Qingyuan Market, central district.
The sprawling market administration compound stood here. Its many towers and pavilions made an imposing sight, and armored guards patrolled the streets in front of it.
In a market city like Qingyuan Market, the market lord was appointed by the authorities and backed by the might of the entire Great Shang Kingdom. Thus, the market lord was also known as the "Hundred-Mile Lord." His power and status within the market were extraordinary, and all the various factions had to treat him with some courtesy.
Lu Ming, Gao Yu, and Yuan Da followed Lu Jin into the compound without obstruction. A guide then led them to an inner courtyard filled with artificial rockeries and lush pines and cypresses.
Several stone pavilions stood in the open spaces of the courtyard.
Quite a few figures were already inside them.
As the Thunderfire Hall group entered, a number of inscrutable gazes immediately turned toward them.
"Haha, isn't this Hall Master Lu of Thunderfire Hall? I hear the personal disciple your hall placed such high hopes on has gone off to join a more prestigious establishment?" A somewhat deep laugh was the first to ring out.
The laughter held a mocking note that grated on the ears.
Lu Ming frowned slightly and looked toward its source.
In one of the stone pavilions stood several figures dressed in black. Their leader was a rather lean middle-aged man with clusters of crimson in his hair. His gaze was sharp, with a faint red light flowing through it.
Most striking of all were his broad, thick crimson palms. A fiery heat seemed to circulate over them, making even the nearby air hot and dry.
"Red Sand Hall."
Lu Ming recognized the group at a glance. They were from Red Sand Hall, one of Qingyuan Market's four great third-tier Divine Ability Halls.
The middle-aged man leading them was Red Sand Hall's master, Shi Tong, known as "Red Hand," a Divine Ability master whose name rang throughout Qingyuan Market.
Divine Ability Halls opened their doors to teach and take in disciples, so competition between them was fierce. This was especially true of Thunderfire Hall and Red Sand Hall, as both specialized in fire-based Divine Abilities.
Over the years, the two halls had clashed countless times. Their disciples had fought no few life-and-death matches, with victories and defeats on both sides, and their enmity ran deep.
Overall, however, Thunderfire Hall had held the upper hand. After Zhang Yue rose to prominence there, it had kept Red Sand Hall firmly suppressed for the past two years.
So now that Zhang Yue had left Thunderfire Hall, Red Sand Hall was probably taking the greatest pleasure in its misfortune.
Three youths stood behind Shi Tong. The one in front was lean and fairly handsome, but his gaze was somewhat lecherous, wandering constantly over Gao Yu's slender figure. The two behind him were quite burly and looked somewhat alike.
All three now wore provocative smiles as they looked at the Thunderfire Hall group.
"Hmph, it's Lü Xiao and the brothers Gong Peng and Gong Hu," Yuan Da muttered with a cold snort.
Gao Yu noticed Lü Xiao's lecherous gaze, and her pretty face turned somewhat cold. At the same time, she said quietly to Lu Ming, "Lü Xiao is the strongest and most gifted disciple of Red Sand Hall's new generation. He's already cultivated both of their lower Divine Abilities, Blazing Fire Palm and Flying Sand Art, to the Major Accomplishment Realm. I've even heard he's close to reaching Minor Accomplishment with the Red Sand Iron-Melting Hand."
Lu Ming's eyes narrowed slightly. The Red Sand Iron-Melting Hand was one of Red Sand Hall's Middle Divine Abilities. If Lü Xiao really had managed to cultivate it to the Minor Accomplishment Realm, his combat strength would be considered quite formidable among those in the Third Bone-Tempering Realm.
Yuan Da looked somewhat bitter and unwilling as he said quietly, "I've only just grasped the basics of my Middle Divine Ability, Golden Plasma Fire. Who knows how long it'll take me to reach the Minor Accomplishment Realm? At next month's hall meet, we may have to rely on Gao Yu to deal with him."
They were both in the Third Bone-Tempering Realm, yet Lü Xiao had already overtaken him in the cultivation of Divine Abilities.
Yuan Da's eyes dimmed slightly. When it came to hard work, he considered himself inferior to no one, but the talent afforded by his Low-Grade Divine Ability Bone still made his progress slow. He could only watch helplessly as newcomers who had joined the hall later than him caught up, step by step, and surpassed him.
Lu Ming could only respond with silence. After all, having someone who had cultivated Flame Blade and Lesser Thunderlight to Minor Accomplishment in just three days offer him comfort seemed like it would only hurt him more.
As they spoke, Hall Master Shi Tong of Red Sand Hall still refused to let the matter rest. Smiling, he said, "Hall Master Lu, I told you long ago that even if a golden phoenix flies out of a chicken coop, you can't make it stay. You've weathered your share of storms, so how did a high-grade Divine Ability Bone cloud your judgment and make you pour all the resources Thunderfire Hall had saved up over the years into him?"
Shi Tong shook his head as he spoke, as though regretting Thunderfire Hall's losses.
Lu Ming, however, could sense the pleasure he took in their misfortune. It was fortunate that Second Uncle Lu Jinglei had not come. With his fiery temper, he would not have been able to hold back, even against a Divine Ability master.
Lu Jin's expression remained unruffled. He did not get angry at Shi Tong's mockery, merely saying calmly, "Before Zhang Yue came along, Thunderfire Hall still had the edge over your Red Sand Hall."
