Qingyuan Ward, central district.
The vast Ward Office was situated here, its grounds filled with clusters of grand pavilions and towers. Armored patrols marched along the streets in front of the office.
In a ward city like Qingyuan Ward, the Ward Master was appointed by the authorities, backed by the might of the entire Great Shang. Thus, the Ward Master was also known as the “Baili Lord,” holding extraordinary power and status in the ward. Every faction had to treat them with a degree of respect.
Lu Ming, Gao Yu, and Yuan Da followed Lu Jin, entering the Ward Office without any obstruction. Led by a guide, they arrived at an inner courtyard filled with rockeries and lush pines and cypresses.
Several stone pavilions stood in the open space of the inner courtyard.
At this moment, many figures were already seated or standing inside these pavilions.
As the group from the Thunderfire Hall walked in, they immediately drew several ambiguous gazes.
“Haha, isn't this Hall Master Lu of the Thunderfire Hall? I heard the personal disciple your Thunderfire Hall pinned so much hope on has left for a better place?” a somewhat low laugh rang out first.
The laughter was laced with mockery, which was quite unpleasant to hear.
Lu Ming frowned slightly and looked toward the source of the laughter.
Inside one of the stone pavilions, several figures in black robes were gathered. The leader was a rather thin, middle-aged man with tufts of crimson hair. His eyes were sharp, with faint traces of red light flowing within them.
Most eye-catching of all was his pair of exceptionally broad and thick crimson palms, which seemed to flow with a scorching aura, causing the surrounding air to grow hazy and hot.
“The Red Sand Hall.”
Lu Ming recognized them at a glance. It was the Red Sand Hall, one of the four Grade 3 Divine Ability Halls of Qingyuan Ward.
The middle-aged man leading them was the Hall Master of the Red Sand Hall, Shi Tong, famously known as the “Red Hand.” He was also a Divine Ability Master whose reputation echoed throughout Qingyuan Ward.
Divine Ability Halls all operated to teach and recruit disciples, making them highly competitive with one another. This was especially true for the Thunderfire Hall and the Red Sand Hall, as both specialized in fire-attributed divine abilities.
As a result, the two halls had experienced countless friction over the years, including life-and-death duels between their disciples. With victories and defeats on both sides, their grievances ran deep.
Overall, however, the Thunderfire Hall had held the upper hand. Especially after Zhang Yue's rise within the Thunderfire Hall, they had kept the Red Sand Hall thoroughly suppressed for the past two years.
Thus, with Zhang Yue leaving the Thunderfire Hall, the Red Sand Hall was undoubtedly the most delighted by their misfortune.
Behind Shi Tong stood three youths. The one in front was thin and reasonably handsome, but his gaze was rather unrestrained, constantly wandering over Gao Yu's slender figure. The two behind him were quite heavily built and bore a striking resemblance to each other.
At this moment, all of them wore provocative smiles directed at the Thunderfire Hall group.
“Hmph, it's Lü Xiao and the two brothers, Gong Peng and Gong Hu,” Yuan Da muttered with a cold snort.
Sensing Lü Xiao's inappropriate gaze, Gao Yu's lovely face turned slightly cold. She whispered to Lu Ming, “That Lü Xiao is the strongest and most talented among the new generation of disciples in the Red Sand Hall. He has already cultivated their two Lower Divine Abilities, the Flame-Kindling Palm and the Flying Sand Technique, to Great Success. I even heard he's close to reaching Initial Success with their Mid Divine Ability, the Red Sand Iron-Melting Hand.”
Lu Ming's eyes narrowed slightly. The Red Sand Iron-Melting Hand was a Mid Divine Ability of the Red Sand Hall. If Lü Xiao had indeed successfully cultivated it to Initial Success, his combat strength would be considered exceptionally formidable among those in the third bone refinement stage.
Yuan Da's expression was somewhat bitter and unwilling. He whispered, “I've only just initiated my Mid Divine Ability, Golden Liquid Fire. I have no idea how long it will take to reach Initial Success. Perhaps at next month's Hall Meet, we'll have to rely on Gao Yu to deal with him.”
Though they were both in the third bone refinement stage, Lü Xiao had already surpassed him in the cultivation of divine abilities.
Yuan Da's eyes dimmed slightly. When it came to hard work, he believed he was second to none. However, his Low-grade Divine Ability Bone talent caused his progress to be sluggish. He could only watch helplessly as newcomers who had joined the hall much later than him caught up step by step and eventually surpassed him.
Lu Ming could only remain silent. After all, if he—someone who had cultivated both the Flame Blade and the Lesser Lightning Flash to Initial Success in just three days—offered comfort, it would probably only sting more.
As they spoke, Hall Master Shi Tong of the Red Sand Hall was still refusing to let it go. He said with a smile, “Hall Master Lu, I told you long ago that even if a golden phoenix flies out of a chicken coop, you won't be able to keep it. You're someone who has seen his share of storms, so how could you let a High-grade Divine Ability Bone cloud your judgment and dump all the resources your Thunderfire Hall accumulated over many years into him?”
Shi Tong shook his head as he spoke, seemingly lamenting the Thunderfire Hall's losses.
Yet, Lu Ming could easily sense the mockery behind his words. It was fortunate his second uncle, Lu Jinglei, hadn't come. Otherwise, with his explosive temper, he wouldn't have tolerated it even if the other party was a Divine Ability Master.
Lu Jin's expression remained completely unbothered. He did not show any anger at Shi Tong's ridicule, merely saying calmly, “Even before Zhang Yue, my Thunderfire Hall still kept your Red Sand Hall suppressed.”
