After Jiang Ling, Zhang Yue, and their party departed, the atmosphere in the meeting hall remained silent and oppressive.
In the end, the hot-tempered Lu Jinglei could bear it no longer. His face was filled with anger. "Father, are we just going to let that ungrateful wretch walk away? Once word gets out, our Thunderfire Hall will become the laughingstock of Qingyuan Market!"
Fierce killing intent flickered in his eyes. "Why don't we find a way to kill that ungrateful wretch before they get back to the Great Golden Crow Hall?"
Lu Jin ignored him. He took a black pipe from his robes, flicked a spark from his finger, and lit it. Only when the smoke curled upward did he raise his eyes. "And then wait for the Great Golden Crow Hall to come and slaughter everyone in our Thunderfire Hall? The wrath of a single Divine Ability Grandmaster would be enough to reduce Qingyuan Market to ruins, let alone our little Thunderfire Hall."
"Why do you never use your head? If I had the same temperament as you, the Lu Clan would have been wiped out long ago."
Lu Jinglei faltered, and the ferocity in his eyes slowly receded, though he was unwilling to let it go.
"Being laughed at is better than having our entire clan wiped out. Impotent rage won't change a thing. Since we don't have enough strength, we can only endure it."
Lu Jin paused, then said, "But I'm also to blame for this. I was a little too impatient. I'd already noticed how scheming Zhang Yue was, and that he wasn't the sort to repay kindness, yet I still held on to a sliver of hope."
Lu Ming, who had remained silent all this time, couldn't help speaking up. "Grandfather, since you'd already noticed Zhang Yue was no good, why did you still pour so much effort into him, even diverting my father's and second uncle's cultivation resources to him?"
Zhang Yue might have possessed a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone, but if he wasn't one to repay kindness, nurturing him might not have brought them good fortune.
Lu Jin turned to Lu Ming, his most beloved eldest grandson, and his stern expression softened. He said gently, "Do you think Grandfather was foolish to do that?"
"I wouldn't dare." Lu Ming shook his head, but the doubt in his eyes remained.
Lu Qingyan sighed. "A-Ming, you don't understand. Grandfather naturally had his reasons."
Even Lu Jinglei nodded, showing not the slightest dissatisfaction or doubt over Lu Jin's decision to devote everything the Thunderfire Hall had, even diverting their resources, to nurturing Zhang Yue.
That made Lu Ming realize at once that Grandfather had probably not devoted all his efforts to nurturing Zhang Yue simply to raise the Thunderfire Hall to a fourth-tier Divine Ability hall. There was a secret behind it that he knew nothing about.
Lu Jin looked at the thoughtful Lu Ming and changed the subject. "A-Ming, have you reached the Late Qi Refining Stage?"
"Yes, I reached it just a couple of days ago."
"Good. You've reached this point in just one year. That's much faster than any of us." A smile of gratification appeared on Lu Jin's aged face.
"Since you've reached the Late Qi Refining Stage, and you're about the right age, you can undergo 'bone-opening' now."
The Dao of Divine Abilities began with two forms of refinement: first Qi Refining, then Bone Refining. Upon reaching both realms, one could be considered a true Divine Ability practitioner.
Lu Ming had now reached the Late Qi Refining Stage, and to enter the Bone Refining Realm, he needed to undergo bone-opening. What was called bone-opening was in fact the awakening of the Divine Ability Bone deep within the flesh, the most important hurdle in Divine Ability cultivation.
It was also the moment that determined the fate of countless Divine Ability cultivators.
Some ascended to heaven in a single step here, becoming Divine Ability prodigies admired and envied by the world. From then on, they soared straight into the clouds, becoming figures feared and revered by countless Divine Ability practitioners. Others fell into the abyss here, branded as trash, suffering through wasted years before fading into the crowd.
It was at this hurdle that Zhang Yue had awakened a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone, distinguishing himself among the many disciples of the Thunderfire Hall. Not only had Lu Jin taken him as a personal disciple, but he had also given him numerous resources, reversing his fate.
"There's no time like the present. They say that when misfortune reaches its limit, good fortune follows. Today, that ungrateful wretch humiliated our Thunderfire Hall to the utmost. Perhaps A-Ming will bring us a turn for the better."
Lu Jin stood up. He was still in the mood to joke at a time like this. After all, over the decades, he had been through countless trials and fought his way to where he was, founding the Thunderfire Hall with his own strength. Before that resilience, as if forged by thunder and fire, the setbacks and humiliation Zhang Yue had brought were merely a breath of wind and frost in the passing years.
"Huh? I'm opening my bone today? So suddenly? Shouldn't we make some more preparations?" Lu Ming grew a little nervous instead. Awakening a Divine Ability Bone was too important; anyone facing this hurdle would be anxious.
Lu Jin couldn't help laughing. "Preparations? What preparations could change the grade of a Divine Ability Bone? If you had that ability, wouldn't our Lu Clan take flight?"
Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei, standing nearby, also couldn't help laughing, easing the previously oppressive atmosphere.
After the three of them teased him, Lu Ming felt rather sheepish.
"Come on, let's go to the ancestral hall."
Lu Jin reached out a thin, bony hand and smiled as he rubbed Lu Ming's head. Then he instructed someone to take Lu Mengmeng to her mother first. Only then did he turn and lead the way out of the main hall, heading toward the courtyard at the very back of the Thunderfire Hall.
"The ancestral hall?"
Lu Ming was a little surprised. The family's ancestral hall was its most strictly guarded place; ordinarily, even the younger generation couldn't approach it at will.
The four of them passed through the rear courtyard and finally stopped outside a green-tiled ancestral hall deep within the Thunderfire Hall.
Lu Jin waved his sleeve, sending scarlet light scattering onto the ancestral hall's bronze doors. Scarlet light immediately flowed across them, as if a layer of crimson fire had swept over them. Numerous patterns of light flared to life, then quietly vanished.
The doors slowly opened.
The ancestral hall was not spacious, and the light was rather dim. Rows of memorial tablets stood at the far end. Lu Jin lit incense, and wisps of blue smoke rose and drifted through the hall.
Lu Ming looked at the tablets. He had always wondered why their Lu Clan had so many. Such a display was usually found only in large clans with thriving populations.
Yet across three generations, their Lu Clan numbered fewer than ten people... They couldn't even be considered a major household.
He had been too young to understand before, but as he gradually grew older, he had begun to suspect that their Lu Clan might once have had some unknown history.
"Sit down."
Lu Jin pointed to the cushion before the memorial tablets, then took a sandalwood box from his robes and handed it to Lu Ming. The latter opened it to find a round, dark-red pill inside. Flecks of gold traced patterns across its surface, and it gave off a faint, unusual fragrance.
Lu Ming recognized the pill at a glance and was pleasantly surprised. "A High-Grade Bone-Opening Pill?"
Awakening a Divine Ability Bone also required the aid of certain external items. They made the bone-opening process smoother and allowed the Divine Ability Bone's grade to be developed as fully as possible.
Thus, a Bone-Opening Pill was almost indispensable for awakening a Divine Ability Bone, which made the pills highly sought after.
A High-Grade Bone-Opening Pill, in particular, would send Divine Ability halls everywhere scrambling to buy it as soon as one appeared.
Lu Ming hadn't expected Lu Jin to prepare a High-Grade Bone-Opening Pill for him. He had originally thought a middle-grade one would already be excellent...
"Your grandfather went to a great deal of trouble to get you a High-Grade Bone-Opening Pill. Your second uncle and I didn't get that treatment when we opened our bones," Lu Qingyan said with a smile.
"Thank you, Grandfather!" Lu Ming said delightedly.
"The hall doesn't have many resources, but no matter how hard up we are, I can't let my grandson go without. All right, begin. We'll keep watch over you." Seeing Lu Ming's delighted expression, Lu Jin smiled.
Lu Ming nodded. Holding the High-Grade Bone-Opening Pill between his fingers, he took a deep breath and suppressed all the unease in his eyes. He promptly put the pill in his mouth, formed a seal with both hands, and circulated his Qi Refining Art.
Qi Refining Art, Thunderfire Furnace!
A Qi Refining Art was the foundation of cultivation, capable of refining Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. The Thunderfire Furnace technique Lu Ming cultivated was the foundational technique of their Thunderfire Hall.
In an instant, a deep rumble of intermingled thunder and fire came from within Lu Ming. The Thunderfire Primordial Qi in his body swept up the powerful medicinal force of the Bone-Opening Pill and flowed through his limbs and bones, washing over them again and again.
The flesh within his body seemed to be burning.
Amid that burning, Lu Ming vaguely felt something of endless profundity slowly awakening from the deepest reaches of his flesh.
The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within his body also became exceptionally lively and turbulent.
After about half an incense stick's time, a trace of mysterious silver light emerged from Lu Ming's chest.
"Silver light? A Middle-Grade Divine Ability Bone?" Lu Jinglei said when he saw it.
Divine Ability Bones were commonly said to be white for low-grade, silver for middle-grade, and gold for high-grade.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the three present suddenly tightened. They saw the silver light emerging from Lu Ming's chest begin to grow stronger at an astonishing rate.
In a few short breaths, the silver light reached its peak, and then a golden light burst forth.
The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the ancestral hall was stirred, forming a vortex of Primordial Qi around Lu Ming.
Lu Qingyan's and Lu Jinglei's pupils abruptly contracted.
Even Lu Jin's hand trembled around his pipe.
"A High-Grade Divine Ability Bone? A-Ming awakened a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone?!" Excitement spread across Lu Qingyan's normally composed face.
