A cool breeze waltzed lazily through the peaceful night air at the Astral Sage College.
In an inn on campus.
This inn only opened for business for a time after the Umbra Cave opened. It was there for students to let loose after a highly stressful experience. The inn sold a special drink called Aphid’s Brew, made from a peculiar insect found on the Tree of Resonant Power. Its secretions were processed into a drink that had a powerful calming effect.
Near a window sat Li Luo, Jiang Qing’e, and Yan Lingqing.
Li Luo lifted the kettle to pour more green liquid into the two girls’ cups before filling his own. He held the brew in his mouth for a moment to savor its unique effects, then swallowed.
A knot of tension that he didn’t know he had unraveled itself.
“I heard you two faced a Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s Other at purified spot 13. I was worried to death,” Yan Lingqing said, her hand still tight on Jiang Qing’e’s own.
Jiang Qing’e smiled.
“Sister Lingqing, which talent have you invited tonight?” Li Luo cut straight to the chase.
“Senior Li Bi. She’s one of the rare fifth-grade artificers in the Resonance Artificers Hall, and she has quite a reputation as well. If you can bring her into the Suncreek Villa, many people will follow,” Yan Lingqing said with a satisfied tone.
“Fifth-grade resonance artificer…”
Li Luo almost drooled, and the relaxing brew before him was not the reason. Only the Resonance Artificers Hall could attract a talent like a fifth-grade artificer, which would be a huge boon to any of the top villas in the Xia Kingdom.
“If she’s willing to come to the Suncreek Villa, I’d even give her the position of president,” Li Luo said with undisguised greed.
After all, the previous president, Hanzhi, who had been poached away by the Bigswamp Villa, was a fifth-grade artificer as well.
An artificer of that tier was considered highly placed even in the top ten villas.
“a.s.suming she even wants the position,” Jiang Qing’e said, sipping her brew with relish.
“That’s true. A small scale operation like the Suncreek Villa doesn’t hold much attraction,” Yan Lingqing admitted. “Senior Li Bi only agreed to hear me out, but I think the only thing that might pique her interest is our upper seventh-grade secret watersource.
“It’s the only thing we have to offer, and it isn’t even unheard of among the top villas, so…” She trailed off without much hope. Li Luo understood. It was hard to persuade a great buddha to settle in a small universe like theirs.
She wasn’t even a friend or family member of theirs, so there was no reason for her to take such a risk in her future and remain with them.
At the top-tier of villas, she could mingle with even more skillful artificers and improve herself. There would also be higher quality formulas for her to practice with.
The Suncreek Villa was a barren wasteland compared to that lush cornucopia of opportunity.
“We’ll do our best,” Jiang Qing’e said calmly. If their guest was completely uninterested, it wasn’t like they could hold her at knifepoint and make her join.
“It’s all your fault,” Yan Lingqing said with a petulant slap to Jiang Qing’e’s wrist.
“My- pardon?” Jiang Qing’e laughed.
“With a ninth-grade light resonance, you’d be a sixth-grade artificer by now. You’d be the number one resonance artificer in the Xia Kingdom, and then the Suncreek Villa would have no more troubles. What a waste of talent,” Yan Lingqing grumbled.
Jiang Qing’e smiled but did not reply. What could a sixth-grade resonance artificer accomplish? Could she refine the crisis that House Luolan was in? Resonance artificers had status, but it was only enough to make powers court them. She preferred to wield that power for herself.
She wanted to be a true mistress with her own strength, not purchase it with spirit liquids and purifying lights. That was not like her.
Which was why she had brought her ninth-grade light resonance onto the path of cultivation.
Li Luo didn’t comment. He understood that choice well. Perhaps if his parents were still well and healthy at House Luolan, Jiang Qing’e might have become a resonance artificer. But since their disappearance, Jiang Qing’e had shouldered the house’s burdens, a burden that Li Luo had not been able to carry with his blank palaces.
She had the luxury of neither time nor energy to spare on artificing.
He himself had only chosen artificing because of the way his acquired resonances had developed. Otherwise, he would have given the discipline a wide berth as well.
As they spoke, a tall, slender figure paused in his visual periphery. She was wearing a blue s.h.i.+ft, simple attire that did not distract from her fresh beauty. Her hair was cropped short in a practical fas.h.i.+on.
Yan Lingqing jumped up to wave her over.
She approached, and Yan Lingqing took her hand with an eager smile, escorting her to a seat.
“This is Senior Li Bi.”
“I’m sure Jiang Qing’e needs no introduction. And that is Li Luo,” Yan Lingqing said, gesturing to the other two.
Li Bi smiled at Jiang Qing’e. “Junior Jiang’s name rings in every ear. Your talent is thunderous.”
“Senior Li is too kind,” Jiang Qing’e said with a gracious smile towards her Four Star Hall senior.
Li Bi nodded slightly in Li Luo’s direction. “Junior Li Luo.”
Neutral, with neither coolness nor warmth.
“Senior Li Bi.” Li Luo responded in kind with a winsome smile. Since they were here to win her over, he had to do some manly dazzling of his own.
Whether it worked or not, he was prepared to use everything he had.
They all settled down, Yan Lingqing lively and cheerful.
After chatting for a while, Li Bi finally brought up the topic herself. “I hear that the Suncreek Villa has an upper seventh-grade secret watersource,” she said, looking directly at Jiang Qing’e and Li Luo.
Jiang Qing’e glanced over at Li Luo and then nodded, retrieving a vial from the folds of her clothing. She offered it to Li Bi with a smile. “You’ve heard right. This is no secret.”
Li Bi examined it carefully, then opened it and extracted a single drop with a delicate manipulation of her resonant power. Dipping a thread of power in, she wrapped it carefully around a sample of the watersource. Her eyes widened slightly. “This is indeed an upper seventh-grade. It must be the secret behind the Suncreek Villa’s rise in the last half a year.”
She set the bottle down and turned to face Li Luo squarely. “But the Suncreek Villa is riddled with weaknesses. There is no grand artificer to hold it down. It lacks high star formulas. A strong watersource is a good start, but it is a strong spark with no kindling. The Suncreek Villa cannot compete with the elite villas.”
“They themselves do not lack strong watersources. I do not think the Suncreek Villa will go too far. Neither do I think that I am in the position to help you go far.” She spoke candidly with them and dropped a small, apologetic smile in Jiang Qing’e and Yan Lingqing’s direction.
“I know your intentions for inviting me out tonight, Junior Lingqing. I’m sorry I could not be of more help,” she said with a shake of her head.
“I cannot join the Suncreek Villa.”