“Eighth-grade secret watersource?!” They stared at him with tenth-grade surprise, including Li Bi, who was struck dumb.
Both Jiang Qing’e and Yan Lingqing shared an uneasy look. What was happening?
They were privy to the true secret behind the watersource—Li Luo himself. How could that change?
Suspicion flashed in Jiang Qing’e’s eyes.
Li Luo nodded slightly to reassure them, then turned back to Li Bi. “Senior Li Bi,” he said with a wide smile, “you heard me right. Our secret watersource will continue to improve. The purity will rise to the eighth-grade.”
Li Bi was not swayed by his affirmation. According to her knowledge, there couldn’t be more than three villas in the Xia Kingdom with an eighth-grade secret watersource.
An amateur operation like the Suncreek Villa?
Impossible.
As a fifth-grade resonance artificer herself, she knew just how rare and precious a watersource was. If the Suncreek Villa truly had such an asset, they would already have risen to greatness. Their squalor was all the evidence she needed.
“Junior Li Luo, is this some sort of jest? I assure you I do not find it amusing. Even if you somehow contrive to trick me into the Suncreek Villa, losing public trust will be a nail in your coffin,” Li Bi warned him gravely.
Each year, there were villas that used devious methods to lure talents from the Resonance Artificers Hall. Their aim was to get the artificers first and then think about making it after they had faked it.
Those were the most deeply hated villas.
If Li Luo planned on such an approach, the Suncreek Villa would be on the black books of every artificer in the Resonance Artificers Hall.
“Be assured that I intend to do no such foolish thing,” Li Luo said. “I am just asking, hypothetically. If the Suncreek Villa had an eighth-grade secret watersource, would you be willing to come?”
Li Bi considered him for a long time before finally nodding.
An eighth-grade secret watersource was a powerfully rare asset to be working with. If she could work with something that pure, it would not only improve her skills, but also her grade.
Although the Suncreek Villa might be weak in other places, an eighth-grade watersource would be great enough to eclipse its other flaws.
If Li Luo’s words were true, the Suncreek Villa would rise to glory very quickly with an eighth-grade secret watersource. They would shoot up to become a top villa in the blink of an eye.
Li Luo smiled with satisfaction. “In that case, I ask Senior Li Bi to consider not accepting other villas’ offers first. In five days’ time, the Suncreek Villa will find an invitation to the Resonance Artificers Hall. At that time, we will show what we are truly capable of offering.
“Senior Li Bi, I promise you that you will not be disappointed.”
Li Bi’s doubtful gaze met Li Luo’s own steady eyes, and she noted the confidence in them.
After a moment, she looked away to the cup that she was slowly prodding at.
Yan Lingqing leaped in to coax her as well. “Senior Li Bi, a few days will be no loss to you. Li Luo isn’t one to exaggerate, I promise you!”
Li Bi eventually gave in to Yan Lingqing with an exasperated nod.
“Alright, Junior Li Luo. I will wait for the Suncreek Villa’s pitch.”
“If what you say is true, I think I will not be the only one who will consider joining. I think some of my other talented peers will be of the same mind.”
Which meant that she would even bring friends.
Without waiting for further comment, Li Bi rose again, nodding to Jiang Qing’e and Yan Lingqing on her way out.
Nearby, Mei Xuan’er watched Li Bi leave with gloating satisfaction. Surely the talks had failed. Yan Lingqing was so naive to think that she could drag others down into the mud she was in.
The Suncreek Villa was the pits.
She fully intended to make her opinion of them clear to anyone who would listen. The resonance artificers would be giving them a wide berth after this.
Back at Li Luo’s table, Yan Lingqing was looking at him worriedly. “An eighth-grade secret watersource? Are you for real? You better not be making an empty promise.” She had to present a united front with him when Li Bi was around, but now she made her doubts clear.
Jiang Qing’e leaned in for his answer as well.
Li Luo grinned. “I don’t have an eighth-grade secret watersource presently.”
Yan Lingqing felt the Aphid’s Brew leaving her body. She was seized with a sudden urge to grab him by the ear and toss him out the window.
“But in five days, I will!” Li Luo clarified hastily. The tips of his ears tingled when he saw her eyes narrow with deadly intent.
“What do you mean?” Yan Lingqing asked, hand halfway towards him.
Li Luo instead turned to Jiang Qing’e with a cheery smile. “Qing’e, dear, help me send a letter to Sister Cai Wei. Tell her to send 50 vials of sixth-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights to the school, as fast as she can.”
“50 vials?” Jiang Qing’e sputtered. Li Luo’s face was fully serious, and she nodded dumbly. “I will send the letter. But 50 vials is over a million skygold… We might just be able to hear Cai Wei’s screaming from here.”
Li Luo’s cheeriness faded away when the image of Cai Wei berating him filled his mind. House Luolan needed money on every front, and he was the ultimate black hole, sucking away at their finances.
But it couldn’t be helped. He needed those spirit liquids and purifying lights. Badly.
After returning from the Umbra Cave, he could sense his sixth-grade waterlight resonance evolving. Inwardly, he was giddy with excitement about it. He had been feeding it millions of skygold worth of spirit liquids and purifying lights, all in hopes of reaching that critical breakthrough.
Up till now, it had shown no signs of coming through.
Li Luo was disappointed, but he had not given up. He knew that the jump from sixth to seventh-grade was a milestone. A sixth-grade resonance was considered a middle-grade resonance, while a seventh-grade was considered high-grade.
He believed that this would be an extremely hard improvement to achieve, but the payoff would be proportionately huge.
And when his waterlight resonance reached the seventh-grade, the secret watersource he produced would likely reach the eighth-grade without much difficulty.
That would help the Suncreek Villa grow stronger much more quickly. Together with Bai Mengmeng’s four-star formula, the Suncreek Villa would be catapulted to greatness.
All the invested capital would be made back.
“I’m not sure if you’re planning to swim in those liquids or something,” Yan Lingqing said snappishly, “but if you don’t produce an eighth-grade watersource on the day, I won’t envy your fate.”
She knew that Li Luo was the creator of the secret watersource, but she did not know that he could absorb spirit liquids at a near-unlimited capacity.
“Before that,” Jiang Qing’e interjected, “I think the most urgent order of business is to get invited. As for that, it’s all up to you.”
No one else was familiar with Mentor Chi Chan, so Li Luo was the only candidate who could ask for the favor.
Li Luo didn’t flinch. He stood up and headed for the door. Hopefully, he had won her enough glory in the Umbra Cave to sweeten her mood enough.
Yan Lingqing watched him go. “Can we really do well at the recruitment?” she mumbled listlessly.
She knew the Suncreek Villa’s situation all too well. Average resonance artificers, run-of-the-mill formulas, and a surprisingly good secret watersource. But the best villas would be recruiting too. A single glowing point was nothing compared to the stars that would be present.
She believed that the Suncreek Villa would be able to grow strong in the future, but this was too soon.
Jiang Qing’e poured Yan Lingqing another cup of Aphid’s Brew. “Don’t worry. Li Luo doesn’t usually brag without some measure of confidence,” she said with a reassuring smile.
“Plus, you weren’t in the Umbra Cave this time. You don’t know half of what he bragged about inside there. It was much more ridiculous, and he pulled it off anyway.”
“Oh?” Yan Lingqing perked up. “What did the kid do? Tell me.”
The two girls settled back with their jug and spoke leisurely.