubtedly the most important asset.

But recently, Zhuang Yi clearly could not sit still anymore. He had begun to make moves against the first-grade refining rooms, and his justification was that a disciple he had trained had produced first-grade Spirit Liquid and Light with a quality of fifty-six percent.

This quality was considered top-tier among the first-grade Spirit Liquid and Light produced by the Xiyang House. Zhuang Yi used this as a reason to spread rumors that Yan Lingqing was not skilled at guiding first-grade Resonance Refiners, which had caused some of the first-grade Resonance Refiners in the Xiyang House to show signs of wavering recently.

If this situation continued, Yan Lingqing felt that this first-grade refining room might really be taken away by Zhuang Yi.

Even with the support of Jiang Qing’e and Cai Wei, as long as Zhuang Yi did not make any obvious mistakes, it would be difficult for them to simply kick out an old hand of the Xiyang House like him. Doing so would instead lead to unrest within the Xiyang House, and if that affected the refining of Spirit Liquid and Light, the only one to suffer would be the Luolan Mansion.

Feeling annoyed, Yan Lingqing only glanced at Li Luo as he entered the refining room, having no extra energy to say anything.

Li Luo was quite casual about this and went straight to an unused refining booth. A beautiful young woman nearby whispered, "Young Mansion Master, you’re here."

Li Luo smiled and nodded in response. While organizing the materials on the refining table, he casually asked in a low voice, "Sister Yinghua, does Vice President Yan seem to be in a bad mood?"

The young woman he called Sister Yinghua stuck out her tongue and said, "We’ve been scolded all morning..."

Then, she briefly explained the cause of the matter.

After listening, Li Luo felt a slight realization. So it was all about the first-grade refining room. This was indeed no small matter. If Zhuang Yi really succeeded in seizing it, it would be a huge blow to Yan Lingqing’s prestige, causing her influence within the Xiyang House to gradually diminish in the future.

Thinking of this, Li Luo frowned. He certainly did not want to see this happen. After all, this Xiyang House branch contributed about half of the Luolan Mansion’s annual income in Tianshu County, and he was currently in need of a large amount of funds. If any problems arose here, it would undoubtedly have a huge impact on him.

Of course, most importantly, that Zhuang Yi was one of Pei Hao’s men. With that white-eyed wolf’s personality, he might even swallow this Xiyang House branch whole.

However, it was useless for him to think about these things now, so Li Luo turned his attention to a first-grade formula blueprint titled "Azure Spirit Liquid" on the table, took out the various configuration materials, and began his practice for the day.

Two hours of practice passed quietly. Just as Li Luo’s refining began to become more and more proficient, the door to the first-grade refining room was suddenly pushed open. Everyone’s movements paused, and they saw a group of people led by Zhuang Yi flooding in.

The very aura they exuded made it clear they had come with ill intent.

(A mistake was made; this Vice President should be called Zhuang Yi. The name Bei Yu written previously was the initial name from when the draft was written; I felt it didn't sound good later and changed it, but I didn't expect a few to slip through the net.)

(End of chapter)