Elder Kuangxu's heavy refined iron combat boots finally stepped out of the drill ground's main gate.
As the Punishment Hall squad withdrew, the suffocating pressure looming over the heads of hundreds of students receded like a tide.
On the drill ground, students collapsed. Some wept bitterly; others gasped for air, drunk on the ecstasy of survival.
In front of that Punishment Hall Elder known for his brutality, these flowers in the greenhouse finally understood the true meaning of the clan's motto:
"Clan rules are iron; human lives are grass."
Lin Mu mixed into the crowd, leaving silently with the dismissal order.
His steps were unsteady—partly faked, partly a genuine reaction to the overdraft of his Primeval Essence.
As he passed the patch of mud mixed with minced meat, his gaze didn't linger for a second.
He didn't even glance at the spot where the Heat Source Gu had been crushed to powder.
That was three hundred Primeval Stones.
If it were the Lin Mu of his previous life, losing even a hundred copper coins would have caused him heartache for days.
But at this moment, his heart was like the deep pools beneath Broken Soul Mountain—calm, cold, unrippled.
"In this world, only the living are qualified to calculate gains and losses."
He spoke coldly to himself.
That stomp had crushed not only the Gu worm but also the last shred of weakness belonging to an "ordinary Earthling."
From this moment on, he thoroughly understood the truth: wealth, resources, and Gu worms... in the face of absolute violence, they were merely chips to be discarded at will to stay alive.
Sacrificing the rook to save the king. Severing the tail to survive.
This wasn't cowardice. This was the highest wisdom of biological evolution.
...
For the next two days, Black Blood Stockade was in complete chaos.
Gao Xiong's death was officially classified as a "provocation by Demonic Path scum."
Elder Kuangxu personally led the Punishment Hall elites, scouring the mountain forests within fifty miles of the stockade. They combed the terrain again and again, like searching for lice on a scalp.
Countless wild beasts suffered, and even a few innocent lone cultivators passing by were made into scapegoats, their heads severed and hung high on the stockade walls as a warning.
The entire stockade was on edge—tight on the outside, loose on the inside.
But for Lin Mu, this was a rare opportunity to breathe.
All eyes were drawn outward. No one paid attention to a reticent, B-grade branch family member in the academy.
Dormitory. Deep night.
The Iron Wire Miasma outside the window was thick, filtering the moonlight into a pale, sickly white.
Inside the room, snoring rose and fell in a rhythmic chorus.
Lin Mu sat cross-legged on his bed, the heavy cotton quilt once again serving as his bunker.
"Phew..."
He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his mind sinking completely into the aperture three inches below his navel.
The aperture was the foundation of a Gu Master's cultivation. It existed between reality and illusion; though housed inside the body, it held a universe within.
At this moment, an astonishing transformation was taking place inside Lin Mu's aperture.
The chubby white Liquor Worm floated comfortably in the center of the void.
It acted like a gluttonous purification machine, tirelessly swallowing the Primeval Sea below and spitting it back out.
Looking at this little creature—regained after being lost—a wave of indescribable relief surged in Lin Mu's heart.
Just last night, when the suffocating search storm had finally subsided, he had dug this freezing treasure out of the lining of that dirty, moldy straw sandal beneath his bed.
Although the process was wretched and the Gu reeked of foot odor, Lin Mu didn't show the slightest disdain.
It was precisely that sliver of clarity before exhaustion, that seemingly "superfluous" act of concealment, that allowed him to keep this trump card while the entire stockade was turned upside down.
"If I hadn't endured the pain to move it out of my aperture back then, I would likely be a corpse in the Punishment Hall dungeon right now."
Lin Mu restrained his thoughts, refocusing his attention on the Primeval Sea.
Originally, as a Rank 1 Initial Stage Gu Master who had just awakened his aperture, Lin Mu's Primeval Sea was a pale, watery green.
This was "Green Copper Primeval Essence." Thin, scattered, with limited explosive power.
Like inferior fuel mixed with water—it could activate Gu worms, but efficiency was low and consumption high.
But now, everything had changed.
With the Liquor Worm refining it day and night for two days, that pale green surface had vanished.
Replacing it was a deep, condensed emerald ocean radiating vigorous vitality!
This green was no longer the light color of tender grass. It was like top-quality jade, or the heavy waters of a deep mountain abyss.
Every drop appeared heavy, flowing slowly, yet containing amazing tension.
Rank 1 Middle Stage Primeval Essence—Jade Green Primeval Essence!
"It's done."
Lin Mu looked at this emerald sea, a trace of irrepressible joy flashing in his eyes.
In the cultivation system of Gu Masters, every major realm (Rank 1 to Rank 5) was divided into four small stages: Initial, Middle, Upper, and Peak.
Generally speaking, aptitude determined the recovery speed and upper limit of Primeval Essence, while the accumulation of time determined the improvement of the realm.
A B-grade aptitude student wanting to advance from Initial Stage to Middle Stage would typically need at least half a year of hard labor—nurturing the aperture walls bit by bit.
But Lin Mu used only three days.
This was the terror of the Liquor Worm. It was a rule-breaker. A springboard across social classes.
