The next day.
Li Shuang was ordered to come to the Thunderfire Hall to pick up Lu Ming. As she entered the Thunderfire Dojo, the strong smell of sweat that hit her made her brows furrow slightly. She had already sent someone to inform Lu Ming, so she could only stand here and wait.
Unsurprisingly, this attracted many furtive glances.
Li Shuang, dressed in a white dress, had a slender figure and a pretty face that exuded an icy aura; she was quite a pleasing beauty.
However, not long after Li Shuang arrived, another graceful figure in emerald green appeared at the divine passage site. Upon seeing Li Shuang, she exclaimed in surprise, " Li Shuang?"
Li Shuang turned her head and looked at Zhou Fuling who was approaching, somewhat surprised, and said, " Fuling? What are you doing here?"
Zhou Fuling chuckled and said, "I've come to pick up Lu Ming. Isn't he also attending the ' Spirit Fish Banquet '?"
Li Shuang was stunned. Zhou Fuling had come to pick up Lu Ming? Judging from their familiar tone, when had they become so close? Moreover, given Zhou Fuling's status, why would she condescend to wait for Lu Ming at the Thunderfire Hall?
Clearly, Li Shuang was unaware that Lu Ming had been studying Dao of Alchemy under Zhou Xuan during this time.
"I came to pick up Lu Ming on my aunt's orders. She secured a spot for him at the Spirit Fish Banquet," Li Shuang explained, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
Zhou Fuling naturally knew this information, but she didn't expect that the head of the Li Clan would care so much about Lu Ming. Not only did he send someone to pick him up, but he also sent Li Shuang, a direct descendant of the Li family, instead of a maid.
Is it because of the girl named " Jingyi " that Li Shuang mentioned before?
As Zhou Fuling's thoughts were racing, Lu Ming hurried over. He was somewhat surprised to see the two women there at the same time, and then stepped forward to greet them, "Senior Sister, Miss Li Shuang."
"Senior sister?" Li Shuang's red lips parted slightly as she stared at Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling in astonishment.
"Lu Ming has recently been studying alchemy under my fourth uncle, which is why he calls me 'Senior Sister'." Zhou Fuling didn't hide anything and simply said this, but she didn't reveal any information about Lu Ming's genius in alchemy.
Just kidding, Lu Ming hasn't revealed anything yet, and Li Yan is already treating him so well. If she finds out he's also a genius in Dao of Alchemy, she'll be even more tempted.
" Lu Ming is learning Dao of Alchemy from the workshop master?!" Li Shuang was shocked, her beautiful eyes unable to help but scrutinize Lu Ming. In just over a month, this kid has become so popular? Even the workshop master is teaching him Dao of Alchemy? Can he even learn it?
"Let's go together," Zhou Fuling said with a smile to Lu Ming.
Lu Ming nodded naturally and followed her outside.
When Li Shuang saw the charming smile Zhou Fuling gave Lu Ming, a sense of crisis suddenly arose in her heart. Of course, this was not for herself, but for her good friend Jingyi.
"Should we tell Jingyi about Zhou Fuling?"
"Let's forget about it. How could I dare to send a message about something like this? If her father's family intercepts it, I'm afraid my aunt will give me a severe scolding."
"However, it might be a good thing. Jingyi's paternal family originally hoped she would cut ties with these things. Telling her this news might disappoint her, and she might then ignore Lu Ming."
"But she'll probably be very sad, won't she? She always used to talk about that boy."
"What's wrong with Zhou Fuling? She's the niece of the shop owner, and she has a respectable background, so why is she doing something like stealing someone else's boyfriend?"
"..."
Li Shuang was in a state of confusion and didn't know what to do. Her steps became unsteady, and she bumped into Lu Ming's back.
Lu Ming turned his head in confusion.
Even Li Shuang's usually icy face flushed slightly as she roughly explained, "I waited too long, my legs went numb."
Lu Ming chuckled, and then the three of them went out together.
Behind them, in the divine passage, many fiery young male disciples watched this scene with boundless admiration in their eyes, which then turned into sighs of worship.
With beauties by his side, embraced on both sides, this is how a man should be.
The young owner is truly a role model for us all!
The Spirit Fish Pond is located in the western suburbs of the city, where a majestic mountain stands. The scenery here is exceptionally beautiful, and the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi is quite abundant. However, it has long been claimed and divided up by the Great Divine Ability families of Qingyuan Market, hence its alternative name, " Great Clan Mountain."
