Fang Yuan had already seen through the deep meaning behind this move; this was a small probe from the clan head.
He swept his gaze across the martial arts arena; the most outstanding three groups in the entire clan were all here. They were the Qing Shu group representing the clan head's faction, the Chi Shan group representing the Chi lineage, and the Mo Yan group representing the Mo lineage respectively.
If it were an ordinary student, joining any one of these three groups would mean latching onto a massive backer, leading to a bright future.
But for Fang Yuan, it was the exact opposite.
In the minds of the clan's higher-ups, he had already been branded with the label of a specific force. Joining these three groups rashly would result in massive trouble.
For instance, if he joined the Chi Shan group, the Chi family would naturally know that they had never recruited Fang Yuan. Their first thought would be—Fang Yuan is clearly someone else's chess piece, so what are his motives for joining our group?
Their next thought would be—this mysterious force that recruited Fang Yuan in advance has already broken the rules. Now that Fang Yuan is throwing himself to our side, the elders will definitely believe that it was us who recruited Fang Yuan in advance. In that case, wouldn't our side be taking the blame? No, we have to detain Fang Yuan, monitor him, investigate him! Get conclusive evidence and root out that mysterious backer.
But the true situation was that Fang Yuan had no backer!
"Once I join any one of these three groups, it will be equivalent to offending one of the three greatest factions in the clan. Absolutely not! Sigh, I originally wanted to keep a low profile and join Jiang He's group. But behind Jiang He's group lies the shadow of the punishment hall elder. Now, under everyone's watchful eyes, it is also extremely inappropriate for me to join rashly." Fang Yuan unavoidably hesitated for a moment.
Clan Head Gu Yue Bo's smile grew deeper as he continued, "Fang Yuan, if you don't choose, then I will assign you to one."
The elders beside him all watched quietly, their expressions and demeanors completely motionless, like statues.
"Hmph, starting to force me now?" Fang Yuan's eyes flashed, immediately guessing Gu Yue Bo's next words—if he didn't stuff Fang Yuan into the Chi Shan group, he would stuff him into the Mo Yan group.
Gu Yue Bo naturally knew perfectly well in his heart that he had not recruited Fang Yuan. To him, this move could not only clear his own suspicion but also weaken his political enemies and expose the mysterious force, which could be called killing three birds with one stone. This move of diverting trouble, seemingly simple but actually profound, displayed Gu Yue Bo's purely mastered political maneuvers.
"No, I absolutely cannot let Gu Yue Bo assign me. It seems I can only choose a miscellaneous group." Fang Yuan was just about to open his mouth.
Right at this moment, a voice came from the crowd, "Why don't you join our group instead. Our group is exactly lacking an offensive position."
Who is it?
For a moment, everyone turned their heads, looking towards the source of the sound.
The person speaking was neither tall nor short, and his dull yellow skin tone made him look like he had a sickly complexion. A pair of triangular eyes was currently flashing with sharp light.
"It's the Sick Snake, Gu Yue Jiao San," someone stated his identity.
"Gu Yue Jiao San? He's just a miscellaneous group without any background!" The clan head and elders all revealed expressions of disappointment in their eyes.
"Jiao San…" A nearly imperceptible dark glint flashed through Fang Yuan's eyes.
He and this Gu Yue Jiao San were complete strangers, and in his memories, he couldn't clearly remember whether this person existed or not.
Why did Jiao San speak up, taking the initiative to invite him to join? Could it purely be because he seized first place in the examination?
How could that be possible!
Only someone as naive as Fang Zheng would have such an innocent thought.
However…
Since Jiao San personally spoke up and took the initiative to invite him, for the current situation, it was tantamount to a breakthrough point.
"The clan higher-ups must be very disappointed right now. Hehe." Thinking of this, a faint smile couldn't help but surface at the corners of Fang Yuan's mouth; he lowered his eyelids to conceal the sharp light in his eyes.
"Then I will join your group." Fang Yuan agreed straightforwardly, blocking Gu Yue Bo's upcoming words.
"Has this Fang Yuan gone stupid?"
"Leaving those outstanding groups to not join, yet insisting on joining the Sick Snake's group!"
"There must be something wrong with his brain, that guy Jiao San's personality, hehe…"
The students and Gu Masters in the arena all started discussing, looking at Fang Yuan as if looking at a fool.
The expressions of the clan head and elders all unavoidably sank.
