Lu Ming's voice was cold and low, but anyone could clearly sense the anger and killing intent it held.
It was the first time Gao Yu and Yuan Da had seen Lu Ming wear such an expression. He was utterly different from his usual self.
Clearly, the Golden Gang Sword Hall and Red Sand Hall's joint hunt against Thunderfire Hall at today's hall assembly had utterly enraged Lu Ming.
Lü Xiao, Gong Peng, and Gong Hu were also briefly unnerved by Lu Ming's unusually fierce gaze, but they quickly recovered and grew angry out of embarrassment.
"Not much ability, but a big mouth."
Lü Xiao sneered. "What good is impotent rage? Even if you have a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone, what can you accomplish in a mere month? Do you really think you're Zhang Yue?"
Gong Peng and Gong Hu also laughed mockingly. That brat had almost scared them just now.
"Looks like defeating Luo An at the Qingchuan Merchant Association a while back gave you quite a bit of confidence." Gong Hu's gaze darkened. He hated the look in Lu Ming's eyes, so he stepped forward.
The Divine Ability Bone in his body rumbled and shook, and scorching Primordial Qi swept out without restraint.
Blood-red flames suddenly ignited on Gong Hu's palms. The flames were scorching and violent, warping even the air.
Major Accomplishment Realm, Blazing Fire Palm.
Unlike the Blazing Fire Palm Luo An had used at the Qingchuan Merchant Association, Gong Hu's had truly reached the Major Accomplishment Realm. Moreover, he had completed his third Bone Refinement, so the strength of his Primordial Qi surpassed Luo An's by more than one level.
Fire Qi surged, radiating a formidable pressure.
A savage look shone in Gong Hu's eyes. His Primordial Qi erupted, and he became a streak of fire as he charged toward Lu Ming. Though his scorching, violent flaming palm wind was still more than ten zhang away, it already burned people's skin with a stabbing pain.
As Gong Hu attacked, Lü Xiao and Gong Peng also unleashed their Primordial Qi in an instant and charged to kill Gao Yu and Yuan Da respectively.
On the lower banner platform, the battle between the two halls had already begun.
Lu Ming watched Gong Hu charge at him, his palm wind wreathed in blood-red flames. His face was expressionless, but his gaze grew colder. He had originally only wanted to help Thunderfire Hall stabilize the situation at this assembly. If possible, he had not intended to stand out too much and draw excessive attention.
But now, he could see that hiding his abilities had no meaning. What was coming would come. That malice would not disappear because he held back; it would only grow worse.
In that case, I won't hide anymore!
A cold light flowed through Lu Ming's eyes as he slowly extended his right palm. The glass-clear Divine Ability Bone within him shone, and surging Primordial Qi roared out like a tide.
The six strands of Glazed Heavenly Light encircling his Divine Ability Bone shed a mysterious radiance that merged into his Primordial Qi.
With the addition of the Glazed Heavenly Light, Lu Ming's Primordial Qi instantly became purer.
This was the effect of a Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone bolstering and amplifying its owner's Primordial Qi.
Then, with a turn of Lu Ming's thoughts, all of that amplified Primordial Qi poured without restraint into the Fire Lotus Mark on his Divine Ability Bone.
The next moment, all of Lu Ming's Primordial Qi was transformed into mysterious Fire Lotus Yuan Qi.
That Fire Lotus Yuan Qi was stronger and more abundant than it had ever been before.
Firelight appeared on Lu Ming's right palm, sharpness flowing along the flaming blade's edge.
At first, the firelight was cyan, its flames restrained.
"So it really is a Major Accomplishment Realm Flame Blade? But what of it? My Major Accomplishment Blazing Fire Palm isn't afraid of yours!"
At the sight of the cyan flames, Gong Hu's eyes narrowed slightly as he charged. But he sneered. "If this is your trump card, then today, Red Sand Hall is taking your Thunderfire Hall's second-hall seat for sure!"
Lu Ming did not answer. He simply stepped forward, expressionless, and the roughly two-foot-long cyan blade of flame on his palm abruptly changed. The next instant, dark-gold flames swept out from the blade's depths.
The two-foot cyan blade of flame suddenly swelled!
It grew to one zhang!
And the cyan fire blade turned dark gold!
A dark-gold fire blade-that was... a Perfection Realm Flame Blade!
