Chapter 28: Li Luo's First Bottle of Spirit Refinement Water

Zhuang Yi's group suddenly swept into the First-Rank Refining Room with aggressive momentum, immediately stirring the atmosphere there, drawing one startled gaze after another.

Yan Yan Lingqing noticed their arrival as well, and her pretty face instantly darkened. She snapped coldly, "Vice President Zhuang Yi, are your people really this ill-mannered?"

Zhuang Yi wore a smile and said, "Vice President Yan, no need to get angry. The reason I'm here is still the matter from before. Ever since the First-Rank Refining Room was placed under your management, the production output of Spirit Refinement Water has declined during this period, and there have even been quite a few substandard products. This has seriously affected our Xi Yang House's performance."

He wore an expression of deep worry.

Yan Yan Lingqing said coldly, "You're well aware of the reason for the decline in output, aren't you? If you hadn't imposed restrictions on the materials, how could this have happened?"

Zhuang Yi frowned and said, "Vice President Yan, that's a vicious slander. Materials were already scarce to begin with—do you expect me to conjure them out of thin air?"

"I rather think that although Vice President Yan hails from the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, she is still rather inexperienced. Some of your ideas may not align with those of our Xi Yang House's First-Rank Material Refiners. If you were to guide them, I'm afraid you'd only hold them back."

In the First-Rank Refining Room, no one else dared to interject. Everyone could see clearly that this was a struggle between the two vice presidents, and they had no need to get involved and become cannon fodder.

Zhuang Yi stared at Yan Yan Lingqing and said, "Vice President Yan, as Material Refiners, everything must be judged by results. You've been in charge of the First-Rank Refining Room for some time now, yet the results have been negligible. The First-Rank Material Refiners you've taught have produced First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water with a refining power of no more than fifty percent at best. Meanwhile, my disciple Shi Yun has already been able to stably produce 'Emerald Spirit Water' with a refining power of fifty-six percent."

"You should know that the average level of First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water our Xi Yang House has produced in the past was only around fifty-three percent. So if Vice President Yan truly has Xi Yang House's interests at heart, I suggest you hand over the First-Rank Refining Room. Otherwise, in the long run, the First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water produced by Xi Yang House will likely have no market left in this Tian Shu Prefecture."

As Zhuang Yi spoke, he glanced at some of the other high-ranking members of Xi Yang House who had come with him and said, "What do you all think? Is what I've said reasonable or not?"

Those high-ranking members wore thoughtful expressions. Although they didn't want to get involved in the conflict between the two sides, they had to admit Zhuang Yi made a great deal of sense. In their Xi Yang House, everything had to be judged by results.

The fact that Zhuang Yi's disciple could stably produce First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water with a refining power of fifty-six percent was enough to demonstrate his excellence.

So one of the high-ranking members hesitated and said, "Perhaps Vice President Yan should hand this First-Rank Refining Room over to Shi Yun to manage. That way you can focus on guiding the Second-Rank Refining Room—after all, that's also a key product for our Xi Yang House."

Yan Yan Lingqing's face was expressionless. If she actually conceded now, it would mean she had lost her struggle with Zhuang Yi. This would set a precedent, leading to her being at a disadvantage step by step from then on.

But if she held firm and refused to back down, Zhuang Yi was pressing hard, and his reasoning was extremely legitimate. A stalemate would likewise have some negative impact on her.

So at this moment, she was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

Zhuang Yi looked at Yan Yan Lingqing, whose eyes showed some struggle, and a smile couldn't help but curl up at the corner of his mouth. So what if she was a top student from the Sacred Mystic Star Academy? Wasn't she still just a tender fledgling?

Buzz!

And just as the pressure bearing down on Yan Yan Lingqing grew heavier and heavier, in the nearly frozen atmosphere of the First-Rank Refining Room, a streak of blue light suddenly erupted violently.

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned. Their gazes followed the light, and they saw Li Luo standing before a refining platform at the back, holding a bottle of emerald-green liquid in his hand, a look of joy on his face.

The first bottle of Spirit Refinement Water of his life had been refined under these circumstances.

After refining this bottle of "Emerald Spirit Water," Li Luo casually picked up a Refining Testing Needle from the side and inserted it into the bottle.

Then he saw the needle begin to climb rapidly.

A few breaths later, the needle stopped directly at the sixty percent mark.

Gasp!

Some of the nearby First-Rank Material Refiners saw this clearly, and they couldn't help but burst out in shocked exclamations.

One figure after another even rushed over involuntarily, crying out, "Sixty percent refining power?!! The 'Emerald Spirit Water' refined by the young manor lord actually reached sixty percent refining power?!!"

"How is that possible?!"

In the First-Rank Refining Room, those who heard the exclamations immediately wore looks of utter disbelief. Then, no longer caring about the struggle between Yan Yan Lingqing and Zhuang Yi, they swarmed toward where Li Luo was.

And when they saw the reading on the Refining Testing Needle, they were struck dumb for a moment. One gaze after another, filled with shock, turned toward Li Luo, who had a smile at the corner of his mouth.

They knew very well that Li Luo had only been studying Material Refining for about two weeks. Yet in such a short time, he had not only successfully refined First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water, but—most incredibly of all—the refining power of that Spirit Refinement Water was actually this high!

What kind of talent was this?

"Move aside."

