The Academy Elder Was Speechless

The immense joy did not cloud Fang Yuan's mind. He quickly calmed down and began considering the effects Spring Autumn Cicada would have on him:

"Spring Autumn Cicada's ability is rebirth. But it is currently so weak that using it once would mean death. Still, it is a Rank 6 Gu worm. I can fully make use of its aura. This will do it no harm at all."

"Heh heh heh." Thinking this, Fang Yuan withdrew his thoughts and opened his eyes.

Before his eyes, the Wine Worm Gu floated in the air, wrapped in smoke-like Bronze True Essence and trembling violently.

Just now, in order to survive, it had staked everything on one desperate gamble. In the end, its will had been effortlessly crushed by Spring Autumn Cicada's aura. It had suffered severe damage as a result, with less than one percent of its former will remaining.

"Spring Autumn Cicada." With a thought from Fang Yuan, he released a trace of Spring Autumn Cicada's aura.

The aura pressed down upon the Wine Worm Gu. It immediately went still, not moving at all, as though dead. Its remaining will sensed Spring Autumn Cicada's aura like a mouse encountering a cat; it was utterly cowed, curling into a ball and not daring to move in the slightest.

Fang Yuan laughed heartily and seized the opportunity to stir his True Essence.

At first, when Bronze True Essence began refining it, it could only expand inch by inch, thread by thread, due to the Wine Worm Gu's stubborn resistance. But now, Fang Yuan's Bronze True Essence charged straight in, pouring forth like a river breaking through its banks. It encountered no obstruction whatsoever.

The bronze color on the Wine Worm Gu's surface rapidly spread. In just a few blinks, it had dyed the pearl-white Wine Worm Gu into a green bug.

The tide had turned. The Wine Worm Gu's remaining will was lightly struck by Fang Yuan's will, and immediately crumbled away like ice melting.

Just like that, the Wine Worm Gu was refined!

Compared to the mountain-climbing hardships from before, this refining process was as easy as taking a drink of water.

A warm yet mysterious connection linked the Wine Worm Gu and Fang Yuan together.

The refined Wine Worm Gu was like a part of Fang Yuan's own body. If he told it to curl up, it curled up; if he told it to roll itself into a ball, it became as round as a glutinous rice dumpling. It felt just like moving a finger.

Fang Yuan withdrew his True Essence, and the Wine Worm Gu returned to its plump, pearly-white appearance.

Then it leaped through the air and entered Fang Yuan's Aperture. Once inside, it gave the Spring Autumn Cicada in the air a wide berth before diving into the Bronze Primeval Sea. On the sea's surface, it stretched its body to its heart's content, occasionally twisting its chubby waist, looking as comfortable as though soaking in a hot bath.

"Now that I have Spring Autumn Cicada, my plans should change as well." Fang Yuan withdrew his thoughts from his Aperture and took out the Moonlight Gu.

He repeated the same method, leaking out a trace of Spring Autumn Cicada's aura and pressing it upon the Moonlight Gu.

The moment it sensed Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, the Moonlight Gu's will immediately laid down its arms and surrendered, so terrified that it could only shrink into the deepest corner of its body.

Fang Yuan's True Essence rolled down in torrents, dyeing the Moonlight Gu into a jade-green gem in the blink of an eye.

Finally, with the slightest movement of his thoughts, the Moonlight Gu's will was effortlessly strangled.

After that, he withdrew his True Essence, and the Moonlight Gu returned to its former appearance of transparent blue crystal.

He put away the Moonlight Gu.

Yet the Moonlight Gu did not enter his Aperture. Instead, it landed directly between Fang Yuan's brows, forming a pale blue crescent-moon mark.

From the start of refining the Moonlight Gu to the end, the entire process had taken less than five minutes.

Its speed formed an exceptionally stark contrast with the difficult refining process from before.

Not only was it fast, but it consumed very little True Essence as well.

Over these past days, Fang Yuan had spent a full six Primeval Stones refining the Wine Worm Gu. But tonight, he had not consumed any Primeval Stones at all; only the Bronze Primeval Sea in his Aperture had bottomed out.

"Haha, with Spring Autumn Cicada in hand, it is simply like having divine aid! From now on, as long as I use its aura to suppress them, any Rank 1 Gu worm will be mine for the taking. Even with only C-grade Aptitude, I will not need Primeval Stones. The difference before and after is simply heaven and earth."

