Reverend Insanity

by Srtyi

Humans are clever in tens of thousands of ways, Gu are the true refined essences of Heaven and Earth. The Three Temples are unrighteous, the demon is reborn. Former days are but an old dream, an identical name is made anew. A story of a time traveler who keeps on being reborn. A unique world that grows, cultivates, and uses Gu. The Spring and Autumn Cicada, the Venomous Moonlight G

3. 65

Read Reverend Insanity - Chapter 65 online free - Novel Full

Chapter 65: Quickly get lost

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The mountain forest was boundless, and Fang Yuan walked through patiently.

The sunlight permeated through the huge and tall woods, shining and creating a ground of mottled and fragmentary tree shadows.

The green grass beside his feet was like a mattress, and the wild flowers bloomed with bright colours.

His ears picked up the sound of birds chirping, or the trickling of flowing water.

The further he got from the village, walking towards the outer surroundings, the more risky it was. Thus Fang Yuan was even more careful.

The wilderness was very dangerous, Gu Masters had to have at least Rank three cultivation to be able to venture the wilds alone and explore. But this did not mean they were safe, as many Rank three Gu Masters died in the wild, sometimes even Rank fours. Wild beasts, poisonous worms, human threats, and at times the weather, these were all causes of death.

However, Fang Yuan wanted to kill the wild boars which were often found around the village's peripheral. Otherwise, the village hunters would not be able to catch wild boars.

"The environment around the village, every now and then, Gu Masters from the clan would come out and clear the area. This environment to a Rank one middle stage like me, is still safe. But I still have to be careful, wild beasts and Gu worms like to move around."

With his experience from his previous life, Fang Yuan scouted carefully.

Time gradually passed, but Fang Yuan gained nothing.

"Damn, Qing Mao Mountain is still too big for the current me. I have no scouting-type Gu and I am not familiar with this environment, plus Qing Mao Mountain is periodically cleared up, so to find a wild boar, it is too difficult. Let's go to the foot of the mountain!"

Fang Yuan's scouting was unfruitful, thus he changed his mind and went to the mountain foot.

Qing Mao Mountain has three mountain villages. Gu Yue village, Xiong family village, and Bai family village. The Xiong family village was on the fore mountain, the Gu Yue mountain village was at the mountain waist, and Bai family village was at the back mountain waterfall.

Other than the three villages, there was also tens of tiny villages at the mountain foot, all being inhabited by mortals.

The three mountain villages split these small villages among themselves, being the ones controlling them behind the scenes. Once they lacked family servants, they would pick from these small villages.

But they would not choose Gu Masters.

Nurturing a Gu Master, they would only choose a clansman. Even if they knew that among these mortals were people with talent, although rare, they would still not use them.

This world was heavily sided towards bloodline, and holding power among relatives was the political stability that the clan needed.

In order to expand in size, many mountain villages had adopted outsiders into their system. Eventually their power flowed out and caused internal conflicts, thus causing the entire clan to breakdown or weaken.

No matter the world, political power was still based off military force, this is the truth.

And troops are the brute force department, representing strength. By controlling strength, one gains status and authority.

Of course, the clan's rules are not ever constant, they also adopt new blood. Every year, there would be outsiders marrying into the clan, leaving their servant status, and the children they give birth to would be a Gu Yue, a new generation clansman.

This is like connecting a tiny stream into a spring. Do not underestimate this stream, as without it, a spring would be still, and eventually rot. With it, there would be life, and the spring would grow even stronger.

Fang Yuan's previous servant Shen Cui was betting on this idea of marrying into a Gu Yue and leaving her servant status.

Fang Yuan left the mountain, and after thirty minutes, could see thick smoke rising from under the mountain.

After a while, he could see a wide hill in his vision, and a village around that area beside a small river.

The small villages around the vicinity were under the rule of the Gu Yue village. Although they were closeby, the small villages were not as safe, thus requiring regular clean up. For mortals to live in such conditions and manage to survive, to Fang Yuan, he naturally could accept such a fact.

"Oh?" On the mountain path nearing the village, Fang Yuan sensitively found traces on the ground. His past experience told him that this was a wild boar's traces.

"Chase!" Fang Yuan raised his spirits as he followed the clues, getting deeper into the mountains.

Green moss spread over the stones, ancient juniper trees and tall pagoda trees completing the great forest.

Under the strong light of the sun, the mountain woods of summer was even more profound and serene. The lush underbrush suddenly moved a little.

A few deer eating the sumptuous grass looked up, vigilantly staring at the bushes, their ears twitching.

The bushes that were half a man's height split apart, and a young man crawled out from within. His skin was pale and his black hair was short. He was wearing a modest linen shirt, it was Fang Yuan.

Swoosh.

A few wild deer were frightened, and their four thin limbs quickly moved, sprinting away. In a moment, they vanished from Fang Yuan's vision.

"These are female deer, their fur can be shaved to make warm clothing, and deer meat is also some Gu worm's food. If it's a male deer, the antlers are most precious, and some are even necessary ingredients for a Gu worm's advancement.

The wild was dangerous all over, and at the same time it had great treasures.

Fang Yuan looked at the direction that they were escaping in, and retracted his gaze. His target was wild boars, not these deer.

He continued moving.

There was the sound of buzzing.

Nearing these noises, Fang Yuan stopped in his tracks.

"Beehive." He looked forward and saw a beehive hanging on a tree.

The bee's nest was massive, the size was that of a wicker-basket. It appeared as a sort of greyish dark yellow colour. Outside the bee nest was a few dozen bee soldiers flying around; occasionally a few worker bees would enter and exit.

"Beehive has honey, and honey is the Bear Strength Gu's food. Thus, the Xiong family has great demand for honey. This beehive is only a small-sized one, and the chances of producing a Gu isn't high. If I had the Bronze Skin Gu, I could risk getting stabbed and collect the honey. What a pity." Fang Yuan thought.

In this world, not all insects are Gu.

Gu are the spirit of the world, the body of the laws, how can it be so cheap? Among a swarm of insects, normally only the insect king is a Gu.

But that depends on their size and development, so if the swarm is too small, there is no Gu either.

Taking the beehive ahead as an example, because it is too small, there is a low chance of having a Gu.

Fang Yuan routed around this beehive and continued forward.

The traces of the wild boar was getting more evident, and Fang Yuan knew he was getting close to it, thus he became more careful, as wild boars were very dangerous.

Wild boars are not reared pig. When a mature wild boar fights with a tiger, the tiger may not win.

In this mystical world, wild beasts are not simple too.

"Oh? This situation!" When Fang Yuan finally found the wild boar, he saw that it had fallen into a huge pit. A sharpened green bamboo was situated at the bottom of the pit, where it had pierced the wild boar and was causing it to bleed.

Seeing the accumulated blood in the pit, he could tell that the boar had already been in the trap for at least fifteen minutes.

But this wild boar continued to struggle, whimpering and howling, still full of life.

"This trap is obviously set by hunters. To think I'm reaping the rewards." Fang Yuan smiled but his expression was grim.

These traps threatened him too.

If he had fallen into it, after half a quarter of an hour, he would die.

Although the village surroundings were cleared regularly, the hunters often came to hunt and set many traps. Some could be discerned, while others were designed to be hidden, and if Fang Yuan could not discover them, he might fall into the trap.

"Any area in this mountain could have a trap buried by the hunters. But among hunters, with every trap set they would inform each other on the location. It seems I have to find an old hunter's residence and find out about the trap locations from him. Along with the surrounding wild beasts' activity area and with these intel, I would not have to search like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Fang Yuan thought internally.

This was the problem of not having a scouting-type of Gu worm.

But to find a good scouting-type Gu, it was not easy.

In a short time, he could barely make do with a hunter's intel.

With such a thought, Fang Yuan's wrist flicked and a moonblade flew out, easily hitting the wild boar.

Whoosh!

With a light ring, the entire moonblade cut through the boar's neck and caused a long and slender wound. Then with a plop sound, a blood fountain spewed out from it.

The spewing blood caused the wound to become bigger, and thus the blood fountain also enlarged.

The boar screeched, thrashing about with the last of its energy, until its movements became smaller and smaller……

Fang Yuan silently looked at the scene, his face calm.

The wild boar's life faded as its eyes were staring wide and perfectly round, the muscles on its body twitching and the warm blood filling the trap hole, a thick smell of blood permeating the surrounding.

"Survival or death, this is the theme of nature." He sighed in his heart.

At this point, human voices were heard.

"Second brother Wang, within our village, no one is better than you at hunting. Especially killing wild boars, your family's Old Wang is the hunting king in the entire region, who would not know of his great name?"

"That's right, second brother Wang inherited the old hunter's abilities. To hunt a wild boar, it is naturally as good as caught!"

"Second brother Wang, why didn't little sister Wang come with you today?"

After all the bootlicking, a grave and stern voice said, "Hmph! Hunting a wild boar, how can it show my true abilities? Today I want to kill three boars, you'll see! Er Gou Dan, stop lusting after my sister, or I'll thrash you!!!"

Er Gou Dan retorted, "Men and women marry when they're of age, what's wrong with liking little sister Wang? Moreover, I'm not the only one, which guy in your village doesn't also fancy her too? Second brother Wang, in my opinion you are also nineteen already, you should marry a wife and have kids already."

The voice spoke again, "Hmph, I'm a true blue man, how can I lust after such a small temptation? One day, I will leave this Qing Mao Mountain and explore the world and learn about everything under the sky, that will truly be fitting of my manly status!"

Saying so, the four young hunters walked out of the forest.

The leader hunter had a tall build, carrying a bow and arrow, his muscles bulging and his eyes full of spirit, showing a powerful aura.

When he saw Fang Yuan, he frowned and screamed, "Hmm? Which village are you from kid, how dare you try to take advantage of me Wang Er, quickly get lost!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 66: A person's death is akin to a pig's death

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"Get lost?" Hearing Wang Er's words, Fang Yuan immediately broke into a cold smirk and he brandished his palm in front of him.

Swoosh.

With a light sound, a blue coloured moonblade shot forward.

At the same time, he put strength into his leg and rushed towards the four hunters.

"Gu Master?!" The hunters were stunned and shouted upon seeing the moonblade.

The moonblade had already fired over, and they rushed to evade.

Plonk.

A person did not evade fast enough, and his right forearm was hit by the moonblade. Immediately his bones and flesh split, the entire wrist and his forearm cut through and fell on the ground.

"AHHHH!"

He laid on the ground, screaming in fear and pain. His left arm was like an eagle claw gripping his right arm. His right limb spewed bright red blood non stop, quickly dyeing the floor red.

"Spare me!"

"We did not offend you intentionally!"

The other two mortals on seeing their companion's state, went pale without a trace of blood in their face. They hurriedly got on all fours and kneeled down, kowtowing to Fang Yuan nonstop.

"Hmph, a bunch of fags, what are you afraid of? It's just a Gu disciple!" Only Wang Er was still standing. Fang Yuan attacked without warning, and this had made him frightened and angry. His arms went behind his back, and with a swift action, he grabbed hold of the bow and arrow in his arms.

"Stop, come further and I'll shoot you!" Wang Er retreated as he readied the arrow while screaming.

"Oh?" Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes. This Wang Er was rather intractable. Normally when mortals saw Gu Masters, they would be cowering in fear. Yet this man was able to remain calm, he must be rather bold.

Pew.

Another moonblade shot out towards Wang Er.

"Unappreciative bastard." Wang Er snorted and killing intent rose from his heart.

He took a side step and evaded the moonblade while shooting an arrow. The arrow was fast, and with a swoosh, it reached Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan ducked, his head lowering slightly and evading the arrow as he continued rushing forward, quickly reaching Wang Er.

Wang Er bravely threw away the bow in his hand and clenched his bowl sized fist, rushing towards Fang Yuan.

He had a large build, his back strong like a wolf's and his waist like a bee's, and he was at least fifty centimetres taller than Fang Yuan. The sunlight shone from behind him, and as Fang Yuan rushed towards him, he could see a dark shadow hanging over his face, his eyes emitting killing intent like a wolf!

"No!!"

"Stop quickly!"

The two hunters seeing that the two were going to collide into each other, frightfully shouted.

"Die!" Wang Er's eyes were fierce as the muscles on his face twitched, showing his sinister and insane expression, like a bloodthirsty evil wolf.

Both his fists flew towards Fang Yuan.

Boom.

His fist was fast and heavy, even cutting the wind!

Fang Yuan could see the fist getting bigger in his eyes, but his expression was unchanging as he took a side step.

Swoosh.

At the crucial moment, he avoided the fist and forcefully rotated his body, knocking Wang Er's left hand away.

Wang Er laughed sinisterly as he waved his fist horizontally, his fist striking first, about to reach Fang Yuan's back.

But at this moment, a bright flash of sunlight entered his iris.

His back was originally facing the sun, and now that he had turned around, the eye-piercing sunlight temporarily made his eyes hurt, and his vision went blank.

Fang Yuan smirked as he backflipped in the air, dodging Wang Er's fist, at the same time waving his right arm.

Pew!

The third moonblade flew along the sunlight trajectory.

Wang Er's senses tingled as he felt unprecedented danger. He turned his head around and the next moment, the eerie blue moonblade flew past.

"Be careful brother Wang Er!"

"Did he avoid it?"

The two kneeling on the ground forgot to beg for forgiveness at this moment, staring widely.

The piercing sunlight shone on their face.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down.

The surrounding sound vanished, and the world was silent.

The afternoon's blazing sun paved a white background, and on this backdrop, Wang Er's body became a black shadow. His body was in the air at an arc, his muscular body stretching in a crescent shape like an open bow, full of masculine appeal.

His head lowered as he tried to avoid the moonblade.

The moonblade flew like a snail in the air, its eerie blue light almost invisible under the sun's rays.

The white background, the black shadow, and the blue moonblade — these three formed a brilliant stage for a moment full of life and death.

The moonblade flew over.

The shadow that represented Wang Er landed smoothly as it flowed with the trajectory.

He was safe and sound.

"Phew!" Seeing this, a young hunter breathed out a sigh of relief.

"He avoided it!" Another hunter was cheering internally.

But at this time!

A small piece of the shadow's head flew out along with red fluids, separating from the shadow and spewing everywhere.

The blue moonblade gradually dissipated in the air.

That black shadow was like a broken bow, as the energy accumulated within it disappeared at once. It turned into a beautiful but sad fallen leaf, silently landing on the ground.

The two hunter's irises shrunk into pin size.

Their mouths were agape, stretching to their bodily limits.

Splat.

The bright red fluid landed on their faces.

The two touched their faces —

Blood!

They jolted awake!

In their perception, time had returned to normal, and noise returned.

There were birds chirping, water flowing and their companion screaming while grabbing his broken arms.

"Second brother Wang…?" A hunter called, his voice full of horror. All this time, Wang Er was their leader.

"He's dead!" Another hunter cried out, his face grim to the limit.

"Brother Wang Er is our strongest hunter. A while ago he was still talking with us, but to think the next moment he's dead!"

"He should not have angered that Gu Master, we mortals are no match for Gu Masters!"

The two hunters were frightened and shocked, at once they were like statues kneeling on the ground.

Fang Yuan got up from the ground.

Earlier, to avoid Wang Er's fist, he rotated his body in the air and lost his balance. After shooting the moonblade, he fell to the ground. But this fall was worth it, as Wang Er's fist would've caused him to vomit blood on the spot. After all, Fang Yuan had no defensive Gu, and his body was only a fifteen year old.

Now, he stood up, other than his shoulders hurting, he had practically no injuries.

"This Wang Er is very strong, much stronger than that Mo family servant Gao Wan! If any other student encountered him, they would lose without doubt. Even a Rank one upper stage Gu Master would lose to him out of carelessness." Fang Yuan stared at the corpse of Wang Er deeply.

Gu Masters were still threatened by genius mortal martial artists when they are at Rank one stage.

This Wang Er was truly skilled.

His archery skill was fast and stable, just relying on this it could match moonblade. In fact, the moonblade might even be inferior, as the arrow has a larger range. His fighting skill has reached the peak of mortals — a strong body with tough bones, and he was also ruthless. With Fang Yuan's small body, it could not go head to head with him.

Thus, any other student would lose undoubtedly. Unfortunately for Wang Er, he met Fang Yuan.

Once he appeared, Fang Yuan noticed his bow and deduced that he could not fight long range with him.

The moonblade only had a range of ten meters. The bow had far greater range than the moonblade.

Thus, Fang Yuan ditched long combat. He quickly got closer and closed the gap between them, showing a physical fighting stance.

Wang Er had no choice but to discard his bow and fight physically with Fang Yuan.

But Fang Yuan did not really think of going close combat with Wang Er. He used the angle of the sun's rays and caused a weakness in Wang Er, before shooting out his third moonblade.

He was already middle stage now, and with the Liquor worm's refinement, the moonblade had the attack power of an upper stage Gu Master. At such a close range, with Wang Er's weakened vision, his defeat was guaranteed.

"But this Wang Er is indeed skillful. I wanted to decapitate him, but at the crucial moment, he relied on his senses and reflexes and evaded half of my attack, causing my moonblade to cut off only half of his head."

"Life and death is nature's law. All living beings are equal, and everyone has their right to survive and be killed. There might be royalty and lower beings, but in face of death, a person's death is no different from a pig's, what's the difference? They're both dead."

Fang Yuan took a final look at Wang Er's corpse and sighed in his heart.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 67: Don't worry, I'll spare you

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The tree roots penetrate into the mountain soil, letting their green hands reach up towards the sky. Thick and solid tree trunks faced each other, looking similar through the distances. The exuberant branches and leaves intertwined in mid-air.

Under the surroundings of these trees was a wooden house.

The wooden house was made entirely from the solid thick barks, leaking out a type of genuine firm smell. The wooden house was not a newly built one, but it had gathered many years. Thus the house surface had green moss growing all over, and some of the tree trunks had begun to sprout out tender little branches.

Around the wooden house was a tall and great fence constructed from green spear bamboo. The back and front area was all vegetable fields, and in the middle of the fields was a man-made well.

At this time, a young and beautiful lady was drawing water from the well.

While she wore simple and plain clothing, this was still hard to mask her complexion. She was sixteen years of age, and she had a big pair of black eyes, the black and whites of her eyes clearly defined, and pure like crystals.

The sunlight penetrated through the overlapping and luxuriant tree leaves, shining onto her face, letting her skin reflect light like it was white snow, also showing a sort of transparent red flush and gentleness on her.

Her black hair hung down unruly and half-covered her cute earlobes.

The pink lips were pursed at the moment, and she was clenching her set of white perfect teeth, her face showing an expression of full concentration.

She used all her strength to pull the bucket full of water out of the well. With another breath, she moved the bucket to the ground outside the well.

"Huff!" The young girl wiped her forehead and breathed out, using her pale hand to fan her own face.

Hearing the bucket hitting the ground, the wooden house's door opened, and an old man came out.

The old man's hair was a mix of black and white, his face having layers of wrinkles. Although his eyes looked tired, they showed a hint of brilliance sometimes. Like an elderly tiger, although old, the tiger's authority was still evident.

"Lass, this bucket is too heavy, I said let me carry it. Why are you secretly watering the plants behind my back again?" The elderly looked at the young girl and showed an expression of doting affection.

"Father!" The young girl sweetly called, "You were hunting until late at night yesterday, I wanted you to sleep in later today. It's just a water bucket, look, I can carry it out, right?"

"You, always loving to act tough!" The old man's voice was full of helplessness, but his eyes were once again doting on her.

He took a large step and got to the well, stretching out his hand and easily grabbing the bucket, "Come, lass, let's water the plants together."

The air was full of the smell of wild grass and flowers, and the summer's wind blew warmly and passed by the trees, turning into a gust of refreshing wind.

The wooden house on the mountain had a vegetable field, and the girl used the pail, lowering her back to water the plants. The father was in charge of getting the water, rotating between two water buckets. The atmosphere of a loving family was evident in this tiny space.

"Sigh, I am too old, just a few buckets and I am already exhausted." After a while, the old man stood by the well, wiping the sweat off his forehead and sighing deeply.

The young girl turned her head back, smiling like flowers, saying, "Father, you finally realized it. You're already so old, yet you want to act tough all the time. How many times have I told you, let second brother do the hunting, you should be resting at home enjoying your life at this age."

"Hehehe," the old man laughed, nodding, "Relying on your second brother's abilities, he can roam this mountain easily. With his archery skills, it even surpasses me in my youth. But I still cannot feel at ease, his heart is too wild, and with just martial art skills he wants to soar. Sigh, young men love to imagine freely, they all have this problem."

"Father….." The young girl dragged her words.

The old man laughed even more heartily now, his tone carrying a mischievous hint, "Oh yeah, there's still you. You're not young anymore, it's time to get married. I have found a good partner for you, and with your good looks, there's no problems with finding a good family."

The girl's face grew red like a tomato. Immediately she felt too embarrassed until she was lost for words.

The old man looked at the sky, imagining the great future as he sighed, "Once your second brother suffers some setbacks and curbs his nature, I will retire and never go into the mountains. Next I will find you a good family and watch you marry and have children, preferably a chubby boy. Heh heh, your father wants to take care of his grandson, that's all I want. A person's life is not easy, and as a hunter, how many can have a good ending? Sigh, all my partners and comrades from back then are already gone, I am all that's left."

"Father, you are wrong." The young girl consoled, "What do you mean there's only you left? You still have us."

"Hehe, hmm?" The old man was laughing and was about to reply, but he suddenly heard a sound and turned his head.

The little entrance of the bamboo fence was broken from the outside by someone.

"You are old man Wang?" Fang Yuan's cold expression with his eerie eyes, stepped forward with a lump of moonlight in his right arm.

The old man was shocked as he looked at the moonlight on Fang Yuan's hand, rapidly kneeling, "This old man pays his respects to Lord Gu Master!"

"Old man Wang, your son dared to offend me, I have executed him. Bring his corpse forward!" Fang Yuan stood proudly, staring at the kneeling old man as he brought out the main topic.

His words had just finished, and two young hunters carried Wang Er's corpse in.

Seeing this corpse, old man Wang's body shook!

"Second brother —!" The young girl screamed pitifully, rushing forward and grabbing Wang Er's corpse, her face flushed with tears.

"Wang family's daughter…" The two young hunters, seeing the girl they liked crying in front of them, felt terrible. They wanted to console her, but no words came out.

"Old man Wang, I heard you're a hunter, the best among the few villages. At such an old age, you can still hunt and get a good result every time, this is great."

Fang Yuan paused here for a moment, and continued expressionlessly, "Draw me a map of all the traps of the nearby mountain area now, as well as the results of your observation of wild beast territories from your hunting experience all these years. Draw it for me and I will spare your son's sin of offending me, if not… hmph."

These villages were under Gu Yue village's control. The villagers were all farmer slaves of the Gu Yue clan.

With Wang Er's offense for offending his master, according to the clan rules, their entire family would be implicated!

Old man Wang's body shook again, almost falling to the ground. An impact like this was too sudden and great to him.

"Murderer, you are the murderer that harmed my brother! You treat human lives like livestock, and you dare to confront us? I will exact revenge for my brother!!" The young girl screamed, her voice full of hatred and anger towards Fang Yuan, and she rushed towards Fang Yuan.

But she was only halfway there when she got stopped by someone.

It was not the two young hunters, but her father.

"Disgraceful wretch!" Old man Wang screamed as he gave the young girl a tight slap, sending her to the ground.

"Your second brother is dead, do you want to die too? Do you want this old father of yours to be old and alone forever?!" The old man cried profusely saying this, his body trembling furiously.

"Father!" The young girl was awakened by this, and her tears poured out. Her voice was full of sadness, unjust, pity, hatred, and helplessness.

The old man turned his body, facing Fang Yuan as he kneeled down and placed his forehead on the ground, prostrating deeply at Fang Yuan's feet. His voice shook as he said, "Lord Gu Master, my son offended you and deserved to die! I shall draw the map for you now, please spare us with your magnanimity."

Fang Yuan's expression turned milder, he looked at the old man arrogantly, saying, "Be at ease, as long as you draw honestly, I will spare you. But don't think of lying to me, for if I find any suspicious points, your lives will be forfeited!"

"I understand, this old man understands." Old man Wang kowtowed non-stop, "Please Lord Gu Master, allow me to retrieve my brush and paper."

"No need." Fang Yuan waved his hand, looking at the two hunters he had forced along, ordering, "Enter the room and find paper and brush, and bring them out."

"Yes, Lord Gu Master." The two youngsters did not dare to rebel under Fang Yuan's authority.

"Lord, the paper and brush are on the square table in the kitchen." Old man Wang said.

Fang Yuan's eyes shone but he remained silent.

The two hunters barged into the house and quickly brought out the paper and brush.

In the southern territory, the paper were specially made of bamboo, where the quality was bad and the paper was tough with green overlays. Paper like this was suited to the moist weather of the southern territorial weather.

If it was rice paper, it might be destroyed after a week due to moisture.

The old man carried the brush and kneeled on the ground, drawing out black lines, curves or dots.

He used over ten bamboo papers, before handing them all to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan looked through them and split these bamboo papers into two, handing them to the two hunters, "Take a look if there's any inappropriate areas. Every mistake, I'll give you one primeval stone!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 68: There is no innocence in nature

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The two hunters took the bamboo papers, their hands trembling, eyes shining.

"This is hunter Wang's life experience and effort. Us hunters, although we keep in contact, it is all about trap placement, we will not tell others about the wild beast distribution. This bamboo paper, it is all the information that hunter Wang had gathered since his ancestors."

"So this valley has a herd of wild deer, haha, after I hunt these wild deer, I won't have to worry about expenses for the next three months! Ah, this stream has a cave of mountain bears? How close, I almost hunted at this region last time, note it, I must note it all down!"

These were precious information, it could be said to be a hunter's rice bowl!

Normally not within a generation but all the way from their forefathers, these experiences and information were obtained at the expense of their blood and lives.

But old man Wang's family had always hunted for a living. When it got to old man Wang, he had reached the peak of his family line, the acclaimed number one hunter.

Information in the hands of such a person, is the most useful and truthful.

The two young hunters checked for nearly fifteen minutes, glossing through the map multiple times. Only after Fang Yuan rushed them did they finally hand over the bamboo paper reluctantly.

During this period, old man Wang was kneeling on the ground, his forehead touching the ground as he expressed his respect. The young girl was lying on the ground, as if she had gone lifeless.

"There is no problem, lord."

"The trap areas in these bamboo papers are all accurate."

The two answered.

"Lord Gu Master, this concerns me and my daughter's life, I would definitely not lie to you!" The old man on the ground shouted as he continued to kowtow.

"Mmm, not bad." Fang Yuan waved the stack of bamboo paper, yet suddenly his words changed, "But, I don't believe it."

Old man Wang jolted, raising his head, but only saw an eerie blue moonblade enlarging within the reflection of his iris.

Pew.

A skull flew into the air, fresh blood spewing all over.

"Argh!!!"

"Lord, this—!"

The two young hunters were taken by surprise. Shock and disbelief showed on their faces.

"Father—!" The young girl cried out profusely as she leapt towards old man Wang's headless corpse, but midway, a moonblade flew towards her face.

Splat.

She fell onto the ground, lifeless.

Her beautiful face, from her forehead to her chin, slowly showed a thin red line.

The line became thicker as fresh red blood oozed out, flowing down along half of her nose and half of her lips. They flowed onto the black soil, dyeing half of her face bright red.

The other half of her face though, was still as beautiful, the skin fair and rosy. Under the bright blue sky, it seemed even more lustrous, like a work of art.

"At least she looks decent." Fang Yuan looked at the dead girl blandly, nodding satisfactorily.

Using Rank one middle stage primeval essence, the moonblade could slice Gu. Now that he was using upper stage primeval essence, it could break bones and even cut steel!

"Wang family's daughter!" A young hunter fell onto the ground in despair after seeing her demise with his own eyes.

"Lord Gu Master, spare us!" The other hunter feeling Fang Yuan's faze, nearly died of shock as he plopped on the ground.

"Get up, go inside and search!' Fang Yuan ordered, "I know that a hunter's family always keeps a beast skin map. On top of it is the terrain, trap locations and the beast territories. Find it for me, and I'll let you keep your lives."

"Yes, yes, yes, we will search immediately. Give us some time, Lord Gu Master!" The two frantically got up and ran into the wooden house.

Sounds of wardrobes overturning and falling could be heard from the wooden house.

But a moment later, even though the hunters ransacked the house, there was no beast skin map to be found.

"Lord, please give me some time, we will find it right now!" The two hunters were terrified as they got more desperate and searched boorishly, smashing many furniture in the process.

"Fuck, where is it?"

"Appear, please appear!"

They muttered as their bodies shivered, their eyes getting bloodshot.

"Useless trash." Fang Yuan slowly walked into the house.

"Lord! Lord! Forgive us, please…wahh…" The two young hunters shivered like they were electrified and fell to the ground, begging for their lives.

Fang Yuan ignored the two and observed the house.

There were four rooms in the house, a living room and a kitchen. All the furniture were in a mess, like they were ransacked.

Fang Yuan slowly stepped in, his steps producing echoes in the wooden house.

"It has indeed been searched, that shouldn't be right. Almost every hunter has a beast skin map inherited throughout the generations, getting refined along the way, recording all the beasts territory and pitfalls. This is the livelihood of a hunter, how can they not have it?"

Fang Yuan stood pondering, "Moreover, I tested that old man Wang earlier, purposely getting the two hunters to search for paper and brush. The old man immediately called out the location of the paper and brush, probably worried that they might find the beast skin map, thus it has to be in this house!"

Fang Yuan observed the house again, and suddenly his inspiration struck as he looked at the firepit.

This firepit was connected to the chimney, used in winter to gain warmth. There was even some residue charcoal in the firepit.

Fang Yuan walked to the firepit, slowly squatting down and taking a shovel beside the firepit, digging out the charcoal.

Most of the charcoal still has their wooden shape, they were brittle and easily broken into two.

"Oh?" Fang Yuan inspected, suddenly finding a charcoal block that had a very tough material and was very heavy, not light like the other charcoal blocks.

He used the shovel to dig out this charcoal block, smashing it on the ground. The charcoal smashed into bits, revealing a bamboo tube.

The two hunters gasped at this scene.

Fang Yuan took the bamboo tube and opened it on one side, shaking it, causing a map to fall out.

The map was heavier than the stack of bamboo paper, made with a piece of white beast skin. The beast skin was huge, over a meters long and half a meter in breadth. There was black, green, red, yellow and blue lines on it, forming a complicated map.

Fang Yuan was slightly taken aback looking at it.

The map's range was very big, extending far beyond the village's vicinity. As a mortal, it was not easy to map out areas so far away.

His gaze focused on five spots, those with wild boar herds.

Two were small sized, two were medium sized, and there was a large sized boar herd. In the middle of the large sized herd, there was a giant red cross.

Seeing this cross, Fang Yuan snickered. On his bamboo paper, there was no such marking!

The two young hunters had also seen the bamboo paper, and found no problems. This was their own inexperience, only certain of some areas. This red cross was far beyond the village, and from this, old man Wang's cunningness could be seen.

This was why Fang Yuan killed them.

To hunt for wild boars, he needed such a beast skin map. But he was not convinced by a map drawn by others. Only getting a "real" map like this, could it be dependable.

Fang Yuan had heard of all sorts of remarks in his past life. Just a word "scram", was not enough reason for him to kill Wang Er.

When hearing the four hunters' conversation beside the boar trap, Fang Yuan had already planned his murder.

Killing Wang Er reduced his opposition, and gave him reason to obtain the map. Why wouldn't he kill him?

Fang Yuan would not kill for the sake of killing, killing is only a method. Using this method, if it can solve the problem, then why not?

The old man definitely had to die, even if he can endure the murder of his son, Fang Yuan would not be at ease. Otherwise, it would be a case of "When cutting down weeds, you must get at the roots. Otherwise, the weeds will return with the spring breeze."

What, you said killing the innocent?

Hehe, no matter which world, as long as one lives in this world, they would be intertwined in karma, how can anyone be innocent? Humans slaughter pigs, aren't the pigs innocent?

Big fish eats small fish, and small fish eats shrimps, in nature there is only the food chain, there is no innocence.

In this world, anybody can live, anybody can die, but nobody is innocent!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 69: Life is as cheap as grass

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The beast skin map was very thick, it was unlike paper that could be folded and carried around easily. Fang Yuan could only roll the beast skin up and put it back into the bamboo tube, where he then tied up both ends of the bamboo tube with hemp rope, and carried it on his back.

The two hunters stared firmly at the bamboo case, their eyes unavoidably showing signs of greed. They were not idiots after all — they knew the value of the map.

This beast skin map is something that Gu Masters would not even bother looking at, but to mortals, especially hunters like them, it was the most valuable treasure.

The Wang family had began to pass down this map since the time of their ancestors. Old man Wang was able to become a famous hunter, his name known throughout the vicinity and beyond; the map had much contribution to this. It was truly an authentic family heirloom.

"I'm going to ask you — in Old man Wang's household, is there anyone else?" Fang Yuan's gaze was dark, his tone cold as he asked.

The two young men kneeling on the ground shuddered immediately when they heard this question from Fang Yuan. They thought about what had just conspired earlier, and the greedy expressions from their faces disappeared in an instant, replaced with fear and terror.

"There is no one else, the entire family is dead, lord Gu Master!"

"Hunter Wang originally had a wife, but that was decades ago, and she was killed by wild wolves that intruded the village. Before his wife died she gave birth to two sons and a daughter. But the oldest son Wang Da died on the mountain while hunting three years ago. There is no one else in the Wang family."

This was the immediate reply from the two young hunters.

"Is that so…" Fang Yuan narrowed his two eyes and he looked at the two men kneeling before him, knowing that they were telling the truth. When one's life and death was in the hands of others, the probability of lying was very small.

But he asked anyway, "Did you lie to me?"

"We would not dare to lie even the slightest, lord!"

"I-I thought of something! Old man Wang actually also has a daughter-in-law, Wang Da's old wife. But after Wang Da disappeared, his wife died due to a broken heart. That year, the village even specially sent down a chastity memorial arch! But rumour has it that Wang Da's wife wanted to remarry, and she was actually hounded to death by Old man Wang. When you killed Old man Wang, lord, you are helping us citizens, rooting out the evil and bringing people peace!"

The other hunter quickly added, "That's right, that's right. Actually lord, we have long found this old Wang unfavourable. Hmph, he's nothing special, just that he can hunt better than us. We're all just mortals, yet he thinks he's more special than us and purposely moved out of the village to live here. As the younger generation, we sometimes will ask him to teach us and impart his experiences, but he would just outright chase us away and never allow us to show up again near the wooden house!"

Fang Yuan listened quietly while nodding. Although these two started belittling Old man Wang in an attempt to keep their lives, he did not sense any resentment from these two men's mouths.

Fang Yuan guessed inwardly that these two men asking to consult for hunting matters should be fake, he surmised that they were just over to covet for the Wang family's daughter and her good looks. Yet in the end they were found out by Old man Wang and disciplined a few times harshly.

"Weeding out the wicked and let the law-abiding citizens live in peace. Enough of such bootlicking, this time I killed them because my motive was just for this beast skin map. Well, both of you have showed a satisfying behaviour, you can both go now." Fang Yuan's tone softened, but at the same time the right hand behind his back shone with gloomy moonlight.

The two young men kneeling on the ground felt surprise and joy once they heard this.

"Thank you so much for your mercy, lord!"

"Lord, your generosity and indulgence, we shall remember in heart forever!"

They kowtowed on the ground, their mucus and tears overflowing, sounds of dull knocking could be heard. After several knocks they immediately got up and turned to leave.

