Thunderfire Hall, the divine ability training ground.
This was an exceptionally spacious open-air training ground, filled with a roar of voices. From time to time, surges of mighty Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi erupted and swept through the air.
When Lu Ming followed Lu Qingyan inside, brilliant flames filled his vision and thunder rumbled in his ears. The divine abilities chiefly practiced at Thunderfire Hall were all fire and lightning arts, so the cultivation scenes looked especially fiery.
"Second Hall Master."
When Lu Qingyan appeared, the many Thunderfire Hall disciples in the training ground bowed respectfully to him.
Lu Ming followed behind Lu Qingyan, gazing across the divine ability training ground. There were roughly a hundred people inside, all disciples who had joined Thunderfire Hall to cultivate divine abilities.
To cultivate divine abilities at a divine ability hall, one had to pay an annual membership fee. The fee gradually decreased with the number of years spent at the hall and the improvement of one's divine abilities. Once one had enough seniority and strength, one could even join the hall's upper ranks. At that point, not only would one no longer need to pay fees, one could also earn a handsome income.
Of course, there were exceptions... For instance, one might catch the hall master's eye and be taken in as a personal disciple.
Such personal disciples not only paid no membership fees, but also received a great investment of cultivation resources. Their status was far beyond that of ordinary disciples.
But although personal disciples enjoyed excellent treatment, they also formed a genuine master-disciple bond with the hall master and could no longer leave the hall and change masters at will.
"Something's a little off about the atmosphere."
Lu Ming swept his gaze across the training ground. He could vaguely sense that many of the Thunderfire Hall disciples present had complicated feelings, and even seemed distracted while cultivating their divine abilities.
The reason... was naturally the matter with Zhang Yue.
Presumably, thanks to Jiang Ling's machinations, all of Qingyuan Market now knew that Thunderfire Hall had been "as short-sighted as a mouse," "selling" Zhang Yue, who possessed a high-grade divine ability bone, to the Great Golden Crow Hall for a batch of resources.
The laughable part was that those so-called "resources" amounted to a single "High-Grade Bone Refining Pill."
That noble young lady was far too arrogant. She couldn't even be bothered to offer a few resources to make a show of it. Perhaps, in her eyes, her personal visit had already given a third-tier divine ability hall more than enough face.
And the most stifling part was... they couldn't explain themselves. They could only silently shoulder the blame, or that noble young lady from the Great Golden Crow Hall wouldn't mind resorting to violent, vicious methods.
Without enough strength, you didn't even have the right to argue.
Perhaps quite a few clever people had noticed something amiss, but beneath the imposing reputation of the Great Golden Crow Hall as a fifth-tier divine ability hall and its divine ability grandmaster, who would care about one tiny third-tier divine ability hall?
"Second Hall Master."
At that moment, a powerfully built young man emerged from the crowd and cupped his fists in greeting to Lu Qingyan.
"Little Yuan." Lu Qingyan smiled and nodded slightly when he saw him.
The young man was named Yuan Da. He was around twenty, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He had been at Thunderfire Hall for three years and was considered a fairly senior disciple. He was now at the third bone refinement and enjoyed considerable prestige in the hall. Steady and honest by nature, he was also held in high regard by Lu Jin.
His only shortcoming was that he possessed merely a low-grade divine ability bone.
"Young Hall Master." Yuan Da gave a good-natured chuckle and nodded to Lu Ming as well.
Although Lu Ming had not awakened his divine ability bone before, his grandfather was the hall master and his father the second hall master, so the disciples had jokingly dubbed him "Young Hall Master."
"Brother Yuan." Lu Ming actually had a much better impression of Yuan Da than of Zhang Yue, but unfortunately, Yuan Da only had the aptitude of a low-grade divine ability bone and could not shoulder his grandfather Lu Jin's expectations.
"Little Yuan, how did the awakening of the newest batch of disciples' divine ability bones go?" Lu Qingyan asked.