The Flame Blade's flames had now drawn completely inward, leaving it looking like a dark-gold blade. Yet the more it looked that way, the more terrifying the fluctuations of power it radiated became.
The instant the Flame Blade turned dark gold, Lu Ming gave Gong Hu no chance to react. The one-zhang fire blade chopped straight down at his head.
The dark-gold light rapidly expanded in Gong Hu's pupils, illuminating his utterly horrified face.
He looked terrified, as though he had seen a ghost.
Only then did Gong Hu abruptly come to his senses. A dark-gold Flame Blade-that was...
Perfection Realm, Flame Blade!
"Perfection Realm?! How is that possible?!" Gong Hu roared involuntarily, his face deathly pale. Yet the terrifying pressure of the dark-gold fire blade cleaving down at him could not be faked.
He could not believe that Lu Ming, who had opened his bone only a month ago, had managed to cultivate Flame Blade to the Perfection Realm.
Terrified beyond measure, Gong Hu caught the scent of death.
But the blade was already upon him, and there was no way to dodge. With a frenzied roar, he forced every last bit of Primordial Qi from his Divine Ability Bone and unleashed Blazing Fire Palm, meeting the dark-gold blade head-on.
Sizzle!
The instant they made contact, the blood-red flaming Primordial Qi shattered. It was like a scorching blade cutting through solidified fat, passing through so smoothly that there was almost no resistance.
Lu Ming and Gong Hu flashed past each other.
The dark-gold fire blade slowly rose. Gong Hu's burly figure fell to the ground, and his entire arm flew away. The severed limb's stump was charred black, while dark-gold flames kept burrowing deeper into the wound, burning his flesh and blood.
"Aah!"
A shrill scream echoed across the combat platform.
Every gaze turned toward them, and countless cries of shock followed.
No one had expected the victor to be decided the instant Lu Ming and Gong Hu clashed.
Even Gao Yu, Lü Xiao, Gong Peng, and Yuan Da, who were about to collide, stopped in their tracks at the sudden turn of events. They stared in disbelief at Gong Hu, who was rolling on the ground clutching his severed arm. Then their gazes froze on the dark-gold fire blade in Lu Ming's hand, a full zhang long.
Gasp!
Gao Yu and Yuan Da could not help rubbing their eyes, suspecting they were seeing things.
Was that... a Perfection Realm Flame Blade?
Lu Ming cultivated Flame Blade to the Perfection Realm in one month?! Before this, they had known nothing about it.
"How could this be..." Gao Yu's red lips trembled, and she let out a low moan.
But they were far from the only ones shocked. Around the lake and beyond it, countless people stared at the scene with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
A Lower Divine Ability at the Perfection Realm was not particularly shocking in itself; many Great Divine Ability Practitioners present had attained that level. But cultivating a Lower Divine Ability to the Perfection Realm while still in the Bone Refinement Realm was no simple feat.
Even Zhou Xuan, Li Yan, and Yan Jing were stunned for several breaths. Though they did not lose their composure, they could hardly conceal their surprise.
"To cultivate a Lower Divine Ability to the Perfection Realm in about a month-not bad, not bad," Zhou Xuan said with a chuckle of praise. Lu Ming seemed to have an extraordinary talent for cultivating divine abilities. Though the well-traveled and knowledgeable Zhou Xuan had seen such a thing before, he was still somewhat surprised that such a promising talent had appeared in a place as small as Qingyuan Market.
This hall assembly had indeed yielded some gains.
"That child Lu Ming actually has such talent." Some delight also appeared in Li Yan's eyes, and she felt gratified for him.
In the seats behind them, the teasing and laughter of the young descendants of Qingyuan Market's divine ability clans fell silent. Even Yan Qing of the Yan Clan could not help narrowing his eyes slightly.
Yan Zhizhi's red lips moved slightly. She wanted to make a cutting remark as she always did, but in the end she could not get a single word out. After all, even Yan Qing had not managed to cultivate a Lower Divine Ability to the Perfection Realm while in the Bone Refinement Realm.
"This good friend Jingyi is always talking about really does seem to have something special about him," Li Shuang murmured to herself, her beautiful eyes blinking.
Zhou Fuling gazed at the young figure on the combat platform, the dark-gold fire blade in his hand. The interest in her beautiful eyes was visibly growing stronger.