Chapter 318: Time to Stir Things Up

As the presiding instructor stepped onto the stage, every gaze in the venue converged, the noisy atmosphere gradually falling silent as everyone waited for the test results.

The presiding instructor first walked toward the refining platform where Han Zhi stood; the latter stepped back with a smile and gestured for him to proceed with the test.

The instructor nodded, took the bottle of spiritual water Han Zhi had refined, and inserted the quenching-testing needle into it.

A few seconds passed.

Everyone waited in silence for the result.

In the end, the presiding instructor revealed an appreciative smile and announced in a clear voice: "Han Zhi of Great Marsh House, the spiritual water he refined has a quenching force of... sixty-six percent."

The moment these words rang out, they immediately stirred up considerable murmuring. Quite a few who knew the trade nodded slightly—a four-star, Third Rank spiritual water should have an upper quenching-force limit of around seventy percent, and Han Zhi had reached sixty-six percent, so the bottle he refined could absolutely be considered top-grade.

Of course, Han Zhi's ability to reach this quenching force was largely because he himself was a Fifth Rank Quenching Master; if another Third Rank Quenching Master had refined it, the final quenching force would likely have fallen in the range of sixty to sixty-three percent.

And this was also the average level of the "Brown Dust Spiritual Water" produced by Great Marsh House.

After all, even Great Marsh House couldn't constantly dispatch a Fifth Rank Quenching Master like Han Zhi to refine Third Rank spiritual water—the cost-effectiveness simply wouldn't be worth it.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I think Han Zhi should be the one with the highest quenching force." At the position of Heavenly Palace House, the middle-aged man named Gui Xu smiled, then spoke to the Princess.

The Princess's breathtakingly beautiful face showed no ripple; she merely gave a slight nod. The word "unexpected"... was rather hard to pin down.

"How will Li Luo's results turn out?" she asked, her red lips parting slightly.

Gui Xu glanced at the Princess; he noticed that the latter seemed to pay more attention to Li Luo—was this because she had some connection with him?

Gui Xu deliberated for a moment, then said: "Xi Yang House has a thin foundation; its only bright spot is the Mi Fa source water with purity above seventy percent. If Li Luo refined a three-star formula, then no matter how outstanding he was, the spiritual water he refined wouldn't exceed sixty percent."

"Because the extreme quenching force of a three-star formula is around sixty percent."

The Princess's eyes flickered slightly as she asked: "What if Li Luo refined a four-star formula?"

Gui Xu was taken aback. "I've never heard of Xi Yang House having a four-star formula."

The Princess smiled lightly. "Not having one in the past doesn't mean there isn't one now... Li Luo was able to suddenly produce Mi Fa source water with purity above seventy percent; suddenly having an additional four-star formula isn't impossible, is it?"

Gui Xu felt a bit helpless. The Princess still didn't quite understand the Spirit Water Splendor industry—formulas were worth their weight in gold. Every time a four-star formula appeared, it would cause a huge stir in the field. How could Xi Yang House suddenly come up with an extra four-star formula?

But since the Princess had made such an assumption, he couldn't very well contradict her. He could only analyze: "Even if Li Luo is now refining a four-star formula, given his ability as a Third Rank Quenching Master, the final quenching force should only be around sixty to sixty-two percent."

"That still leaves a considerable gap compared to Fifth Rank Quenching Masters like Han Zhi."

"Heh, in this competition, if Li Luo can reach a quenching force of sixty-three percent, I'd consider that a great victory for him. After all, he's only losing because of the gap in Quenching Master ranks. Once he reaches Fourth Rank Quenching Master, then in refining Third Rank Spirit Water Splendor, he won't be inferior to Fifth Rank Quenching Masters like Han Zhi. And a Quenching Master who can achieve this could basically be considered a Quenching prodigy." Finally, Gui Xu added.

The Princess nodded, then looked toward the arena.

On the stage, the presiding instructor smiled at Han Zhi: "Congratulations."

This presiding instructor was also a Quenching Master, so his eye was sharp. Although he hadn't yet tested the other Wu Wei Wu Pin, he could already sense that Han Zhi would most likely be the highest.

Han Zhi offered his thanks with a smile, watching the presiding instructor walk toward the next Fifth Rank Quenching Master, and only then did his gaze drift toward Li Luo's position.