Although Fang Yuan was younger than them in age, but after witnessing firsthand what Fang Yuan was like in doing things, they were beyond fearful and terrified, wishing never to meet Fang Yuan again.

"Hold it." Just at this moment, a voice suddenly travelled over.

The moment it finished there was a swoosh and a Gu Master jumped down from a treetop.

"You both cannot leave, tell me what happened here. All of it." This Gu Master that just jumped down was wearing a deep blue uniform, and there was a scarlet belt with a metal plate in the middle. There was a huge 'Two' word carved onto the metal plate.

This Rank two Gu Master had a slim build, his two eyes slender. He wore arm protectors on his wrists, and his calves had sturdy leg bindings, his entire being radiating with a highly capable aura.

"This commoner greets lord Jiang He!" The two young men had just got up with the intention to leave, but once they saw this Gu Master they instantly knelt down again, prostrating themselves in admiration while greeting.

This Gu Master was someone they knew — it was the Gu Master stationed at the village.

Every year to reinforce their control in their surroundings, the Gu Yue Village would dispatch Gu Master down into the little villages and hamlets, stationing Gu Masters there. This would also prevent the other powers from infiltrating and at the same time strengthen their defences on their borders.

This Gu Master named Jiang He did not bother with the two hunters kneeling on the ground, instead looking straight at Fang Yuan, asking in a cold tone, "I am the Gu Master Jiang He of the Gu Yue clan who has been stationed here, you are?"

Fang Yuan laughed lightly and stretched his right palm out, where the Moonlight Gu was giving out a ball of moonlight in the middle of his palm.

When the Gu Master Jiang He saw the moonlight in Fang Yuan's hand, his gaze softened considerably — the Moonlight Gu was the sign of the Gu Yue clan, this was something that could not be forged.

"This matter is simple actually. Old man Wang's second son offended me, so I killed the entire family off in anger. Those two can be my witness." Fang Yuan straightforwardly admitted with a bold and confident manner, pointing at the two hunters kneeling down at the same time.

Fang yuan was not lying, and these two hunters nodded in haste; there was no hesitation.

Jiang He stared blankly for a moment before he started laughing loudly, "You killed well! Just a bunch of measly peasant servants, to actually dare to offend their masters, they deserved to be killed!!"

But he quickly added with a change in tone, full of emotion and deep meaning, "However young junior, what you've done has also brought problems to me. Although Old man Wang resides far away from the masses and stayed here alone with his family, they are still villagers that I am in charge of. I was sent out from the clan and stationed here in this village, this means I'm supposed to protect the villagers and be on the alert as defence. Now that you've killed these few people, the number of villagers will have lessened. During the examination at the end of the year the clan's assessment towards me will drop."

Fang Yuan's gaze shone, and he instantly knew that this Jiang He was using this as a pretext to extort money from him.

He laughed and said out, "This isn't so difficult. Senior you just have to report the truth back. Just say that this entire family was killed by me, and it has nothing to do with senior whatsoever."

When Jiang He heard this his eyelids twitched, anger rising in his heart towards Fang Yuan who did not know how to appreciate favors. His manner of speaking became extremely solemn, "Then I will have to conduct business impartially here. Junior, if you are not afraid of the clan's investigation then report your name, I will record it in detail as how things really are on paper."

His words brought a strong implication of threat; if it was any other youngster they would have been frightened by this statement already.

But Fang Yuan could see Jiang He's weakness from it, and he instantly said, "Then senior shall report as how it should be. Ah right, my surname is Gu Yue, and my name is Fang Yuan."

"So you're actually Fang Yuan!" Jiang He's face evidently showed astonishment for a while, "I have been hearing about you all the time from my little brother recently. You thoroughly beat up all your classmates, extorting in front of everyone, getting sixty pieces of primeval stones each time. Every time my little brother speaks of it he's always jealous of how you can earn money so easily. Not to mention that time when you gambled out a Liquor worm and a Mudskin Toad consecutively. This sort of luck sure makes people jealous. Oh right, my little brother is Jiang Ya, you both should have met each other long ago."

"So it's him." Fang Yuan nodded and admitted, "Yes, every time when I buy Moon orchid petals, I would buy them in Jiang Ya's shop."

"Hahaha, since this it the case then we both are acquaintances. Oh well let's forget about it, this matter I'll handle it!" When he said this, Jiang He clapped his chest with his hands, putting out the appearance of one with the spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice.

He was merely using this favourable circumstance, there was no way he could have really reported the matter.

After reporting of such a thing the clan's assessment towards him would still drop either way. You might as well just do a good turn to Fang Yuan, as for Old man Wang's family's death, he could just report that they were invaded and attacked by a wild beast.

It's Old man Wang's fault for his unconventional ways of insisting to move out of the village, building a wooden house far away from the population!

Jiang He was not afraid of the matter being disclosed, there was just a few mortal peasants around. Their lives were cheap ass grass, who cares if they died? Even if the clan found out about the cover-up they would hardly care about such a small matter.

"But junior, you have yet to graduate from the academy and do not have the Gu Master uniform like I am wearing now. If that Wang Er saw this outfit he'd know about your status as Gu Master and wouldn't offend you. Junior you are a smart person, don't you think so, hehe," said Jiang He again.

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed. Jiang He's words had implicit meaning, and was actually warning himself — do not run out of the academy and wander around for no reason, and you better not come to the area under my jurisdiction here after today to cause trouble and kill people again.

"In that case thank you very much for your advice, senior." Fang Yuan cupped his fists in greeting, bidding farewell to Jiang He, immediately taking his leave from here.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 70: Using the White Boar Gu

Translator:Skyfarrow

Editor:Skyfarrow

In the black of the night, the moon is shaped like a silver plate, hanging high in the sky spewing its watery moonlight down.

The dense woods lightly unfold their dense green leaves and branches in the summer wind. The waterfalls crash down as they flow, but the sounds are unable to cover the noises of the sandalwood crickets chirping about.

Fang Yuan stepped onto the green grass, quietly approaching a mountain boar.

This mountain boar had its head buried, puffing and snorting as it digged the emerald earth with its snout, rummaging among the soil and grass to look for worms.

The wild boar was an omnivorous animal. It not only ate worms, but also stole bird eggs and was adept at hunting wild rabbits, mice, even venomous creatures such as snakes and scorpions.

Fang Yuan crept slowly from behind the boar.

Under the bright moonlight, the greyish black fur coat of the wild pig could be seen clearly. Its body was strong and firm, the four limbs short and rough. On its back was a long and stiff mane, while atop its ears were sparse fur that was erect like needles. With all four limbs on the ground, each foot had four toes but only the two middle ones were digging against the soil. Its fail was thin and short, sometimes flinging about, chasing away the mosquitoes flying around.

Suddenly it stopped digging for its meal, rearing its head up. At the same time the boar's sharp little upright ears quickly trembled a few times. Although Fang Yuan had managed to stop his tracks in time, this mountain boar still found him. It immediately turned around and groaned out with warning sounds.

Fang Yuan was not surprised by this. A wild animal was not like a domestic one, they were all very alert. Especially the wild boar, they had acute smell and could find bird nests that were often hidden very well.

Even if this mountain boar did not hear any noises, when Fang Yuan neared around a hundred meters away from it, it would be able to smell the his body odour and will still be able to sense Fang Yuan's presence.

Although Fang Yuan had five Gu worms on him at the moment — the Spring Autumn Cicada, Liquor worm, Moonlight Gu, Little Light Gu and the white boar Gu, these Gu were all not able to match each other, and were incompatible.

If Fang Yuan had a Smell Lock Gu that could cover up his body odour, and another Quiet Steps Gu that concealed the noise of one's footsteps, he could completely and silently reach up to a distance of ten steps away from the mountain pig.

However if he had these two Gu then Fang Yuan would have been keeping seven Gu worms, this would cause his primeval essence usage to be too great and he would have difficulty supporting them.

Gu Masters in general can only feed four to five Gu worms of the same rank. Thus Gu Masters usually do not move alone, but instead form small groups of five, or at the very least with three.

Among the groups, there would be someone specially in charge of detection, one responsible for advancement, one bearing the offence role, another responsible for medical treatment and someone in charge of resisting and holding back hostiles.

Fang Yuan continued without stop, getting closer to the wild boar.

The wild boar screeched lowly, the white fur on its neck standing, the symbol of its agitation.

Finally when Fang Yuan was near enough, closer than the wild boar's acceptable range, the wild boar's hoofs dug the ground three times before spreading its muscular four limbs, lowered its head and dashed towards Fang Yuan.

Its upper jaw was withdrawn, its lower jaw turning upwards, forming two white tusks. Under the moonlight, the tusks shone with light as it stabbed towards Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan had no defensive type of Gu worm, and if he was pierced by the tusk, his stomach would be penetrated, his intestines would be punctured and he would be heavily injured if not dead.

"Moonlight Gu." Fang Yuan's face was calm as he thought in his mind, causing the Moonlight Gu in his palm to absorb his primeval essence and emit an eerie moonlight glow, interweaving with the moonlight from the night sky.

The wild boar charged towards Fang Yuan as his right palm swiped across the air.

With a swoosh, the moonblade flew out and hit the wild boar in the face, causing blood to splatter all over.

The wild boar cried out loudly, turning its anger into fuel as its charge became even faster, and in the blink of an eye, it reached a few steps before Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan nimbly jumped to the side, rolling and breaking his fall.

The wild boar charged right past Fang Yuan, and with a boom, crashed into a tree behind him.

The tiny tree was only as thick as a human arm, after getting knocked by the wild boar, it received devastating damage as the tree trunk tore open and split into two.

Fang Yuan stood up, quickly getting close to the wild boar while a moonblade shot out from his right hand at the same time.

The eerily blue moonblade drew a straight line across the air as it landed on the wild boar.

The wild boar's black fur had several thin cuts on it. The injury was very deep and bright red blood oozed out from it.

The moonblade Fang Yuan activated used up upper stage primeval essence, thus it was able to break even a human's toughest bones in one shot. But on the boar, it could only cause such superficial injury, and not damage the bones.

A small wild boar like this was so strong, this showed how cruel the living environment was in this world!

The wild boar growled, and charged towards Fang Yuan again.

In the process of sprinting, its blood-dripping wound continued to tear open, and its warm blood poured out like water.

Fang Yuan used the same trick, taking a tumble sideways and dodged its charge.

The wild boar, although strong and very ferocious, had one weakness — it could not change directions easily. Its speed was fast, but that meant it could not alter directions easily, so this way, every one of its charges is in a straight line. As long as a Gu Master is attentive enough, it is not hard to dodge.

Boom, boom, boom.

Every time the wild boar charged, Fang Yuan would shoot a few moonblades, causing its old wounds to be overlapped with new wounds, and the angrier it got, the more blood flowed.

After a few times, its movements slowed and its growling also revealed a hint of weakness.

"Little light Gu."

This time, Fang Yuan not only activated the Moonlight Gu, but also deployed his primeval essence and injected it into the Little light Gu.

The Moonlight Gu after being refined had always stayed in Fang Yuan's right palm, turning into a blue crescent moon tattoo. After the Little light Gu was refined, it also resided in his right palm, turning into the shape of a five-sided star.

At this point, his dark green primeval essence entered the two Gu, the moonlight emitting an eerie blue moonlight while the Little light Gu emitted a milky white glow.

The milky white light fused into the moonlight, and the originally small lump of moonlight instantly became twice as big.

"Go."

Fang Yuan's right hand sweeped, and an enhanced giant moonblade flew out.

Using only the Moonlight Gu, the size was only palm-sized. But with the addition and help of the Little light Gu, the moonblade's size doubled, and its attack range also doubled as well.

Swoosh!

The moonblade hit the wild boar on the neck, creeping into its black grey fur. It emerged from the other end and flew for about three to four meters before dissipating in the air.

Glup glup...

The wild boar stood on the spot, frozen for a moment, then blood oozed out from its injuries like a fountain.

It abruptly collapsed, half of its head cut off, washed away by the pouring blood, and only a small piece of flesh kept it together with its body.

A thick smell of blood gushed out into his nose.

Fang Yuan did not dare to hesitate, pointing a finger at the wild boar, and the White Boar Gu which was residing in his aperture instantly turned into a milky white light and entered the wild boar's body.

Fang Yuan stood on the spot, nervously staying alert of the surroundings. Although the beast skin map said that the area was relatively safe, there were always accidents in nature, what if beasts were attracted by the smell of the blood?

After a while, the White Boar Gu flew back safe and sound.

The entire boar had shrunk in half, only leaving behind its black grey fur and the intestines under its skin. As for the meat, most of it was eaten by the White Boar Gu.

But the strange thing was, although the White Boar Gu ate pork nearly a thousand times its size, it did not change physically.

There was not even a drip of blood on it, as it maintained that milky white worm appearance.

"After this meal, I'll come five days later to hunt boars." Fang Yuan kept the White Boar Gu, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he took out his knife and extracted the two tusks of the boar.

The wild boar's body had a few things of value.

The first was pork, the second was fur, and the third was its teeth.

But now the wild boar meat was mostly eaten by the White Boar Gu; its skin was full of holes due to the moonblades, being meaningless even if retrieved.

Only this pair of tusks had some value. It could be used as food for certain Gu worms which ate teeth as food, or used as a catalyst for some Gu worm's advancement.

Fang Yuan hid the teeth in the rock crack's secret cave before returning to the hostel.

He did not sleep immediately, but sat on his bed and started to cultivate.

Within the aperture, the primeval sea acted like waves, rising and falling.

Fang Yuan was now a middle stage Gu Master, so after using the Liquor worm refinement, he had upper stage primeval essence.

Thus, while the people his age had middle stage pale green primeval essence, Fang Yuan's primeval essence was dark green.

Now that he killed a boar, there was only 23% of his primeval essence in his aperture.

A Rank one Gu Master was not that strong in battle. Or rather, nature's environment was too harsh. Even if the moonblade could break bones, to kill a normal wild boar, Fang Yuan had to use 20% of his upper stage primeval essence.

"White Boar Gu."

His eyes were shut tight, his spirit immersed into his aperture.

In the aperture, a gush of dark green primeval essence rushed up against the flow, injecting into the White Boar Gu.

The White Boar Gu immediately emitted a bright white light, and the light enveloped Fang Yuan's body. If one looked from the outside, they would see that Fang Yuan's body was emitting a pure white light from the inside.

Fang Yuan's every muscle and every inch of skin, was soaked in this white light.

A feeling of numbness and itchiness was felt by him. As the white light modified his muscles, it allowed strength to be slowly infused into his body, thus gaining roots and never to be lost again.

However, after a moment, the numb feeling became pain. This pain was like getting electrocuted, from numbness to sharp pain like getting cut by razor blades.

Fang Yuan hurriedly stopped the White Boar Gu.

Anything prolonged was not good.

The White Boar Gu could not be overused, it could be applied about fifteen minutes a day. Exceed it, and extreme pain would be felt, increasingly painful.

If he continued using it despite that, a person might even die from the pain!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 71: Keeping a low profile even if one's strength can carry a boar

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

Time flies, and with the blink of an eye, it was already the middle of June.

The summer night, with the golden arc of the moon hanging high in the sky, shining its radiance on the green mountain lands.

The winds blew and the leaves danced with the moonlight. The song of the cicadas and bullfrogs were simultaneous with each other. At times the sound of a wolf howling could be heard from afar, echoing throughout the green mountain.

On a river bank, a creek was scrubbing over a piece of smooth cliff rock. Beside this bank, a battle was ongoing.

A mountain boar covered in fine and deep wounds all over kicked its legs and rushed forward once more towards Fang Yuan. The blood was pouring from its wounds, marking a road of fresh red liquid.

Fang Yuan wrestled with it, showing no signs of panic.

The wild boar was on the verge of death, but it was precisely these moments that wild beasts are the most dangerous. Using the last remaining potential of their lives, their insanity and tenacity, could cause one to get gravely injured at any careless moment.

Fang Yuan was peaceful, his black iris glowing eerily under the moonlight, showing the light of absolute calmness.

He had the experience of 500 years, a part of him was engrossed in combat, while another disengaged from the battle, and remained alert towards the surroundings.

Many times when he was hunting wild boars, other animals came to wreck havoc. At times, a wild boar, another time wild wolves, and even once a wandering tiger.

As time passed, the wild boar's attacks gradually slowed down.

Fang Yuan's eyes shone brightly as he took a few strides forward, getting close to the wild boar. Raising strength in his shoulder and arms, he carried and raised the wild boar in one breath.

Huff!

Fang Yuan growled as his face was puffed red, his arms stretching out and raising the wild boar high above his head.

The wild boar feebly struggled.

Fang Yuan's body was unstable, he used all his strength to throw the wild boar.

With a boom, the wild boar was thrown onto a large rock by the river bank. It cried pitifully as sounds of its bones breaking could be heard.

It fell down from the large rock, blood oozing out from its ears, nose and mouth.

It struggled a few times before drawing its final breath.

The surroundings regained its peace.

The river water flowed endlessly, carrying the boar's blood along the river to some far away place.

"My strength right now can compete with a boar! Tonight I'll go try that giant rock at the passageway." Fang Yuan stood on the spot, breathing in heavily with a hint of excitement flashing across his eyes.

These days he had used the White Boar Gu non-stop to increase the strength of his body. He could feel strongly now that his strength was getting bigger.

Back then when he fought wild boars, he could only use a kiting technique with the moonblade, but now he could even carry the wild boar, so the increment of his strength had shown great progress.

Of course, the White Boar Gu would not endless give him strength. The limit was a boar's strength, and once he reached the limit, it would no longer grant him any additional strength.

"I can carry a wild boar now, but that does not mean I can go head to head with a boar, like how a strong man can carry another strong man, but it does not mean they have equal strength. My strength can continue to grow."

Feeding all the pork to the White Boar Gu, Fang Yuan used his hunting knife to retrieve the boar's teeth, and finally diced up the already heavily torn boar skin, before going into the secret cave in the rock crack.

As for the boar's corpse, it did not need him to do anything. During the summer night, wild beasts roamed freely, and not long after, there should be wild beasts picking up the scent of the blood and rush here to clean the scene for Fang Yuan.

Or rather, even if someone found out, it was inconsequential. The wild boar's injuries were all 'edited' by Fang Yuan, looking nothing like moonblade cuts.

Back to the secret cave enveloped in red light, Fang Yuan threw the two wild boar teeth at a corner.

The wild boar's teeth collided, causing a crisp sound.

At this corner, there was already a pile of wild boar teeth. They were the results of Fang Yuan's hunting.

Fang Yuan squirmed into the passageway, once again getting to the end of the tunnel.

Walking on the tunnel, his footsteps could be heard echoing in the cave, his vision dyed red due to the light.

Everything was unchanged; the giant rock was still there, quietly blocking his path. As for the hole created after digging out the earth treasury flower, it had already been filled up by Fang Yuan.

Haa!

Fang Yuan walked in front of the giant rock, raised both hands and pushed.

Although his face grew red with exertion, and he used all his strength, the giant rock did not move an inch.

"With my current strength, I can only carry a wild boar. But this giant rock, it is at least the weight of five to six boars. No wonder I cannot move it. The Flower Wine Monk's strength inheritance is not that easily obtained!" Fang Yuan's gaze shone as he estimated in his heart.

He did not give up, but instead came out of the tunnel and returned to the secret room upstairs.

Taking a bamboo tube from the corner of the wall, Fang Yuan sat on the ground and opened the lid, taking out the beast skin map and sheets of bamboo paper.

He opened the beast skin map and started to memorise it, using his fingers to draw on the traces on the map to aid in his memorization.

Ever since he had obtained the map, he had been doing this everyday.

Fang Yuan did not have a storage type Gu, he could not bring the beast skin map with him everywhere. Carrying a bamboo tube on him while battling is inconvenient too. Thus, Fang Yuan put in some effort and was prepared to stuff the entire beast skin map's content into his head.

Some things, even if troublesome, had to be done. In a person's life, those who did not actively resolve problems due to fearing trouble, would always face a dangerous predicament at the end. Fang Yuan understood this logic from his previous life.

"When one is young, their memory sure is good. I have already memorised more than half of this map. If I was old, I would probably forget the content while memorising this. Hehehe… of course if I had a Bookworm, I would feed this map to it, and from then on, as long as I do not lose the Bookworm, I will be able to recall this map clearly forever."

Fang Yuan had the Liquor worm, White Boar Gu, and was now beginning to have insatiable greed, starting to crave the Bookworm.

The value of the Bookworm was quite close to the Liquor worm and White Boar Gu, all being rare species among the Rank one Gu worms. The market price was expensive and they were often sold out in moments.

In his previous life, Fang Yuan did not obtain the Liquor worm or White Boar Gu, but he accidentally obtained a Bookworm. This Bookworm eventually advanced ranks with him, and accompanied him for a whole sixty years.

"Forget it, Bookworms are rare and low in numbers, I won't be able to get one anytime soon. To speak the truth, my current stage is way better than my previous life at this point. Last time at this period, I was still a Rank one initial stage, while the others like Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng, Mo Bei were already upper stage, far beyond me." Fang Yuan was not someone who worried over nothing, quickly getting over it.

He was rather satisfied with his current progress.

He was a middle stage, and the others were also middle stage. With his C grade talent, he could maintain the same speed as these A and B grades, it was not easy. Much effort was given to the Liquor worm, as well as Fang Yuan's rich cultivating experience.

The other aspect, was also due to Fang Yuan.

His act of extortion had caused the classmates to bulk up on training their physical fighting skills under the help of their elders. Unknowingly, it caused them to be distracted, reducing the time they spent on nurturing their apertures. This resulted in everyone's cultivation level being even lower than Fang Yuan's past life.

But even so, they were not so far from upper stage now.

Gu Masters' early stage of cultivation was rather easy, seeing effect in a short period of time. Especially Gu Yue Fang Zheng, Mo Chen and Chi Cheng, their cultivation level had already creeped and even seemed to surpass Fang Yuan.

With constant cultivation, these three with their talent, or the support behind them, had already begun to show their advantage. The lead that Fang Yuan had due to the Liquor worm was starting to disappear.

Of course, there was also the reason of him hunting recently and using the White Boar Gu to raise his strength, or spending much of his time and effort in doing so.

"At this rate, before long, someone will advance to upper stage. The first person that achieves upper stage will get a reward of thirty primeval stones. But this reward, I do not intend to contest for it." Fang Yuan had decided long ago.

If he abandoned the White Boar Gu now and rushed for upper stage, he might have some hopes of winning. But that was not Fang Yuan's goal. Thirty primeval stones might be good but he did not lack primeval stones at the moment.

The bigger reason was that he needed to remain concealed and keep a low profile to reduce other people's attention towards him, so that he can inherit the Flower Wine Monk's strength inheritance successfully.

This is his real motive.

"The academy has all sorts of rewards, but it is just carrots to pique the student's interest, and most importantly, it is a part of the family's system. Fighting for these little rewards, is not what a wise person would do."

Fang Yuan collect his spirits and gazed at the beast skin map again.

The beast skin map had two pages; one recorded the day while the other recorded the night. Many lines of different colours intertwined on it.

These lines, some were straight, some were curved, but they all had their own specific meaning. Only old man Wang would be clear of their meaning, but it is a pity he died. But even if he was alive, by forcing him to speak, he might not say the truth.

These days, Fang Yuan relied on his knowledge and experience, and according to the bamboo paper's comparison, he had already deciphered it all.

"The red cross represents danger, a forbidden zone. The area with the red cross seems to be surrounded by wild boars, it is probably a wild boar king there. With my current strength, I'm as good as dead if I encounter one. Hmph!"

Thinking of old man Wang, Fang Yuan could not help but snort again.

This area marked with a cross was not marked on the bamboo paper. If Fang Yuan really believed the bamboo paper, he would probably die by the fangs of the wild boar king one day. This old man Wang was indeed experienced. To avenge his son, he did not have to act himself, but borrowed the wild boar king's strength. This way, even if Fang Yuan dies, he would be able to avoid responsibility.

"But these three spots marked with a red circle, what do they mean?" Fang Yuan was perturbed.

This was the beast skin map's final suspicious point.

Three red circles, showing three very isolated areas. They were also very far apart, and had little surrounding beasts, considered safer areas in the wild.

"The red cross represents forbidden area, but what does the red circle represent?" Fang Yuan fell into deep thoughts, "Normally, red is the most alert colour. Old man Wang marked these three areas, meaning they are important. It is a pity these areas are far, if not I would inspect them myself and find the reason."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 72: Any organisation would also require loyalty

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The hot summer sun blazes on, the mountain winds blowing the warm winds around, Qing Mao Mountain steaming under the hot air.

In the blink of an eye, it was already near the end of June.

"Gu Yue Fang Zheng!" In the academy, the family elder called out.

Gu Yue Fang Zheng got up from his seat and came before the Academy Elder.

Under the admiring gaze of his classmates, Fang Zheng received a heavy bag of primeval stones.

"Fang Zheng, you are the first to advance to upper stage, this is your reward. Good job, continue working hard." Academy elder smiled pleasantly, patting Fang Zheng's shoulders.

Fang Zheng acknowledged with a grunt, his face full of excitement.

He took the money bag over with emotion and returned to his seat.

"I finally did it. The first to advance to upper stage, do you see that big brother, I finally beat you for once!"

His eyes shone with bright light as he swept his gaze over at Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan was sprawled on the table, sound asleep. Last night he had killed another wild boar, and after returning to the hostel, he used the White Boar Gu to improve his body and also used the natural essence within the primeval stones to refine his primeval essence using the Liquor worm. Finally, he used his upper stage primeval essence to nurture his aperture, all the way until morning.

He hurriedly ate breakfast before rushing to class, falling asleep as soon as he settled in. He was too exhausted, and Gu Master cultivation could not replace sleep.

"Hmph, even if you don't admit it, this is the truth. Big brother, I have finally surpassed you! This is the first, and there will be a second time, a third time!"

Fang Zheng clenched his fists. This success was extremely meaningful to him. He had already broken through the dark clouds in his heart, creating and opening to allow light to penetrate in.

Even though this light was thin, it gave Fang Zheng hope and encouragement!

"Hmph, I actually lost to that Fang Zheng." Gu Yue Mo Bei sat on his seat, arms crossed, feeling indignant.

"This is the advantage of an A grade, damn it…" Gu Yue Chi Cheng said with a dark expression. As he cultivated, he felt strongly the advantages of a good talent. Even with his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian's support, plus his extremely hard work, he was still left behind by Fang Zheng.

"If only I had a Liquor worm, plus grandfather's help, I might not lose to Fang Zheng! Those accursed Fang family brothers! Little brother is A grade, suppressing us, but the brother being a C grade has a Liquor worm. Why did all the good things in this world go to these brothers?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng felt really indignant.

"This time Fang Zheng broke through to upper stage first."

"Of course, he is A grade talent".

"Yeah, even Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and Fang Yuan lost to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng has gained all the attention this time."

"Fang Yuan having the Liquor worm is not putting in effort. Wasting his time everyday, even sleeping in class, he might as well give his Liquor worm to me."

The surrounding students discussed, feeling indignant in their hearts, helplessness and envy.

The academy elder called them one by one, and students went up continuously to collect their primeval stones allowance, and returned to their seats.

"Everyone quieten down." After the allowance was given out, the academy elder used his hand to hit the table. All of a sudden, the academy became silent.

"Now, you've all mastered your second Gu worm and even so much as broke through into the upper stage. In the past half a year, you have all worked hard, and now you have some basics, it is time for you to train in the wilds. True battles, are not scarecrows or puppets, wooden puppets that stand there and await your attacks.

"The following mid year examination, will be held three days later, all students have to attend! The examination content is to hunt wild boars. By collecting wild boar teeth as results to record, those who collect the most wild boar teeth will get better scores. At the end of the examination, each wild boar teeth can be exchanged for ten primeval stones. Furthermore, you are allowed to hunt in groups."

The academy elder's words caused a commotion among the students.

"The mid-year exam is finally here!"

"Every year's students study at the academy for a year, and there is always a mid-year exam and an end of year exam. Looking at the time, it really is time for the mid-year exam."

"Every year's examination content is different, to think that this year, our examination is to hunt and acquire wild boar teeth."

"What should we do? My talent is only D grade, my vital Gu isn't an attack-type like the Moonlight Gu, how can I hunt wild boars?"

"Didn't you hear, the family elder said, we are allowed to hunt in groups. For those with talent that can't make it, or those with Gu worms that aren't suitable, we can help each other and cooperate! When we get boar teeth, we just need to share with one another, and that would work."

"Each wild boar teeth can be exchanged for ten primeval stones, this is the academy encouraging us to hunt more wild boars, and the prize is set for that. For true market value, one primeval stone can buy twenty wild boar teeth."

The students had varying expressions, some were happy while other fretted, some were eager to go, while others called on companions, even Fang Yuan was slightly moved.

"It changed! I remember that last year's examination was to collect wildlife honey. To think that it changed to wild boar teeth. Is this the butterfly effect?"

A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a giant storm on the coast of another ocean. A small change in the initial conditions lead to drastic changes in the results.

Ever since his rebirth, Fang Yuan had made many changes, the conditions of his current self was vastly different from his previous life. Back then he had already been left behind by Fang Zheng and the others, but now he was adamantly at the top of the student board.

In his past life he did not kill Jia Jin Sheng, in fact they did not even meet. But this life, he did not only kill Jia Jin Sheng, he even excavated the deeper treasures of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.

These changes are like a butterfly flapping its wings, indirectly causing changes to the environment. The mid-year examination change is only the first of such symptoms.

"If I continue changing things, will it cause history to become completely unrecognisable as well? In that case, the advantage from my rebirth would be significantly reduced."

Fang Yuan looked calm, but was sighing internally.

The feeling of inability and pressing urgency roamed his heart, but he quickly adjusted his mood.

"No matter what, since it has already happened, I can't stop it. What I need to do now is to actively change myself. Even if the events are completely different at the end, I would not slow down my growth just because of such concerns!"

"In my past life I knew nothing about the future, does that mean that in my current life I lack courage? Hehe, even if the world is full of thorns, I will cut through all the thorns in my way and pave out a blood-filled path myself!"

"Every teeth for ten primeval stones, this price is very high. Should I sell all those wild boar fangs I have stocked up at the cave? But if I do, I might attract suspicion? No, according to the Gu Yue clan's political situation, if I sell these wild boar teeth publicly, I might get screwed over."

Fang Yuan shook his head, the risks were too big. If he really sold these teeth, what could he get in return?

A little over one hundred primeval stones?

"Wait, primeval stones aren't important. Maybe I can use this change to construct my image again." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan's eyes shone brightly.

He needed to get rich secretly now, being as low profile as possible. If the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was exposed, he might even lose his life.

But his current position was awkward.

He stood against all his classmates, being outside the system, and among the higher-ups, he was an untamable, unhappy and indignant, intelligent and cold, C grade talent teenager.

This image was not good, it literally portrayed him as unloyal. But a clan requires loyalty, in fact, any organisation requires loyalty.

No matter which world, loyalty is the value that is most sought after in clans. Loyalty to the clan, loyalty to the country, loyalty to his leader, loyalty to his loved one, loyalty to his friends etc.

As Fang Yuan's cultivation level got higher, the higher-ups would only get more concerned, and if needed, the family may even use hard handed methods on him. At that point, Fang Yuan would be really thrown into passivity.

Fang Yuan did not like passiveness, he liked to have the control of all matters tightly in his grip.

Because of a series of events before, Fang Yuan could only operate on the go, relying on outside strength, and this image he constructed was only to protect himself in times of need.

But now that he could protect himself, Fang Yuan needed to be stronger!

Thus, he needed to change this image, letting the higher-ups think that he had given up and joined the clan system. But this conversation cannot be too abrupt, or it would be suspicious.

More importantly, joining this system is only a facade, Fang Yuan would not really join them truly, and be manipulated and restricted. He had too many secrets.

He needed large amounts of freedom, and in actuality he was still a loner in operation.

But now the mid-year exam was a chance.

"It seems I have to do some plotting, I'll start from the extortion then." Fang Yuan's gaze became certain as everything fell into his scheme.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 73: The mysterious red circle marking

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"You said that during Fang Yuan's extortion this time, although he defeated Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng and Mo Bei, he left go of them and did not take their primeval stones?" Hearing the guard's report, the academy elder revealed a slightly shocked expression.

"I dare not lie to lord, it is indeed like this." The guard kneeling on the ground immediately responded.

"Mm." The academy elder did not express his opinion, and waved his hand, "I have understood this matter, you may go."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

Once the guard had left, the academy elder immediately fell into deep thoughts.

He was originally concerned with this matter as he was afraid Fang Yuan would snatch away the thirty primeval stones that Fang Zheng had gotten as a reward. If that was the case, the academy's reward system would have no meaning, they might as well give everything to Fang Yuan.

If Fang Yuan really did that, the academy would not allow it, and the academy elder was already prepared to punish Fang Yuan.

But he did not expect that not only did Fang Yuan have no intention to take the thirty primeval stones from Fang Zheng, he even let go of Mo Bei and Chi Cheng as well.

"Fang Yuan has hundreds of primeval stones on hand, he might not be too concerned with the thirty primeval stones, that is understandable. But giving up on extorting Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng, what is the reason?"

The academy elder contemplated, his eyebrows gradually easing. He had understood something.

Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng, they could be said to represent the three factions of the clan. Letting go of them, the meaning was that he was appealing to the three different factions. This was understandable, as Fang Yuan's attitude change meant that he was finally willing to lower his head to the clan.

"Understandable. As he cultivated, Fang Yuan may have the Liquor worm, but the situation has gotten clearer to him. The inability of a C grade talent, after a few outbursts, and letting go of the majority of his negative feelings, he is probably rather downhearted and depressed now."

"It seems the clan leader's words make sense, Fang Yuan is after all a fifteen year old, how can he go against the clan's system? Now that he has started to accept reality, once he finds the position that he belongs to, he would fuse into the clan naturally."

Thinking of this, the academy elder breathed out a sigh of relief, his feelings becoming more cheerful.

Three days passed in a flash. Soon, the mid-year exam was here.

"Faster, faster, I've lured the wild boar out!" A youngster ran as he shouted out frantically.

On both his legs, there was a light green ring of swirling wind. With these two rings, it led to him having above average speed at such a young age.

However, the wild boar chasing after him became faster and faster, and the distance between them was shortening.

The scorching sun penetrated the forest and reflected on the wild boar, causing both its teeth to shine brightly.

"The wild boar is coming, hold the rope tightly!" The four ambushing youngsters quickly hid in the bushes and pulled the ropes tightly, instantly forming a tripping rope.

The speeding youngster leapt lightly, jumping over the road and continued running.

But the boar behind him tripped over the rope and fell harshly on the ground, crashing five to six meters before stopping.

"Oww!" The four youngsters were pulled along by the rope, and fell to the ground along with the wild boar.

"Strike!" The youngster running ahead turned around and shouted.

The few people lying on the ground frantically stood up, and surrounded the wild boar.

Kacha!

A small budding tree, under the impact of the wild boar, snapped in half and the tree crown fell to the ground.

"What a close shave!" Gu Yue Chi Cheng wiped the sweat off his forehead, feeling lingering fear. "Luckily I managed to use the Dragonpill cricket Gu and leapt three meters to the left, otherwise this tree would've been my outcome."

Pew pew pew!

Moonblade danced in the air as it hit the wild boar's body, causing long and shallow cuts.

Gu Yue Mo Bei's face was excited, his eyes glowing, his spirits immersed in this battle.

