The summer sun was blazing, the mountain wind carried intense heat, and steaming hot air rose from the Qingmao Mountain.
In the blink of an eye, it was already late June.
"Gu Yue Fang Zheng!" In the academy, the elder called out a name.
Gu Yue Fang Zheng walked out from his seat and arrived in front of the academy elder.
Under the envious gazes of the surrounding peers, Fang Zheng received a heavy bag of primeval stones.
"Fang Zheng, you are the first to advance to the upper stage; this is your reward. You've done well, continue to work hard." The academy elder smiled with gratification and patted Fang Zheng's shoulder.
Fang Zheng gave a confirmation sound, his face full of excitement.
With agitation in his heart, he took the money bag and walked back to his seat.
"I finally did it. First to advance to the upper stage. Brother, did you see that? I finally defeated you once!"
His eyes both shone with light as his gaze swept toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan remained lying on his desk, fast asleep. Last night, he had hunted another wild boar, and after returning to the dormitory, he used the White Boar Gu to modify his body, absorbed natural primeval essence from primeval stones, and then refined it using the Liquor worm. Finally, he used the upper stage primeval essence to nourish his aperture walls. He had been busy until daybreak.
He had hurriedly eaten breakfast, and as soon as class started, he laid on the desk and slept. He was truly too tired; a Gu Master's cultivation could not replace sleep.
"Hmph, even if you don't admit it and pretend to sleep here, this is the reality. Brother, I have finally surpassed you! This is the first time, and following this, there will be a second time, and a third time!"
Fang Zheng clenched both fists tightly; this success held significant meaning for him. He had finally torn a small opening in the heavy gloom Fang Yuan had cast over his heart for so long, revealing a ray of light.
Although this ray of light was very small and thin, it gave Fang Zheng infinite hope and encouragement!
"Hmph, to think we actually lost to Fang Zheng." Gu Yue Mo Bei sat in his seat, arms crossed, feeling somewhat unwilling.
"Is this the advantage of A grade aptitude? Damn it…" Gu Yue Chi Cheng had a gloomy face. Along with cultivation, he deeply felt the benefits of excellent aptitude. Even with his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian supporting him from behind, and despite his own extreme efforts, he was still left behind by Fang Zheng.
"If I had a Liquor worm, coupled with grandfather's help, I might not necessarily have failed to win against Fang Zheng! The hateful Fang family brothers! The younger brother is A grade, suppressing us by a head. Although the older brother is C grade, he has a Liquor worm. How come all the good things in this world are occupied by the two of them?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng felt very indignant and unfair in his heart.
"This time, it was Fang Zheng who took the lead in breaking through to the upper stage."
"This is as it should be; who told him to have A grade aptitude."
"Yeah, even Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and Fang Yuan all lost to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng is leading the pack now."
"Fang Yuan has the Liquor worm in vain; he's too disappointing. So decadent all day long, sleeping in class; he might as well give his Liquor worm to me."
The surrounding students discussed one after another, expressing the unwillingness, helplessness, or envy in their hearts.
The academy elder called out names one by one. Students continuously walked up, received their primeval stone subsidies, and then returned to their seats.
"Everyone, quiet down." After the subsidies were distributed, the academy elder patted the lectern with his hand. In an instant, the entire academy quieted down.
"In a flash, you all have already mastered your second Gu worm and even broken through to the upper stage. In the past half-year, you have studied diligently and trained hard. Now that you have a certain foundation, it is time to go into the wild to temper yourselves. Real combat is not against dry targets like grass puppets or wooden puppets."
"Next is the notification for the mid-year assessment. Three days from now, the mid-year assessment will be held, and all students must participate! The content of the assessment is hunting wild boars. The wild boar tusks collected will be recorded as your score. The more wild boar tusks collected, the better the grade. After the assessment ends, each wild boar tusk can be exchanged for ten primeval stones. Additionally, team hunting is permitted."
As soon as the academy elder said this, the entire academy instantly exploded like a boiling pot.
"It's finally time for the mid-year assessment!"
"Every batch of students studying in the academy for a year has one mid-year assessment and one year-end assessment. Calculating the time, it should indeed be the mid-year assessment."
"The content of the assessment is different for every batch. I didn't expect our batch's mid-year assessment to actually be hunting for wild boar tusks."
"What should be done about this? My aptitude is only D grade, and my vital Gu isn't an attack type Gu worm like the Moonlight Gu either; how can I hunt and kill a wild boar?"
