Year end assessment

The day of the Year end assessment had finally come. Gu Guangzhi also received an invite. As a Rank 3 gu master, he still hadn't made many contributions to the Tie clan. He was a newly recruited gu master and was usually holed up in the Higher Academy of Refinement. But he still had to perform his duties to the clan.

Usually external recruits like him were given invites to the smaller branch academies in the clan to form their teams. A large clan like Tie clan had several thousand youngsters who became gu masters every year. Only the gu masters with best aptitudes were enrolled in the Central Academy. All other gu masters had to find a place in one of the smaller branch academies setup all across the city. These small academies often had gu masters with lower aptitudes. So the teams they were recruited into were also sub par.

However, Gu Guangzhi, being the grandson of an external elder was given an invite to the Central Academy for recruitment. Gu Yue Chao was also present at the venue. He was trying to guide Gu Guangzhi into choosing a good team for himself. His presence also gave him an invisible support.

The year end assessment started without a hitch. The students of the Central Academy were truly talented when compared to other clans. They demonstrated their solid understanding of the fundamentals in attack, movement, defense and investigation. Some students were even able to display a promise in healing and concealment as well. Gu Guangzhi took note of some students whom he wanted to recruit. He would approach them with the offer to join his newly formed team.

Gu Guangzhi came to a realization as he was watching the competition. Though he was used to academic setting in his previous life, it was like a distant dream to him now. He felt that he wasn't making much progress in the conventional refinement because because he was being cooped up in the academy. He needed to explore the outside world to learn from time to time. Forming a team to perform his duties to the Tie clan seemed like a good way to do that. As Gu Guangzhi was pondering over this, the preliminary rounds were over and the competition was headed to it's final rounds.

As expected, Tie Ruo Nan had made her way to the finals. Her opponent was Tie Xue Ken. The information that she received indeed turned out to be true as her opponent started using his Rank 2 Burning needle Gu as soon as the match started. Tie Ruo Nan's grass soldiers from her Rank 2 Grass Puppet Gu was getting damaged badly due to the attack and were getting caught on fire.

But Tie Ruo Nan doubled down on her Rank 2 Grass Puppet Gu and produced more grass soldiers. The fire quickly spread and soon flames were raging on the stage. Tie Xue Ken's smug smile disappeared when the flames suddenly took a turn and swept towards him. He had to stop attacking with his Burning needle Gu to avoid damage but it soon became evident to him that he was surrounded by flames. The burning grass puppets charged at him and he used his Rank 2 Pine shield Gu to protect himself.

However, the flames started damaging his Pine shield Gu at a visible rate. Tie Xue Ken tried to mow down the grass soldiers with the retaliating spikes of his pine shield but they were not effective against the flames. Tie Xue Ken realized the futility of his fight and surrendered before his gu was badly damaged. The flames soon died down and he could see Tie Ruo Nan with a Rank 1 Little gale Gu in her hands. It was a common gu insect used by gu masters to maintain the flames in a furnace. It could create a short burst of wind but couldn't be used rapidly. He fell on his knees dejectedly when he knew that he was defeated by such a common gu insect. The spectators also burst into applause after Tie Ruo Nan's ingenious display.

"She is the daughter of the divine investigator. No wonder she has his wits. Such meticulous preparations were only possible due to her investigation about her opponent. I'm sure she will become one of the eight young masters of Tie clan in the future."

"Her opponent Tie Xue Ken was not bad but he suffered due to his tunnel vision. He was attacked by the flames created by his own Burning needle Gu but he didn't have appropriate defensive gu worms to counter them. Of course, they are just young gu masters so I don't expect them to have all kinds of gu insects on them but his preparations were inadequate for this fight."

"I wonder what kind of team she will become a part of. Our team has good balance and cohesion. If she joins us, I'm sure she will become a part of the team in no time. I'll invite her to our team. If we're lucky, she might accept us."

"The divine investigator Tie Xue Leng has always been upright and is a great figure in the clan. His daughter seems to be a just like him. I'll extend an invitation to make her a part of my team. If I make some promises to facilitate her growth, she'll may agree to join."

As several teams were discussing the finals that took place, the Year end assessment came to a conclusion. Soon several team leaders came forward to recruit the youngsters. Almost every student received an offer as they were the best gu masters in the entire Tie clan. Gu Guangzhi also extended offers to some of these young gu masters who he thought he could mould. They weren't very enthusiastic about joining the team of an external member.

Suddenly Gu Yue Chao came to Gu Guangzhi along with a young gu master. He was one of the weaker performers.

Gu Yue Chao started to speak, "Er… Guangzhi, why don't have this kid join your team?"

Gu Guangzhi looked at the young gu master. He had an air of arrogance around him. Gu Guangzhi looked at his grandfather with a confused expression and asked, "Sure. But it doesn't look like he wants to join my team. Who is he?"

Gu Yu Chao started to avoid his gaze and said, "Well, you know how things work here in the Southern border. All clans give a great importance to bloodlines.", nudging the young gu master, he said, "Why don't you introduce yourself to him?"

The young gu master replied in irritation, "Don't push me father. I'm not a kid anymore.", turning to Gu Guangzhi, he said, "My name is Tie Yue Sen. I mainly use attack type gu insects."

As Gu Guangzhi was listening to the second part of Tie Yue Sen's introduction, he comprehended the first part. He asked, "Wait, you called my Grandpa father..? That means…"

"Yes. Kowtow to your uncle!"

Gu Yue Chao gave a fist to his son's head in chastisement and an awkward silence followed.

The silence was broken by a third party. "Senior, please let me join your team." It was none other than Tie Ruo Nan!