Shi Tong's smile froze, a harsh look flashing across his face before he sneered, “Is that so? At next month's Hall Meet, my Red Sand Hall will certainly look forward to experiencing it.”
Lu Jin ignored him completely, leading Lu Ming and the other two into an empty stone pavilion.
Lu Ming then turned his gaze toward the other two occupied stone pavilions in the inner courtyard.
One group of people was mostly extremely muscular, their skin a grayish-white color like stone, giving off a heavy physical pressure.
Those were the people of the Mountain-Moving Hall. Their divine abilities specialized in physical strength, and at the peak of mastery, they truly possessed the power to move mountains.
Lu Ming looked at the only seated man in that stone pavilion. Compared to his disciples, who were built like iron towers, his body actually appeared exceptionally thin and weak. The hand holding his teacup looked like a thin layer of gray skin wrapping around bone.
This was the Hall Master of the Mountain-Moving Hall, Shen Tai, known as the Mountain Mover.
Lu Ming turned his gaze to the final stone pavilion. Seated inside was a middle-aged man dressed in white robes. He appeared to be the youngest of the four Hall Masters present, but Lu Ming had heard his grandfather mention him more than once, always with a tone of deep wariness.
He was the Hall Master of the Golden Gang Sword Hall, Lin Changkong, known as the Golden Gang Sword.
Among the four Grade 3 Divine Ability Halls of Qingyuan Ward, the Golden Gang Sword Hall had firmly held the top spot since its founding. It was the undisputed number one hall in Qingyuan Ward.
Behind Lin Changkong stood a youth and a girl.
The youth was handsome with sharp brows and bright eyes, his figure tall and slender. Paired with his white robes, he looked incredibly elegant. Beside him, a girl also in white possessed a graceful figure. She was smiling and whispering softly to the youth, her eyes filled with admiration.
Whether it was Lin Changkong or this pair, they only cast a brief glance at the Thunderfire Hall group before withdrawing their eyes, no longer paying them any attention. They subtly exuded the arrogance of the number one hall in Qingyuan Ward.
“That's Wang Chen of the Golden Gang Sword Hall. His Divine Ability Bone is extremely close to High-grade, bearing shattered gold markings. His comprehension of divine abilities is also exceptionally high. Not only has he cultivated the Golden Gang Sword Hall's two Lower Divine Abilities to Great Success, but even their Mid Divine Ability, the Golden Light Technique, has reached Initial Success. It's said that he has likely begun to condense his Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions. He might even break through the ‘Divine Ability Barrier’ and step into the Dharma Inscription Realm within a few months, becoming a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner.” Gao Yu pursed her red lips, her voice carrying a trace of gravity and wariness.
The so-called “Divine Ability Barrier” was the greatest obstacle encountered when crossing between realms of divine abilities. It was a rule that cultivators of divine abilities feared most in the world. Some practitioners, lacking sufficient talent or fortune, would remain blocked before the Divine Ability Barrier for their entire lives. No matter how hard they cultivated, they would find it difficult to break through and ascend to a higher level.
“Among the many Divine Ability Halls in our Qingyuan Ward, this Wang Chen is likely the strongest of the new generation. In fact, even when facing the direct descendants of the Li and Yan families, the two great Divine Ability Clans, he has the capital to stand on equal footing.”
“Close to High-grade... but isn't that still Mid-grade?” Lu Ming remarked.
Gao Yu was momentarily speechless, then chuckled softly. “Naturally, it can't compare to your genuine High-grade Divine Ability Bone, but it's still much stronger than ours. The girl beside him is named Lin Zhao, and she has also completed her third bone refinement.”
“The Golden Gang Sword Hall has always prided itself as the number one hall in Qingyuan Ward and is incredibly arrogant. Normally, they look down on the disciples of the other three halls. However, I think once they find out you possess a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, they won't be quite so haughty.”
Lu Ming nodded slightly, silently assessing himself. I've only completed half of my second bone refinement, and my Flame Blade and Lesser Lightning Flash are only at Initial Success. Compared to these veteran disciples, there is still a significant gap.
However, that was only for now.
Given another month, Lu Ming believed everything would change.
The existence of his Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone and the mysterious fire lotus imprint within his body gave him the confidence to catch up to the cream of the crop among these various Divine Ability Halls.
With all four great Divine Ability Halls present, a commotion soon echoed from the back courtyard. At the same time, a loud, booming laugh traveled from afar: “My apologies for making you all wait, Hall Masters.”
The laughter boomed like a roaring beast or rolling thunder. As it reverberated, it actually caused the primordial energy of heaven and earth within the courtyard to vibrate. A mysterious, heavy pressure descended upon them.
Under this pressure, young disciples like Lu Ming, Gao Yu, Yuan Da, and those from the other three halls couldn't help but pale, feeling a trembling sensation as if they had entered the gaze of a ferocious beast.
Lu Jin, who was sitting in front of Lu Ming, stood up. Scorching and violent thunderfire primordial energy surged from him, forming a wall of thunder and fire that completely dissolved the powerful pressure.
Lu Ming turned his gaze toward the source of that terrifying authority. A group of figures had appeared in his line of sight. Leading them was a middle-aged man clad in a green robe. He had a gentle expression, yet every stride he took carried an intimidating presence.
Under the numerous solemn and reverent gazes, the green-robed middle-aged man walked into the center of the area, his deep laughter ringing out once more.
“I am Zhou Xuan. Having assumed the office of Qingyuan Ward Master, I will require your guidance and assistance in the days to come so that we may work together to keep our Qingyuan Ward safe and peaceful.”
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