Half an hour later, the wild boar collapsed due to excessive loss of blood.

Gu Yue Mo Bei breathed roughly and also sat on the ground, his entire body full of mud and grass, at the same time full of sweat.

"Fighting against a living being like the wild boar is indeed different from the wooden puppet, grass puppet during practise battles. I spent thirty minutes just to kill a wild boar, I wonder how are the others doing?"

On a hidden small hill, there was a temporarily built tent. The tent blocked the punishing sun rays and casted an area of cool dark shadowy shade.

Under the cover, there was a few chairs and tables, with the academy elder sitting at the main seat. Beside him, there were other clan elders. A few Gu Masters were standing behind them.

In the surrounding forests around the tent, there were also some hidden Gu Masters.

At this time, the forest ahead had an abnormal disturbance.

Whoosh!

A Gu Master emerged from the forest like a shadow and quickly ran out, kneeling outside the tentage.

"How is the situation?" Academy elder asked.

"Reporting to Lord Elder, at this point, there are no casualties among the students." The Gu Master quickly answered.

"Good, good."

"An afternoon had already gone by since the mid-year exam started. To have no injuries, this is different from the past years."

"It looks like this is all the academy elder's effort."

The other clan elders nodded satisfactorily, praising in turns.

The academy elder shook his head slightly, he knew the reason. This was due to Fang Yuan's emergence, extorting his classmates, causing them to practise hard on basic martial arts, thus having such a performance.

He looked towards the kneeling Gu Master, and continued asking, "Then at this point, whose results are the best?"

The Gu Master answered immediately, "Reporting to Lord, at this point, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng, Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, are leading. Chi Cheng killed three boars, Fang Zheng and Mo Bei killed five, and Fang Yuan has the most, at eight."

"Oh? To think Fang Yuan is leading!"

"In all the years, it is a very rare sight that A and B grade talents are being suppressed by a C grade."

"He has the Liquor worm right? That means he has upper stage green copper primeval essence, so to have such a result, it is understandable."

"I believe that from now on, Fang Zheng, Mo Bei and Chi Cheng would surpass him. Although he has the Liquor worm, his primeval essence recovery rate cannot compare to A, B grade talents."

The other clan elders discussed.

"You may go." Academy elder waved his hand towards the kneeling Gu Master. "Instruct the others, focus on their protecting job. Especially Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng and Mo Bei, pay more attention and ensure their safety!"

"Yes, lord." The Gu Master retreated.

These outdoor combats to most students, it was really their first time. Thus, there was danger and the clan naturally has plans. Dozens of Rank two Gu Masters were concealed in the forests, controlling the safety of this entire examination. At the same time, some Rank three clan elders were staying here to anticipate sudden accidents.

The blazing sun slowly descended from the highest point in the sky, gradually nearing the north-east mountains.

The sunset glow ignited the clouds; it was the sun's last flow of passion.

As the last sunlight shone into the forest, another wild boar fell on the ground.

"Twenty third." Fang Yuan calculated in his heart, and then squatted down, skillfully carving out a wild boar teeth.

There was a bag on his back, inside was a large number of wild boar teeth.

At the same time, he had another bag, carrying the teeth of those boars he killed last time. These teeth were originally stored in the rock crack secret cave, and were retrieved by Fang Yuan the previous night, stored into a bag and buried in a secret location.

"I am familiar with the terrain and wild boar distribution, at the same time I have upper stage primeval essence to use the Moonlight Gu together with the Little light Gu. The others' efficiency definitely cannot compare to me. Just with this bag on me, I can get number one easily. I wonder what expressions they would show when I take out the other bag later? Hehe."

Fang Yuan looked at the sky; it was time to retrieve the other bag.

Thinking of this, in his head, a map showed up.

These days, he had memorized the beast skin map. Fang Yuan was clear of his current position. If he turned left and walked along the stream for fifteen minutes, he would reach the location where he buried the bag.

But when he was about to move, he hesitated.

"With my current location, I am only five to six hundred meters away from the nearest red circle marking. Such a rare chance, should I go take a look?"

Once he had the thought, it was unstoppable.

Since he had already won anyway, Fang Yuan had a lot of time left.

"That beast skin map had three red circle markings, these three locations were very important to old man Wang. It is also the only meaning that I could not decipher on the map. I'll go see!"

Fang Yuan naturally knew that there were Gu Masters controlling the scene, but this was also why he needed evidence.

Immediately, he acted like he was going to continue killing wild boars, and moved deeper into the forest.

Seven minutes later, he arrived at the red marking location.

A treehouse was hidden among the bushes on a huge tree, and if one did not observe closely they would not be able to find it.

"This is old man Wang's temporary residence while hunting?" Fang Yuan frowned, his heart getting confused.

He climbed into the treehouse.

When he saw the sight in the tree house, his expression changed!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 74: Solving the mystery with knowledge and discovering killing intent

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The space in the tree house isn't large, but there were many items inside, so at one glance it seemed extremely messy.

The floor in the center had a thick dark yellow-coloured carpet.

Inside the house, there was an iron stove beside the wall, and on it there was a bronze kettle. Inside the stove there was black coloured soot, and beside it there was a small pile of unburnt dried firewood.

Despite it being summer, the nights in this mountain were still icy cold. The iron stove could maintain the entire treehouse's warmth when lit, despite its small size.

The treehouse has two sets of windows, two to three ropes wrapped as the frame of the windows, connecting the two together in the middle of the room.

On the rope hanged several torn pieces of clothing, the torn patches pieced together. It was obviously an adult's clothing and was still slightly damp, not completely dry from the sun yet.

The light of the setting sun penetrated the windows and shone inside the treehouse.

The treehouse was rather dark internally. At a corner there were axes and hunting knives with beast skin wrapped on the handle. On the blade there was even dark red blood traces.

On the other side of the wall, there was a piece of bamboo paper with a dagger stabbed in the middle.

There was a young man's face on the bamboo paper — it was Fang Yuan's appearance!

This all meant that during this short period, someone had come to the hidden treehouse and lived here. The person's intention was obvious, his target was Fang Yuan.

The paper was stabbed by a dagger and showed his evil intent to the extremes!

Such a scenario, even Fang Yuan was taken aback.

"What does this person want, and why is he against me? No, maybe it isn't me but Fang Zheng." Fang Yuan's thoughts flew all over his mind.

Fang Zheng was an A grade talent, the only one in the last three years of the Gu Yue clan, and is their only hope. If he could be truly nurtured, he would be the next figure in the clan.

But nurturing was a process.

During this process, there were calamities and human-made disasters.

Ignoring calamities, the most important was human disasters. As everyone knew, Qing Mao mountain did not only have the Gu Yue clan, but also the Bai clan and Xiong clan. These two forces would not be happy to see the dominating Gu Yue clan successfully nurturing an A grade talent.

Thus, sending assassins to get rid of him was a common thing.

In this world, there are little geniuses, and even less of those who could successfully grow up.

A grade talent Gu Masters, it was not that they did not exist. Three years ago, one appeared in the Gu Yue clan. In even earlier generations, they also appeared on occasions.

But on Qing Mao Mountain, out of the three clans in these years, there was only one successful A grade talent nurtured — the Bai clan's Bai Ning Bing of Rank three cultivation.

Such a scenario was enough to say many things.

"This person, is he from the Bai clan or the Xiong clan? They want to get rid of Gu Yue Fang Zheng so soon?" Fang Yuan frowned, staring at the portrait.

"But why did old man Wang's beast skin map indicate this treehouse? Was he a spy from the other forces? No, this person is obviously after me!"

Fang Yuan's eyes shone with brilliance.

At this moment, he thought of many scenes.

The first time, it was beside the trap, and the four hunter's conversation —

A hunter said, "Second brother Wang, you're almost nineteen, it is time you got married and have children."

Wang Er said, "Hmph, as a true man, how can I be lusting after such small beauty! One day, I will walk out of this Qing Mao mountain and roam the world, learn everything in the world and live up to the expectations of my male body!"

The second time was after he himself acted, Wang Er's peculiar calmness. He pulled his bow and pointed at Fang Yuan. The others were already begging for forgiveness.

The third was when Fang Yuan was asking questions.

"I ask you, in old man Wang's family, who else is there?"

A hunter answered, "Hunter Wang originally had a wife, but that was decades ago, and she was killed by wild wolves that intruded the village. Before his wife died she gave birth to two sons and a daughter. But the oldest son Wang Da died on the mountain while hunting three years ago. There is no one else in the Wang family."

"I, I remember! Old man Wang actually also has a daughter-in-law, Wang Da's old wife. But after Wang Da disappeared, his wife died due to a broken heart. That year, the village even specially sent down a chastity memorial arch! But rumour has it that Wang Da's wife wanted to remarry, and she was actually hounded to death by Old man Wang. When you killed Old man Wang, lord, you are helping us citizens, rooting out the evil and bringing people peace!"

The other hunter quickly added, "That's right, that's right. Actually lord, we have long found this old Wang unfavourable. Hmph, he's nothing special, just that he can hunt better than us. We're all just mortals, yet he thinks he's more special than us and purposely moved out of the village to live here. As the younger generation, we sometimes will ask him to teach us and impart his experiences, but he would just outright chase us away and never allow us to show up again near the wooden house!"

Old man Wang's family, moving out of the village, away from people……

Eldest son Wang Da, died on the mountains three years ago while hunting……

Wang Da's wife wanted to remarry, and was forced to commit suicide by old man Wang, and obtained a chastity memorial arch….

Old man Wang chased away all the young hunters who were trying to ask for guidance…

Old man Wang tried his best to hide the beast skin map, and on the bamboo paper, there were no such circles……

Wang Er was at such a young age, but was calm towards Gu Masters. At the same time he did not marry, and had the aspiration to surpass mortal realm in his heart……

Most importantly, the circles on the beast skin map indicated a hidden realm, there was obvious human activity in the area. At the same time this person held strong hatred towards Fang Yuan……

All the clues pieced together, if separated they were not easy to link, but once linked it was peculiar!

The more Fang Yuan thought about it, the more he felt that the mist shrouding this mystery has thinned.

The setting sun's afterglow passed through the window and reflected upon his face, the strong light alike to the colour of blood.

The surroundings had fallen into a deadly silence, was there someone secretly peeping at him all this time?

Suddenly, Fang Yuan's eyes lit up, his vision crossing through time and space; he had seen the truth!

"Wang Da, did not die."

At this moment, the glow in his eyes radiated the surroundings(1).

"Not only did he not die, he even became a demonic Gu Master by chance!"

It was not that mortals had no cultivating talent, but that the clan restricted the cultivation methods from leaking out, and controlled it tightly in their hands.

But there was no absolute in this world.

Mortals could become Gu Masters as well, from accidents in the wild and encountering the Hope Gu, opening their aperture. Or inheriting a certain strength inheritance, or getting the personal guidance from a certain clan's member.

But these Gu Masters were not accepted into the clan completely, and could only be their henchmen. Thus, they would not be satisfied and became loner Gu Masters. Their cultivation is extremely difficult. As time passed, as they competed for resources, they would have to kill snatch and murder, turning towards the demonic path.

"Because of some lucky chance, the highest possibility is that he obtained a large fortune from a certain Gu Master's corpse and became a Gu Master three years ago. To hide from others, he sent out the fake information that he died, but no one had ever seen his corpse. Old man Wang's family found out about this and moved out of the village, risking the chance that wild beasts might invade and lived alone, just to hide this truth."

"But there were some problems that occurred, Wang Da's wife did not agree and might have wanted to report to the Gu Yue clan. Wang family had no choice but to kill her, and released some seemingly real and fake information to hide the truth. Something about her remarrying, or forcing her to commit suicide to hide the truth under all these rumors."

"Once in awhile, Wang Da would return home to stay. Thus, old man Wang had to chase those youngsters who were seeking guidance away. Wang Er after interacting with his brother had dispelled his fear of Gu Masters, and naturally developed the goal of wanting to be a Gu Master and explore the greatness of the outside world!"

"Because of the fear that Wang Da might be exposed, even at such an old age Wang Er did not get married. Wang Da could not stay in the house, thus old man Wang drew three red circles on the beast skin map, these three locations should be hidden residential areas like this. Having three hiding spots, Wang Da rotated his stay around the houses, and lived in the fringe of the three clans' authority."

The meaning of the three red circles was finally revealed!

Red indicated alertness, but most importantly to old man Wang, this was his eldest son's residence. Thus, when Fang Yuan wanted the old man to draw the map, he did not indicate it on the bamboo paper, it was to protect his son. Similarly, he drew fewer red crosses, to avenge the death of his son.

"Maybe at a certain time each year, Wang Da will return home to stay for a while. When he returned, he found that his entire family was dead. After asking around, he found out it was me, thus he used the dagger to pin my portrait on the wall, so that he would exact revenge on me!"

With his previous life's experience, Fang Yuan was almost certain this was the truth.

If it was some other power that wanted to assassinate Fang Zheng, they could be much more subtle. They did not have to develop a spy like old man Wang. After all, old man Wang lived at the mountain foot, not inside the Gu Yue village.

"To think that over a beast skin map, I provoked a murderer of the demonic faction. This world really works in wondrous ways," Fang Yuan could not help but snicker.

He first killed Wang Er, the old man Wang and Wang's daughter, and it was all for the beast skin map. Old man Wang was the number one hunter in the village, so his beast skin map had the greatest value.

At that time he was thinking: It's merely three mortal lives, what's the big deal, I'll just killing them conveniently.

In this world, anyone had the right to live, and anyone could die just as easily.

To think that out of nowhere, a demonic way Gu Master emerged!

With regards to this, Fang Yuan did not have a tint of regret, but instead felt at ease.

If he had been too merciful at the time, in his goal to obtain the Wang family beast skin map, Wang Er, old man Wang and sister Wang would've been a huge disturbance. To protect Wang Da's secret, they would not give him the real product.

Wang Er's battle strength could exterminate an ordinary Rank one upper stage Gu Master. Old man Wang was even more experienced with age, and in terms of killing strength, he was even more of a threat than Wang Er.

Even if he had gotten the real product, old man Wang would've informed Wang Da, and Wang Da would've gotten Fang Yuan's information immediately. No matter how he dealt with it, he would be in the shadows while Fang Yuan was out in the open. Wang Da would be having the advantage of being in control of the situation.

"Good thing I killed them at the start! Regardless of what, I have to control the situation in my own palm. This way, even if I do not get the real item, there is no loss to me, and I can even snatch other hunters'. Killing old man Wang and that girl caused Wang Da to spend a lot of time just to get my intel. Needless to say, those two young hunters must've already been silenced." Fang Yuan confirmed in his heart.

There was only a few people who knew the situation, and Wang Da would not attack Jiang He. Once Jiang He is dead, the clan would send people to investigate. But if those two hunters disappeared on the mountain, it was easy to manipulate. Jiang He would not reveal an incident like this as it would affect the clan's evaluation of him, and would even cover up the situation.

(1) 'glow in his eyes radiated the surroundings' is a metaphor.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 75: Resolution of the Demonic way!

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The thoughts of Fang Yuan flew all over the place in the tree house.

With the knowledge acquired from his previous life, Fang Yuan could sense Wang Da's existence, but how was his strength?

Fang Yuan had never seen this Wang Da, but with the information at hand, there was much he could analyze from this.

"Courage is built upon the basis of strength, he had collected my information and still wants to exact revenge on me. With such a confidence, his cultivation has to be above Rank one!"

"These three years he had been moving around the three red circled areas, living on the fringe of the three clan villages. Almost everyday he faced the risk of getting discovered and purged. This shows he does not have the strength to roam outside, and roaming outside requires Rank three cultivation.

"This means that, at first evaluation, he is a Rank two."

Fang Yuan's eyes glinted with cold light, "Counting the time, he disappeared for three years and cultivated to Rank two now, so he should be a B or C grade talent, and his aperture should have about 40-70% primeval essence."

"These three years, he could survive and at the same time, live at home despite Jiang He's observation, so he has to have a stealth-type of Gu worm at work.

Information was the most important thing to a Gu Master's showdown.

Although Fang Yuan had no investigative-type Gu worm, with his experience and knowledge, he could forcefully reverse engineer Wang Da's cultivation level and Gu worms to a highly plausible degree.

Very quickly, his mental image of a Rank two demonic faction Gu Master appeared, carrying the hatred of his family's murder and lurking somewhere to kill his revenge target.

"I can kill others, others can naturally come to kill me. This is nothing." Fang Yuan laughed lightly.

In this world, anyone had the right to live, and anyone had the chance to die.

Those who kill, are bound to get killed.

Since he committed murder, he should be mentally prepared to get killed.

If he was killed like that, then he would die like that, it was nothing much, and definitely no regrets. This was the path he chose.

This point, Fang Yuan had great resolve already.This is the resolution of the demonic way!

"Wang Er wants to kill me, then in this mid-year exam, it is definitely the best chance. Normally, students would reside in the village, and with his Rank two cultivation, he cannot creep into the village, that is courting death."

"Maybe he evaluated that I might come out to hunt. But Qing Mao Mountain is so huge, he alone has to hide his traces and also have to search for me, it is too difficult. Now that there's this chance, he is most likely to strike."

"He is a Rank two Gu Master, and one that has struggled for three years, living a life of danger and unknown, a demonic faction Gu Master nurtured like this. With my current battle strength, I am definitely not his match. But this does not mean that I have no chance of survival."

Escape!

Fang Yuan instantly decided.

Nothing is too shameless if it is to survive, so if he can't fight it, run.

For a Gu Master to make a sudden breakthrough is almost never happening. Fighting against a higher realm is possible, but that is built on the base that the Gu Master has special Gu worms.

Fang Yuan had a number of Gu worms in his possession, but the Spring Autumn Cicada was hibernating and unusable, while the Liquor worm, White Boar Gu, Little light Gu and Moonlight Gu were not trump cards to fight a higher realm.

Obviously knowing the enemy was unbeatable, yet resolving to fight to the death, that is a stupid "hot-blooded" behaviour. Even if he wins, that would not win him the favor of fate.

Fang Yuan is cautious his entire life even with trump cards, and if the chances of victory is slim, he would choose to avoid combat.

He liked to be in control of the situation, using unscrupulous methods to raise his chances to the limit. He loved fighting assured battles.

Only when he has no choice would he engage in a risky fight.

Thus, his favourite activity was to bully the weak and snatch resources to get stronger. Strong enough until he surpasses his enemies and then stomp on them afterwards, bullying the weak.

There is nothing shameless about this, those who find challenges just to prove their bravery and risk their lives to fight to the death with strong enemies, that is the real stupidity.

But unfortunately, this "quality" has been praised and recommended, because any organization needed the individual to sacrifice themselves to protect the interests of the ones in power.

One just needs to think slightly to know that survival is the prerequisite to all activities.

In order to survive and fulfill the ambitions on their heart, this is a person's greatest courage.

Dying for aspiration, those are fools. Surviving shamelessly for their ambitions, those are true brave warriors!

On earth, Han Xin(1) endured the shame of crawling through someone's legs, Cao Cao(2) was chased till he shaved his beard and torn his robe, Yue Wang(3) in order to live, had to eat shit to express his loyalty……

That's why, fuck off with honor and reputation, and face!

Regardless of organization, they would applaud such a value system. The more that needed to be sacrificed, the more they would be promoted, like a military.

"Which direction should I go, the one that has the lowest chance of encountering Wang Da?" A map appeared in Fang Yuan's mind.

"Wang Da already knows I have the beast skin map, now he should be hiding in the forest, searching for me by looking for the wild boar distribution on the map. I cannot go to these places, thus I can only move in reverse to find a chance to survive." Thinking of this, a slightly insane route surfaced in Fang Yuan's mind.Under the sunset in the mountain forest, tree shadows overlapped and wild grass grew abundantly.

A pair of bloodshot eyes hid deep in the shadows. His eyes burnt with hatred and anger, as if it couldn't be doused even with a tsunami.

"Fang Yuan, I've finally found you…" Wang Da gritted his teeth, growling the words out from his mouth.

Under his gaze, not far away, a youngster with a thin body and pale face was traversing the forest.

With his enemy nearby, Wang Da did not act immediately, but turned his gaze to several other positions.

From each of these positions, an invigilator Gu Master was hidden.

To prevent cheating and for immediate treatment of injuries, the area nearby had around a few dozen Rank two Gu Masters hiding. There was even Rank three clan elders holding the fort on the mountains high up.

Wang Da carefully moved around the forest and collected a lot of intel.

"I want to kill Fang Yuan, so I need to get rid of these three Gu Masters first. Otherwise, once I show myself, I will be disturbed. Maybe with surprise, I can kill Fang Yuan, but I will also get killed by the Gu Masters that chase after me from there."

"I have Rank two middle stage cultivation, and there's 50% primeval essence in my body. I have to act first and kill these three Gu Masters, it is difficult. I have to strike consecutively in a very short period. Otherwise, once they find their companions dead, they would become alert and my traces will be exposed……"

"Shadow Follower Gu." Wang Da closed his eyes and called in his heart.

Immediately, his body became enshrouded in a lump of darkness and could move among the tree shadows.

All was silent.

In a thick bush nearby, the Gu Yue clan's Rank two Gu Master sprawled inside, yawning out of boredom.

"So boring, accompanying these junior students, I feel like a nanny." This Gu Master complained softly, not feeling the shadow that was slowly creeping around him.

A pair of bony hands stretched out from the shadows.

This pair of hands was pale to the limit, the joints were huge and the ten nails were sharp and long, the nails dyed a shade of dark purple and emitted a slightly fishy smell.

"What smell is this?" The Gu Yue clan Gu Master sniffed, frowning subconsciously.

He just wanted to investigate, but it was too late.

Wang Da pounced like a snake, striking at lightning speed!

One hand covered the Gu Master's mouth and nose, while the other stabbed from the shadows towards his back. His dark purple nails were sharp as blades, his fingers easily entering the Gu Master's body and reaching his heart.

The fingernails were poisonous, and at that moment it invaded the heart. Through the blood, it spread all over the Gu Master's body.

The Gu Master's body stiffened and lost all signs of life.

Although they were both Rank two Gu Masters, one had assaulted abruptly with preparation, so before the battle even begun, it had ended.

"I used 10% of my primeval essence, 40% left." Wang Da checked his aperture, and fused into the shadows once again.

A moment later, the second Gu Master hiding behind a rock also met his assault. His eyes shrunk to pin size as he collapsed on the ground.

The poison invaded his body, and soon he turned purple, and from his nose two streams of purple blood flowed out.

"30% left." Wang Da chanted silently, turning into shadows again.

"Who is it!" The third Gu Master was hiding on a tree branch atop a huge tree. At the crucial moment he sensed something wrong, and at the time where Wang Da struck, he turned around and grabbed the two poisonous hands.

"Damn it!" Wang Da laughed sinisterly, his ten nails growing crazily, at once becoming five centimeters long, stabbing the Gu Master's forearm and piercing his skin.

His forearm bled and the blood quickly turned dark purple.

"This is the Love Life Separation?!" The third Gu Master seeing this was shocked beyond doubt; the purple poison had already infected his face.

He knew he had no poison resistance Gu worm and was surely dead, thus he showed resolve on his face, shouting, "Then let's die together!"

He opened his mouth and stretched out his tongue.

There was a crescent moon tattoo on his tongue — it was the Moonlight Gu.

A moonblade shot out and slashed Wang Da's right shoulder, piercing through and coming out from his back.

The blood splattered.

Wang Da grunted, his body swaying a little, but the Gu Master had already passed away, with a trace of life left.

"Correct, this is Love Life Separation." Wang Da stood on the tree branch, slowly standing up, showing a bitter smile.

Love Life Separation, the number one poison among the Rank two Gu worms! To refine it, one needs the Rank one life breath grass, widow spider, red needle scorpion and the heart of a lover.

To refine this Gu worm, Wang Da killed his own wife who loved him deeply, and dug out her heart!

"It is all for survival, I could only choose strength… this is the resolution of my demonic path!" Wang Da's eyes were red as he stared tightly at the nearby youngster.

"I gave up on love, and only had kinship left, but you took them from me! Fang Yuan…" He growled lowly, "I want you to regret deeply all that you did!"

(1) 韩信 (Han Xin): Famous general of first emperor Han emperor Liu Bang.

(2) 曹操 (Cao Cao): Famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher, later warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi, as well as the main villain of the novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms.

(3) 越王勾践 (Yue Wang/King Gou Jian of Yue): sometimes considered one of the Five Hegemons.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 76: Do you regret it?

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"Kill!" Wang Da growled, ferociously leaping into the air from the tree branch.

As he was about to get near to his mortal enemy, three moonblades shot out from nowhere suddenly and intercepted him midway.

"Why is there a fourth Gu Master?" Wang Da's heart sank, twisting his body forcefully in midair, narrowing avoiding two moonblades. The remaining one, which he could no longer evade, hit his left leg.

Bang!

Wang Da crashed onto the ground, lowering his head to look at his left leg. There was a wound, deep and long, blood already dripping all over.

"Damn……" Wang Da gritted his teeth, his heart thinking, "Shadow Follower Gu!"

Immediately, he turned into a lump of dark shadow as his speed rose drastically, moving backwards without a sound.

At this moment.

A Gu worm flew out from nowhere, at the same time an old and weary voice sounded out —

"Flash Blink Gu, explode."

The Gu worm exploded on command, turning into a blinding white light.

The white light was unavoidable, abruptly appearing and turning the entire dark forest bright.

"Ah!" Wang Da shrieked. His body which had turned into shadows could not hide anywhere under the bright light, and went back to his human form.

Although the Flash Blink Gu was only Rank one and also a consumable type, it was the complete counter of Wang Da's Shadow Follower Gu. Once the darkness was dispelled by the light, the Rank two Shadow Follower Gu needed to rest three hours before it could be used again.

In nature, all beings are equal, one counters another. Although the Shadow Follower Gu had very strong lurking abilities, it also had a great weakness.

After he was countered, Wang Da's heart sank to the bottom of the valley.

This fourth Gu Master was more experienced, not only did he know which Gu to use, he also hid himself well, a true foe. More importantly, Wang Da could no longer use the Shadow Follower Gu, thus having no way to retreat.

"I am Gu Yue Sou, lad, if you surrender now, my clan might still spare your life!" A white haired, silver beard Rank two Gu Master appeared in front of Wang Da's vision.

"Spare me, hmph, I'll kill you first!" Wang Da knew that if it was dragged, there would be more Gu Masters appearing to deal with him, he had to kill this fourth Gu Master as soon as possible.

"My primeval essence only has 20% left, be it revenge or preserving my life, I have to kill this meddlesome old fellow first!" Wang Da picked up his spirits and jumped towards Gu Yue Sou.

Gu Yue Sou snorted. His entire body, be it hair or pore hair, grew insanely and intertwined, in the blink of an eye forming a snow white battle armor with a spiky design.

Seeing this change, Wang Da's expression changed. The experienced Gu Master was like a porcupine, causing Wang Da to not know how to strike.

His Rank two strong poison Gu Love Life Separation, although the poison was extremely strong and deadly, it did not have strong attacking abilities, only usable as a sneak attack.

Wang Da only had Love Life Separation and Shadow Follower Gu. If he had a defensive Gu worm, he would not have gotten hit by the moonblade.

"Hmph, if I cannot deal with you, I'll kill Fang Yuan first!" Wang Da was not stupid. The three years of living had made him cunning and ruthless.

He moved quickly, getting around Gu Yue Sou and attacking the culprit of his family's murder.

"Dream on!" Gu Yue Sou activated his primeval essence, and his body of spikes immediately shot out two sharp pins, spiralling and flying five to six metres towards Wang Da.

Wang Da's body shifted, narrowly avoiding the two snow white spikes.

On his hands, his ten nails were half a palm long, purple and dark, the fog state poison circulating them.

"Die!" Wang Da was already mad from battle, laughing maniacally as he rushed towards his target.

In his eyes, Fang Yuan's face was full of shock and panic.

Killing intent had overtaken Wang Da's brain, he could almost hear himself piercing Fang Yuan's skin, and his indignant last breath.

"You wish!"

Seeing that he was about to succeed, another person appeared, blocking Wang Da's way.

The fifth Gu Master rushed over from nearby!

"It's actually the Love Life Separation?" This middle-aged man was unmoved by Wang Da's crazy and ferocious demeanour.

Rock Skin Gu!

The middle-aged man activated his primeval essence, red steel primeval essence gushing out like smoke, his naked arms immediately turned from yellow to grey-white colour. At the same time both his arms expanded like balloons, forming a large and thick rock arm.

As both parties got closer, Wang Da's expression became more twisted and insane. The middle-aged Gu Master had a solemn expression as he stretched out both arms to grab Wang Da.

"Trying to get me with this speed?" Wang Da showed a mocking expression.

The middle-aged man's limbs were covered by a thick rock skin, even Wang Da's nails could not penetrate. But the arms were really too heavy and slow. Fang Da felt that he could easily evade them.

"Really? Jade Wind Wheel!" The middle-aged Gu Master shouted, and suddenly a pair of jade-coloured cyclones circulated around his rock arm like armbands.

The rock arm's speed immediately rose!

"How can that be… urgh!" Wang Da's face was shocked as he was swept by the rock arm and flew away.

The middle-aged Gu Master was experienced in battle. If he had used the bee Gu Jade Wind Wheel from the start, Wang Da might not have fallen so easily.

Wang Da was sent flying by the rock arm, falling on the ground in a mess. The chest that was hit felt pain.

Puke.

He barely got up, but could not help but vomit blood.

"5% primeval essence left, I'm gonna die." He checked his aperture, laughing bitterly. Seeing Fang Yuan near him, he showed insane resolve on his face, "Even if I die, you will join me!"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

He ignored his injuries and rushed out.

"Block him!" The middle-aged Gu Master was a pure close-ranged fighter with no long range Gu, at once he could do nothing.

The old Gu Master had already arrived, his body's white hair turning into finger-sized spirals as they flew like nimble snakes, extending five to six metres and reached from behind, piercing Wang Da's body.

But Wang Da did not care, rushing out regardless.

"Die!!!" He screamed loudly, his ten fingernails already fifty centimetres long.

The middle-aged Gu Master chased after, and upon seeing this scene, his expression changed as he could no longer stop it.

Seeing that Wang Da was about to get his way, a bright blue jade light burst from the other side.

"Jade Skin Gu!" Under the pressure of life and death, Fang Zheng screamed out loudly.

Immediately, his skin was covered by a sturdy layer of jade skin.

Wang Da's fingers were like knife blades, stabbing at him. Although the Love Life Separation did not have strong attacking ability, the Jade Skin Gu was only a Rank one Gu worm and could not block his nails.

Howl!

The elderly Gu Master seeing Fang Zheng about to die, shouted frantically and his eyes expanded. Even more snow white needles shot out and pierced Wang Da's body.

After that, the needles worked like snakes, first piercing his back to his chest, the circulating around his neck, his arms and his legs.

Boiling blood poured from Wang Da's body, immediately dying the white hair red.

His entire body was covered by white hair, just like the wild boar who had fallen into a trap of green bamboo spikes, stopping his charge and being unable to move.

An intense feeling of dizziness hit him. Wang Da laughed pathetically, he knew that death was impending.

How unsatisfying!

His vision was dyed blur, and on his death moment, the most vivid memory in his life surfaced again.

"Wan Er…." He subconsciously called out his wife's name, as the knife on his hand pierced her body.

"Why?" His wife looked at Wang Da, her beautiful face showing confusion and shock, tightly staring at Wang Da's eyes.

Wang Da's eyes were red, as his body shivered, forcing out a word from his mouth, "Sorry."

His wife smiled slightly, her smile full of love. There was not a single drop of hate.

"I understand," She said.

She wanted to stretch out her right hand, touching Wang Da's face for the last time before she died.

But in the middle, her hand dropped.

Killing his wife for her heart, and refining Love Life Separation. From then on he had strength and went on the demonic path!

Do you have regrets?

From that day on, he constantly asked himself this.

I regret it!

He regretted so much that he would rather die, thus he swore that he had to protect the remaining family members of his!

But.

But……

"If I could start from the beginning again, Wan Er, I would still do the same…." Emotional tears poured from Wang Da's red eyes.

Fang Zheng stared at him, his body glowing with jade light.

From start to end, he was in deep confusion and suspicion.

An unfamiliar Gu Master rushed madly towards himself, and wanted to tear him to bits. But Fang Zheng did not know him.

Under the thick death aura, Fang Zheng could not move an inch. His mind was blank as he only subconsciously activated the Jade Skin Gu.

Wang Da's nails pierced the jade skin and stabbed one centimetre in, but did not move anymore.

He died.

He was full of tears when he died.

"Its… over?" Fang Zheng breathed roughly, his eyes losing focus and seemed rather hollow.

Then, a strong sense of dizziness overcame him.

Plop.

He also fell on the ground.

Love Life Separation, the strongest Rank two poison. Although it did not pierce through all the jade skin, the poison already invaded his body.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 77: An odd coincidence

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

A wild boar almost as huge as an elephant was lying in the mudpit.

It closed its eyes shut, half kneeling and half lying, a pair of tusks clean from soil, shining like sharp blades.

The twilight reflected on its dark black fur, its huge stomach was white and with each breath, moved up and down creating a snorting sound.

Wild boar king!

Fang Yuan was several hundred meters away from it, but still carefully walked along with the direction of the wind.

"Even though I can kill wild boars now, against this wild boar king, I can only run away. Even an average Rank two Gu Master cannot kill it. If he is not clear of the Gu worms on its body, he might even fall prey to it.

King of the beasts normally have Gu worms inhabiting their bodies.

On the wild boar king's body, there would normally be Boar Gu, such as Pink Boar Gu or Flower Boar Gu. Other than the boar species, there might also be Beast Skin Gu or Spike Fur worm.

In this world, there are all sorts of Gu worms. Normally, Gu worms reside in the bodies of strong wild beasts, and live alongside the wild beasts.

When the wild beast gets attacked, the Gu worms will sense the danger and assist the wild beast in resisting the strong foe.

This wild boar king's body was huge, and its strength greatly exceeded the average wild boar. Fang Yuan was no match against it alone, not to mention there was at least one or more mysterious Gu worms in its body.

However, Fang Yuan's adventure this time, was not to kill the wild boar king. It was to avoid Wang Da's pursue.

Wang Da knew that Fang Yuan had the beast skin map, and Fang Yuan used that knowledge to his advantage. Going nowhere but instead heading towards the wild boar king's danger marking area.

The wild boar king although dangerous, was still a beast after all, and had no human intelligence. Old man Wang as a mortal, could venture to this place and retreat safely, so why couldn't Fang Yuan do the same?

Going on a reverse path, although seemingly dangerous, hid a way to survive instead.

As he moved even further, the wild boar king was slowly left behind by Fang Yuan. On the map, it would seem like Fang Yuan took a big circle and went around the red cross, forming a concave curve. Finally, he reached the hill where several clan elders were staying and having the mid-year assessment there on the spot.

An hour later, a youngster full of grass bits, his shirt torn in several areas and his feet full of mud, carried a bag and ran up the hill.

This pathetic looking youngster, was Fang Yuan.

"I'm finally safely back here. At this place, there are clan elders to protect me and my safety is assured. But I cannot afford to be careless." Fang Yuan sighed in relief, and slowly ascended the hill.

The hill had a simple tentage and tens of students were nearby as the academy's guards were collating the wild boar tusks in their bags. The few clan elders that were stationed here were missing, and only one was left.

"Why is the atmosphere so weird?" Fang Yuan frowned slightly, acutely feeling something important had occurred.

When he got near the tentage, he heard the students' discussions.

