Academy Elder Speechless

Fang Yuan's mind wasn't clouded by the immense joy; he quickly calmed down and began to consider the effects the Spring Autumn Cicada had brought him:

"The Spring Autumn Cicada's ability is rebirth. But it's extremely weak now; using it means death. However, it is a Rank 6 Gu worm after all. I can completely utilize its aura. This will cause no harm to it."

"Hehehe." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan withdrew his thoughts and opened his eyes.

Before him, the Wine Bug floated, enveloped by smoky Bronze True Essence, trembling.

Just now, in order to survive, it had gone all out. As a result, its will was easily crushed by the aura of the Spring Autumn Cicada. It was also severely injured, its will less than one percent of its former strength.

"Spring Autumn Cicada." Fang Yuan willed, releasing a trace of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura.

The aura pressed down on the Wine Bug. The Wine Bug immediately froze, motionless, as if dead. Its residual will, upon sensing the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, was like a mouse encountering a cat, completely intimidated and cowering, daring not to move an inch.

Fang Yuan laughed heartily and, seizing the opportunity, circulated his true essence.

When the Bronze True Essence was first refined, due to the Wine Bug's tenacious resistance, it could only expand bit by bit with great difficulty. But now, Fang Yuan's Bronze True Essence surged forward, unimpeded. It encountered no resistance at all.

The bronze color on the Wine Bug's surface rapidly expanded. In just a few blinks, it dyed the pearl-white Wine Bug into a green insect.

The tide had turned. The Wine Bug's residual will was finally met with Fang Yuan's will, which gently pushed it, causing it to instantly melt away like ice.

Thus, the Wine Bug was refined!

Compared to the previous arduous and difficult process that felt like climbing mountains and crossing rivers, this refinement process was as simple as drinking a mouthful of water.

A familiar yet mysterious connection linked the Wine Bug and Fang Yuan.

The refined Wine Bug was like a part of Fang Yuan's body. When Fang Yuan told it to curl up, it curled up; when he told it to ball up, it became round like a glutinous rice ball. It felt as natural as moving a finger.

Fang Yuan withdrew his true essence, and the Wine Bug returned to its plump, white appearance.

Then, with a leap from thin air, it entered Fang Yuan's aperture. Once inside, it deliberately avoided the Spring Autumn Cicada in the air and burrowed into the Bronze Primeval Sea. On the surface of the sea, it stretched its body freely, occasionally twisting its chubby waist, as comfortable as if it were taking a hot bath.

"With the Spring Autumn Cicada, my plan should also be changed." Fang Yuan withdrew his focus from the aperture and took out the Moonlight Gu.

He followed the same procedure, releasing a trace of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura and pressing it onto the Moonlight Gu.

Upon sensing the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, the Moonlight Gu's will immediately surrendered, cowering in the deepest corner of its body in fear.

Fang Yuan's true essence flowed down, and in the blink of an eye, it dyed the Moonlight Gu into a piece of jade.

Finally, with a slight movement of his thought, the Moonlight Gu's will was easily annihilated.

After that, he withdrew his true essence, and the Moonlight Gu returned to its previous transparent, blue crystal appearance.

He put away the Moonlight Gu.

However, the Moonlight Gu did not enter his aperture. Instead, it directly landed on the center of Fang Yuan's forehead, forming a faint blue crescent moon mark.

From the beginning to the end of refining the Moonlight Gu, the entire process took less than five minutes.

This was in stark contrast to the previous difficult refinement, highlighting the incredible speed.

Not only was the speed fast, but the consumption of true essence was also minimal.

In the past few days, Fang Yuan had spent a total of six primeval stones refining the Wine Bug. But tonight, he hadn't used any primeval stones at all; only the Bronze True Essence in his aperture had been depleted.

"Haha, with the Spring Autumn Cicada in hand, it's like having divine assistance! From now on, as long as I use its aura to suppress them, any Rank 1 Gu worm will be easily captured. Even with my C-grade aptitude, I won't need to rely on primeval stones. The difference between before and now is like heaven and earth."