Today's probing was actually disrupted by a Gu Yue Jiao San! No… perhaps this Jiao San was also a chess piece in the board, it was hard to say. Regardless, this Gu Yue Jiao San had to be investigated thoroughly!
Three days later.
The snow had fallen for a day and was now gradually lightening; pieces of pure white snowflakes danced in the air along with the wind.
Up and down Qing Mao Mountain, everything was covered in a layer of white clothing. Many tree branches were bare, with only the evergreen pine trees and Qing Mao bamboos maintaining their true colors, standing tall in defiance of the frost and snow.
A group of five sprinted across the snowy ground.
The one leading, neither tall nor short and with a sallow, sickly face, was precisely Gu Yue Jiao San.
As he ran, he turned his face to look at Fang Yuan, who had been remaining silent by his side, a mild smile surfacing on his face. "Fang Yuan, you don't need to be nervous. Although this is your first time executing a clan mission, the content of the mission is rather simple. You just need to follow us, learning as you go."
"Alright." Fang Yuan responded plainly, his eyes looking straight ahead, his expression calm.
It was already winter.
Sprinting across the snow, the freezing winter wind appeared even stronger. Taking a breath felt like eating a mouthful of shaved ice, leaving the entire chest cavity completely freezing cold.
Fang Yuan's complexion was fair to begin with, and now, illuminated by the white snow, it appeared even paler. During the run, light snow continuously fell onto his short black hair, his shoulders, and the tips of his eyebrows.
Unlike before, Fang Yuan had already changed his clothes.
This was a set of deep blue martial clothing.
A long-sleeved top and long trousers. There were bamboo splint leggings on his calves and bamboo-woven sandals on his feet. A sapphire blue headband was tied around his forehead; the ends of the headband fluttered wildly in the air as Fang Yuan ran.
Around his waist, a wide-edged belt was tied.
The belt was dark cyan, embedded with a copper plate on the front. Carved onto the copper plate was a character "One," which was highly conspicuous.
This was the attire of a Gu Master, displaying Fang Yuan's identity as a Rank One Gu Master.
Only after the youths studied in the academy for a full year and came out were they qualified to dress like this.
This attire held extraordinary significance. Once worn, it signified transcending the mortal class, escaping lowliness, stepping into nobility, and occupying the upper class in all of human society. Even though a Rank One Gu Master was merely the bottom end of this upper class, from today onwards, any mortal who saw Fang Yuan would have to take the initiative to step aside and pay respectful greetings.
Gu Yue Jiao San's gaze involuntarily flickered. Wearing this set of martial clothing, paired with his indifferent expression, Fang Yuan immediately exuded an aura of cool ruthlessness and capability.
While running, he continued speaking to Fang Yuan, "When executing missions outside, we often have to advance rapidly. Sprinting is the norm, are you accustomed to it yet, Fang Yuan?"
"It's fine." Fang Yuan cherished his words like gold, using the corner of his eye to catch a glimpse of this Gu Yue Jiao San.
The mild smile on Jiao San's face couldn't help but make him recall the myth about Ren Zu.
The story goes that Ren Zu utilized the Rules Gu to collect Strength and chase away Wisdom. Only three Gu worms remained: one Doubt, one Belief, and one Attitude.
Ren Zu grabbed the Attitude Gu.
According to the wager, the Attitude Gu submitted in Ren Zu's hands, telling Ren Zu, "Human, since you caught me, I can only admit my bad luck. From now on, I will be used by you. You just need to wear me, and you can bring out my use."
The Attitude Gu's outer appearance was just like a mask. Ren Zu tried to wear the Attitude Gu on his face, but no matter what, he couldn't put it on. Even if he tied it securely with ropes, it would always fall off.
"What is going on here?" Ren Zu was very perplexed.
The Attitude Gu laughed, "I know now, human, so it turns out you have no heart. Attitude is the mask of the heart; since you have no heart, how could you wear me?"
Only then did Ren Zu come to a sudden realization; he had already given his heart to Hope long ago.
He was already heartless.
A heartless person cannot wear the Attitude mask. In other words, for a person with a heart, attitude is a mask.
"This mild attitude is merely the mask this Gu Yue Jiao San has worn, what are his true intentions?" Fang Yuan pondered in his heart.
While this Jiao San known as the "Sick Snake" was observing Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan was also secretly observing him.