Fang Yuan turned a deaf ear, splitting his mind in two.
On one hand, he drew in the natural primeval essence from the primeval stones; on the other, he kept watch over his aperture.
The primeval essence sea within his aperture had originally fallen, but as natural primeval essence flowed into it without cease, its surface had begun to rise slowly.
The rate of recovery was somewhat slow, but Fang Yuan was in no hurry.
Cultivation was accumulation. It could not be rushed.
The ones truly anxious were the middle-aged male servants outside.
About half an hour later, Fang Yuan's Bronze True Essence sea once more reached its limit of forty-four percent.
But that was not the end.
At this moment, the primeval essence sea was emerald green. This was merely Rank 1 Initial Stage Bronze True Essence.
The true essence Fang Yuan had previously used to nourish his aperture walls had not been Initial Stage true essence. It had been Mid Stage true essence refined by the Wine Worm Gu.
"Wine Worm Gu." At Fang Yuan's thought, the Wine Worm Gu in the essence sea immediately soared up, hovering in the air as it curled into a white glutinous-rice-ball shape.
Ten percent of Initial Stage true essence was drawn out and poured into the Wine Worm Gu's body, where it was swiftly absorbed down to the last drop.
Then, a mellow, fragrant mist of wine vapor seeped from the Wine Worm Gu's surface and condensed into a cloud.
Fang Yuan drew out another ten percent of true essence and poured it into the wine mist.
Once the wine mist had been completely consumed, the original ten percent of Initial Stage true essence abruptly shrank to half its former volume, while its color changed from emerald green to pale green.
This was Mid Stage true essence.
"Ordinary students use Rank 1 Initial Stage true essence to advance their cultivation. Yet I use Mid Stage true essence, making me at least twice as efficient as them. At the same time, Moonlight Gu moonblades activated with Mid Stage true essence are also stronger than those activated with Initial Stage true essence."
Only after all the essence in his primeval sea had been purified and refined into Rank 1 Mid Stage true essence did Fang Yuan open his eyes.
Cultivation knew no passage of years. It was already the small hours of the morning.
The sky was no longer pure black, but a deep black-blue.
The moon had already vanished, leaving only a few fading stars.
The door had stood nearly open all night. The lower corners of its wooden panels were damp, showing the dark stains left by water.
The academy dormitories were poor in this regard. Unlike ordinary stilted bamboo houses, they sat directly on the ground and thus carried heavy dampness.
Returning to his senses, Fang Yuan also felt a chill wrapping around his body. After sitting cross-legged for so long, both his legs seemed somewhat numb.
He opened his clasped right hand, and a scatter of gray-white stone powder immediately spilled down.
This was the residue left after all the natural primeval essence within a primeval stone had been absorbed.
"After a night of cultivation, I used up three primeval stones in total." Fang Yuan calculated silently.
He possessed only C-grade Aptitude, but in pursuit of cultivation speed, he had constantly used primeval stones to replenish his true essence. More critically, he used the Wine Worm Gu to refine Mid Stage true essence.
This greatly intensified his consumption of primeval stones.
"Though I snatched another haul yesterday, three primeval stones were consumed in a single night. It may look like I have plenty of primeval stones, but they cannot withstand the long-term drain of cultivation... Still, pursuing cultivation speed and efficiency naturally comes at a price."
Fang Yuan looked outside again.
He saw the sturdy servant named Gao Wan squatting in a corner by the wall, his body curled into a ball as though he had fallen asleep.
"Looks like that Rank 2 female Gu Master left long ago. She left this Gao Wan here to watch over me. Heh heh." A trace of cold laughter appeared at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth. He climbed down from the bed and quietly began stretching his limbs.
Once his body warmed up, he stepped out of the dormitory.
"Kid, you finally decided to come out. Well? Be good, surrender without resistance, come with me, and kowtow to my young miss to admit your mistake." Gao Wan's ears twitched as he caught Fang Yuan's footsteps, and he sprang to his feet in a flash.
His body was thick and sturdy, and he stood almost twice Fang Yuan's height.
The muscles on his body bulged. Beneath his slanted brows, a pair of narrow eye slits gleamed with cruel malice, like a starving hyena.
Fang Yuan remained expressionless and continued walking toward him.
"Kid, if you had come out earlier, that would have been one thing. But you only came out now. Do you know how much suffering this lord endured guarding you?" He gave a sinister chuckle as he strode toward Fang Yuan, his expression full of ill intent.
At that moment, Fang Yuan suddenly gave a low shout, leaped fiercely into the air, and charged Gao Wan with both fists raised.