Fang Yuan was in high spirits, feeling as if a dark cloud had finally parted to reveal the blue sky.

Even though the Spring Autumn Cicada was at its weakest, it was still a majestic Rank 6 Gu worm. A fallen tiger still possesses its might; even a sinking ship has three pounds of nails. Relying solely on its aura, it would be a tremendous driving force for Fang Yuan's future cultivation.

At this moment.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse outside the window. The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Fang Yuan's face.

"I originally thought I wouldn't get first place, but I didn't expect things to turn around. Time waits for no one; I must go to the academy now and claim the first-place reward!" Fang Yuan's eyes flickered with sharp light.

With a thought, the Spring Autumn Cicada in his aperture concealed itself and disappeared again, entering a dormant state. He then summoned the Wine Bug and hid it in a corner by the bed.

This was all to prevent any unnecessary inspections by the academy.

A quarter of an hour later, at the family academy.

The Academy Elder had already fallen asleep, but in his dreams, he vaguely heard someone knocking on the door.

He was woken by the knocking and opened his eyes, somewhat displeased: "Who is it at this late hour?"

A respectful voice immediately replied from outside the door: "Reporting to Elder, it's a student from this year's batch. He has successfully refined the Moonlight Gu. You had previously instructed your subordinates to report to you immediately whenever the top student appeared, regardless of the time."

"Hmm... there was such a thing." The Academy Elder frowned, got out of bed, and asked while dressing, "Which student got first place this year? Is it Gu Yue Fang Zheng?"

The subordinate outside replied, "It seems so. I rushed to report to you as soon as I heard the news. It seems to be from the Fang family branch."

"Heh, judging by the timing, it should be him." The Academy Elder chuckled softly and muttered to himself, "Besides this A-grade genius, who else could it be? Those B-grade students, even if they used primeval stones, are still a step short. Otherwise, why would cultivation aptitude be so important?"

Saying that, he pushed the door open.

Outside the door, the subordinate respectfully stepped back two paces, bowed, and echoed, "What the Elder says is right."

In the hall, more than a dozen candles were burning, illuminating the hall brightly.

The person receiving Fang Yuan had already clarified the situation. Under the bright lamplight, a look of deep astonishment appeared on his face: "Wait, what did you just say? You're called Gu Yue Fang Yuan, not Gu Yue Fang Zheng?"

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

Fang Yuan and the receptionist turned to bow together.

The Academy Elder's face was already full of smiles as he saw Fang Yuan. He strode forward, walked in front of Fang Yuan, and patted Fang Yuan's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Well done, Gu Yue Fang Zheng, you didn't disappoint me. Truly a genius with A-grade aptitude! Those peers with B-grade and C-grade aptitude, no matter how hard they try, can't compare to you. Hahaha."

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

Fang Yuan was neither humble nor arrogant. He took a small step back, freeing his shoulder from the Academy Elder's hand. He looked at the Academy Elder, his hands behind his back, and smiled faintly. "Esteemed Elder, you've made a mistake. This junior is Gu Yue Fang Yuan; Gu Yue Fang Zheng is my younger brother."

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

He looked at Fang Yuan with confusion, his brows furrowed. After a few breaths, he finally spoke, "You are Gu Yue Fang Yuan?"

"Indeed, this junior is," Fang Yuan replied.

"You refined the Moonlight Gu?" The Academy Elder was extremely surprised. His eyes were fixed on the crescent moon mark on Fang Yuan's forehead, his gaze intense, already asking a question he knew the answer to.

"That's how it is," Fang Yuan answered again.

"So, you are the first place this year?" The Academy Elder's question seemed a bit foolish, but he couldn't be blamed. The situation was simply too unexpected.

He had been in charge of the academy for decades, possessing immense experience. He had seen cases where those with C-grade aptitude took first place, but never this early. Moreover, in this batch, there were peers with A-grade and B-grade aptitude.

"If there wasn't anyone earlier than me..." Fang Yuan appeared to be thinking, then rubbed his nose before continuing his answer, "It seems so."

The Academy Elder: "..."