At the city gates.
Led by Zhou Xuan, Li Yan and Yan Jing, the heads of the two Divine Ability Clans, stood beside him. Nearby, the three Divine Ability Hall masters—Lin Changkong, Shi Tong, and Shen Tai—were also present.
Aside from them, several chamber of commerce presidents and patriarchs of minor Divine Ability Clans were in attendance as well.
It could be said that Zhou Xuan had invited out practically every prominent figure in Qingyuan Ward.
Lin Changkong stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression impassive. Behind him, Xu Xiong's expression shifted erratically. Wrapping his primordial energy around his voice, he transmitted a faint whisper directly into Lin Changkong's ear: “Hall Master, isn't Zhou Xuan doting on Thunderfire Hall a bit too much? This turnout is even bigger than the Hall Meet. Does Thunderfire Hall really deserve so much of his regard?”
Resentment laced his words.
Lin Changkong replied indifferently, “I had someone ask around over the past two days. It seems that Lu Ming has been visiting the Ward Office frequently as of late. Word is he is studying the Dao of Alchemy under Zhou Xuan.”
Xu Xiong was taken aback upon hearing this. “No wonder... That kid really lucked out.”
“Hall Master, do you think that old geezer Lu Jin can actually kill Guo Kui in the Peach Miasma Mountains?”
Lin Changkong narrowed his eyes slightly. A major reason he had come to the city gates to wait alongside everyone else was to learn the outcome at the earliest possible moment.
Moreover, he dearly wanted to know: how had Lu Jin—a man who should have been at the end of his tether, gravely wounded and thoroughly spent of potential—managed to severely wound Guo Kui, a man in the prime of his life?
“If the Peach Miasma Mountains were so easy to traverse, Guo Kui wouldn't have entrenched himself in Qingyuan Ward for all these years.” In the end, Lin Changkong still doubted Lu Jin could pull it off. After all, there had even been True Primordial Energy Masters who ventured into the Peach Miasma Mountains in the past, only to return empty-handed.
“That's a relief.”
Xu Xiong breathed a quiet sigh of relief to himself. If that old fogey Lu Jin truly managed to slay Guo Kui, Thunderfire Hall's prestige would genuinely become unstoppable.
While the two were conversing in secret, a sudden stir rippled through the crowd at the city gates. Lin Changkong glanced toward the distant road, only to see a cargo cart drawn by several red horse beasts ambling toward them at an unhurried pace.
Lin Changkong sensed Lu Jin's primordial energy fluctuations.
Before long, the cargo cart arrived at the city gates, and Zhou Xuan led the crowd forward to greet them.
“Haha, Hall Master Lu is truly hale and hearty in his old age! Dealing such a heavy blow to the Peach Mountain Bandits this time will surely grant our Qingyuan Ward a few years of peace,” Zhou Xuan said with a cupped-fist salute and a laugh.
Lu Jin's group leapt down from the cart, returning the salute with polite cupped fists.
“Hall Master Lu, may I ask if that Guo Kui has fled into hiding with his severe injuries?” It was the Yan family head, Yan Jing, who asked. And as his question fell, all the prominent figures present, including Zhou Xuan, couldn't help but turn their gazes toward Lu Jin.
This was the answer every single one of them wanted to hear.
Whether Guo Kui lived or died was of paramount importance. If he remained alive, even severely wounded, he would still be a looming hazard; once his wounds healed, the Peach Mountain Bandits could still stage a comeback.
Meeting their gazes, Lu Jin calmly said, “Guo Kui has been executed. From this day forth, the Peach Mountain Bandits are no more in Qingyuan Ward.”
As his aged voice fell, the breath of many dignitaries present seized for several heartbeats.
Shock surfaced on every face.
Guo Kui was actually slain by Lu Jin?!
That was a Feather Robe Master in the prime of his life, vicious and cunning!
Lin Changkong's gaze fixed on Lu Jin at that moment, his expression shifting slightly. Seeing Lu Jin again, he discovered that the air of twilight and decline that had previously clung to the old man seemed to have vanished completely.
If the Lu Jin of the past was merely an old beast who retained some residual might while hollowed out inside, the Lu Jin before him seemed to have undergone a metamorphosis. The once-cautious glint in his eyes had begun to emanate a sharp, fierce edge.
After a brief lapse of composure, the dignitaries all broke into smiles, cupping their fists one after another to express their gratitude to Lu Jin.
Their attitude instantly became warm and enthusiastic, completely shedding the reluctance they had felt when dragged out here by Zhou Xuan.
Setting aside what Lu Jin's slaying of Guo Kui signified, the mere fact that the Peach Mountain Bandits had been thoroughly eradicated from Qingyuan Ward was enough to make them immensely grateful.
After all, whether Divine Ability Clans or merchant chambers, they had all been plundered by the Peach Mountain Bandits at some point and had suffered grievously under their depredations.
Confronted by the crowd's enthusiasm, Lu Jin politely returned each salute in kind.
“Brother!”
While Lu Jin dealt with the occasion, Lu Ming heard a familiar call. Turning around, he saw Lu Mengmeng waving excitedly at him from amidst the nearby crowd.
Standing right beside Lu Mengmeng was none other than Zhou Fuling.
Lu Ming hurried forward. Lu Mengmeng threw herself excitedly into his arms, sniffling with red-rimmed eyes. Over the past few days, she and Zhong Ying had barely been able to sleep. After all, the family's pillars had all mobilized together; if any mishap occurred outside, mother and daughter genuinely wouldn't have known what to do.
