After witnessing the changes deep within the Black Rain Zone, Lu Jin and Lu Ming lost the will to stay any longer. They turned around and returned to Lu Qingyan and the others' resting place. After a brief rest, the group set off directly back to Qingyuan Market.
"Grandpa, so many people saw that ' Sacred Ruins ' deep in the Black Rain Zone today. This news will surely spread quickly, right? Won't that attract the attention of the top forces in Fengyang Prefecture and the surrounding prefectures?" On the way back, Lu Ming came to Lu Jin's side and asked in a low voice.
"That's for sure. Such Sacred Ruins might contain complete Grandmaster Divine Ability abilities and top-tier Qi Refining Art, not to mention the so-called ' Grandmaster Great Pill,' a treasure that even Divine Ability Grandmaster would fight tooth and nail for. If one could obtain an opportunity within it, it might just lead to the birth of another Divine Ability Grandmaster within one's own faction."
"Therefore, Qingyuan Market will face unprecedented turmoil in the coming period," Lu Jin said with a serious expression.
If this attracts the attention of major powers in the surrounding prefectures, the order of Qingyuan Market will be severely affected. After all, in the eyes of those powers, the local forces in Qingyuan Market are not very threatening.
"Won't this attract the Great Golden Crow Hall?" Lu Ming hesitated for a moment before asking.
This was his biggest worry. Now that they had killed Lin Changkong and eliminated Jiang Ling's treachery in Qingyuan Market, if the news reached her and Zhang Yue, they would be furious.
Especially Zhang Yue, who was the one who couldn't stand to see Thunderfire Hall improve.
In his view, Thunderfire Hall should be removed from Qingyuan Market directly, so that no one would trace his past and he could become a clean-cut disciple of the Great Golden Crow Hall.
Furthermore, the recent changes in the Qingyuan Market Black Rain Zone may give them a legitimate reason to interfere here.
When they arrive with the forces of the Great Golden Crow Hall, such a lineup will certainly be beyond the capabilities of the Thunderfire Hall.
Lu Jin paused for a moment, then said, "That's impossible to say for sure. However, the Great Golden Crow Hall is located in the ' Great Luo Prefecture,' which is the central area of Great Luo Domain. It's extremely far from Qingyuan Market, so the commotion here might not reach their ears in a short time."
"After all, there's very little information about this ' Sacred Ruins,' and it only existed for a very short time. No one can be sure whether it truly exists or whether those Eight-Armed Rain Spawn deep within the Black Rain Zone are deliberately misleading and luring us with illusions."
Therefore, before the existence of the " Sacred Ruins " is confirmed, all parties should focus on probing and testing the waters.
"Of course, we can't let our guard down. After all, the Great Golden Crow Hall is indeed a calamity we can hardly withstand. Once it descends, we might have to prepare for the worst, and then..."
He paused, then said in a low voice, "You need to find a way to escape with Mengmeng."
Lu Ming fell silent. At this moment, the joy of defeating the Golden Gang Sword Hall had vanished, because defeating Lin Changkong was not the end, but only the beginning of everything.
"Grandpa, there's no need to worry too much. Half a year ago, who could have imagined that the Golden Gang Sword Hall would be destroyed by our Thunderfire Hall? So who could have imagined what the situation would be like six months later?" Lu Ming said slowly.
Lu Jin smiled upon hearing this and said, " A-Ming has a point. I just always tend to plan for the worst first."
Lu Ming didn't say anything more, but his mood became increasingly urgent.
He had already decided that in the coming days, he needed to focus on cultivating the " Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner " divine power, because it was the only opportunity to obtain the destiny of the prince that Zhou Xuan and the others had mentioned.
He wanted to secure a stable environment for the Thunderfire Hall and time for his own growth, so he could only seek help from outside, by leveraging the power of this prince to counter the Great Golden Crow Hall.
The group quickened their pace, and after most of the day, they finally left the Black Rain Zone and emerged from the towering yellow wind wall.
Once outside the wind wall, the sunlight seemed to brighten considerably.
Lu Ming and his group headed straight for Fangcheng without stopping.
We finally arrived at the Thunderfire Hall in the evening.
When they appeared at the Thunderfire Hall, they immediately alerted many disciples who were cultivating inside. They came out to greet them with great joy, and the atmosphere became lively.
These ordinary disciples of the Thunderfire Hall were unaware of Lin Changkong's plan to ambush them. They simply felt that the Black Rain Zone was too dangerous, and the fact that Lu Jin and the others were able to return unharmed was already a relief.
However, they will likely soon learn about the desperate battle between Lu Jin and his group and Lin Changkong in the Black Rain Zone.
At that time, the disciples of the Thunderfire Hall will surely be shocked and overjoyed, because it means that from today onwards, the Thunderfire Hall will completely replace the Golden Gang Sword Hall and become the undisputed number one hall in Qingyuan Market.
People like those from the Red Sand Hall will probably have to walk with their heads down when they see the Thunderfire Hall from now on.
The commotion inside the building quickly attracted Zhong Ying and Lu Mengmeng.
"Elder brother!"
Lu Mengmeng cheered with delight and pounced on him.
