Chapter 97: Li Luo Wants to Be President

When that abrupt voice rang out, many of the Alchemists in the crowd were stunned for a moment, and immediately some impatient people directly cursed, "Who? How dare they speak with such nerve!"

Amid the angry shouts, gazes shot toward the direction the voice had come from, and then their clamor gradually quieted down.

Because they saw at the back a youth with silver-gray hair, looking at them with a faint smile on his face.

Beside the youth was Jiang Jiang Qinge, her slender figure and breathtakingly beautiful face radiating a cold light as she stared at them.

And when they saw Jiang Jiang Qinge, they immediately knew the identity of this silver-haired youth. Their expressions instantly became rather interesting. Although they had spoken without thinking in their earlier anger, now, standing before this Young Mansion Master, no one dared maintain the bravado from before.

"Have you not yet greeted the Young Mansion Master and the Young Lady?!" At this moment, Elder Zheng Ping roared angrily.

The many Alchemists hesitated for a moment, then sparse voices rang out: "Greetings, Young Mansion Master, Young Lady."

That Pang Pang Qianchi was likewise somewhat surprised as he glanced at Li Luo. Long ago, when the Luo Lan Mansion headquarters was still in South Wind City, he had actually met Li Luo as well, but at that time the latter was far too young. Now seeing him again, the features between his brows already carried the shadow of Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan.

Elder Zheng Ping squeezed out from the crowd, cupped his fists toward Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge, then frowned and said, "Young Mansion Master, what did you just say?"

Li Luo smiled and said, "I said, since the position of President of Xi Yang House is vacant, then for now let me take it up."

Elder Zheng Ping was stunned for a moment, then said somewhat blankly, "This..."

He wanted to say this seemed to violate the rules, but Li Luo was the Young Mansion Master, and clearly had the qualification to break certain rules.

Those Alchemists of Xi Yang House also exchanged glances, instinctively wanting to object, but hindered by Li Luo's status, for a moment they didn't quite know what to say.

And at this moment, that Pang Pang Qianchi smiled faintly and said, "Young Mansion Master, your status is noble; there's no need to lower yourself to take up a mere presidency, is there? These positions may be nothing in your eyes, but in the eyes of us people below, they are something we must work many years to obtain."

"For you to seize it on a whim—wouldn't that be somewhat unfair to us who have worked so many years for Xi Yang House?"

The moment Pang Pang Qianchi opened his mouth, his shrewdness was revealed. Every word seemed to stand on the side of these Xi Yang House Alchemists, while also subtly harboring the intent to drive a wedge between both sides.

And the effect of these words was indeed not bad; some Alchemists already showed discontent on their faces, itching to act.

Li Luo's gaze also lingered on Pang Pang Qianchi for several breaths. This old fox was indeed harder to deal with than Zhuang Yi.

"I am also an Alchemist. Although I am only Second Rank and cannot yet compare with all of you, I think what a President should do is not simply refine Spiritual Water and Strange Light, but rather to see whether he has the ability to make Xi Yang House stronger." Li Luo said with a faint smile.

"As for the affairs of the Xi Yang House branch in Tian Shu Prefecture, I wonder if everyone is actually clear on them. In previous years, the annual profit there was only around one hundred thousand gold, but with my assistance, this year's branch profit will reach three hundred thousand gold—a full threefold increase."

"And as far as I know, the Xi Yang House headquarters' annual profit is only around one million gold, isn't it?"

Li Luo's unhurried voice spread out, causing the commotion in the field to gradually subside considerably. Some Alchemists wore expressions of half-belief. Naturally they knew of the Xi Yang House branch in Tian Shu Prefecture, but a branch actually achieving a profit of three hundred thousand gold in a year? That was nearly a third of the headquarters!

At this moment, Yan Yan Lingqing stepped forward and said, "The situation of the Tian Shu Prefecture branch is indeed as the Young Mansion Master has stated. If any of you have doubts, you may go directly to the branch to investigate."

Seeing that even Yan Yan Lingqing was so certain, the voices of the Xi Yang House Alchemists present grew even smaller. If all this were really true, wouldn't this Young Mansion Master's ability be far too terrifying?

Although the personal capability required to serve as President is important, isn't the ultimate goal to make Xi Yang House stronger?

Pang Pang Qianchi's face twitched slightly, a flash of annoyance passing through his eyes. He had never expected that this Li Luo would actually step onto the field himself.

"Is the Young Mansion Master doing this to chill people's hearts?" Pang Pang Qianchi could not help but say.

"Vice President Pang feels that my taking up the presidency will chill your heart, doesn't he?" Li Luo said.

Pang Pang Qianchi neither affirmed nor denied, and said calmly, "How much merit I have earned for Xi Yang House is plain for all to see. Back then I competed with Han Zhi, and in the end the two Mansion Masters chose him. I had nothing to say. But now Han Zhi's betrayal proves that the choice back then was wrong. Why can't the Young Mansion Master correct that mistake?"

Li Luo smiled and said, "Back then, Vice President Pang could devote himself wholeheartedly to Xi Yang House, but what about now? Is it for Manager Pei Hao?"

"Manager Pei Hao is also a disciple of the two Mansion Masters, and I am loyal to Luo Lan Mansion. Everything I do is for it to become better!" Pang Pang Qianchi said in a deep voice.

