With the rules set by Zhou Xuan and the four Hall Masters, the disciples of the four halls were all rubbing their hands in anticipation, eager to try.
After all, following their respective Hall Masters to the Ward Office this time was primarily to get a share of this “primordial energy empowerment.” For them, this was a significant benefit that could accelerate their bone-refining progress.
Zhou Xuan stood in the courtyard. Clenching his hand, a flash of light revealed an ancient, greenish-gold stone seal in his palm. The seal was weathered, with obscure, ancient runes flowing across its surface, faintly emitting an inexplicable sense of pressure.
The primordial energy of heaven and earth came surging in.
It was the Ward Master's Seal.
Holding this seal allowed one to activate the primordial energy earth veins of the entire ward city, influencing the flow and direction of the primordial energy in the world.
This was considered one of the authorities of a Ward Master.
Lu Ming couldn't help but marvel as he watched this spectacular sight.
“The Divine Ability Halls in Qingyuan Ward's city are all built on the node points of this primordial energy earth vein, because the primordial energy of heaven and earth is denser there, which is more beneficial for cultivating divine abilities,” Lu Jin explained to Lu Ming.
“And with the Ward Master holding this authority, he has control over this primordial energy earth vein. Thus, he can adjust the density of the primordial energy of heaven and earth in all the Divine Ability Halls within Qingyuan Ward.”
Lu Ming was somewhat astonished to hear this. The Ward Master's authority was indeed substantial. But in that case, weren't these Divine Ability Halls completely at the Ward Master's mercy? Otherwise, if he were to activate the primordial energy earth veins one day and divert the primordial energy away from the area where a Divine Ability Hall was located, how could that hall continue to operate?
“Adjusting the primordial energy earth veins is a major matter. Even the Ward Master cannot activate them without reason; otherwise, the prefectural city would not sit idly by. If one truly doesn't want to be subject to this restriction, it's actually simple—one just needs to set up a ‘Primordial Energy Array’ in their Divine Ability Hall to stabilize the primordial energy. However, such large-scale arrays are extremely expensive. Looking at the entirety of Qingyuan Ward, only the two great Divine Ability Clans, the Li and Yan families, possess them.”
Lu Ming nodded slightly. Compared to these Divine Ability Clans, the foundation of a Grade 3 Divine Ability Hall was still rather shallow.
“Alright, the Primordial Energy Pavilion has formed. Everyone, please enter the pavilion,” Zhou Xuan said.
Zhou Xuan fully activated the primordial energy earth veins. Utilizing the Ward Master's stone seal, he left his own divine ability imprint within the earth veins. At this moment, he was considered to have officially taken office, becoming the “Baili Lord” of Qingyuan Ward.
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Wang Chen of the Golden Gang Sword Hall was the first to step forward. Clad in elegant white robes, he looked quite dashing. He cupped his hands in a salute to Zhou Xuan, then gently glanced at Zhou Fuling behind him, flashing a bright smile.
Zhou Fuling was clearly accustomed to such attentiveness, so her eyes did not show even a ripple of emotion.
Wang Chen felt a bit embarrassed seeing this. After all, back in the Golden Gang Sword Hall, this routine of his would have already garnered a chorus of squeals from the young female disciples.
“A noble lady like her is the real challenge. If I can win her over, my path of divine abilities will be fast-tracked by at least ten years.” However, Wang Chen was not discouraged. He planned to perform well in front of Zhou Fuling first to let her see his potential, laying the groundwork for future interactions.
With this thought, a golden light flashed beneath Wang Chen's feet. His figure surged past the tiers of steps, rushing into the Primordial Energy Pavilion, where he found a futon in the front row and sat down.
Lü Xiao and the other two from the Red Sand Hall also quickly entered.
Two people went from the Mountain-Moving Hall. The leader was a sturdily built youth named Luo Yan, the strongest among the new generation of disciples in the Mountain-Moving Hall.
“You three should go as well,” Lu Jin said, looking at Lu Ming and the other two.
Yuan Da scratched his head and smiled wryly at Gao Yu. “To be one of the final three, we might have to rely on you.”
“I'll do my best,” Gao Yu replied, her delicate brows furrowing slightly as she also felt a bit of pressure.