Yan Yan Lingqing's voice rang out from outside the crowd. The crowd hurriedly parted, and she was seen striding in on her long legs, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the Emerald Spirit Water in Li Luo's hand.

"Let me see it," she said to Li Luo.

Li Luo obediently handed it over. Yan Yan Lingqing took it, quickly poured out a drop of Emerald Spirit Water, and after sensing it slightly, her pretty face showed some emotion. "Such pure Emerald Spirit Water—it really can reach sixty percent refining power."

Her beautiful eyes blazed as she stared at Li Luo. She truly hadn't seen it before—how could Li Luo possess such talent in Material Refining?

One must remember, this was his very first time.

She recalled that when she had first become a First-Rank Material Refiner, the finished product she refined had only reached around fifty-seven or fifty-eight percent, which was already considered decent.

As if suddenly thinking of something, a smile bloomed on Yan Yan Lingqing's usually cold pretty face. She grabbed this bottle of Emerald Spirit Water, turned around, looked at Zhuang Yi, who wore an equally doubtful expression behind her, and said, "Vice President Zhuang Yi, it seems I won't need to hand over the First-Rank Refining Room for now."

Zhuang Yi's expression flickered uncertainly as he stared at that bottle of Spirit Refinement Water. He had heard those exclamations earlier—Li Luo had refined Emerald Spirit Water with sixty percent refining power?

One must know that even if he or Yan Yan Lingqing, as Fourth-Rank Material Refiners, were to act, the First-Rank Emerald Spirit Water they refined would probably only barely reach sixty-five percent refining power. But in Zhuang Yi's memory, he hadn't personally refined First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water for many years, because such refining was purely a waste of time for him—the cost-effectiveness was far too low. After all, a single bottle of First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water was only worth a few dozen Sky Abundance Gold.

This was also the first time he had ever heard of someone reaching sixty percent refining power on their very first attempt at refining Spirit Refinement Water. His disciple Shi Yun had practiced Emerald Spirit Water for a full year before barely reaching fifty-six percent.

Compared to Li Luo, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Zhuang Yi tugged at the corner of his mouth and said somewhat stiffly, "Vice President Yan, you didn't tamper with something, did you? The young manor lord has only been exposed to Material Refining for less than half a month."

Yan Yan Lingqing glanced at him indifferently and said, "Many people watched the young manor lord's refining earlier. That excuse of yours is too weak. Or should the young manor lord put on another performance just for you?"

Many people around them nodded. They had indeed personally witnessed this bottle of Spirit Refinement Water being produced.

The expression on Zhuang Yi's face grew even stiffer. Finally, he gave a dry laugh and said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Although he didn't particularly value Li Luo in his heart, no matter what, Li Luo was the young manor lord in name. In front of so many people, he didn't dare show any contempt toward him.

"Vice President Zhuang Yi, if whoever refines First-Rank Spirit Refinement Water with higher refining power gets to be in charge of the First-Rank Refining Room, can I be too?" Li Luo said with a smile, twisting the knife.

Zhuang Yi gave an awkward laugh and said, "That would depend on Vice President Yan's wishes."

Afterward, Zhuang Yi also realized that today's attack had been a complete failure. So he awkwardly chimed in a few more times, then turned and left with a dark expression.

In the First-Rank Refining Room, the atmosphere immediately eased. Then one congratulatory voice after another rang out, and the gazes directed at Li Luo were filled with envy and admiration.

Li Luo smiled and responded to the congratulations. Then Yan Yan Lingqing shooed everyone off to continue practicing, before turning her beautiful eyes, now brimming with interest, to Li Luo and saying, "I didn't expect that on your first try, you could refine Spirit Refinement Water with this kind of refining power. It seems you truly have a great talent for Material Refining."

At the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, Yan Yan Lingqing had seen many Material Refining geniuses. Of course there were those who could reach this level on their first try, but what she hadn't expected was that Li Luo, with his Fifth-Rank Water Aspect, could achieve this. What did this indicate? It indicated that Li Luo likely possessed a unique sensitivity in the fusion and harmonization of various materials—a special kind of talent. Yan Yan Lingqing had seen this kind of talent before, in the Material Refining Institute of the Sacred Mystic Star Academy.

"Maybe it was just luck," Li Luo said modestly. If he knew Yan Yan Lingqing's speculation, he would probably feel a bit awkward, because he didn't have that so-called talent. The fact that he could reach sixty percent refining power on his first try was actually just purely thanks to the unique refining properties of his "Water Light Aspect" brute-forcing its way through. Because he had discovered that even though he had been estimating the whole time, when the result came out, he had still somewhat underestimated the refining properties when the Water Aspect and Light Aspect were perfectly fused together.

Yan Yan Lingqing paid no heed to his modesty and said, "This time I owe you thanks, but I can't be bothered to say them—after all, Xi Yang House is making money for you anyway."

Then she paused, and a smile bloomed on her usually cold and aloof pretty face.

"But I'm in a good mood, so I can treat you to a meal later."

Li Luo had originally wanted to say that he was actually in a hurry to get home and practice his physiognomy for a bit, but thinking of Yan Yan Lingqing's usual strictness, his survival instinct ultimately made him put on a happy expression.

(There was an error earlier — the other vice president should have been called Zhuang Yi; the name Bei Yu was the original name, which was later changed because it sounded unpleasant, but a few slipped through the cracks. It has already been corrected and does not affect the reading.)

(End of chapter)