Fang Yuan was in high spirits. At this moment, it was as though he had parted the clouds and mist to see clear blue skies.

Although Spring Autumn Cicada had weakened to the extreme, it was still a dignified Rank 6 Gu worm. Even a fallen tiger retained its might; even a rotten ship still had three pounds of nails. Its aura alone would be an enormous driving force in Fang Yuan's future cultivation.

At this moment.

Outside the window, the moon shone bright while the stars were sparse. Moonlight passed through the window and fell upon Fang Yuan's face.

"I originally thought I would not get first place. Who would have expected the turn of events? Time waits for no one. I will go to the academy now and claim the reward for first place!" A sharp glint flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.

With a thought, Spring Autumn Cicada in his Aperture concealed itself, disappearing once more as it entered slumber. He then summoned the Wine Worm Gu and hid it in a corner at the head of his bed.

This was all to prevent unnecessary inspections from the academy.

A quarter-hour later, at the lineage academy.

The Academy Elder had long since gone to sleep, but in his dreams, he vaguely heard someone knocking at the door.

The knocking woke him. He opened his eyes, somewhat displeased. "Who is outside in the middle of the night?"

A respectful reply immediately came from beyond the door. "Reporting to Lord Elder, one of this year's students has successfully refined the Moonlight Gu. You previously instructed your subordinate that as long as the first-place student emerged, regardless of the hour, I was to report to you immediately."

"Mm... there was such a matter." The Academy Elder frowned, got out of bed, and asked as he dressed, "Which student took first place this year? Was it Gu Yue Fang Zheng?"

His subordinate outside answered, "I believe so. This subordinate hurried over to report as soon as I heard the news. It seems to be from the Fang family branch."

"Heh, judging by the time, it should be him." The Academy Elder chuckled softly and muttered to himself, "Other than that A-grade genius, who else could it be? Even if those B-grade students use Primeval Stones, they will still fall short in the end. Otherwise, why would cultivation aptitude be so important?"

As he spoke, he pushed open the door and walked out.

Outside, his subordinate respectfully stepped back two paces, bent at the waist, and bowed as he echoed, "My lord is right."

In the main hall, more than ten candles burned at once, illuminating the room as brightly as day.

The person receiving Fang Yuan had already asked about the situation. Under the bright candlelight, a heavy look of astonishment appeared on his face. "Wait, what did you just say? Your name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan, not Gu Yue Fang Zheng?"

Fang Yuan nodded. Just then, the Academy Elder walked in through the door.

Fang Yuan and the receptionist turned and bowed together.

When the Academy Elder saw Fang Yuan, his face was already full of smiles. He strode over to Fang Yuan and patted his shoulder amiably. "Well done, Gu Yue Fang Zheng. You have not disappointed me. You truly are a genius with A-grade Aptitude! Those peers with B-grade and C-grade Aptitude, no matter how hard they work, cannot compare to you. Hahaha."

Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng were twin brothers, and their appearances were extremely similar, so much so that even the Academy Elder had mistaken one for the other.

Neither servile nor overbearing, Fang Yuan took a slight step back, freeing his shoulder from the Academy Elder's hand. Looking at the Academy Elder with his hands behind his back, he smiled faintly. "Lord Elder, you have mistaken me for someone else. This junior is Gu Yue Fang Yuan. Gu Yue Fang Zheng is my younger brother."

"Mm?" The Academy Elder's mouth opened slightly, and a hint of astonishment appeared on his face.

He looked at Fang Yuan doubtfully, his brows tightly furrowed. Only after several breaths did he speak. "You are Gu Yue Fang Yuan?"

"This junior is," Fang Yuan replied.

"You refined the Moonlight Gu?" The Academy Elder was immensely astonished. His eyes locked tightly onto the crescent mark on Fang Yuan's forehead, his gaze blazing; he already knew the answer, yet still asked.

"That is indeed the case," Fang Yuan answered again.

"Then you are this class's first place?" The Academy Elder's question sounded somewhat foolish, but he could not be blamed. This situation was simply too far beyond anyone's expectations.

He had overseen the academy for several decades and possessed extremely rich experience. He had also seen cases of students with C-grade Aptitude taking first place, but never this early. What was more, this class had peers with A-grade and B-grade Aptitude.

"If no one was earlier than me..." Fang Yuan put on a thoughtful expression and rubbed his nose before continuing, "then it seems so."

The Academy Elder: "..."