Thunderfire Hall, inner courtyard.
The sun was setting in the west. A tall, straight-backed youth wore a look of concentration as flames flowed over his right palm, forming a scorching blade of light about a foot long. He focused all his attention on compressing the flames into the shape of a blade.
The fiery blade turned and suddenly slashed down at the stone pillar beside him.
The scorching blade light tore through the air, leaving a blackened cut half a finger deep in the pillar. The heat within the cut lingered for a long time.
Delight shone in Lu Ming's eyes. After a day of diligent practice, his Flame Blade had finally settled firmly at the Minor Accomplishment Realm. The blade burned hot, its edge growing sharper.
"Good!"
An elderly laugh suddenly sounded. Lu Ming looked up and saw his grandfather Lu Jin, his father Lu Qingyan, and his second uncle Lu Jinglei standing at the courtyard entrance, all watching him with smiles.
"Grandpa."
Lu Ming dispersed the flames on his right palm and smiled at the three of them.
"Good lad! Your father told me you brought Flame Blade to Minor Accomplishment in one hour today, and I could hardly believe it. But I just saw it for myself. The fiery edge was sharp, holding together without dispersing. Heh, a sub-heaven-grade divine ability bone really is extraordinary." Lu Jinglei clapped his broad palm heavily on Lu Ming's shoulder, his face alight with surprise and excitement.
A smile also appeared on Lu Jin's aged face, usually rather stern. He nodded with gratification. "As expected of the Lu Clan's divine ability child."
"It's only a Lower Divine Ability." Lu Ming smiled. He thought it was perfectly normal, nothing worth boasting about.
"Back then, it took your father and second uncle half a month to bring Flame Blade to Minor Accomplishment. Even Zhang Yue took four days under my guidance to reach it. They really can't compare to you."
"But a Lower Divine Ability is indeed only the beginning of divine abilities. I'm glad you can remain neither arrogant nor impatient." Lu Jin spoke gently, his eyes full of satisfaction as he looked at Lu Ming.
"Given the talent you've shown, you should be able to bring Flame Blade to Major Accomplishment in less than two months. Once a divine ability reaches Major Accomplishment, it can help speed up your bone refining."
Most divine abilities in the world had three stages: Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection Realm.
When one cultivated a divine ability, it drew upon Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, tempering the cultivator's divine ability bone. The higher the divine ability's grade and stage, the stronger the tempering effect.
Generally speaking, if one could bring a divine ability to Major Accomplishment while in the Bone Refining Realm, one's bone refining would be faster than that of others.
Thus, for divine ability practitioners who had entered the Bone Refining Realm, cultivating divine abilities was the most important thing.
It was not only a measure of combat strength, but also the main way to advance in cultivation.
The more divine abilities one mastered, and the higher their grades, the stronger the bone-refining effect they produced.
For that reason, divine ability inheritances were the measure of a divine ability hall's foundation.
"Our Thunderfire Hall has five divine abilities in all. Two are Lower Divine Abilities: Flame Blade and Lesser Thunderlight. You've already mastered the former, while the latter is a speed divine ability."
"The Middle Divine Abilities are Palm Thunder and Golden Plasma Fire."
"The Upper Divine Ability is called Thunderfire Whip. It's the foundation on which our Thunderfire Hall stands in Qingyuan Market. But it's quite difficult to cultivate. Only a Great Divine Ability Practitioner who has entered the Dharma Rune Realm can master it."
As Lu Ming listened to Lu Jin slowly describe Thunderfire Hall's foundation, longing inevitably appeared in his eyes. He could hardly wait to master all five divine abilities and experience their power.
"What grade of divine ability is above Upper Divine Ability?" Lu Ming suddenly asked, curious.
Lu Jin stroked his graying beard and said with some emotion, "A Grandmaster Divine Ability, of course. Those belong exclusively to Divine Ability Grandmasters. Only some fifth-grade divine ability halls with a Divine Ability Grandmaster holding the fort have complete Grandmaster Divine Ability inheritances."
Lu Ming blinked and asked in a low voice, "Grandpa, the Lu Clan was once quite prosperous too. Didn't it leave behind any Grandmaster Divine Abilities?"
From what Lu Jin and the others had said before, the Lu Clan must have been extraordinary at its peak. With such a foundation, even if it had ultimately fallen apart and fled, surely some top-tier divine abilities could have been passed down? So how was it that the strongest divine ability in the family now was only an Upper Divine Ability?
Lu Jin fell silent for several breaths, a shadow passing over his aged face. "I once learned from a secret clan record that the Lu Clan did indeed possess inheritances of top-tier divine abilities. In terms of grade, they even surpassed Grandmaster Divine Abilities. But our ancestors later discovered that these top-tier divine abilities originally belonging to the Lu Clan had all been marked by some unseen force. Once mastered, they would bring calamity down upon us. Our ancestors could only seal those divine abilities away and forget them, not daring to pass them down."
Lu Ming's expression changed despite himself, and his voice grew low. "Was it the hidden hand that plotted against our Lu Clan?"
The being who destroyed the Lu Clan was truly vicious. Not only had they used the Spirit-Sealing Curse to block the Lu Clan's bloodline talent, but they had even marked the clan's top-tier divine ability inheritances.
How ruthless was their determination to wipe the clan out to the last?
"Actually, the divine abilities our Thunderfire Hall possesses today can also be considered inheritances from the Lu Clan. They've simply been heavily stripped down and no longer have their former power. If you grow strong in the future, you may have a chance to reveal their true forms," Lu Jin said.
"Oh?" Surprise appeared in Lu Ming's eyes. He clearly hadn't expected the divine abilities of Thunderfire Hall to hold such a secret.
