Soon, a week had passed.
"Man is the spirit of all living things, and Gu are the essence of heaven and earth. There are countless varieties of Gu existing in this world. They live all around us, in the mineral soil, among the grass, and even inside the bodies of wild beasts."
"During the process of human propagation and evolution, our predecessors gradually discovered the mysteries of Gu worms. Those who have already opened their apertures, using their own primeval essence to nurture, refine, and manipulate these Gu to achieve various purposes, are collectively called Gu Masters."
"And in the Awakening Ceremony seven days ago, all of you successfully opened your apertures and condensed your primeval sea. Now, you are all Rank One Gu Masters."
In the clan school within the mountain village, the Academy Elder was speaking eloquently.
Opposite him sat fifty-seven youths, every single one of them listening with rapt attention.
The miraculousness and power of Gu Masters had long since taken root in the hearts of the youths. Therefore, everything the Academy Elder spoke of deeply captivated them.
At this moment, a youth raised his hand. With the elder's permission, he stood up and asked, "Lord Elder, ever since I was very young, I knew that Gu Masters are divided into Rank One, Rank Two, and so on. Can you explain this to us in detail?"
The Gu Yue elder nodded, gesturing for the youth to sit down. "There are a total of nine major realms for Gu Masters. From bottom to top, they are Rank One, Rank Two, Rank Three, all the way to Rank Nine. Each major realm is further divided into four minor stages: Initial Stage, Middle Stage, Upper Stage, and Peak. Having just become Gu Masters, all of you are at the Rank One Initial Stage."
"If you cultivate diligently from now on, your cultivation level will naturally increase, and advancing to Rank Two or Rank Three is also possible. Of course, the higher your aptitude, the greater the possibility of advancement."
"With Grade C aptitude, the primeval sea occupies two to three tenths of the aperture, and the maximum attainment is usually Rank One or Rank Two. With Grade C aptitude—" Wait, let me correct the flow: "With Grade C aptitude, the primeval sea occupies four to five tenths of the aperture, usually stopping at the Rank Two realm, with only a very small number managing to breakthrough to the Rank Three Initial Stage by fluke. With Grade B aptitude, the primeval sea occupies six to seven tenths of the entire aperture, capable of cultivating to Rank Three or even Rank Four. With Grade A aptitude, the primeval sea is abundant, occupying eight to nine tenths of the aperture. Such people naturally possess the highest talent, are most suited for Gu Master cultivation, and can reach Rank Five."
"As for Gu Masters from Rank Six and above, every single one of them is a legend, and I am not too clear on the specifics. Our Gu Yue Clan has never produced a Rank Six Gu Master, but we have had both Rank Five and Rank 4 Gu Masters."
The youths all perked up their ears, listening with bright, shining eyes.
Many could not help glancing at Gu Yue Fangzheng sitting upright in the front row. This was Grade A aptitude, after all, and their gazes were filled with envy and jealousy.
At the same time, some gazes drifted toward the corner in the very last row of the classroom.
In that corner against the window, Gu Yue Fangyuan was slumped over his desk, fast asleep.
"Look, he's still sleeping," someone whispered softly.
"He's been sleeping for a whole week straight now, hasn't he recovered yet?" Someone curled their lip.
"More than that, I heard he doesn't even return home at night, just wandering around the outskirts of the village."
"Some people have seen him more than once at night, clutching a jar of wine and dead drunk outside. Fortunately, the area around the village has been cleared out over the years and is relatively safe." Classmates whispered among themselves, and various gossip spread rapidly.
"Sigh, the blow was indeed too heavy. Having carried the title of a genius for so many years, who would have thought he'd turn out to be merely a Grade C, haha."
"If it were just that, it'd be one thing. But his own biological younger brother was tested with Grade A aptitude, and now he is the center of attention, enjoying the best treatment. The younger brother is up in the heavens while the older brother is down in the dirt, tsk tsk..."
Listening to the growing chatter around him, the Academy Elder's brows had already knitted into a knot.
Throughout the classroom, the youths were sitting upright, radiating vitality, which made Fangyuan slumped asleep on the desk all the more glaring and grating to the eye.
"A week has already passed, and he's still this decadent. Hmph, I misjudged him back then; how could someone like this ever be a genius!" The elder coldly snorted with displeasure in his heart. He had already spoken to Fangyuan about this situation many times, but it had no effect at all; Fangyuan still did as he pleased. Sleeping through every single class gave the teaching elder a massive headache and great annoyance.
"Forget it, he's just a Grade C. If he can't even withstand this bit of a blow, any temperament cultivated from him will make him hard to use for anything major, only wasting clan resources." The elder felt deeply disappointed in Fangyuan.
Fangyuan merely possessed Grade C aptitude; by comparison, his younger brother Fangzheng possessed Grade A aptitude, and that was the object worthy of the clan spending great effort to nurture.