"Did you hear, there was an assassination earlier, and several Rank two Gu Masters died."

"Are you serious?"

"It's true, I came here early, and I saw Gu Yue Fang Zheng carried away by several clan elders, hurrying away."

"Gu Yue Fang Zheng is too unlucky, to encounter something like this during the exam."

"Hehe, you don't know huh. The target was Fang Zheng, because he is A grade talent!"

"I wonder if he'll die?"

"Even if he doesn't die, he's gonna be affected. Maybe his talent might drop after that injury."

Fang Yuan's footsteps halted. He was clear in his heart, conjuring the truth of the matter.

"Wang Da wanted to deal with me and avenge his kin. But after I found the treehouse, I changed my route and went towards the wild boar king. Wang Da did not expect this and found Fang Zheng by accident instead. His source of information came from those hunters and he did not know that I have a twin brother. He mistook Fang Zheng as me and wanted to kill me, but was stopped by the surrounding Gu Masters who were protecting the area. Right now the question is — Did Wang Da die?"

Fang Yuan frowned tightly. Wang Da successfully escaping, Wang Da captured, Wang Da killed — these three possibilities would greatly affect his future plans and actions.

Thinking for a while, Fang Yuan decided to follow his original plan.

The academy elder's expression was ugly, Fang Zheng was actually assassinated. Without any clues or evidence, he would not be able to guess that Fang Zheng had become Fang Yuan's scapegoat, but thought of the Bai clan and Xiong clan!

Fang Zheng was the only A grade talent that the Gu Yue clan had for the last three years, the Bai clan and Xiong clan would naturally not let him grow. Sending an assassin Gu Master to kill him and prevent him from getting stronger, this was normal.

Even the Gu Yue clan would do something like this. Secretly sending Gu Masters and targeting the other two clan's genius students.

"The assassin was killed on the spot, but I wonder how is Fang Zheng's injuries?" Academy elder thought, and at this moment, his attendant brought him a piece of paper.

Academy elder received the paper, reading without paying proper attention, "In this year's examination, the results are as follows… Gu Yue Chi Cheng sixteen tusks, Gu Yue Mo Bei fourteen tusks…"

The surrounding students' attention were obtained. The results were clear.

D grade students, even if they worked together, they could only obtain three to four tusks. B and C grades, at most eight to nine. Those with more than ten tusks were the good performers.

The best was Gu Yue Chi Cheng with sixteen tusks. Next was Mo Bei, and as for Fang Zheng he had ten.

Gu Yue Chi Cheng showed a smug expression. He was lucky this time and encountered two wild boars fighting each other, thus he got the easy reward. Gu Yue Mo Bei was indignant, allowing Chi Cheng to surpass him.

The academy elder announced, "As such, I announce the number one student for this examination is…"

"Halt!" Fang Yuan stepped out at this moment.

"Fang Yuan, you are late. The examination ended an hour ago, according to the rules, the wild boar tusks that you obtain will be deducted by four as punishment." Chi Cheng immediately shouted.

Fang Yuan ignored him and opened the bag on his back, grabbing the bottom of the bag and pouring out the contents.

Crash.

Dozens of wild boar tusks gathered into a pile by his feet.

"This!" Chi Cheng stared with his mouth agape.

Mo Bei and the others stared their eyeballs out at the pile.

"How can there be so many? This is too much!" The academy elder looked at Fang Yuan in disbelief, "Fang Yuan, did you hunt all these?"

Fang Yuan cupped his fists, "I only hunted a dozen tusks myself, but I found a bag that could've been hidden by hunters. Inside it were many wild boar tusks. I thought about it, the exam was that we had to obtain as many tusks as possible within a day, and did not specify that we have to kill it ourselves, thus I brought it here."

Once he finished, the crowd burst into discussions.

"How can this be?"

"Way too lucky!"

"This is too fake, could the questions have leaked thus he cheated?"

The academy elder stared at Fang Yuan, looking for a while, then declared, "This exam, Fang Yuan is the first."

The family head room's atmosphere was heavy.

Gu Yue Bo sat at the leading seat, and the other dozen elders sat in two rows beside him, their faces full of rage.

"Gu Yue Yao Ji, you are the number one healer in our clan, I'm asking you how is Fang Zheng now?" Gu Yue Bo asked a clan elder.

Gu Yue Yao Ji was an old woman with a hunched back, her face full of treebark-like wrinkles.

She coughed twice, slowly saying, "Reporting to clan head, the situation has stabilized. Fang Zheng's life is in no danger, but he is still sleeping. His talent did not drop because of this."

"Good if the talent didn't drop." Gu Yue Bo breathed a sigh of relief, the asked the punishment hall's elder, "Has the assassin's situation been assessed?"

The punishment hall elder was not as senior as Gu Yue Yao Ji, and immediately stood up, lowering his head, "Yes, thirty-five years old, male, identity unknown, possibly a demonic faction Gu Master. He has two Gu worms, Shadow Follower Gu and Love Life Separation."

Gu Yue Bo nodded, "Seems like an assassin, Love Life Separation… the Rank two number one poison, no wonder he could kill three of my Gu Masters."

"Clan head, we have to investigate further! It's either the Bai clan or the Xiong clan!" Gu Yue Chi Lian shouted, his eyes almost bursting into flames.

"Shadow Follower Gu, Love Life Separation… this is not like the Bai or Xiong clan's pawn pieces. He might be an outside demonic faction Gu Master, wanting to get affiliated with the clans, thus being instructed to assassinate Fang Zheng to prove his loyalty. Regardless, this matter definitely has to do with the two clans," Gu Yue Mo Chen coldly said.

These two clan elders in power, although they did not get along, once an external enemy appears, they would discard their hatred and knit tightly together.

Gu Yue Bo nodded, thinking the same himself.

Wang Da had disappeared for three years, with no traces to be found. The villagers all thought of him to be dead, thus his identity became a mystery. The Gu Yue higher-ups did not know this, they would not be concerned with a servant's death. They placed all their attentions on the Xiong and Bai clans.

At this moment, the academy elder walked in.

"Clan leader…" He looked worried and was about to speak when Gu Yue Bo answered, "Academy elder, Fang Zheng is fine, his talent is still A grade."

The academy elder's face became relaxed.

"Oh yes, are the other students safe? And for this examination, how are their results, which place is Fang Zheng?" Gu Yue Bo asked conveniently.

The academy elder answered truthfully, and when he said that Fang Yuan had accidentally picked up a bag of wild boar tusks and got first place, Gu Yue Bo's eyes shone.

The hall too went silent. The clan elders, as if they sensed it, subtly observed the atmosphere, and the originally nervous environment became slightly more peculiar.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 78: Great rewards all according to plan

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

In the discussion room, Gu Yue Bo expressionlessly sat in the leader's seat with deep meaningful eyes.

The remaining dozen or so clan elders all sat upright, looking down, only using the corner of their eye to sweep the surroundings and discern some clues from their expressions.

The atmosphere became delicate.

"Fang Yuan getting first place, the deeper meaning behind this is definitely not simple. He actually said he found a bag of hidden wild boar tusks, this is too unbelievable."

"This bag might've been prepared by someone, it is not possible for Fang Yuan to do it himself. That means someone is helping Fang Yuan in the dark."

"This year's mid-year exam is unlike the previous ones. We had to deploy tens of Rank two Gu Masters to invigilate the exam. Thus the contents of this examination, not only does the academy elder know, but many of the elders in the clan as well."

"If anyone wanted to prepare this bag in advance, it can only be the clan elders present here now, or even the clan leader!"

The clan elders were all shrewd foxes. After being in the political field for years, they immediately thought of many things.

Fang Zheng was an A grade talent, if he really reached Rank four, what did that mean?

That would mean he is the next clan leader!

Fang Yuan is Fang Zheng's brother. Even if he is only C grade, with that blood relationship, he is worth investing in!

To the clan leader Gu Yue Bo, if he helped Fang Yuan secretly, that would be bringing him into his faction, and to Fang Zheng, it was a good belt to tie him to the leader faction together.

To the clan elders, Fang Zheng who is the only A grade talent in years, has already been absorbed into the clan leader's faction. If he was really nurtured, the clan leader's faction would be even stronger. However, if the clan elders made Fang Yuan into their own, using this layer of blood relation, it would be a good chess piece when dealing in Fang Zheng in the future.

Thus, the ten over people in this hall, they all had the motive to help Fang Yuan.

But who?

Gu Yue Chi Lian thought deeply, "I did not recruit Fang Yuan, so who would help him secretly? Is it Mo Chen that old man, hmm, possible. Although Fang Yuan killed his family servant, but that's just a servant, even if they all died it wouldn't hurt him. The clan leader is more possible though, he took in Fang Zheng, so if he recruited Fang Yuan as well, that would increase his control over Fang Zheng! But… in previous years, the norm is to recruit them during the year end exam. Taking his action now during the mid-year, it is breaking the rules."

"Not exactly breaking the rules, but it really is throwing a curveball. Just exactly who thinks highly of Fang Yuan, even more than me?" Gu Yue Mo Chen was also thinking.

The truth is, after Fang Yuan killed Gao Wan and sent the minced corpse, he changed his impression of Fang Yuan and had the thoughts of recruiting him.

But such actions only happened during the year end, after the students graduated from the academy.

Fang Yuan being recruited in advance, it struck Mo Chen by surprise.

Gu Yue Bo's gaze was focused on Gu Yue Mo Chen and Gu Yue Chi Lian, the two elders in power.

This clan leader had greater insight.

Fang Yuan blatantly said a lie and got the first place. This action had the meaning of being fearless, thus sending a signal to everyone to show them that — I'm protecting Fang Yuan! He is now my member, and you all better not touch him.

Then who is this person?

The political field in the Gu Yue clan was split into three. Other than the clan leader faction, it was Gu Yue Chi Lian's Chi family, and Gu Yue Mo Chen's Mo family.

Gu Yue Bo knew that he himself did not take any actions to recruit Fang Yuan. Thus, the greatest suspect was Chi Lian and Mo Chen.

"These two old fellows, their acting is improving. Seeing their expressions, I really cannot tell. Don't tell me it really isn't them, but some other small faction?"

Gu Yue Bo observed carefully as he investigated. He did not know that all the elders were like him, observing, suspecting and deducing.

The academy elder was also guessing, but he had always been in a neutral position, outside of politics, thus his thoughts were simpler, "So Fang Yuan has been recruited by a clan elder. No wonder he let go of Fang Zheng, Mo Bei and Chi Cheng while extorting, that means the one who recruited him was either the clan leader, Chi Lian or Mo Chen. This is good news! It shows that he has accepted reality and has starting integrating into the clan. No matter what, he is now a member of the clan, so once he fully integrates, he will contribute his entire life to the clan!"

After a short silence, Gu Yue Bo could not see any more clues, thus he spoke, "An eye for an eye, since the other party has started targeting Fang Zheng, our Gu Yue clan is not to be trifled with, we will show them! Dark Hall Elder, formulate a plan for this matter and report to me afterwards."

"Yes, sir clan leader." Dark hall elder immediately nodded.

"As for Gu Yue Fang Zheng, I'm afraid his heart might be damaged from such an encounter. He is an A grade talent, and to our clan, the status is monumental. From now on, I will teach him personally." Gu Yue Bo said.

No clan elders objected.

Many people knew that the clan leader had already given much benefits to Gu Yue Fang Zheng in the dark. Now that he mentioned this, even though it violated the fairness rule, with sufficient reasoning, the clan elders could not stop him.

"As for Gu Yue Fang Yuan…" Gu Yue Bo dragged his words.

At once, all the clan elders paid their fullest attention. Was the clan leader hinting that he was the one helping Fang Yuan secretly?

Gu Yue Bo looked at everyone's expression as his gaze swept through, but he was destined to be disappointed.

Thus, he could only continue, "With his C grade talent, he managed to get first place. It is not easy. Thus, in my personal name, I reward him thirty primeval stones. Academy elder, pass my word and tell him to continue working hard."

"Yes, clan leader." The academy elder bowed as he received his orders.

"Thirty primeval stones, such an ordinary reward, what does this mean?" The clan elders frowned.

"No matter who absorbed Fang Yuan, this thirty primeval stones is my expression of goodwill. After all, there is still the Bai and Xiong clan other than Gu Yue." Gu Yue Bo sighed in his heart.

Fang Zheng was assassinated by external foes. Fang Yuan's cheating was internal conflict.

Against external foes, one had to use hard handed methods to retaliate, but for internal conflict, Gu Yue Bo chose to use the soft approach, in order to avoid too much internal conflict and result in the entire clan's strength being weakened.

"Alright, this matter will be settled like this. Everyone may leave and do all your work well, the clan's prosperity has everything to do with your performances." Gu Yue Bo waved his hand.

"Yes clan leader, we will take our leave."

The clan elders left one by one, and after a few breath's time, only Gu Yue Bo was left in the room.

He sighed deeply, using his fingers to rub his two temples.

As the clan leader, even if he was the person with the most authority in the Gu Yue clan, it did not mean that he had it easy. He needed to coordinate the interests of the different factions, and could not do as he wished. The clan's forces were dispersed and intertwined through many generations of inheritance, and they all had long history, restricting one another.

Against outside forces, he had to deal with the arrogant and rude Xiong clan village and the gradually rising Bai clan village.

Internally, he had to resolve the complicated political conflict in the clan. Although he was middle-aged, he already had white hair all over.

"These years of being the clan leader, although I had sufficient resources, my cultivation has barely advanced. My heart is tired from all these tiresome clan affairs. Sometimes, I really want to be a lone cultivator, free and easy with no burden. That would allow me to move faster and I might travel even further in my cultivation path."

Gu Yue Bo sighed in his heart.

As long as one is in the clan system, they had responsibilities on them. Once they had responsibilities it would not be easy to wholeheartedly cultivate.

But on the reverse, if one is not in the system, the clan's resources would not be available to them, and without resources, their cultivation would come to a halt.

This formed a contradiction, a weird loop.

Because of this loop, many people's futures were ruined, burying an insurmountable number of talents and geniuses.

Wang Da is dead.

Three days later, Fang Yuan got the news.

At the same time, he also heard from Jiang He that the two young hunters vanished when hunting in the mountains. As for the hunter whose right hand was broken by Fang Yuan, he "committed suicide" in his home out of depression.

Jiang He looked at Fang Yuan meaningfully when he said the news. He had seen Wang Da's corpse, thus recognising him.

But he did not dare to say Wang Da's true identity.

He was the stationed Gu Master, and held responsibility. As long as one is in the system, regardless of position, they had responsibility.

Wang Da became a demonic faction cultivator for three years, and Jiang He as the village Gu Master did not investigate. If they really pursued responsibility, this would become the biggest flaw in his records, and his future in the clan would be ruined.

The three hunter's peculiar deaths were covered up by him.

"Fang Yuan, since we're acquaintances, from now on you get a 50% discount when you purchase things from my cousin brother Jiang Ya's shop!" During one time, Jiang He said this to Fang Yuan.

Everyone else was dead, only Fang Yuan and him knew of this matter. But if the matter was revealed, it did not have a huge impact on Fang Yuan.

He only killed three village servants, and even if he killed thirty, the clan would not pursue it, at most he would pay "tens of primeval stones" as a punishment.

Jiang He's bribery, Fang Yuan took it with ease. To him, this matter was full of surprise and danger, but the result was good.

After this matter, Fang Yuan who had no foundation within the clan, received half an ally and also a non-existent faction supporting him.

This mysterious backer became Fang Yuan's second safety net. When he started showing his strength gradually, this safety net would have a crucial impact, at least able to allow him to cultivate until Rank two without much opposition.

At this point, he could feel clearly the academy elder's changing attitude towards him, into a more amicable one.

Over ten days passed in a flash.

After Gu Yue Fang Zheng and Mo Bei advanced, Fang Yuan and Chi Cheng almost simultaneously advanced to Rank one upper stage successfully.

Although extortion continued, he no longer took Fang Zheng, Mo Bei and Chi Cheng's primeval stones, and he started becoming more low key, while his strength grew rapidly at a speed multiple times of his previous life.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 79: Breakthrough to the sixth Gu in the inheritance ground

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

Time was like a white steed that flitted past a crack, and summer left with the arrival of autumn.

In the walled-in path, Fang Yuan stood once more before the giant boulder blocking the way.

Due to the weather growing colder, he wore plain and simple garment with long sleeves. But his body figure was no longer the thin sort like how it was a few months ago.

His chest, two arms and legs, and abdomen all showed obvious muscle.

These muscles were not as protruding as a stone, but it showed as a type of streamline, matching up with Fang Yuan's slowly growing body. Matched as well with his white skin, this gave others a type of youthful, full of vitality feeling.

"Starting from three days ago, the White Boar Gu stopped supplying me any increase in strength. That means, I already have one boar's strength, thus reaching the Flower Wine Monk's requirement. Today, I shall try pushing this round rock again!"

Fang Yuan's eyes shone as he took a step forward with his right leg, his left leg at the back, forming a bow step.

His arms touched the surface of the round rock as he took a deep breath in and pushed with all his strength.

The large boulder moved under the pressure of both his arms, moving slowly, gradually gaining momentum and rolling forward.

The road before the boulder blocking the path was an inclined slope. Being turned into a round rock by the Flower Wine Monk, it was most suitable for rolling. This must have been his intention, to allow the inheritor to push the boulder upwards and move it away.

"Ten steps, twenty steps, thirty steps…" Fang Yuan slowly progressed, counting in his heart, "Last week, I pushed it to forty-five steps and that was the limit of my stamina, forcing me to quit. This time, I wonder how far I can push it?"

Forty steps, forty-five steps……

A while later, Fang Yuan broke his original record, but that was enough for him to feel unbearably tired.

Forty-six steps, forty-seven steps……

Fang Yuan could feel strongly, at this point his stamina was almost all gone.

Forty-eight, forty-nine steps….

He mustered all his strength and moved another two steps. Finally, he was at his limit, sweating profusely. Using his shoulder and leg to anchor the rock in place, he took a few deep breaths.

"Should I give up?" Fang Yuan could not help but have such thoughts. This inclined slope, when returning he has to expend quite a bit of stamina as well. After all, the rock has to roll down and he had to slowly release it in the process.

If he let go and ran, the rock would roll faster and faster. Fang Yuan did not want to get turned into a pile of flesh after being unable to avoid it.

But thinking for a while, Fang Yuan felt indignant. Let's push it a few more steps.

Fiftieth step.

He suddenly felt that the pressure from the huge rock had lightened. It had actually rolled into a straight platform.

Fang Yuan pushed for a few more steps. After routing past the huge rock he found himself in a secret room.

This secret room was like the rock crack's secret cave. He temporarily named it the second secret room.

There was nothing in the room. The four walls were a strange red soil, glowing red. On the other end of the secret room, there was a simple grey-coloured rock door. It should be the hurried product of the Flower Wine Monk.

Fang Yuan rested for a while but did not immediately open the rock door, as he had a new discovery.

He found that the ground before the rock door was slightly damp.

"Don't tell me…" Fang Yuan had a thought. He bent down, stretching out both arms and loosening the soil.

The second Earth Treasury flower!

Fang Yuan laughed heartily, carefully peeling the flower petals and retrieving the Gu worm slumbering in the golden nectar.

Once he deployed his primeval essence, it was instantly refined.

This was a Jade Skin Gu. Its appearance was like the bedbug, flat and wide with a small head and its green body was oval in space, emitting a faint jade coloured glow.

"I obtained the White Boar Gu, and was still thinking where could I get a Jade Skin Gu so I could refine it into the White Jade Gu. To think that the Flower Wine Monk already prepared it for me," Fang Yuan contemplated, thinking about the significance of this Jade Skin Gu.

This is Fang Yuan's sixth Gu worm.

Although he had five already, none were defensive. Now that he had the Jade Skin Gu, he could cover up his weakness in defense.

At times, defense means offense.

This was not hard to understand. Taking for example Fang Yuan's body. Using the White Boar Gu, his strength grew to one boar's strength. Theoretically, with this strength, he could smash a rock in one punch, but Fang Yuan never did such a thing.

Because he knew his defense was not sufficient, so with one punch, the rock would break, but his fists would also turn bloody from the damage.

Now that he had the Jade Skin Gu, he could supplement the advantage he had in strength.Obviously, there were advantages and disadvantages.

The Jade Skin Gu had a high value, being one of the best defensive Rank one Gu. It was not easy to feed, consuming two pieces of jade rock every ten days.

Jade rock's market price was expensive, and the source was often the problem.

Fang Zheng also has a Jade Skin Gu, but he has the clan leader's backing, providing him with jade rocks. If Fang Yuan wanted jade rocks, he would have to buy them, and that could easily expose him.

"Originally in feeding the White Boar Gu, I had to regularly kill wild boars, and that is already troublesome. With the addition of this Jade Skin Gu, do I have to go dig in mines?" Fang Yuan laughed bitterly, seeing a new problem in front of him.

Keeping the Jade Skin Gu, temporarily nurturing it in his aperture, Fang Yuan gradually opened the rock door.

The rock door was heavy, and if Fang Yuan did not have the White Boar Gu's boost in strength, he would not be able to move it. But now, with Fang Yuan pushing it, the door slowly opened.

The scene that was revealed to Fang Yuan caused his field of vision to expand all of a sudden.

It was no longer a narrow tunnel or a secret room, but a large spacious plot of underground stone forest.

Fang Yuan estimated at initial approximation, the stone forest's size was over thirty Mu(1)! On earth, a standard football field was only eleven Mu.

"I should be inside Qing Mao mountain now, this underground space should be naturally formed." Fang Yuan looked up at the stone walls.

The stone walls in this space were over sixteen meters tall, and the ceiling was also made of stone.

From the top, there were large dark red pillars erected. Each emitted a faint red glow, and so did the walls, just like the tunnel and secret room. The light although dim, allowed Fang Yuan to see some things at least.

Fang Yuan looked far, and each stone pillar was like an upside down tree, except without branches, and only leaving the stem.

The stone pillar's surface was not smooth, and was full of dark eerie holes. Numerous pillars drooped down, forming an inverted stone forest within the mountain.

Nature had its way with things.

Fang Yuan with his immense knowledge, was not shocked, but stared at the dark holes in the pillars, frowning more intensely.

He had suddenly understood the Flower Wine Monk's intention in placing the Jade Skin Gu.

"If I am not wrong…" Fang Yuan turned his right hand, and out came a moonblade.

The eerie blue moonblade flew through the sky in an arc, precisely hitting a dark hole in the stone pillar.

A shrill and angry sound came from the dark hole.

With a 'swoosh', a grey monkey flew out from the cave and leapt towards Fang Yuan.

Pow pow pow.

Fang Yuan shot three moonblades.

The monkey was in midair and could not adjust its position, but its tail was extremely agile, sweeping several times and causing its body to flip in midair. After avoiding two moonblades, it was finally hit by the third, plopping on the floor dead.

It was dead, without a drop of blood.

Only its grey body turned to stone, and in a second, its flesh and blood body became a stone monkey statue.

The statue's posture and facial expression was just like the monkey right before it died, imitated to perfection. After two breath's time, the stone monkey's surface cracked, and cracks developed all over its body. Finally with a boom, its entire figure blew up into tiny rock fragments.

"It really is an underground colony of jade eye stone monkeys." Fang Yuan knelt down, sweeping the fragments aside and taking out two jade green yellow pearls. These two pearls were the jade eye stone monkey's eyes.

This strange animal would turn into grey rock fragments once dead, and only its eyes would turn into two jade green spherical pearls. Each were very heavy, reaching at least fifty grams.

This meant that as long as he killed jade eye stone monkeys, the Jade Skin Gu's food problem would be resolved.

"I not only have to feed the Jade Skin Gu, I also have to continue the inheritance. Flower Wine Monk's next clue should be hidden in this stone forest.

Fang Yuan frowned. Things had become complicated.

He tried taking a few steps forward, his eyes peeled to the stone pillar.

On his seventh step, on the pillar closest to him, numerous jade-coloured glowing eyes could be seen peeking out of the stone holes.

At once, a drop of sweat fell from Fang Yuan's forehead.

He quickly took a step back, and the numerous eyeballs in the dark holes faded.

Evidently, each pair of eyeballs meant a jade eye stone monkey. The jade eye stone monkey was terribly agile, and to kill one Fang Yuan had to use four moonblades.

On a stone pillar, there were at least a hundred jade eye stone monkeys, and in the entire forest, who knew how many were there in total.

With Fang Yuan's current strength, he would die from being attacked by four monkeys. If he included the Jade Skin Gu's defense, Fang Yuan could deal with twelve monkeys at once at most.

Thankfully, these monkeys usually slept in their dark holes and ate rocks when they were hungry or thirsty. The stone pillar was their home and food. Unless he got within ten meters of them or provoked them purposely, they would not come out.

Using earth's words, they were a bunch of neet/hikikomori monkeys.

(1) Mu (亩) – 1 Mu is 666 meters

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 80: A surge in battle strength

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The autumn wind rustled through the air, while the red leaves drifted aimlessly.

The wild grass was dried yellow, and brilliant red or orange yellow wild fruit hung from the tree branches.

"Hurrumph!" A black coloured wild boar rushed madly with its four hooves on the ground, its mane pricking up.

There was a thick layer of fallen leaves that accumulated on the surface of the mountain.

As the wild boar rushed forward, a gust of wind was wedged between it, and the fallen leaves were sent dancing behind its body.

Fang Yuan silently stood there, showing a cold calculating expression as the wild boar got closer.

Kill!

He took a huge stride forward, and then both his legs stood firm, not dodging at all, facing the wild boar head on.

The wild boar's two snow white tusks tore through the air with overwhelming killing intent.

Fang Yuan turned his body to avoid the tusks, his shoulder knocking onto the wild boar's skull.

When they were about to collide, Fang Yuan's shoulder shone with a faint green coloured light.

Jade Skin Gu!

Boom.

With a loud crash, the two collided.

Fang Yuan took three steps back, while the wild boar took one step back.

To be fair, when comparing both side's strength, Fang Yuan was stronger. But Fang Yuan ran with both legs while the wild boar used four to sustain its force, and at the same time the center of gravity of the wild boar was lower and more stable than Fang Yuan.

However, after being harshly hit on the head by Fang Yuan, although the wild boar was still standing, its fat body was already wavering.

With a roar, Fang Yuan rushed up again, his left hand grabbing the wild boar's tusk, his right hand raising high in the air, the light green colour jade glow forming a thin layer of protection covering his fist.

Bam.

His fist crashed strongly downwards and the wild boar screamed in pain, struggling intensely.

Fang Yuan's muscles on his left arm tensed, and the green veins popped like centipedes encircling his arm as he restrained the wild boar with all his strength.

At the same time, his right fist continued to raise and slam down on the boar.

Bam bam bam.

Every time his fist hit the wild boar's head, the green coloured glow on his fist would shine once.

The wild boar was smashed into oblivion by the fist, and its struggle became weaker.

"Last strike!" Fang Yuan's eyes glowed like lightning. He loosened his upper body, his right arm stretching straight and raised to the highest point, before smashing down at full force.

The green coloured jade light stuck to Fang Yuan's right arm and following his movement, drew a green arc in the air.

Bam.

Fang Yuan knelt on the ground on one knee, his elbow harshly whacking the wild boar's skull. Even before the wild boar could cry out, its noise came to a stop.

An entire pig head turned deformed, the broken white skull pierced through the black skin, exposing outside. Fresh blood and brain matter slowly flowed out, and in the layers of leaf litter, it infected an area of bright redness.

The autumn wind blew.

Leaves flew about as the scent of the pig blood emanated.

"Life, is splendid just like the flowers of summer. Death, is as delicate as the leaves of autumn," Fang Yuan muttered, appreciating this frame of scenery.

The survivor lives brilliantly while the dead is lonely and pitiful.

Dead or alive, filled with intense difference, it reflected nature's cruelness and the excitement of life.

"No matter the world, the victor always gets all the fame, while the loser suffers defeat in the unrelentless world. Victory and loss, to me means life and death. Because I walk on the demonic path, once I lose, it means death awaits."

Fang Yuan got close to the corpse and sat on the ground, taking out the White Boar Gu, letting it consume the meat while his consciousness entered the aperture in his body.

Within the aperture, the black green-coloured primeval sea's tides turned and crashed, ebbed and flowed.

When the primeval sea is full, it occupied 44% of the space. After an intense battle, Fang Yuan used the Jade Skin Gu multiple times to raise his defense, and some primeval essence was expended, thus there was only 36% primeval essence left.

Counting the amount, he only used 8%, not even 10% of his total. But because this was the Rank one peak stage black green primeval essence, the expenditure was considered large.

Rank one initial stage is jade green primeval essence.

Rank one middle stage is pale green primeval essence.

Rank one upper stage is dark green primeval essence.

Rank one peak stage is black green primeval essence.

The essence was in concentration (the relative amount of a particular substance contained within a solution or mixture or in a particular volume of space.).

The Moonlight Gu's activation required 10% of jade green primeval essence, and in terms of pale green primeval essence, it was 5%. For dark green primeval essence, it further halved, and the same went for black green primeval essence.

That is to say, 10% of black green primeval essence, was equivalent to 20% dark green, 40% pale green and 80% jade green primeval essence.

Using the Jade Skin Gu cost 8% black green primeval essence, if converted to initial stage jade green primeval essence, it would be 64%!

If Fang Yuan was still at initial stage, his aperture would only have 44% primeval essence, and halfway through using the Gu, his primeval essence would be completely expended.

"The higher the Gu Master's cultivation, the stronger their battle strength, and this shows in the primeval essence. The higher the stage, the darker the colour of the primeval essence, and the more durable it is. My black green primeval essence was on the basis of upper stage primeval essence, refined by the Liquor worm. It is unlike Fang Zheng, who is already Rank one peak stage cultivation already." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan's gaze shone.

Time flies, it is already late autumn.

Two months had passed since Wang Da's attempted assassination.

Fang Zheng was poisoned and was in comatose for seven days and seven nights. Once he woke up he was like a changed man, very hardworking and also cultivated extremely dutifully.Some people say, difficulties in life was wealth just like gold.

Regardless of whether this saying is correct, Fang Zheng did emerge from this difficulty changed and obtained much experience. He was like a raw jade, and after some polishing, he finally showed the beautiful jade quality inside.

He was the first to advance to upper stage, and not long ago, he was the first to advance to peak stage, leaving his classmates in the dust. The advantages of an A grade talent has finally started showing.

"I am not far from peak stage either, at most half a month. In fact, I have been nurturing my aperture nonstop every day, but a C grade talent really cannot compete with A and B grades, and I also have another reason…" Fang Yuan laughed bitterly without sound as he thought of it.

Once in a few days, he would have to kill jade eye stone monkeys to feed the Jade Skin Gu. At the same time, he had to search inside the stone forest to find the next clue of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.

The stone forest was complicated with pillars of huge rocks drooping from the ceiling. If Fang Yuan was not careful and got too close to any pillar, he would trigger the attack of all the stone monkeys.

A few times, he was chased by tens of stone monkeys and had to escape. The most dangerous time, when retreating he stepped into another pillar's territory, and ended up having up to a hundred monkeys chasing after him.

Luckily, these monkeys were sedentary, and every time they chased after him, they would not chase too far. After a distance, they would go back to their homes and continue being sedentary.

Even so, Fang Yuan walked on the brink of death several times. During crucial times, the Jade Skin Gu's defense came into good use.

Such investigation and exploration caused Fang Yuan to devote much time and effort, and thus became the key reason why his cultivation was advancing so slowly.

"Even so, this is way better than my previous life. The stone forest exploration is not without results either. At least I already know that the walls around the forest have no problems. That means that the next clue of the strength inheritance, should be somewhere in the forest."

Fang Yuan continued thinking, but suddenly a shadow stepped over the dried branches and got close.

This is a wandering old wolf.

It had a brown fur coat, limping and had one eye was damaged. Only the danger and alertness of its left eye remained.

It stared at Fang Yuan tightly, its nose twitching. Wolves and dogs were the same, using their keen sense of smell, it must have been attracted by the pig blood.

Wolves were often in packs, but there were also lone wolves like this. There were competition in wolf packs as well, and to maintain the atmosphere in the pack, they would sometimes get rid of those crippled old wolves.

Fang Yuan quickly stood up and silently looked at this old wolf.

Back then when he killed a wild boar, there would be little primeval essence left in his body and that caused his fighting strength to greatly reduce. Thus when he encountered other wild beasts, he would choose to avoid them.

But these few months, his battle strength had increased tremendously, and with the Jade Skin Gu, against a crippled wolf, it was more than enough.

The unrestrained mountain trees were everywhere with their red leaves.

The setting sun illuminated the dark hour.

A person and a wolf distanced fifty steps away, silently observed each other.

In the wolf's eye, green light shone as it showed a cruel and cunning expression. Fang Yuan's eyes however, were dark and eerie, his black iris emanating chilling intent.

The White Boar Gu came out. It was full and returned to Fang Yuan's aperture satisfied.

The old wolf looked at the wild boar, it had only bones and skin left, the meat was all eaten by the White Boar Gu.

The wolf's eyes shone with green light and contracted. It first took a few steps back, then jumped into the bushes.

This wolf was still alive till today, it definitely had some intelligence. It keenly felt Fang Yuan's danger, and decided to retreat.

Its entry and exit were both fast and abrupt.

Without the wild boar's crashing sound, and without the tiger's growling.

Against Fang Yuan, without a sound, the battle had started and ended.

"The main theme of life and death, such excitement born from great nature." Fang Yuan stood on the spot, and did not give chase. This wolf did not have anything worth Fang Yuan's attack.

Aiiee!

But the next moment, the old wolf's crying was heard.

The wolf's howling suddenly erupted and ended suddenly. Even so, there was a thick surge of death aura overflowing.

Crack crack.

In the bush, there were sounds of twigs being stepped on.

The sound was fearless and got closer, causing Fang Yuan's iris to shrink.

"Able to get rid of that sneaky old wolf in a second…" His gaze became more and more chilly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 81: Rank two Initial stage!

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The footsteps got closer, and soon the dark green trees at the side of the slope were forcefully separated. A tall man stepped forward, appearing in Fang Yuan's vision.

He had black short hair, each strand standing straight up. The upper half of his body was naked. He had a large and thick body, the entirety of his body muscles bright red colour.

He was almost two meters tall, and during the cold autumn, he gave off the feeling of a mobile cauldron, his every breath able to raise the surrounding temperature.

On his waist, several wild beast corpses were hanged. There were foxes, wild rabbits and chickens, not to forget the old wolf who had just left.

Seeing Fang Yuan, he was slightly shocked, but quickly took large steps and walked past Fang Yuan.

"Gu Yue Chi Shan." Seeing the large man's back leaving, Fang Yuan thought of his name.

He was a representative of the Chi faction, having Rank two upper stage cultivation. His experiences were similar to Fang Yuan even.

This person was also very talented, having very great strength from young. At ten he accidentally beat a family servant to death, and at twelve he could hold a heavy stone grinder and played it like a frisbee.

Back then, the family all thought well of him, thinking he was an A grade. But during the awakening ceremony, they tested that his talent was only B grade.

He had an originally wild and untamable nature, looking down on everyone. But he quickly changed after this experience, becoming more mature. Even with B grade talent, he was the top student in his level.

After a year of studying, he graduated from the academy and fought his way to the top. Years later, he had already become an elite among the clan's Rank two Gu Masters.

Happiness cannot teach a person life's true meaning, while only pain and suffering can.

