For the next few days, Li Luo spent half of his time cultivating the old manor and the other half at the Suncreek Villa, practicing his resonance artificering arts. He was already able to produce a single first-grade Azure Jade Spirit Liquid reliably each day. He could be considered a full-fledged resonance artificer now.
Additionally, the Azure Jade Spirit Liquid he refined had tempering strength that was constantly increasing as he gained more experience.
However, he was not satisfied with just this. Thus, he started to experiment with second-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights. These were several times more complex to refine than first-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights, with more complicated materials and processes. As a result, he was faced with innumerable failures.
Li Luo was not disheartened or anxious despite this. Failure was the mother of success and also an invaluable experience. So long as he continued to accumulate experience, it was just a matter of before he would succeed in becoming a second-grade resonance artificer.
Luckily, the last batch of fifth-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights were finally sent over by Cai Wei. As he continued to guzzle these tempering treasures down, he could faintly feel that his waterlight resonance was gradually approaching the sixth-grade.
In the interim, he had also managed to raise his resonant power to the Seventh Seal and was jubilant. He was not surprised by this, as he had spent painstaking effort cultivating in the cultivation room of the old manor. Coupled with the purity of the resonant power produced by his waterlight resonance, his cultivation was simpler and quicker. Thus, he was effectively no weaker than an individual with a seventh-grade resonance.
At the same time, he had also received good news from Yan Lingqing. The first batch of enhanced Azure Jade Spirit Liquid had been refined.
The Suncreek Villa.
An intricately carved box was placed atop the table. Inside it were 40 crystal bottles, filled to the brim with azure-green liquid.
This was the enhanced Azure Jade Spirit Liquid.
Yan Lingqing's face was full of undisguised excitement. She said to Li Luo and Cai Wei, "The secret art watersource provided by Li Luo is unfathomably pure! As a result, the first-grade refining workshop's success rate has increased significantly. Originally, we could only produce five spirit liquids a day, but now we can produce ten! Furthermore, the tempering strength of these spirit liquids is around 60%. These are definitely considered high-quality first-grade spirit liquids!"
As Li Luo listened, he frowned. Based on his quick math, if they produced ten bottles a day, a year's income would only be around 180,000 pieces of skygold. There was still a gap between that and the 3rd-grade refining workshop.
He immediately voiced his concerns as a result.
"That's something I can solve. Leave it to me!" Cai Wei flashed an enchanting smile at the group.
"How does Elder Sister Cai Wei plan to do this?" Li Luo asked with a little bit of surprise.
Cai Wei continued to smirk. "The Golden Dragon Bank has been stocking up on first-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights. They are also paying higher than market price, at almost 60 pieces of skygold a bottle. If they choose to purchase the Suncreek Villa's Azure Jade Spirit Liquid, we can set up an agreement that will definitely allow us to exceed the profits of the third-grade refining workshop.
"Additionally, and more importantly, the Golden Dragon Bank possesses a stellar reputation, and their choice will definitely demonstrate just who produces the highest quality first-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights in the Tianshu Province. Their endorsement is actually the most valuable thing here."
Li Luo took all of it in and understood the situation. The Golden Dragon Bank had always been a purveyor of fine goods and would normally never even deign to look at low-grade treasures. If they had a need for them, they would naturally gravitate towards the very best. If one were chosen by them, they could even work out an agreement for future business whilst improving the reputation of the maker's products. This would be excellent publicity in and of itself.
"I will drop by the Golden Dragon Bank later. I hope the Young Lord will also accompany me. I want to take advantage of your looks... and reputation," Cai Wei stated with a grin.
The Golden Dragon Bank had always remained neutral. However, it also possessed titanic strength, and in the Xia Kingdom, no one would wantonly provoke them. On the other hand, they also prized harmony and wealth creation, thus they never sought to create enemies either.
Li Luo was House Luolan's Young Lord. Even though his influence in the family had wavered, his title was still his own, deserving of respect.
He had no objections, and frankly, he only wanted to ensure that the Suncreek Villa was under his tight control. That way, it could continue to churn out skygold for him... He definitely wouldn't mind being brought along as a mascot.
"Let's go." He picked up the box and left with a smiling Cai Wei.
....
The dazzling and luxurious-looking Golden Dragon Bank was constantly bustling with people as one of the most popular areas in the City of Southwind.
