Chapter 98: Li Luo

Facing Li Luo’s half-smiling expression, the corners of Pang Qianchi’s eyes twitched slightly; he had never expected Li Luo to pull out such a powerful trump card.

The exact situation at the Tianshu County branch of the Xiyang House had not been reported to the headquarters, so even Pang Qianchi was not particularly clear about what had happened there...

But now he understood: the reason for the massive improvement at the Xiyang House branch lay in this secret method source water with a purity as high as the Seventh Grade that Li Luo possessed.

However, how could Li Luo possibly have secret method source water of this level?!

Could it have been left behind by the two House Masters? But if so, why not bring it out sooner? With secret method source water of this quality, the Xiyang House would surely have been many times more prosperous than it was now!

Pang Qianchi’s mind was in chaos, but Li Luo paid him no further attention, instead looking at the other resonance refiners and saying, "Do I now have the qualifications to serve as the General President?"

The room was silent; the resonance refiners who had been clamoring earlier were now somewhat embarrassed, remaining silent.

But this silence was clearly a form of tacit agreement.

The anger on Elder Zheng Ping’s face finally dissipated completely at this moment, and he smiled, saying, "I have no objections."

He represented some of the neutral factions within the Xiyang House, and by speaking up now, it was clear he intended to support Li Luo fully.

Pang Qianchi watched this scene with an expressionless face, his heart filled with unspeakable rage. He had been certain of securing the position of General President today, but Li Luo had suddenly appeared and completely destroyed the opportunity he had painstakingly built.

At this point, he had no reason to continue blocking Li Luo from serving as General President.

Fortunately, however, he had already secretly won over many resonance refiners beforehand, so even if Li Luo had won this round, it could not be considered a total victory.

He could arrange for these people he had recruited to continue to fight Li Luo in the shadows. Moreover, Li Luo would inevitably have to go to the Astral Sage College later, so he would not be stationed at the headquarters for long. Once he left, wouldn't the Xiyang House still be under his, Pang Qianchi’s, control?

This Xiyang House headquarters had long been managed by him until it was airtight; did the boy really think that just by coming here as the Young House Master, he could change anything?

Thinking of these things, Pang Qianchi’s mood gradually calmed down. Very well, he would just continue to fight slowly. Pei Hao had already said that as long as they held out until next year’s House Festival, he would make his move. And once the Luolan House changed hands, who would still take the Young House Master seriously?

While Pang Qianchi fell silent, Li Luo scanned the entire room and smiled, "Since everyone has no objections, then from now on, I will serve as the General President of the Xiyang House headquarters. I hope for your continued support."

Many resonance refiners in the room cupped their hands in congratulations; after all, Seventh Grade secret method source water was truly very attractive.

"They say a new official applies three new policies, so let me apply the first one."

Li Luo smiled, looked at Pang Qianchi, and said, "Vice President Pang has worked hard and contributed much; I will grant you a one-year vacation for now so you can rest well at home."

This was clearly an attempt to sideline Pang Qianchi for the time being.

Upon hearing this, Pang Qianchi’s expression remained very calm. This Young House Master was somewhat naive; did he really think that by sidelining him, he could sever his influence within the Xiyang House?

Those he had secretly recruited would naturally become his eyes and ears, allowing him to interfere with the various affairs of the Xiyang House in another form.

Among the crowd, some resonance refiners frowned; Li Luo’s move seemed a bit too hasty, and it might not be conducive to the stability of the Xiyang House.

But before anyone could speak up to help Pang Qianchi, Li Luo suddenly said, "I know that among you, some have already been recruited by Pang Qianchi and have stood on the side of Pei Hao’s faction."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people’s hearts were shaken, and their expressions became subtly unnatural.

Pang Qianchi also frowned. He stared at Li Luo, not knowing what this Young House Master intended to do. Such things were not hard to guess, but what could he actually do about it?

"You may think that your secret collusion with Pang Qianchi is very well-hidden, but you may have underestimated the intelligence capabilities of the Luolan House..."

