At those words, everyone was shocked.
Even Lin Changkong of the Golden Gang Sword Hall opened his eyes, fixing a cold, sharp gaze on Lu Ming. What was this arrogant brat trying to do?
Did he think the Golden Gang Sword Hall was the Red Sand Hall?
Did he think Wang Chen of their hall was trash like Lü Xiao?
At the Golden Gang Sword Hall's lower-banner platform, Wang Chen stood in white, handsome and upright, his arms folded across his chest as he looked down at Lu Ming.
"Hmph, what shameless boasting. He beat that bunch of trash, Lü Xiao and the others, and now he dares set his sights on us?" Beside Wang Chen, Lin Zhao, also dressed in a white skirt and looking charming and lovely, snorted coldly, her eyes full of scorn and mockery.
"Besides, he used up all his Primordial Qi defeating Lü Xiao and the other one. How much Primordial Qi could he have left to use the Perfection Realm Flame Blade again?"
The Perfection Realm Flame Blade was indeed a devastating weapon in the Bone Refining Realm, but its consumption of Primordial Qi was also enormous, more than someone in the Bone Refining Realm could sustain.
While everyone from the Golden Gang Sword Hall watched with cold disdain, Lu Jin understood what Lu Ming had in mind. He could feel the indignation and defiance in the youth's heart.
Lu Ming was unwilling to let the Golden Gang Sword Hall disgust the Thunderfire Hall, then casually brush off its backside as though nothing had happened.
Besides, the Golden Gang Sword Hall had openly displayed its malice toward the Thunderfire Hall, so there was no point in retreating and enduring as they had before. Countless people had seen what the Golden Gang Sword Hall had done here today, but what would happen if the Thunderfire Hall offered no retaliation?
People would surely mock the Thunderfire Hall for its weakness, and the damage to its reputation would be even greater than when Zhang Yue had left the hall.
No one wanted to join a weak Divine Ability Hall that had its face trampled on and still responded with a smile.
At that thought, Lu Jin's gaze gradually grew sharp. He said to Lu Ming, "Can your Primordial Qi still hold out? Wang Chen of the Golden Gang Sword Hall is no Lü Xiao."
Lu Jin could clearly sense that Lu Ming had little Primordial Qi left in his body. In that condition alone, he had no chance of challenging Wang Chen.
Lu Ming did not answer. He merely took a deep breath, and the next moment, his Divine Ability Bone gave off a mysterious rumble. It echoed through his body, gradually growing louder and louder.
Finally, it gathered into sound waves like the long cries of tigers and leopards and the roar of thunder.
That was...
Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound!
At that moment, Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone had finally completed its third round of bone refining in full.
He had already reached the perfection stage of his third round of bone refining, and earlier, he had used the Perfection Realm Flame Blade, causing his Divine Ability to temper his bones. Thus, he took that final step at precisely this moment.
The flesh and blood throughout Lu Ming's body trembled violently. His body seemed to grow half an inch taller in that instant, and his blood grew as hot as boiling water. As it raced through him, the fluctuations of Primordial Qi radiating from his body climbed steadily.
The change in Lu Ming immediately drew countless shocked gazes.
"Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound. That's a sign that bone refining is complete. Has he completed his third round?" Astonishment appeared on Zhou Xuan's face. In a single month, Lu Ming had gone straight from opening his bones to completing three rounds of bone refining. Even with all Zhou Xuan had seen, he could not help being amazed by that cultivation speed.
It was not that Zhou Xuan had never seen such cultivation speed. He had even seen a supreme prodigy who skipped the Bone Refining Realm altogether and condensed Divine Ability Dharma Marks the moment his bones opened. That was the legendary Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone.
But prodigies of that caliber all appeared in Divine Ability clans, advanced Divine Ability Halls, or Divine Ability sects with foundations too profound to imagine.
Yet Lu Ming had achieved such a feat here in the tiny Qingyuan Market.
That was truly remarkable.
As Zhou Xuan marveled inwardly, Li Yan and Yan Jing beside him were likewise astonished by the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound Lu Ming had displayed.
"Everyone says Zhang Yue drained the Thunderfire Hall's foundations dry. So why is Lu Ming cultivating even faster than Zhang Yue now? Where did he get the cultivation resources? Bone-Tempering Pills alone probably wouldn't be enough, would they?" Yan Jing asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I heard that a few days ago, during the Rain Fog Period, Hall Master Lu Jin took Lu Ming out of the city for several days and didn't return until it ended. It seems they were using the Black Rain Fog to cultivate. They may even have used Rain Pearls..." As the market master, Zhou Xuan had plenty of eyes and ears, so he naturally knew of Lu Jin and Lu Ming's movements.
