When the name Zhang Yue was rasped out from Guo Kui's mouth, Lu Ming could clearly sense that Lu Jin's breath beside him seemed to freeze for several moments. Glancing over, he saw that the old man's weathered face had darkened to the extreme.
Up until the moment they heard that name, they had still believed it was Lin Changkong colluding with the Peach Mountain Bandits to deal with Thunderfire Hall... Yet the ultimate answer was somewhat beyond their expectations.
“Grandfather, there is no need to get angry over this ungrateful wolf,” Lu Ming softly consoled him. “For everything he has done to our Thunderfire Hall, he will pay the price in the future.”
Lu Jin said in a heavy voice, “I originally sought to secure a way out for our Lu family. Who would have thought that in my blindness, I brought in an ungrateful, venomous beast instead.”
“He already climbed to a higher place, yet he still ‘kept us in mind.’ The moment he saw our situation improving, he couldn't wait to hatch his schemes and destroy it all.”
“How did he contact you?” Lu Jin looked at Guo Kui and asked.
Guo Kui let out a raspy laugh. “When Zhang Yue escorted caravans in the past, he crossed paths with our Peach Mountain Bandits and formed an acquaintance. A while back, he sent word through someone, asking us to do something for him—to sack Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden. At the same time, he was the one who suggested we seek cooperation with the Golden Gang Sword Hall to deal with Thunderfire Hall together.”
“A single message was enough to make you exert this much effort?”
“Lu Jin, oh Lu Jin, do you think that direct disciple of yours still holds the same status he did back in Thunderfire Hall? Haha, he is now a direct disciple of the Great Golden Crow Hall! I hear that not long after entering the Great Golden Crow Hall, he was already nearing thirty Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions. The Great Golden Crow Hall values him immensely and has prepared a high-grade foundation-building spiritual item for him. Before long, he will not only become a Divine Ability Master, but one who forged a High-grade Divine Ability Foundation! He will have hope of becoming a Grandmaster in the future!”
“Isn't a figure like that far more important than your Thunderfire Hall?”
“Moreover, he promised that as long as I wiped out your entire Lu family, he could help me wash away the brand of the Peach Mountain Bandits and secure a position for me in the Great Golden Crow Hall. Are these terms not enough?”
Guo Kui gave a miserable laugh as he disclosed many secrets.
These secrets made Lu Jin's aged expression grow much heavier. That Zhang Yue was already preparing to forge a Divine Ability Foundation and step into the rank of Divine Ability Master? Such cultivation speed could truly be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.
For a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner to advance to Divine Ability Master, the most critical step was forging a Divine Ability Foundation. This marked the beginning of a transformation on the path of divine abilities.
Divine Ability Foundations were divided into four grades: low-, mid-, and high-grade, as well as the supreme top-grade foundation.
To forge a Divine Ability Foundation, there were many requirements. Aside from the fundamental prerequisite of condensing thirty Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, one also needed to obtain a foundation-building spiritual item, which likewise possessed grades corresponding to the grades of the foundation.
Foundation-building spiritual items were extraordinarily expensive and were even considered a form of circulating hard currency.
Back then, it was only through a stroke of fortune while venturing into the Black Rain Zone—at the cost of nearly losing his life—that Lu Jin obtained a mid-grade foundation-building spiritual item, ultimately managing to forge a Mid-grade Divine Ability Foundation and become a Divine Ability Master.
Different grades of Divine Ability Foundations also possessed different potentials. Generally speaking, if one forged a Low-grade Divine Ability Foundation, they would likely never reach Divine Ability Grandmaster in their lifetime—in fact, even becoming a True Primordial Energy Master would be exceedingly difficult. A Mid-grade Divine Ability Foundation offered a slim chance of ascending to Grandmaster, though the odds were still low.
As for a High-grade Divine Ability Foundation, it even enjoyed the renowned reputation of being a “Grandmaster Seed.”
It was precisely for this reason that when Guo Kui learned Zhang Yue was about to forge a High-grade Divine Ability Foundation, he had agreed to his demands almost without hesitation, willing to act on his behalf despite his own esteemed status as a Divine Ability Master.
“Kid, you still haven't told me: how did you two cross the poisonous miasma and find this place? Let me die understanding that much,” Guo Kui said, looking at Lu Ming.
Golden light gathered in Lu Ming's eyes, turning his pupils like gold.
“This is Golden Pupils, which possesses the power to see through bewitching miasma. The peach miasma here has no effect on me whatsoever,” Lu Ming said flatly.
A look of surprise flashed in Guo Kui's eyes before he sighed with emotion. “To think such a miraculous ability existed. You really are an uncanny kid. Everyone underestimated you; you are the one who poses the greatest threat in Thunderfire Hall.”