"In the clan, a youngster attends the awakening ceremony at fifteen and enters the academy. At sixteen, they graduate from the academy and form a five person group and complete the clan's missions, at the same time inheriting the family fortune. From sixteen, they will fight and compete while continually raising their cultivation. As the missions get more dangerous, their status will also increase. Some die and some live. Some get injured, and their cultivation level drops, living a plain life thereafter. Some become a Rank three Gu Master after all the hardship and advance to clan elder, being one of the higher-ups."

Fang Yuan's gaze shone, thinking of many things.

The more a Gu Master cultivates, the harder it gets, and advancing becomes way more difficult. Coupled with dangerous and tough living environment, those that can advance to Rank three are few to none.

"Speaking of which, it is almost winter. That means I've spent almost a year at the academy. Each year there are two examinations. The first is the mid-year exam, with different contents each year. The second is the year end exam, and the contents never change, being arena fights. After the arena fight, I would no longer be able to stay at the hostel, and I would need to move out."

Move out, but stay where?

Fang Yuan could not live with his aunt and uncle, which was what they wanted.

In this world, sixteen meant adulthood, the age to start reproduction. Coupled with Fang Yuan's numerous secrets, he needed to live independently.

"In my previous life, after leaving the academy I was only Rank one middle stage. This time, the situation is much better, I would be Rank one peak stage by then. But with a C grade talent, coming this far is really an achievement. Although it had its costs, expending much of my primeval stones."

Fang Yuan's eyebrows raised, he did not have many primeval stones left.

Restricted by his talent, the primeval stones he expended for cultivation was much more than Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng or Mo Bei.

He raised six Gu worms by himself!

Furthermore, the Liquor worm's refinement, nurturing the aperture, using the White Boar Gu to increase strength — they all needed primeval essence. After the primeval essence was used up, with a C grade recovery speed, it could not satisfy his needs, so he could only use primeval stones and retrieve the natural essence within to replenish.

Luckily he had the Spring Autumn Cicada, and also retrieved two Gu from Earth Treasury Flowers, thus refining Gu worms did not expend much of his primeval stones. This made him feel slightly better.

But after this when he leaves the academy, he needs to rent a house and get some income.

After peak stage, it was to push for Rank two. This process would spend a lot of primeval stones.

After Rank two, he still had to combine Gu worms, and each combination attempt was a hefty cost.

With all these factors, he was even clearer that his financial situation could no longer support him. Furthermore, he still had to continue feeding his Gu worms and continue cultivating.

If it wasn't for the mid year exam where he used the wild boar tusks to exchange for quite some primeval stones and alleviated the pressure, he would not have survived till now.

"Primeval stones, primeval stones… the Flower Wine Monk did not give any primeval stones in his inheritance, what a shame. Extorting my classmates is still my most important source of income. But after graduating, the academy's allowance would stop, and I cannot continue extorting. But if I get first for the year end exam, I can get a hundred and fifty primeval stones as reward," Fang Yuan contemplated in his heart.

If he could get first place, the hundred and fifty primeval stones would alleviate his financial difficulty for a while.

Time flies, autumn leaves and winter comes.

On the arena in the academy, three stages had already been built.

Beside the stage, near the bamboo walls of the arena, there were tents and long tables and chairs.

The academy elder, clan leader and a few other clan elders were sitting below the tentage cover.

There was a little snow in the sky.

Fifty-seven students stood straight on the arena. Each of their noses were bright red from the weather, and every breath they took had steam coming out of their noses.

The academy elder spoke loudly, "In a flash a year has ended. During this year you were trained in the academy and have started to grasp the qualities of a Gu Master. Tomorrow, you will have the year end examination to test the fruits of your hard work! Not only will the clan leader and clan elders come personally to watch, your family elders and seniors will also come to observe to pick excellent performing students to join their small teams."

"Your performances tomorrow, will to a large extent affect your future. Getting first place, not only is it a hundred and fifty primeval stones, but you also get an advantage in picking Gu worms! Now, start the final cultivation check in your academic life!"

Saying so, the academy elder nodded to a Gu Master beside him.

The female Gu Master received the instructions and called out the name from the list, "Gu Yue Jin Zhu!"

A young girl walked towards the Gu Master with a nervous expression.

The Gu Master stretched out her hand, touching the young girl's abdomen. She closed her eyes to feel, then opened her eyes and declared, "Gu Yue Jin Zhu, Rank one middle stage. Next, Gu Yue Peng."

One after another, youngsters went up to check. Then they walked back down and returned to the group.

Their expressions varied, some were happy while others were upset.

The worst result was naturally Rank one initial stage, all being the D grade talents.

A large number of the students were Rank one middle stage, and little of them were B grade, mostly C grades.

"Gu Yue Chi Cheng." The middle-aged female Gu Master called.

From the group, the shortest Gu Yue Chi Cheng puffed his chest and walked out.

After checking, the female Gu Master opened her eyes, "Gu Yue Chi Cheng, Rank one peak stage!"

Up till now, this was the first Rank one peak stage Gu Master.

The clan elders present turned their heads.

Some elders recognised, saying lightly, "This is Chi Lian's grandson, having B grade talent, no wonder."

Outside the tent, the youngsters also commented.

"Chi Cheng is Rank one peak stage, I wonder if Mo Bei is too? They are rivals after all."

"Being able to advance to peak stage, they are all A and B grades. Sigh, we C and D grades encounter bitterness that cannot be envied."

"Hmph!" Gu Yue Mo Bei snorted, seeing Chi Cheng's proud expression, he was annoyed.

Gu Yue Fang Zheng clenched his fists, his lips tightly shut, as if he was stifling in his emotions.

"Gu Yue Mo Bei." Soon, the examiner called.

The horse-faced Mo Bei quickly walked out.

"Gu Yue Mo Bei, Rank one peak stage." With this declaration, he walked back and stared defiantly at Gu Yue Chi Cheng when returning.

The examination continued, and the snow in the sky became smaller, until it vanished.

The cold chilly air was rather refreshing.

"Gu Yue Fang Yuan." The middle-aged female Gu Master called.

Fang Yuan walked up expressionlessly.

Soon after, she opened her eyes, looking at Fang Yuan in shock, before declaring, "Gu Yue Fang Yuan, Rank one peak stage!"

"Rank one peak stage, did I hear wrongly? Fang Yuan cultivated to this level?" The youngsters were shocked.

"Sigh, he's just lucky, having the Liquor worm to nurture his aperture. Even against the A and B grades, with his C grade he isn't at a disadvantage." Some youngsters said with envy.

Especially those C grade talents, they sourly said to console themselves, "This isn't much. The Liquor worm cannot refine Rank two primeval essence, Fang Yuan would no longer have such an advantage anymore."

"Even if he is peak stage, he is still a C grade, this is of no concern to us." Mo Bei and Chi Cheng stared at Fang Yuan, but quickly turned their attention to Fang Zheng, who was still waiting for his turn.

In their hearts, only the A grade talent Fang Zheng was a competitor.

"Brother, you've caught me by surprise. But from now on, watch carefully…" Fang Zheng looked at Fang Yuan walking down, his eyes shone and revealed an anticipating expression.

"Gu Yue Fang Zheng." The female Gu Master finally said.

"The A grade talent?" The clan elders focused their attention to Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng walked out from the crowd, he could feel the pressure that these gazes were bringing him, causing him to become slightly nervous.

But when he saw the clan leader Gu Yue Bo's smile, the nervousness in his heart melted.

He walked in front of the female Gu Master.

She shut her eyes, and then abruptly opened her eyes, saying in shock, "Gu Yue Fang Zheng, cultivation level — Rank two initial stage!"

Boom.

The youngsters erupted into a wave of discussions.

"What, he reached Rank two?!"

"As expected of the A grade talent genius."

"Incredible, he left Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and Fang Yuan in the dust."

"This Fang Zheng!" At once, Mo Bei and Chi Cheng stared at Fang Zheng in shock.

"Hehehe, actually higher than in my previous life…" Fang Yuan's eyelids drooped down as he laughed. He was not surprised, and after observing Fang Zheng's expression earlier, he could guess the result.

"A grade talent after all."

"The hope of our clan."

"This is the credit of clan leader's nurturing…"

The clan elders praised.

At once, Fang Zheng became the center of attention.

Half a year ago, Gu Yue Bo gave him a Jade Skin Gu and asked him to be the first person to advance to Rank two. He did it!

"Clan leader, I did not disappoint you, I did it! From now on, I will achieve even more, getting the approval of the clan elders and the people around me. Brother, I've left you behind, you are no longer the shadow in my heart. I, Gu Yue Fang Zheng, am no longer the one from back then!"

Fang Zheng yelled in his heart, his eyes shining with a kind of brilliance.

This brilliance, is called confidence!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 82: Start of the year end examination

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The sun was bright after the snow passed.

Gu Masters streamed into the academy in the morning.

"The annual year end exam has begun again. Hehehe, I wonder if the scene I saw from more than a decade ago when I graduated will be seen again." A middle-aged Gu Master with long green hair cascading down his back stood outside the academy, reminiscing.

"Leader, get in, you love reminiscing." The young female Gu Master beside him had blood red lips, her hands placed in the pockets of her pants. There was a blade of grass in her mouth, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hehehe, Yao Hong, don't rush. We have to get in anyway. Since the clan leader had arranged it already, our new members have been decided long ago." The green haired Gu Master laughed.

"The A grade talent Fang Zheng?" The female Gu Master Gu Yue Yao Hong tutted in her mouth, saying unhappily, "The clan leader's idea is to get us to babysit him!"

"But this babysitting mission is not easy to accomplish." The green haired male Gu Master sighed, "Nevermind, let's go in."

As time passed, more and more Gu Masters entered the academy doors, and stood in the arena.

These were male and female Gu Masters. There were young faces, middle-aged, and old people as well.

Gu Masters after graduating would come out and form small teams to complete the clan missions. The Gu Masters that came to the arena were all the representatives of their groups, to assess the performances of the students and absorb them into their own teams.

To the small groups, this was injecting fresh blood and expanding their group.

To the newly joined members, under the guidance and teaching of the older members, they can swiftly adapt to the new environment and more effectively complete the clan missions and result in lesser deaths.

The sun gradually rose, as the students entered the fray.

"So many people today." The youngsters proclaimed.

"Quickly see, that is Lord Qing Shu. He is our Gu Yue clan's number one person among the Rank two, and he is known for his mild and amiable temper." A person pointed at the green haired male Gu Master and shouted.

"Chi Shan senior is here too."

"That is the Mo family's little miss Mo Yan!"

Qing Shu, Chi Shan, and Mo Yan were the rising stars of the Gu Masters, known by all students.

"Sigh, their teams are too hard to get in. I am only D grade, and my vital Gu is a Gentle Silk Spider, I am meant to be a support staff." A youngster sighed, then asked his friend, "You?"

"Oh, I got it settled with relationships. Through the godson of my uncle's cousin's sister."

As the students observed the Gu Masters, Qing Shu, Chi Shan and Mo Yan also observed the students.

"Oh? There are two Gu Yue Fang Zhengs." Yao Hong saw Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng, shouting out subconsciously.

The green hair male Gu Master Gu Yue Qing Shu helplessly sighed, "Did you see the information I gave you yesterday? Fang Zheng has a twin brother, they look very similar in appearance, but his brother is only C grade talent."

"Oh so that's the case. I seem to have heard that the one who made poems when he was young was Fang Yuan? Are we getting him into the team?" Yao Hong patted her forehead with her palm, saying whatever she thought of.

Qing Mao shook his head, "The clan leader specifically mentioned, do not recruit him. He seems to be wanting to observe something. The brothers don't have a good relationship anyway. Even if we want to recruit him, Fang Yuan probably wouldn't join."

Yao Hong did not think much of it, muttering, "Among the groups, we are the publically acclaimed number one, joining us means a bright future. Any student would be interested. How could he be unwilling?"

Qing Shu laughed lightly, "That's because you don't know him, look at the information I sent you first."

At this time, the clan leader Gu Yue Bo, and the authoritative clan elders Gu Yue Chi Lian and Gu Yue Mo Chen entered, getting into the seats under the tentage.

"Not only the clan leader, but also Lord Chi Lian and Lord Mo Bei are attending this year."

Seeing this, not only the students but also the Gu Masters were excited, this did not happen in previous years.

"Nothing strange, Chi Lian and Mo Chen's grandsons are all in this year's class."

"Fang Zheng is the clan leader's successor, the hope of the future to go against Bai Ning Bing. The clan leader naturally has to observe carefully."

Discussions were aplenty among the people.

"Perform well brother." Mo Yan looked at Mo Bei among the people, silently praying in her heart. Her group had the most people, it was of the largest scale. Thus there were a bunch of Gu Masters around her, showing her imposing aura.

As her most intense rival, Gu Yue Chi Shan from the Chi faction was standing alone, his huge figure easily acting like a giant red tower in a sea of people, standing out extensively.

After checking out Chi Cheng, he retracted his vision.

With a speech from the clan leader, the year end exam began.

The three stages held fights at the same time.

At once, shouting noises, sounds of moonblades flying, and the sounds of punches and kicks as well as the discussions of the Gu Masters below the stages fused into a loud banter.

"This year's physical fighting skills is high." Soon, Yao Hong saw the difference.

"Hehehe, all thanks to Fang Yuan." Gu Yue Qing Shu laughed.

"What do you mean?" Yao Hong did not understand.

Qing Shu explained to her.

Yao Hong exclaimed in shock after listening, "Fang Yuan this lad, he's really daring, almost to the point of fearless. Hehehe, bullying even his own brother. This is interesting."

She looked towards Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng from the crowd, thinking internally — Which is the elder brother and which is the younger one.

"Next, Gu Yue Jin Zhu against Gu Yue Mo Bei." On the arena, the hosting Gu Master shouted.

Gu Yue Mo Bei leapt upwards, and Jin Zhu walked up the stage with a serious expression.

The two paid respects to each other and said no more, fighting at once. Moonblades danced in the air.

The two continued to shoot and at the same time, moving and evading nonstop.

Although a girl, Jin Zhu had good basic skills and was able to fight equally with Mo Bei for a while. But as time passed, her stamina could not keep up, and she started to be suppressed.

Finally, with her body full of sweat and having no energy left, she surrendered.

Mo Bei on the other hand was not even fazed.

"Increasing endurance Gu huh, probably the Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle Gu…." Below the stage, Fang Yuan observed, quickly seeing through Mo Bei.

Fang Yuan had six Gu worms, but that was an exception. Among the people of his age, they all had one or two Gu worms.

Not only because of the financial stress of feeding Gu worms, but also because the Gu worm's usage needed constant practice to accumulate experience.

Greed for more would backfire. The students only started interacting with Gu worms, and just began on their cultivation journey. Two Gu worms were enough for them to practice.

Only an exception like Fang Yuan with his rich experience from his previous life, could easily grasp every Gu worm that comes into possession and use them to the very best he can.

The exam continued.

"Damn, jumping like a rabbit!" On another stage, a youngster angrily shouted, "Gu Yue Chi Cheng, you're not a man, do you dare to fight with me physically?!"

"Tsk, only a fool would fight close range with you." On the stage, Gu Yue Chi Cheng laughed in disdain. He used the Scarlet Pill Cricket Gu and jumped around, his body being very agile.

His opponent only had a Flower Boar Gu. Even if he could temporarily raise his strength by one boar, it was useless. Chi Cheng would not go hand to hand with him.

Finally, he got hit by a moonblade from Chi Cheng and lost too much blood, retiring from the fight.

The healing Gu Masters below the stage quickly rushed up and treated his injuries.

As time passed, more and more students were mercilessly eliminated, and many youngsters also started to show their abilities.

Chi Cheng, Mo Bei, Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng……

Until noon.

The D grade talents were all eliminated. They had limited talent and all chose support-type Gu worms for production line or transport, which suited their lives. Thus, they had little help in battles.

"Little junior sister, your vital Gu is a Life Breath Grass right, my group needs a healer Gu Master."

"Senior, I wish to join your group, my vital Gu is a Moonlight Gu."

"Sorry, we are not lacking any attack-type Gu Master."

The small groups quickly recruited newbies, and the students also chose the groups they wanted.

The fights on the stage did not have much visual appeal, and after a few rounds, there were not many highlights, it was even boring. This was because most people chose the Moonlight Gu, and to most people, the fight would start with shooting moonblades. Whoever expended their primeval essence first would lose.

If both parties had no more primeval essence, they would fight with punches and kicks. At the end, one will fall.

Be it students, Gu Masters, or clan elders, they got bored watching and some were about to fall asleep.

Until evening, there were only less than ten students left on the stage.

"Finally ending." Some Gu Masters lifted their spirits, shrugging off the sleepiness.

At this moment, the Gu Master shouted, "Next round, Gu Yue Fang Zheng vs Gu Yue Mo Bei!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 83: Sweeping strong foes, Fang Zheng displays his skills

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

Fang Zheng and Mo Chen both walked up the stage.

"Fang Zheng, don't think that I will lose just because you have Rank two cultivation! Today I will challenge and beat a higher realm." Mo Bei gritted his teeth, his expression solemn, cheering for himself in his heart. Against the Rank two Fang Zheng, he indeed felt a strong sense of pressure.

"Come." Fang Zheng roared, rushing out ferociously.

Mo Bei's heart jumped, this Fang Zheng wasn't acting according to plan. Normally, they would first shoot moonblades before using hand to hand combat. But this time, he actually rushed up immediately, and wants to fight physically?

"Isn't he afraid of getting injured by my moonblade when exchanging punches and kicks?" Mo Bei was perturbed.

He was naturally not worried for Fang Zheng's safety, but knew that if they engaged in close combat, with such a short distance if Fang Zheng shot a moonblade, it was unavoidable.

Mo Bei quickly took a step back, attempting to pull some distance. At the same time, he shot out a moonblade with a flick of his wrist.

Fang Zheng was unfazed, taking a tumble and avoiding the moonblade, continuing his pursuit. At the same time, a lump of lunar energy collected in his palm.

Mo Bei looked at the moonlight in his hands that hasn't been fired and felt tense in his heart, quickly taking steps back.

Although he worked hard in close combat and also trained his moonblade, he was still inferior to Fang Zheng who was nurtured personally by the clan leader.

Mo Bei was not suited to this style of combat, and quickly fell into disadvantage.

"Eh? That side is interesting." The battle on this arena attracted much attention.

"They're actually fighting so closely, this Fang Zheng has guts." Yao Hong could now discern who is Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng. Fang Yuan had a cold expression and emitted an aura of maturity, while Fang Zheng was steel-willed, radiating a sunny aura.

"It must be the clan leader's teaching. Normally when students fight, they would be ten meters apart. Further than this distance and the moonblade would dissipate. If they fought closer than this distance, the students would not react in time." Gu Yue Qing Shu's gaze shone, "Fang Zheng's battle distance now has shrunk to six meters, but his ability to avoid the moonblade is proficient. It seems that not only is the clan leader helping Fang Zheng, but Fang Zheng also put in some hard work and went through much hardship."

"Little brother!" Mo Yan seeing Mo Bei forced into a corner by Fang Zheng, showed worry and panic on her face. She really wanted to go in and help out, giving Fang Zheng a good beating.

Chi Shan however was expressionless, only watching and not speaking. After Fang Zheng got close to Mo Bei and shortened the distance to six meters, he no longer got closer, but used the Moonlight Gu and entered a firing contest.

Mo Bei tried hard to improvise. His actions were in a mess, and many times he was almost hit by the moonblades, constantly in danger.

Fang Zheng on the other hand, already had his winning formula.

Even if he could not evade in time, he still had the Jade Skin Gu, and as long as he uses the jade green glow in time, he would be able to block the moonblade.

Seeing how Mo Bei was defenselessly beaten by himself, Fang Zheng's thoughts flew back to a time in the past.

Under the moonlight, the clan leader taught him the evasion movements step by step, unreservedly imparting him all the experience he had.

"Clan leader, I will not let you down." Fang Zheng's eyes shimmered with hope, he was getting braver as he fought!

"Fang Zheng, you have the talent and the endurance, studiously training. The result is all because of your blood and sweat. This is the fruits of your hard work, continue like this, Fang Zheng. Using this aura, go and show your brilliance!" Under the tentage, the clan leader excitedly cheered on inwardly, even though he looked like he was quietly watching the fight, his lips curled into a smile.

Although Mo Bei struggled furiously, resisting adamantly, but after fifteen minutes, his entire body was full of injuries, the blood oozing out and dyeing his shirt red.

The organizing Gu Master, upon seeing such a scene, announced, "The victory goes to Gu Yue Fang Zheng."

"I haven't lost yet!" Mo Bei shouted loudly, his entire bloodbathed body wavering in the air. But after struggling to no end, he was forced to receive treatment by the healing Gu Masters.

"A battle of such an intensity is already beyond the graduating standard."

"An A grade talent, is after all a genius."

"I heard he received personal guidance from the clan leader, can he not be amazing?"

Seeing such a result, the Gu Masters below the stage praised endlessly.

Gu Yue Fang Zheng panted as he walked down the stage. Three Gu Masters came to him and healed him, while also providing free primeval stones to allow him to quickly recover his primeval essence.

After resting for a while, he recovered to his peak condition and ascended the stage again.

This time, he was against Gu Yue Chi Cheng.

Chi Cheng looked at Fang Zheng, laughing dryly, "Very good! Fang Zheng, you defeated Mo Bei that rascal, if I defeat you now, it would be killing two birds with one stone."

He seemed very confident.

Fang Zheng's lips remained tight, as he said nothing but rushed towards him.

"Dragonpill cricket Gu!" Chi Cheng's thought flashed, and immediately an orange red-coloured glow came from both his legs. He leapt lightly and instantly retreated ten meters away.

The distance that Fang Zheng had just shortened was immediately lengthened.

"Hehehe." Chi Cheng got smug and laughed, "Fang Zheng, you have no speed increasing Gu, and with your two legs, you cannot catch me. Although this stage isn't big, it is enough for me to manoeuvre. Your tactic might have worked on Mo Bei, but against me it is ineffective."

"Is that so?" Fang Zheng stopped his movements and stood on the spot, staring intently at Chi Cheng.

He smiled, his eyes showing iron will, shouting loudly, "Continue dodging like that, but everytime you use the Dragonpill cricket Gu, you have to use a certain amount of primeval essence. You have merely Rank one peak stage green copper primeval essence, but I am already at Rank two red steel primeval essence, three times your endurance. Your talent is inferior to me as well. At the end, you would run out of primeval essence and the loser will be you!"

"You!" Chi Cheng was shocked, he only saw his advantage but did not notice his weakness. Right now, he could not help but agree with Fang Zheng, and his fighting spirit dampened.

"What, Fang Zheng is Rank two?!" The surrounding Gu Masters gasped. The examination results were only obtained the day before, thus they were only spread among certain people, so most of the crowd did not know about it yet.

"An A Grade talent no doubt, amazing, this Fang Zheng might really be the rising star of our clan."

"Bai clan has that Bai Ning Bing, he is really too powerful. If Fang Zheng can grow up, he might be able to resist Bai Ning Bing."

"This lad is interesting. Getting to Rank two in the academy and with such solid basic skills, this is such an uncommon scene. No wonder the clan leader poured so much effort into him," Yao Hong muttered.

Qing Shu replied, "The clan leader's guidance is only part of it, don't look down on this lad. Ever since he survived the assassination incident, he has become very hardworking, cultivating to the best of his limits, he is a good seedling, with both talent and hardwork. If he can grow up…, sigh, I feel like my burden is increasing."

"Hehehe." Clan leader Gu Yue Bo laughed lightly.

Chi Cheng's weak nature was analyzed by him to Fang Zheng. Now that he saw Fang Zheng using it to his advantage, Gu Yue Bo was very pleased.

"It seems that Fang Zheng is this year's number one." Beside the clan leader, Gu Yue Mo Chen said.

Gu Yue Chi Lian snorted, staring at the scene intently. He obviously wished for his grandson to win and defeat Fang Zheng, that way he would win honour for the Chi faction.

But things do not go as he wished, and on the stage after getting demoralized, Chi Cheng could no longer display his 100% ability against Fang Zheng, and made continuous mistakes.

Eventually, Chi Cheng was caught with a fatal flaw, and was swept down the stage.

"Gu Yue Fang Zheng wins!" Gu Master announced.

Gu Yue Chi Lian's face was black.

At once, Fang Zheng was famous, getting all the attention from the clan people.

"Fang Zheng beat Mo Bei and Chi Cheng simultaneously with wits and courage, it seems he is the first place this year," Some people praised.

"Makes sense, I think well of him as well. Too bad he cannot join our group." As the groups choose students, students are also choosing groups. A seeded student like Fang Zheng was already long booked.

"Fang Zheng is the clan leader's faction, while Mo Bei, Chi Cheng are the Mo faction, Chi faction's future leaders. This way, it seems that the Gu Yue Clan would be heavily dominated by the clan leader faction, suppressing the two clan elders." Some people could see even further.

On the other two stages, the battles continued.

Fang Zheng walked down the stage long ago, hearing the people's praises, his heart roaring as he felt himself being reborn.

Different, it was very different from before.

His heart was filled with the excitement of recognition, the anticipation of being appreciated, and the joy of being commended.

A gust of winter wind blew, and although he felt the chilly wind, Fang Zheng could only feel the sense of warmth like the summer day.

"Last match, Gu Yue Fang Zheng vs Gu Yue Fang Yuan!" A while later, an announcer shouted.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

The final battle, Gu Yue Fang Zheng vs Gu Yue Fang Yuan!

"Oh, interesting."

"To think that at the end, it is a showdown between brothers."

"Fang Zheng…" Seeing this, the clan leader's smile faded slightly, "The greatest obstacle in your heart is your brother Fang Yuan. Go ahead and defeat him, you have red steel primeval essence while also having the Jade Skin Gu. With both offense and defense, you have the greatest advantage. Break apart this obstacle in your way, and you shall be reborn!"

The final match finally started.

The two brothers stood on the same arena, staring at each other.

The last remaining sunrays were like blood…

The light of the sunset was like a luxurious carpet for the arena.

Two very similar faces.

The little brother's fighting spirit burned on, while the older brother's gaze was deep as the abyss.

"Brother…" Fang Zheng's fists were clenched as he stared intently at Fang Yuan, speaking with a firm voice," Admit defeat! I am already Rank two, and I have over 80% red steel primeval essence. Your green bronze primeval essence is only 44%, you have no chance."

Fang Yuan lightly looked at his brother, "You are surely clear about my primeval essence. But it's better if you don't spout nonsense. If primeval essence can decide the victory, what's the point of fighting?"

Fang Zheng was stunned, but soon he raised his spirits, and his vigor could be seen burning in his eyes.

In truth, in the deepest part of his heart, he also did not want Fang Yuan to admit defeat. But Fang Yuan was his older brother after all, thus in view of their relationship he had to say it.

If not, that would be too cruel.

"Since big brother is so determined, then I have no choice but to attack!" Before he finished his sentence, Fang Zheng rushed towards Fang Yuan.

"This again!" Below the stage, Mo Bei looking at this scene, gritted his teeth. He made up his mind to harshly train himself after going back and return this humiliation tenfold to Fang Zheng!

"Fang Yuan is finished, he does not have my Dragonpill cricket Gu." Chi Cheng folded his arms and smirked, enjoying Fang Yuan's troubles.

Fang Zheng sprinted and instantly shortened the distance. In his hand there was a ball of moonlight.

Fang Yuan's expression was like steel; there was not a single change as he looked at the charging Fang Zheng. He did not take a single step away but blue coloured moonlight also gathered in his right palm.

Suddenly!

Fang Yuan took a firm step after stomping the ground, and moved towards Fang Zheng instead of backing away.

"This!" Fang Zheng did not expect Fang Yuan's movement, he panicked internally and quickly fired a moonblade.

Fang Yuan rushed quickly, and twisted his body, avoiding the moonblade by a hair's breadth.

His expression was cold, without any shouting or aggression. But in his silence, there was an aura of absolute iciness emitting from him.

Fang Zheng subconsciously took a few steps back. His limit was six meters, but now Fang Yuan was five meters away from him. This time he had to be the one trying to increase their distance.

Dundundun.

Fang Zheng retreated while flicking his right wrist several times, sending moonblades flying to try and push Fang Yuan back.

Fang Yuan took fluid steps that were one after another, his body extremely agile. He moved intensely, and every time he managed to avoid the moonblade with no margin for error.

"This Fang Yuan is even more daring!" Yao Hong shouted.

"Such a battle, they've disregarded death already," Qing Shu also exclaimed.

"Another battle maniac!" Mo Yan gritted her teeth, giving a glance at Chi Shan who was not far away.

Chi Shan was expressionless, but his eyes glimmered occasionally.

The noise from the audience stopped, they were all captivated by the battle on the stage.

The moonblades and Fang Yuan brushed past each other. From time to time there was a blue light that would reflect upon Fang Yuan's face. His cold expression remained as it was without any change, and each time he narrowly evaded death, showing his extreme battle talent!

The clan leader and clan elders all showed a serious expression.

Chi Cheng and Mo Bei stared with their mouths wide open, looking at Fang Yuan dodging every single moonblade in an impossible manner.

How did he do it? Numerous students had a giant question mark on their heads.

Hmph, Fang Yuan who had 500 years of battle experience, how can he be compared to Fang Zheng who was only taught for a year by a Rank four Gu Master?

In Fang Yuan's eyes, Fang Zheng was as thin as a clear stream. No matter how the stream flowed, or turned its way among the mountain rocks, he could see through it clearly to the bottom of the river.

The moonblade's every attack was not instant, it needed a process. Fang Zheng had to flick his wrist, and that was the greatest foretelling.

In Fang Yuan's eyes, Fang Zheng's shoulder movement, the movement of his wrist, every step he took provided a large amount of information. Fang Zheng's every attack, evasion and dodging was easily seen through by Fang Yuan, even as to what was going on in Fang Zheng's head, Fang Yuan could guess to a degree.

Fang Zheng's mind right now was flabbergasted!

Fang Yuan was the obstacle in his heart for more than ten years, the shadow quickly expanding into darkness, dragging him into the abyss.

The nervous emotion made him forget to use the Jade Skin Gu. Fang Yuan's strong approach caused him to panic and he was unable to regain his tempo, thus not allowing him time to think.

This was the difference in experience, this was the difference between inside knowledge!

In Fang Yuan's perspective, his inside information was even more important than the Spring Autumn Cicada, it was his greatest reliance.

He was able to not rely on the clan leader, clan leader, family, friends, or Gu worms.

He had always and only relied on himself!

In this world, only oneself is the most reliable!!

Those teammates and battle partners, they were just the masks of weaklings, the excuse to anticipate help from others.

He finally reached near Fang Zheng!

Bam.

Fang Yuan's punch was pulled from a hidden angle, smashing right into Fang Zheng's stomach.

Fang Zheng's body curled as the force of the fist almost caused him to vomit. He quickly protected his head with his arms and took a large step back. At the crucial moment, it showed his steady basic skills.

"Where is he?" Fang Zheng's eyes stared wide, looking around from the gap between his arms, trying to find Fang Yuan's location.

"Behind!" With this thought, Fang Zheng felt a strong force at his waist.

He lost his center of gravity and fell on the ground.

But Fang Zheng had gone through tough training. With this movement he flipped around on the ground and at the same time, shot out a moonblade from his palm towards his back.

This movement was the battle experience imparted by the clan leader.

If it was a normal person, they might follow closely behind Fang Zheng. If they could not react in time, they would be hit by the moonblade. Even if the moonblade did not hit, they would be forced back.

But who was Fang Yuan? Even Gu Yue Bo could not compete with him in terms of experience.

Fang Yuan moved steadily, not giving chase. Instead, he moved in a circle and got near to Fang Zheng. The moonblade only managed to hit air.

Fang Zheng thought he was able to pull some distance and quickly stood up. He was about to reorganise himself but he suddenly heard a swoosh sound.

"This is the gust of a punch!" At that split second, Fang Zheng had such a thought.

Immediately after, he was harshly hit in the ear by Fang Yuan's fist.

Bam.

He immediately felt his vision darken, and a strong sense of dizziness caused him to lose balance, completely collapsing on the ground.

He sprawled on the ground for over two breath's time, and finally he recovered slightly. His vision became clearer, seeing Fang Yuan's two feet right beside him.

He suddenly understood how ugly his situation was. He was sprawled on the ground like a dog while Fang Yuan stared at him from that high position.

"Damn it!" Fang Zheng was furious and tried to get up.

Under everyone's eyes, Fang Yuan lifted his right leg and stepped down firmly.

Bam.

Fang Zheng's head was harshly stepped on, like a rock hitting the stage, making a loud sound.

"Fuck!" Fang Zheng raged and tried to get up again.

Fang Yuan stared coldly, trampling down once again.

Bam.

Fang Zheng's head hit the stage again. His scalp knocked open and blood bled nonstop.

"Damn! Damn it!!" Fang Zheng's teeth were about to be crushed from his clenching, and the rage in his chest burned through his entire body. He raised his head again, trying to get up.

Bam.

Fang Yuan's third step came down. This time he continued to step on his head, not letting go. Under the immense force, Fang Zheng's face was harshly squeezed on the stage floor.

Fang Zheng's face was almost deformed, and he breathed raggedly, struggling to no avail. He felt that on his head, there was a huge rock that would not move no matter how he struggled.

"Right, how could I forget, I have the Moonlight Gu!" Under the despair, Fang Zheng's inspiration struck, and he thought of the Moonlight Gu.

His right palm gathered moonlight again.

But how could Fang Yuan not notice?

With a light sound, he shot out a moonblade onto Fang Zheng's right palm.

Argh!

Fang Zheng cried out, the immense pain sending his body into a spasm like he was struck by lightning.

His palm was almost pierced through by Fang Yuan, showing his white bones. The Moonlight Gu on his palm was already struck a great blow, it was on the brink of death!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 85: Hot-blooded and cold-blooded

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"These two brothers really aren't on good terms," Yao Hong mumbled.

"This Fang Yuan is too cruel, treating his brother like this," many people frowned unhappily.

"Fang Yuan is too savage, extorting our primeval stones for an entire year! Now he's treating his brother like this," the students gritted their teeth. Fang Yuan's coldness forced out their hatred towards a common enemy.

"Fang Zheng, stand up, stand up! Defeat Fang Yuan." Some unknown student shouted.

"Defeat Fang Yuan, defeat Fang Yuan!" Instantly, many youngsters shouted.

"This Fang Yuan, is indeed a hated person." Mo Yan snorted, enjoy his predicament.

"Fang Zheng, hang in there, stand up! Defeat this monster Fang Yuan!"

"Fang Zheng, stand up. We're with you."

"Fang Zheng, you can do it, you can do it!"

The crowd cheered on fiercely, and sounds of encouragement entered Fang Zheng's ears.

Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!

Fang Zheng gasped heavily. As the sounds entered his heart it gave him an unimaginable strength!

The scenes of the past played in his head.

On the streets, the clansmen's comments.

"That's Fang Yuan, the future genius, he is not to be underestimated!"

"Who's that behind him?"

"Oh, probably his brother, who knows what his name is."

Uncle and aunt laughed, "Fang Yuan, now the entire village is discussing the new poem you wrote! This is very good, uncle and aunt are proud of you."

Fang Yuan waved his hand, saying calmly, "I only made those on a whim."

Uncle and aunt nodded, saying to Fang Zheng, "Learn well from your brother, if you are half as talented as your brother, we would not have to worry."

Under the moonlight, deep in the courtyard.

Clan leader Gu Yue Bo looked at Fang Zheng, saying gently, "Fang Zheng, have confidence. You must find your purpose, believe in yourself."