When Li Luo and Cai Wei entered the bank, a female attendant immediately rushed out to attend to them. After finding out that they were looking for President Lu, she explained that he was currently welcoming another group of guests and that they would have to wait for a while.
Without anything else to do, the two found a place to sit and awaited President Lu.
Yet just as Li Luo sat down and started staring at the fascinating tiles on the ground, he noticed a slender leg appear in his sights. Glancing upwards, he realized that Lu Qing'er's pretty face was directly in front of him.
She was wearing a black, short skirt, contrasting against her white thighs, creating an enthralling sight. Combined with her fine, black hair draped behind her, she was like a fairy in the flesh.
"What is the Young Lord doing here?" she asked curiously.
"I'm looking to discuss business with President Lu." Li Luo smiled.
Lu Qing'er stared at the box beside him, directly getting to the meat of the question. "Is it first-grade spirit liquids?"
She was naturally well-versed with all the issues regarding the Golden Dragon Bank, especially their recent demand for first-grade spirit liquids.
Li Luo nodded.
"Does such a simple matter require the involvement of the Young Lord?" Lu Qing'er continued to question. Ultimately, high-quality first-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights were still just that! First-grade treasures! Whether it was House Luolan or the Golden Dragon Bank, the cost to purchase them would merely be a drop in the ocean.
Li Luo sighed and said in a low voice, "You will never understand the struggles that a young lord in dire straits faces..."
Lu Qing'er couldn't help but laugh, then her gaze shifted to the mature and charming beauty beside him. "This elder sister is extremely gorgeous. Does the role of a general manager in House Luolan have such strict requirements too?"
Cai Wei lightly laughed. "Younger Sister, you are also very beautiful. I'm sure your suitors in Southwind Academy are as plentiful as the clouds. I wonder if the Young Lord is also one of them?"
"Don't drag me into this pointless thing..." Li Luo dryly coughed.
"Let me bring you to find Second Uncle. He's currently dealing with the people from the Song family. They've taken the initiative to approach us, directly hawking their Wondrous Sunshine Light after they found out that our Golden Dragon Bank was searching for first-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights."
Li Luo and Cai Wei glanced at each other. It had slipped their minds that the Song family would have similar thoughts. They weren't idiots after all, and they wanted to borrow this opportunity to rise above their stature and improve the reputation of the products they refined.
"Won't we be interrupting their discussion?" Li Luo may have sounded a little embarrassed, but he had already stood up, ready to go.
"Well, there's no decision being made," Lu Qing'er commented indifferently before turning around to lead the way. "Though you should already be aware of the quality of the Pine Nut Villa's Wondrous Sunshine Light. I might be able to lead the way, but if you want Second Uncle to change his mind, you need to prove your ability with the quality of your goods."
"I, Li Luo, have always been an outstanding and upright individual. I would NEVER rely on my connections," Li Luo declared heroically...
Lu Qing'er sighed lightly and did not want to bicker any further. She directly led the two through the corridor. They eventually reached a VIP room, and someone familiar was seen walking out of it.
"Song Yunfeng?" Li Luo exclaimed in surprise.
Song Yunfeng also saw Li Luo and was slightly astonished. At the same time, he frowned and addressed Lu Qing'er directly. "Qing'er, why did you bring him here?"
"Li Luo and my Second Uncle have a meeting, and so I decided to lead them here," Lu Qing'er said with an unchanging expression.
Li Luo looked at her radiant and beautiful face. A beauty was truly able to lie without batting an eyelid! Her performance was absolutely perfect!
Song Yunfeng's expression turned dark as he couldn't tell if she was lying. However, he had no choice—this was the Golden Dragon Bank and not his Song family stomping grounds.
In the end, he could only stare wistfully at Lu Qing'er walking in. Glancing at the box in Li Luo's hands, he indifferently commented, "Li Luo, there's no need to waste your time. Your Suncreek Villa cannot compete with my clearly superior Pine Nut Villa."
Li Luo chuckled. "You might be surprised. Did you ever consider the idea that we would end up in a draw if we fought?"
Song Yunfeng's composed demeanor was instantly shattered, his face a steel green as he furiously glared at Li Luo. If looks could kill, Li Luo would have been shredded into a thousand pieces!
Li Luo, on the other hand, ignored him, directly walking into the room with Cai Wei.