The Black Rain Zone was frightening enough on its own, let alone its depths, from which even a Divine Ability Master might not return safely.
So when Lu Jin said this, both Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei looked somewhat alarmed. Lu Ming also hurried to speak up and dissuade him. After all, Lu Jin was the main pillar of the Thunderfire Hall; if anything happened to him, the entire hall would collapse in an instant.
"Don't worry. I know my limits."
"That's only the last resort... The new master of Qingyuan Market will take office in three days. Every divine ability hall in the market will go to offer congratulations. Come with me and get yourselves recognized by the new market master."
"Also, according to past custom, when a market master takes office, they will sort through the Yuan Qi Earth Veins in the market and wash away the marks left in them by the previous chairman, thereby gaining control."
"That process will cause unusual movements in Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. For Divine Ability Practitioners like you, A-Ming, it's quite a benefit. If you can seize the opportunity, the results might be even better than those of a Bone-Tempering Pill."
Lu Ming was lost in thought for a moment. He didn't really understand what Lu Jin had said about the Yuan Qi Earth Veins and the like, but that didn't stop him from taking an interest.
As things stood, he needed to seize every opportunity and squeeze out every bit of cultivation resources that could improve his strength.
After Jiang Ling of the Great Golden Crow Hall had come to their door with threats, Lu Ming understood that without sufficient strength, their little Thunderfire Hall might not be able to establish itself securely in Qingyuan Market.
No one knew whether the people of the Great Golden Crow Hall might suddenly remember their Thunderfire Hall in the future and choose to settle this karmic entanglement by pulling up the weeds by the roots.
These disasters hanging overhead, yet to fall, were what truly robbed them of sleep and appetite.
Not to mention... the Spirit-Sealing Curse that plagued everyone in the Lu family.
Changing all of this required sufficient strength.
Lu Ming had used up the last reserve the Lu family's many forebears had accumulated with their blood and bones, so he naturally had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Lu family bloodline.
Over the next three days, Lu Ming devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
He practiced Flame Blade diligently every day without fail. With the advantage of his sub-heaven-grade divine ability bone, the flame had grown to nearly two feet in just three days, its fiery edge becoming ever sharper and hotter.
Once the flame reached two feet, however, it stopped growing. According to Lu Qingyan, a two-foot fiery edge was already the peak of Minor Accomplishment. To take another step forward and reach the Major Accomplishment Realm, he needed to draw Flame Blade's fire Qi inward. Only when the crimson blade light turned cyan would he have reached the Major Accomplishment Realm.
That step required hard work and refinement day and night. Even with Lu Ming's sub-heaven-grade divine ability bone, it was not something he could accomplish in one leap.
So Lu Ming took the opportunity to turn his attention to the Thunderfire Hall's other Lower Divine Ability, Lesser Thunderlight.
It was a speed-type divine ability, a means of preserving one's life and a compulsory subject.
Cultivating the Lower Divine Ability Lesser Thunderlight required a special material called silver thunderstone. During cultivation, it was placed against the soles of the feet and activated with Primordial Qi, releasing a faint trace of thunder power to stimulate the acupoints and open a divine ability pathway through the body. Finally, a divine ability imprint was engraved on the divine ability bone.
With Lu Ming's talent, getting started with a Lower Divine Ability was almost no challenge at all. After two days, he had also brought Lesser Thunderlight to Minor Accomplishment.
With two Lower Divine Abilities at his disposal, Lu Ming's efficiency in tempering his divine ability bone also improved.
Of course, even with two Lower Divine Abilities at Minor Accomplishment, their effect on tempering his divine ability bone was still far less pronounced than popping pills.
During those three days, Lu Ming relied on the Fire Lotus Mark's wondrous ability to remove pill impurities, swallowing and refining one High-Grade Bone Refining Pill each day.
With this two-pronged approach, Lu Ming was already nearly halfway through his second round of bone refining in just three days.
It had taken even Zhang Yue a full two months to complete his second round of bone refining.
On reflection, though, that was only natural. Zhang Yue needed three days to absorb a single High-Grade Bone Refining Pill, after which he still had to spend time removing its impurities. Lu Ming, meanwhile, had cut the entire process down to one day.
At this rate, Lu Ming felt he was probably not much slower than those with genuine heaven-grade divine ability bones.
But this rapid progress did not continue, for Lu Ming discovered to his dismay that he had used up all three of his High-Grade Bone Refining Pills.
Never mind. I'm going to the market offices today. I wonder how effective the Yuan Qi Earth Veins Grandpa mentioned will be? In any case, I'll take whatever I can get.
Lu Ming finished cultivating and went to the Thunderfire Hall's outer hall. There he saw Lu Jin, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei. Besides those three pillars of the Thunderfire Hall, there were two other familiar figures.
