Chapter 314: Ling Zhaoying

As time passed, the atmosphere in the plaza grew increasingly boisterous. Even many students from the Academy of Phase Refinement ran over to join in the excitement; after all, with the purification missions in the Dark Caves having just concluded a phase, watching a refinement of Spirit Liquid and Light was a relaxing way to refresh the mind and body.

Li Luo was observing the various Spirit Liquid and Light houses that had arrived, and he discovered that, apart from their own Xiyang House, all the other Spirit Liquid and Light houses were capable of ranking within the top twenty in the Great Xia Dynasty...

Clearly, any Spirit Liquid and Light house confident enough to come to the Academy of Phase Refinement's invitation event possessed formidable strength.

Conversely, their Xiyang House really felt quite out of place here.

After all, in a place where so many powerful groups gathered, ordinary Spirit Liquid and Light houses wouldn't dare to show up; otherwise, they would be crushed by their peers the moment they arrived, and instead of attracting people, they would only damage their own reputation.

While he was sizing up the various Spirit Liquid and Light houses, Li Luo suddenly felt a stir in the crowd. He cast his gaze over and saw a team walking into the venue; the person leading them was, surprisingly, the Princess.

In the team behind her, most were Phase Refiners, and these Phase Refiners wore expressions of unconcealable arrogance.

"That is the 'Heavenly Palace House,' which is directly under the royal family and also the strongest Spirit Liquid and Light house in the Great Xia Dynasty—that is, if you don't count the Academy of Phase Refinement." Yan Lingqing also noticed the arrival of this team of Phase Refiners and immediately explained to Li Luo.

Li Luo nodded. He had, of course, heard of the Heavenly Palace House; after all, it was the most powerful Spirit Liquid and Light house in the Great Xia Dynasty, and almost every Phase Refiner graduating from the Academy of Phase Refinement made it their first choice. Fortunately, the Academy of Phase Refinement limited the number of recruits each Spirit Liquid and Light house could take, which served as a form of balance; otherwise, the Heavenly Palace House might have been able to swallow up the majority of graduating Phase Refiners all by itself.

Li Luo had some confidence that Xiyang House could squeeze into the top ten of the Great Xia Dynasty within this half-year, but if he were to say he could surpass the Heavenly Palace House, that was truly a bit too distant—at the very least, it was impossible for now.

Not long after the Heavenly Palace House entered, a crisp sound, like gold and jade striking each other, suddenly resonated throughout the entire plaza. Afterward, all the clamor quieted down, and eyes turned toward a high platform on the right side of the plaza.

There, a group of senior officials from the Academy of Phase Refinement walked out. Leading them was a beautiful woman in a holy white robe; her golden hair was exceptionally dazzling. Her cheeks bore some traces of the years, but she still appeared full of charm.

"That is the Dean of the Academy of Phase Refinement, Ling Zhaoying."

Yan Lingqing looked at the beautiful woman with eyes full of longing and said, "She is the only eighth-grade Phase Refiner in our Great Xia Dynasty."

"At the same time, she also possesses an upper eighth-grade... Light Phase."

Speaking of this, she looked at Jiang Qing'e and smiled, "It was this Dean who had always wanted Qing'e to enter the Academy of Phase Refinement, but she refused every time."

"Eighth-grade Phase Refiner... upper eighth-grade Light Phase."

Li Luo was filled with wonder. Aside from Jiang Qing'e, this was his first time seeing such a high-grade Light Phase. After all, compared to the Water Phase, the Light Phase was indeed much rarer, so in the world of Spirit Liquid and Light, the products produced were often a cut above the rest.

And most importantly, this Dean of the Academy of Phase Refinement was actually an eighth-grade Phase Refiner.

There were some significant differences between Phase Refiners and Alchemists; the unit price of Spirit Liquid and Light often could not compare to pills of the same grade because the demand for Spirit Liquid and Light was massive and continuous, while pills had a higher unit price. However, many pills could not be used repeatedly; after all, taking too many pills would also shake one's foundation.

However, this comparison only applied to Spirit Liquid and Light below the seventh grade. Once above the seventh grade, this type of Spirit Liquid and Light not only skyrocketed in price but also became rare in quantity.

The reason was simple: seventh-grade Phase Refiners were few and far between in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

If the seventh grade was like this, how much more so the eighth?

In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, only this Dean of the Academy of Phase Refinement could refine them, so one could imagine what an astonishing price a bottle of eighth-grade Spirit Liquid and Light would command, and that was even assuming it was available for purchase.

Those who could afford to buy this level of Spirit Liquid and Light were likely some Marquis-level powerhouses. To obtain this bottle of Spirit Liquid and Light, they would likely be willing to pay a heavy price. At this stage, the rarity of an eighth-grade Phase Refiner was no less than that of an Alchemist of the same grade.

This was also the main reason why Li Luo chose to walk the path of a Phase Refiner after awakening his acquired phase; at the very least, in the future, he could rely on himself to obtain high-grade Spirit Liquid and Light without having to seek out others and be at their mercy.

While Li Luo's thoughts were surging, the Academy of Phase Refinement Dean named Ling Zhaoying walked onto the high platform, scanned the entire venue with her gaze, and then a clear, pleasant voice rang out.

"You are all no strangers to this, so there is no need for pleasantries. On behalf of the Academy of Phase Refinement of the Astral Sage College, I welcome all our distinguished guests. I hope that at this invitation event, our students who are about to graduate will be able to find a good place to go."