“What a pity, though. You've already been targeted by Zhang Yue.”
“I heard that when he learned you possessed a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, he was extraordinarily enraged. He even specifically instructed that when we slaughtered your Lu family down to the last person, we had to inspect your corpse thoroughly, hahaha!”
Guo Kui looked at Lu Ming with pity in his eyes.
Lu Ming's expression remained unchanged as he said, “Unfortunately, you failed to do so. Still, you've reminded me: when I kill him in the future, I will use thunderfire to grind his corpse to ash so he has no chance of turning the tables.”
“Haha, with just you? Do you have any idea how many High-grade Divine Ability Bones like you died before they could grow? Besides, Zhang Yue has the Great Golden Crow Hall behind him. In their eyes, your Thunderfire Hall is no different from a stray dog by the roadside. It's only because you aren't even worth their notice right now; otherwise, your entire family would have been slaughtered in the night long ago,” Guo Kui mocked.
Lu Ming did not bother wasting his breath in pointless argument. After all, this was a dying man.
Seeing this, Guo Kui lost interest as well. His eyes dimmed into a despondent gray; he knew there was no way out for him today. The killing intent in the eyes of this elder and youth was simply too intense.
Lu Jin asked nothing further. Raising the Thunderfire Whip, he whipped up thunderfire and smashed it downward.
Boom!
Guo Kui's head was crushed instantly by the thunderfire, shattering into scorched fragments across the ground.
With this, the leader of the Peach Mountain Bandits, who had terrorized Qingyuan Ward for years, had perished completely.
Although he was a Divine Ability Master whose subjugation could have greatly bolstered Thunderfire Hall's strength, neither Lu Jin nor Lu Ming had ever considered it. Even if tamed, such a venomous wolf remained a latent hazard.
It was far better to kill him directly and eliminate all future troubles.
As for dragging him back to implicate Lin Changkong before Zhou Xuan, not only was it uncertain whether he would cooperate, but even if he did, it likely would not accomplish much in the end. After all, the true mastermind was Zhang Yue.
“Grandfather, check him two more times.”
Even though Guo Kui's head had been blasted to pieces, Lu Ming still prudently reminded him while channeling Golden Pupils to inspect Guo Kui's corpse for anything abnormal.
“You little rascal, you act even more experienced than me.” Lu Jin was deeply pleased with Lu Ming's caution. After all, throughout his many years of struggling to survive, it was this very caution that had saved his life time and time again.
Lu Ming inspected the body several times with his Golden Pupils. Only when he watched the primordial energy in Guo Kui's corpse rapidly dissipate completely did he finally relax.
“Huh?”
But just as he was about to look away, he suddenly let out a soft gasp of surprise. His gaze fixed on Guo Kui's lower abdomen. Even as the primordial energy across the rest of the corpse dissipated, a faint ripple of primordial energy lingered stubbornly there.
Lu Ming channeled Flame Blade onto his palm, using the fiery blade edge to slice open the flesh of Guo Kui's lower abdomen.
Then, he saw a crimson jade flake hidden within the flesh.
“What is this?” Lu Ming asked in surprise, though he was in no rush to touch it rashly.
Seeing this, Lu Jin channeled the wisp of Thunderfire True Primordial Energy he had refined to envelop his hand before picking up the crimson jade flake. The moment the jade flake came into contact with the Thunderfire True Primordial Energy, pungent toxic gas erupted from it. The poison was exceptionally domineering, even struggling within the Thunderfire True Primordial Energy for a good while before gradually dispersing.
Lu Ming watched with a lingering chill, glad he hadn't touched it carelessly.
After refining away the toxic gas contained within the crimson jade flake, Lu Jin held it in his palm, his expression shifting slightly. “It's a piece of Divine Ability Jade. Stored inside is actually an Upper Divine Ability. When Guo Kui consumed his essence-blood earlier, he was likely executing this technique.”
“Oh?”
Lu Ming recalled the fierce battle from last night. The bloody light slash Guo Kui had unleashed at the end possessed terrifying might. Had Lu Jin not happened to refine a wisp of Thunderfire True Primordial Energy, the outcome of that clash truly would have been hard to predict.
Lu Jin handed the crimson jade flake over.
Lu Ming took it and infused primordial energy into it. Instantly, a flood of information poured into his mind.
Upper Divine Ability: Life-Transforming Technique.
Consumes essence-blood and vitality to fuse with primordial energy and convert into blood energy. Can be manifested as a bloody light slash for attack, or as a blood escape to tear through the air in flight. Its might depends on the amount of essence-blood and vitality expended.
Rate on N.U.