"Didn't you hear just now? The Lord Elder said team hunting is permitted. Those of us with poor aptitude or inadequate Gu worms can help each other and cooperate! When the time comes, we can just split the pig tusks obtained, that will do."
"Every single wild boar tusk can be exchanged for ten primeval stones; this is a reward set by the academy to encourage us to kill more wild boars. Actually, according to the market price, one primeval stone can buy twenty wild boar tusks."
The students had various expressions; some were happy, some worried, some ready for action, and some calling friends and companions. Even Fang Yuan was visibly moved.
"It changed! I clearly remember, in my previous life, the content of the mid-year assessment was collecting wild honey. I didn't expect it to change to hunting for wild boar tusks now. Is this the butterfly effect?"
A butterfly flapping its wings once could trigger a storm on the other side of the ocean. Tiny variables could pass through layers of influence and ultimately brew into a massive change.
Since his rebirth, Fang Yuan had made many changes; his current situation was already different from his previous life. In his previous life, he had long been left several streets behind by Fang Zheng and the others. In this life, he stubbornly stood within the first echelon of students.
In his previous life, he did not kill Jia Jin Sheng; he hadn't even met Jia Jin Sheng's
face. But in this life, not only did he kill Jia Jin Sheng, but because of it, he also unearthed deeper secrets of the Flower Wine Monk's heritage.
These changes were like a butterfly flapping its wings, indirectly beginning to influence the surroundings. The change in the mid-year assessment content was merely the first obvious sign revealed.
"If I continue to influence things like this, will the history that is about to happen next all become unrecognizable? In this way, the advantage of my rebirth will be hugely weakened."
Fang Yuan appeared calm on the surface, but he sighed secretly in his heart.
A sense of helplessness and urgency simultaneously enveloped his heart, but he quickly adjusted and recovered.
"No matter what, since things are already happening, they cannot be stopped. I need to actively change myself. Even if eventually everything becomes unrecognizable, I will not slow down the pace of my growth due to scruples about these things!"
"In my previous life, I faced a future I knew nothing about; could it be that in this life I lack courage? Hehe, even if the world is filled with thorns, I will still hack through the thorns and carve out a bloody path!"
"Each tusk can be exchanged for ten primeval stones; this price is truly very high. Should I sell that pile of wild boar tusks in the secret cave? If I take out that pile of wild boar tusks, will it attract suspicion? No, perhaps according to the Gu Yue clan's current political structure, if I openly throw out these tusks, I might be able to pull chestnuts out of the fire."
Fang Yuan shook his head secretly; the risk of this matter was a bit too great. If he really threw out these beast tusks, what could he gain?
Over a hundred primeval stones?
"Wait, primeval stones are not important. Perhaps I can use this opportunity to reconstruct my image." Thinking of this, a burst of sharp light involuntarily flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.
What he needed was to make a fortune in silence, to be low-profile and even more low-profile. If the secret of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was discovered, he might not even be able to preserve his life.
However, his current position was somewhat awkward.
He stood on the opposite side of the entire student body and also drifted outside the system. within the hearts of the higher-ups, he was an unruly, dissatisfied, unwilling, prematurely wise, and cold C grade teenager.
This impression was not good; it was equivalent to being labeled as disloyal. But the clan needed loyalty; in fact, any organization needed loyalty.
No matter which world it was, loyalty was one of the values promoted with great fanfare. Loyalty to the clan, loyalty to the country, loyalty to leaders, loyalty to love, loyalty to friendship, and so on.
As Fang Yuan's cultivation became higher and higher, the higher-ups would pay more and more attention. At the same time, at necessary moments, the clan would also adopt tough measures against Fang Yuan. At that time, Fang Yuan would truly be passive.
Fang Yuan did not like being passive; he liked to firmly grasp the initiative of everything in his own hands.
Because of the series of prior events, Fang Yuan could only maneuver around, borrowing strength to strike strength. Creating that impression was also a work of self-preservation in response to current events.
Now that self-preservation was no longer an issue, Fang Yuan needed self-strengthening!
Therefore, he needed to change this impression, making the higher-ups think that he had lowered his head and joined the clan system. But this change could not be too abrupt, lest it make the higher-ups suspicious.
More crucially, this joining of the system was merely a facade. Fang Yuan could not truly join and be manipulated and restricted by others. He had too many secrets on his body.
He needed a large amount of free space; thus, the actual situation was that he would remain a lone ranger.
And the current matter of the mid-year assessment was exactly a turning point.
"It seems I need to maneuver a bit. First, let's start with the robbery and extortion later." Fang Yuan's gaze steadied; everything was within his plannings.