Three Young Women

“You want to try?”

Hearing Lu Ming volunteer, Lu Qingyan was also taken aback. He then hesitated slightly. Although Lu Ming possessed a Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone, he had still not completed his second bone-refining after all. Whether in terms of primordial energy strength or mastery of his cultivated divine ability, he seemed inferior to Luo An of the Red Sand Hall.

Lu Qingyan was worried that Lu Ming would get hurt, which would affect his cultivation progress. After all, he was the Lu family's last seed of hope.

Compared to Lu Ming's safety, let alone damaging some of Thunderfire Hall's reputation, even if Thunderfire Hall were to go bankrupt, it wouldn't be as important as a single hair on his head.

“Father, Grandfather had me come with you today probably with the intention of letting me gain some experience,” Lu Ming said with a smile, adding fuel to the fire as he sensed Lu Qingyan's hesitation.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the hesitation in Lu Qingyan's eyes instantly vanished. He turned his head, staring coldly at Zhu Lian, and said, “If you want to fight, then our Thunderfire Hall will play along!”

Zhu Lian chuckled. He glanced at Lu Ming, who stood behind Lu Qingyan, and then chin-gestured toward the youth named Luo An beside him, saying with deep meaning, “Luo An, take good care of him.”

Luo An let out a sinister laugh, the smile on his face full of ferocity.

Placing his hand on the second-floor railing, he leaped over, landing directly on the open space on the first floor. He then looked up and casually hooked his finger at Lu Ming.

Lu Ming also flipped over the railing and jumped down, landing calmly opposite Luo An.

Manager Xu of the Qingchuan Chamber of Commerce waved his hand, and the chamber's guards stepped forward to clear the area, carving out an undisturbed open space for the two.

Such a commotion immediately drew many gazes, and curious onlookers began to gather around.

Soon, news of the duel between Thunderfire Hall and Red Sand Hall spread throughout the chamber of commerce, causing a flurry of whispers.

Up on the top floor of the chamber's pavilion, inside a private room by the window, three gazes also turned toward the commotion below.

“Oh? It's that Lu Ming.”

Out of the three gazes, surprise flashed in the eyes of one. She wore emerald-green robes, and her skin was as white as frost and snow. Her waist, already slender, was lightly bound by a sash, making it look small enough to be held in one hand.

It was none other than Zhou Fuling, the niece of Ward Master Zhou Xuan, whom he had met at the Ward Office a few days ago.

Besides Zhou Fuling, there were two other young, beautiful girls of outstanding temperament in the private room.

One of the girls wore pink clothing. She had a graceful figure and a charming, captivating face. Her peach blossom eyes seemed capable of speaking; when she blinked gently, one couldn't help but lose themselves in them.

Her name was Yan Zhizhi, and she hailed from the Yan family, one of the two major Divine Ability Clans in Qingyuan Ward.

The other girl wore a white dress, her face cold and proud, and her black hair fell like a waterfall from the back of her head to her waist.

Her name was Li Shuang, and she came from the Li family.

These past few days, Zhou Fuling had been tasked by Zhou Xuan to get in touch with the direct descendants of the two major Divine Ability Clans. This contact had gone very smoothly. After all, the two Divine Ability Clans also wanted to feel out this newly appointed Ward Master, so both sides hit it off immediately.

Thus, Zhou Fuling had invited these two noble daughters of the Divine Ability Clans for a small gathering in the private room of the Qingchuan Chamber of Commerce today.

At this moment, Yan Zhizhi and Li Shuang also cast their beautiful eyes downward because of the commotion on the first floor.

Yan Zhizhi merely swept her gaze over casually and couldn't be bothered to pay much attention. Direct descendants of Divine Ability Clans like them had always looked down on the disciples of the Divine Ability Halls in Qingyuan Ward.

In their eyes, those disciples of the Divine Ability Halls were nothing but mud-legged commoners.

Even if a few promising talents occasionally emerged, they would still be left far behind by the direct descendants of the Divine Ability Clans due to a lack of cultivation resources.

However, when Li Shuang's gaze swept over Lu Ming, her slender, willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly.

This subtle expression did not escape Zhou Fuling's eyes. She asked with a smile, “Oh? Does Lady Li Shuang know Lu Ming?”