"But, sir clan leader…"

Gu Yue Bo patted his shoulders, encouraging, "The shadow in your heart, others cannot dispel it for you. You can only rely on yourself. I await that day."

The night before the year end exam.

Shen Cui looked at Fang Zheng with love in her gaze under the lamp lights, "Young master, I believe that you can get number one. I have always believed it! Work hard!"

The morning before departure.

Uncle and aunt stood at the doorstep, "Fang Zheng, after the year end exam, you would be leaving the academy. Seeing your growth, we are very happy! Go, go and show everyone the strength of an A grade!"

And……

Under the setting sun, in a dark corner, a female classmate cried profusely, "The allowance is only three primeval stones, but Fang Yuan snatched a piece away, leaving me with two. I am almost unable to feed my Moonlight Gu at this rate."

Fang Zheng's heart softened, "This is my primeval stone, I'll lend it to you."

The female classmate took the primeval stone, saying with tears, "Fang Zheng, you are too nice, please defeat your brother and end his tyranny in the academy!"

Fang Zheng was silent.

A bunch of classmates appeared in front of him.

"Fang Zheng, you are an A grade talent, you can do it."

"Fang Yuan is too much, constantly bullying us, you are our only hope."

"Fang Zheng, from today onwards, we're with you, we will always support you!"

"Everyone…" Fang Zheng observed the surroundings, seeing the concerned pairs of eyes, and felt extremely touched.

Everyone…

Everyone has expectations of me.

My classmates, uncle, aunt, Shen Cui, and sir clan leader!

Everyone is waiting for me, looking at me, supporting me……

How can I lose? How can I fall here? How can I!

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

His heart pounded in his chest, and Fang Zheng's eyes shone with brilliance.

I cannot fall here!

I will dispel the shadow and stand up!!

Fang Zheng's fists were tightly clenched, no longer feeling any pain at this point. He felt a lion in his chest, awakening from its sleep and opening its huge mouth to roar!

Hot-blood boiled in his body.

Stand up, stand up!

Break the shadows, break the darkness!

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!" Fang Zheng opened his mouth wide to shout, his body starting to emit a green jade light.

"What's that?" The crowd silenced.

"Jade Skin Gu!" Someone shouted.

Bam!

The students roared towards the heavens.

"Fang Zheng, you can do it!"

"Fang Zheng, we have your back!"

Finally only one last cheer remained —"Stand up! Stand up!"

"Everyone….. I can hear your voices." Fang Zheng clenched his fist, his teeth almost crushed. Fang Yuan's pressure was no longer so imposing, he could finally get up, slowly and steadily.

The shouting intensified.

"He's burning with anger!!"

"He's going to do a comeback."

Gu Masters hearing such cheers and excitement from the crowd, were all starting to feel moved.

"That's right, Fang Zheng, that's right! Stand up, stand up, abandon the past, dispel the shadow and stand up, you will become a new person!" Clan leader's eyes shone with bright light as he cheered Fang Zheng on in his heart.

"Jade Skin Gu…" Fang Yuan's eyelids drooped. He pulled back his leg and saw Fang Zheng stand up slowly, the Jade Skin Gu's radiance turning his face green.

Fang Zheng had always been hiding this trump card up till now and did not reveal it to anyone, thus nobody knew about it.

"Fang Zheng got up!" The crowds' cheers exploded.

"He stood up!" Clan leader was moved, uncontrollably standing up from his seat. At this moment, he saw the rise of an A grade talent! He saw the future of the Gu Yue clan!

"I stood up, brother, I will defeat you!" Fang Zheng's eyes burned with determination, his entire body enveloped in bright green light like he was wear a jade armor!

"Oh wow, this defense, even the moonblade can't pierce it. It seems Fang Zheng wins." Yao Hong raised her brows, blowing a whistle.

"Indeed, even with the Little Light Gu's reinforcement, hitting on this barrier, it would only cause Fang Zheng's primeval essence to be consumed faster. But comparing primeval essence expenditure, Fang Yuan is no match for Fang Zheng. After this match, Fang Zheng is going to rise!" Qing Shu laughed lightly.

"Fang Zheng had a Jade Skin Gu, but only used it now. It seems Fang Yuan's earlier attacks confused him. But now, victory is already waving towards him." Mo Yan folded her arms, her gaze slightly uncertain.

Time seem to have paused.

On the stage, the brothers faced each other.

The two's distance was so close yet so far.

Fang Zheng's firm determination, Fang Yuan's eternal indifference.

"Little brother…" He looked at Fang Zheng peacefully, his lips curling into a smirk, "Thinking of defeating me, you're still far from it."

He raised his right hand, his right arm flexing, pulling into a bow shape.

"Big brother, you've lost!" Fang Zheng felt amused in his heart seeing Fang Yuan's raised fist.

As long as he had primeval essence, even with the Little Light Gu's reinforcement, the moonblade could not break the jade colour barrier, not to mention his fist? Unless he used the Flower Boar Gu or the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu to raise his strength. But even so, he would need a defensive type Gu……

Fang Yuan did not say anything, but he used his fist to give the most straightforward answer.

The next moment, the right fist flew in the air and hit Fang Zheng harshly on the cheeks.

Bam!

After a loud crash, blood spilled as the jade light smashed to bits like broken mirror fragments dancing in the sky before vanishing.

"What?!" Fang Zheng was hit by such a shock once again, and after a stunned moment, his neck was almost broken as he hurriedly retreated.

Fang Yuan followed up closely, using a bow step and raising his left fist, pulling back and striking again upwards!

Bam!!

Fang Zheng's other half of his face was hit by the impact, his head rising high up with blood and broken jade light flying in the air.

Bam, bam, bam!

He took three steps backwards, his ears buzzing as a dizziness ten times greater than before assaulted him.

"How can this… be!" His vision darkened, and he collapsed on the arena —

Plop.

Fang Zheng fell on the ground, the light dissipating on his body as he fainted in the next moment.

The shouts and cheers came to an abrupt end.

The happy, excited expressions of the students were still glued on their faces, unable to change due to such a shock.

The entire arena was silent.

Fang Yuan's fists were bloody, to the point his bloody finger bones could be seen. Drops of blood fell and dripped on the stage.

Swoosh…

A cold winter wind blew, freezing away all the hot-bloodedness.

Fang Yuan's hair wavered in the air as he stood still on the stage. It was almost as if the heavily injured person with both his fists almost crippled was not him!

He looked coldly at the surroundings with a calm expression.

Everyone was silent.

In the tentage, the clan leader was still standing, staring dumbfoundedly.

"Sorry, I've let you all disappointed," Fang Yuan said lightly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 86: Suspicion and probing

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

On the stage, Fang Zheng fainted on the ground with no more movements from him.

Fang Yuan however, continued with his cold expression, standing in the middle of the stage.

After a momentary silence, the crowds erupted.

"How can this be?" Some people hugged their heads, revealing an expression of disbelief.

"Two punches breaking the Jade Skin Gu's defense, this-this-this…" Some people were tongue-tied.

"Too savage, even the jade light got smashed by him, does he not feel pain?" Some female Gu Masters took in a chilly breath.

"Without any defensive Gu worm and using his bare hands to break the jade light, this is true blue self-harm!" Even male Gu Masters' eyes twitched upon seeing Fang Yuan's hands, and were shocked by his ruthlessness.

Being ruthless to others, that is easy, but being ruthless to yourself, that is hard.

Fang Yuan using his bare hands to break the Jade Skin Gu's defense, it was not only savage to his younger brother, but even harsher on himself!

"I'll go take a look." The academy elder could no longer stand it, and after saying so, he jumped onto the stage.

He first squatted down and observed the fainted Fang Zheng, sighing in relief as he found that Fang Zheng was not in a critical condition. His head just had a huge impact, causing him to fall unconscious.

"Unbelievable, with the Jade Skin Gu's defense, he still suffered such heavy injuries from someone using their bare hands." The academy elder was shocked internally, raising his head and looking at Fang Yuan, his eyes shining with a fierce light.

"Fang Yuan, I'll heal you." The academy elder stood up, taking a few huge strides towards Fang Yuan and grabbing his forearm.

Fang Yuan's arms were in terrible condition. Not only was the blood and skin vaguely mashed, even his bones were revealed. Because of the huge impact there were also cracks on the bones.

"How intense this pain is, yet he didn't even frown a bit." Even if it was the academy elder, his heart shuddered seeing such injuries.

His tone was complicated, saying to Fang Yuan, "Endure it, the healing is very itchy and also very painful."

Saying so, his five fingers spread open and emitted a wave of blue moonlight. The moonlight got brighter and caused the academy elder's right hand to be translucent from the shine.

At a glance, the academy elder's entire right hand was like a piece of blue jade, the blood vessels and bones were all turned into jade.

The academy elder lightly raised his right hand and covered Fang Yuan's injured fist.

It was just like a piece of cold jade touching on an injury that was mashed with blood and flesh. Fang Yuan felt a heart-piercing pain, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.

The academy elder's hand emitted gentle moonlight and the moonlight nourished Fang Yuan's injured spot.

On the bones, the cracks started to mend, and the flesh and skin started to grow rapidly and heal.

Fang Yuan felt an intense itching, causing him to breathe heavily.

The academy elder's expression was calm. While healing Fang Yuan, he diverted a part of his concentration towards Fang Yuan's arm, and also inspected his aperture.

In the aperture, the black green-coloured copper primeval essence was raging like waves in the sea.

A white and fat liquor worm was swimming and playing in the primeval sea.

The four walls of the aperture were all made of white-coloured crystal walls. This showed Fang Yuan's Rank one peak stage cultivation clearly.

The academy elder did not look away, but continued to scan Fang Yuan's body.

Finally, he found that on Fang Yuan's palm, there was the Moonlight Gu and Little Light Gu.

"No other Gu worms, did Fang Yuan really use his own strength to break the defense of the Jade Skin Gu? Such strength is far beyond a mortal adult. He is only fifteen years old, how can he have such strength?" The academy elder's eyes shone with suspicion.

"Clan elder, thank you for your treatment." Fang Yuan took back his arm from the academy elder and shook it around.

Although there was still some pain, the injury had already healed. If this was back on Earth, such an injury would have taken a year or two to heal and would even leave some serious side effects.

This was the magical aspect of this world. Now that Fang Yuan's arms were healed, although he still felt like they were weak when he grabbed the air or waved them around, seven or eight days later, the strengthless side-effect would disappear.

But Fang Yuan was not grateful to the academy elder. His injury could also be healed by other healing Gu Masters, and he was well aware: the academy elder's motive was to inspect his aperture.

Fang Yuan had expected this from the start, so he left the White Boar Gu and Jade Skin Gu in the second secret cave. As for the Spring Autumn Cicada, with its Rank six status, if it wanted to hide, even the Rank four Gu Yue Bo would not find it if he inspected personally.

The academy elder did not find anything, and that caused him to frown. Although he was still suspicious in his heart, but in front of so many people, he did not have the proper opportunity to ask.

"Fang Yuan, you performed well, continue working hard." Finally, the academy elder patted Fang Yuan's shoulder and declared loudly, "This year's final exam, the first place goes to Fang Yuan!"

Ever since the academy elder's ascension to the stage, the audience watched quietly. After hearing his announcement, they started discussing fervently.

"To think that at the end, Fang Yuan had the last laugh!"

"He's merely a C grade, but he beat the Rank two Fang Zheng who has a Jade Skin Gu, did he cheat?"

"Probably not, from the academy elder's personal treatment and probing. If he did not find any problems, Fang Yuan probably did not cheat."

"Fang Yuan's fists were greatly injured, that's normal. But as a fifteen year old, having such strength that surpasses an adult by far, isn't it suspicious?"

"What is there to be suspicious about? There are always people who are born with strange talents. Either super strength, or super smart, actually Fang Yuan's strength isn't that scary, think about that guy." The speaking Gu Master indicated at the standing Chi Shan.

People were immediately enlightened, "Oh yes. When Chi Shan was still a kid, his strength was already greater than an adult, is Fang Yuan also such a monster?"

"That has to be it. When Fang Yuan was young, he could make poems. Those poems were famous around the village back then. We thought he was an A grade, but he turned out to be C grade, but it seems heaven has other plans and compensated him with strength."

"He is still a C grade anyway, if he was B grade he would be another Chi Shan. Hmph, nothing to be envious about, a Gu Master's cultivation relies on their talent. If I can get a Black Boar Gu in the future, I would have even greater strength than him. That is nothing much, he can only be arrogant for a while." Some people shrugged, speaking unconcernedly.

Fang Yuan walked down the stage, his eyes picking up the people's discussions as he smirked coldly inside his heart.

The Liquor worm's origin was already perfectly explained by Fang Yuan, but once the Jade Skin Gu was exposed, Fang Yuan would not be able to explain it. Thus, he had to keep this secret and could not use it in public.

As for these people's thoughts and explanations, it was the direction Fang Yuan wanted them to go. Or rather, even if the higher-ups were suspicious, they would only be suspicious of his mysterious backer.

"Half a year ago, I risked the danger and used the wild boar tusks to create a second layer of protection at the camp. It is finally coming into play." Fang Yuan eyes were dark like the abyss.

The Gu Yue clan leader did not sit down. He kept on standing and frowning deeply.

This matter had developed out of his control.

Fang Yuan getting first place, he did not really care much. It was just a year end exam's first place, it was nothing significant.

He was worried about Gu Yue Fang Zheng.

Undeniably, today's impact was too great on Fang Zheng.

If Fang Zheng was beaten completely from the start and lost the fight, so be it. But it just had to be at the point where he used his full strength and got a huge confidence boost, that he was sent sprawling by Fang Yuan's two fists.

Such a psychological trauma might negatively impact his growth.

"Under my guidance and arrangement, Fang Zheng was the first to advance to upper stage, peak stage and Rank two initial stage, continuously gaining success and confidence. But this confidence is probably gone by now. Sigh, my hard work has all gone up like smoke." Gu Yue Bo sighed deeply, naturally gaining a little sense of disgust and loathing towards Fang Yuan.

If Fang Yuan had lost to Fang Zheng, everything would have been perfect.

But he actually won, that is too… infuriating.

Not only the clan leader, but the other clan elders' were also full of solemn and complex gazes.

"Fang Yuan's strength is actually so huge, is he really a monster like Chi Shan?"

"Actually, he was strange from young, making poems when he was younger than ten, so his strength getting larger as he grew up is nothing strange."

"But there is another possibility, and that is human action. Fang Yuan has a mysterious backer, maybe the backer assisted him."

"But the person behind him, who could it be?"

The clan elders' hearts were overturning, but their expressions said otherwise.

Clan leader Gu Yue Bo went silent before revealing a smile, saying, "Fang Yuan, getting first place with a C grade talent, this is an unprecedented grand feat! Becoming first place, you have a hundred primeval stones as reward and also Gu worm choosing priority. Now, I shall reward you further, you can choose any small group you want and join it. Regardless of the group, whichever one you want, just say it and you can join!"

Upon saying so, all the Rank two Gu Masters and students stared at Fang Yuan in envy.

Small groups had their differences too, and joining a good group meant a bright future. Gu Yue Bo's reward was very generous.

"Although I made this decision on the spot, I believe the clan elders here would agree with me," Gu Yue Bo smiled even more intensely, looking at the clan elders beside him.

With Gu Yue Chi Lian and Gu Yue Mo Chen as the head of the clan elders, all of their faces were grim and some even frowned, but no one stopped him.

Fang Yuan's heart jumped.

Trouble had come.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 87: Attitude is the mask of the heart

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

Fang Yuan could see the intentions behind such an action, this was a small probing (test) from the clan leader.

His gaze swept through the arena, the entire clan's best performing three groups were here. The clan leader's faction's Qing Shu group, Chi faction's Chi Shan group, and Mo faction's Mo Yan group.

If it was a regular student, joining any of the three groups meant getting a huge backer, representing a bright future.

But to Fang Yuan, it was the reverse.

In the clan's higher-up's perception, he was already part of a mysterious faction. Joining any of the three spelt trouble.

For example, if he joined the Chi Shan faction, the Chi family obviously know they did not recruit him, so their first thought would be — Fang Yuan is a pawn of another family, but now that he's joining our group, what intentions does he have?

Next they would think — The mysterious faction that recruited Fang Yuan earlier had already broken the rules, and now that Fang Yuan is present here, the clan leader would think that we were the ones who recruited him, so isn't this 'carrying the fault' for them? That will not do, we have to arrest Fang Yuan, keep a close eye on him and investigate him! We shall find concrete evidence and reveal the mysterious backer of his.

But the truth was, Fang Yuan has no backer!

"Once I join any of the three groups, it means I am offending one out of the three biggest factions in this clan. That will definitely not do! Sigh, I originally wanted to keep a low profile and join Jiang He's group, but Jiang He's group is backed by the punishment hall elder. Under everyone's watchful eye, if I join abruptly, that is inappropriate as well." Fang Yuan inevitably hesitated.

Gu Yue Bo's smile became even more intense, continuing, "Fang Yuan, if you don't choose, I'll select for you."

The clan elders beside him watched quietly with an unmoving expression, each of them standing like statues.

"Hmph, forcing me?" Fang Yuan's gaze shone, immediately guessing Gu Yue Bo's next words — either throwing him to Chi Shan's group or Mo Yan's group.

Gu Yue Bo knew in his heart that he did not recruit Fang Yuan. To him, this act can not only remove suspicion on him but also weaken his foe, as well as reveal the mysterious faction; it was killing three birds with one stone. It was a play that could divert the problem away — although seemingly simple, it was a strategic move showing Gu Yue Bo's experienced political ability.

"No, I must not let him dictate it. It seems I can only choose a crappy group." Fang Yuan was about to open his mouth and speak.

Suddenly at this moment, someone spoke, "Why don't you join our team. Our group is lacking an attacker."

Who said that?

At once, everyone turned around towards the source of the voice.

The person speaking was neither tall or short, with dark yellow skin that made him look sickly. A pair of triangular eyes shone with brilliance.

"It's the sickly snake Gu Yue Jiao San(1)." Someone pointed out his identity.

"Gu Yue Jiao San? It's just a trash team with no background!" The clan leader and clan elders all showed a disappointed expression.

"Jiao San…" Fang Yuan's eyes shone with an undetectable dark shine.

He and this Gu Yue Jiao San person had never met or spoken before, and he had no memories of such a person.

Why did Jiao San open his mouth and invite him into his team? Was it purely because he had gotten first place in the examination?

How can that be!

Only someone as childish as Fang Zheng would have such a naive thought.

But……

Since Jiao San opened his mouth and invited Fang Yuan personally, such a situation was a good breakthrough point.

"The clan's higher-ups must be very disappointed now. Hehe." Fang Yuan smiled thinking of this, his eyes looking downwards, hiding the brilliance in his expression.

"Then I'll join your group," Fang Yuan agreed on the spot, blocking Gu Yue Bo's upcoming words.

"Is this Fang Yuan retarded?"

"Ignoring those top performing groups and joining the sickly snake's group!"

"He must be bonkers, Jiao San's personality, hehehe…"

The students and Gu Masters started to discuss, looking at Fang Yuan like he was a fool.

The clan leaders and elders' expression turned dim.

Today's probing was thwarted by this Gu Yue Jiao San! No… Maybe this Jiao San is also a pawn in this game, but no matter what, they must investigate on this Gu Yue Jiao San!

Three days later.

It had already been snowing for a day, and now that it was gradually getting smaller, pieces of snowflakes flew in the air gliding with the wind.

On Qing Mao mountain, there was a layer of white colour over it. Many branches were naked with no leaves, except the evergreen pine trees and Qing Mao bamboo, which had retained their original colours standing proudly in the snow.

A group of five people ran in the snow.

The leading person was neither short nor tall, bearing a sickly yellow skin — it was Gu Yue Jiao San.

As he ran, he turned towards the quiet Fang Yuan, smiling gently with kindness, "Fang Yuan, don't be nervous. Although this is your first clan mission, the contents are simple. Just follow us and learn along the way."

"Yes," Fang Yuan lightly replied, staring forward with a solemn expression.

It was already winter.

Running on the snow, the chilly winter winds were even more intense. Every breath was like eating snow dust, chilling his entire chest.

Fang Yuan's face was originally very white, and now that the snow shone on it, it appeared even paler. In the process of running, the snow kept falling on his short black hair, his shoulders and forehead.

What was different than before was that Fang Yuan had changed his clothes.

This was a dark blue coloured battle attire.

The attire had long sleeves and long pants, with bamboo sheets tied on his legs as wrappings, and bamboo shoes adorned his feet. On his head there was a bright blue headband, and the headband fluttered in the air as Fang Yuan ran.

On his waist, there was a loose belt.

The belt was navy blue with a bronze plate on it, carved with the number "1"; it was very much eye-striking.

This was a Gu Master's attire, showing Fang Yuan's status as a Rank one Gu Master.

The youngsters had to stay a year in the academy and graduate before they were allowed to wear this.

This attire had much meaning. Once worn it meant that one has transcended the realm of mortals, leaving the lowly life and stepping into the upper society, being the middle class of the entire human race. Even if Rank one Gu Masters were the bottom of this tier, from now on any mortal had to give way to Fang Yuan and pay respects to him.

Gu Yue Jiao San's gaze continued to shine. This battle attire when worn by Fang Yuan, coupled with his cold expression, showed the atmosphere of a cool and collected person.

While running, he continued asking Fang Yuan, "We are out on a mission, and normally we would have to rush when travelling, so running is a common thing. Are you used to it?"

"I can cope." Fang Yuan's words were precious like gold, using the corner of his eye to look at Gu Yue Jiao San.

Jiao San's warm and kind expression caused him to think about the legend of Ren Zu.

Words have it that Ren Zu used the Rules and Regulation Gu and obtained strength but lost wisdom, leaving behind three Gu worms. One was Suspicion, one was Trust, and another was Attitude.

Ren Zu grabbed the Attitude Gu.

Attitude Gu followed the betting rules, submitting to Ren Zu, telling him, "Human, you caught me, I can only curse my bad luck. From now on, I will be at your command. Wear me and you will be able to use my ability."

Attitude Gu's appearance was like a mask. Ren Zu put it on his face, but in the end he could not wear it. Even if he used a rope to tie it, it would still fall off.

"What's going on?" Ren Zu was troubled.

Attitude Gu laughed, "I know, human, you have no heart. Attitude is the mask of the heart, so without a heart, how can you wear me?"

Ren Zu realised at once, he had already given his heart to hope.

He was heartless.

Someone who is heartless cannot wear the attitude mask. In other words, to someone with a heart/an intention, their attitude is a mask.

"This kind and warm attitude is only Gu Yue Jiao San's mask, what is his real intention?" Fang Yuan pondered.

While the person "sickly snake" Jiao San observed Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan was also secretly observing him.

(1)Gu Yue Jiao Shan – His name Jiao Shan means three angles. Probably referring to his triangular eyes.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 88: Initial display of authority, picking on, and suppression

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

On the snow, five small groups were running.

Gu Yue Jiao San looked at the sky, saying, "The sky's getting dark, our mission this time is to collect 'permafrost decayed soil'. Although it is easy, it consumes too much time. We have to speed up, everyone follow me, try not to get left behind. Fang Yuan, if you are unable to keep up, just inform us. Don't worry, you are a newcomer, we will take care of you."

Gu Yue Jiao San smiled very amicably.

Fang Yuan nodded silently.

The other three members exchanged glances. The sky was actually still bright, Jiao San had no need to say this. In reality, he wanted to give Fang Yuan an initial display of authority.

The three knew this deep down, but did not expose him.

In actuality, these kind of authoritative displays were common. When a new member joins, the older members would usually exert their authority to get rid of the younger member's arrogance so that it would be easier to command and control them.

"Let's go." Jiao San said lightly, taking huge steps and being the first to rush out.

Fang Yuan's gaze shone, heading out with the same speed as the other three, following closely behind.

The bamboo shoes stepped on the snow, leaving behind traces of footprints.

The mountain road was full of obstacles, being difficult to manoeuvre. Especially with a layer of thick snow, it was even easier to fall down. At the same time, due to the snow cover, who knew if underneath it was sharp rocks or pitfalls?

If one stepped into a hunter's trap, they would be even more unlucky.

Living in this world was tough. Travelling seemed easy but in fact it had much to do with experience. Many newcomers suffered due to this.

Only through a long period of training, having gone through much hardship, a Gu Master that has accumulated much experience would be able to avoid these obstacles.

The chilly winter winds blew directly towards their faces as Fang Yuan strode through the snow.

At times he took small leaps, at times he ran long distances. Sometimes he sidestepped, sometimes he climbed, following closely behind Jiao San.

The entire Qing Mao was covered by a layer of snow coat, and many of the trees had naked branches, without a single leaf.

At times, squirrels or wild deer were frightened by these people and ran away quickly.

Thirty minutes later, Jiao San stopped in his tracks as he had reached his destination.

He turned over his head, looking at Fang Yuan, smiling, and praising, "Good job! You truly are this year's champion, following behind me and not losing your pace once."

Fang Yuan smiled silently. This kind of authoritative display, he was clear of it. In fact, sprinting in the snow had become a "traditional event". Many small groups used this to suppress the newcomer's arrogance.

The two stood on the spot and waited, until the remaining three members arrived.

Puff, huff, puff……

They took deep breaths, their foreheads full of sweat, their faces red as they placed their hands on their waits, the last members plopping on the ground.

Jiao San harshly stared at them, barking, "Stand straight! Haven't you embarrassed us enough? Look at Fang Yuan, then look at yourselves. Hmph, after this mission, go back and reflect on yourselves."

The three immediately stood up straight, but lowered their heads. They were chided by Jiao San until they did not dare to raise their heads or rebuke him.

Only their gaze towards Fang Yuan changed.

"How strange, how can this Fang Yuan be so experienced? I did not see him fall even once!"

"Sigh, we only have normal strength, how can we compete with this monster?"

"Hmph, not only did we not get a show to watch, we even became the sacrificial lambs. This guy…"

"Enough, buck up." Jiao San pointed forward, "This small-sized valley is our destination. Inside, there are large amounts of permafrost decayed soil for us to collect. Let's split up here and harvest the frozen earth. An hour later, we will gather here. Kong Jing, distribute the tools."

Jiao San had just spoken, and the male member called Gu Yue Kong Jing stood up.

He opened his palm wide and a yellow light shot out from the aperture in his abdomen, landing on his palm.

The yellow light dispersed, showing its true form. A frog with a golden back.

This golden frog was plump with a giant snow white belly, causing its entire body to look like a ball when inflated. The frog's mouth and eyes were all at the top of its head due to this belly, being squeezed into a spot.

Fang Yuan's gaze shone, recognising this Gu worm.

This was the Rank two Gu worm — Large Belly Frog.

Soon after, Kong Jing's hands emitted traces of red steel primeval essence, and were absorbed by the frog.

Ribbit.

The Large Belly Frog screeched, opening its mouth to vomit out a steel spade.

The steel spade flew in the sky, turning large quickly. In the blink of an eye, it landed on the ground, becoming a large steel spade half the size of a person.

Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit……

It called for several times, throwing up a tool each time.

Eventually, the snowfield in front of everyone had five steel spades, and five wooden boxes. The wooden boxes all had two ropes for carrying.

Gu master feeding Gu worms was a large burden. Thus, Gu worms were limited in numbers. During the initial stages, it was hard to single-handedly deal with different environments, and with different intensity of troubles, Gu Masters thus often worked in groups.

In a small group, there was someone doing reconnaissance, someone for offence, someone in charge of defence, someone healing, and someone as logistics support.

The Gu Master who stood up, Kong Jing, was a logistics support Gu Master. He controlled this Large Belly Frog, which was a support Gu worm, where its belly had another space that could be used as storage space.

Of course, every Gu had its strengths and weaknesses.

The Large Belly Frog's weakness was that not only was the storage space limited, every time it vomited an item, it had to croak once, and this was irritating. Especially when a Gu Master is hiding in the battlefield, if handled poorly, it would reveal one's location.

Another thing was, the Large Belly Frog could not store Gu worms, and it was not immune to poison, unable to store poisonous objects.

After distributing the tools, each of the group members had a steel spade and a box in their hands.

"Let's set off," Jiao San waved his hand, leading the party into the valley.

Fang Yuan held the steel spade and carried the wooden box, choosing another direction.

"He is after all a newbie, rushing in like that. Hehe."

"Is the permafrost decayed soil so easy to harvest? If he cannot differentiate it, he might get normal frozen earth, wasting his efforts."

"The truth is, it is really difficult to differentiate. The permafrost decayed soil's colour is around the same as normal frozen earth, especially under the cover of all the accumulated snow, so newbies can only dig relying on their luck."

The three members seeing Fang Yuan's backview laughed internally.

An hour later, they saw that Fang Yuan returned with an entire box of permafrost decayed soil, and were all stunned.

Including Jiao San, all their wooden boxes were only half-filled with permafrost decayed soil.

Seeing Fang Yuan's wooden box, they were almost ashamed to show their results.

"It is all permafrost decayed soil!" A member observed carefully and was even more shocked.

"Fang Yuan, how did you gather so much frozen earth?" A female member could not hold in her curiosity and asked.

Fang Yuan's brows raised, and the snowlight shone on his iris, showing a clear and transparent gaze.

He laughed lightly, "The academy elder said before, the permafrost decayed soil is a fertilizer created when the snow freezes the swamp. It has a tint of purple in the blackness, and is actually very smelly, but because it is frozen by the snow, it cannot be smelled. It is the Smelly Fart Fatworm's food. At the same time it is also very fertile, often mixed in the soil to grow crops, fruits and vegetables. The clan sending out this mission, is probably because they want to use it in the underground cave and fertilize the moon orchid flowers."

His words caused the four to be frozen on the spot.

"These theories are obviously learnt in the academy. But theory and reality are very difficult to be linked. Has Fang Yuan collected permafrost decayed soil before?" The three members looked at each other in shock.

Gu Yue Jiao San's gaze shone, saying, "Good job Fang Yuan."

As he praised, his usual warm and kind smile became a little forced.

Jiao San turned around, saying to the rest, "This way, our mission is completed. Everyone pass your spades and boxes to Kong Jing, and let's return."

When they got back to the village, it was already afternoon.

The five walked out of the internal affairs hall, Jiao San distributing the six primeval stones they earned. He got two pieces, while the rest of the members got one.

The primeval stones were so easily earned, so the members all broke into a smile.

Fang Yuan kept his primeval stone stealthily.

Only in his heart did he think, "When a newcomer joins a small group, the clan would usually give a large reward for the mission as a form of supporting the newcomer. Collecting the permafrost decayed soil mission, the reward was at most two primeval stones, but because of me there were three times more. According to logic, I should have gotten more stones. If the snow sprinting was an authoritative display, then having us purposely collect the frozen soil alone was a sign of picking on me, and the distribution of primeval stones is suppression already."

One or two primeval was not a concern for Fang Yuan. He was only wondering strangely — he and Gu Yue Jiao San never had any interactions, so why was he suppressing him?

"Unless…" An inspiration struck Fang Yuan.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 89: A sickly snake coiling around the legs

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The five stood on the walkway.

Gu Yue Jiao San laughed kindly and said to Fang Yuan, "Little brother Fang Yuan, your performance really impressed all of us. It seems we did a correct thing inviting you to join us. You have just graduated from the academy, and might be unclear of some things. Let me introduce you to them."

"Firstly, the clan missions, each Gu Master must complete at least one a month. The more you complete and the more perfect it is, the higher your evaluation."

"Secondly, the missions are distributed by the internal affairs hall or the external affair hall, each Gu Master can only accept one. Once accepted, they must complete it."

"Thirdly, under special conditions, a Gu Master may choose to abandon a mission, but that will cause their evaluation to fall greatly. At the same time, Rank one Gu Masters have no rights to give up, and only Rank two Gu Masters do. But they can only abandon one mission a year."

"Fourth, the clan's evaluation is very important. It concerns your future in the clan, and the higher your evaluation, the greater your future and the brighter it is."

Fang Yuan listened, nodding. These things were already memorized by him. Gu Yue Jiao San was right and did not misdirect him, but many key contents were not spoken.

"Alright, the permafrost decayed soil's mission has just been completed. Next, I accepted a wild deer hunting mission. The danger is low, so it is suitable for you to practice." Jiao San said to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan laughed coldly in his heart, but said, "Thank you for your concern, group leader."

Gu Yue Kong Jing immediately followed up, "Little brother Fang Yuan, you should really properly thank the group leader. Although simple missions are easily completed, they have a small reward. The group leader's actions are to take care of you."

The other two female Gu Masters also spoke, "Yeah, yeah, little brother Fang Yuan, action speaks louder than words. Why don't you thank the group leader by treating him to lunch."

"Little brother Fang Yuan, you just left the academy, society is complicated. Human relationship is very important. If you don't know anything, just ask us during lunch."

Gu Yue Jiao San laughed, purposely waving his hand, "Don't put him in a spot, he just left the academy, he must be tight on primeval stones."

"How can that be! Besides, just being the first place in the year end exam gave him a hundred primeval stones as reward right?" A female Gu Master purposely said, and then showed an expression of envy, "I'm really envious of you, a hundred primeval stones is a huge sum even to us."

"Group leader, you've mistaken our little brother Fang Yuan. How can he be so stingy. Am I right, little brother Fang Yuan?" Gu Yue Kong Jing laughed heartily, as if he was very happy.

Another female Gu Master got nearer to Fang Yuan, as if they had a close relationship, saying, " Little brother Fang Yuan, a word of advice. You can choose not to suck up to us, but the group leader, you have to. You know, our group's evaluation has a portion written by the group leader. If he says you're outstanding, you're outstanding. If he says you performed badly, it means you really performed badly."

"That's right, that's right. Evaluation is very important to us Gu Masters, we need at least an outstanding evaluation to be noticed by the higher-ups. In the future where we have sufficient achievements, we would be able to work for several years less!" Kong Jing immediately followed up.

Throughout the entire process, Gu Yue Jiao San was smiling and watching.

Finally he waved his hand with a kind expression and laughingly said, "Ah, don't speak nonsense. I am always impartial when writing my evaluation, and will not be easily bribed by you. But don't worry Fang Yuan, you are a newcomer, so now that you're in our group, I will take good care of your evaluation."

If it were a normal teenager, they would've been led by the nose by these few people, feeling touched secretly. They are bullying a newcomer's ignorance and naivety.

But Fang Yuan's iris was calm as the sea.

Group leader being involved in the member's evaluation, that was the truth. This is the clan's system, giving the authority to the group leader, so that they can manage each small group.

But it is not as severe as these people said.

For the clan evaluation, the group leader's evaluation is only a very small portion, and it is still mostly attributed to the clan's internal affairs hall.

Or rather, even if the group leader had a great influence on it, so what?

Fang Yuan didn't give a damn about the evaluation.

He had already decided — quickly raise his cultivation, reach Rank three, and then leave this place. He had never thought of staying in this clan for over a hundred years to slog his life away.

To these ignorant and lowly peasants, the evaluation was the most important thing. But to Fang Yuan, it was lower than dog shit!

Thus, their somewhat threatening tone was of no use to Fang Yuan.

"I understand what you all have said. I still have something on, so I'll take my leave," Fang Yuan after being quiet for a while, said.

Eh?

At once, the four Gu Masters showed a shocked expression.

"What is the meaning of this? Did you not hear what we said earlier?" A female Gu Master stared with her eyes wide, screaming in her heart.

"Is your comprehension ability really okay?" Gu Yue Kong Jing at this moment, really wanted to grab Fang Yuan by the collar and ask him.

Jiao San's mouth twitched.

Fang Yuan's indifference caused their self-directed performance to look like a joke. It made the scheme that they set up become a laughingstock.

