4 RI

The sun had already set.

The sunset glow was still burning in the sky. The mountains far away in the distance were covered in a thick layer of grey ash, gradually turning to black.

In the academy, a day's class was over. The students walked out from the academy in groups of twos and threes.

"I'm really happy today, I learnt quite a few things. Especially how I got to learn how to use the Moonlight Gu."

"The way the moonblade flies in the air looks so cool. It's too bad that my talent isn't enough, so in the future I can only be a logistics Gu Master, I won't be able to go onto the battlefield." The young teenagers happily chatted away.

A few of them called their friends over.

"Let's go and eat, we can drink some rice wine while we're at it, what do you think?"

"Sure, that's not a bad suggestion."

"You guys go on first, I need to go to the store beside the academy's Gu room and buy a grass puppet. It will be easy to practice at home with it."

Fang Yuan went to the Gu room alone.

The academy's Gu room kept quite a few Rank one Gu worms. There were many types and variations, and Fang Yuan's Moonlight Gu was taken freely from inside.

Once in a while the students would have a free chance to pick a Gu worm. If one wanted to get extra Gu, they would need to pay up.

In this short time Fang Yuan had no wish to refine any other Gu. He walked to the building beside the Gu room – it was a small store.

In the store there were seven students, each of them negotiating over the counter with the store owner for buying grass puppets.

"It's you, junior." The Rank one Gu Master responsible for the store was in his twenties. When he saw Fang Yuan, he automatically greeted him while bargaining with his customers.

Fang Yuan was taken by surprise, finding out that this Gu Master was Jiang Ya. It was the young Gu Master that had taught the hunters a lesson in the inn.

"Ah, it's you senior." Fang Yuan nodded his head, his face expressionless.

Jiang Ya took out a grass puppet from the counter behind him, passing it to the student who purchased it. At the same time he threw Fang Yuan a friendly smile and asked, "Did junior brother come here to buy a grass puppet as well? If you want me to leave one for you, you just need three pieces of primeval stones. These things sell like hotcakes, right now there's only seven left, if you wait any longer there won't be any stock left."

Jiang Ya's attitude towards mortals was arrogant, but towards people like Fang Yuan, he was very kind and sincere.

Fang Yuan shook his head, laughing secretly as he thought, this Jiang Ya really did know how to do business. The grass puppets were made with the Scarecrow Gu. Even after including the primeval essence that was put in, the final cost should not be more than one and a half primeval stones.

"Senior, this isn't fair. It should be first come first serve, why leave any for him?"

"Yeah, we all came early. If you want to do business you should know the rules."

"Three pieces will be three pieces, here's the primeval stones, give me a grass puppet."

The youngsters in the store were all worried when they heard that the store only had seven puppets left. They stopped trying to negotiate, and took out their stones to buy it.

Very quickly, seven satisfied teenagers walked out.

"Does my junior want to buy a grass puppet?" Jiang Ya laughed as he asked, "It seems like they were sold out, but actually there's still the eighth puppet stowed away below the chest. If junior doesn't buy it now, you will miss the opportunity."

Fang Yuan had no interest towards the grass puppet. He shook his head and pulled out a piece of primeval stone, putting it on the counter. "I want to buy ten moon orchid petals."

Jiang Ya was stunned. He looked Fang Yuan deep in the eye, taking away the primeval stone and pulling open the counter drawer. Then he took out a paper bag, saying, "Ten pieces of moon orchid flower petals, not one less. Please make sure."

Fang Yuan checked the goods on the spot and found no mistake with it. Finally he left the small shop.

Gu have to be fed.

A Gu Master refines Gu, uses Gu, and at the same time needs to raise Gu.

Refining a Gu is difficult; there is the risk of counterattack. Using a Gu is not easy; one needs a lot of practice. The knowledge of raising a Gu is even more extensive and profound, because there are all kinds of Gu worms and their food are exceedingly strange. Some need to swallow soil, some need starlight, some require tears and some feed on the clouds and air from the nine skies.

Just by taking Fang Yuan's current three Gu for example, the Moonlight Gu requires moon orchid petals, two meals a day. In the morning and night one meal, every meal two pieces of flower petals. Meanwhile for the Liquor worm, it needs to drink wine. A jar of green bamboo wine could support it for four days. As for the Spring Autumn Cicada, it is even more peculiar as it drinks straight from the River of Time, maintaining its vitality.

The River of Time supports the flow of this world. It is not far away in the sky but very near at hand, flowing by every person's side. Every move made by every living creature requires the push of time.

Time is like flowing water, hurriedly gliding forward. The River of Time is invisible and colourless, while in reality all living creatures are actually surviving and living in the waters of the River of Time.

After buying the bag of moon orchid petals, Fang Yuan went to the inn to buy green bamboo wine. The Liquor worm could also drink some turbid wine or rice wine to live. However with this kind of second-rate wine the amount it needed to drink would increase, and it would need many jars everyday. After calculating, Fang Yuan decided it would be better to buy green bamboo wine straight away. Not only would it be more worth than buying second-grade wine, it would also not arouse suspicion.

"Young sir, you've come." The workers in the inn had already known Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan passed him three pieces of primeval stones directly, saying with a familiar ease, "Give me a jar of green bamboo wine and make me a few good dishes. You don't need to give me the change, just put it here first. At the end of the month when it amounts up to one stone, you can subtract from my bill with it."

Even though Fang Yuan no longer stayed at the inn right now ever since he moved to the academy dormitories, he would always have a meal here when he bought wine.

"Alright. Young sir please take a seat, the dishes will be sent over immediately." The worker echoed, leading Fang Yuan to his seat. He took the cloth on top of his shoulder and gently wiped the table before leaving. Indeed as the worker said, the dishes were very quickly served.

Fang Yuan ate and calculated at the same time in his mind, "A piece of primeval stone can buy me ten pieces of flower petals. The Moonlight Gu consumed four pieces everyday. A jar of green bamboo wine costs two pieces of stones, and it can support the Liquor worm for four days. In other words just to raise and feed the two of these Gu, I would need to spend nearly one stone everyday."

It does not seem like much, but in reality this was very costly. The monthly living expenses for a mortal family of three only used up one piece of primeval stone. From the starting of refining the Gu until today, sixteen days had already passed. Just to raise the Gu alone Fang Yuan had already spent fourteen and a half primeval stones.

"I have acquired the Flower Wine treasure, taken away Fang Zheng's bag of primeval stones and also got the first place reward. My primeval stone assets once reached up to forty-four pieces and a half. However in the early days of refining the Gu I wasted six pieces and a half, then I used fourteen pieces and a half on feeding these Gu. My living expenses cost half a piece, and today I am probably left with twenty pieces."

Fang Yuan took out his money pouch. He opened it and looked inside. The bag contained pieces of primeval stones inside. Each of these stones were greyish white in colour, their shapes ellipsoid and the volumes equal, the size similar to a duck egg.

After counting he found that he really only had twenty pieces left. In other words if this continued on then Fang Yuan would only be able to go on for half a month with the remaining stones he had left. He was not like his peers – they had relatives and friends to help them out, especially with the case of students like Gu Yue Mo Bei and Gu Yue Chi Cheng who were loaded with primeval stones.

Fang Yuan could only think of a way himself.

"Uncle and Aunt have already cut off my living expenses, but every weekend the clan academy would give out three pieces of primeval stones as subsidy to every student. Looks like I would need to show off in the moonblade assessment in three days and take that ten primeval stone prize." Fang Yuan chewed the food in his mouth while he pondered.

His current age was just at the age where the body was growing. Without realizing it all the rice and dishes had entered his stomach.

Taking up the sealed green bamboo wine jar, Fang Yuan lifted his feet and started walking, leaving the inn.

"Young sir, young sir." The inn worker chased after him from behind and said, "Just to tell young sir something, but in less than a month the trading company will arrive to the village. By convention they would always buy the green bamboo wine in our shop. Young sir loves our green bamboo wine and always buys a few jars every week, so the innkeeper ordered me to tell young sir about this matter. The green bamboo wine in our store has limited supply, so after we sell it to the trading company I'm afraid we would be left with very little."