"Second Hall Master, ten disciples awakened divine ability bones this time. Nine have low-grade divine ability bones, and one has a middle-grade divine ability bone," Yuan Da quickly replied.
"Oh? A middle-grade divine ability bone actually appeared this time? Who is it? That's good news." A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Lu Qingyan's face.
Of all the divine ability bones awakened in the world, seven or eight out of ten were low-grade. Thus, middle-grade aptitude was enough to make one a mainstay in many divine ability halls. As for high-grade divine ability bones, those could only be chanced upon, not sought.
Among the hundred-odd disciples currently in all of Thunderfire Hall, those with middle-grade divine ability bones could be counted on one hand. That showed how rare they were.
"It's Junior Brother Fang Lang."
Yuan Da answered, then a troubled look appeared on his face.
"What is it?" Lu Qingyan noticed his expression and asked at once.
Yuan Da moved his lips and gave a bitter smile.
"After Junior Brother Fang Lang awakened his middle-grade divine ability bone, his ambitions rose considerably. Then he heard that the Fourth Hall Master... no, Zhang Yue had left the hall, so he said he wanted you, Second Hall Master, to personally take him in as a disciple."
When Lu Ming heard this, he couldn't help curling his lip. Fang Lang didn't want to be a personal disciple; he coveted the treatment Zhang Yue had enjoyed before and wanted to follow his example and feast on Thunderfire Hall's free resources.
By rights, a middle-grade divine ability bone did deserve some attention, but the crucial point was...
Zhang Yue had already eaten their Thunderfire Hall bare.
"A personal disciple?"
Lu Qingyan's face was expressionless. Because of Zhang Yue, he now had something of a reflexive reaction to those words.
Besides, how could he not know what Fang Lang had in mind? With Zhang Yue having just left the hall and people feeling unsettled, Fang Lang simply wanted to seize the chance to secure some benefits for himself.
After all, the treatment personal disciples received was simply too tempting. Not only did they not have to pay the annual fee, they could also freely use the hall's cultivation resources and even receive personal guidance and training from Lu Jin, a divine ability master.
But the Lu family ran a divine ability hall, not a charity.
They had chosen Zhang Yue before because they had been driven into a corner by the Spirit-Sealing Curse and had no choice but to take a gamble. As for the result... they had truly lost both resources and face.
They had no choice before, but now that they had Lu Ming, one of their own, with a "sub-heaven-grade divine ability bone," how could they possibly place their hopes on an outsider?
Still, an outright refusal wouldn't be quite right either. If Fang Lang, young and headstrong, left the hall in a fit of anger and joined another divine ability hall, they would not only lose a membership fee, but Thunderfire Hall would also have yet another problem on its hands.
After all, someone with a middle-grade divine ability bone counted as a talent.
Lu Qingyan thought for a moment, then said to Yuan Da, "Gather this batch of new disciples. I might as well teach them the hall's divine abilities today."
Yuan Da assented and turned to leave.
Lu Qingyan led Lu Ming to an area on the right side of the training ground. Before long, Yuan Da returned with a group of fresh-faced young men and women dressed in Thunderfire Hall's crimson uniforms.
At their head was a spirited youth who looked about sixteen. Wherever he passed, even some older, more senior Thunderfire Hall disciples smiled at him and took the initiative to greet him, treating him quite politely.
Such attention naturally made the smile on the youth's face even more confident.
After all, with a middle-grade divine ability bone, his aptitude was indeed enough to look down on the vast majority of people.
Clearly, he was Fang Lang, the new Thunderfire Hall disciple Yuan Da had mentioned earlier, who had awakened a middle-grade divine ability bone.
The group of ten disciples came before Lu Qingyan and greeted him.
Upon seeing Lu Qingyan, Fang Lang immediately spoke up. "Second Hall Master, about my matter..."
