"It's finally my turn." At this moment, Gu Yue Mo Bei's horse face lit up in a confident smile all over, and he walked up to the field. His stature was stout and gave out a fierce and strong aura. After standing still he raised his hand and threw three moonblades – all three of them hit. Among the blades, two of them hit on the puppet's chest, while the other blade hit the puppet's left arm, shaving away a few green grass.
This result naturally caused the young teens to burst with admiration.
"Well done." The elder's brow slightly smoothed out.
The next group came up, Gu Yue Chi Cheng standing among them. He had a small and short body, his face full of pockmarks, his expression bringing a slight nervousness.
He sent out three moonblades continuously and all three hit on the puppet's chest, cutting out three intertwined scars. The scars went from deep to shallow and restored back to its original appearance after a few breaths, due to the puppet's self-healing ability.
However this outcome was already tied to Gu Yue Mo Bei's result, and also received the elder's praise. Chi Cheng held his head high as he walked out of the field, looking at Mo Bei defiantly in the eye on the way.
"Hmph!" Below the field, Gu Yue Mo Bei gave a cold snort, but he did not return Chi Cheng's glare. Instead, he continued looking at Gu Yue Fang Zheng who had not gone up yet.
His heart clearly knew that the real threats were only Gu Yue Chi Cheng and Gu Yue Fang Zheng. The previous was the same like him – a B grade talent while also having the constant supply of primeval stones. The latter was an A-grade talent; while Fang Zheng did not have as many primeval stones as them, but just by relying on his own natural recovery speed thanks to his grade talent, he would also be able to practice a lot in a short amount of time.
Right now Gu Yue Chi Cheng's results have appeared, showing a tie to Mo Bei, and only Gu Yue Fang Zheng was left.
In the last few groups, Gu Yue Fang Zheng finally came up to the stage.
"Is he Fang Yuan or Fang Zheng?" Some of the students were muttering; there were still people who could not differentiate between Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng, the two twin brothers.
"It's Fang Zheng. Fang Yuan is always wearing a cold expression, he would never appear tense," someone answered.
"Oh, then there will be a spectacle. Fang Zheng is the only A-grade talent from our village in three years, after all." The crowd casted their eyes over to the field.
Fang Zheng could feel the weight of the gazes directed at him, and the pressure made him even more nervous. Standing on the stage, his fingers trembled slightly.
He released his first moonblade, originally intending to strike the grass puppet's chest. But due to his tension, he missed—ultimately, the moonblade struck the puppet's neck instead.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the young teens.
They assumed Fang Zheng had done it intentionally. Instead of going for the easier target—the puppet's chest—he aimed for the neck, which seemed like a bold display of confidence in his attacking skills.
Curious eyes were now fixated on what Fang Zheng would do next. However, both Gu Yue Mo Bei and Gu Yue Chi Cheng wore expressions of disappointment.
Among all the spectators, only the academy elder and Fang Yuan noticed the mistake Fang Zheng had made.
"How dangerous!" Looking at the moonblade, Fang Zheng exclaimed in his heart while secretly feeling lucky. He took in a few deep breaths, trying his best to calm down. Then he threw out two blades. This time he did not make any mistakes, and the two blades hit accurately on the grass puppet's chest.
This result made the academy elder nod his head, and Mo Bei and Chi Cheng calmed down as well. Fang Zheng's result was different from theirs, so it would all come down to how the academy elder decided to grade them.
The other students let out sounds of sighing. Fang Zheng's later performance was not interesting, making them feel slightly disappointed.
The next few groups were not interesting either. No one was able to perform better than Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng. The youngsters started to whisper around.
"At this rate, the top scorer in today's assessment should be among the three of them."
"All three of them managed to hit the grass puppet, I wonder who the academy elder will deem better."
"Hold on, it's the last group. Fang Yuan's going up."
"Oh, that C-grade talent 'cold genius'? Heh heh."
Right when it was the last group, Fang Yuan finally went up stage.
"It's that Fang Yuan…." Gu Yue Mo Bei lifted his head and looked at Fang Yuan for a moment, then he lowered his eyes uncaringly.
"Last time you got really lucky, choosing a weak-willed Moonlight Gu by accident and getting number one. Let's see how you perform this time!" Gu Yue Chi Cheng hugged his arms, waiting to see Fang Yuan make a fool of himself.