Influenced by Zhong Ying's low spirits, even the normally carefree Lu Mengmeng had lost much of her appetite over the past two days.
Thankfully, today she finally saw Lu Ming and the others return completely in one piece.
Lu Ming patted her head, soothing Lu Mengmeng's distress with a few gentle words of comfort.
“I went to Thunderfire Hall a couple of days ago to inform your mother and sister of your situation, easing their worries a bit. Today, upon hearing that you were returning soon, I brought Mengmeng along with me just to keep her from fretting over food and tea,” Zhou Fuling said with a smile from the side.
“Thank you, Senior Sister,” Lu Ming promptly thanked her. Her relaying the news back home earlier had certainly put Zhong Ying's mind at ease much sooner.
Zhou Fuling shook her head, then asked curiously, “Are you all all right? Did you really pursue him into the Peach Miasma Mountains and eliminate Guo Kui?”
“Grandfather said so himself; how could it be false?” Lu Ming smiled.
Zhou Fuling clicked her tongue in wonder, truly unable to fathom how Lu Ming and his family had accomplished it. After all, even her Fourth Uncle had found that toxic Peach Miasma difficult to deal with.
“After this incident, I'm afraid your Thunderfire Hall will have to prepare for an expansion,” Zhou Fuling chuckled softly.
Thunderfire Hall was already packed to the brim after claiming the champion hall title. Now that they had caused such a massive stir, it was bound to become the place countless youths in Qingyuan Ward yearned to join. Their prestige was so formidable it would genuinely overshadow the Golden Gang Sword Hall.
“It was all thanks to the Ward Master's and Senior Sister's help; otherwise, our Thunderfire Hall might have met a very different fate. If Senior Sister has any errands or requests in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. I will definitely do everything I can to repay you,” Lu Ming said sincerely.
“All right, I'll hold you to that,” Zhou Fuling replied, nodding with a smile without acting overly modest.
After Lu Jin chatted and laughed with Zhou Xuan and the others for a while, the various factions began to disperse. Yet it was easy to foresee that as this news spread, Thunderfire Hall's fame would reverberate across the entirety of Qingyuan Ward in the days to come.
Hall Master Shen Tai of Mountain-Moving Hall stepped forward warmly, praising Lu Jin's valiance.
Even Shi Tong of Red Sand Hall exchanged a few stiff pleasantries. The decisiveness and sheer strength Thunderfire Hall displayed this time had genuinely startled him. At the very least, he needed to reevaluate Lu Jin's strength.
For he knew full well he lacked the ability to slay Guo Kui; if they had truly clashed, it was hard to say who would have killed whom.
Lin Changkong, on the other hand, did not bother with any superficial pleasantries with Lu Jin, turning around and leaving directly.
Lin Changkong knew that since Lu Jin had slain Guo Kui, he likely knew Lin Changkong's role in the scheme. Although Zhang Yue was the mastermind directing Guo Kui, most of the methods and intelligence on how to target Thunderfire Hall had been provided by him.
Thus, the enmity between both sides had officially escalated; there was no room for reconciliation.
Nor did Lin Changkong intend to reconcile. Although he didn't understand how Lu Jin had located the Peach Mountain Bandits' lair in the Peach Miasma Mountains and executed Guo Kui, it made little difference to him.
Before absolute strength, all schemes were merely the antics of buffoons.
He too could kill Guo Kui; in fact, at his hands, Guo Kui wouldn't even have had the chance to flee back to the Peach Miasma Mountains.
Yet through this unexpected turn of events, Lin Changkong reined in the contempt he had once held for Lu Jin. He understood that if he truly wanted to accomplish the task assigned by that noble lady of the Great Golden Crow Hall, he could perhaps no longer hold back.
Lin Changkong's expression remained indifferent, but a chilly killing intent flashed across his lowered eyes.
From the day Zhang Yue left the hall, everyone in Qingyuan Ward assumed Thunderfire Hall would crumble in his wake, and that with Lu Jin at the end of his lifespan, the hall would even fall out of the ranks of Grade 3 Divine Ability Halls. Yet in just a few short months, the outcome had wildly defied everyone's expectations.
First came Lu Ming with his High-grade Divine Ability Bone, steadying the hearts of the hall's disciples. Then came their seizure of the champion hall title at the Hall Meet. And even if taking the champion hall title could be blamed on Lin Changkong's own overcleverness backfiring, what about mobilizing their entire force to wage a bloody battle against the Peach Mountain Bandits? Not only did their entire family not perish out in the wilds, but they also wiped out the bandits in one fell swoop! How was that possible?
To top it off, Lu Jin, that spent old geezer, actually executed Guo Kui, a fellow Feather Robe Realm practitioner who was in his prime!
Now, buoyed by the momentum of exterminating the Peach Mountain Bandits, Thunderfire Hall would firmly secure its position as the champion hall. From now on, no one would ever claim they had obtained this position by sheer luck.
One could well imagine that in the days ahead, Thunderfire Hall's already blazing momentum would surge yet again.
Hoo.
Lin Changkong took a deep breath, the killing intent in his heart burning ever more fiercely. No matter what, he could delay no longer.
Fortunately, the opportunity was arriving soon.
In a little over a month, it would be the Rain Waning Season of the Black Rain Zone; at that time, even Zhou Xuan would have his hands full.
This time.
He would personally destroy Thunderfire Hall once and for all.
Rate on N.U.