Only then did Yan Jing understand. So that was it. Although an environment like the Black Rain Fog helped with cultivation, it was also quite dangerous. As for Rain Pearls, using too many could affect the mind. Divine Ability clans like theirs generally tried to keep their younger members from using them to cultivate, so Lu Jin really had gone all out for today's hall gathering...
But this also showed that the Thunderfire Hall really had been drained dry. After all, when Zhang Yue was still there, Lu Jin had never been willing to take him into the Black Rain Fog to cultivate, for fear that something might go wrong.
Li Yan said nothing. She merely sighed softly to herself, feeling some pity for Lu Ming. The child must have endured a great deal over the past month to make the progress he had.
In the seats behind them, the younger members of the Divine Ability clans were also stunned. They could no longer find any disparaging words to say. After all, Lu Ming's speed in going from opening his bones to completing three rounds of bone refining in a single month had indeed left them regarding him as a celestial being.
Yan Qing frowned slightly. He too had a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone, as well as an endless supply of cultivation resources from his family. Even so, it had taken him several months to complete three rounds of bone refining.
"It seems Lu Ming does have some skill. I underestimated him before." Thus, even though Yan Qing did not much like Lu Ming, he found it hard to keep arguing otherwise. Instead, he nodded and acknowledged Lu Ming's ability.
An unusual light flowed through Zhou Fuling's lovely eyes as she took a small sip of wine.
This talent does somewhat meet His Highness's requirements.
"Haha, good!"
The Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound coming from Lu Ming's body grew louder and louder. Sensing the rapidly increasing strength of the Primordial Qi within him, Lu Jin finally burst into loud laughter, his aged voice filled with irrepressible satisfaction.
Today, Lu Ming was destined to make a name for himself throughout Qingyuan Market.
As for whether this would draw too much attention, Lu Jin had come to terms with it. Lu Ming was right: constantly hiding their abilities would not lessen the malicious eyes watching them. Rather than do that, they might as well show what they could do. They might even draw some unexpected goodwill.
"A-Ming, since you have the ambition to contend for the leading hall, these old bones of your grandfather's won't hold you back today, no matter what."
"Go on ahead."
"Grandpa knows what you want. I'll go stop Lin Changkong. Perhaps I can't defeat him, but he can't do anything to me either. So I'll get you a draw at the upper banner," Lu Jin said with a hearty laugh.
Over at the middle-banner platform, the two sides had already fought to a draw.
If the upper banner also ended in a draw, that would make two draws.
At that point... the deciding match would fall to the lower-banner platform.
As long as Lu Ming could truly defeat Wang Chen and take one banner, the Thunderfire Hall would win by that single match, and the leading hall's seat would immediately change hands!
This was an opportunity the Golden Gang Sword Hall had handed them.
Originally, there had been a clear gap in strength between the two sides. At the very least, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei could not have matched their opponents at the middle banner and were destined to lose. Yet the other side, trying to create an opportunity for the Red Sand Hall, had been too clever for its own good and contrived a draw.
"Grandpa, that draw is exactly what I want."
A smile appeared on Lu Ming's face. He felt the Primordial Qi in his Divine Ability Bone gradually growing stronger, then turned to Gao Yu and Yuan Da. "Sister Yu, Brother Yuan, come with me. You only need to help me hold off the Golden Gang Sword Hall's other two."
"I'll deal with Wang Chen."
Hearing this, Gao Yu and Yuan Da immediately agreed, a trace of awe entering their voices.
"Let's go!"
"Since the Golden Gang Sword Hall wants to play dirty, today we'll show them what it means to lift a rock only to drop it on their own feet!"
Lu Ming smiled, then hesitated no longer. Lightning flashed beneath his feet, and under countless fervent, amazed gazes from within and around the lake, he landed on the Golden Gang Sword Hall's lower-banner platform.
At the same time, the youth laughed and called out, his voice rolling across the lake.
"Thunderfire Hall challenges the Golden Gang Sword Hall!"
Boom!
The entire area around the lake erupted in a towering uproar.
The youth's defiance, his refusal to swallow the insult, brought the atmosphere of the hall gathering to a climax in an instant.