Chapter 38 | The Divine Ability Practitioner

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was greatly shocked.

Even Lin Changkong of the Golden Gang Sword Hall opened his eyes, staring at Lu Ming with a cold, sharp gaze. What did this arrogant brat want to do?

Did he think the Golden Gang Sword Hall was like the Red Sand Hall?

Did he think their hall's Wang Chen was of the same caliber as Lü Xiao?

At the Golden Gang Sword Hall's Lower Flag Platform, Wang Chen, dressed in white and looking exceptionally elegant, stood with his arms crossed, gazing down at Lu Ming.

“Hmph, what boasting. Does he think defeating useless trash like Lü Xiao gives him the right to target us?” Next to Wang Chen, Lin Zhao, who was dressed in a white dress and looked charming and lovely, let out a cold snort, her eyes filled with contempt and ridicule.

“Besides, he already depleted his primordial energy defeating Lü Xiao and the other guy. How much primordial energy does he have left to unleash a Great Perfection Flame Blade again?”

A Great Perfection Flame Blade was indeed a devastating weapon in the Bone Refining Realm, but its consumption of primordial energy was also extremely massive—not something a typical Bone Refining Realm cultivator could easily sustain.

While the members of the Golden Gang Sword Hall looked on with cold disdain, Lu Jin also understood Lu Ming's thoughts. He could feel the indignation and wild arrogance in the youth's heart.

Lu Ming was unwilling to let the Golden Gang Sword Hall simply pat their butts and walk away as if nothing had happened after thoroughly disgusting the Thunderfire Hall.

Moreover, since the Golden Gang Sword Hall had already brought their malice toward the Thunderfire Hall into the open, continuing to back down and endure like they had in the past would be completely pointless. In today's setting, countless people had witnessed the Golden Gang Sword Hall's actions. If the Thunderfire Hall did not launch any counterattack, what would be the result?

People would certainly use this to mock the Thunderfire Hall's weakness. The impact on the Thunderfire Hall's reputation would be even worse than when Zhang Yue left the hall.

No one wanted to join a weak Divine Ability Hall that smiled back even after being stepped on.

With this thought, Lu Jin's gaze also gradually grew sharp. He said to Lu Ming, “Can your primordial energy still hold up? Wang Chen of the Golden Gang Sword Hall is not someone Lü Xiao can compare to.”

Lu Jin could clearly feel that there was not much primordial energy left in Lu Ming's body. If he remained in this state, there was no chance of him challenging Wang Chen.

Lu Ming did not answer. He merely took a deep breath. In the next moment, the Divine Ability Bone inside his body let out a mysterious rumble. The rumbling echoed within him, gradually growing louder and louder.

Eventually, it converged into sound waves that resembled the roaring of tigers and leopards, and the rumbling of thunder.

That was...

The Tiger-Leopard Thunderous Roar!

At this moment, Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone had finally and completely completed its third bone refinement.

He had already been at the peak of his third bone refinement, and his previous activation of the Great Perfection Flame Blade had caused his divine ability to temper his bones. Thus, that final step was crossed right at this moment.

Lu Ming's flesh and blood vibrated violently. His body seemed to grow half an inch taller in an instant, and his blood boiled like scalding water. As it circulated at high speed, the fluctuations of primordial energy radiating from his body surged step by step.

This sudden change in Lu Ming immediately drew countless shocked gazes.

“The Tiger-Leopard Thunderous Roar—that's the sign of bone refinement completion. Has he... completed his third bone refinement?” An expression of astonishment appeared on Zhou Xuan's face. To go from Bone-Opening to completing three bone refinements in just one month—even with his broad horizons, he couldn't help but be amazed by this cultivation speed.

It wasn't that Zhou Xuan had never seen such cultivation speed before. He had even seen super geniuses who bypassed the Bone Refining Realm entirely upon Bone-Opening to directly condense Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions. Those possessed the legendary Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone.

However, geniuses of that caliber only appeared in those Divine Ability Clans, high-grade Divine Ability Halls, or Divine Ability sects with unimaginably deep heritages.

Yet the Lu Ming before him had achieved such a feat in this tiny Qingyuan Ward.

This was truly rare.

While Zhou Xuan was marveled in his heart, Li Yan and Yan Jing beside him were also extremely astonished by the Tiger-Leopard Thunderous Roar displayed by Lu Ming.

“They say the Thunderfire Hall's heritage was completely drained by Zhang Yue, so how is it that this Lu Ming's cultivation speed is actually a step faster than Zhang Yue's? Where did he get his cultivation resources? Relying purely on Bone Refining Pills shouldn't be enough, right?” Yan Jing said with some doubt.