Before Li Shuang could answer Zhou Fuling's question, Yan Zhizhi suddenly giggled. She turned her beautiful eyes back and scrutinized Lu Ming for a few moments, saying with a smile, “So he is Lu Ming of the Thunderfire Hall? He's quite good-looking. No wonder he has the eldest young mistress of the Li family completely infatuated, running to the Thunderfire Hall every day.”

Although she was smiling, her words clearly carried a hint of mockery and playfulness.

Li Shuang's beautiful face instantly turned cold as she glared at Yan Zhizhi. “Stop talking nonsense. What infatuation? Cousin Jingyi only visits Thunderfire Hall often because Lu Ming saved her back then, and she cherishes that gratitude.”

“So you're saying there's nothing between them? Then why did I hear that when our Yan family wanted to discuss a marriage alliance with the Li family a while ago, your Cousin Jingyi rejected it in public?” Yan Zhizhi giggled.

Li Shuang gave her a contemptuous look and said, “As if that elder brother of yours is worthy of Cousin Jingyi.”

Bang!

Yan Zhizhi slammed her small hand onto the table, the smile on her face vanishing as she snorted coldly. “My elder brother possesses a High-grade Divine Ability Bone and is the number one figure among the younger generation of our Yan family. Why isn't he worthy of her?”

“And if my brother isn't worthy, is your Li family actually going to look for this mud-legged commoner from Thunderfire Hall instead?”

Li Shuang said coldly, “I have already said that Cousin Jingyi has no relationship of that sort with Lu Ming. If you dare to wag your tongue again and ruin her reputation, don't blame our Li family for turning our backs on your Yan family!”

Yan Zhizhi raised her eyebrows slightly. Hearing Li Shuang speak so severely, she found it hard to continue her provocation, so she merely remarked in a sarcastic tone, “It seems your Li family doesn't think much of this Lu Ming either.”

Watching the two girls target each other, Zhou Fuling found it rather interesting. However, from their conversation, they clearly did not know that Lu Ming had also awakened a High-grade Divine Ability Bone. This was normal, though. The Divine Ability Clans had always been proud, and they rarely took the initiative to inquire about the affairs of the Divine Ability Halls.

“It looks like this Lu Ming is going to fight that disciple from the Red Sand Hall here...” Zhou Fuling remarked.

“I remember he hasn't even undergone Bone-Opening, right? Even if he did, it must not have been long ago. With the meager resources of those Divine Ability Halls, who knows if he has even completed his first bone-refining by now? With such pathetic strength, he actually dares to jump out and act tough. He really doesn't know his place.” Yan Zhizhi's voice carried unconcealed contempt.

This time, Li Shuang did not counter her. She had no relationship with Lu Ming whatsoever; as long as Yan Zhizhi didn't drag Jingyi into it, she couldn't be bothered to care.

Zhou Fuling did not say anything either, merely watching the two confronting each other on the open space of the first floor with her beautiful eyes. In her perception, the primordial energy intensity of the Red Sand Hall disciple indicated he had completed his second bone-refining, which was indeed a notch higher than Lu Ming's.

“Is this Lu Ming planning to have a divine ability duel with that guy? Although he has a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, it has only been about half a month since his Bone-Opening. At most, he has completed his first bone-refining, right? Besides, what kind of divine ability can one master in half a month? Even if he did, it would only be at the Initial Success stage at best. He will most likely lose to the opponent. This is really a bit reckless,” Zhou Fuling thought to herself.

Under the gaze of numerous intrigued onlookers, Luo An gave Lu Ming an ill-intentioned smile on the field. “I heard you kid awakened a High-grade Divine Ability Bone?”

His smile carried both hostility and jealousy.

This was because he knew very well that Lu Ming, who possessed a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, would soon surpass him by leaps and bounds. At that time, he would lose the qualification to even be Lu Ming's opponent.

But fortunately... that was in the future.

At the very least, right now, he was still stronger than Lu Ming!

“Kid, since you have a High-grade bone, you should have stayed hidden. Coming out to show off now is just asking for trouble!”

“Watch me break both of your arms today and cut short your progress as a genius!”

Luo An's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as he extended both palms. In the next instant, raging flames rose from his hands, radiating intense heat capable of burning wood and melting metal.

Lower Divine Ability, Flame-Kindling Palm.