"Now Han Zhi's betrayal has already caused Xi Yang House to lose one seasoned Fifth Rank Alchemist. If the Young Mansion Master truly insists on disregarding the rules, I'm afraid Xi Yang House will lose even more Alchemists." By this point in his words, there was already a hint of threat.

With Manager Pei Hao's support behind him, Pang Pang Qianchi clearly did not fear Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge.

After all, if the other party really wanted to do something to him, Manager Pei Hao's side would surely make trouble too, and that would only add frost upon snow for Luo Lan Mansion.

"Pang Pang Qianchi, you are overstepping!" Elder Zheng Ping's face flushed with anger as he roared.

Yet Pang Pang Qianchi was not afraid, and raised his head, saying, "I only hope the Young Mansion Master can be more rational. Everything I do is for Xi Yang House to become better!"

"Everyone, are you willing to support me?" He looked at the other Alchemists present and asked.

In the crowd, some Alchemists hesitated for a moment, and one after another people spoke up: "Vice President Pang is indeed the best candidate to serve as President of Xi Yang House."

What these people said was actually not wrong. Setting aside Pang Pang Qianchi's stance, purely in terms of ability and seniority, he really was the most suitable candidate.

But... how could that stance be set aside?

So upon hearing these voices, he understood that compared to him, this unfamiliar Young Mansion Master, these Alchemists must inwardly lean more toward the familiar Pang Pang Qianchi.

However, he was not angered. Instead, he stepped forward, stood on the steps, his gaze looking down at the many Alchemists present, and said calmly, "Do you all know why I was able to raise the Xi Yang House branch in Tian Shu Prefecture to its current state in just two short months?"

The many Alchemists exchanged glances, expressing some puzzlement at this. After all, Li Luo was only a Second Rank Alchemist; saying he could change the performance of an entire Xi Yang House branch was indeed a bit hard to accept.

"It's actually very simple—it's just because I have mastered a kind of Mi Fa source water. I believe that in the future, with the assistance of this Mi Fa source water, the Xi Yang House headquarters will also see a leap-forward improvement. Given time, it may not even be impossible to become one of the top ten Spiritual Water and Strange Light Houses in Great Xia."

As Li Luo's voice fell, an astonished uproar instantly erupted from the crowd.

"Mi Fa source water?! The Young Mansion Master actually has a Yi Dao Mi Fa source water?"

As Alchemists, they understood best just how precious such Mi Fa source water was to a Spiritual Water and Strange Light House. It was no exaggeration to say that the refining method for a single kind of Mi Fa source water could be worth a million, or even ten million gold.

Xi Yang House had developed for so many years, yet to this day had never developed a single suitable Mi Fa source water. From this one could see how rare Mi Fa source water was.

And those famous Spiritual Waters and Strange Lights in Great Xia all possessed more than one kind of Mi Fa source water or Mi Fa source light. So if Xi Yang House wanted to become a renowned Spiritual Water and Strange Light House in Great Xia, then the primary condition would probably be to possess its own Yi Dao Mi Fa source water or source light.

Precisely because Mi Fa source water was so precious, when they heard that Li Luo actually mastered a method for refining a kind of Mi Fa source water, they were so shocked and lost their composure.

Pang Pang Qianchi's expression was also shifting uncertainly, and then he could not help but say, "Even if it is Mi Fa source water, one still has to look at its purity grade. An ordinary Ban De Mi Fa source water cannot support the Young Mansion Master's grand claims."

At Pang Pang Qianchi's stubbornness, Li Luo also found it somewhat amusing. Then, with a smile, he tossed out a few glass vials and threw them to some of the nearby Alchemists.

Stubborn, are you... no matter, I specialize in curing that.

Elder Zheng Ping also caught one. He quickly uncorked it, dripped out the Mi Fa source water inside, and sensed it slightly. An expression of shock immediately rose on his aged face.

"This... this Mi Fa source water has a purity of at least around Seventh Rank! And it's a Zhong De Mi Fa source water of upper Seventh Rank purity!"

Gasp!

The other Alchemists, after discerning the purity of this Mi Fa source water, also each turned pale, their hands gripping the glass vials trembling.

Upper Seventh Rank purity... this level of Mi Fa source water, probably only those Spiritual Water and Strange Light Houses ranked among the top ten in Great Xia could possess!

The gazes of the Alchemists present, once again turning toward Li Luo, suddenly became fervent.

Because Mi Fa source water of this purity not only produced Spiritual Water of higher quality, but And Most Important, if one used this kind of Mi Fa source water frequently in ordinary refining, it might even cause one's own Alchemy Art to improve. With a bit of luck, one might seize the opportunity to break through a bottleneck and step into the next level.

This principle was somewhat similar to the experience at the previous Spirit Water Odd Light Festival in Tianshu Prefecture, where Li Luo had helped Yan Yan Lingqing refine a fifth-grade spirit water...

Therefore, in this Great Xia, all tempering masters wanted to join a Spirit Water Odd Light Workshop that possessed high-purity Mi Fa source water, because there, they would more easily raise their own phase arts level.

So, when Li Luo took out this seventh-grade purity Du De Mi Fa source water, everyone's heart wavered...

And among those many fervent gazes, Li Luo stared at Pang Pang Qianchi, whose face had turned livid, with a half-smile.

"Vice President Pang, is there anything else you want to say?"