"Is that the case?" When Fang Yuan heard the news, he frowned slightly. To know someone and tell apart the conversation, Fang Yuan had five hundred years of experience. The shop worker and the young Gu Master Jiang Ya spoke with similar meaning, however Fang Yuan could naturally tell the difference with Jiang Ya's tricky words and the shop worker's truthful words.

This matter was a little troublesome. Fang Yuan needed to feed the Liquor worm and he needed a huge amount of green bamboo wine in the long run. If this inn ran out of stock then he would have to use huge amounts of second-rate wine to feed the Liquor worm.

It was not possible for him to drink several jars a day. After a while people would be suspicious. After thinking about it, Fang Yuan took out ten pieces of primeval stones and said, "Then I'll buy another five jars. I will need you to carry them for me and follow me to put them in the academy dormitory."

"Alright, young sir." The worker immediately accepted the primeval stones.

The moon orchid flower petals could only last for five days without any special storage means, so Fang Yuan would only buy a bag every time. However the green bamboo wine could be kept for a very long time, thus there was no problem with this. @@novelbin@@

A few workers followed Fang Yuan into the academy dorms and placed the wine jars under his bed, and then they bid their leave. As he saw the money pouch that had suddenly flattened down in his hands, Fang Yuan heaved a sigh.

Refining a Gu is hard, but raising a Gu is also not easy.

This is also considering the fact that he had his five hundred years of previous life experience, so he did not need to practice using his Gu, meaning that the consumption rate of primeval essence would be lessened and thus saving him a huge sum of expenses.

For those at his age around him, they would need to practice using the Moonlight Gu and would need to waste primeval essence. To increase proficiency, one would need to practice many times. When too much primeval essence is consumed, primeval stones would have to be used as a supplement since the recovery rate is too slow. To buy a grass puppet it costs three primeval stones as well. All this is money.

"Fortunately my Spring Autumn Cicada feeds on time and not anything else. Otherwise I would have long gone bankrupt, I would never be able to support it." Fang Yuan suddenly felt very lucky.

The more high-end the Gu is, the greater the food consumption needed or the more precious and rare the food required would be, thus the more difficult it would be to keep. A normal level Rank two Gu worm would cost up to around one to two pieces of primeval stones a day.

It is good enough if the food is purchasable. There were some Gu that required food that was relatively difficult to find, some of it did not even circulate in the market.

Just like the Spring Autumn Cicada's food being time itself, this was actually more precious. After all there was a saying, an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time.

No matter how much money you have, can you buy time?

You can't!

In theory a Gu Master can refine an unlimited amount of Gu. As long as you can refine it, whether ten, a hundred or a thousand worms is possible. You can refine as many Gu as you wish to.

But in reality a Gu Master normally only had 4-5 Gu.

Why?

The biggest reason is because it is hard to afford.

The higher the grade of the worm, the more expensive it would cost to feed and raise. It often gave a Gu Master too many difficulties to cope with, making them have unceasing headaches over it.

Another reason was – unable to use.

To use the Moonlight Gu to throw out a single moonblade attack, one would need to use up 10% of primeval essence. A C grade talent Gu Master could run out of primeval essence in their apertures after launching three to four attacks.

To raise so many Gu, wouldn't it be a waste if one couldn't use them anyway?

Thus in the Gu Master's cultivation there was a saying going around: Raising a Gu is like raising a mistress.

To keep a mistress you would need to buy food, clothes, a house etc. It is very expensive and the more you have the more costly it is; a normal man cannot afford it.

Even if you keep so many, a man's energy is limited; he cannot use them all. Would you raise them just to look at them?

When the rank of the Gu Master increases, so does the food standard of the Gu worm. Thus please refrain from seeing how a Gu Master has no limit to the number of refining Gu; in general a Gu Master only keeps around 4-5 Gu of his level.

If the number of Gu was raised higher, the Gu Master would go bankrupt!

-x-X-x-

Three days later.

"Lowering your body to dodge, that is the usual technique of restraining against a flying fist. When your enemy comes and attacks you, quickly squat down and at the same time do a counterattack, striking his crotch and abdomen. Do not be afraid of a swinging fist. Usually those who come up and start swinging their fists at the first moment are people who have no brains and are impulsive and rash."

On the martial arts field, the academy's martial arts(1) instructor spoke while he performed actions to demonstrate. A wooden puppet's right first swept over, and the martial arts instructor quickly squatted down, dodging the incoming attack. Then he threw a punch at the puppet's abdomen, knocking it down with a few punches.

The students were looking at the demonstration in a circle, but most of them were lacking in spirit, showing very little interest.

The academy taught a variety of courses and this lesson was the one that taught foundation of martial arts. Using fists and legs to exert oneself was too inferior to the handsome and cool attack style of the moonblade, making almost all the students absent-minded.

"The next class will be the Moonlight Gu's usage assessment. How have you been practicing so far lately?"

"I'm still doing good. I can do three moonblades, but only a few of them actually hit. Usually I get two blades on the grass puppet."

"Mmm, that's the same like me. I specially bought a grass puppet just to practice for this in these few days."

.....

The young teens whispered to one another, their minds long gone from the lesson. They were all worried about the assessment in the next class. Just for this assessment, they had practiced hard for a long time after class, and now they were flexing their hands and feet, looking forward to the assessment.

The sounds of the students' discussion had reached the instructor's ear, and the martial arts coach jerked his gaze back at them, shouting, "No talking allowed in class, all of you keep your mouths shut and watch closely!"

He was a Rank two Gu master, his body rather muscular. His upper body was naked and robust, the bronzed skin littered with countless scars on it. With a loud shout he showed a threatening manner, pressing down on all the students in the field.

Silence fell in the martial arts field.

"The foundation of martial arts is the most important among important things. Especially in the early stages of a Gu Master's cultivation, it is more important than anything else. All of you better focus your attention on me!"

After he finished scolding, the martial arts instructor called out another wooden puppet. This light yellow wooden puppet was two meters tall, its huge wooden feet making sharp sounds as it stepped on the bluestone floor tiles. The wooden puppet stretched open its arms and rushed clumsily towards the coach.

The instructor dodge its attack, then fiercely hugged its waist and used his strength to push it forward down, causing the huge and tall wooden puppet to fall to the ground. Then the instructor rode on the puppet's waist and swung his fist quickly at the puppet's head.

The wooden puppet resisted for a moment, then its head was smashed broken by the instructor's raining blows. It was paralyzed on the ground, lying motionless.

The martial arts instructor stood up, his breathing calm and long as always. He explained to the students, "When facing a huge and tall enemy in close combat, do not be afraid. Ruining the opponent's center of gravity is a type of sensible tactic to pin down your enemy. Just like how I did it earlier, you must hug the opponent's waist, control his hips and then push forward with your strength. After that you take the opportunity and get on his body and fiercely punch at your enemy. Those with no defensive capabilities will instantly collapse."

The students nodded repeatedly, but most of their eyes showed disapproval. The coach saw all of this and laughed bitterly in his heart.

Every batch was like this. The attitudes of these youngsters were naturally easily attracted by gorgeous things. Without personal understanding and experience, it was hard for them to understand the importance of having a martial arts foundation. In truth especially for a Gu Master in his early stage, while the basic martial arts did not look promising, it was actually more important than the blade attack.

"....Remember, in close combat, your sight must not always stare at the enemy's eye. It should focus on the enemy's shoulder. No matter punching or kicking, the enemy's shoulder will always move first...."

"...In close combat your speed is very important, the speed I am talking about in this context is not the speed of your fists, but the speed of the movement of your legs...."

"....Distance is the best defense..."

"...Keep your legs elastic, then you will be able to easily burst out your strength..."

"When striking with your fists, maintain a triangle support. Otherwise you will lose your footing. The enemy has not fallen, yet instead you fell first..."

The instructor patiently explained while he demonstrated. These were all his valuable experiences that he got from sacrificing blood and tears, experience accumulated from long battles.

Unfortunately the students were unaware of this. They gradually started to whisper again, the focus of the discussion still on the next lesson's moonblade assessment.