"Although my aperture walls haven't expanded yet and my realm is nominally still Initial Stage, the quality of Primeval Essence I possess has solidly reached the standard of a Middle Stage Gu Master!"
Lin Mu clenched his fist, feeling the power surging through his meridians.
This wasn't just a change in color.
It meant that when activating the Iron Leaf Gu, others would send out a fluttering leaf, while he would launch a steel blade sharp enough to shear through gold and jade!
Explosive power increased by thirty percent! Endurance doubled!
Among his peers—who mostly lingered at the Initial Stage and hadn't even mastered their natal Gu—he quietly possessed a crushing advantage.
"But this isn't enough."
The joy in Lin Mu's eyes quickly receded, replaced by calculation.
He knew this advantage was temporary and fragile.
First, the Liquor Worm was a glutton.
To refine Primeval Essence over these two days, it had almost exhausted its own energy reserves.
Lin Mu could sense a strong feeling of hunger radiating from it, bordering on restlessness.
If not fed with fine wine soon, it would not only stop working but might even devour his blood essence for survival. Backlash meant death.
"I must get wine."
Lin Mu frowned.
In this resource-scarce Southern Border stockade, grain was precious, and brewing wine was a luxury.
Ordinary cloudy wine wouldn't satisfy a spirit of heaven and earth like the Liquor Worm.
It required at least aged "Green Bamboo Wine" or the "Hundred Herb Brew" specially supplied for clan elders.
These things required massive amounts of Primeval Stones on the black market or were exclusive to direct lineage descendants.
And Lin Mu was penniless. The fragments of his wealth were still buried in the mud of the drill ground.
Lin Mu leaned against the headboard, calculating in the dark.
"I possess Rank 1 Middle Stage combat power. In terms of burst alone, I am far ahead of my peers. Should I imitate Fang Yuan and start a 'robbery-style' cultivation? Targeting lone fat sheep?"
"Or... play it steady, use my plot knowledge to search for undiscovered opportunities?"
Two paths intertwined in his mind. The former brought money fast but carried high risks of exposure; the latter was safe but slow, and the Liquor Worm's hunger allowed no delay.
However, plans never kept up with changes.
Before Lin Mu could decide, the academy's "End of Month Minor Exam" arrived as scheduled.
...
The next morning. The Drill Ground.
The Iron Wire Miasma was slightly thinner, revealing a greyish sky. The atmosphere was chilling.
The Academy Elder stood on the high platform, looking down indifferently at the dozens of youths.
On the mahogany table beside him sat a row of heavy money pouches, as well as a dozen sealed, exquisite clay jars emitting a faint, clear scent.
"Today's minor exam. The rules are simple."
The Elder's voice was vigorous, instantly suppressing the whispers below.
"One-on-one combat. The winner takes 20 Primeval Stones and a jar of Spring Morning Dew!"
"This Spring Morning Dew is collected from the morning dew of spiritual plants deep in the mountains. It contains trace amounts of wood qi—the perfect food to nourish your natal Gu, the Iron Leaf Gu."
Hearing "20 Primeval Stones," the eyes of many branch family youths instantly turned red.
For them, this was a huge sum, enough to buy a decent piece of leather armor.
And those jars of Spring Morning Dew were a rigid demand. If the Iron Leaf Gu didn't receive wood qi nourishment, its power would decline.
In this academy where resources were monopolized by the direct lineage, this free supply was a life-saving straw.
But immediately after, the Elder's tone shifted, revealing a grim chill.
"As for the losers..."
He sneered, his gaze sweeping over everyone like a blade.
"Not only will you get nothing, but you will also be responsible for cleaning all the latrines in the academy for this month!"
Whoosh—
A suppressed commotion erupted in the crowd.
Cleaning latrines? This wasn't just humiliation; it was a massive waste of cultivation time!
Gu Master cultivation fought for every second. Wasting two hours a day scooping feces meant falling behind.
And in this clan, falling behind meant elimination.
"This is the rule of the clan. Survival of the fittest. The weak not only get no resources, they don't even deserve dignity!"
The Elder waved his hand. "Now, let the drawing of lots begin!"
Lin Mu stood in the crowd, his face calm as water, but the palm hidden in his sleeve rubbed gently against his thigh.
"Although robbing direct lineage fat sheep has high returns, that's a matter for the future. Only the benefits right in front of my eyes are real."
Lin Mu calculated quickly.
20 Primeval Stones. Far less than the Heat Source Gu, but it would stop the bleeding.
More importantly, that jar of Spring Morning Dew.
If he won, it would solve the Iron Leaf Gu's food problem, saving him an expense.
As for losing and cleaning toilets?
Lin Mu's eyes narrowed, a trace of imperceptible cold light flashing in their depths.
That kind of life-wasting fate was absolutely not allowed to happen.
"The road must be walked step by step. Rice must be eaten mouthful by mouthful. I will slaughter the fat sheep in the clan eventually, but today, I will also eat this meager scrap of 20 Primeval Stones."
"The urgent matter right now is this minor exam."
He slowly raised his head, looking at the wooden box for drawing lots.
The emerald green Primeval Essence in his body flowed quietly, like a dormant giant beast waiting to devour its prey.