Shi Tong's smile froze, and a fierce look flashed across his face. Then he sneered. "Is that so? At next month's hall meet, Red Sand Hall will be sure to experience your skills for ourselves."
Lu Jin ignored him and led Lu Ming and the other two into an empty stone pavilion.
Lu Ming looked toward the other two occupied stone pavilions in the courtyard.
Most of the people in one group were exceptionally burly, their skin grayish-white like stone. Their bodies gave off an immensely heavy, oppressive presence.
They were from Mountain Moving Hall. Their Divine Abilities specialized in physical strength, and when cultivated to the utmost, they truly possessed the power to move mountains.
Lu Ming looked at the only man seated in that pavilion. Compared with the hall's disciples, whose burly bodies resembled iron towers, his looked especially frail. The hand holding his teacup seemed to be nothing but a thin layer of gray skin wrapped around bone.
He was Shen Tai, master of Mountain Moving Hall, the Mountain Mover.
Lu Ming turned toward the final stone pavilion. A middle-aged man in white robes sat inside. He looked to be the youngest of the four hall masters present, but Lu Ming had heard his grandfather speak of him more than once, and there had been considerable wariness in his words.
He was Lin Changkong, master of Golden Gang Sword Hall, the Golden Gang Sword.
Of Qingyuan Market's four third-tier Divine Ability Halls, Golden Gang Sword Hall had held the top position ever since its founding. It could truly be called Qingyuan Market's foremost hall.
A young man and woman stood behind Lin Changkong.
The youth was handsome, with swordlike brows and starry eyes. His figure was tall and slender, and clad in white, he truly looked like a jade tree standing in the wind. Beside him was a graceful young woman, also dressed in white. She was speaking softly to him with a smile, and her eyes shone with admiration whenever she looked at him.
Whether it was Lin Changkong or the young pair, they gave the Thunderfire Hall group only a glance before looking away and paying them no further attention, displaying a trace of the pride befitting Qingyuan Market's foremost hall.
"That's Wang Chen of Golden Gang Sword Hall. His Divine Ability Bone is extremely close to high-grade, with flecks of gold on the bone, and his comprehension of Divine Abilities is also quite high. Not only has he cultivated both of Golden Gang Sword Hall's lower Divine Abilities to the Major Accomplishment Realm, he's even reached the Minor Accomplishment Realm in the Middle Divine Ability called the Golden Light Art. It's said that his Divine Ability Dharma Mark may have already begun to take shape. He might shatter the Divine Ability Barrier and enter the Dharma Rune Realm within a few months, becoming a Great Divine Ability Practitioner." Gao Yu pressed her red lips together, her voice carrying a hint of gravity and wariness.
The so-called Divine Ability Barrier was the greatest obstacle encountered when crossing into each new Divine Ability realm. It was a rule that Divine Ability practitioners throughout the world feared like a tiger. If some lacked sufficient talent and opportunity, they would be held back by the Divine Ability Barrier for their entire lives. No matter how hard they cultivated, they would struggle to break through and reach a higher level.
"Among the many Divine Ability Halls in Qingyuan Market, Wang Chen is probably the strongest disciple of the new generation. He even has what it takes to match the direct descendants of the Li Clan and Yan Clan, the two great Divine Ability clans."
"Close to high-grade... so isn't it still middle-grade?" Lu Ming said.
Gao Yu was briefly speechless, then chuckled. "Naturally, it can't compare with your genuine high-grade Divine Ability Bone, but it's still much better than ours. The girl beside him is called Lin Zhao. She's also completed her third bone tempering."
"Golden Gang Sword Hall has always prided itself on being Qingyuan Market's foremost hall. They're very arrogant and usually look down on the disciples of the other three halls. But I think that once they learn you have a high-grade Divine Ability Bone, they probably won't have the confidence to be so arrogant."
Lu Ming nodded slightly and made a private assessment. My second bone tempering is only halfway complete, and my Flame Blade and Lesser Thunderlight are only at Minor Accomplishment. Compared with these senior disciples, there's still a large gap.
But that was only for now.
Given another month, Lu Ming believed everything would be different.
The existence of his Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone and the mysterious fire lotus mark inside him gave him the confidence to catch up with these outstanding disciples of the various Great Divine Ability Halls.
Once all four great Divine Ability Halls had arrived, movement soon came from the rear courtyard. At the same time, a loud, deep laugh carried over from afar. "Sorry to have kept you hall masters waiting."
The laughter boomed like tigers and leopards, like rolling thunder. As it traveled, it actually stirred the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the courtyard, and an inexplicable pressure descended over them.
Under that pressure, Lu Ming, Gao Yu, Yuan Da, and the young disciples of the other three Divine Ability Halls could not help changing expression. They felt a shiver, as though they had entered a vicious beast's field of vision.
Lu Jin, seated in front of Lu Ming, stood up. Scorching, violent thunderfire primordial Qi rose from him like a wall of thunder and fire, dispelling the powerful pressure entirely.
Lu Ming looked toward the source of that terrifying majesty and saw a group of figures appear. At their head was a middle-aged man in a green robe. His face was mild, but as he strode like a dragon and paced like a tiger, he carried an imposing presence of his own.
Under the many solemn and awed gazes, the middle-aged man in green walked into the courtyard, and his robust laughter rang out again.
"I am Zhou Xuan, newly appointed market lord of Qingyuan Market. I will need your care and support in the days to come, so that together we may keep our Qingyuan Market safe and free of trouble."