"This martial arts instructor is very pragmatic, but his teaching style is wrong." Fang Yuan watched quietly among the crowd, nodding and shaking his head at times. The instructor had no discipline in his teaching; he taught completely by interest, and just taught whatever he thought of. Therefore the things he taught came out in a mess and there was a lot of complicated info. In the beginning many students listened seriously, but gradually they lost interest and diverted their attention to other aspects.

Only Fang Yuan listened meticulously all the way; while others were learning, he was revising. His combat experience was richer than the instructor, but listening to others narrating was also a way of verification in cultivation.

A Gu Master's method of fighting is usually divided between melee and ranged. The moonblade attack is a type of ranged attack, but when strictly speaking, it is considered medium range due to its effective distance only being ten meters.

When it came to close combat Gu Masters, the martial arts instructor was the best example. Melee battle GuMasters would usually choose Gu that amplified their own body strengths and cultivate. These Gu would give them superhuman strength, agility, responsiveness, endurance etc.

Just like this martial arts instructor, his whole body was covered in bronze skin. This was of course not his own skin colour, but it was a type of copper skin Gu's effect. The copper skin Gu would increase the Gu Master's skin toughness and defence by a lot, letting the Gu Master be able to endure more damage.

"A single moonblade would consume 10% of primeval essence. How many times can a Gu Master throw a moonblade during battle? The number is few, especially for beginners who have difficulty forming effective blows. It can only be used as a type of trump card, the terrorizing factor is greater than its lethality. To a Rank one Gu Master, the truly useful skill would be martial arts kung fu. This is because the martial art offence is more durable and reliable. It's a pity that this fact is something that they will not understand unless they face it with their own experience."

Fang Yuan lightly glanced around at his peers, a faint sneer somehow forming on his lips.

The basic martial arts class was finally over. After a short rest, the student's eyes were filled with anticipation; the academy elder was late. He waved his big hand, pointing at the row of grass puppets in front of the bamboo wall. He went straight to the subject and said, "Alright, today is the day to check the results. I want five people in a group coming up in proper sequence, using the moonblade to attack three times."

Swoosh.

The first group of students went up, and the moonblade danced in the air. After three rounds, only nine moonblades hit on the grass puppets.

The academy elder shook his head a little, feeling slightly displeased. This hit rate was too low, the key being that among these five only two managed to successfully throw out two moonblades.

"You all better practice properly after this, especially you, and you." The elder reprimanded in a short sentence, then he waved his big hand and said, "Next group."

The two that were reprimanded dropped their heads and left the field in dismay. One of them was a girl, her eyes a little red and her heart grieving. She was only a C grade talent, yet she could not bear to use primeval stones to quickly recover her primeval essence. Thus in these three days she practiced very little, resulting in her unskilled throwing of the moonblade.

A Gu Master needed money to refine Gu, raise Gu; even practicing to use Gu needed cash. But where was she able to get so much money? Even though her two parents were supporting her from behind, but every family had their own problems. To be short of funds was often the dilemma that a Gu Master faced.

"Anyway I don't have the slightest chance of getting number one. I might as well give up and save on primeval stones, that is better for me." As she thought of this, her heart became calm once more.

There were actually quite a number of people who thought the same way as this young girl. Because of the lack of practice, many of the students performed poorly. The academy elder's brow deepened more and more.

Fang Yuan watched, secretly shaking his head. "These people are really pitiful and sad. Just for a small amount of primeval stones, they gave up their own chance to make progress. Primeval stones are meant to be used; if you want to become a miser and accumulate primeval stones, then what did you become a Gu Master for?"

In other words, those who are shortsighted would often haggle over every penny and chase after less important things. As for those with lofty aspirations, they usually showed a tolerant and generous attitude, and had the strength to give up and let go of things.

"It's finally my turn." At this moment, Gu Yue Mo Bei's horse face lit up in a confident smile all over, and he walked up to the field. His stature was stout and gave out a fierce and strong aura. After standing still he raised his hand and threw three moonblades – all three of them hit. Among the blades, two of them hit on the puppet's chest, while the other blade hit the puppet's left arm, shaving away a few green grass.

This result naturally caused the young teens to burst with admiration.

"Well done." The elder's brow slightly smoothed out.

The next group came up, Gu Yue Chi Cheng standing among them. He had a small and short body, his face full of pockmarks, his expression bringing a slight nervousness. @@novelbin@@

He sent out three moonblades continuously and all three hit on the puppet's chest, cutting out three intertwined scars. The scars went from deep to shallow and restored back to its original appearance after a few breaths, due to the puppet's self-healing ability.

However this outcome was already tied to Gu Yue Mo Bei's result, and also received the elder's praise. Chi Cheng held his head high as he walked out of the field, looking at Mo Bei defiantly in the eye on the way.

"Hmph!" Below the field, Gu Yue Mo Bei gave a cold snort, but he did not return Chi Cheng's glare. Instead, he continued looking at Gu Yue Fang Zheng who had not gone up yet.

His heart clearly knew that the real threats were only Gu Yue Chi Cheng and Gu Yue Fang Zheng. The previous was the same like him – a B grade talent while also having the constant supply of primeval stones. The latter was an A grade talent; while Fang Zheng did not have as many primeval stones as them, but just by relying on his own natural recovery speed thanks to his grade talent, he would also be able to practice a lot in a short amount of time.

Right now Gu Yue Chi Cheng's results have appeared, showing a tie to Mo Bei, and only Gu Yue Fang Zheng was left.

In the last few groups, Gu Yue Fang Zheng finally came up to the stage.

(1) 拳脚 – Chinese boxing but I translate it as martial arts, because firstly I'm not sure Chinese is the proper word here. This land isn't really China and their language isn't really Chinese, also writing Chinese boxing feels out of place here.

***

"Is he Fang Yuan or Fang Zheng?" Some of the students were muttering; there were still people who could not differentiate between Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng, the two twin brothers.

"It's Fang Zheng. Fang Yuan is always wearing a cold expression, he would never appear tense," someone answered.

"Oh, then there will be a spectacle. Fang Zheng is the only A grade talent from our village in three years, after all." The crowd casted their eyes over to the field.

Fang Zheng could feel the pressure among the gazes shot at him, and this made him feel even more nervous. Standing on the stage, his fingers were trembling slightly.

He threw out his first moonblade, originally intending to aim at the grass puppet's chest. But because he was tense, he missed – in the end the moonblade imprinted onto the grass puppet's neck area.

The young teens instantly let out a sound of slight surprise.

They thought that Fang Zheng deliberately did it. Instead of aiming for the easiest spot which was the chest of the puppet, he went for the neck instead – this was a showcase of huge self-confidence towards his own attacking skill.

They could not help but look forward to Fang Zheng's next move. Gu Yue Mo Bei and Gu Yue Chi Cheng however had their complexions cast down.

Only those among the field who could see Fang Zheng's error were the academy elder and Fang Yuan.

"How dangerous!" Looking at the moonblade, Fang Zheng exclaimed in his heart while secretly feeling lucky. He took in a few deep breaths, trying his best to calm down. Then he threw out two blades. This time he did not make any mistakes, and the two blades hit accurately on the grass puppet's chest.

This result made the academy elder nod his head, and Mo Bei and Chi Cheng calmed down as well. Fang Zheng's result was different from theirs, so it would all come down to how the academy elder decided to grade them.

The other students let out sounds of sighing. Fang Zheng's later performance was not interesting, making them feel slightly disappointed.

The next few groups were not interesting either. No one was able to perform better than Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng. The youngsters started to whisper around.

"At this rate, the top scorer in today's assessment should be among the three of them."

"All three of them managed to hit the grass puppet, I wonder who the academy elder will deem better." @@novelbin@@

"Hold on, it's the last group. Fang Yuan's going up."

"Oh, that C grade talent 'cold genius'? Heh heh."

Right when it was the last group, Fang Yuan finally went up stage.

"It's that Fang Yuan...." Gu Yue Mo Bei lifted his head and looked at Fang Yuan for a moment, then he lowered his eyes uncaringly.