Lu Ming quickly reached out and caught her, weighing her in his arms for a few moments before saying, "You've gained weight again. Looks like you've been eating a lot lately."
"Nonsense, I'm so worried I've been skipping meals twice a day," Lu Mengmeng said, dissatisfied.
Lu Ming was deep in thought. He remembered that this little girl used to eat five meals a day. Now that she's eating two less meals a day, she's only just returned to a normal diet.
However, considering that even skipping two meals is still a small amount, he stopped making fun of him.
"Mother," he called out to Zhong Ying with a smile.
Zhong Ying looked at them, her eyes slightly red. Her heart, which had been tense for more than half a month, finally relaxed at this moment. She had not had an easy time recently. She knew the danger that Lu Ming and the others were going to face, so she was always making the worst preparations.
If Lu Ming and the others don't return by then, she will have no choice but to take Lu Mengmeng and flee Qingyuan Market to Fengyang Prefecture to seek refuge.
Although she had been at odds with her family for years, she no longer cared about saving face in order to protect her only daughter.
Fortunately, it didn't come to that.
Lu Ming and the others have returned safely.
"It's good to be back." Zhong Ying rubbed her eyes and smiled.
The entire Thunderfire Hall erupted in celebration.
After making some arrangements, Lu Jin instructed everyone to rest. This mission during the Rain Weakening Period had exhausted them, and everyone was injured.
Lu Ming went back to his room and slept for the entire day.
For the next three days, Lu Ming did not leave his home.
But Qingyuan Market was thrown into turmoil.
First, there was the " Sacred Ruins " that had emerged deep within the Black Rain Zone. As news of this spread like wildfire, it shocked all the forces within the city, while simultaneously generating elation and covetousness. If the " Sacred Ruins " were real, wouldn't they be able to take advantage of the terrain and make a fortune?
If one could truly obtain an opportunity from that " Sacred Ruins," it would be a true act of defying fate.
Besides the news about the " Sacred Ruins," another piece of news also caused a stir among the various forces in Qingyuan Market.
Lin Changkong of the Golden Gang Sword Hall led his men to ambush and kill the Thunderfire Hall members in the Black Rain Zone. The two pavilions engaged in a fierce battle. In the end, the Thunderfire Hall members successfully returned to Fangcheng, while the members of the Golden Gang Sword Hall have not been seen since, and even Lin Changkong has disappeared without a trace.
This is clearly not normal.
Therefore, rumors circulated that the Great Divine Ability Practitioner of the Golden Gang Sword Hall, including Lin Changkong, all perished in the Black Rain Zone during their battle with the Thunderfire Hall.
Such rumors caused a huge uproar. Many people scoffed and didn't believe them at all, while others were skeptical. After all, if Lin Changkong and the others were still alive, why hadn't they returned to the city?
This uproar quickly came to an end.
Because Lu Jin personally led a group of Great Divine Ability Practitioner from the Thunderfire Hall, they stormed into the Golden Gang Sword Hall Golden Gang Sword Hall next day, amidst the horrified gazes of the remaining disciples.
This is... they've come to raid the library.
The entire Qingyuan Market was shaken by this.
At this point, even the most skeptical person would have to admit that Lin Changkong must have died, otherwise how could the Thunderfire Hall have dared to raid the pavilion so openly?
At the same time, on the day of the raid on the school, Lu Jin made no attempt to conceal his refined True Qi, revealing his True Qi Master.
This drew the attention of all parties. No one expected that this old man, who seemed to have exhausted his potential in everyone's eyes, would quietly and successfully condense True Qi!
As Lu Jin revealed this level of skill, those other forces that had been eyeing the various businesses of the Golden Gang Sword Hall with covetousness had no choice but to restrain their ambitions.
The raid on the Golden Gang Sword Hall went smoothly. After all, Great Divine Ability Practitioner in the hall were dead, especially with Lin Changkong's death, which severed the Golden Gang Sword Hall's lineage of supernatural powers. As a result, the disciples in the hall could no longer continue their cultivation.
They could only leave the school or enroll in another Divine Ability Hall powers to cultivate supernatural abilities.
After the Golden Gang Sword Hall's various businesses were sorted out, they were all taken over by the Thunderfire Hall and renamed.
Such mergers between the Divine Ability Hall are actually quite common, especially the competition between lower-level Divine Ability Hall, which is fierce and brutal, with the winner taking all and the loser being condemned.
If Lu Jin and his group had failed this time, then Lin Changkong should be leading his men to the Thunderfire Hall and taking over all their businesses, and outsiders would consider it a matter of course.
So from this day forward, the Golden Gang Sword Hall, which has stood at the head of Qingyuan Market for over a decade, has completely fallen from grace. Perhaps it won't be long before its name disappears from Qingyuan Market and is no longer mentioned by anyone.
This is the price of failure.
As for the Thunderfire Hall, it will step over the corpse of the Golden Gang Sword Hall to become the true number one hall in Qingyuan Market.
Thunderfire Hall was unwilling to compete with Lin Changkong and had always yielded in the past. However, Lin Changkong regarded it as a bargaining chip to curry favor with a powerful figure, and became aggressive and constantly used vicious schemes.
Therefore, we can only let him have what he asked for.