As the green-robed middle-aged man's laughter rang out, the four Hall Masters inside the stone pavilions also stood up immediately, stepped out of the pavilions, and cupped their hands in a polite welcome.
Even the rather proud Hall Master of the Golden Gang Sword Hall, Lin Changkong, lowered his posture at this moment.
After all, the ruler of a ward was essentially the administrator of the entire Qingyuan Ward, and the primordial energy pressure previously revealed by this newly appointed Ward Master, Zhou Xuan, also made everyone realize that he was likewise a Divine Ability Master with a profound foundation.
In terms of strength, he would not be weaker than any of them.
“Greetings, Ward Master Zhou Xuan.”
The four Hall Masters, who possessed illustrious reputations in Qingyuan Ward, all cupped their hands to Zhou Xuan in greeting and welcome.
“Haha, I have long known of the great names of the four Hall Masters,” Zhou Xuan laughed heartily and clasped his hands. He was equally polite toward the four of them. After all, a Divine Ability Master was considered a significant figure anywhere. Even as the Ward Master of Qingyuan Ward, he could not afford to treat them with disrespect.
This was especially true since Qingyuan Ward was close to the “Black Rain Zone.” Every year when the rainy season erupted, “Rain Abominations” would break through the seal, forming a “Black Tide” that ravaged the surrounding areas. At such times, they required not only the strength of the Ward Office, but also the support of the Divine Ability Halls and the Divine Ability Clans.
Otherwise, if the ward city was breached and massive casualties occurred, even if he survived, he would still be held accountable.
With both sides harboring intentions of befriending each other, they exchanged a round of pleasantries, and the atmosphere grew warm and lively.
While these heavyweights conversed, the youths from the four Divine Ability Halls constantly cast secret glances behind Ward Master Zhou Xuan, where a girl clad in emerald-green attire stood. Her skin was as white as snow, which, paired with her green clothes, made her look like exposed frost amidst lush green grass.
Her dark eyebrows were like distant mountains, her almond eyes bright, and her waist exceptionally slender. Yet, moving upward, she curved into a remarkably full and voluptuous contour, like a slender branch bearing heavy, ripe fruit.
In terms of appearance and temperament, she was far superior to both Gao Yu and the Golden Gang Sword Hall's Lin Zhao.
Thus, not only was the Red Sand Hall's Lü Xiao staring directly at her face, but even the Golden Gang Sword Hall's Wang Chen would occasionally cast subtle glances over.
Lu Ming also took a couple of glances but quickly withdrew his gaze. Thanks to Jing Yi, he had a decent amount of resistance to a girl's good looks.
“Hehe, let me introduce her to everyone. This is my niece, Zhou Fuling. She only recently condensed her Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, becoming a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner. She has accompanied me to Qingyuan Ward this time for tempering.” Perhaps sensing the secret glances of the youths present, Ward Master Zhou Xuan couldn't help but chuckle as he proactively introduced her.
“What? She's already a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner?!”
Hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Wang Chen, Lü Xiao, Gao Yu, and the others couldn't help but change expression, their eyes filled with shock as they stared at the green-robed girl who seemed to be around the same age as them.
Even the four Divine Ability Masters, including Lu Jin and Lin Changkong, cast an extra glance at Zhou Fuling. Such cultivation speed proved that her talent was highly extraordinary. Of course, more importantly, the cultivation resources she enjoyed were undoubtedly top-tier, far beyond what the disciples of these Divine Ability Halls could compare to.
Under their astonished gazes, the girl named Zhou Fuling smiled slightly and said with poise, “Hello, everyone. I hope we will have many opportunities to interact in the future.”
Wang Chen and Lü Xiao quickly welcomed her with smiles, replying eagerly.
“Since Lady Fuling has just arrived in Qingyuan Ward, if you are interested in the future, we can show you around to help you get familiar with the place.”
Zhou Fuling smiled and nodded.
Lu Ming stayed back and did not step forward to speak. He swept a glance at Zhou Fuling's eyes and could faintly sense a trace of aloofness hidden behind her smile. Clearly, she did not think much of these outstanding disciples from the local Divine Ability Halls. It was only due to her good upbringing that she didn't let it show.
This was only natural. For Zhou Xuan to be directly appointed as the Ward Master of Qingyuan Ward, he must have some background. As his niece, Zhou Fuling was naturally extraordinary as well.
On the other hand, the Golden Gang Sword Hall's Lin Zhao's face turned somewhat unsightly upon seeing Wang Chen, whom she usually admired, eagerly currying favor with Zhou Fuling.
While the younger generation was interacting, Lu Jin suddenly cupped his hands to Zhou Xuan and said, “Ward Master Zhou Xuan, this old man has a matter I would like to ask you to facilitate.”
“Oh? Hall Master Lu, please speak freely,” Zhou Xuan said with a smile.
“Some days ago, our Thunderfire Hall achieved a top-ten finish in Fengyang Prefecture's Divine Ability Hall tournament. According to custom, the Ward Office provides a batch of rewards. However, because the position of Ward Master was vacant before, this matter was temporarily put on hold...” Lu Jin said slowly.
That reward was quite substantial. Past custom dictated it to be three Inscription Condensing Pills, which, at market price, were worth five thousand grains of heavenly gold sand—no small sum.
Hearing this, Lu Ming's expression couldn't help but turn slightly complex. This top-ten result had been achieved by Zhang Yue representing the Thunderfire Hall. Although the Thunderfire Hall had also poured many resources into this, Zhang Yue had nonetheless played an irreplaceable role.
