The essence of all organization

As evening approached, the setting sun stained the horizon like blood.

The twilight shone into the schoolhouse, where over fifty students sat upright while the elder on the stage called out names one by one to distribute stipends.

This was the yuan stone stipend given out every seven days by the school, intended to support these young people. After all, given their current capabilities, raising their Gu worms independently was still a significant financial burden.

"Gu Yue Fang Yuan," the elder called out.

Fang Yuan stood up from his seat by the window in the last row, walked up to the stage, and received two pouches of money.

One pouch contained the family stipend of three yuan stones, while the other pouch contained a reward of ten yuan stones.

"Keep up the good work," the elder said, giving Fang Yuan a deep look. Fang Yuan's consecutive first-place wins had piqued the elder's interest, even though he had been previously disappointed in him.

Fang Yuan nodded, pocketed the money pouches, and returned to his seat.

"Damn, he took first place again..." Gu Yue Mo Chen stared intently at Fang Yuan, feeling disgruntled.

"Those two Moon Blades struck the puppet's neck consecutively. Was it just his luck again, or is it true skill?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng squinted, pondering this question ever since the assessment ended.

It wasn't just him—many students were glancing at Fang Yuan, some subtly, others openly.

This question tormented them. Although they had lost, they were unwilling to accept it and desperately wanted to know the truth.

As the session was about to end, the school elder announced something: "You have been in the school for a while now and have become familiar with using your life-bound Gu. In the coming days, I will teach you how to nurture your aperture and elevate your Gu Master realm. The higher a Gu Master's realm, the more condensed their primeval essence becomes. A Rank 1 Gu Master has bronze primeval essence, a Rank 2 Gu Master has red iron primeval essence, and a Rank 3 Gu Master has silver primeval essence. One portion of red iron primeval essence is equivalent to ten portions of bronze primeval essence. Similarly, one portion of silver primeval essence is equivalent to ten portions of red iron primeval essence!"

"Remember, Gu worms are merely our tools; our cultivation is the foundation of being a Gu Master. The higher the cultivation, the more powerful Gu worms you can control. In the next three months, whoever advances to Rank 1 middle stage first will receive a reward of thirty yuan stones and have the priority to choose a second Gu worm. After three months, we will establish a class leader and two vice-leaders based on your achievements. The class leader will receive a stipend of ten yuan stones, and the vice-leaders will have their stipend increased to five yuan stones! That's all for today. You're dismissed."

The elder's words caused a buzz in the schoolhouse.

"They're going to establish a class leader and vice-leaders!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

"A class leader gets ten yuan stones every seven days, and vice-leaders get five? If I can be the first to advance to Rank 1 middle stage, I can definitely become the class leader," someone said with shining eyes.

"The yuan stones aren't the main point; the key is that the positions of class leader and vice-leader represent honor and status above others. Ordinary students will have to bow and greet the class leader," Gu Yue Mo Bei and Chi Cheng, who didn't lack yuan stones, valued this honor highly.

"Becoming the class leader, that's right, being the first to advance to Rank 1 middle stage! Then my brother will have to bow to me and greet me respectfully. Wait, where is my brother?" Gu Yue Fang Zheng instinctively turned around, only to find Fang Yuan's seat already empty.

The students began to leave the schoolhouse one by one.

"Where is Gu Yue Fang Yuan?" Gu Yue Mo Bei wanted to find Fang Yuan and ask him face-to-face. But Fang Yuan had already left ahead of everyone else.

"Hmph, running quite fast, aren't you? Scared?" sneered Gu Yue Chi Cheng.

"Forget it, it's just a reward of ten yuan stones. No need to bother with such things. Our immediate priority is to advance to middle stage and seize the class leader position," squinted Gu Yue Mo Bei, glancing at Gu Yue Chi Cheng and Gu Yue Fang Zheng beside him.

These two were his real competitors. As for Fang Yuan, with his mere Grade C aptitude, he didn't stand a chance.

"The previous two times, Fang Yuan managed to luck into first place. But this time, the assessment focuses solely on cultivation aptitude. With even one level higher aptitude, the advantage is significant," suppressed Gu Yue Chi Cheng, who truly had Grade C aptitude, creating an illusion of Grade B only through cheating.

"A class leader and two vice-leader positions have them all fired up. Truly a naive age," Fang Yuan leaned against the school gate, inwardly sneering.

So-called honor was merely a value tool for motivating subordinates. Fundamentally, it was just a superficial halo, utterly useless!

Five hundred years of life experience had long revealed the secrets to Fang Yuan.

"Whether it's clans, sects, or demonic cults, in this world or on Earth, any organization operates this way. Establishing hierarchical positions, defining promotion rules, making people climb higher from lower positions—it's all because pursuing profits is human nature, and positions often give people a false sense of being superior and more valuable than others."

"The word 'power' is like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey—it stimulates people's desires, and each one strives for it. Climbing up one level means there's always a higher level to reach. Little do they know, in this pursuit, their labor is squeezed, and the value they produce is exploited by those above them."

"All organizations, as long as there's a hierarchical relationship, serve the upper echelons. The so-called class leaders, vice-leaders, they're just the smallest carrots, luring others into the family's system. To prevent lower-ranking members from seeing this truth, upper echelons often enforce unified values, define concepts like honor, achievements, establish unequal benefits, or even manipulate religion to control minds."

"That's the truth, but unfortunately, most people in the world don't understand it. They foolishly work hard for others. And in essence, all organizations in the world boil down to one thing—resource redistribution, where higher levels enjoy more resources."

In his previous life, Fang Yuan founded the Blood Wings Demonic Cult in Central Continent, leading tens of thousands of followers. He established positions like Demon Soldiers, Demon Generals, Demon Marshals, providing corresponding benefits that attracted countless followers to serve under him. Such experiences deeply enlightened him to these truths.

"So, any organization is just a facade. The real root of it all boils down to two words—resources. Without food resources, you starve. Without drink resources, you thirst. Without cultivation resources, you're weak and will eventually be bullied to death."

"And yuan stones are the primary resource for a Gu Master's cultivation!" Fang Yuan's eyes were deep as an abyss. Thinking of this, a faint smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He had left the school early and now stood at the school gate, watching the first batch of students walk out, gradually approaching him.

"It's Fang Yuan."

"Why is he blocking the middle of the gate?"

"Hmph, every time I see him acting so arrogant, it annoys me."

"Ignore him, he's probably waiting for someone."

The youths paid little heed and were about to pass by when Fang Yuan took a step forward, blocking their path. "Robbery. Each of you must hand over one yuan stone before you can leave."