Li Luo’s expression was calm. He took a scroll sealed with wax from his sleeve and said lightly, "Even the list of those recruited by Pang Qianchi is right here."

The commotion in the crowd grew even louder, but this time, no one spoke; they were quietly waiting.

The atmosphere became heavy for a moment.

Pang Qianchi stared at Li Luo. Was this Young House Master planning to carry out a purge based on the list? If that were truly the case, it would be very bold, but the price for doing so would be the complete paralysis of the Xiyang House.

The Xiyang House had already lost some resonance refiners to Han Zhi; if Li Luo drove away another batch, honestly, it would be difficult for the Xiyang House to recover its vitality in the short term, which would be a huge loss.

Elder Zheng Ping’s face also became solemn. He knew that if the current situation was not handled well, the entire Xiyang House would face a catastrophic impact.

The heavy atmosphere lasted for a while, making it difficult for people to even breathe.

"I have not opened the list to look at it yet."

And it was in this solidified atmosphere that Li Luo said this lightly, then took out a fire starter and lit the sealed scroll in his hand. As the flames rose, they quickly swallowed the scroll.

Li Luo casually tossed the burning scroll aside.

The many resonance refiners in the room had their pupils widen bit by bit, their eyes reflecting the cluster of flames.

They did not understand what Li Luo was doing.

Pang Qianchi’s expression, which had previously been like he was watching a joke, turned gloomy bit by bit at this moment, and the look he gave Li Luo began to show some fear.

He had already guessed what Li Luo wanted to do.

"Everyone, you all know the situation of the Luolan House over the past few years. At a time like this, the fact that you can still remain in the Xiyang House means you still hold some affection for it."

"In such turbulent times, it is human nature to feel shaken. Therefore, I promise in the name of the Young House Master that all your previous actions will be wiped clean along with this list. As long as you are willing to contribute to the Xiyang House in the future, you are a member of the Xiyang House."

"So you don't have to worry that the leverage left behind by being seduced by certain people before will become a weapon for the other party to threaten and coerce you."

As Li Luo’s calm voice fell, the eyes of many resonance refiners present became somewhat complex. Although they did not know if the list in Li Luo’s hand was real, that was not important; what was important was this public promise from the Young House Master.

Clearly, for the sake of the Xiyang House’s stability, this Young House Master had shown the greatest tolerance and breadth of mind.

"And besides this, the Xiyang House intends to take out twenty percent of its annual profits in the future. These profits will be used in various forms to reward the resonance refiners of the Xiyang House and improve their compensation and benefits."

If Li Luo’s burning of the list earlier had left the many resonance refiners present with complex feelings, then this move made expressions of joy appear on their faces that they could not help but show.

These resonance refiners came to the Spirit Water and Light House first to improve themselves, and second, naturally, to earn a salary; after all, everyone had a family to feed.

And now, Li Luo had first brought out high-purity secret method spirit water, which would be beneficial for the future improvement of the Xiyang House’s resonance refiners, and now he had increased their salaries. One had to know that twenty percent of the Xiyang House’s annual profits was not a small sum. Releasing this would simply allow the treatment of the Xiyang House’s resonance refiners to improve by a large margin, not inferior to those Spirit Water and Light Houses in the top ten.

So the future Xiyang House could be said to have both prospects and wealth.

How could this not make these resonance refiners ecstatic? And they also believed that once these measures were announced, more resonance refiners would likely be willing to come to the Xiyang House.

Anyone with a bit of sensitivity could feel that the future Xiyang House seemed to show signs of taking off.

The many resonance refiners present looked at Li Luo with eyes that had become extremely fervent.

This Young House Master seemed to possess more terrifying energy than they had imagined.

Pang Qianchi’s face turned pale bit by bit at this moment. This move by Li Luo was beyond his expectations; it had almost directly severed more than half of the resonance refiners he controlled.

These few combinations of moves had actually pushed the power he had painstakingly managed for so long to the brink of collapse.

At this moment, Pang Qianchi felt the situation was tricky; this Young House Master, whom they had almost ignored in the past, had more skill than they had imagined.