As Yu Hongxi continued to force a steady flow of energy into the ward, it began to keen shrilly.
A golden ring flowed into existence in front of Li Luo, then it bulged forward and took the form of a cannon pointed straight at Chi Chan.
Her eyes were still crazed, but some basal instinct had warned her of the new danger. She turned to Li Luo, the jeweled, blue tiger already loping across the field towards him.
"Watch out!" Yu Hongxi shouted. A Duke had the power to level mountains, and Li Luo was not a mountain. He might soon be a grave mound though, if Chi Chan's tiger had its way with him.
Li Luo watched the tiger bounding across the field towards him with studied disinterest. Curiously, he did not feel any danger—it had to be because of the ward. Otherwise a Resonant Master like himself would have already been paralyzed by the raging power of a Duke.
Heart as calm as a still lake, he followed the nudgings of the ward.
The power that Yu Hongxi was feeding into his Acquired Resonance Flame was burned up all at once, and it passed through the golden ring that was the cannon’s mouth.
The golden ring had a strange effect on the energy. As the raging flames passed through it, they shrank until they were about the size of a fist.
In exchange, the ruby-red flames now had a trail of glittering, gold sparks. They snaked out like a fiery dragon.
The thin, golden fire dragon smashed into the tiger, vaporizing it instantly and traveling onwards to Chi Chan.
Chi Chan moved swiftly, gathering her robust power on a fingertip, creating a single, concentrated water droplet.
It flew out like a sparkling sapphire, sucking in more worldly natural energy like a black hole as it flew out.
Sapphire against ruby, they collided like bullets.
But again, Chi Chan's power was lacking. The water droplet fizzled away, and the golden fire dragon blazed on.
It landed on Chi Chan's face, burning away the veil instantly.
Behind it was a lovely face. Perhaps because she was a water resonance user, her skin glowed beautifully. Everything about her was overflowing with life and vitality, and compelling beauty exuded out of her dainty nose and cherry-red lips, tightly pursed.
The only mar to her beauty was a black-fish tattoo on the right side of her face.
The little fish seemed alive, wriggling enthusiastically across its facial canvas. On its pure-black body was a single eye that was pure white. It had an almost cartoon-y appearance that was somehow chilling to behold.
As the fish swam, it left a trail of black water in its wake. It plunged and leaped out of Chi Chan's right eye repeatedly, as if it were a deeper pool of water.
This fish had to be the reason she had gone mad.
"What deep corruption!" Yu Hongxi exclaimed. Even she could sense it... how strong the Other must have been to leave something of this caliber!
“Could it have been an Other King?! Chi Chan has met an Other King?!”
As the golden fire dragon smashed into her face, it wrapped itself around the black fish in a tight coil and squeezed.
A faint, gold halo formed around the black fish, sealing it and shrinking it.
Chi Chan's face gradually calmed back down, and a few moments later, both of her eyes were clear again.
As she fell to her knees, Chi Chan lifted her hand to touch her face tentatively.
Yu Hongxi rushed over to her. "Mentor Chi Chan, are you alright?"
She had not let her resonant power fade away completely yet, keeping her guarded stance.
Chi Chan smiled and shook her head weakly. "Li Luo," she called out, "I'm sorry for ruining your plan."
"No worries, Mentor," Li Luo quickly assured her. "You only ran into problems because you were helping me."
She was quiet for a moment as she took out a new piece of veil. "Your attack seems to have sealed it away for the moment. It is quite a unique seal. I think it might be able to keep it under wraps for quite some time.
"Shall we... continue?" she asked.
Yu Hongxi looked at Li Luo. Clearly, Chi Chan was not too willing to explain the black fish on her face, and Yu Hongxi was tactful enough not to push her.
Any safety issues had definitely been disclosed to the upper management in the school. Although such corruption was insidious, a Duke like Chi Chan would be able to suppress it under normal conditions.
"Well... if you are feeling okay, Mentor, then let's continue."
Yu Hongxi wordlessly took up her position again.
Chi Chan's eyes were drooping slightly. She seemed almost deflated after the incident, but for the sake of Li Luo's refining, she roused herself and again started to funnel resonant power into the ward.
After that slight hiccup, the refining continued again.
The refining process proceeded smoothly and easily once again, like before. The boredom was very much welcome after the excitement they had just experienced. Li Luo resumed his role as a prop and vessel, allowing the ward to run the show.
He had no complaints. It was a form of doting by his parents, and he wasn't about to spurn their coddling.
When the first rays of morning light broke through the clouds, so too did the refining come to an end.
The magnificent ward started to fade away, as did the golden brazier before Li Luo. From within, a golden nimbus of light landed gently before him.
It was a triangular object covered with intricate marks that compelled one's gaze.
Li Luo paid zero attention to the mystical object, stuffing it unceremoniously into his pocket sphere. He stood up and stretched lazily.
He looked calm as could be, but inside, he was hopping up and down.
His Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Wheel was complete. He was one large step closer to his third resonance.