Making of an Urban Legend (2)

Gu Guangzhi's water wolf on the other hand was already comparable to a peak stage Rank 2 master trying to break through to next rank. It had gained another Rank 2 gu insect. It was the Rejuvenating spring water Gu. After it was heavily wounded in the last wolf tide, it gained this gu insect. The heavens seemed to have a balancing effect. First they injured the wolf and then gave it a healing gu to save itself. The water wolf rested well in Gu Guangzhi's hair band. This hair band was formed by the use of Wolf crown Gu. After its recovery, it became more active and grew much more powerful. The gu masters in Xiong clan gossiped more about Gu Guangzhi and his water wolf.

…

"Hey, did you hear? Gu Guangzhi's water wolf is now of Rank 2 peak strength. I am sure it will soon have battle strength comparable to our elders in the future."

"Yeah. I heard Yuan Shuren of the Yuan Faction offered to buy it from Gu Guangzhi for a great price but Gu Guangzhi refused him outright."

"What? Really. Hmm. It makes sense then."

"What makes sense?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Come closer. I heard that Gu Guangzhi was attacked recently by a group of masked gu masters recently when he was out on a mission. His team members were also badly hurt. I heard that the attackers tried to capture the water wolf using a Rank 2 Wolf Enslavement Gu but it didn't work. That gu master was then bitten in half by the water wolf. The attackers got scared and escaped."

"Oh, it makes sense now. Recently Yuan Shuren isn't coming out of his home and acting really scared. I think the water wolf and Gu Guangzhi have already formed a deep bond even without an enslavement gu. Sigh. I wish I had such a wolf."

"Haha! You wish. If it weren't for that wolf how would Gu Guangzhi be alive till now? He sure was lucky to have such a wolf as his friend. He only has a D grade aptitude. Breaking into Rank 3 is a pipe dream for him. Do you think, he will become an external elder with the help of his wolf one day?"

"No way! The factions won't sit still until then."

…

"Shit! I shouldn't have trusted Gu Guangzhi. I heard that he refined another Rank 2 Gu worm of the bamboo family gu insects so I went to him to help me with refining my Silver skin Gu to Rank 2. He failed in the refinement and now my Silver skin Gu is damaged. Not to mention, my loss of precious materials and primeval stones."

"Hey, it's just a Rank 2 gu worm. Why didn't you try to refine it yourself?"

"Well, I thought that he would be better at it since he had been refining all these Rank 2 bamboo family gu recently. Who would've known that he would act like an amateur when it comes to refining other gu insects. If all he can refine are those weak gu insects from bamboo family, then what good is his refinement? He is of no use to the clan."

"Hey, don't be like that. In this year's wolf tide, he will surely make a splash again."

"That's why I wanted to refine my Silver skin Gu to Rank 2. Shit! Now I have to be more careful."

….

"Oh! Gu Guangzhi is in trouble now. I heard that he and Yuan Shuren got into a fight during the wolf tide. The clan leader is now reprimanding them in the battle camp."

"Yeah. I saw what happened. Yuan Shuren 'accidentally' hurt Gu Guangzhi's water wolf during the wolf tide and they got into a scuffle. Yuan Shuren's team attacked Gu Guangzhi's water wolf in 'self defense' and hurt it pretty badly. Gu Guangzhi was also hurt. Luckily for him, Yu Wen Zi and Xiong Jin Bo came quickly and stopped the fight. I don't think that water wolf will recover from this battle for a long time. It may never grow in strength comparable to Rank 3."

"I feel bad for Gu Guangzhi. Though he isn't a Xiong clan member by blood, he had contributed to the clan with his battle prowess. I am amazed how far he has come with his D-grade aptitude."

"Haha. You are only saying this because he has lost his main strength, right?"

"Yes."

…

Gu Guangzhi was standing in front of Xiong clan's clan leader, Xiong Hu Zhong in the battle camp. His water wolf was also present there. It was heavily injured and it was very protective of Gu Guangzhi, refusing to go into Gu Guangzhi's headband to rest.

Xiong Hu Zhong listened to all sides of the story. He had already known about Yuan Shuren's actions in the past when he attacked Gu Guangzhi in secret. He had warned him then, in secret, to stop such actions. He reprimanded Yuan Shuren in a thorough manner and compensated Gu Guangzhi with a hefty sum of money. However, he also gave an ultimatum to Gu Guangzhi to enslave his water wolf within three days, so that it will not act wildly anymore. Till he enslaves his water wolf, he wouldn't get any help from the clan to heal the water wolf.

This demand was acceptable to all the factions for two reasons. One, if the wolf was enslaved, no more wild gu could be used by the water wolf and it would not grow in strength either. Two, Gu Guangzhi had no soul cultivation. His water wolf willingly stayed with him and listened to him. Increasing the soul foundation of a gu master to a level capable of enslaving a Rank 2 beast in three days was an impossible task. Thus, his water wolf wouldn't receive any healing and it would die, reducing Gu Guangzhi's battle prowess greatly.

Gu Guangzhi was genuinely concerned about his water wolf. It was almost like a brother to him and its wounds were very serious. Its Rejuvenating spring water Gu was damaged in the battle and he couldn't heal the water wolf enough by other means. Gu Guangzhi made up his mind, holding his water wolf tightly, as it was slowly dying.