“Is there some trick to this?” Lu Ming asked.
Gao Yu replied softly, “The primordial energy of heaven and earth inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion is extremely dense. Without needing to be drawn in, it will madly flood into your body. All we can do is exert everything to refine this incoming primordial energy and make it our own. But if your refining speed can't keep up with the influx, it will cause the primordial energy to accumulate and go out of control inside you. At that point, if you don't actively withdraw from the pavilion, you will suffer internal injuries, which defeats the purpose.”
Lu Ming came to a sudden realization. Generally speaking, the speed of refining primordial energy was related to one's Qi Refining Technique, the grade of one's Divine Ability Bone, one's own strength, and the mastery realm of the cultivated divine abilities. He had the advantage of his Divine Ability Bone's grade, but his personal strength was considered the weakest among everyone present. After all, he hadn't even completed his second bone-refining yet, whereas Wang Chen, Lü Xiao, Gao Yu, and the others had all completed their third bone-refining.
As for their mastery realm of cultivated divine abilities, even Yuan Da had already cultivated two Lower Divine Abilities to Great Success and had even begun to dabble in Medium Divine Abilities, while Lu Ming had only reached Initial Success with his two Lower Divine Abilities.
Therefore, Lu Ming wasn't sure how long he could hold out inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion.
In any case, he would just do his best.
With that thought, the three of them moved together, entering the Primordial Energy Pavilion and finding futons to sit on.
“Hall Master Lu, your grandson seems to have only recently completed his Bone-Opening, right? Entering the Primordial Energy Pavilion with this level of strength, isn't he just asking for trouble?” Shi Tong asked with a smile, his gaze sweeping over Lu Ming's figure.
Hearing this, Ward Master Zhou Xuan frowned slightly. Bringing even a grandson who had only recently opened his bones to leech off the Primordial Energy Pavilion? This display was indeed a bit unsightly.
Lu Jin did not defend himself either. The fact that Lu Ming possessed a High-grade Divine Ability Bone was restricted by him to the hall and had not yet spread. However, he saw no need to explain anything to Shi Tong at this moment.
Defending himself was meaningless; the facts would eventually make everyone understand who the tirelessly jumping clown truly was.
As everyone had fully entered the pavilion, Ward Master Zhou Xuan's mind stirred, releasing the suppression of the Primordial Energy Pavilion. In an instant, the dense primordial energy of heaven and earth surged forth like a tide, sweeping toward everyone inside.
Inside the stone pavilion, everyone's expression turned grave. Even the strongest among them, Wang Chen, did not dare to be careless in the slightest. He immediately ran his hall's Qi Refining Technique, activating the Divine Ability Bone in his body to refine and absorb all of the endlessly flooding primordial energy, converting it into his own divine ability primordial energy.
“Whoa, what dense primordial energy!”
When Lu Ming felt the primordial energy of heaven and earth flooding into his body, he couldn't help but be startled. This level of density was not even inferior to the medicinal power of consuming a Bone Refining Pill.
No wonder Lu Jin insisted on bringing him along today.
If he could truly hold out, the effect would be no different from refining and consuming a High-grade Bone Refining Pill, and without the risk of medicinal impurities.
This was exactly the resource Lu Ming urgently needed right now.
Joy flashed through Lu Ming's heart. He immediately activated the “Thunderfire Furnace” Qi Refining Technique. At the same time, the Divine Ability Bone in his body roared to life, unleashing a powerful suction force that greedily absorbed the billowing primordial energy like a bottomless pit.
On his Divine Ability Bone, the divine ability imprints formed by the Flame Blade and the Lesser Lightning Flash also emitted ripples at this moment, acting like tiny whirlpools that helped the Divine Ability Bone swallow the primordial energy.
And that was not all!
The five bands of Glazed Heavenly Light swirling around his Divine Ability Bone flowed and turned, absorbing all the incoming primordial energy of heaven and earth with astonishing efficiency, then converting it into extremely pure primordial energy that fell onto his Divine Ability Bone like spring rain.
His Divine Ability Bone seemed to let out a joyful, soft hum.
Relying on the power of his Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone, Lu Ming's efficiency in absorbing and refining the primordial energy of heaven and earth was not weak at all compared to those present who had completed their third bone-refining.
Inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion, the dense primordial energy of heaven and earth billowed, and everyone exerted their full strength to refine and absorb it.
Time passed slowly. Before they knew it, half a stick of incense's time had gone by.
However, as time went on, the primordial energy of heaven and earth inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion did not weaken; instead, its density climbed rapidly. Faintly, even extremely thin wisps of primordial energy mist began to appear.
This immediately brought immense pressure to everyone inside the pavilion.
Those with slightly shallower foundations in the third bone-refining stage, such as Yuan Da, Gong Peng, and Gong Hu, began to show traces of pain on their faces. Too much primordial energy was flooding into their bodies, and it was starting to spiral out of control.
After another brief moment, the faces of Yuan Da and the others flushed completely red, and faint wisps of bloody mist rose from the tops of their heads as their expressions grew distorted.
They knew their bodies had reached their limits. If they did not leave the Primordial Energy Pavilion now, the rampaging primordial energy within them would cause severe backlash.
Thus, they stood up one after another, scrambling to escape the Primordial Energy Pavilion.
With their departure, the Primordial Energy Pavilion suddenly became much emptier. Only the top young disciples of each hall, such as Wang Chen, Lin Zhao, Lü Xiao, and Gao Yu, could still bitterly hold on.
“Eh?”
Ward Master Zhou Xuan suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise. His gaze turned with astonishment toward a young figure inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion—it was Lu Ming.
Among the disciples who had completed their third bone-refining, Lu Ming was undoubtedly extremely conspicuous.
But to everyone's astonishment, Lu Ming, sitting cross-legged inside the Primordial Energy Pavilion, was not forced into a pathetic state by the dense primordial energy of heaven and earth. Instead, he still maintained a stable posture of refining.
The three Hall Masters—Lin Changkong, Shi Tong, and Shen Tai—also noticed this, and expressions of shock and doubt immediately surfaced on their faces.
This was clearly not right!
Ward Master Zhou Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to look at Lu Jin, whose expression had remained calm throughout. He smiled and said, “Hall Master Lu, congratulations. Your grandson possesses extraordinary talent. I assume he has awakened a High-grade Divine Ability Bone? No wonder you sent him into the Primordial Energy Pavilion.”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed dramatically.
Even Zhou Fuling, who stood behind Zhou Xuan, was momentarily stunned, her almond eyes gazing with slight surprise at the youth inside the stone pavilion.
The Red Sand Hall's Hall Master, Shi Tong, was even more filled with disbelief, blurting out, “A High-grade Divine Ability Bone?! How is that possible?!”
The Thunderfire Hall had just lost a Zhang Yue, so how had another High-grade Divine Ability Bone suddenly emerged?
Lin Changkong's eyes also flickered slightly as he spoke slowly, “To be able to keep up with the refining speed of those in the third bone-refining stage despite lagging so far behind in level, it seems it really is a High-grade Divine Ability Bone.”
“Haha, Hall Master Lu, congratulations,” Shen Tai of the Mountain-Moving Hall offered his congratulations with a hint of envy.
High-grade Divine Ability Bones were quite rare among the Divine Ability Halls of Qingyuan Ward. For two to appear in the Thunderfire Hall within just a few short years, this luck was truly astonishing.
A faint smile appeared on Lu Jin's face as he sighed. “He only awakened it a few days ago. That is why this old man swallowed his pride to secure more resources for my grandson. I hope the Ward Master does not mind.”
Shi Tong's expression shifted unpredictably. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a muffled snort, thinking to himself, Lu Ming's strength lags too far behind. Even with a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, he might not necessarily hold out until the final three.
“The Ward Master has already set the rules. If he cannot remain until the end, then it is useless anyway,” Shi Tong muttered coldly.
Shi Tong knew that the resources the Thunderfire Hall had accumulated over the years had already been completely depleted by Zhang Yue. Right now, Lu Jin must be having a headache over the resources Lu Ming needed, which was why he cared so much about the Ward Office's reward this time.
But how could Shi Tong let Lu Jin have his way so easily?
He would not stand by and watch the Thunderfire Hall nurture a second Zhang Yue to suffocate their Red Sand Hall again!
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