After the late night talk with Jiang Qing'e, they both returned to their rooms.
But Li Luo did not retire yet. He still had an extremely important task tonight: to temper his second acquired resonance.
He pulled out the jade-tablet scroll and gave it a light shake to call forth the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel.
It was currently shining brightly from its many filled holes, lighting up like a night sky of stars.
Li Luo had spent blood and sweat to bring it to where it was, tirelessly experimenting with hundreds of wood and earth rare materials. Now he was down to the final two holes which he was about to plug.
Li Luo first took out a wood element 10,000-grade rare material. He could sense the vital power of the wood element within, wafting forth.
It was definitely much stronger than the other materials he had tempered.
Li Luo first divided it into several parts and then conjured up his Acquired Resonance Flame to temper it.
The first two parts were burned away by accident, but the third one succeeded, melting down into jade-green liquid energy.
Li Luo took a deep breath and carefully tipped it into one of the holes on the wheel.
As the energy entered, the entire wheel began to vibrate slightly. Finally, with Li Luo watching anxiously, a thread of light extended from the hole, linking with the surrounding holes.
This one had succeeded!
Li Luo was exultant. He had gone to great lengths to secure this 10,000-grade rare material, and it had lived up to his expectations.
One last energy hole left.
Li Luo snatched up an earth 10,000-grade rare material and continued tempering.
This one was much harder to fill. He wasted a full 10,000-grade rare material, but luckily he had a second one ready. After more than half an hour, Li Luo managed to produce an ocherous, yellow liquid energy and successfully fill the last hole.
And now the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel was finally complete.
Twang!
Finally, the entire wheel was shining resplendently, the network of light threads forming a complete pattern.
Li Luo allowed himself a brief smile. But there was one final step.
He bit his finger, drawing blood. Forming a complex pattern, he pressed his finger into the indent.
Weng!
Li Luo could sense his blood rapidly being sucked out of him. More importantly, there was a blinding pain that shot through his skull; it was his spirit soul being torn apart!
To create an acquired resonance of one's own, one had to use their own spirit soul and blood essence as catalysts. There was no other way.
The drain continued for a long time, until Li Luo felt like he was on the verge of collapsing. Suddenly, the pull vanished.
Li Luo fell on his ass, his face pale and his eyes watery.
He sat there for many long minutes before he finally got a grip on himself. He beat his forehead with his palm. It felt like someone had been hammering nails into his skull.
"Fuck," he groaned.
He slowly got to his feet and saw the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel before him. In the center, a viridescent light danced.
Deep within it, however, he could see a ruddy, yellow light in the green.
It was pulsing with life, overflowing in visible waves.
Li Luo could not take his eyes off it.
After a long time, he finally stretched out a trembling hand, picking up the ball of light. The moment he touched it, he could feel it resonate with his being in a blissful and smooth chord.
Perfect harmony.
Li Luo's second acquired resonance was a woodearth resonance.
A rush of ecstasy flooded his body. He wanted to whoop, to bellow his joy and triumph.
Just as he was standing there grinning ear to ear, the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel began to shudder. The shaking got stronger and stronger, until cracks started to appear. And then, with a final bang, it exploded into a shower of light.
"What the fuck?"
The grinning Li Luo leaped back as he cursed. Why had the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel exploded?
He reached out desperately, fruitlessly trying to hold on to some of the light bits. They winked out of existence.
He was distraught. Was this his hubris?
But he managed to calm down after a bit. This had nothing to do with pride. But the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel could only work once...
"My parents' specters said that the method to get the third acquired resonance out of the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Art was in Xia City's Golden Dragon Bank headquarters..."
He gave an exasperated sigh. He would have to find time to go take a look, but there was no rush. He had a long road of cultivation ahead of him before he would need the third acquired resonance. Besides, the thing was probably safer in the Golden Dragon Bank headquarters than anywhere else.
Li Luo pulled out a jade box and then carefully put this acquired resonance inside. He could not use it yet—he would have to reach the Resonant Master Stage before he could temper it.
But suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Back when he tempered his first acquired resonance, he had lost a great deal of lifespan and blood essence. Would the second tempering subject him to the same?
Li Luo was very worried about this. It seemed like his parents... had not mentioned it? Or perhaps... they did not know either?
"Logically, acquired resonances should exact a heavy toll on one's essence. The first time, my resonant power was weak, and so I had to pay a heavy price. Now that I have some measure of power, perhaps the toll will not be as heavy."
Li Luo reasoned it out in his mind. He was sort of convinced. Good, this thing should not send him straight to the grave… hopefully.
Now he just had to wait for the day of his breakthrough.
He had a feeling that it would be very soon.
...
In the next few days, Li Luo did not leave his house, cultivating hard within House Luolan's headquarters.
And although Jiang Qing'e had warned him that she would not be able to buy him all 100 in one go, a modest and consistent supply of sixth-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights was making its way to him, helping him improve his sixth-grade waterlight resonance. Although it was still a ways away from reaching the seventh-grade, it was only a matter of time.
Time ticked on, and Xia City was growing livelier by the day.
Because the Astral Sage College was about to start a new year.