At this moment, Li Luo was stretching his back, as if the previous refining hadn't been easy.

Sensing Han Zhi's gaze, Li Luo raised his head to meet it, then his mouth moved—the shape of the words: "I'll cut you down!"

Han Zhi's smile stiffened slightly, a flash of annoyance rising in his eyes. Hmph, Li Luo, Li Luo—no matter how fierce your bluster, it won't change today's outcome.

Every gaze in the arena moved along with the presiding instructor. Next, he proceeded to test the Spirit Water Splendor refined by the other Si Wei Wu Pin one after another.

"Lan Guang House, Huang Fu Xu, quenching force: sixty-four percent."

"North Mountain Ice Snow House, Bing Ling, quenching force: sixty-five percent."

"Ink Water House, refiner Mo Tai, quenching force: sixty-four percent."

"..."

As the results of the other four Fifth Rank Quenching Masters were announced, sighs of admiration kept rising throughout the arena. These Fifth Rank Quenching Masters were indeed skilled; the gaps between them weren't too large, and as everyone had predicted, among the five Fifth Rank Quenching Masters, Han Zhi performed the most brilliantly.

A quenching force of sixty-six percent—unrivaled in the arena.

After testing these Wu Wei Wu Pin, the presiding instructor came to the refining platform where Li Luo stood, and every gaze in the arena converged at this moment.

Everyone knew that the next test was likely the highlight of this competition.

Did this president of Xi Yang House truly have some confidence, or was he simply young and brash, wanting to step onto the stage just to make his presence felt?

If the former, then Xi Yang House would likely cause a sensation today and become the best of the arena; if the latter... one could only say it would be a laughingstock. After all, recklessly stepping onto the stage without reading the occasion wouldn't showcase courage, but would only cost one every last bit of face.

"Instructor, please."

Li Luo looked at the instructor who had come before him and handed over the "Budding Butterfly Spiritual Water."

That instructor glanced at Li Luo and said: "Don't feel pressured; just treat it as experiencing the ability of a Fifth Rank Quenching Master."

Li Luo smiled and nodded.

The instructor took the "Budding Butterfly Spiritual Water," sensed the faint radiance rising within it, and his expression suddenly shifted, a look of surprise and doubt rising in his eyes.

Because the moment it touched his hand, he sensed that this bottle of spiritual water was somewhat different.

The rising scent was pure and intense—this was not a level a three-star formula could achieve!

The presiding instructor swiftly inserted the quenching-testing needle into this bottle of spiritual water. After a few breaths, he watched the scale climbing rapidly, his eyes gradually widening.

Sixty-three percent... sixty-four percent... sixty-five percent!

The climb began to slow, but it didn't stop.

In the end, the scale struggled its way up to sixty-six percent!

This was already the same quenching force as Han Zhi's!

How could this be?!

The presiding instructor drew in a breath of cold air, his face full of shock. His first reaction was whether the quenching-testing needle had malfunctioned, but reason still forced him to suppress this thought, because before stepping onto the stage, the quenching-testing needle he had prepared had already undergone strict inspection.

The quenching-testing needle was specially made and couldn't possibly be wrong.

That meant Li Luo's bottle of Spirit Water Splendor had truly reached a quenching force of sixty-six percent!

This was absolutely not a three-star formula!

Out of his own professional judgment, he immediately determined that the spiritual water Li Luo had refined was by no means a three-star formula—this was a genuine four-star formula!

Li Luo had indeed come prepared.

But that doesn't add up either—even with a Four-Star Formula, there's no way Li Luo, with the strength of a Third Rank Refiner, could refine Spirit Water with a Purification Power of sixty-six percent!

Among the five Wu Wei Wu Pin Refiners who took the stage, who among them didn't possess a Four-Star Formula? Yet in the end, only Han Zhi reached sixty-six percent—so what exactly is Li Luo relying on?

The presiding instructor was a bit dumbfounded, momentarily in a daze.

It was Li Luo who kindly called him back, smiling: "Instructor, everyone is waiting for your announcement."

The instructor came back to his senses and took a deep look at the youth before him.

Young man, I can see it now—you're looking to stir up trouble.