"Last time you got really lucky, choosing a weak-willed Moonlight Gu by accident and getting number one. Let's see how you perform this time!" Gu Yue Chi Cheng hugged his arms, waiting to see Fang Yuan make a fool of himself.

"Big brother... This time will not be like the last. I have practiced so hard for so long, I can definitely surpass you." Among the crowd, Gu Yue Fang Zheng pursed his lips, subconsciously clenching his fists tightly.

Previously in the assessment to refine the vital Gu, he as someone with an A grade talent actually got second position. Naturally he was not happy with this. Especially after he understood that Fang Yuan was able to win and get number one because of sheer luck, this made him even more unsatisfied. To Gu Yue Fang Zheng, being victorious over his own older brother Fang Yuan had a special and great significance.

Many gazes were gathered on Fang Yuan, and the academy elder's sight was fixed on him as well. Fang Yuan made no emotion; his expression was cold and detached.

He stood still, primeval essence pouring into the Moonlight Gu in the heart of his palm. With a cut in the air, he struck out the first moonblade.

This moonblade flew very high. It not only went over the grass puppet's head, but flew over the bamboo wall as well. It went on for almost fifteen meters before the light turned dim and vanished into thin air.

"Pfffft..." Someone couldn't help but laugh out.

"This is way too outrageous, isn't it." Someone sneered.

"He's indeed a genius. No wonder he managed to get number one in refining the Gu." Another spoke sarcastically.

In the earlier years when Fang Yuan created poetry and showed early wisdom, it had already caused discontented emotions among these people. Later on when he relied on 'luck' and got number one in refining his vital Gu, this made them feel a layer of jealousy among their dissatisfaction.

Many of them were waiting to see a 'good show'. They waited to see the 'genius' Fang Yuan reveal an embarrassing action, and this moonblade of his did not let them down.

Waves of laughter swept across the crowd.

The academy elder shook his head slightly, secretly laughing at himself. Why did he have to be so concerned with Fang Yuan for no reason? He was just a C grade and merely a boy who got number one in refining Gu because of sheer luck.

In his heart he had already made up his mind. Although Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng's results were the same, he would still pick Fang Zheng as number one.

The war between Gu Yue Mo Bei and Gu Yue Chi Cheng was the epitome of the political struggle between the two most powerful elders in the clan. The academy elder had always remained in the center and had no intention to enter the middle of the political vortex.

The academy elder was more inclined towards the clan head Gu Yue Bo, and Fang Zheng was a set with the clan leader. Add in the fact that he had A grade talent, choosing him as number one would mean showing biased care for him, and it was something the clan's upper authorities could accept.

A warm spring breeze blew over, the smell of flowers drifting into the training grounds. The sunlight shone down on Fang Yuan's body, sending a lonely black shadow onto the ground.

His expression was still cold as he quietly gazed at the grass puppet ten meters away. The moonblade in his palm was giving out a faint blue light.

Of course, he had deliberately thrown the first moonblade off course. Right now he only had two chances left to act. Taking into account the academy elder's position, to acquire number one he would have to create an outcome that exceeded everyone's expectations in the next two attacks.

"With only two chances left to attack, it's impossible. Big brother, I have finally won over you." Gu Yue Fang Zheng's eyes did not flicker as he stared at Fang Yuan. From young till old, the life shadow that his older brother had brought onto him finally faded away slowly at this moment.

Fang Zheng could feel victory so nearby. His two fists were subconsciously clenched tight, his entire body so full of excitement that he trembled slightly.

"Big brother, my victory this time is just a beginning. Next, I will keep on winning over you again and again until I banish away all the shadows in my heart. I will prove to the clan, the excellence of an A grade talent genius!" Fang Zheng told himself in his heart.

But just at this moment, Fang Yuan acted. His right palm was like a knife, splitting the void.

With a sharp tearing sound, the watery blue light shrouded in his palm was thrown out. It flew in the air, turning into a curved blue moonblade, shooting towards the grass puppet.

In just the next second Fang Yuan's right palm lit up again in a coat of blue light. He turned his palm and shot out the third moonblade. These two attacks connected smoothly like flowing water; it was a seamless combination.

The two moonblades flew out in quick succession, the distance between the two blades less than half a meter apart in the air. Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the two moonblades accurately hit onto the grass puppet's neck.

"This..." Fang Zheng's pupils shrank, a bad feeling emerging from his heart. In the next moment, the students slowly opened their mouths wide as they wore astonished expressions.

They saw that the grass puppet's head slowly tilted to one side, then it fell off the neck and dropped onto the ground. With a bounce, it rolled two to three meters away.

Fang Yuan had beheaded the puppet!

This outcome had gone beyond the expectations of everyone on field.

"Is this luck or skill?" The academy elder frowned. This doubt hovered in the hearts of the rest of the students. For a time, the entire training ground lapsed into silence.

"How could this be..." Fang Zheng murmured. He stared at Fang Yuan blankly, the surged emotions in his heart dropping instantly, falling deep into the lowest point.

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, acting as if he was oblivious to the gazes that fell onto him from the crowd.

Cluck, cluck...

Under the blue skies and white clouds, a group of peacock parrots suddenly flapped their wings and flew in mid-air. They dragged their magnificent, long and slender peacock tails, clucking in the air as they flew about playfully.

Fang Yuan stood in the center of the training field, looking up. Under the bright sunlight, the multi-coloured feathers of the birds dazzled even greater and gorgeous. His expression was indifferent, as if the person who just cut off the grass puppet's head was not him.

"Ah, the light of spring is really enchanting.." He sighed in his heart.

-x-X-x-

As it neared nightfall, the sun on the edge of the horizon looked like blood. The afterglow rays poured into the school where around fifty students sat upright. On the stage above, the academy elder was reading out names one by one, distributing allowance to them.

This was the academy's weekly subsidy where every seven days allowance would be distributed. One could say it was financial aid for these young teens. After all with their capabilities, to feed and raise their own Gu was a lot of financial pressure.

"Gu Yue Fang Yuan." The elder read aloud.

Fang Yuan got up from the seat by the window at the last row. He walked up the stage, receiving two moneybags. In one bag was three primeval stones – the clan's allowance. The other bag held the reward of ten primeval stones.

"Work hard," the elder said. He gave Fang Yuan a deep look. Fang Yuan had continuously achieved number one, and this had let those elders who were originally disappointed in him start paying slight attention.

Fang Yuan nodded his head and took the purse into his arms, returning to his seat.

"Damn it, he actually got number one again..." Gu Yue Mo Bei fixed his gaze onto Fang Yuan firmly, his heart rather furious. @@novelbin@@

"Those two moonblades consecutively hit the neck of the puppet. Is this because of sheer luck or real skill?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng narrowed his eyes. Since the end of the assessment until now, this question had been hovering in his mind.

It was not just him – many students unconsciously drifted their sights towards Fang Yuan. This question haunted them. Although they had lost, their hearts were unsatisfied and they wanted to question what actually had happened.

When the day was about to end, the academy elder announced a matter. "You all have been in the academy for an amount of time now, and you are familiar with how to use your vital Gu as well. In the next few days I will teach you all how to warm and nourish your aperture, advancing a Gu Master's cultivation realm. The higher the realm of a Gu Master, the more concise your primeval essence becomes. A Rank one Gu Master has green copper primeval essence; a Rank two Gu Master has red iron primeval essence and a Rank three Gu Master possesses white silver primeval essence. A portion of red iron primeval essence is comparable to ten portions of green copper primeval essence. Similarly a portion of white silver primeval essence equals ten portions of red iron primeval essence!"

"You must all remember, the Gu are just tools that we use. Cultivation is the foundation of us Gu Masters. The higher your rank, the stronger the Gu you are able to use. In the next three months, whoever can take the lead and promote to Rank one middle stage will receive a reward of thirty primeval stones. At the same time he will be able to choose the second Gu first. After three months, we will elect a class monitor and two vice-class monitors based on the results. The class monitor will enjoy a subsidy of ten primeval stones while the vice-class monitor will have an allowance of five pieces! Alright, that's all for today. You can all leave."