As the Academy Elder thought to himself, he continued with his previous topic: "In the history of our clan, many powerhouses have emerged. Among them, there were two Rank Five powerhouses. One was the First Generation Clan Head, our ancestor—it was he who founded Gu Yue Village. There was also the Fourth Generation Clan Head, who possessed extraordinary talent and cultivated all the way to the realm of a Rank Five Gu Master. If not for that despicable and shameless demonic path scoundrel Flower Wine Monk launching a sneak attack, he might even have advanced to become a Rank Six Gu Master. Sigh..."
At this point, the Gu Yue elder let out a deep sigh.
Below the podium, the youths cried out with righteous indignation.
"It was all that Flower Wine Monk, he was too insidious and cunning!"
"What a pity that our Fourth Generation Clan Head was benevolent and kind, dying in the prime of his youth."
"I only hate that I wasn't born a few centuries earlier; otherwise, upon meeting that demonic scoundrel, I would surely fight to the death to tear off his ugly mask."
There was not a single Gu Yue clansman who did not know the legends of the Fourth Generation Clan Head and Flower Wine Monk.
Flower Wine Monk was also a Rank Five Gu Master, a notorious flower-picking bandit who had committed evil for many years, quite famous in the demonic path of that era. Several centuries ago, he drifted into Qingmao Mountain, attempting to commit crimes within Gu Yue Village, only to be exposed by the Fourth Generation Clan Head. After an earth-shattering and fierce battle, Flower Wine Monk was beaten to his knees, begging for mercy. The Fourth Generation Clan Head, being kind and compassionate, intended to spare his life. However, Flower Wine Monk suddenly launched a sneak attack, severely injuring the Fourth Generation Clan Head.
The clan head grew furious and executed Flower Wine Monk on the spot, but subsequently succumbed to his severe injuries and passed away.
Therefore, in the hearts of all Gu Yue clansmen, the Fourth Generation Clan Head was a hero who sacrificed himself for the mountain village.
"Flower Wine Monk..." Awakened by the denunciation in the classroom, Fangyuan opened his hazy, sleep-filled eyes in the corner.
He gave a solid, huge stretch, and could not help harboring a grievance in his heart: "Where on earth did this Flower Wine Monk die? Why haven't I found his heritage yet, even after wandering all around the mountain village?"
In his memories, about two months later, a clan Gu Master who was heartbroken and drunk would lie dead drunk outside the village, and the lingering aroma of alcohol would accidentally attract a Wine Worm.
The Gu Master would be overjoyed and try to capture it. The Wine Worm would scurry away in a panic, and the Gu Master, pursuing it relentlessly, would follow the Wine Worm's trail to discover a hidden cave entrance leading underground.
The Wine Worm was a very precious type of Gu. Carrying his intoxication, that Gu Master would venture into the cave entrance and arrive at the underground secret cave, where he discovered the remains of Flower Wine Monk and the legacy left behind.
Upon returning to the village, the Gu Master reported all his discoveries, instantly causing a massive sensation throughout the entire clan.
And that Gu Master benefited greatly as a result, his cultivation becoming increasingly prominent, which instead attracted the romantic partner who had once abandoned him to have a change of heart, making him a prominent figure of the times.
"It's a pity I only heard a rough outline of this news and don't know the exact location. Back then, I never expected there would be a day of rebirth. Flower Wine Monk, where on earth did you die?"
Over these past few days, he had bought a lot of wine, strolling around the mountain village every night in hopes of using the emanating aroma of wine to entice the Wine Worm to show itself. Regrettably, that Wine Worm was nowhere to be seen, leaving him quite disappointed.
"If I can find that Wine Worm and refine it as my Natal Gu, it will be much better than the Moonlight Gu provided by the clan. In the blink of an eye, it's already April; time and tide wait for no man." Fangyuan sighed, shifting his gaze out the window.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, lush mountain ranges stretched endlessly. Closer by was a bamboo grove.
This was the lance bamboo unique to Qingmao Mountain, each one as straight as a line, while their tips were exceptionally sharp like spearheads.
The woods not far away had already taken on a fresh green hue. The freshly sprouted buds were yellowish-green, and pretty colorful thrushes occasionally landed on the branches.
A spring breeze swept past, wrapping up the fresh scent of green mountains and clear waters, and scattered it across the human world.
Before he knew it, this class was drawing to a close. The Academy Elder made a final announcement: "Over this past week, I have taught you how to meditate and inspect the primeval sea within your apertures, and how to sit in cross-legged cultivation to mobilize the primeval essence inside your bodies. Now is the time to refine your Natal Gu. After this class ends, go to the Gu chamber in the school to select a Gu worm. Once you've chosen your Gu worm, go home and cultivate in seclusion until you have refined the Gu worm, then come back to the school to continue classes. At the same time, this is also your first assessment. Whoever takes first place will receive a generous reward of twenty primeval stones."
Oh!
The next moment, the entire classroom erupted in cheers.
"Finally, it's time to refine a Gu worm. What kind of Gu worm should I pick?" A sharp glint flashed and vanished in Fangyuan's eyes.