Seeing Fang Yuan turning around and walking away, the fury in his heart blazed on.

"Come on Fang Yuan, don't leave so quickly, don't listen to their nonsense." Jiao San controlled his temper and conjured a smile, quickly chasing up and blocking Fang Yuan, "You're going to rent a house right? Let us go with you. I have some personal relations, I am more familiar with the rental situation."

"I am indeed going to rent a house, I can't stay at the hostel anymore, do you have any ideas?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows, asking calmly.

"I know a few houses that are considerably cheap, and with good location." Jiao San smiled, leading the way.

"My house, fifteen primeval stones a month, no second price."

"Pfft, renting my house with eight primeval stones? In your dreams."

"You must pay a deposit, 25% deposit. Other vendors are doing this too."

"My house has good Feng Shui, and its quiet at night. More importantly, it is facing the clan leader's pavilion, you know how good the location is. It is really cheap, only twenty-five primeval stones a month."

All the way until night time, Fang Yuan did not find a house to stay.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, you're too stingy. The village is only so big, the prices are all like this."

"In my opinion, you should get the house near the clan leader's pavilion, the second floor is very spacious and the scenery is nice. Little brother Fang Yuan, don't be so thrifty, it is only twenty-five primeval stones. The reward that you got is enough for you to stay four months."

The two female Gu Masters continued to urge him on with ill intent.

Fang Yuan shook his head, "I do not have many primeval stones, I cannot be wasteful."

"Then rent an underground apartment, it's cheaper." Gu Yue Kong Jing's eyes shone with cold brilliance, suggesting.

Fang Yuan snorted in his heart, this Kong Jing has such a vile heart!

The village is already high in precipitation, and now that it is winter, the underground apartments would have poor airflow, and tenants would easily catch a cold. Even if there aren't diseases, it would cause problems in the long term.

Seeing that Fang Yuan kept his silence, Jiao San said, "Actually the big hall's first floor is good too. Co-staying with other people causes the rent to reduce as well.

Fang Yuan shook his head, "I want to stay alone, I do not like to stay with others."

Gu Yue Kong Jing snorted, saying unhappily, "You don't want this, you don't want that. I'm not trying to scold you, little brother Fang Yuan, but you're too picky and expect too much. With such high standards, it is not realistic."

Fang Yuan listened, laughing coldly in his heart while thinking, "Even if they fulfil the criteria, I would not accept any house you recommend."

His act of pacifying them was just for the sake of being careful, finding out if there are any traps.

Just as Fang Yuan was about to leave, Mother Shen appeared.

"Young master Fang Yuan, I finally found you. The academy can no longer be stayed at, and the old master and his wife have already prepared a banquet, specifically asking me to invite you home. Staying at home is so much better, there is no need for you to go about renting houses outside," She urged.

Finally here……

Fang Yuan laughed coldly in his heart, this Mother Shen really found a good time. Finding him here at once, someone must have notified her!

Just as he had expected, the masterminds were his uncle and aunt!

And Jiao San was the chain that his uncle and aunt created to bind him.

Fang Yuan's silence looked like hesitation.

"Fang Yuan, why don't you stay at your uncle and aunt's house, why make life difficult? Renting a house will spend a lot of primeval stones." Gu Yue Jiao San spoke in a 'concerned' manner at an appropriate juncture as he looked at Fang Yuan, his eyes shining ominously.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 90: It's just a little wind frost

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

In the hall, the lights shone brightly.

On the round dining table, the wine was already cold, and the dishes were cool.

The brilliant red candle flickered and danced, projecting the shadows of Aunt and Uncle onto the wall.

The two figures' shadow combined into one, and swayed gloomily with the candlelight.

In front of them, Mother Shen was kneeling.

Uncle broke the silence, "To think this Fang Yuan is dead bent on going against me. Sigh, I wanted to calm him down with nice words and keep him in the house first before finding a reason to chase him out of the house. To think that he did not fall for it! He has made up his mind, rejecting my invitation without a single way to negotiate! Not even taking a step into my house!"

Aunt gritted her teeth, her expression slightly flustered, "This scoundrel is already sixteen years old, so if he wants the family fortune now we cannot deny it to him. Years ago we obtained that family fortune and it was clearly recorded in the inner affairs hall. Now that we cannot deny it, what shall we do now?!"

"Leave first." Uncle waved at Mother Shen to withdraw, laughing coldly, "Don't be anxious. Throughout the year, I have already been planning for this. First, to get back the assets, he needs to have Rank one middle stage cultivation. He already achieved this and is even at peak stage, and gotten number one in the exam, that is very impressive. Hehe…"

"But, to successfully obtain his family fortune, it is not so easy! Rank one middle stage cultivation is only a pre-condition. To split the assets, Fang Yuan has to apply for it, and the internal affairs hall has to approve it and send him a mission to test if he has the qualifications. This is to prevent the clan from splitting family assets nonsensically, causing internal strifes and weakening the clan."

Aunt was enlightened, "This means that, he has to complete the mission before he can get his parents' inheritance."

"That's right." Uncle laughed sinisterly, "But the internal affairs hall's missions are sent to groups. The family asset mission will be the same. If Fang Yuan wants to complete it, he would have to rely on the group, he cannot do it alone. The family does this to make sure that the small groups stay united and increase their cohesiveness."

Aunt laughed loudly, "Husband, you're too smart. Getting Jiao San to recruit Fang Yuan — this way, if Fang Yuan wants to accomplish the mission, he would need their strength. But Jiao San is on our side, so Fang Yuan can never accomplish this mission."

Uncle's eyes shone smugly, "Hmph, even if he cannot get him into the group, I have other ways to deal with him. Not to mention completing the mission, even if he wants to apply for the splitting of the fortune and receive the mission, it might not be possible!"

Nightfall arrived and the snow stopped.

Fang Yuan walked on the streets. The bamboo houses along the way were all covered by a layer of white snow.

The snow that he stepped on emitted a light sound. The cold air entered his respiratory system, causing Fang Yuan's brain to be extremely awake.

After rejecting Mother Shen, Fang Yuan disregarded Jiao San and the group's advice and said goodbye to everyone, leaving by himself.

"So that's it." He walked and thought, "Uncle and Aunt are trying to trap and delay me, causing me to lose the chance to take back my inheritance."

"After the new year, I would be sixteen years old and be qualified to split the assets. My parents are dead, and my brother has new parents. If I am successful, the entire inheritance is mine. But to take back the inheritance, there are two crucial steps, each being extremely important."

"The first is to apply for the mission at the internal affairs hall without any other missions at hand. The second is to complete the mission to earn the rights to inherit the asset."

"Jiao San is in cahoots with Uncle and Aunt. Leaving aside the second step, he's already trying to trap me at the first step."

The clan rules state that Gu Masters can only be on one mission at a time. This is to prevent Gu Masters from hogging and causing negative competition in the clan.

Jiao San received missions consecutively. After finishing the permafrost decayed soil mission, he immediately accepted a new mission for catching wild deer.

The clan's missions were all given to groups, that is to say, according to clan rules, Fang Yuan has to finish the deer capturing mission before applying for his asset splitting mission.

"But at that point, I believe Jiao San would just accept another new mission. As the leader, when accepting missions, he will always be a step ahead of me, causing me to be unable to accept my mission, thus always stopping me." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan's eyes shone ominously.

These plots and schemes were irritating, like an invisible rope blocking Fang Yuan's progress.

But Fang Yuan did not regret entering this group.

At the arena, he was backed into a corner. Jiao San's invitation became a way for him to be free from the predicament.

If he did not enter the team, his uncle and aunt would have other ways to deal with him, this cannot be prevented and will be hard to defend against. But now that he is in the group, he can clearly see their schemes and easily counterattack.

"Solving this problem, I have my ways. The easiest way is to just eliminate Jiao San, or assassinate uncle and aunt, then no one would compete with me over the family assets. But this way is too risky, they are all Rank two Gu Masters and my cultivation is still too low. Even if I kill them I cannot get out of the troublesome aftermath. Unless there is a good chance for me to take advantage of… but these chances are usually by luck."

Fang Yuan could kill the servant Gao Wan and could kill old man Wang, but that was because they were mortals and servants, with life cheap as grass. Killing them was akin to killing a dog or pulling off weed, it was insignificant.

But assassinating Gu Masters is very troublesome.

Gu Masters were all Gu Yue clansmen, no matter which one dies, the punishment hall would investigate. Fang Yuan evaluated his own strength and knew there was too much risk in killing them now; he might even get killed. Even if he kills them, the punishment hall's investigation is even more troublesome. His future actions would be spied on and they might even find out the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.

"Attracting a much larger problem when eliminating a small problem, that is not what a wise person does. Oh? I'm here," Fang Yuan spoke lightly, stopping at a worn out bamboo building.

This bamboo building was torn and worn out, like an old man about to die, panting for his last breath in the cold harsh winter.

Seeing this bamboo building, Fang Yuan's face showed a trace of reminiscence.

This was the room he rented in his previous life.

In his previous life, after being thrown out by his uncle and aunt, he had less than fifteen primeval stones left and had to sleep in the streets for a few days before finding this place.

This place was too worn out and had much lower rent than other places. In addition, while other places counted the rent by months, this place calculated it by days.

"I do not know about other places, whether or not they have uncle and aunt's traps. But my previous life's memories tell me that at least this place is safe." Fang Yuan rang on the door.

After half an hour, he established the renting terms and was brought to the second floor by the owner.

The floors were old, emitting dangerous and concerning sounds when stepped on.

The room had only one bed, and a blanket. The blanket had many patches but was still riddled with some holes, and the yellow cotton wadding leaked out from inside.

The head of the bed had an oil lamp. The landlord left after lighting the lamp.

Fang Yuan did not sleep, but sat on the bed and started cultivating.

As his primeval sea raged on in the aperture, every drop of primeval essence was black green.

The aperture's four walls were a white crystal colour, in a translucent state.

Rank one peak stage.

Suddenly, the green bronze primeval sea started to have currents, like wild beasts raging and suiciding towards the four aperture walls.

Bam bam bam…

The huge waves crashed onto the aperture walls, causing the little ripples to break into small droplets before dissipating.

After a while, the 44% primeval essence sea was quickly expended, with large amounts of primeval essence used up.

On the sturdy aperture walls, there was lines of cracks.

But just cracks were not enough.

Fang Yuan wanted to break through Rank one peak stage and reach Rank two, thus he needed to break this aperture wall completely, evolving through its destruction!

Black green primeval essence continued to attack the crystal wall, and the cracks increased, forming a giant piece. At some places, the cracks were even deeper, forming very evident lines.

As he used up the primeval essence, he did not continue to use primeval essence to attack, and the crystal walls started to heal, causing the cracks to vanish.

Fang Yuan was not surprised, collecting his spirits and opening his eyes.

The oil lamp had gone out already. There was not much oil anyway.

The room was dark, with only the window providing a little bit of light through the crack.

The room had no firepit and was not warm. Fang Yuan had sat on the bed for a long time without moving, and felt that the chilliness had intensified.

His dark iris fused with the darkness.

"To breakthrough Jiao San's lock, there is an easier and safer method. That is to advance to Rank two! Rank one Gu masters have no right to give up on missions, but Rank 2 Gu masters can do it once a year. If I advance to Rank two, I can give up on my mission and apply for the asset splitting."

"But to breakthrough to Rank two, it is not an easy task." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan sighed. Coming down from his bed, he strolled around in the tiny room.

From initial stage to middle stage, middle stage to upper stage, these are all small realms. From Rank one peak stage to Rank two initial stage, that is breaking through a large realm. Between these two cases there was an extremely different difficulty.

Simply put, to break the crystal wall, it needed explosive strength, forming a strong impact in a short time to smash the wall.

But Fang Yuan only had C grade talent, and the primeval sea is only at 44%. If he used his entire force to attack the wall, his primeval essence would be used up immediately.

Just like earlier, after his primeval essence was exhausted, he would no longer have the strength to continue. And the wall had recovery ability, so before long, it would heal up. Whatever Fang Yuan did earlier would have been wasted.

"Breaking the wall and reaching Rank two without special situations, one needs 55% black green primeval essence. But my talent is limited, having only 44%, thus people say that talent is the key in a Gu Master's cultivation!"

Thinking of this, Fang Yuan slowed in his steps.

Unknowingly, he had moved to the window, thus he opened the windows casually.

Every gust of wind shook the bamboo lattice window, and when opened the snow-covered mountain greets one's eye. (1)

Under the moonlight, the snow was like white jade, spreading out and letting the world resemble a crystal palace before one's eyes, untainted by dust.

The snowlight shone onto Fang Yuan's youthful features. His expression was peaceful and calm, his brow smooth, his pair of orbs looking like the ancient spring underneath the moon.

As the cold winds blew onto his face, the young man laughed, "It is merely a small bit of wind frost(2)."

(1) This is a line from a poem.

(2) Just a little wind frost: non-literal sense refers to hardship/obstacles. A pun to the obstacles that he is facing.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 91: Fang Yuan, we're very worried about you

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

It was a night without sleep, and once day came, Fang Yuan stepped out of the room and started to purchase stuff wantonly.

The room was poorly furnished and the blankets were torn. If he lived there for long, the chill would enter his body and cause him to get sick.

Fang Yuan's primeval stones were already half-used up, but he still had to purchase the necessary equipment. He could not scrimp on these things.

Firstly was a blanket, he had to get a large blanket stuffed with cotton, or at least two. He also needed bed sheets and a mattress.

He needed another oil lamp so that it could illuminate the room, and he needed at least two pots of lamp oil.

Thinking about it, although the room was small, it could still hold a table and a chair, thus he bought those as well.

Most importantly, it was a stove.

In the winter, if he did not have a stove to warm himself when sleeping in the room, he would still get shocked awake by the cold.

Other than these, he also bought some dry rations and some water to last around seven days' worth.

The winter sun slowly rose, giving out languid rays of light.

Gu Yue Jiao San and the other Gu Masters stood at the North door of the village, waiting anxiously.

"Something's not right. Last night we agreed to meet at this time and place. But it has already been fifteen minutes, and this Fang Yuan still hasn't shown up?" A female Gu Master asked.

"Calm down and just wait. It is inevitable that a newcomer is late," Jiao Sao laughed. He had been fretting over not having any reasons to fault Fang Yuan with, but to think he faltered on the second day.

"Never mind that we are waiting. Even the group leader has to wait for him, this lad thinks too much of himself!" Gu Yue Kong Jing complained, his tone indignant.

Half an hour later, Fang Yuan was still nowhere to be found.

Jiao San's face was darker than night.

"This scumbag, did he remember the wrong location? We said clearly that we are meeting at the northern door," Kong Jing said suspiciously.

"I'll wait here, you guys go look around the different doors," Jiao San instructed, and the three obliged.

Fifteen minutes later, they returned with no fruit.

"Did this Fang Yuan see through our ploy and left the group directly?" A female Gu Master asked.

"You think too highly of him. Even if he is the first place in the year end exam, he is still a young newbie. His age is apparent." Kong Jing said.

Jiao San's face was grim, "It is secondary to whether he has seen through us. The crucial thing is to find him now. I am afraid that he has left us behind and is trying to breakthrough to Rank two on his own. Once he reaches Rank two, he can abandon this mission and apply for the splitting of assets from the internal affairs hall. Find him, go and find him! The village is only so big and there are only that many rental houses, we must find him and not give him the time to breakthrough to Rank two!"

"Yes!"

In the room, Fang Yuan sat on the bed.

In front of him were a few money bags, and inside them was all primeval stones.

"Not enough primeval stones," Fang Yuan sighed, his expression grim.

Primeval stones are the driving force behind a Gu Master's advancement, and if they are lacking, the Gu Masters would need to rely on their own recovery speed for primeval essence, which would greatly reduce their cultivation speed. At the same time, without sufficient food, the Gu worms would die of hunger.

Fang Yuan's primeval stones, during his time at the academy, it had reached the peak of being slightly above a thousand. But it could not stand up to the expenditure over time.

A same stage Gu Master up till now, only has three Gu worms.

But Fang Yuan, after getting number one in the year end exam, entered the Gu hall and chose another Little Light Gu for free.

He must choose, for if he gave up, it would invite suspicion.

Like this, he had seven Gu worms on hand!

Undeniably, this was a huge financial burden.

"If this continues, I can only hold out for two months. I must get back my family assets, that is the greatest financial support. But to get them back, the first step is to advance to Rank two." Fang Yuan's gaze was dark.

To Fang Yuan, advancing to Rank two was not easy.

For a Gu Master's cultivation, first was resources, second was talent. Without talent, the path of cultivation would be difficult and their accomplishments in the future would be lower.

Talent is split according to D, C, B and A grade.

But this is only a rough distribution.

In fact, every grade has another specific differentiation.

Taking a C grade for example — the primeval essence storage in the aperture would be around 40-59%.

Fang Yuan's primeval essence was 44%, so in the C grade range, he was only middle-lower class.

Rushing to Rank two, he needed at least 55% black green primeval essence. To an A and B grade Gu Master, this was not difficult, and to the 55-59% C grade Gu Masters, they could pass as well.

Thus, for C grade Gu Masters, once they reach a certain accumulation, most of them would advance to Rank two. Only very few can attain Rank three.

Thus, the talent could determine most people's achievements in their lives. Fang Yuan being given the cold shoulder, he could not blame the people for being biased.

"Although my C grade talent is only 44%, if I want to break the wall and reach a new height, attaining Rank two, it is still not impossible. The easiest way is to find a talent raising Gu worm. Secondary, I can get a support-type Gu like the Liquor worm, and that can help to break the barrier as well. Lastly, I can attain the help of a higher-ranking Gu Master, but using external primeval essence has a huge backlash, unless I can get the Cleansing Gu in future to eliminate the external presence."

Fang Yuan thought about it while using both hands to take out a primeval stone, using his fingers to rub the smooth surface of the stone.

"But the above methods are not recommended for me. I do not have any friendly Gu Master to help, and even if I do I will not let my aperture be at their mercy. Gu worms like the Liquor worm are too rare, even getting the Liquor worm was my extreme luck. As for talent raising Gu worm, I got it in my previous life and attained Rank six cultivation, and I also know where to find them, but I cannot go to those places now with my current cultivation. Even if I get them, I cannot keep them, or even use them."

"But other than these methods, there is a final most stupid method. Using primeval stones to force it!" Thinking so, Fang Yuan's eyes flashed as he gripped the primeval stone tightly.

Gu Master cultivation, first was resources, second was talent.

Without sufficient talent, one can compensate using resources to a degree.

"My primeval essence is only 44%, I do not have enough to break the aperture walls. But if I absorb primeval essence while attacking the walls, I can hold on much longer, and in about four to five days, I would be able to smash the walls!"

Making up his mind, Fang Yuan opened his eyes, his heart sinking into his aperture.

Green copper primeval sea raged on as the waves crashed into the aperture walls.

But this time, to prevent his primeval essence from drying up and becoming insufficient to maintain the cracks and causing the aperture to recover, Fang Yuan purposely slowed the attacking speed.

This way, the green bronze primeval essence expenditure would be greatly reduced, but the crack formation would also slow down. Despite so, Fang Yuan continued to absorb the natural essence of the primeval stones.

Primeval essence recovery has to be slightly above the crack recovery speed. This way, even if it is slow, showing less than 1% progress, there would be hope as time passes.

The only thing about this method would be that other than eating and shitting, Fang Yuan had to cultivate non-stop. The more time he wasted, the more primeval stones would go down the drain and the more his hard work would squander.

He could stop for a maximum of fifteen minutes, and after that if there isn't any primeval essence to continue attacking, the aperture would fully recover.

Thus, once the attack began, he had to persevere until he succeeded, and cannot be disturbed. Once he stopped for too long, he would have to restart the process.

Fang Yuan did not have so many primeval stones on hand to do it multiple times.

Time flies when cultivating, and in the blink of an eye, the sun set.

Under the setting sun, Jiao San with a cold expression said, "After finding for a day, you still haven't found him?"

"No, group leader." Kong Jing wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "That lad, he did not go to any of the houses we recommended, we have no idea where he is hiding."

"Hmph! Continue searching tomorrow, we have to find him. Remember to search the inn as well, I do not believe that we cannot find him. The village is only so big, no matter where he is hiding, there has to be a trace!" Jiao San walked away in fury.

Until the afternoon of the second day, their search finally bore fruit.

A female Gu Master walked to Jiao San excitedly, reporting, "Found him, found him! Fang Yuan is at a worn-out bamboo building, and has rented the second floor. According to the owner's description, it should be him."

"Hmph, as I expected, he really hid himself and is trying to breakthrough to Rank two." Jiao San laughed sinisterly, "Let's go and make ourselves guests in his room and show him some concern. He is a newcomer after all."

"Hehehe..…." The others also started smirking.

The four immediately came to Fang Yuan's residence.

There was a paper on the door.

Jiao San took it down and read it. It was Fang Yuan's handwriting, saying that he needed to go into closed door cultivation for a few days and will not leave, as he would be attempting to breakthrough to Rank two. If others saw it, they should not disturb him. If Jiao San saw it, it was a 'request of absence' application.

Jiao San snorted, throwing the paper away.

How can I let you advance to Rank two so successfully?

He laughed coldly, knocking on the door.

Knock knock knock.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, are you here?" He purposely said loudly, "We are here to see you, how could you not tell us about your closed door cultivation, seriously."

There was no reply.

Knock knock knock.

Jiao San knocked loudly.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, it's not that I want to nag at you. But you are making decisions on your own. Now that you are our group member, you should listen to instructions and obey orders, moving together. We have already accepted the wild deer hunting mission, this is specifically for you to train, so why don't you stop first and complete the mission with us, then cultivate," Jiao San's eyes squinted as he said in a gentle tone, although his expression was dark.

There was still no reply.

JIao San suddenly raised his voice, "Little brother Fang Yuan, why are you not replying, did something happen to you? It is not so easy breaking through to Rank two, you can ask us for experience. Fang Yuan! Did you hear me, oh no, could it be that you fainted?"

Jiao San talked to himself, smirking coldly but his voice was full of concern and anxiety.

The other three members observed the show.

Kong Jing interrupted at an appropriate timing, "Leader, you might be right, Fang Yuan hasn't responded after so long, let's go in and save him!"

"Fang Yuan! Fang Yuan, quickly open the door. We're really worried if you keep silent. If you don't open the door, we will break in. You are our newest member, we cannot let you be in danger!" Jiao San shouted loudly.

Still, there was no reply.

Jiao San's mouth curled, indicating to Kong Jing.

Kong Jing acknowledged and raised his foot.

With a loud BAM sound, the entire door was sent flying, crashing onto the bed!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 92: The future is in sight

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"Hang in there Fang Yuan, we're coming to help you!" Jiao San shouted with a concerned expression, taking huge steps into the room.

But the next moment, he was dumbfounded.

The room was empty, Fang Yuan was not inside.

The four became silent.

"How can this be, where is he?" Jiao Sao broke the silence, saying frustratingly.

He 'performed' outside the room for such a long time, but it turned out to be a one man performance as Fang Yuan was never inside.

The three looked at each other, not expecting such a result.

"This is weird, if Fang Yuan isn't here, why would he paste that paper on the door?" Kong Jing said carefully.

"Get the landlord here now!" Jiao Sao raised his foot and sent the door flying.

"You looking for me? Hmph, I was just about to find you. Coming to my house and raising a huge ruckus, even breaking down my door. Young man, you sure are capable." The landlord was an old man, but his tone was very firm.

Being able to own additional houses in the Gu Yue village and renting it out, he was obviously a Gu Master.

A Gu Master's strength and status supersedes a mortal. Mortals do not dare to operate such a business. In fact, they do not own property.

The entire village's property is owned by the Gu Yue clan. The mortals who live here are the farmers and servants of the clan.

"Senior, we are here to find a young man, he is our group member." Facing the landlord, Jiao San controlled his temper.

An old Gu Master like the landlord, even if he is old and no longer striving for his career, he still has strong relationships and connections. Even if he is retired his ability is still not to be underestimated.

Those without human relationships and trump cards, how would they dare to do business?

This is not a peaceful era, it is full of violence and plunder.

The landlord shook his head, his tone rigid, "I do not care about my tenant's whereabouts, but I do know that you broke my door. You need to compensate me."

"Hehe, this is our fault, it is only right that we compensate you," Jiao Sao laughed dryly. Although he was furious inside, he still forced himself to compensate some primeval stones and even gave some extra.

The landlord's expression turned slightly better, "If the young man who rented this room is who you are finding, then I must tell you that he has not turned in for a day. After paying a month's rent, he bought a huge amount of things yesterday and asked me which place sold coal cheaply. I told him that there was no need to buy coal, as there is a valley outside the village towards the north. A mine is situated there where he can excavate the coal. After thanking me, he left and never returned."

"So that's it." Jiao San looked at the decorations in the room.

Indeed, the mattress and bedding was new. The table and chairs were old goods bought by Fang Yuan that were seemingly firm.

The stove was empty, it indeed did not have coal.

Jiao San breathed out slowly, being at ease.

"It seems Fang Yuan was delayed by excavating coal. Nevermind, let's come again tomorrow." He walked out of the room first.

But on the third day, Fang Yuan still did not show up.

Jiao San and the others stood outside the room, hesitant.

"Digging for coal, it does not need so much time. Fang Yuan wants to do closed door cultivation so maybe he dug more. But it's been so long, could something have had happened to him while he was excavating?" Kong Jing conjured.

Jiao San nodded unnoticably, pointing towards the bed and stove, "This lad is very stingy. He paid a month's rent all of a sudden and even bought so many things, and especially pasting that paper on the wall, he probably wanted to cultivate here. Too bad he was unlucky. These days the wolf hordes have gotten bigger, and the wild beasts around the village have gotten more active. He might have encountered some wild beasts."

"Leader is wise!" The two female Gu Masters said at the same time, flattering him.

Jiao San laughed while raising his head, "Hahaha, I was still fretting over how to deal with him. Though we have that deer catching mission, let's not rush out to do it. If we meet him in the wilds, we are forced to save him, right?"

"Hehehe." The other three members started laughing.

Day four.

In the aperture, waves of black green primeval essence hit against the crystal walls relentlessly.

The translucent white crystal wall was already full of cracks, crisscrossing each other.

This is Fang Yuan's result after working hard non-stop for three days and three nights. At most, when he really could not take it anymore, he would quickly take a meal and settle his bowels.

These days, Fang Yuan had purposely slowed the wave crashing process, and at the same time he drew more primeval essence from his primeval stones. Thus, after such a long time, the green copper primeval sea had only dropped from the 44% limit to around 20%.

As time passed, when there was only about 13% primeval essence left, the wall could no longer hold up, and had reached its limit.

Crack crack…

The originally sturdy crystal wall broke into pieces, and the fragments fell into the primeval sea, causing ripples and waves. After that, it turned into white dots and vanished into thin air.

What replaced the crystal wall, was a brand new white light wall.

This was the Rank two light wall. Although there was not much difference and it still emitted white light, it was much more glimmering that the Rank one light wall.

At the same time, traces of red primeval essence were produced in the sea and it mixed around with the black green primeval sea in the aperture.

This was the Rank two initial stage red steel primeval essence!

"Finally I did it, I broke through to Rank two!" Fang Yuan opened his eyes abruptly, the room immediately brightening up.

But a second later, a strong wave of nausea hit him.

"I went through four days and three nights of non-stop cultivating, it is too intense and my body is going to collapse soon." Fang Yuan laughed bitterly, slowly lying down. "My cultivation was not disturbed at all, it seems that my set up at the rental house had worked. It was worth spending this sum, next I shall rest well for the night and return to the village tomorrow."

Thinking of this, intense sleepiness assaulted him.

Fang Yuan forced his eyes to stay open and used his intense will to cover himself with the blanket.

After closing his eyes, in a few seconds, he fell soundly asleep.

The cultivation earlier had used up most of his spirit.

He slept until the afternoon of the second day.

Fang Yuan opened his eyes, feeling his spirit recovering to around half, but he was still feeling weakness in his body.

He opened the door, walking out of the room for the first time in five days.

This attracted a person.

This person had slim long eyes with a thin body — it was Jiang Ya's brother Jiang He.

Seeing Fang Yuan, he exhaled in relief, saying, "You're finally out! Hmph, I would have broken into the room if you still did not come out after the next few days. After all if you die here, I'd be held responsible."

Fang Yuan laughed but did not say anything.

The winter sunlight broke through the window, shining onto his face, amplifying the trace of pale white weakness on his features.

Five days ago, he purposely asked the landlord and gave Jiao San the clues of his coal story. After that he left the Gu Yue village and went to the hamlet at the mountain foot.

Because of old man Wang previously, Jiang He was half an alliance mate of his. Using this relationship, Fang Yuan stayed a few days in the village and advanced to Rank two without any interruption.

Of course, the rock crack secret cave was much more elusive than Jiang He's place, but it was not completely safe. Fang Yuan had to consider the possibility of Jiao San and the others relentlessly finding him, and might find the rock crack secret cave.

Although chances were slim, if the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was found out, Fang Yuan's life would be in danger.

Fang Yuan was a very cautious person, and he naturally would not take such risks.

At the same time, it was safer at Jiang He's place. Even if they had a shared secret, Jiang He would not kill him to silence him.

The risks and troubles of killing a Gu Master was too great. Without sufficient benefits, Jiang He had no motivation to do it. In fact, to preserve the secret, Jiang He would even have to worry about Fang Yuan's safety.

After all, if the clan's punishment hall investigates Fang Yuan's death, they might find out about old man Wang's secret.

Seeing Fang Yuan safe, Jiang He was really relieved.

But quickly, he felt the aura of Fang Yuan and his expression changed, "To think that you really succeeded, reaching Rank two in one go!"

He was shocked in his heart. Five days ago when Fang Yuan approached him and stated his intentions, he was actually feeling disdainful in his heart.

Absorbing the primeval essence from the primeval stones and breaking through to Rank two, this kind of multitasking method was very draining on the spirit. Normally speaking, Gu Masters needed a very strong will, patience and years of cultivating experience.

Only with the experience, a Gu Master could treat the extraction of primeval essence from the stones as an instinct. At the same time, manipulating the primeval sea skillfully and causing the impact to be controlled at a degree, and it had to be perfectly calculated, just enough to match the recovery rate of the primeval essence so that the process could be sustained.

In Jiang He's opinion, Fang Yuan had no chance of success. But to think, he did it in one go.

Fang Yuan laughed indifferently, "I was lucky. I plan to return to the village today, but before that, it would be nice if I can have a meal."

"Hehehe, little brother Fang Yuan, since you're here, of course I'm taking care of your meals." Jiang He patted his chest, his attitude even more friendly than before.

Although he did not think well of Fang Yuan's future, but now that he has advanced to Rank two, it meant that he had gone through a difficult hurdle and has the qualifications to be on par with him now.

After a scrumptious meal, Jiang He brought Fang Yuan to the entrance of the small village personally.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, be careful this time. Recently the wolf nest area has gotten slightly fiercer, causing the wild beasts to become more active. Eh, it is snowing." Jiang He paused, then continued, "My opinion is, don't go now. How about you stay here for another night?"

After Fang Yuan reached Rank two, he became really friendly.

But Fang Yuan was insistent on leaving, thus saying goodbye to Jiang He.

The snowflakes fell calmly, just like pure white fur that was floating down slowly.

The light of the setting sun turned the snow into a golden yellow.

Flake by flake, the snow drifted onto Fang Yuan's head and shoulders.

In the far distance, the Gu Yue village stood upright over the mountain waist, watching over quietly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 93: Small beast horde

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"Run faster, don't fall behind!"

"The clansmen in front are fighting a bloody battle, they are waiting for our backup."

"Follow closely, or you will easily lose your direction in the midst of battle at night. Newcomers better pay special attention!"

On the way back to the village, there would be a five-man group from time to time running hurriedly past Fang Yuan's side.

"Did something happen?" He had not walked for more than five hundred meters when Fang Yuan saw the thirteenth group.

He could not help but contemplate, but to be quite honest, with five hundred years' worth of memories it was just too superfluous and messy. Mentioning this, although Fang Yuan was reborn, he had never given up any of his old memories.

Yet, much of his memories were enshrouded in a layer of thick fog, and if he tried to retrieve them by force, he would only get lost in the fog, getting more losses than benefits.

Only a few deep and powerful memories that were like sparkling and translucent pearls ran through his previous life's five hundred years like a connected thread.

It was evident that what was happening right now, was in fact not in any of these pearls.

The life of his in the Gu Yue Village was just the beginning of the preceding period, it was just way too long ago. Besides…

"There's a possibility that this never happened in my previous life, but because of my change, a butterfly effect happened and caused changes to the surroundings."

Just like that, he walked while pondering. Subconsciously, Fang Yuan reached the Northern gate of the village.

By chance, there was another group about to set off.

"Eh?" On seeing Fang Yuan, only one person from this group stopped in his tracks. "Fang Yuan, why are you still here?"

"What's wrong?" Fang Yuan raised his eyes and looked at this person. It was no other than his fellow schoolmate, Gu Yue Chi Cheng.

Chi Cheng immediately frowned and said, "Oh geez, you still don't know yet? There's been a small scale beast tide that formed near the village. If we let it be, it will slowly become a big scale beast tide. When that happens the villages at the foot of the mountain will be crushed. Without those lowly mortals and slaves, we'd also be in a difficult position sometimes."

"Oh, so it's like this?" Fang Yuan's gaze flashed.

Being reminded like this, he was able to remember that such a thing did happen in his memories.

In this world, it was hard for humanity to survive. Every few years a beast tide would happen. Humans need resources and living space. This is no different from wild beasts and insects, they also needed such things!

To explain the beast tide as a war between wild beasts and humanity, perhaps this will be easier to understand.

Taking Qing Mao Mountain for example, every three years there would be a large scale wolf tide that attacks each of the big mountain villages.

"According to my calculations, the real outburst of the wolf tide will happen next year. However, this small scale beast tide, is a subsidiary of that. The wolf group will continue growing stronger and bigger, and this will cause the other beast groups around the area to lose their living space. As this effect accumulates, when it reaches the maximum limit, it will cause the migration of beast groups. Migrating beast groups will naturally influence other beast groups."

"Under such an intertwined influence, there is a chance that the influence would be expanded and cause all sorts of beast groups to relocate, causing the beast tide to be formed from this matter. If this problem is not controlled in time, the tide would only get bigger. Although it is still unable to endanger the existence of the Gu Yue village, if we leave it alone, the village's power would be greatly reduced."

"Wait! If this is the case… Heh heh heh heh." There was a sudden flash in his eyes, but Fang Yuan promptly cast his gaze down, hiding away the change in his eyes.

Seeing that Fang Yuan had not said anything, Chi Cheng continued to speak. "At the present time, the internal affairs hall and external affairs hall have both already given out the order to mobilize, they proclaimed this as an urgent mission. Fang Yuan, don't you think of goofing off. Your group has already left in the morning, you must also go. But…"

As he spoke up to this point, Chi Cheng purposely dragged out his intonation, "Danger lurks everywhere during a beast wave. All kinds of wild beasts roam about, and most of all a battle in the night is way more dangerous than the day. You're just a small little Rank one Gu Master, unlike a Rank two like me, you should be careful. Heh heh heh!"

As he said this, he purposely held his head high and puffed his chest out, stroking his own belt, his expression joyfully satisfied and proud.

His belt was no longer the green coloured Rank one belt, but a Rank two Gu Master's red coloured belt. At the same time on top of the metal plate on the belt, there was a '2' word.

It was thanks to his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian's help that he ascended to Rank two not long ago.

