Chapter 322: The Coveted Xiyang House

Li Luo's voice drew some low chuckles from the crowd, but there was no trace of mockery in those laughs. On the contrary, many of the top students about to graduate from the Material Refining Institute were feeling tempted.

The Xiyang House's scale and foundation were indeed far weaker than those other top-tier Spirit Water and Mystic Light Houses, but that was only in the past. Now that it possessed a four-star formula and Yi Ba Pin purity Mi Fa source water, the rise of Xiyang House was only a matter of time.

And just as Li Luo had said, Xiyang House was small in scale, and there weren't many Material Refining Masters for now, so anyone who came here could have all the Yi Ba Pin purity Mi Fa source water they wanted.

This was the most attractive point.

After all, why did these Material Refining Masters like to go to those top-tier Spirit Water and Mystic Light Houses? Wasn't it precisely because those houses were powerful and possessed Mi Fa source water, which could allow their Material Refining Arts to improve faster and higher?

But in those large-scale Spirit Water and Mystic Light Houses, there were quite a number of Material Refining Masters. A newcomer couldn't possibly be assigned the best resources right away. Upon entering such a place, a newcomer would first have to endure a period of time.

But now, if one were to enter Xiyang House, this grueling stage could clearly be skipped entirely.

How could this not make people's hearts stir?

At this moment, all the students in attendance understood clearly that the current Xiyang House was no longer that little shabby house with nothing to offer...

Hoo.

Li Bi let out a long breath, finally snapping out of the series of shocks. She gazed at the youth in the arena, a trace of disbelief still lingering in her eyes.

He had actually done it!

Earlier, when Li Luo had insisted on taking the stage himself, she had been deeply disappointed, feeling that Li Luo was making a joke of Xiyang House's reputation. But now, this result made her cheeks burn. It turned out Li Luo wasn't the one joking—it was her own vision that was too narrow.

While Li Bi's thoughts were in turmoil, suddenly a figure pounced over from beside her and hugged her tightly.

Li Bi was startled. Looking over, she saw it was her good friend Bing Tao, whose cheeks were now flushed with excitement and agitation.

"What are you doing?" Li Bi shot her a look.

Bing Tao excitedly grabbed Li Bi's hand and said, "Wow, A Bi, your eye for talent is incredible, isn't it?! You actually discovered Xiyang House's potential ahead of time?! Did that Li Luo tell you all this?!"

The curious gazes of some friends around them were also turning toward them.

Li Bi felt a little guilty under their stares, but her expression remained composed as she said, "Well, when Junior Li Luo came to find me, he certainly did reveal some information."

She actually wasn't lying. Li Luo had told her that Xiyang House would possess Yi Ba Pin purity Mi Fa source water—it's just that... she hadn't believed him.

Any normal person wouldn't have believed it. After all, in the entire Da Xia Shui Qi Guang Zhong Jie, the only one that possessed Yi Ba Pin purity Mi Fa source water was the Heavenly Palace House, so by any measure, it shouldn't have been Xiyang House's turn.

"A Bi, you'll join Xiyang House, right?" Bing Tao asked with a grin.

Li Bi felt even more guilty. Although she hadn't refused Li Luo before, she hadn't agreed either. Before this match, she could still play hard to get, but now Xiyang House had turned around in an instant. Although she was a fifth-grade Material Refining Master, among the top graduates of this Material Refining Institute class, she wasn't the only fifth-grade practitioner. Given Xiyang House's current conditions, those other fifth-grade Material Refining Masters would surely be tempted as well.

So now the question wasn't whether she would join Xiyang House, but whether they would even want her...

Although based on her brief contact with Li Luo, she felt he would most likely accept her, until things were confirmed, she really didn't dare to boast. Otherwise, if the negotiations fell through later, how awkward would that be?

"I suppose so," Li Bi could only say vaguely.

"Hehe, then help us put in a word with that Junior Li Luo. We're interested in joining Xiyang House too," Bing Tao said, hugging Li Bi with a smile.

"Yes, yes!" some other familiar classmates also nodded repeatedly, looking at Li Bi with hopeful eyes.

Looking at the expectant gazes of these friends, Li Bi felt a headache coming on. She hadn't even secured her own place yet—how could she possibly take care of them?

"You don't have to be so eager... there are plenty of other good options out there," she urged with effort.

"Hey, what choice could be better than Xiyang House? Even the Heavenly Palace House, though the strongest, once you get in you still have to keep your head down and get pushed around by some seniors. But at Xiyang House, I heard the highest rank right now is a fourth-grade Material Refining Master, so if we go in, at least we won't get bullied to death, right?" Bing Tao said.

"The reason we were treating the Heavenly Palace House as our first choice was precisely because it had Yi Ba Pin purity Mi Fa source water. Now that Xiyang House has it too, why bother going there to be a workhorse?"

The others nodded in agreement.

Li Bi gave a wry smile. You all looked down on them before, and now you want to brazenly ask to join. But this was human nature. She believed that before the match, probably no one could have predicted this outcome—including herself.

"I'll ask on your behalf, but don't blame me if you get turned down," she sighed, able to say only this.

Bing Tao and the others nodded repeatedly. They were complete strangers to Li Luo, while Li Bi had at least had some contact with him and had even received an invitation before. Having Li Bi speak up for them was certainly better than approaching him on their own.

Li Bi sighed with emotion. The world really was full of changes. Who could have imagined that the Xiyang House, which no one had cared about moments ago, had now become such a hot commodity.

She looked at the youth in the arena—tall in stature, extraordinarily handsome, with a smile as brilliant as sunlight—and couldn't help thinking that working under him in the future seemed like quite a nice option.

Thinking this, she glanced over at Mei Zhu Xuan'er, who not long ago had been incessantly mocking Xiyang House. The latter was now completely silenced, her face alternating between pale and green as she sat in her chair, unable to utter a single word.

The gazes of some of the Material Refining Institute students around Mei Zhu Xuan'er also carried oddness and amusement.

The more fiercely she had mocked before, the more awkward she was now.

Li Bi asked herself that if she were in Mei Zhu Xuan'er's place, the embarrassment in her heart would be enough to let her dig out a two-courtyard mansion with her toes on the ground.

However, she didn't have much goodwill toward Mei Zhu Xuan'er. Although the latter had been mocking Xiyang House, there had also been an intent to target her. So seeing Mei Zhu Xuan'er in such an awkward position now brought her some satisfaction.

Serves her right.

Inside the refining arena, Li Luo, having completed his promotion of his own Xiyang House and seeing the reactions of those Material Refining Master students, understood that the task of this invitation gathering had been successfully completed.

He felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. This promotion's effect should have hit the mark. Xiyang House was about to undergo a true scale expansion, and this expansion was nothing like the effect when Tang Yun and the others had joined before.

Although it sounded a bit cruel, compared to these top students of the Material Refining Institute, Tang Yun and the others... were indeed considered poor students.

However, going forward, the supply of Mi Fa source water to Xiyang House would also become more frequent and voluminous.

Thinking of this, the smile on Li Luo's face gradually began to fade. He couldn't help reaching out to support his waist. So young and yet having to bear such a tremendous burden—I really have it too hard.

Father, Mother, I really suspect you ran off on purpose, leaving this mess for Jiang Jiang Qinge and me...

Li Luo sighed and stepped down from the high platform.

He still needed to hurry and increase his strength. Otherwise, if this continued, his body wouldn't be able to keep up with Xiyang House's development, and the consequence would be being squeezed into a dried human husk.