"Brat, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!!" Gao Wan's face twisted. His belly was already full of rage, and he swung a fist the size of a washbasin at Fang Yuan.
That fist was immensely powerful. As it broke through the air, it actually carried a howling wind sound.
Fang Yuan's gaze was clear as water. Watching the fist come at him, he shifted his feet and flashed to Gao Wan's side.
He extended a finger and jabbed at Gao Wan's waist.
Gao Wan swept his arm back to block it. Fang Yuan missed his waist and struck Gao Wan's left forearm instead.
Fang Yuan immediately felt as though his finger had jabbed an iron plate. Pain and numbness shot through it.
"This Gao Wan has already reached the peak of mortal martial arts. Right now, I only have the Moonlight Gu for battle and no other Gu worms to support me. In a contest of fists and feet alone, I am not his match!" Fang Yuan's eyes flashed. He wisely abandoned his attack at once, retreating several steps to open the distance.
In Gu Yue village, only Gu Yue clansmen were qualified to cultivate as Gu Masters.
The rest, those with outside surnames, had no qualification to participate in the Aperture Opening Ceremony, regardless of whether they possessed cultivation aptitude.
However, these mortals could cultivate fist-and-foot martial arts.
Like the Gao Wan before him: though he was not a Gu Master, he had surely trained bitterly in martial arts, with an exceptionally solid foundation. Moreover, he was a middle-aged man, at the Yearly Rich and Strong stage of a mortal's life.
Aside from the Moonlight Gu he could use in battle, Fang Yuan's body was merely that of a fifteen-year-old youth. Whether in strength, agility, or endurance, he was no match for Gao Wan.
A martial artist like Gao Wan could kill a Rank 1 Initial Stage Gu Master. Even against a Mid Stage Gu Master, he could pose a certain threat.
"This kid is far too vicious!" Even after Fang Yuan opened the distance between them, lingering fear remained in Gao Wan's heart.
The waist was a vital point of the human body. A hard jab there could cause severe injury. With excessive force, it could even take a life.
Gao Wan had spent most of the night outside in the courtyard, his body soaked in cold, damp air, and his reactions had slowed somewhat. That strike just now had nearly allowed Fang Yuan to succeed. Fortunately, though he usually flattered and fawned, he had never ceased his hard training. At the critical moment, his body's instincts overrode his mind's response, and he narrowly blocked Fang Yuan's attack.
"I cannot be careless again. This kid is a wolf cub. His moves are vicious and insidious, and one careless moment will see me fall into his trap. No wonder the young master was knocked unconscious by him twice." Gao Wan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Sweeping away his previous contempt, he finally took Fang Yuan completely seriously.
"If I capture this kid, I'll have rendered great merit. The young miss will surely reward me then! A Rank 1 Initial Stage moonblade is, at most, a knife. As long as it does not strike a vital point, it will only break the skin and draw blood—a shallow wound."
At this thought, Gao Wan's heart burned hot. He stretched out his iron-pincer-like hands and grabbed at Fang Yuan.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fang Yuan showed no fear at all. He met Gao Wan head-on and fought him in close combat. For a time, fists and feet collided, offense and defense shifted, and a continuous stream of dull impacts rang out.
When robbing the students, he had used only his palms, focusing on subduing and controlling the field. Now, fighting Gao Wan, he held nothing back.
At times, he clawed at Gao Wan's eyes or jabbed at his throat; at times, he struck his chin with the heel of his palm or chopped the back of his head with the edge of his hand; at times, he drove his knee into Gao Wan's groin; at times, he rammed his elbow into Gao Wan's waist.
Cold sweat poured from Gao Wan as he fought.
Every move Fang Yuan made targeted Gao Wan's vital points. His methods were ruthless and vicious, as though he truly meant to kill Gao Wan.
Gao Wan was only a mortal. Unlike a Gu Master, even though he had trained hard in martial arts, vital points remained vital points. A mortal could not train his eyelids into steel; that was the limitation of mortal martial arts.
Yet Gao Wan did not dare kill Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was a Gu Yue clansman. If Gao Wan killed him, he would provoke public fury and would certainly be torn apart by five horses. The Mo family would be the first to purge him from their ranks.
Therefore, his plan was to capture Fang Yuan alive—preferably while making him suffer a little in the process.
One side was constrained by misgivings, while the other harbored killing intent. On the battlefield, Fang Yuan was actually pressing Gao Wan down and beating him!
(Oh dear, what a tragedy. I wrote too late last night and skipped a chapter. Luckily, all of you reminded me. Corrected immediately, corrected immediately! It's 2013 now—happy New Year, everyone!)
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