“I heard that during the Rain Mist Season a few days ago, Hall Master Lu Jin took Lu Ming out of the city for several days, only returning after the Rain Mist Season ended. It seems they were using the black rain mist to cultivate, and they might have even used Rain Pearls...” As the Ward Master, Zhou Xuan had many eyes and ears, so he was naturally aware of Lu Jin's movements.

Yan Jing finally understood. So that was it. Although an environment like the black rain mist was helpful for cultivation, the danger was not small. As for Rain Pearls, using too many would affect one's state of mind. Their Divine Ability Clans generally tried to minimize their children's use of such items for cultivation. It seemed Lu Jin had truly gone all out for today's Hall Meet...

But this also proved that the Thunderfire Hall was indeed completely drained. After all, back when Zhang Yue was around, Lu Jin had never been willing to take him to cultivate in the black rain mist, fearing that something might go wrong.

Li Yan, who was beside them, did not speak. She merely sighed softly in her heart, feeling a twinge of heartache for Lu Ming. Over the past month, this child must have suffered immensely to make such progress.

Meanwhile, in the seats behind them, the disciples of the Divine Ability Clans were also filled with shock. They could no longer utter any disparaging words. After all, Lu Ming's speed of going from Bone-Opening to completing three bone refinements in a single month was indeed an astronomical feat in their eyes.

Yan Qing frowned slightly. He also possessed a High-grade Divine Ability Bone and had a continuous supply of cultivation resources from his family. Yet even so, it had taken him several months to complete three bone refinements.

“It seems this Lu Ming indeed has some tricks up his sleeve. I underestimated him before.” Thus, even though Yan Qing found Lu Ming somewhat disagreeable, it was hard for him to remain stubborn at this moment. Instead, he nodded, acknowledging Lu Ming's capability.

Zhou Fuling's beautiful eyes shimmered with a strange light, and her red lips took a light sip of the wine in her cup.

“This talent actually meets Her Highness's requirements a little.”

...

“Haha, good!”

The Tiger-Leopard Thunderous Roar emanating from within Lu Ming grew louder and louder. Feeling the rapidly increasing strength of the primordial energy in his body, Lu Jin finally burst into loud laughter, which carried an undeniable sense of gratification.

Today, Lu Ming was destined to make a name for himself in Qingyuan Ward.

As for whether this would be too high-profile, Lu Jin had actually come to terms with it. Lu Ming was right; hiding one's capabilities blindly would not reduce malicious scrutiny. Rather than doing that, it was better to display one's strength, which might even attract unexpected, positive attention.

“Ah Ming, since you have the ambition to strive for the champion hall, then no matter what, this grandfather's old bones will not hold you back today.”

“Go ahead.”

“I know what you want. I will intercept Lin Changkong. I might not be able to defeat him, but he won't be able to do anything to me either. So, I will secure a draw for you at the upper flag,” Lu Jin laughed heartily.

Over at the Middle Flag Platform, both sides had already fought to a draw.

If the upper flag also ended in a draw, then it would be a double draw.

At that point... the deciding factor would lie here at the lower flag platform.

As long as Lu Ming could truly defeat Wang Chen and seize the flag, the Thunderfire Hall would win by this single round, and the champion hall position would directly change hands!

This was an opportunity delivered right to them by the Golden Gang Sword Hall.

Originally, there was a clear gap in strength between the two sides. At the very least, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei could not have been opponents at the middle flag and were destined to lose. Yet, the other side had clevered themselves into a draw just to create an opportunity for the Red Sand Hall.

“Grandfather, this draw is exactly what I wanted.”

A smile appeared on Lu Ming's face. Feeling the primordial energy gradually growing more robust within his Divine Ability Bone, he turned his head to look at Gao Yu and Yuan Da. “Sister Yu, Brother Yuan, come with me. You only need to help me hold back the other two from the Golden Gang Sword Hall.”

“I'll handle Wang Chen myself.”

Hearing Lu Ming's words, Gao Yu and Yuan Da both immediately agreed, a hint of reverence actually creeping into their voices.

“Let's go!”

“Since the Golden Gang Sword Hall wants to play dirty, let's make them taste what it feels like to shoot themselves in the foot today!”

Lu Ming smiled, and without any further hesitation, lightning flashed beneath his feet. Under the countless burning, amazed gazes from both inside and outside the lake, he landed directly on the Golden Gang Sword Hall's lower flag platform.