Lu Jin said no more about the subject that weighed on them so heavily they could hardly breathe. Changing the subject, he said, "Since I've told you about the grades of divine abilities, I'll take the opportunity to explain the cultivation realms of the Dao of Divine Abilities as well."
"You presumably already know the first four realms of the Dao of Divine Abilities."
Lu Ming had grown up in Thunderfire Hall, so he was naturally well acquainted with the first four realms of the Dao of Divine Abilities: Divine Ability Practitioner in the first realm, Great Divine Ability Practitioner in the second, Divine Ability Master in the third, and Divine Ability Grandmaster in the fourth.
Very straightforward.
The first realm was his current level, divided into the Qi Refining Realm and the Bone Refining Realm. Once he completed bone refining three times, the divine ability bone in his body would undergo a transformation. His cultivation would then advance to the second realm, and he could be called a Great Divine Ability Practitioner.
But Lu Ming did not know the details of how one cultivated in the second realm.
"When you enter the second realm, the divine ability bone in your body will have completed its transformation. What you cultivate in this realm are divine ability dharma marks, which is why it is also called the Dharma Rune Realm." Lu Jin's aged voice rang out.
"Divine ability dharma marks?" Lu Ming's eyes flickered.
"Divine ability dharma marks are the roots and foundation of divine ability cultivation. When the divine abilities you cultivate combine with Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to continually temper and resonate with your divine ability bone, a wondrous dharma mark will gradually be engraved upon it. That mark is a divine ability dharma mark."
"A divine ability dharma mark contains your own insights into divine abilities, and can deepen your communication and harmony with Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi."
"At the same time, divine ability dharma marks are also your foundation."
"The more divine ability dharma marks you cultivate in the Dharma Rune Realm, the stronger your foundation. Only then can you forge a higher-grade divine ability dharma foundation when you enter the third realm," Lu Jin patiently explained.
"The third realm is that of a Divine Ability Master. Only upon reaching it can one be considered a figure of note, someone who has crossed the threshold and entered the hall of the Dao of Divine Abilities."
"This realm has one particularly obvious mark."
Lu Ming hurriedly said, "I know! I think I've heard Father talk about it. He often mutters about it with envy. Is it the divine ability feather robe?"
Lu Qingyan gave him an annoyed look, but did not deny it.
A smile appeared on Lu Jin's aged face. He asked gently, "Would you like to see it?"
Lu Ming nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of curiosity.
Lu Jin waved for the three of them to move back, then took a step backward himself. The instant his foot came down, an astonishing pressure of Primordial Qi swept out of the old man's gaunt body like a storm.
Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi stirred in response, turning into streams of light that poured into his body.
Boom!
In Lu Ming's eyes, Lu Jin's body seemed to become a blazing sun of thunder and fire. Thunder and fire of extreme ferocity crashed and leaped within it, and the heat and violence rushing at him nearly made him feel suffocated.
The heavy pressure of Primordial Qi descended upon him like a mountain.
Amid the brilliant thunder and fire, Lu Jin's figure slowly emerged.
Lu Ming's pupils suddenly contracted.
Lu Jin's figure was reflected in his eyes. Draped over Lu Jin's body was a splendid feather robe woven from thunder and fire.
The thunderfire feather robe drifted slowly as though it were alive. Numerous profound and obscure dharma marks could be seen upon it, taking in and releasing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi like dancing spirits of thunder and fire.
At the same time, an object appeared in Lu Jin's hand: an iron whip that seemed to be woven from thunder and fire. It had nine sections and resembled an iron mace. Every section was engraved with thunderfire runes, and as thunder and fire collided, they continuously gave off soul-shaking rumbles.
Thunderfire Whip, the signature divine ability of Thunderfire Hall!
As the thunderfire feather robe covered him, Lu Jin's feet slowly rose into the air. As though standing on empty space, he came to rest several yards above the courtyard.
"Amazing."
Looking at Lu Jin, covered in the thunderfire feather robe and as imposing and awe-inspiring as a divine general of thunder and fire, Lu Ming could not help murmuring aloud.
"Impressive, isn't it? Otherwise your father wouldn't be thinking about it day and night." His second uncle Lu Jinglei was also looking up, undisguised envy and longing on his face.
"With a divine ability feather robe on your body, no evil can invade and no spell can break through. Not only does it have the wondrous power to defend and protect its wearer, it can also be used to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth. You could say that only after reaching the Divine Ability Master realm and donning a divine ability feather robe does one become a true figure of note," Lu Qingyan said with a sigh.
Hearing this, Lu Ming's eyes filled with envy. Wearing a divine ability feather robe actually let one fly straight into the sky?
The Divine Ability Master realm truly deserved its place as the first watershed on the Dao of Divine Abilities.
Meanwhile, Lu Jin gradually reined in his Primordial Qi. The thunderfire feather robe on his body slowly dimmed, then vanished completely.
He descended and smiled at the envious youth. "No need to envy me, A-Ming. With your aptitude, becoming a Divine Ability Master is only a matter of time. You'll go farther than your grandfather in the future. There will surely be a place for you among Divine Ability Grandmasters, or even above them."
"Grandpa, a Divine Ability Master is already so extraordinary. What kind of sight must a Divine Ability Grandmaster be?" Lu Ming asked, curious and full of longing.
"A Divine Ability Grandmaster..."
Even Lu Jin felt a trace of awe at the mention of that realm. "People often say, 'A master weaves a feather robe; a grandmaster forges a dharma net.'"
"Such a person is a true powerhouse, enough to guard an entire region. As for how strong they are, people often use two sayings to describe them."
"Which two?"
Lu Jin paused, then spoke slowly, his emotions complicated.
"The dharma net is vast, its meshes wide, yet nothing slips through."
"Within the dharma net, all are but flies."