"I just heard about this news, but since this is the case." Fang Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Then I'll follow you guys and set out together. Once on the front lines I'll leave the team and return to mine."

"What? Urgh, who wants to bring you!" Chi Cheng folded his arms, his mouth twitching disdainfully.

Fang Yuan's tone was distant. "The clan rule states: Gu Masters that are left behind must merge into the closest group to their location, they have an obligation to continue fighting. Chi Cheng, you don't even know this point?"

"You!" Chi Cheng glared, just about to flare up.

"Indeed, this is the case," Chi Shan who had been watching quietly finally spoke.

His body stature was close to two meters tall, and his figure was powerful and strong. His upper body was bare, the muscles hard and tough like metal. His entire body was covered in fiery red skin that seemed to faintly emit hot air.

Undoubtedly, he was the leader of this group.

Seeing him speak, even Chi Cheng who was the Chi faction's inheritor, kept his mouth shut.

Chi Shan expressionlessly looked at Fang Yuan, continuing, "Let us depart, you keep up."

His voice was low and deep, his words short and simple. There was an aura of him that caused people to hardly question him.

Fang Yuan shrugged nonchalantly, taking it as agreeing.

Chi Cheng laughed coldly, his gaze harboring malicious intentions as he looked at Fang Yuan, speaking in an emphasized, peculiar tone, "Then you had better keep up!"

Fang Yuan did not reply to him.

"Hmph, why do we have to drag him around. Just a Rank one Gu Master." Chi Cheng mumbled to himself angrily, but since he was hindered by Chi Shan's authority, he did not dare act impudent.

At once, a group of six people set out from the entrance, following the mountain road and running down the slope.

Gu Yue Chi Shan took the lead. He may be big-sized, but his speed was also not slow. Besides him and Chi Cheng, there were also two men and one female, their facial expressions indifferent.

As they ran, Chi Shan's group started to display the graceful bearing of being one of the three strongest groups.

Each of them had rhythmic breathing, their footsteps fast and easy. Only Chi Cheng seemed to be in a difficult situation, but he would use his Scarlet Pill Cricket Gu from time to time, catching up reluctantly. Yet it could also be seen that he had received good teaching, for although he often staggered along the way, at least he never fell down.

When they reached the mountain foot, with one hand gesture from Chi Shan, the group swiftly stopped in their tracks.

Huff huff…

Chi Cheng had fallen behind by three hundred meters, and he was the last to catch up. His face was pale and he panted heavily, his gaze inconceivable as he looked at Fang Yuan.

During the journey Fang Yuan had always been following tightly behind, and up till now his breathing was only slightly heavy. He did not look the least bit like a newcomer who just graduated.

"Chi Cheng, remember, regulate your physical strength," Chi Shan looked back and advised Chi Cheng. Then he swept his gaze past Fang Yuan, his eyes showing a hint of praise.

The looks that the other few group members gave towards Fang Yuan had also softened a little.

"We will be nearing the beast tide down there. Chi Cheng and Fang Yuan, come towards the middle of the team." Chi Shan looked at the pitch-black mountain forest before him as he spoke.

This sentence let Fang Yuan reevaluate Chi Shan.

This huge boulder of a man sure had tolerance. The middle of a group is often the safest spot. Although Fang Yuan was not a person of the Mo bloodline, Chi Shan still maintained the manner of protecting a newcomer. To compare him to the sickly snake Jiao San, the latter would immediately pale in comparison.

The sky had already become completely dark, and the black clouds were in layers, causing the accumulated snow to also become dark and gloomy.

Chi Shan's group had already changed their group formation. Their speed dropped greatly as they ran slowly through the complicated terrain of the mountain forest.

Fang Yuan and Chi Cheng were in the middle part of the group, where on the left side was the huge Chi Shan, while the right side was an old man. Behind them was a young woman with a head of watery blue-coloured long hair.

And in front of them was a male Gu Master called Chi She.

He was the reconnaissance Gu Master of this group, and he gave out hissing noises. From time to time he would stick his tongue out into the air.

Right now his tongue had a small divide in between, becoming the bright red forked tongue of a snake. As they entered deeper into the mountain forest, their surroundings started to show wild beasts violently running about wildly.

Suddenly Chi She opened his mouth and spoke, "Before us, three medium-sized animals have appeared. Suspected to be wild deer."

"Drive it away." Chi Shan's expression was unchanging as he immediately gave the order.

The six-manned group did not change their direction; they continued pursuing forward. Three wild deer appeared before them, quickly changing their direction and dispersing.

Not long after, Chi She's expression changed. "A group of medium-sized creatures. Suspected to be turtleback apes."

"Shift," Chi Shan said.

The small group immediately broke to the left side, bypassing this group of troublesome apes.

This was the benefit of having a reconnaissance Gu Master, he was able to anticipate and inform earlier, letting them make accurate decisions from it.

"Chi She is probably using the Snake Tongue Gu. This Rank two Gu worm can sense heat temperatures. But it has three very obvious flaws — firstly, the perception radius is small, secondly it is easily interfered with. Thirdly it cannot detect cold-blooded creatures. Yet no matter what, it is better than not having any detection. I have reached Rank two now, and in future to survive in the wild, I will also need a detection-type of Gu," Fang Yuan thought.

Suddenly Chi She urgently spoke, "A middle-sized creature, suspected to be a white tiger. It's found us and is quickly approaching!"

"Engage." Chi Shang's tone was calm and collected.

Roar!

A fierce tiger jumped out from the thicket in front of them, and the group met it head-on. Without Chi She's warning in advance, perhaps they would be caught unprepared.

But right now, the group had long anticipated.

Firstly, the old Gu Master on the right suddenly drummed up his cheeks and then spit out a white coloured, viscous substance.

The substance abruptly expanded in mid-air, becoming a huge spider net. It used its strong viscosity and trapped the white tiger full in the face.

The white tiger struggled fiercely in the net, and Chi Shan immediately stepped forward and brandished his fist, pounding onto the tiger's head.

His fist had a golden luster flashing through, and with a bang, the tiger's head was smashed into pieces. The white tiger died in one breath.

The group did not stop to stay behind, but instead walked over the tiger's body and continued forward. Chi She took Chi Shan's place again and ran in front, taking the lead.

Through the entire process it was like moving clouds and flowing water. All the group members displayed mutual understanding.

"That entire process did not take more than three seconds. If it was me right now who was taking on that tiger alone, I would need at least five minutes to contend with." Fang Yuan's gaze was flashing.

These Gu Masters were also Rank two like him, but the main disparity was still Gu worms.

They all used Rank two Gu worms, and this enabled them to bring out the best in each other. However, all the Gu in Fang Yuan's hands were still Rank one.

Gu Master, Gu Master, the word Gu is before the word Master, signifying that Gu worms have a huge impact on a Gu Master's fighting power. (1)

"Although I have advanced to Rank two, I still need to have Rank two Gu to be able to display the fighting power of a Rank two Gu Master. However right now I do not have many primeval stones on me, I have used up a huge portion from breaking into Rank two. Refining two Gu worms together will also use up a considerable amount of primeval stones."

As Fang Yuan thought of this, Chi She who was in front of him suddenly said, "I found the sickly snake's group."

(1) The Chinese like to repeat things sometimes when emphasizing something. Gu Master, Gu Master… Gu and Master! Gu is before Master, Gu is so important.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 94: Suddenly withdrawing strength

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

"Found the sickly snake group in front, they are currently contesting with a large-sized wild beast." Only half a second later, Chi She said again, this time more specific.

"What's the situation?" Chi Shan frowned.

"There's no mistake," Chi She's snake tongue continued to stretch and shrink, "Jiao San's red lava python is the only one in the entire village, and now they are fighting against… wild boar king!"

Everyone's expression changed.

"Wild boar king… If I want to combine Gu worms, I require the wild boar's tusks. Undoubtedly, the wild boar king's tusks are the most suitable." Fang Yuan's heart stirred, and in actuality he had the intention to kill the wild boar king from the start.

"That wild boar king?" Watery blue hair female Gu Master raised her brows.

"Other than that one, there is no other in the vicinity. But relying on just the strength of the sickly snake group to reap the wild boar king, their appetite is too big." The old Gu Master sneered in disdain.

If Old man Wang could grasp the terrain of the mountain himself, these Rank two Gu Masters who were always roaming around on Qing Mao mountain would obviously be more familiar with it. Not eliminating the wild boar king before this, they had their reasons.

Chi Shan pondered, then said, "Go support them."

"Hehe, I'm afraid they might not reciprocate." The old Gu Master laughed coldly.

"Even if we do not go and support them, we still have to send someone over, right!" Chi Cheng looked at Fang Yuan, saying in an unhappy tone.

The team's direction steered towards the left.

Although Chi Shan and the rest always looked down and did not like Gu Yue Jiao San, but as clansmen, towards outside foes, even if they had amnesty normally, they would group up and work together.

This is the cohesiveness of a clan in this world.

And especially relying on this cohesiveness could a hundred year old clan sustain itself without dying out, even becoming a thousand year old clan.

Everyone moved through the jungle in the darkness, heading towards a low-lying land.

Sickly snake group's four Gu Masters were surrounding the wild boar king, engaging in fierce combat.

In the center, the elephant-like wild boar king was fighting with a thin and long red-coloured python.

This red giant python had dark red rock pieces all over its body, the temperature very high. It was like a thick chain coiling around the wild boar king.

The wild boar king cried out angrily, constantly rolling on the ground, its snow white tusks piercing the darkness and drawing cold light in the air.

Its body was full of big and small injuries, its tail already broken. While flipping around, it revealed its fresh red injuries, stuck to the red lava python's body and scalded by the high temperature.

The Chi Shan group did not get closer, but observed from a distance.

Taking a few looks, the old Gu Master was enlightened, "I say, how did the sickly snake have this courage. Looks like the wild boar king was actually injured already, tsk, he sure picked up the cheap goods, this scoundrel got lucky.

"Do you guys think that this wild boar king's body would have the Black Boar Gu?" Chi Cheng excitedly said with glowing eyes.

Fang Yuan's expression was unchanged as he watched silently.

At this time, Jiao San and his gang also realised the situation of being watched, and immediately the support Gu Master Gu Yue Kong Jing who was the furthest away from the wild boar king left the battlefield and ran over.

"Oh, it is Lord Chi Shan. There's no problems here now, we can handle it. There are many wild beast groups in front, they need your support." Kong Jing said to the people.

"Hmph, what do you mean you can handle it? You're clearly lying through your teeth, I can see that this python isn't going to hang in there much longer." The old Gu Master's experienced gaze revealed the situation at once.

"You're just afraid of us wanting to split the rewards after helping," the watery blue long-haired female Gu Master immediately pointed out Jiao San and his gang's intention.

"This wild boar king is yours," Chi Shan said, looking at the old Gu Master.

The old Gu Master snorted, but he still bent down, vomiting out a piece of white sticky spider web.

The spider web expanded in the air and spread out, enveloping the wild boar king.

The wild boar king struggled intensely in the web, breaking threads after threads, but it could not get free quickly.

During this period, sickly snake Jiao San quickly got the red lava python to retreat. After that, together with the healing female Gu Master in the group, they underwent emergency battle healing on the python.

In the fierce battle earlier, the red lava python's rock body already had some cracks. Through the healing, the cracks mended, shrinking until they disappeared.

"Fang Yuan, you should go back. You still want to depend on our group?" Chi Cheng said in annoyance.

Fang Yuan took a step out and walked out from behind Chi Shan.

Gu Yue Kong Jing was blocked by Chi Shan's huge body earlier and did not see him. At the moment when he saw Fang Yuan, his expression turned weird.

Jiao San turned his head around and upon seeing Fang Yuan, was overjoyed at once, "Fang Yuan, you're finally here! Quick, the spider web is not going to hold, you have huge strength, go and restrain the wild boar king and buy us time. We need time to heal the red lava python."

Without a defensive Gu and only with Rank one cultivation, getting close to the wild boar king was nothing but risky.

Chi Shan took a look at Fang Yuan and said, "Go."

Saying so, he took a huge step and left the place.

He kept his word; although the wild boar king had much value, he turned around and left without hesitation.

Seeing Chi Shan's group leaving, Jiao San and the gang breathed a sigh of relief. From start to finish, they did not say a word of thanks.

Jiao San continue shouting, "Fang Yuan, hurry, the wild boar king's strength is huge, the spider web is not going to hold out. If you perform well this time, I will not pursue the matter of you leaving the team on your own."

"Okay." Fang Yuan agreed, quickly getting to the wild boar king and grabbing its two huge tusks.

He used all his strength and pulled, causing the wild boar king to be suppressed, its struggling suddenly diminished.

"Good job!" Jiao San praised, but his eyes shone with cold light.

This Fang Yuan came at a good time, the small beast horde was the perfect chance!

Jiao San had never thought of killing Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was his member, and if he died, the clan's evaluation of him would drop. This did not suit his interests.

He only promised his uncle Gu Yue Dong Tu to slow Fang Yuan's growth. If he could drag it beyond sixteen years old, he would obtain a fortune promised by Gu Yue Dong Tu.

The truth is, even with his scheming and intolerant nature, he did not think of killing Fang Yuan before. This is not just because after a Gu Master dies, the punishment hall would hold a thorough investigation, thus being risky, but also because of the clan's belief — Blood is thicker than water, family comes first. This notion is ingrained into the people's hearts. Unless there is a feud of killing one's parents or stealing one's wife, there is no such phenomenon of disputes.

Like how the Gu Yue clan leader once taught the academy elder, not only does the system and rules hold the clan together, there is also the thick family relationships.

Any organisation would need to have a system and values as their basic core.

"Using this opportunity, I'll let Fang Yuan get injured and return to the village to nurse his injuries. Let's see if he can cultivate to Rank two like that! Of course, I cannot strike personally, if I get discovered that would be bad. Since there are so many beasts in the horde anyway, I'll borrow from their strength."

Gu Yue Jiao San laughed coldly in his heart, but he asked, "Fang Yuan, how long can you hold out?"

"A while more, don't worry group leader." Fang Yuan replied with much strength.

"Very good, Hua Xing, go and plant the corrosion blood grass Gu," Jiao San instructed while healing the red lava python.

"Yes!" A female Gu Master walked up.

She came to the side of the wild boar king and stretched out both hands, giving a thumbs up on both hands. The nails on her thumbs had a purple vine insignia coiling around.

Light red coloured red steel primeval essence gushed out and surrounded her white thumb, and entered the insignia.

The vines were brought alive immediately, extending a delicate tentacle from her nails.

The tentacles moved like snakes, extending to the wild boar king's mouth, and then along its teeth, going deep into its stomach.

"Hehehe…." Fang Yuan covered his mouth in the darkness as it curled into a devious angle.

Others would think about kinship and not have killing intent on their clansmen, this was going against the traditional moral values of the clan. But he did not put these values into his heart.

The strength he placed on the wild boar king's tusks suddenly vanished.

The wild boar king furiously growled and summoned all its strength. Its tusks swung in the air as Fang Yuan who was holding onto both tusks was brought along with the force and was thrown away.

The wild boar king once again turned its head, and the tusks swept through. The female Gu Master was beside it and could not react quickly enough to such a change. She was hit by the tusks and screamed in agony.

Then her slim body, after getting hit by the tusks, broke into two with a snap.

The female Gu Master flew away like a broken bag; she was swept high into the sky, and then plopped down again.

She landed on the ground, her eyes wide open. She was dead on the spot.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 95: Garbage teammate

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The female Gu Master's body was like a ragdoll. From the waist and across it was broken, and her upper body laid on the ground, displayed at an odd angle against her lower body, the arms parallel to the ground while her legs were pointing towards the sky.

From afar, Fang Yuan also started to descend.

First, he hit the tree canopy and broke many branches before landing on the snowy ground.

He turned his body nimbly and stood up on the snowy ground. Because he had utilized the Jade Skin Gu earlier, other than some pain in his back, he was unscathed.

On the battlefield, after a momentary silence, Jiao San's angry howl could be heard, "Fang Yuan, didn't you say you could hold on!"

Fang Yuan laughed coldly in the dark, but suddenly his body twisted and he almost fell down. He used his hand to hold onto the tree trunk as support and was able to maintain his body balance.

He pretended to limp as if he could not walk, but his gaze swept across the surroundings to see if there was any other Gu Masters.

Against the beast horde, the Gu Masters were fighting with all they had, and could not be free enough or even have the mood to observe Fang Yuan. Even though he had been observing in secret and found no Gu Masters nearby, Fang Yuan still discreetly chose to hide himself.

From the other side, intense battle noises could be heard again.

Evidently, the wild boar king had escaped its entrapment and was fighting once again with the red lava python.

Fang Yuan shifted step by step towards them with a face of anxiety, almost falling onto the ground a few times. Dirt, soil, grass and snow were all over his body, making him appear battered and exhausted.

He finally got back to the fringe of the battlefield.

On the battlefield, three people and a pig were fighting.

The red lava python coiled around the body of the wild boar king and its two hind legs.

The wild boar king's two front legs could only thrash around randomly, causing it to roll on the ground, sometimes struggling. With the movement of its two front legs, it knocked and crashed into things randomly.

There were even more injuries on its body now, the boiling pig blood had dyed the floor red.

Seeing Fang Yuan, the outermost positioned Gu Yue Kong Jing said, "Fang Yuan, you scum, you caused Hua Xin to die!"

"I… I didn't mean it. But I really couldn't hold it." Fang Yuan shouted.

"Fuck, then why did you promise so confidently if you couldn't. No means no, giving false promises like this will kill us all!" Gu Yue Kong Jing furiously screamed. If he was not in combat at the moment, he would go up and give Fang Yuan two tight slaps.

"S-Sorry, I won't do it again." Fang Yuan quickly yelled back.

"Fang Yuan, we'll talk about this later!" Sickly snake Jiao San roared, feeling his pressure intensify. The almost dead wild boar king had flown into madness, and the red lava python had injuries and cracks all over its body.

"Kong Jing, don't bother with Fang Yuan. Quickly take out the knife scale web!" When Jiao San saw that the red lava python was almost at its breaking point, he shouted in panic with cold sweat all over.

"Yes!" Kong Jing quickly retrieved the big belly frog and used his primeval essence, vomiting a piece of steel web.

On this steel web, there were sharp spikes and apparent blades.

"Fang Yuan, grab the other end and rush up with me, we'll entangle the wild boar king." Kong Jing said.

"But my leg is injured, I cannot walk!" Fang Yuan said with an anxious expression, crippling his way there.

"Useless thing!" Kong Jing with no other choice, had to do it himself, his hands dragging the knife scales web and throwing it at the wild boar king.

The wild boar king was covered by the knife scale web, causing it to cry out as fresh blood splattered.

It had predicted that its death was impending, and struggled even more fiercely. As its struggle intensified, the knife scale web's entanglement got tighter, and its injuries worsened.

As for the red lava python, because of its rock body, it did not take much damage from this knife scale web.

"What a waste of this fur!" Jiao San said in pity.

"Finally settled." Kong Jing breathed out in relief.

At this time, Fang Yuan shouted, "Let me help you guys!"

Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

Numerous moonblades flew out and hit the knife scale web, causing the steel threads to be torn apart. With the wild boar king's intense struggle, the hole got even bigger and the knife scale web was torn into pieces, allowing the wild boar king to escape.

At once!

Kong Jing stared with bulging eyes, lost for words.

"What… what the fuck…" Another female Gu Master could no longer care about her feminine image and swore loudly.

"I… it seems I messed up. I wanted to help!" Fang Yuan said, sounding very sincere and innocent.

Jiao San dodged the wild boar king's charge, rolling on the floor. Before he even got up, he shouted, "Fang Yuan—! You dumb piece of shit, see what you did! You're simply garbage for a teammate!!!"

"Leader, you must trust me, I didn't mean it," Fang Yuan defended himself.

"Shut the fuck up, from now on, do nothing, wait at the corner!" Jiao San shouted, rolling again and dodging the wild boar king's trample.

Fang Yuan snickered, but still obediently took tens of steps back.

"All of you get back!" Jiao San shouted, finally showing his true trump card as two strands of poisonous yellow air came out from his nostrils.

The poisonous air continued to come out from his nose, growing more and more until they gathered into a lump of yellow poisonous cloud.

The wild boar king and Jiao San's shadow could be seen outside the poisonous cloud.

Kong Jing, Fang Yuan and the others observed outside the yellow cloud.

Fang Yuan said to the remaining female Gu Master, "Heal my leg, it's injured!"

The female Gu Master flew into a rage, "My good sister is dead, and your leg is only stumped! Why don't you go and die?!"

Fang Yuan said in grievance, "I didn't want this to happen either."

But his eyes shone with a trace of sharpness.

Should I act, and eliminate these people?

It is a chance to act now. In their subconscious minds, they would not expect me to have killing intention.

If the sickly snake group is exterminated, there would be fewer restrictions on me.

But…

If any Gu Master saw this process, I would fall into the abyss. The crime of killing a clansman is the most unforgivable in this world. Not only will I be executed, I would also have to face all sorts of torture for seven days and seven nights.

Death is not scary, but for such a small group, it is not worth the risk.

A pity the wild boar king is dying. After this battle the sickly snake group would be greatly weakened and their battle strength would be at the lowest, they would definitely leave the battlefield. What a pity, this was a godsend opportunity……

Fang Yuan felt regret and pity in his heart.

But he had done it to the greatest limit, and if he exceeded this, the feeling of "sabotage' would thicken. The others were not stupid, they would notice and if other Gu Masters saw this, the risk would intensify.

Five minutes later, the wild boar king plopped onto the ground.

The yellow cloud dissipated, and Jiao San breathed loudly with a pale face. He had used his final trump card, and now he had little to no primeval essence left.

"All of you come here and dissect the corpse quickly, we will retreat after taking the spoils of the battle!" Jiao San shouted.

Fang Yuan surrounded the wild boar king and quickly began to dissect the corpse.

The wild boar king's blood was still hot, and the smell of blood was thick. Throughout the surrounding forest that was enshrouded in darkness, there were continuous howls from wild beasts and intense battle noises.

But there were no wild beasts in this tiny battlefield.

This was the authority of the beast king.

There were rules among the wild beasts.

The thick aura of the wild boar king caused other wild beasts to shrink in fear, and if the beast horde came here, they would find their way around this region. Of course, if it was another stronger beast horde or another beast king, they would not care about the wild boar king's aura.

At this time, pairs of blue eyes glowed in the surrounding darkness.

From other places, blood-curdling screeches and alarmed cries of Gu Masters could be heard.

"It's the wolves, the wolf pack!"

"The lightning wolf pack actually appeared!"

"Damn it, why is there a wolf pack here, it is still not the time for the outburst of the wolf tide right?!"

"Retreat, forget the wild boar king, we have to retreat quickly!" Jiao San shouted, and the faces of the surrounding people also turned white.

One lightning wolf was not scary. But a pack of lightning wolves, even the wild boar king would have to run.

Most importantly, the lightning wolves' durability and endurance were high. They also had great speed, being most proficient at chasing.

At such a critical moment, Jiao San could no longer care about the others, abandoning the three and running for his life.

"Group leader, wait for me," Kong Jing shouted in panic, catching up to him.

"I do not have a Gu worm that enhances my speed, I can't escape. Jiao San and the others have no primeval essence left, so even if they have a speed-type Gu, they can't escape the chase of the lightning wolves!" Under the danger of death, Fang Yuan evaluated calmly.

He quickly hit the neck of the female Gu Master near him who was in a daze, causing her to faint.

Next, by dragging her, he burrowed into the wild boar king's stomach that was cut open.

The wild boar king's stomach was already cut open with a huge wound.

Fang Yuan squeezed his way into the bloody wild boar's body, at the same time using the female Gu Master's body to block away the entrance and cover up his body.

The wolf pack quickly descended, mostly chasing after Jiao San and Kong Jing, while a portion of them surrounded the wild boar king and feasted.

While Fang Yuan was inside the wild boar's body, he could hear the wolves' chewing and swallowing, as well as their biting, causing vibrations in the corpse.

"To think that the first beast horde had lightning wolves, this is a surprise, the clan would definitely send reinforcements. The wild boar king's body is huge, so if the lightning wolves want to eat it completely, they would still need some time. As long as I can hold out, I would be spared from them."

Fang Yuan pondered deeply.

Without accident, Jiao San and Kong Jing should be dead meat. They had little primeval essence and were not speed oriented, so with such a small distance, they would definitely get slaughtered by the wolves.

When people panic, they would make dumb decisions. Under the pressure of death, there are little who can remain as calm as Fang Yuan and make the most appropriate decisions.

Even if the wild boar king's flesh was all eaten, exposing Fang Yuan who was hiding, the amount of lightning wolves that Fang Yuan would have to deal with is definitely lesser than the others. According to his experience, at most five would appear, which would be his limit. He had much greater chance of surviving.

The lightning wolves continued to chew and bite, the sound indicating that they were getting closer. The wild boar king's flesh had mostly gone into the lightning wolves' stomach.

If a normal person was in such a predicament, they would feel as if the seconds that were passing by were like an eternity. But instead Fang Yuan closed his eyes and took out his primeval stones, fighting against time to recover his primeval essence.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 96: For the sake of those who died

Translator: Skyfarrow Editor: Skyfarrow

The primeval essence that Fang Yuan recovered while in the boar's stomach went unused ultimately.

The beast horde this time was under the supervision of the Gu Yue higher-ups, and the lightning wolf gang was just a small accident. Quickly, the Gu Yue higher-ups gave their response.

Three clan elders led their respective teams and swiftly grasped the situation.

Merely ten minutes later, Fang Yuan could hear fighting sounds from outside the boar's stomach, as well as the cries of the lightning wolves.

He quickly kicked the female Gu Master out, and crawled out with blood stains all over him.

Fang Yuan was naturally not afraid of the lightning wolves, but he was afraid of getting caught in the battle. If a Gu Master accidentally attacked the corpse, wouldn't he be too unlucky, by then who can he hold responsibility for?

With a big living person suddenly crawling out from the boar's stomach, this caused the few Gu Masters fighting the lightning wolves to be taken aback.

Fang Yuan's entire body was a bloody mess, and his leg was still entangled in the wild boar king's intestines. His entire body emitted a nose-piercing bloody smell, and the few Gu Masters frowned in response.

But Fang Yuan paid no heed to that, he breathed deeply in enjoyance, extending his limbs and observing the battlefield.

As he had predicted, there were five lightning wolves.

But these lightning wolves were either old or injured. They were the bottom of the pack's hierarchy. As the wolf pack got stronger and bigger, in order to protect the young and healthy lightning wolves, the wolf king would expel all these old and sickly wolves in order to allocate resources efficiently.

These lightning wolves gathered together and rushed towards the surrounding beast groups, and under each other's influence, eventually formed this small beast horde.

The five lightning wolves quickly had casualties under the Gu Masters' attacks.

They were too full from eating, and their stomachs expanded, affecting their battle strength. At the same time, new arriving Gu Masters had sufficient primeval essence in their aperture and had their peak battle strength, unlike Jiao San and the rest.

Primeval essence was especially important to Gu Masters. A weakened phoenix is inferior to a chicken, with less primeval essence, a Gu Master's battle strength would fall rapidly. And without primeval essence, they were even inferior to mortals.

Why do you think for example, the Liquor worm, Black and White Boar Gu, these Gu were so precious?

It had to do with this fact.

Firstly, with the Liquor worm, it can refine primeval essence and allow Gu Masters to store much more primeval essence. (Remember that higher tier essence is essentially double of the previous tier 88% Mid tier = 44% Upper tier)

And the Black and White Boar Gu worms gave Gu Masters strength. Without requiring primeval essence, they can unleash their worth. And for the Black and White Boar Gu, once one person has used them, they can be given to another person to use, showing great collective value in a group.

The battle continued for a while and stopped.

The five lightning wolves continued to fall, and the new reinforcement group did not venture further. Their primeval essence had been used up nearly, and their battle strength had been greatly reduced. To be safe, they stopped on the spot. As they recovered, they awaited further reinforcements.

A group of five, with the reconnaissance Gu Master keeping alert while the other three used primeval stones to recover their primeval essence, the healing Gu Master bent down and observed the female Gu Master's corpse.

"She's dead…" Healing Gu Master sighed deeply. Seeing his sad expression, it seemed like he knew the female Gu Master.

Fang Yuan watched coldly.

This female Gu Master which he had knocked unconscious was blocking in front of him. Now she had lost her right chest, and a leg. Her arm was also greatly injured by the wolves, eaten until the bones could be seen.

But these injuries and the massive loss of blood was not the true cause of her death.

What caused her demise, was cardiac arrest.

The lightning wolves' bites carried electric currents with them. The currents flowed into the female Gu Master's body while she was unconscious, and caused her to have a heart attack.

The originally beautiful and sexy body was now lying on the ground, still and unmoving. Her previous glamour was nowhere to be found, being just an ugly dead corpse now.

"She's dead, and it is all your fault! As a man, why did you hide behind a woman? You're a disgrace to men!" The healing Gu Master looked up, staring at Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan shrugged emotionlessly, his expression calm, "The truth is, she competed with me over the spot, but eventually I won, so I'm very glad about the results."

"Scumbag!!" The healing Gu Master rushed up.

Bam.

Fang Yuan raised his feet and sent him flying.

Healing Gu Masters were normally weak at combat, and because of the clan rules, he did not dare to use his Gu worms. Just competing with physical strength, how can he be Fang Yuan's match?

"This detestable guy!" Healing Gu Master crawled up with a dusty face and wanted to rush up again, but was stopped by the reconnaissance Gu Master.

"If you think I committed a crime and caused her to die, you can report it to the punishment hall, I'll take it," Fang Yuan said lightly as he stared at the healing Gu Master, and left.

"Damn! Damn it!" The healing Gu Master's eyes were blowing fire as he stared at Fang Yuan's backview, urging to rush up but was restrained by his teammates.

"Calm the hell down!"

"Even if you report it to the punishment hall, the clan won't punish him!"

"We know you liked her, but although the clan cannot punish him, we can spread this matter out…"

Under the urging of his teammates, the healing Gu Master calmed down and lowered his head, crying.

"A boat encountered trouble, a man grabbed onto a wooden plank and was temporarily saved. At this time, another man swam up and wanted to grab the plank as well, but this plank can only hold the weight of one man, so the first man pushed the second man away so that he could be safe, causing the other person to drown in the sea. The rescued man was later tried in court but declared not guilty. This is the wooden plank incident on earth."

"Meaning, to save oneself under forced circumstances, endangering another person's life is no crime. On Earth, it is the Necessity Law. In this world, there are similar clan rules. This means, even if the healing Gu Master reports it to the punishment hall, I will not be punished. But…."

Fang Yuan continued to walk as he pondered. He moved in a steady pace without any rush.

Along the path that had been cleared, Fang Yuan would discover corpses, the majority of these being wild beasts of all kinds of varieties, and in the mix were some Gu Master corpses.

At the same time, there were small rescue groups rushing to the front lines. When they met Fang Yuan on the way, they would look at this bloody young man with curious and confused gazes.

Fang Yuan paid no attention to them. His eyes were a dark abyss, continuing his train of thought.

"But……" If the fact that I knocked the female Gu Master unconscious was found out, I would be tried for 'harming a clansman'. Yet at that time, nobody should have seen it, Jiao San and Kong Jing were all looking at a different direction and rushing for their lives. Eh?"

Fang Yuan's footsteps came to a halt.

He saw the corpses of Kong Jing and Jiao San.

The former's body had already been eaten until it was unrecognisable, while the latter's corpse was still well preserved.

The red lava python was already a pile of lava rocks, completely dead. And beside the sickly snake, there were a few lightning wolves' corpses. Evidently Jiao San's final struggle caused a huge battle.

"Good, that means that other than me, everyone else is dead." Fang Yuan evaluated internally, feeling joy.

"This means I would have fewer restrictions around me…. Eh?" Fang Yuan stopped, he saw Jiao San's finger twitch softly.

"Not dead, what a stubborn life…" Fang Yuan snickered, killing intent rising again.

At this point, there was tens of healing Gu Masters coming from the front.

"Quick, save the injured!"

"They are our clansmen, we have to save what we can!"

"If they are confirmed dead, retrieved their Gu worms."

Fang Yuan's gaze concentrated.

What to do?

They were so close, he would have to take a huge risk to kill Jiao San. Whether using strangulation or a moonblade, there will be traces.

In front of these Gu Masters, he had no time to clear the traces.

So… let him live?

Even if Jiao San is treated now, he might not survive.

NO!

"If I can exterminate Jiao San, there would be a lot lesser opposition in my way. Such an opportunity, if lost, I would have a hard time finding another one."

Thinking of this, Fang Yuan had an inspiration.

He gradually half-kneeled beside Jiao San, removing his upper shirt and covering Jiao San's face and upper body.

He was inside the boar's stomach for a long time, so the pig's blood had soaked his shirt, causing it to be heavy and wet.

He put the upperwear on Jiao San's nose and mouth, preventing him from breathing.

Fang Yuan half-kneeled, silently watching, his expression solemn and pained.

At this point, a Gu Master came over, "Little lad, I am the medicine hall's Gu Master, let me take a look…"

"Scram!" Fang Yuan growled angrily, pushing him away.

The Gu Master fell on the ground, but he was not angry, instead consoling him, "Little brother, my condolences! I know how you feel right now and I know how it feels to see the clansmen that you live with die in front of you. But you are covered in blood now, you must be heavily injured. For the sake of these sacrificed clansmen, you have to live properly. Come, let me heal you."

Fang Yuan did not open his mouth. He remained silent, the lower half of his face covered in a dark shadow. He allowed this Gu Master to check his body.

The result was rather surprising. Although Fang Yuan was bathed in blood, appearing terrifying to everyone, he actually had no injuries at all!

But the Gu Master quickly collected his spirits, concentrating on Jiao San.

"I'm very sorry, the clan needs to take back the Gu worms." The Gu Master sincerely looked at Fang Yuan, then he lifted the bloody shirt slowly off Jiao San.

Jiao San's eyes were half open without any life in them.

The Gu Master professionally used his finger to prop open Jiao San's eyelids, looking at his iris and then touching his neck. But he felt no pulse.

Dead.

Completely dead.

The Gu Master did not suspect anything. He sighed and placed his hand on Jiao San's stomach.

His stomach still had some warmth and the aperture was slowly disappearing; there were no Gu worms inside.

The Gu Master looked at Fang Yuan, whether intentionally or unintentionally, "Every Gu Master's Gu worm is stated in writing, and after a Gu Master dies, his Gu worms will be treated as an inheritance for his inheritor. Taking it for oneself is against the clan rules."

Fang Yuan was fearless, staring right at the Gu Master, "Of course I know that. You suspect that I took the group leader's Gu worms?"

Taking these Gu worms involved risks and trouble. If his secrets were dragged out, they would bring more loss than gain. Fang Yuan knew this, even if with the Spring Autumn Cicada he could instantly refine any Gu, it was difficult to do in the clan. It was not worth inviting such troubles for these minute gains.

Apart from than this, there was another point — with his financial status now, even if he got them, he might not be able to feed them.

To Fang Yuan's question, the Gu Master laughed quickly, "I did not mean that! People cannot come back to life after dying, so please restrain your grief, little brother. For the sake of the deceased, you have to live even better!"

Fang Yuan gradually stood up.

He used an extremely sad and pained expression, staring at sickly snake's corpse with rapt attention.

The night wind howled in his ears.

"You are right." After a while, Fang Yuan broke the silence, his gaze determined, saying with an intentional meaning, "For the sake of those who died, I have to live even better than before."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter