Chapter 312: Invitation Conference

The Essence Refinement Institute is considered a relatively independent department within the Astral Sage College, and its students are categorized by their four-star grade levels; however, most students in the Essence Refinement Institute lean toward auxiliary roles and are weaker in combat compared to the Resonance Power Institute.

Therefore, the Essence Refinement Institute generally does not participate in dangerous missions like purifying dark caves; of course, if anyone volunteers, the college will not refuse.

However, students of the Essence Refinement Institute are not entirely exempt from contribution, as their performance is measured by how much qualified Spirit Liquid and Light they refine each year, which the college either consumes itself or sells to subsidize its expenses.

This is actually a massive source of income, and some have even said that in the Great Xia, while there are many powerful Spirit Liquid and Light houses, if one were to truly speak of strength, the Essence Refinement Institute of the Astral Sage College is the undisputed number one Spirit Liquid and Light house in the Great Xia.

After all, looking at the top Spirit Liquid and Light houses in the Great Xia, nearly one-third of their elite Essence Refiners likely walked out of the Essence Refinement Institute.

And precisely because of the Essence Refinement Institute's power, every year as graduation approaches for some Essence Refiners, it attracts the covetous eyes of various Spirit Liquid and Light houses across the Great Xia, who use many methods to try and recruit them.

No one would complain about having too few Essence Refiners in their own Spirit Liquid and Light house, especially when they are elite Essence Refiners who graduated from the Astral Sage College's Essence Refinement Institute.

This Essence Refinement Institute invitation conference, while seemingly simple, is actually a stage for the various Spirit Liquid and Light houses of the Great Xia to compete and showcase their own strength.

It can also be considered a grand event in the Great Xia's Spirit Liquid and Light circle.

The Essence Refinement Institute is located in the southeast of the Astral Sage College, an area with many lakes; if one looks down from high above, one can see pools of water embedded like bright mirrors in this region, with many covered bridges and buildings constructed above the lakes, connecting to one another—a style quite different from the Resonance Power Institute, possessing a unique charm.

Today, the Essence Refinement Institute is particularly lively.

In the center of this area, a plaza that seems to be crafted from white jade stands in the middle of a lake, with layers of stone steps extending from the edges of the plaza, all of which offer a clear view of the entire scene.

Since early morning, people have been coming and going across the covered bridges, all gathering here.

Among these figures, besides the Essence Refiners wearing the robes of the Essence Refinement Institute, there are others in various different attires—these are the people from the top Spirit Liquid and Light houses across the Great Xia.

Li Luo, Jiang Qing, and Yan Lingqing also arrived early, and then met up with Cai Wei, Tang Yun, and the rest of the Xiyang House group at the agreed-upon location.

Looking at the scenery of the Essence Refinement Institute, Tang Yun and the other Xiyang House Essence Refiners all looked on with envy, sighing, "As expected of the Essence Refinement Institute; this was the holy land we dreamed of when we were young."

Li Luo chuckled; is this the lament of a poor student? Clearly, when Tang Yun and the others were young, they did not pass the entrance exam for the Astral Sage College, and naturally, they had no qualifications to enter the Essence Refinement Institute.

But thinking about this, he felt a sense of bitterness—not for Tang Yun and the others, but for how miserable Xiyang House is... looking around, is Yan Lingqing the only one in the entire Xiyang House who came from the Essence Refinement Institute?

While Li Luo was feeling bitter, the alluring Sister Cai Wei walked over gracefully, her charming eyes staring at Li Luo with resentment as she said, "Young House Master, just how deep is this bottomless pit of yours?"

Li Luo gave a dry laugh; my bottomless pit is so deep that I'm afraid if I told you, you'd resign on the spot, so for the sake of everyone's feelings, I'd better not say it.

"Sister Cai Wei, don't panic."

Li Luo reassured her, "All the investment is worth it; at today's invitation conference, my Xiyang House will surely make a fortune, and then my Xiyang House will soar to the heavens."

Cai Wei curled her red lips and said, "Do you really think I don't understand the foundation of Xiyang House?"

She is, after all, the head steward of Luolan House, managing the many industries under Luolan House, which naturally includes Xiyang House, so she knows the ins and outs of Xiyang House all too well.

And precisely because of this understanding, she had no confidence in this invitation conference at all; in fact, she felt that it wasn't very wise for Xiyang House to attend.

Although the Essence Refiners from the Essence Refinement Institute who are about to graduate are extremely coveted, Xiyang House really doesn't have the qualifications to compete for this kind of cake.

Forcing their way in, she feared they would only invite ridicule.

And it wasn't just her who held a pessimistic view; even Tang Yun had a bitter expression, wanting to say something but stopping, eventually turning it into a soft sigh.

They also didn't quite understand why Li Luo wanted Xiyang House to attend this invitation conference.

After all, what level of Spirit Liquid and Light houses are coming to the invitation conference? At the very least, they are the top ten in the Great Xia, and while Xiyang House has shown signs of growth recently, compared to these levels of Spirit Liquid and Light houses, there is still a gap that cannot be ignored.

For their tiny Xiyang House to come and compete on the same stage as these entities, isn't it just a joke?

"Young House Master, why don't you let me go on stage to demonstrate later? You are still young, after all, and you are still cultivating within the college..." Tang Yun hesitated and said.

In his mind, although Li Luo has extremely high talent in Essence Refinement, he is still young, and if he were to be left far behind by others on such an occasion, it would damage his reputation.

So, such embarrassing things should be done by a subordinate like him.

Regarding their dejection and discouragement, Li Luo was a bit speechless, but he didn't explain too much, just waved his hand and said, "It's fine, leave it to me."

And as he was speaking, he suddenly felt the atmosphere around him change; even Jiang Qing, standing before him, had a hint of chill on her beautiful face.

Tang Yun and the others were even more furious, their anger impossible to hide on their faces.

Li Luo was thoughtful, and as he followed their gaze, he saw a group of people walking over from a side bridge, their momentum quite impressive.

The people at the front of this group were not unfamiliar.

Duze Honglian and Duze Beixuan, the sister and brother; clearly, this was the contingent from the Duze House.

And the target of Tang Yun and the others' anger was not the Duze siblings, but a man standing beside them.

The man had a decent appearance, a rather scholarly temperament, and wore Essence Refiner robes, with a seemingly gentle smile on his face.

Looking at this person, Li Luo guessed his identity immediately; this must be their former general manager of Xiyang House, Han Zhi.

After all, the only person who could make Tang Yun and the others, and even Jiang Qing, show such coldness was that traitor Han Zhi, who had caused such great harm to Xiyang House.

"That dog!" Tang Yun gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred.

The group of Essence Refiners from Daze House came from the bridge; they also saw the Xiyang House group ahead, but most of the Daze House higher-ups had playful looks in their eyes, with hints of mockery on their lips.

It was truly surprising to see Xiyang House appear on such an occasion.

"Heh, this Li Luo really doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth; is the Essence Refinement Institute invitation conference something Xiyang House can attend?" Duze Beixuan sneered.

Duze Honglian remained expressionless and said indifferently, "Just do your own thing; there's no need to pay attention to others."

Duze Beixuan frowned; if it were before, Duze Honglian would have certainly mocked them along with him, but this time she chose to ignore them.

"Sister, this Luolan House is our rival; you can't change your stance just because of what happened in the dark cave," Duze Beixuan reminded her.

Duze Honglian was silent for a moment and said, "You're overthinking it. It's true that I was saved by them in the dark cave this time, but that cannot change my stance. I just think that mocking them at this moment is meaningless; after all... the result is more important than anything else."

"And..."

She glanced at Duze Beixuan: "You've experienced firsthand how monstrous that Li Luo is; the harder you mock him now, won't it be even more embarrassing later?"

Duze Beixuan paused and muttered, "How can he be a monster every single time?!"

However, he ultimately quieted down and resisted the urge to mock Li Luo.

Then, the Daze House group walked over from the bridge and was about to pass by the Xiyang House group.

Han Zhi also looked at Jiang Qing, Li Luo, and the others with a smile, yet everyone knew just how ruthless this guy with the gentle smile was, otherwise he wouldn't have sabotaged Xiyang House to that extent.

Han Zhi didn't take the initiative to say anything, because in his view, there was no need; he knew Xiyang House's decline all too well, and the latter did not have the qualifications to make him take them seriously.

However, while he chose to walk past nonchalantly, Li Luo suddenly stepped forward and smiled at Han Zhi, "Manager Han Zhi, long time no see."

As Li Luo spoke first, the group from Daze House stopped in their tracks, and even Duze Honglian looked over with a frown.

Han Zhi's smile remained gentle as he nodded at Li Luo, saying, "Young House Master Li Luo, I am now the Deputy Manager of Daze House, not the Manager of Xiyang House, so when the Young House Master addresses me, you can add 'Deputy' before 'Manager'."

Li Luo waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter; with your methods, I believe you should be able to get rid of the Manager of Daze House very soon and take the position yourself."

The faces of the Daze House Essence Refiners twitched, and some couldn't help but glance at Han Zhi.

Han Zhi's smile faded slightly, and he said indifferently, "Is that all Young House Master Li Luo wanted to say by stopping me—these meaningless words?"

"Not just that."

Li Luo shook his head and said sincerely, "I came to express my gratitude to you."

A sneer appeared in Han Zhi's eyes; I don't believe a word you say.

Li Luo sighed, "My gratitude is sincere; I thank you, you loser, for leaving Xiyang House. Otherwise, if you had stayed here, how could my Xiyang House have flourished during this time?"

Someone couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

Duze Honglian looked at Li Luo coldly and said, "Li Luo, let your skills do the talking. There's no point in being sharp-tongued here; the top students of the Essence Refinement Institute won't choose Xiyang House just because you have a sharper mouth."

After saying this, she headed toward a spot in the plaza first.

The others from Daze House quickly followed.

Han Zhi lagged half a step behind; he looked at Li Luo and smiled, "Young House Master, you are a smart person, but you are still a bit too young and impetuous..."

"An occasion of the level of the Essence Refinement Institute invitation conference is not something Xiyang House is qualified to participate in."

"Forcing your way in is truly just asking for humiliation."

"For the sake of the two House Masters who once showed me kindness, I advise you to take Xiyang House and leave; don't ruin the reputation that Xiyang House has worked so hard to accumulate."

He wore an admonishing expression, then walked past Li Luo with a smile.