The elder's words made the academy burst with noise.

"Time to elect the class monitor and vice-class monitor!" Someone clenched his fist in excitement.

"The class monitor receives ten primeval stones every seven days, and the vice-class monitor gets five pieces? If I am able to be the first to reach Rank one middle stage, I will definitely be able to become the class monitor." Another had lights in his eyes.

"The primeval stones are not the important focus. What matters here is the position of class monitor and vice-class monitor – it represents glory and places one's identity over others. When normal students sees the class monitor they must all bow and greet him." Gu Yue Mo Bei and Chi Cheng did not lack primeval stones, but they deemed the glory of the position very important.

"To become the class monitor, without mistake it is the first person who promotes to Rank one middle stage first! That means when big brother see me in future, he would have to bow and automatically greet me. Hold up, where is big brother?" Gu Yue Fang Zheng subconsciously looked back, but Fang Yuan's seat was empty.

The students walked out of the academy.

"Where's Gu Yue Fang Yuan?" Gu Yue Mo Bei wanted to look for Fang Yuan and ask him face to face. However Fang Yuan was one step ahead and had long left.

"Hmph, he sure ran away fast. Is he afraid? Looks like he got lucky again in today's test." Gu Yue Chi Cheng sneered.

"Whatever, it's just ten primeval stones. I don't need to care about this small matter, right now what's important is to advance to middle stage and get that class monitor position." Gu Yue Mo Bei narrowed his eyes, looking at his side where Gu Yue Chi Cheng and Gu Yue Fang Zheng were.

These two figures were his real enemy, while Fang Yuan was just a small C grade talent; he was not on par.

"In the first two times, Fang Yuan got lucky and got number one. However this time it is a cultivation test, and the focus is on the talent of cultivation. When the talent is higher by a grade, the advantage becomes much greater," Gu Yue Chi Cheng thought, depressed in his heart. His real grade talent was only a C grade; it was only because of cheating that let him gain the illusion of having B grade.

"Just a mere class monitor and two vice-class monitor positions got them itching their fists. How hot-blooded and naïve they are at this age," Fang Yuan sneered as he leaned against the gateway of the academy.

The so-called glory was just a valuable tool the upper levels used to motivate those below them. In the end, it was just a layer of illusionary glory, it was useless!

His five hundred years of experience had long allowed Fang Yuan to understand some of the secrets of life.

"Whether it comes to a clan, sect or demonic group, whether it is this world or earth, all organizations are like this. The high and low positions are established, making the law of promotion clear, letting those in the organization climb up non-stop from the bottom. Because chasing after profit is the nature of humans, and positions of authority often make people have superiority, creating the illusion that oneself is living a more valuable life than others."

"Power is like the carrot dangling in front of a donkey. The desires of humans are stimulated by it, and each of them secure their personal gains with someone with authority for it. After climbing up one level, there will be a higher level. While they are busy currying favour for personal gain, their hard work is squeezed out from them and their value is exploited by the upper position."

"In every organization, as long as there is a chain of command, it is to give serve to those at the upper ranks. The so-called class monitor and vice-class monitor position is like the smallest carrot, luring everyone else into the structure of the clan. And to stop those below from realizing the truth, those at the higher positions integrate shared values, clear-cutting the idea of glory, meritorious deeds etc. The establishment of high and low positions are made along with unequal benefits. Sometimes the use of religion is done to dominate people's hearts."

"This is the real truth, yet it is a pity that too many people in the world do not understand; they foolishly work hard for others. And for every organization in the world, the most fundamental of its essence is just one thing, and that is – The redistribution of resources, where the higher the position the more resources they can enjoy."

In his previous life Fang Yuan had founded the Bloodwing Demon Sect in the Middle Kingdom, where he taught up to tens of thousands of people. He erected the positions of demon soldiers, demon generals, demon sages etc. Each position gave their corresponding benefits, letting countless people flock over like ducks, letting Fang Yuan order them around. This kind of experience allowed Fang Yuan to understand clearly the way of thinking in this principle.

"Thus any organization is just a representation, while the real basis is just one word – resources. Without food resources, one will die of starvation. Without water resources, one will die of thirst. Without cultivation resources, one will become weak and sooner or later, be bullied to death."

"And for a Gu Master, primeval stones are the most important resource!" Fang Yuan's two orbs were deep like an ancient pond, and as his mind reached this point the corners of his lips curled up slightly, creating the outline of a sneer.

He had long left the academy, and right now he stood at the gate entrance of the school. He saw the first batch of students coming out, gradually walking closer towards him.

"It's Fang Yuan."

"What's he doing at the middle of the gate entrance?"

"Hmph, every time I see his dead dysfunctional state, I feel so pissed off."

"Don't worry about him, he's probably waiting for someone."

The young teens paid no attention to him. Just as they were about to walk over, Fang Yuan strode across and blocked them. "I'm plundering. Everyone must surrender a piece of primeval stone before they can leave."

-x-X-x-

The young teens were instantly shocked and angry.

"What, I didn't hear wrongly, did I?"

"Fang Yuan, your head must have overheated and gone confused. You would actually stand at the gates of the academy and blackmail us?!"

"Have you gone mad? Who gave you the guts to put your ideas on us?"

"Scram, you're just a petty C grade, how dare you block my way. If you don't scram, I will send you flying with my...Urghh!"

Fang Yuan suddenly lashed out.

His right palm furiously cut forward. His movement was quick and precise, his slice of his palm hitting the left side of someone's neck.

This unlucky teenager was totally not expecting Fang Yuan to suddenly attack him. While he was still cursing at Fang Yuan, he suddenly suffered a heavy blow. His two eyes instantly rolled up and he fainted on the spot.

"Fuck! You actually dared to strike?!" The crowd jumped, and the young teens subconsciously retreated backwards.

"Gu Yue Bei Ju fainted, what do we do?" Some of them were terrified and scared, shouting around in horror.

"What else can be done?! There's so many of us, and Fang Yuan is alone. We should all rush at him together and beat him up." Some people were shouting, their rage erupting.

"That's right, he sure doesn't know his place! How he dares to provoke us by himself. He's definitely digging his own grave with his over-ambitiousness! Everyone get on him together!!"

Yet before they could do anything, Fang Yuan had already struck. He strode a few steps forward, rushing into the group of teenagers.

He slashed his palm and the edge of his hand cut onto a youth's neck. The young man rolled his eyes upward and fell.

"Ahh —!" Another teen yelled loudly, swinging his fist at Fang Yuan, sweeping through the air. Fang Yuan lowered his body and dodged, then he lifted his leg and kicked the boy's crotch area.

AHH OWWwwww—!

The youngster's loud roar was originally sonorous and indignant, but after he took the blow his voice instantly rose higher and became sharp and shrill, filled with a kind of misery and pain.

Thump.

He covered his crotch with his two hands, his knees giving way as he dropped to the ground. He rolled around on the floor screaming loudly, the pain so great his entire body was covered in cold sweat.

Fang Yuan swung his two fists around like a tiger that had entered a flock of sheep!

He had five hundred years of battle experience, and these youngsters were just a bunch of soft green kids; they had only just started cultivating not long ago, how could they possibly be his opponents?

In the blink of an eye, Fang Yuan put down the entire group of young students. If they had not fainted, then they would be lying on the ground, the pain making them drained and their bodies hurting all over.

"What's going on here?!" Gu Yue Mo Bei arrived and exclaimed. He saw that Fang Yuan stood at the entrance of the academy gates, and there were five to six students on the floor around him.

"This Fang Yuan, h-he wants to extort our primeval stones!" One of them lying on the floor shouted angrily while clutching his belly.

"Wow, still full of energy huh." Fang Yuan's expression was flat as he kicked fiercely at the abdomen of the boy who just yelled.

Oww!

The youngster immediately cried out in pain, his body curling up like a shrimp. Fear emerged from his face, his tears streaming down as he dared not to speak again.

As they saw this scene, the students that came over all felt Fang Yuan's fierce savageness and cruelty, their hearts throbbing.