Outside the mountain road, there are also roadblocks to prevent passersby from entering.
Lu Ming followed Zhou Fuling and Li Shuang without any obstacles. However, as they climbed the mountain path, joyful laughter came from a stone pavilion on one side of the path.
"Miss Fuling, it's been a long time."
Zhou Fuling raised her beautiful eyes and saw more than a dozen figures filing out of the stone pavilion. The leader was a tall, handsome young man dressed in black.
That was Yan Qing, a direct descendant of the Yan Clan.
Behind her followed the beautiful Yan Zhizhi and some direct descendants of minor aristocratic families in Qingyuan Market.
Yan Qing was undoubtedly the center of attention here.
At this moment, Yan Qing went straight to Zhou Fuling, and said with a gentle smile, "What a coincidence."
Yan Zhizhi chuckled and said playfully, " Fuling, my older brother knew you were also attending the Spirit Fish Banquet today, and he's been waiting here for half an hour already. Isn't that a coincidence?"
Yan Qing seemed somewhat embarrassed after being exposed by Yan Zhizhi.
Zhou Fuling smiled politely, but didn't respond to that, only saying, "Then let's go into the mountains together."
Yan Qing smiled and nodded, about to approach, when she noticed a young man to Zhou Fuling's left. She immediately frowned, looked him over, and recognized him. " Lu Ming?"
Yan Zhizhi was also somewhat surprised and asked, " Lu Ming, what are you doing here? This is an opportunity for families with supernatural abilities, what does it have to do with your Divine Ability Hall?"
Li Shuang said calmly, "Our Li Clan has given Lu Ming a spot, so he will also participate in the Spirit Fish Banquet this time."
Zhou Fuling smiled and said, "My fourth uncle was also trying to secure a spot for him, but Patriarch Li Yan beat him to it."
Yan Qing, Yan Zhizhi, and the other direct descendants of those powerful families were all stunned. It wasn't that difficult to understand why Li Yan gave Lu Ming a spot, since most people knew about Li Yan's relationship with the Thunderfire Hall.
What did Zhou Fuling mean by that?
Why did that shop owner give Lu Ming a spot?
"I've heard that Lu Ming is studying Dao of Alchemy under the guidance of the sect leader," Li Shuang said.
"What?!"
As expected, these words elicited a wave of shocked expressions from Li Shuang. A barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips, which she quickly suppressed.
" Fuling, is what she said true?" Yan Zhizhi couldn't help but ask Zhou Fuling for confirmation.
Zhou Fuling gently nodded her snow-white, pointed chin.
Everyone was speechless again, feeling incredulous. How could the head of the workshop personally instruct Lu Ming, a disciple of the Divine Ability Hall, in Dao of Alchemy? Even High-Grade Divine Ability Bone shouldn't warrant such high regard.
Although Yan Qing's handsome face still maintained a smile, the smile had obviously become a little stiff. His gaze swept over Lu Ming, and a hint of displeasure appeared in his eyes.
Damn it, what makes this country bumpkin so special? Even though he possesses High-Grade Divine Ability Bone, who isn't? How come Zhou Xuan not only doesn't value him, but doesn't even know his name?
Yan Qing suddenly glanced at Zhou Fuling, and a thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that Zhou Fuling had taken a liking to Lu Ming, and that's why Zhou Xuan had his eye on Lu Ming?
Upon reflection, the emotions that had been forcibly suppressed suddenly began to explode.
Intense jealousy and anger welled up in Yan Qing's heart.
How dare this peasant from the Divine Ability Hall lay a finger on a noble lady like Zhou Fuling?
Seeing Yan Qing's suddenly gloomy expression, Yan Zhizhi quickly and quietly reached out to tug at his clothes. Showing such emotions at this time would only make Zhou Fuling look down on him.
Yan Qing regained consciousness, and his smile returned to normal. He said, "Let's go, Miss Fuling. I'll guide you. There are ' Divine Ability Restriction ' in the mountains; if you take the wrong path, it will trigger an attack."
"This is troublesome." Zhou Fuling nodded, then instructed Lu Ming beside her, "Did you hear me? Don't wander off, stay close to me."
"Okay, senior sister." Lu Ming nodded.
Yan Qing turned around with a smile, but his handsome face instantly turned extremely gloomy, his eyes filled with jealousy and hatred. He cursed inwardly, "You peasant, you think you can get into the Spirit Fish Banquet? If you can take away even one spirit fish today, I'll change my surname to yours!"