"Haha, I knew it! A-Ming already showed signs of being different in the Qi Refining Realm. He was bound to be a genius!" Lu Jinglei laughed wildly with excitement, his tiger-like eyes red and faintly moist.
"Zhang Yue isn't worth a damn! He isn't fit to carry A-Ming's shoes!"
Lu Jin said nothing. His breathing merely grew heavier as he stared fixedly at the rich golden light shining from Lu Ming's chest, for he had noticed that the mysterious golden light was still rapidly growing stronger!
His pupils narrowed slightly.
Could it be... that a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone was still not Lu Ming's limit?!
Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei soon noticed it too, and their excitement turned to shock. The latter even began to stammer. "Th-this..."
The golden light intensified to its utmost, and an unusual light gradually emerged from it.
The light was glazed, clear and free of impurities.
At that moment, even Lu Jin drew a quiet breath, his body trembling slightly.
White for low-grade, silver for middle-grade, and gold for high-grade. In truth, there was another line beyond that...
Glazed for heaven-grade.
"Could... could A-Ming awaken a Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone?!" Stormy waves rose in Lu Qingyan's eyes, and his excitement made his head swim.
Lu Jin stared fixedly at the mystic light shining through the flesh of Lu Ming's chest. "It's said that a true Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone has nine rays of 'Glazed Heavenly Light,' which can enhance all Divine Abilities. A-Ming has only one right now, so it hasn't fully formed yet."
Though Lu Jin said this, the veins standing out on the back of his thin hand betrayed his excitement. No matter what, the appearance of even one ray of Glazed Heavenly Light meant that Lu Ming's innate talent had surpassed a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone!
What was more, Lu Ming's transformation had only just begun!
No!
Damn it!
That thing!
All of a sudden, Lu Jin remembered something. The excitement in his eyes vanished instantly, and his gaze snapped to the space between Lu Ming's brows.
There, a spot of light, red as blood, suddenly emerged from deep within his flesh. Like a blood-red mole, it gave off a strange presence.
When the strange "blood mole" appeared, pain immediately spread across Lu Ming's face. The single ray of "Glazed Mystic Light" condensed from the newly awakened Divine Ability Bone in his chest seemed to be drawn by something. It began to flow through his body and was finally devoured by the "blood mole."
As the "Glazed Mystic Light" was devoured, Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone immediately began to turn golden. But the "blood mole" still did not stop, greedily absorbing more...
Gradually, the golden light dimmed, showing faint signs of regressing to silver.
The sight struck Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei like a bolt of lightning.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The next moment, Lu Jinglei's roar echoed through the ancestral hall. His eyes nearly split as he watched Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone continually fall in grade, his roar filled with intense hatred and anger. "It's back! This damned thing is back! Won't it stop until it's wiped out every last drop of the Lu Clan's bloodline?!"
Lu Qingyan's face went deathly pale, and he collapsed to the ground.
This "blood mole" was the nightmare of their Lu Clan's bloodline.
They had encountered it when they awakened their own Divine Ability Bones. It was as if the thing existed to keep their Lu Clan's bloodline below the level of a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone. No matter how they struggled, they could not break past that limit.
It would leave their Lu Clan's bloodline with no chance of ever rising again.
While Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei roared and suffered, Lu Jin was exceptionally calm. He did not seem surprised by what was happening before him. Only the blood vessels spreading through his eyes revealed the turmoil within him.
He stared fixedly at the "blood mole" between Lu Ming's brows. His low murmur echoed through the ancestral hall.
"Spirit-Sealing Curse..."
"After all these years, after the blood of my Lu Clan has been worn down generation after generation, does it still haunt us like a lingering ghost?"
Lu Jin clenched both hands, his nails digging into his palms and bringing a sharp, piercing pain. He stared fixedly at the "blood mole" writhing like a living thing between Lu Ming's brows, and at the Divine Ability Bone whose golden light was growing ever thinner, on the verge of turning completely silver.
"Father, what do we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch A-Ming's Divine Ability Bone turn middle-grade?" Lu Qingyan's voice had grown hoarse.
Blood vessels spread through Lu Jin's eyes until they seemed entirely red, a terrifying sight. His cheeks twitched constantly with the force of his emotions, until at last he spoke in a resolute whisper tinged with madness.
"How could I possibly!"
"Once A-Ming is reduced to a Middle-Grade Divine Ability Bone, the bloodline of my Lu Clan will be worn away completely."
"This is the Lu Clan's last sliver of a chance!"
Lu Jin abruptly turned and knelt before the rows of memorial tablets in the ancestral hall, his crimson eyes like those of a gambler ready to stake the last of his family's fortune.
His low, hoarse voice echoed through the ancestral hall.
"I, your unworthy descendant Lu Jin, kneel and beg all our forebears to let me use the Lu Clan's final reserve!"
"The reserve forged from our forebears' blood and bones!"
"I believe he is the last one for our Lu Clan..."
"The Divine Ability Child!!"