"Alright, all of you be good and hand out a piece of primeval stone. Then I'll let you go, or else, these people on the ground here will be your fate." Fang Yuan made a big step forward, his tone callous.

"In your mother's face! You petty little C grade would even dare to win me, a B grade?" Gu Yue Mo Bei flew into a rage, swinging his fists as he rushed toward Fang Yuan before they knew it.

With a slight turn of his ankle, Fang Yuan swerved gently sideways and let Mo Bei's fist fly past. Then he stretched out his left hand, lifting the index and middle finger toward the center of Mo Bei's clavicle, accurately jabbing at the area below the throat.

Mo Bei immediately blacked out, falling onto the ground with a thump, fainting on the spot.

Hiss...

As they saw what just happened, the young students that planned to rush forward quickly stopped, each of them releasing a mouthful of cold air.

In the eyes of these youngsters, Fang Yuan's attacks were suddenly too profound to be understood. They did not pay attention to basic martial arts, but in reality it was vaguely mentioned during class. The human body had many vulnerable parts, and several parts that Fang Yuan had struck were one of those vulnerable places. When these parts were struck, it would easily make a person faint on the spot, and a heavy blow would induce a life-threatening crisis.

However Fang Yuan had proper restraint when he attacked.

Those that he had tackled down were either knocked out or suffering in immense pain, losing the ability for combat in a short amount of time. There was no one who was really seriously injured.

This was the terror of five hundred years' worth of combat experience!

"Are you going to give me your stones or not?" Fang Yuan did a step forward, forcing the other youths. They looked at each other for a moment, then half of them gritted their teeth while the other half roared angrily, all of them swarming towards Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan dodged about while striking at the same time. His cultivation base was lowly, but his realm was still there; his heart was cool as ice, his movements quick and precise. @@novelbin@@

Thump, thump...

After a few breaths, bodies fell down onto the ground again.

"It's too vicious! Too terrible!"

"They're not going to die, are they?"

There were still a few young girls left behind; they did not rush forward. Their eyes were open wide, and after seeing what had happened so far their bodies trembled more and more.

Fang Yuan swept his gaze to them, and their faces turned pale as they quickly waved their hands and retreated. "No, don't come over. We'll surrender, we'll surrender the stones!"

After Fang Yuan received a few pieces of primeval stones, he let them go. They stumbled out of the academy gateway, while in succession several students came over.

To leave the academy, this gateway was the only route. With Fang Yuan blocking this path, he would be able to block out all the students.

"Damn, what's going on?!" The new wave of students stared in amazement.

"Isn't that Gu Yue Mo Bei?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng stared at the unconscious Mo Bei on the floor, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

When Fang Yuan opened his mouth and spoke, the youngsters were instantly angered and they attacked him, then they fell.

"Sir elder, we're just going to keep watching all of this and not stop them? What if someone loses their life, how are we going to salvage the matter?" The guards were worried.

Some of the guards were indignant, saying, "This Fang Yuan has too much guts. He would actually dare to extort his classmates at the academy school gates under our eyelids. This is acting with utter disregard of the law and discipline! As long as sir gives the command, we subordinates will take away this kid."

The violent matter of Fang Yuan blocking the gateway and openly extorting his classmates had long attracted attention since the beginning. But mortal guards had no right to punish the students, so they could only go first to the academy elder and report.

When the academy elder heard the news, he did not immediately command for them to stop it. Instead he went up the pavilion and observed from afar.

"Looks like this child has fighting talent." The longer the academy elder watched the more interested he felt.

Fang Yuan's use of the moonblade today had already caused some uncertainty in the elder. Right now he watched as Fang Yuan with his strength alone, making an enemy out of the entire batch of students, bearing a sort of unstoppable fighting style of graceful demeanor. With this the doubts in his heart were cleared.

In this world, there were those who were particularly keen and sharp towards battles; these were hidden gifts. They were good at fighting, and they loved battles. In the battles they were often inspired, and always created surprising and even unbelievable accomplishments.

"Ah, he's a natural battle Gu Master. Pity, his talent is only C grade; in the end he just lacks one step of a grade." The academy elder heaved a sigh.

"Sir, are you not going to stop this farce? Letting him go on with this nonsense, I'm afraid the consequences wouldn't be too good." The guards beside him had worried expressions on their faces.

-x-X-x-

"Why stop it?" The academy elder lifted his eyebrows and laughed. He lifted a finger and pointed it at Fang Yuan who was far away and said, "This young man has taken control of the entire situation, and his attacks are fully restrained. Look at the way he cuts at the neck, he only acts on the left or right side, but never cutting at the nape. This is because he knows that striking the neck sides can make a person faint on the spot. Meanwhile attacking the area at the back of the head and neck could cause death, so he automatically abandoned that way of attacking."

"Look at all those youths on the ground, which one of them is actually heavily injured? None! Even if they were badly hurt, so what? Are you saying that our academy's treatment Gu Masters won't be able to cure this sort of traumatic wound?"

"But sir elder, that child is just too arrogant. He blocked the entrance; this is obviously not acknowledging our existence as guards! Being ignored isn't the main problem though, the important matter is how the clan will think of our academy. To actually allow a small petty C grade student make a fuss in the academy and not stop it. If word goes out, we're afraid this might affect your reputation, sir elder." The guard squinted as he said this.

"Hmph, in reality is that because you all were disregarded by the boy, so your own dignity feels challenged?" The academy elder was not too happy. He sneered and shot a gaze as sharp as a sword edge at the guards. They all lowered their heads, all of them disagreeing.

"What's wrong with fighting? As long as lives are not lost, it will stir up the competitive side of the students and temper their will to fight. To stop this kind of fight is to stifle the student's fighting passion! Was there no fighting in the past batches? Every batch had their own battles, and it happened very often. The only difference was that it usually happened in the latter half of the year when the students had already mastered some means of fighting. With strength they itched to fight, and at the same time it is an aggressive age. Why didn't you stop those people back then?" The academy elder questioned in a cold voice.

"Maybe it was because the fights in the previous years were all single battles, there were rarely huge scale fighting like this one. But this Fang Yuan is really good at creating a disturbance!" The chief of the guards replied.

"No, no, no." The academy elder shook his head, "That was because you all did not dare to stop it. Because after half a year, a Gu Master will have the ability to fight beyond a mortal's strength, and with your petty mortal bodies, how are you supposed to stop it? Right now you all want to stop Fang Yuan, perhaps it is because he just started cultivating, so he doesn't have enough power. It's also because you feel that he ignored your existence and offended your dignity. But you must all remember, these students all bear the surname of Gu Yue! They are my Gu Yue clan's clan members, your masters! Even if they are still of young age, no matter how weak, they are still your masters!"

The elder's tone had turned sharply.

"Your surnames are not Gu Yue, what is your worth? Because of your loyalty, you were all given the position of guards, rewarding you with some sweet benefits. But in reality, you are still slaves. Just slaves! A slave dare give preposterous opinions of their masters, caring about the matters of their masters?" The elder's face was dark like water.

"This was not your subordinates idea, not my meaning!"

"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!"

The guards were ashen-faced as they kneeled down to the ground, spouting nonstop. The academy elder gave a cold snort and pointed at the chief guard who had just called Fang Yuan a person good at creating disturbances. "You gave an outrageous comment on your master. You are relieved of your position."

After a while, the elder said to the others, "After half a month, there will be a re-examination to determine the new chief."

The other guards immediately had eyes that shone, their hearts pumping with enthusiasm.

"The position of chief of the guard! Every month I'll be able to receive half a primeval stone more!"

"To be able to become the chief is to become a man above men. Aside from the masters, I dare to see who else would show displeasure at me?"

"If I became the chief, how cool that would be..."

"Alright, what are you all pestling here for? Get downstairs and wait for the battle to end, then sweep the field!" The elder roared.

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Your subordinate takes his leave!"

The guards left in reverence and awe as they went down. One of the guards on the stairs lost his footing and fell down. Immediately there was a series of sounds implicating a chain of people falling and knocking down.