Given Lu Jin's personality, after the scandal of Zhang Yue leaving the hall, he would normally never mention anything related to Zhang Yue again.
Yet now, he had proactively brought up the results of this tournament in public. What was he doing this for?
It was purely for Lu Ming's sake, to secure as many cultivation resources for him as possible. For this, Lu Jin did not hesitate to swallow his pride.
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan smiled and said, “If such a matter exists, then it should naturally be rewarded according to custom.”
“Wait, Ward Master Zhou Xuan, do not let him deceive you.” However, right at this moment, a cold laugh suddenly rang out. It was the Hall Master of the Red Sand Hall, Shi Tong.
Seeing Shi Tong interjecting, Lu Jin's face instantly turned a bit colder.
“What do you mean by this, Hall Master Shi Tong?” Zhou Xuan's smile faded slightly as he asked with a frown.
“Ward Master Zhou Xuan has just arrived in Qingyuan Ward, so there are things you may not know. The Thunderfire Hall's ability to achieve a top-ten finish in that Fengyang Prefecture tournament relied entirely on a person named Zhang Yue from their hall. By right, this reward should be given to Zhang Yue... But what is laughable is that Zhang Yue left the Thunderfire Hall some days ago and joined the Great Golden Crow Hall.”
“Therefore, according to custom, this reward should actually be canceled. Hall Master Lu's request is clearly taking advantage of the Ward Master's recent arrival to try and deceive you.” Shi Tong spoke with a mocking tone, not forgetting to sow discord.
The disciples of the other three Divine Ability Halls all looked at the Thunderfire Hall group with strange expressions, and Lü Xiao and the others from the Red Sand Hall even burst out laughing.
They probably all thought Lu Jin had gone senile, actually daring to bring up such scandalous matters in public.
Yet, there was no emotion on Lu Jin's aged face. Instead, he said calmly to Zhou Xuan, “Ward Master Zhou Xuan, Zhang Yue indeed made a significant contribution to this result, but our Thunderfire Hall likewise invested heavily. This old man believes that we should not strip away the Thunderfire Hall's contributions just because he left the hall.”
Zhou Xuan glanced at Shi Tong and Lu Jin, who were locked in confrontation. He understood that the grievances between these two Divine Ability Halls were not small. As a newcomer, he did not wish to get involved in these matters. He immediately asked the Hall Masters of the Golden Gang Sword Hall and the Mountain-Moving Hall, “What do Hall Master Lin and Hall Master Shen think of this matter?”
The Mountain-Moving Hall's Hall Master, Shen Tai, remained silent, clearly adopting a stance of non-involvement.
Thus, everyone's gaze turned toward Lin Changkong. The weight of this top Hall Master of Qingyuan Ward's words was obviously the heaviest.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Changkong slightly raised his eyelids and spoke in a calm tone, “Hall Master Lu, this reward is not exactly clean for you anyway. Why insist on touching it?”
Hearing this, Lu Ming's heart instantly sank. At the same time, he looked at Lin Changkong with some surprise and suspicion.
The Golden Gang Sword Hall had always maintained an attitude of happy bystander toward the conflicts between the Thunderfire Hall and the Red Sand Hall. After all, they were the top dog, so they naturally wished for the second and third place to fight until their heads bled.
Yet this time, Lin Changkong had actually changed his stance. From his indifferent attitude, Lu Ming could faintly sense a trace of inexplicable hostility.
Why was this?
Lu Jin's face also darkened slightly. He took a deep look at Lin Changkong and ultimately said no more. With the opposition of two Hall Masters, it seemed this reward was bound to fall through.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew somewhat stagnant and oppressive.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuan pondered slightly and suddenly smiled. “There is no need for everyone to argue. I have a suggestion...”
The four Hall Masters all looked over, giving him face.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, “I was originally going to activate the primordial energy earth veins today. At that time, the primordial energy of heaven and earth will gather here, forming a ‘Primordial Energy Pavilion.’
He pointed his finger toward the tallest stone pavilion in the very center. The pavilion was spacious, and some stone futons could be seen inside. “Let the cultivators of the four halls enter this ‘Primordial Energy Pavilion’ to undergo the primordial energy empowerment. If one of the final three remaining is a disciple of the Thunderfire Hall, then the previous reward will be distributed as a prize as usual. If they cannot achieve this, then it will be canceled. What do you think?”
Zhou Xuan's move avoided offending either side. It gave the Thunderfire Hall a path forward, while giving the Red Sand Hall no reason to remain aggressive.
Hearing this, Lu Jin understood that this was the new Ward Master's final concession. Thus, he said no more, clasping his hands. “Then we shall do as the Ward Master says.”
Shi Tong's eyes narrowed slightly. He calculated that according to Zhou Xuan's method, the Thunderfire Hall would need someone to finish in the top three of this “primordial energy empowerment” to obtain that reward.
Shi Tong swept a glance at the Golden Gang Sword Hall's Wang Chen and Lin Zhao. These two would certainly have the ability to remain until the end. Adding their Red Sand Hall's Lü Xiao and the Mountain-Moving Hall's Luo Yan...
On the Thunderfire Hall's side, Yuan Da was a trash with a Low-grade Divine Ability Bone, possessing absolutely no potential. That Gao Yu might have the ability to compete, but it wasn't guaranteed...
At this thought, a smile appeared on Shi Tong's face, and he nodded in agreement to Zhou Xuan.
“The Ward Master is indeed fair. Let's do it this way.”
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