Fang Lang was clever. He knew that under ordinary circumstances, a middle-grade divine ability bone was certainly outstanding, but not enough for the hall's three hall masters to promise him the status of a personal disciple. But these were extraordinary times. Thunderfire Hall was in considerable turmoil and urgently needed a standard-bearer to step forward and steady people's hearts. With his newly awakened middle-grade divine ability bone, he was the best choice.
If he rode that momentum to seek the position of personal disciple now, his chances of success would be much higher.
But before Fang Lang could finish, Lu Qingyan waved a hand and interrupted him. "Let's finish today's divine ability lesson first."
Fang Lang had no choice but to fall silent. Very well. With the aptitude of my middle-grade divine ability bone, I should first show what I can do and win the support of the other disciples.
"A-Ming awakened his divine ability bone yesterday as well. From now on, he'll cultivate divine abilities alongside you." Lu Qingyan pointed to Lu Ming beside him.
Fang Lang glanced at Lu Ming, paying little attention to the "Young Hall Master," who was two years younger than he was.
"You have only just awakened your divine ability bones, and your primordial Qi is not yet strong enough. So the first divine ability I'll teach you is one of Thunderfire Hall's Lower Divine Abilities, called the 'Flame Blade.'" Lu Qingyan's powerful voice rang in the ears of Lu Ming and the others.
Thunderfire Hall was named for thunder and fire because the divine abilities it taught were all lightning and fire arts. Although the Flame Blade was only a Lower Divine Ability, its offensive power was quite outstanding among Lower Divine Abilities.
Lu Qingyan waved his hand, and Yuan Da and some others carried over ten earthenware jars and set them down in front of Lu Ming and the others.
Lu Ming glanced inside. The jars contained a fiery-red grease that gave off waves of heat. The temperature was so high that little flames occasionally flickered above it.
As Thunderfire Hall's "Young Hall Master," Lu Ming naturally knew what it was. This was "Fire Oil Paste," a secret divine ability material used to cultivate the Lower Divine Ability Flame Blade.
Divine abilities in this world required not only a cultivation method but also matching secret divine ability materials. Used together, they produced twice the result with half the effort, and only then did they form a complete divine ability inheritance.
Though the Flame Blade was a Lower Divine Ability, the same held true for it.
"Hold out your palms."
At Lu Qingyan's command, the new disciples, including Lu Ming and Fang Lang, hurriedly raised their palms.
Lu Qingyan curled two fingers together. Their tips swiftly turned red and became crimson flames. With a sharp flick, the flames divided and landed in everyone's palms.
Sizzle.
A slight burning pain rose from their palms, and a faint fiery-red imprint formed on each one.
"Cover your palm with Fire Oil Paste, then use the primordial Qi in your body and merge it with the fire oil's heat. Bring it under your control and open up the Flame Blade's divine ability pathway along the course guided by the divine ability imprint I left. Finally, if you can imprint a trace of the divine ability onto your divine ability bone, you'll have reached the entry level of this Lower Divine Ability."
Listening to Lu Qingyan, Lu Ming was the first to reach out with his right hand. Without hesitation, he plunged it into the jar before him, letting the scalding fire oil cover his palm completely.
Sizzle.
Scalding heat spread through his right palm, and the intense burning sensation made Lu Ming's face twist slightly.
Some of the other beginners couldn't bear it and cried out in pain, wildly shaking the fire oil from their hands. Their comical appearance drew laughter from the senior disciples watching nearby, probably because it reminded them of how badly they had fared when first learning the Flame Blade.
Lu Ming drew a deep breath. He could feel a stream of scorching fire Qi darting about inside his right palm. Not daring to delay, he hurriedly followed Lu Qingyan's earlier instructions. With a thought, a stream of primordial Qi surged from the divine ability bone inside him.
The next instant, the primordial Qi collided with the fire Qi from the fire oil.
"Ah!"