However under the academy elder's power and influence, the guards reddened their faces and endured in suffering, not letting out a single noise.

"Hmph! Those minions are just like dogs. Every once in a while they'd get this itch to misbehave; you'd have to smack them so that they know fear and respect. Then just throw some small victories and bones to them, letting them fight amongst themselves like dogs, letting them compete amongst themselves to serve my clan with their life. To hold a stick in one hand and a carrot in another – This is the unique way of the upper echelons." As the academy elder heard the quiet movements below, he sneered in his heart and turned his head, looking through the window and at the school gates.

A fresh group of ten or so students were on the ground at the entrance. Fang Yuan stood proudly, and there were three young girls back-to-back, huddling at a side opposite him.

"You, you-you better not come over!"

"If you come over, we'll shoot you with the moonblade!!"

In their hands were a layer of blue radiance. It seemed like they were compelled to the point they would actually mobilize their primeval essence and use the Moonlight Gu.

Fang Yuan's body was still that of a normal fifteen-year-old boy, and if they attacked him with the moonblade it would not do him any good. Yet he was not afraid – instead he sneered at them and walked step by step towards the girls. "You girls have pretty big guts huh, have you forgotten the rules of the school? Inside the academy fighting using Gu is forbidden, or else the penalty will be expulsion. If you girls want to be expelled, then just do it."

"This..."The young girls hesitated.

"Indeed there is such a rule." The blue light in their hands faded away.

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed as he caught this opening and dashed forward, his palms waving in the air, cutting down two of them without a shadow of doubt.

Being the last one, her morale dropped and her knees turned weak. She collapsed to the ground crying heavily, begging fang Yuan, "Don't you come over Fang Yuan, please let me go."

Fang Yuan stared down at the young girl with a condescending look, his cold voice sounding in her ears. "A piece of primeval stone."

The girl's body fluttered and she quickly opened her money pouch, realization taking hold of her. She took out three to four pieces of primeval stones and held them in her palm, stretching out her hand to Fang Yuan, "Don't hit me, I'll give them all to you, I'll give all my stones to you!"

Fang Yuan was expressionless as he slowly reached out with his right hand. He lifted his forefinger and thumb, gently pinching at a piece of primeval stone from the girl's hand.

The young maiden could not stop trembling. Fang Yuan's hand had a youth's pale and slender form, but in her eyes his hand was horrifying like a ferocious claw of terror.

"I've said it earlier, I will only take one piece of primeval stone." Fang Yuan paused for a moment, then he said plainly, "You may leave."

The girl stared at Fang Yuan for a good while, then she finally got up. But her limbs were still weak and she could not properly stand. Her heart was already full of fear towards Fang Yuan, and she was afraid to the point that she could not muster a single breath of energy.

When the academy elder saw this, he could not help but shake his head. One of his reasons to remain an observer was to borrow the chance to see each of the student's respective fighting talents.

This girl who collapsed on the ground was only a C grade talent, but with this kind of mentality she could only become a logistics Gu Master. She would be able to be productive in the clan, but there was no expectation for her to be on the battlefield.

"As for this Fang Yuan..." The academy elder rubbed his chin, his eyes squinting with a flash of light. He felt that Fang Yuan was very interesting. Not only did Fang Yuan possess fighting talent, he even had a sense of propriety. To just extort for a piece of primeval stone was not beyond the bounds in the elder's heart. But if fang Yuan wanted to blackmail for two pieces, that would be too much and he would need to intervene.

The academy's allowance was originally three pieces. To have a piece taken away would still be considered harmless. But if he extorted away two stones, then what is the point of giving out subsidy? He might as well just give everything to Fang Yuan.

Very quickly the last group of students arrived. There were only five people, and among them was Fang Yuan's twin younger brother.

"Big brother, how could you be like this?! You are too bold, to actually beat up your classmates at the gates and take away their primeval stones!" Gu Yue Fang Zheng was wide-eyed as he looked at the scene. He could not believe what he was seeing before him, "I advice you to quickly go to the academy elder and take the initiative to admit your mistake, or else with you making such a huge matter, it's not a joke, you might actually get expelled!"

Fang Yuan laughed and said, "You're right."

Fang Zheng heaved a relieved sigh. Seeing that his older brother hadn't gone insane and could still be persuaded, that was good.

But very quickly he heard Fang Yuan say again, "Every one of you, a piece of primeval stone."

"What?" Fang Zheng opened his mouth wide with surprise, "Even I need to pay up?"

"My dearest little brother, of course you can choose not to." Fang Yuan's tone was very gentle. "But you will end up just like them," he said and pointed at those fallen on the ground. Some of them had fainted, and some of them were moaning in pain.

"Even his own younger brother isn't spared!"

"This Fang Yuan is crazy, he's too vicious..."

"We cannot defeat him, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. We better hand it over and overcome the trouble."

"That's right, we'll just pass up the primeval stone first. It's just one piece anyway, when we go back and report to the teachers, he'll be getting it!"

With the lesson drawn from their classmate's mistakes, the remaining youngsters obediently accepted Fang Yuan's blackmail with gazes of defiance.

"Hold up." Just as they were about to leave, Fang Yuan shouted at them to halt.

"Fang Yuan, are you actually going to go back on your word?" The youths started to become nervous.

Fang Yuan faced the teenagers on the ground, gently sighing. "Do you guys really think that I would squat down and search through their bodies one by one?"

The youths stared blankly, then they were hit by realization one by one. Each of them turned red in the face and stood at the spot hesitatingly.

Fang Yuan stared at them, narrowing his eyes. There was a flash of cold light in his gaze; immediately the five youngsters felt their heart beating fast, their scalps going numb at the same time.

"Alright, Fang Yuan. We understand your meaning."

"We'll just help you this once."

Under Fang Yuan's despotic aura, they could only lower their heads and search through each of the young teen's money pouches on the ground, taking out a piece of primeval stone from each bag. Then they brought it together and passed it to Fang Yuan.

The entire class had a total of fifty-seven people. By extorting a piece of primeval stone from every single one of them, Fang Yuan held fifty-six pieces.

He originally had twenty pieces, but he spent ten to buy a few jars of green bamboo wine. Adding the number of primeval stones from his own allowance and reward, the total number of primeval stones he had in his possession amounted up to seventy-nine pieces.

"This sort of capital free business that consists of extortion and plundering is really the most profitable business." Fang Yuan pocketed his money pouch that had suddenly expanded greatly into his bosom and strutted away, leaving behind a floor full of teenagers, lying like corpses on the ground.

And a few teenagers, Fang Zheng among them, blankly stared after Fang Yuan's gradually disappearing shadow.

"Get out there fast."

"All of you, faster! Arrange the little masters properly."

"The treatment Gu Master, where is he, ask him to come over fast!"

The guards were yelling as they all rushed forward, falling over each other in their eagerness to present themselves. They willingly gave their all for the small position of being the chief guard.

-x-X-x-

"Put all the wine jars under the bed." Fang Yuan pointed and directed four workers from the inn. In each man's hands were jars of green bamboo wine. Right after Fang Yuan successfully extorted his peers, he went to the inn and bought twenty jars in one go.

Each jar cost two pieces of primeval stones, and Fang Yuan pumped in forty primeval stones for the sake of the Liquor worm.

The money pouch that had bulged out not long ago deflated by half in an instant, leaving thirty-nine pieces of primeval stones behind. However it was worth the money – these wine would be able to support the Liquor worm for a long time.

"Alright," the workers immediately replied. They would not dare to show any hint of disrespect to a Gu Master. Add on to the fact that Fang Yuan had bought so much wine, he could be said as the inn's big customer. With just a casual word before the innkeeper, the workers were able to easily put down their current activities and workload.

After the inn servants left, Fang Yuan closed the dormitory door and sat cross-legged on his bed.

It was already nighttime. The stars and moon in the sky were bright, and the night breeze flowed with a hint of scented fragrance.

There was no light in the room. Fang Yuan calmed his state of mind, letting his focus slip into the primeval sea.