One was Yuan Da. As a senior disciple of the Thunderfire Hall, he had completed three rounds of bone refining and was only one step away from forging a Divine Ability Dharma Mark. He had also brought both Flame Blade and Lesser Thunderlight to major mastery, and had even made a start on cultivating Golden Plasma Fire, a Middle Divine Ability from the old hall. Although he had yet to reach Minor Accomplishment, he was still one of the strongest fighters among the Thunderfire Hall's Divine Ability Practitioners below the Dharma Rune Realm.
The other was a tall girl with short, ear-length hair. She wore the Thunderfire Hall's crimson training uniform, and its close-fitting trousers made her legs look especially long and straight. She cut a valiant figure.
"Sister Yu?"
Lu Ming looked at the tall, short-haired girl and greeted her in some surprise.
The girl was named Gao Yu, and she was something of a well-known figure in the Thunderfire Hall. She was pretty and had a good figure, so in a divine ability hall where nearly ninety percent of the disciples were male, her popularity went without saying.
Leaving her looks aside, Gao Yu was also one of the few disciples in the hall with a middle-grade divine ability bone. She had cultivated in the Thunderfire Hall for only a little over a year, yet she was already no weaker than a senior disciple like Yuan Da, who had cultivated for three years.
But Lu Ming had rarely seen her in the Thunderfire Hall these past few days...
Seeing the gloom on her face, so different from her usual cheerfulness, Lu Ming thought of something. It was because of Zhang Yue, wasn't it?
When Zhang Yue was at the Thunderfire Hall, he had also instructed the disciples in their cultivation. He had little patience, however, and had no desire to waste time on disciples with low-grade divine ability bones. To fulfill his duties at the hall, he had chosen Gao Yu, who had a middle-grade divine ability bone, and given her some guidance in her cultivation.
But that naturally invited gossip. While Zhang Yue was still there, no one had dared say anything, but after he left the Thunderfire Hall a few days ago, the talk that had circulated in the past burst forth.
Some who had once fawned over Gao Yu, only to be coldly rejected, now sought revenge. They mocked her, asking why, since Zhang Yue had valued her so highly, he hadn't taken her with him when he left the Thunderfire Hall for the Great Golden Crow Hall.
Such mockery had naturally made Gao Yu furious, so she had spent the past few days hiding at home in low spirits.
"Lu Ming."
Gao Yu gave Lu Ming a strained smile. "I heard you awakened a high-grade divine ability bone. I haven't congratulated you yet."
Gao Yu looked at the upright young man before her. Even in her present poor mood, she could not hide the surprise in her eyes. She had never expected that, on the very day Zhang Yue left, another high-grade divine ability bone would appear in their Thunderfire Hall.
In the past, the person Gao Yu was closest to in the Thunderfire Hall was probably Lu Mengmeng. The little girl, always eager for a treat, liked to follow her around, and Gao Yu often took her shopping and bought her favorite pastries.
At that moment, Lu Qingyan, standing to one side, weighed his words and said gently, "Gao Yu, you haven't come to the hall to cultivate these past few days. If you're no longer interested in the Thunderfire Hall, you only need to tell us. We won't stand in your way."
Gao Yu had clearly been in low spirits at the Thunderfire Hall these past few days. Lu Qingyan also felt that, if things continued this way, she might not stay at the hall much longer, so he spoke plainly to avoid holding her back.
After all, he did not know whether Gao Yu really was close to Zhang Yue. Over the past few days, several disciples who had originally come to the Thunderfire Hall because of Zhang Yue had already chosen to leave.
Although Lu Qingyan was reluctant to part with Gao Yu-she really was a promising talent, and the potential of a middle-grade divine ability bone was far greater than Yuan Da's-there was no need to force her to stay if they truly could not keep her.
Hearing this, Gao Yu shook her head and bit her lip. "Second Hall Master, I won't leave the Thunderfire Hall! Zhang Yue... Although he used to guide me, I didn't come to the Thunderfire Hall to cultivate because of him. The other hall masters have guided me too."
"They all say I'll leave too, but I refuse to go!"
It was clear that, after a few days at home to calm down, Gao Yu had thought things through. Whatever Zhang Yue's intentions had been when he guided her, she had benefited from it. And since she had received that benefit, she ought to bear the consequences of its backlash herself.
"Good. Since you're willing to stay at the Thunderfire Hall, we naturally welcome you most warmly." Lu Qingyan was also delighted to hear Gao Yu's decision.
The Qingyuan Market divine ability hall gathering was next month, so Gao Yu's decision to stay was naturally good news for the Thunderfire Hall.
"A little gossip comes and goes quickly. Don't take it to heart." Lu Jin also tapped the pipe in his hand and offered Gao Yu a few words of comfort.
"Let's go. Since you're here, come with us to the market offices."