"Big brother… This time will not be like the last. I have practiced so hard for so long, I can definitely surpass you." Among the crowd, Gu Yue Fang Zheng pursed his lips, subconsciously clenching his fists tightly.
Many gazes were gathered on Fang Yuan, and the academy elder's sight was fixed on him as well. Fang Yuan made no emotion; his expression was cold and detached.
He stood still, primeval essence pouring into the Moonlight Gu in the heart of his palm. With a cut in the air, he struck out the first moonblade.
This moonblade flew very high. It not only went over the grass puppet's head, but flew over the bamboo wall as well. It went on for almost fifteen meters before the light turned dim and vanished into thin air.
"Pfffft…" Someone couldn't help but laugh out.
"This is way too outrageous, isn't it." Someone sneered.
"He's indeed a genius. No wonder he managed to get number one in refining the Gu." Another spoke sarcastically.
Many in the crowd were eagerly waiting to see a "good show." They were anticipating an embarrassing misstep from the so-called "genius" Fang Yuan, and his moonblade didn't disappoint.
Laughter rippled through the audience.
The academy elder shook his head slightly, a small chuckle escaping him. He silently mocked himself for giving so much attention to Fang Yuan. After all, he was just a C-grade student, a boy who secured first place in refining Gu purely by luck.
In his mind, he had already made up his decision. Even though Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and Fang Zheng had all produced the same results, he would still choose Fang Zheng as number one.
The rivalry between Gu Yue Mo Bei and Gu Yue Chi Cheng reflected the deep political struggle between the clan's two most powerful elders. The academy elder had always kept his distance from the political drama, preferring not to get caught in the center of it.
He leaned more towards supporting the clan leader, Gu Yue Bo. Fang Zheng, who was aligned with the clan leader, also had A-grade talent. Choosing him as number one would not only show favoritism but would also be something the higher-ups in the clan could accept.
A warm spring breeze blew gently across the training grounds, carrying the scent of flowers. Sunlight poured over Fang Yuan's figure, casting a long, lonely shadow on the ground.
His expression remained cold as he calmly fixed his gaze on the grass puppet ten meters away. The moonblade in his palm glowed faintly with a blue light.
Fang Yuan had deliberately misfired his first moonblade. He only had two chances left to make his mark. Considering the academy elder's stance, he knew that in order to claim the top spot, he would need to exceed everyone's expectations in his next two attacks.
"With only two chances left to attack, it's impossible. Big brother, I have finally won over you." Gu Yue Fang Zheng's eyes did not flicker as he stared at Fang Yuan. From young till old, the life shadow that his older brother had brought onto him finally faded away slowly at this moment.
Fang Zheng could feel victory so nearby. His two fists were subconsciously clenched tight, his entire body so full of excitement that he trembled slightly.
"Big brother, my victory this time is just a beginning. Next, I will keep on winning over you again and again until I banish away all the shadows in my heart. I will prove to the clan, the excellence of an A grade talent genius!" Fang Zheng told himself in his heart.
But just at this moment, Fang Yuan acted. His right palm was like a knife, splitting the void.
With a sharp tearing sound, the watery blue light shrouded in his palm was thrown out. It flew in the air, turning into a curved blue moonblade, shooting towards the grass puppet.
In just the next second Fang Yuan's right palm lit up again in a coat of blue light. He turned his palm and shot out the third moonblade. These two attacks connected smoothly like flowing water; it was a seamless combination.
The two moonblades flew out in quick succession, the distance between the two blades less than half a meter apart in the air. Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the two moonblades accurately hit onto the grass puppet's neck.
"This…" Fang Zheng's pupils shrank, a bad feeling emerging from his heart. In the next moment, the students slowly opened their mouths wide as they wore astonished expressions.
They saw that the grass puppet's head slowly tilted to one side, then it fell off the neck and dropped onto the ground. With a bounce, it rolled two to three meters away.
Fang Yuan had beheaded the puppet!
This outcome had gone beyond the expectations of everyone on field.
"Is this luck or skill?" The academy elder frowned. This doubt hovered in the hearts of the rest of the students. For a time, the entire training ground lapsed into silence.
"How could this be…" Fang Zheng murmured. He stared at Fang Yuan blankly, the surged emotions in his heart dropping instantly, falling deep into the lowest point.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, acting as if he was oblivious to the gazes that fell onto him from the crowd.