The waves of the primeval sea rose and fell, the seawater giving out green copper coloured light. Every drop of seawater was the green copper primeval essence that a Rank one Gu Master specially had. The primeval sea took up 44% of the entire aperture; this was Fang Yuan's C grade talent's limitation.

The four walls of the aperture were a thin layer of white light, supporting and encasing the aperture. In the sky above the primeval sea there was nothing. The Spring Autumn Cicada had already hidden itself away under Fang Yuan's command, restoring itself under a deep sleep.

Floating on the primeval sea was a cute and chubby white Liquor worm. It frisked about with its heart's content on the seawater, sometimes diving into the sea, other times shaking its head and tail, splashing and splattering water droplets around.

Fang Yuan sent a thought through his mind, and the Liquor worm immediately responded. It stopped playing and curled up into the shape of a rice dumpling, leisurely floating into the air. It rose up to the middle of the aperture and out of the green copper sea.

"Go." Fang Yuan mobilized a tenth of his primeval essence, transforming it into a narrow flow, thrusting it all into the Liquor worm. The Liquor worm had already been refined by him, so this time it did not resist. It took in the entire jet of primeval essence and absorbed everything into its body.

Immediately the sea surface dropped by a small cut. The curled up Liquor worm turned the primeval essence into a driving force and began to radiate out white light. Inside the soft light, an enshrouding mist of wine fumes were gradually produced, finally converging into a pale white wine mist.

The wine mist was marvelous. It did not drift apart, instead enveloping around the Liquor worm.

"Rise." Fang Yuan gave a thought, transferring another 10% of his primeval essence. The green copper seawater dived into the wine mist; as the wine mist melted into the seawater, it gradually lessened, and eventually there was no trace of it left. As for that 10% of green copper primeval essence, it also lost its general volume and was left with 5%.

However this 5% of primeval essence was even more condensed than before. The original primeval essence was a jade green, giving out a copper luster. Right now although this new primeval essence had the same copper luster, the green was a darker shade – it was pale green.

Pale green coloured primeval essence was the primeval essence that only a Rank one middle stage Gu Master would have. The Liquor worm's use was to condense the primeval essence and increase it by a small realm rank!

A Gu Master had 9 great realms, from the bottom – Rank one, Rank two, all the way to Rank nine. Every great realm was split into four smaller realms, which were initial stage, middle stage, upper stage and peak stage.

Fang Yuan was only a Rank one initial stage Gu Master right now, but with the Liquor worm's help he had 5% of a Rank one middle stage Gu Master's primeval essence!

"If I want to condense out 5% of middle stage primeval essence I would need to use 20% of initial stage primeval essence. I want to convert all the 44% of my primeval sea into middle stage primeval essence, so I'd need to use around 180% of initial stage primeval essence. To reach this target as soon as possible, I'd need to borrow the help of primeval stones."

As he thought of this, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and took out a complete primeval stone the size of a duck egg from his bag. The primeval stone was a sort of ellipsoidal shaped, translucent grey stone. As the natural essence inside it is consumed, its size would continue shrinking.

His right hand slowly closed, the primeval stone tightly clenched in his palm. He absorbed the natural primeval essence inside the stone, continuously replenishing his own aperture. The level of the sea surface that had fallen in his aperture slowly began to rise.

The primeval stone was meant to be used. Fang Yuan was not stingy by one bit, and he would not save it up.

"I do not have someone to back me up, and I do not have support from friends and family, thus I can only rely on extortion and plundering. Today was just the first time, but after this, every seven days when the academy gives out the school allowance, I will continue blocking the academy gates."

How could robbing and blackmailing once satisfy Fang Yuan's appetite? In a Gu Master's cultivation, the primeval stone was the most scarce thing. As for the consequences of his plundering actions, Fang Yuan was not the least worried. @@novelbin@@

This world was not the same as Earth.

On Earth, schools would always prohibit fights to mainly stabilize harmony. But in this world, fighting was the main theme.

No matter a Gu Master or common mortal, they would fight for survival. Sometimes it would be a fight with a scary wild beast. Sometimes it would be a battle against the raging weather, and other times if could be a fight against other Gu Masters over resources.

As a result, moderate fighting was instead encouraged and advocated by people.

From young to old, from simple brawls to battles determining life and death, this was the portrayal of most of the human lives here.

This surface of this world was boundless. Just the Southern Border alone that Fang Yuan stayed in now, it was bigger than seven to eight times the entire surface of Earth itself. The living environment here was hostile and cruel, so humans would often construct mountain villages in the form of clans, holing up together.

Every now and then there would be waves of beasts, or perhaps extremely bad weather assaulting a village. The Gu Master would become the core force of a village's protection, and every year the situation of attrition would become more serious.

Surviving requires men with strong fighting will. A clan needs battle Gu Masters, there is never too much. Moreover, Fang Yuan's attacks were within the proper limit.

He never attacked the lower jaw, as this would easily cause the skull to fracture and cause the loss of a human life. He also never struck the back of the head. When fighting he did not use his fists or elbow, or even jabbing with his fingers, but he used his palm. The number of kicks he used could also be numbered.

The students that fell were not heavily injured; at most they were lightly wounded.

Fang Yuan was not bloodthirsty, he just treated killing as a type of means.

Every time he acted, he would have a clear goal. Whatever the type of method, whichever would let him reach his goal the fastest, he would use it. In other words, he was unscrupulous in doing things.

...

The clouds floated over, covering the moonlight. A shadow enveloped over the Gu Yue village.

The watchman banged on his clappers, prompting people to know that it was already deep in the night – Be careful of fires, be on guard of beast assaults, as well as the possibility of foreign Gu Masters sneaking into the village.

There were still a lot of lights in the village.

In the Chi family branch home, Gu Yue Chi Lian stayed in his study, the lights radiantly bright. This high authority old man spoke with a gentle tone, expressing sympathy as he asked his own grandson Gu Yue Chi Cheng, "I heard you were beaten up by that Fang Yuan today?"

Gu Yue Chi Cheng had a black right eye, and he angrily said, "Yes, grandpa. That Fang Yuan was just a petty C grade, yet he dared to act so arrogant. He blocked us all at the entrance, not caring about the friendly sentiments of his classmates, and he robbed us of our primeval stones. What's more, the academy just opened one eye and closed one eye over the incident. It was only when Fang Yuan strode away that the guards hurried over. Grandpa, this time you have to help me expel this angry resentment of mine!"

Instead Gu Yue Chi Lian shook his head. "This is between you and your juniors. You were blackmailed to lose a piece of primeval stone, and you did not suffer heavy injuries – Grandpa cannot act without any justifiable excuse. Even if you were heavily wounded, I will not stand up for you, do you understand why?"

Gu Yue Chi Cheng was stunned. He struggled to think, and after a long while he hesitatingly said, "Grandpa, I think I understand your meaning. You are hoping that I will rely on my own strength to find my way, right?"

"You only understood one aspect." Gu Yue Chi Lian nodded his head and added, "You must remember, you are not just an individual representative, but you are the image on behalf of our Chi family branch. For many years we have confronted the Mo family branch, and your every move will represent the hope of the future of the Chi family branch. Grandpa may help you in the shadows, but you must stand up and erect a self-reliant and strong image. Otherwise the elders who are supporting our family will not see the hope for our future, and they will abandon the Chi family."

As he said this, Gu Yue Chi Lian heaved a sigh. "This is also why grandpa helped you to cheat and let you impersonate a B grade talent. Our Chi family needs a strong successor to hold on to those who are supporting us."

Gu Yue Chi Cheng was then enlightened. "Grandpa, I understand now."

Gu Yue Chi Lian shook his head. "Just understanding won't do any good. You must work hard. Fang Yuan is just small trouble; next up you must study hard and train diligently on your basic martial arts and get your dignity back. At the same time do not forget to work hard on cultivating, promoting to middle stage as soon as possible. The best you can do is to win the position of class monitor, this will be great honor and a kind of help to our Chi family."

"Alright, grandpa!" Gu Yue Chi Cheng replied loudly.

"Heh heh heh, this spirit is how the heir to our Chi branch should be like. Grandson, you must work hard, I will do my best to help you."