"Sigh, the bloodline is getting thinner. These few years the clan hasn't had any rank four masters to strengthen the bloodline. The fourth generation clan head was the only rank five master, but in the end he perished together with the Flower Wine monk and did not leave behind any descendants. The Gu Yue clan's later generation talents are getting weaker and weaker," the clan head said with a deep sigh.
At this moment, the academy elder shouted, "Gu Yue Chi Chen!"
On hearing this name all the elders looked at Gu Yue Chi Lian this was Gu Yue Chi Lian's grandson.
Gu Yue Chi Chen had a small and short build with a face full of pockmarks. He was clenching his fist, his entire face sweating. It was evident that he was incredibly nervous.
As he walked onto the opposite bank, the little lights entered his body after walking straight for 36 steps he stopped.
"Another B-grade!" The academy elder yelled.
The youths started a commotion, sending Gu Yue Chi Chen envious stares.
"Hahaha, 36 steps, 36 steps!" Gu Yue Chi Lian shouted, proudly staring at Gu Yue Mo Bei. This time it was Gu Yue Mo Chen's turn to have a sour face.
"Gu Yue Chi Chen, huh…" In the midst of the crowd, Fang Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. In his previous life Fang Yuan had exploited the Chi faction because Gu Yue Chi Chen had faked his grade in the Awakening Ceremony. In reality Chi Chen only had a C-grade talent, but because his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian helped him fake the results, that's why he appeared to have B-grade talent.
To be honest the current Fang Yuan had even more ways to cheat then he had before his previous life. But firstly, same as his previous life he faced the same problem, which was he had no time to prepare, he had just been reborn. Secondly, even if he managed to cheat, he would not be able to hide his cultivation speed, by then he would definitely be exposed.
Fang Yuan knew the true, between the two elders of the biggest faction; they are always hostile towards each other. To suppress his opponent, Gu Yue Chi Chen had no choice but to fake his grandson into having an outstanding talent.
As he pondered, he suddenly heard the academy elder call out his own name: "Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"
In that instant, everything around him fell silent. He could feel countless eyes fixed on him, watching his every move.
"Well here I go once again." Fang Yuan thought silently. Under the gazes of the masses, he walked across the river and reached the opposite bank.
"I will need to re-create how I walked and awaken across the river to let my future plans played out properly." Fang Yuan once again silently thought as he felt a layer of pressure on him. This pressure came from the spirit spring deep in the flower sea. The spirit spring produced primeval qi, because the qi was too rich in here, it caused the pressure.
But very quickly from the flowers below Fang Yuan's feet, little lights made their way up. These dots of light enveloped his entire body before finally entering him.
These are the Hope Gu, mused Fang Yuan. The person in charge did not tell them, but he knew it very clearly. Every spot of light is a Gu, known as the Hope Gu.
At this moment, the Hope Gu transformed into a stream of light and surged into Fang Yuan's body. Pressured by the force around him, the light swiftly gathered in his lower abdomen, forming a cluster about three inches below his navel.
Suddenly, the pressure around him eased. Fang Yuan began to move forward. With each step, more Hope Gu rose from the sea of flowers and flew into him, merging with the growing sphere of light within. The cluster inside him shone ever brighter, its glow intensifying with every Gu that joined it.
Across the river, the person overseeing the ritual watched with a deepening frown.
"This number of Hope Gu is lesser than expected." Many elders watching Fang Yuan in the dark thought this as they saw the sight. The clan head frowned as well. This was definitely not the sign of an A-grade talent!
Fang Yuan withstood the pressure, continuing to walk forward. "Up till now, I have walked 23 steps only 4 steps left".
24, 25, 26… 27.
Fang Yuan counted in his heart; when he walked the 27th step he could hear a bang and in between his two kidneys the ball of light reached its limit and suddenly exploded.
The surge of energy occurred entirely within Fang Yuan's body no one else could see it. Yet to him, it felt like a seismic shift. In that instant, the fine hairs on his body stood on end, his pores clamped shut, and his mind stretched to its very limits under immense tension.
Then, just as suddenly, everything shifted. His thoughts went blank, and his body felt weightless, as if he were sinking into a bed of clouds. His heart relaxed, the tension in his skin eased, hairs flattened, and his pores slowly opened once more.
Moments later, sweat covered his entire body.
Though it felt like an eternity, the entire process passed in mere moments. The sensation faded as quickly as it had come.
Fang Yuan stood dazed for a brief second before snapping back to awareness. "It seems to be quite similar to how a Gu master will ascend to being a Gu Immortal", thought Fang Yuan as this is his 3rd time awakening from a mortal to a Gu master. Probably only a few would understand Fang Yuan thoughts went he mentions of the similarity between the awakening of a mortal to a Gu master and an ascension of Gu master to a Gu immortal.
"It seems that everything is still connected to Dao". He finalized his thought with this sentence.
Quietly, he turned his focus inward and there, below his navel and nestled between his kidneys, a mysterious aperture had formed out of nothing.
The Awakening Ceremony was complete.
This was the first step on the path to immortality.
Fang Yuan is now official a Rank one Gu master.
The aperture was mysterious and unusual. Although it was located inside Fang Yuan's body, it was at the same time, not sharing the same space with his internal organs. You could say that it was endlessly huge, yet at the same time infinitely small.
This thin membrane of light supported the aperture so it would not collapse, and inside the aperture was naturally, the Primeval Sea. The seawaters were smooth like a mirror, showing a greenish blue color, yet the water was dense and brought about a copper luster. Only Rank one Gu masters can form this green coppery primeval essence, known as the green copper sea.
The height of the sea surface was not up to half of the aperture it was only up to 44%. This was also the limitation of a C-grade talent. Every drop of seawater was pure primeval essence, representing the condensation of Fang Yuan's essence, vitality and soul. It was also the accumulation of his life potential over the past 15 years.
Since the aperture had opened, no more Hope Gu entered into Fang Yuan's body.
Fang Yuan gathered himself and felt that the pressure before him was as thick as a wall he could no longer walk another step forward. "Just like my previous life," he smiled indifferently at this result.
"You can't go any further?" The academy elder shouted across the river, holding onto a small thread of hope. Fang Yuan turned around and walked back, answering with his actions.
At this moment even the young teenagers started reacting. The crowd suddenly buzzed with chatter.
"What? Fang Yuan walked 27 steps?"
"So he was just a C-grade talent?!"