"As for the rules of the invitation event, everyone is already aware of them in advance, so I won't say much more. Let's begin directly."

This Dean of the Academy of Phase Refinement had a rather decisive style; in just a few words, she skipped the opening ceremony and directly announced the start of the invitation event.

"This Dean Ling Zhaoying has quite a personality," Li Luo said with a smile.

"After all, she is an eighth-grade Phase Refiner. Her status in the Astral Sage College is also very special. It is said that it took a lot of effort from the Dean to invite her here," Jiang Qing'e said with a faint smile.

Li Luo nodded. This was normal; no matter where an eighth-grade Phase Refiner was placed, they would absolutely be competed for by all forces. In terms of attraction, even a Marquis-level powerhouse was far inferior to an eighth-grade Phase Refiner.

While they were talking, they saw an instructor from the Academy of Phase Refinement presiding over the order in the center of the plaza, saying loudly, "The first session of the invitation event is the third-grade session."

"There are six Spirit Liquid and Light houses participating."

"Daze House, refiner, Vice President Han Zhi, fifth-grade Phase Refiner."

"Blue Light House, refiner, Vice President Huangfu Xu, fifth-grade Phase Refiner."

"North Mountain Ice Snow House, refiner, Vice President Bing Ling, fifth-grade Phase Refiner."

"Ink Water House, refiner, Vice President Mo Tai, fifth-grade Phase Refiner."

"..."

When the last Spirit Liquid and Light house was read out, the instructor's voice clearly paused, and then he said, "Xiyang House, refiner, President Li Luo, third-grade Phase Refiner."

When his voice fell, the originally somewhat noisy plaza became noticeably quieter. Many people looked astonished, as if they felt they had misheard.

Among these six Spirit Liquid and Light houses, the other five were all top-tier Spirit Liquid and Light houses in the Great Xia Dynasty, with both fame and strength that were not to be trifled with. But how did a Xiyang House pop up at the end...

Regarding Xiyang House, they only knew that it was a Spirit Liquid and Light house affiliated with the House of Luolan, but its strength in the Great Xia Dynasty really didn't rank, and it was far less widely known than the House of Luolan.

And most importantly, the other houses all sent fifth-grade Phase Refiners to refine third-grade Spirit Liquid because this could best showcase their formulas and reveal their own strength.

But this Xiyang House was something else; they only sent a third-grade Phase Refiner... and Li Luo's name had been spreading widely in the college recently, so everyone was not a stranger to him at all.

But...

How could this be compared?

A continuous wave of uproar rippled through the venue.

On the Daze House side, Han Zhi had already stood up. His face carried a faint smile, and beside him, Duze Beixuan sneered, "Vice President Han Zhi, bring out all your skills. The better you perform, the more embarrassing it will be for Li Luo."

Han Zhi smiled, "Young House Master, rest assured. Daze House has no reason to lose to Xiyang House."

Duze Honglian said with a calm expression, "Daze House has never considered Xiyang House an opponent because they don't have the qualifications yet. Vice President Han Zhi, for this third-grade session, I want Daze House to be the most outstanding one, so I hope you will do your best."

Han Zhi nodded solemnly.

"The Young Lady is right; my vision was too short-sighted."

At the same time, on the high platform of the plaza, many senior officials of the Academy of Phase Refinement were seated.

Dean Ling Zhaoying sat in the center. When she heard the name Xiyang House, her gaze shifted, and she immediately turned to look at the figure beside her, smiling, "This Li Luo is your student, Xichan, right?"

Sitting next to the Dean was none other than Instructor Xichan. She nodded lightly upon hearing this and said, "That kid came to me to ask for a back door, so I let him participate."

"Although it's only refining third-grade Spirit Liquid and Light, a third-grade Phase Refiner daring to go on stage to compete with fifth-grade Phase Refiners..."

Ling Zhaoying said with a smile, "Does this kid think he is Jiang Qing'e?"

"From your words, I hear a bit of resentment," Instructor Xichan said calmly.

Ling Zhaoying curled her lips and said, "That girl Jiang Qing'e is really too wasteful. A ninth-grade Light Phase! I've pursued it my whole life and still haven't been able to step into it!"

"She, on the other hand, just wasted this potential!"

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but pat the armrest of her chair, drawing some side-glances.

"Everyone has their own pursuits. If she doesn't like the path of a Phase Refiner, can you force her?" Instructor Xichan said.

Ling Zhaoying shook her head and didn't dwell on the topic that had been bothering her for many years. Her gaze turned to the location of Xiyang House, and then she saw the silver-gray-haired youth who had stood up.

"Fine, let's see what this kid from the House of Luolan is relying on to dare to compete with a group of fifth-grade Phase Refiners..."

"If this kid really thinks my Academy of Phase Refinement's invitation event is for laughs, then this Xiyang House can forget about entering the doors of my Academy of Phase Refinement in the future."

Instructor Xichan shook her head. She knew this was still just a little bit of resentment Ling Zhaoying held toward Jiang Qing'e, and her words didn't need to be taken seriously. However, if Li Luo really didn't have any performance, then it would be inevitable for Xiyang House to lose face at today's invitation event.

So...

She looked at Li Luo's figure and frowned slightly.

Does this kid really have confidence?