A new disciple cried out in panic. The moment the primordial Qi he had summoned touched the fire Qi, it was scattered by the latter. The fire Qi then seeped out through the pores in his arm and turned into burning flames.
Before Lu Qingyan could speak, Yuan Da threw a basin of ice water he had prepared over the disciple, extinguishing the flames on his arm.
"Continue," Lu Qingyan said calmly, evidently long accustomed to the sight.
He then swept his gaze over the new disciples. Most were suffering terribly from the fire oil and making slow progress. Fang Lang, however, was doing fairly well. Although he had been a little flustered at first, the aptitude of his middle-grade divine ability bone gave him somewhat stronger primordial Qi than the other disciples. He soon brought the fire Qi under control and began trying to open up the Flame Blade's divine ability pathway.
Finally, Lu Qingyan looked at Lu Ming, and his eyes lit up slightly.
Unlike the others, who looked to be in pain, Lu Ming appeared exceptionally calm. Although his palm was covered in fire oil, the divine ability imprint Lu Qingyan had left allowed him to sense clearly that Lu Ming was opening up the Flame Blade's divine ability pathway at an astonishing speed.
The frenzied, scorching fire Qi brought by the fire oil was unusually docile under Lu Ming's control with his primordial Qi.
A satisfied smile appeared in Lu Qingyan's eyes. A "sub-heaven-grade divine ability bone" truly was extraordinary. Moreover, Lu Ming had now completed his first bone refinement, and the primordial Qi within his divine ability bone was more than a step above that of Fang Lang and the others. Thus, reaching the entry level of the "Flame Blade" should not be very difficult for him.
Over the next two hours, the eleven of them, Lu Ming included, repeatedly used the fire Qi from the "Fire Oil Paste" to cultivate the "Flame Blade."
After two hours, most of them were exhausted. Looking at their palms, which had been burned bright red and had even begun to ulcerate, they all wore bitter expressions.
"Huh?"
Just then, however, a senior disciple watching from the side exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone looked over to see Fang Lang holding out his palm. A faint crimson glow appeared in its center, forming a flame about half an inch long.
Heat rolled out as wild joy appeared in Fang Lang's eyes. He chopped his palm down at a nearby wooden post. The half-inch flame swept past like a blade of fire, instantly cleaving the post apart and leaving its broken ends charred black.
"Whoa, half an inch of flame! Fang Lang has reached the entry level of the Flame Blade!" Several senior disciples widened their eyes and couldn't help crying out.
"Amazing. It took me a full five days to get that far, but he did it in just two hours. As expected of a middle-grade divine ability bone."
"He's not as good as the Fourth Hall Master... as Zhang Yue was. I remember that on Zhang Yue's first day cultivating the Flame Blade, his flame reached four inches. It was quite something."
"What nonsense. Zhang Yue had a high-grade divine ability bone. Fang Lang's progress is already quite outstanding."
"..."
The commotion drew more disciples from the training ground to watch. When they learned that Fang Lang had cultivated a half-inch Flame Blade in just two hours, they all exclaimed in amazement.
Under those many admiring gazes, the smile on Fang Lang's face grew broader. He was also extremely satisfied with his performance. He looked spiritedly at Lu Qingyan, having already made up his mind to ride this wave of momentum and seek the status of a personal disciple.
He wanted a share of what Zhang Yue had feasted on too.
"Second Hall..." Fang Lang began in a clear, confident voice.
Hum!
Before he could finish speaking, a strange, vibrating hum of flame suddenly rang out across the noisy training ground, drawing many gazes.
Including Fang Lang's.
The next instant, the noise began to fade. Silence spread outward like ripples, until not a sound remained in the area.
Every eye widened, shock and horror surging into them like a tide.
Reflected in those shocked eyes was a youth standing straight as a spear. He slowly raised his right palm, and crimson flames streamed from its center.
The flames burned fiercely, a sharp edge faintly visible within them.
Most importantly...
The flame was a foot long.