Li Luo’s casual remark was met with incredulity. Why did this young lord’s artificing improve as frequently as one drank tea?
Wasn’t he just a second-grade one a few days ago?
They themselves had gone through many years of cultivation to reach the third grade themselves. Li Luo had taken, what, half a year?
Was he really that talented?
“Young Lord, you’re an artificing genius,” Tang Yun said admiringly. Then again, resonance artificing up to the third-grade was still considered foundational. With enough talent, one could move through those grades rather quickly.
“Still, you have only just reached the third grade. I’m afraid you might not be too familiar with third-grade spirit liquids. Are you sure we should proceed with this test?” Tang Yun asked.
Tang Yun was a fourth-grade, going on fifth. Although Li Luo was a third-grade, the disparity in experience should be huge.
Li Luo might have dominated the first two tests, but Tang Yun was not at all worried about this third one.
With identical ingredients, his own experience and ability would put him at a tremendous advantage.
Li Luo smiled. “We’ve already agreed on this. How could I cancel it now? But don’t feel burdened, and simply do your best.”
Tang Yun was humbled by Li Luo’s kindness. Why was he, with the advantages, being comforted instead?
“It’s about time. Let’s get started,” Li Luo said.
They moved briskly forward to the refining workshops, each with adjacent and identical piles of ingredients laid out neatly.
Everyone was familiar after two tests. Both competitors moved to their refining workshops, screened off behind transparent glass.
Jiang Qing’e, Cai Wei, and Yan Lingqing stood together in a group, their different types of beauty attracting many furtive glances.
Jiang Qing’e’s golden eyes roved about constantly. She somehow got the feeling that the Suncreek Villa was being watched by an uncommonly high number of eyes today.
“Lingqing, the Young Lord is still behind Tang Yun even though he has risen to a third-grade, right?” Cai Wei whispered to the professional.
“Ordinarily, no amount of talent would allow a third-grade artificer to compete with an experienced fourth-grade artificer…” Yan Lingqing folded her arms across her bosom. “It’s not just about tempering strength. I suspect Li Luo fails quite frequently when refining third-grade spirit liquids. If it were anyone else in his position, I would say there was no point to this competition,” Yan Lingqing said frankly.
This was going to be a different test from the first two. Li Luo had been familiar with the first and second-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights, but a third-grade spirit liquid was not only much more difficult, but he would also be less familiar with it.
Which would lead to inevitable errors.
“So he’s going to lose?” Cai Wei whispered fearfully.
Yan Lingqing shook her head. “I said if it were anyone else in his position.” She smiled at the slender figure in the workshop. “That guy is more than meets the eye.”
A fair competition, identical ingredients, and no secret watersource.
But… because Li Luo had helped her refine spirit liquids before, she might well be the only one who guessed that Li Luo was the creator of the secret watersource.
The branch artificers might think of the Young Lord as a kind and fair person, but they didn’t know that they were all being played hard.
Still, his plan so far had been ingenious.
And Yan Lingqing saw absolutely nothing wrong with it. This had always been an all-out struggle.
The match was already underway.
Both were creating a third-grade spirit liquid called Birds of Passage. It was a two-star formula, nothing particularly fancy.
As the president of a Suncreek Villa branch, Tang Yun was very familiar with the Birds of Passage spirit liquid. He moved through the procedures with practiced efficiency, fusing ingredients and manipulating them with his water resonant power in precise movements for purification.
Many were nodding in approval at the mastery on display.
Having risen to branch president was proof that Tang Yun’s skill was not in question. He was showing every sign of breaking through to the fifth grade soon.
That was considered a master anywhere within the Xia Kingdom already.
The headquarters’ resonance artificers were looking into the other workshop worriedly.
They could see that Li Luo’s refining methods showed a lot more inexperience. There were occasional fumblings, and his speed lagged behind Tang Yun’s by a considerable margin.
It was something they all understood. It was inevitable that he was unfamiliar with third-grade formulas. Failure was part of the process.
Li Luo was already doing quite well. Despite his occasional slip-ups, he was proceeding with decent pace towards completion.
Time ticked on.
…
Nearby, in a luxurious inn.
Pei Hao lounged idly in his chair, Pang Qianchi fidgeting nervously by his side. The latter threw occasional nervous looks in the direction of the Suncreek Villa’s headquarters, although he was too far to be able to see anything.
“Pei Hao, Sir, are you not worried?” Pang Qianchi blurted out.
Pei Hao smiled lazily and poured himself yet another cup of tea.
“Oh, the show is just about to start.
“I wonder if Li Luo can handle what I’ve really sent him.”