Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Gu Master (蛊师) |
| Alias(es) | Unique hidden class |
| Occupation/Role | Controller, refiner, and cultivator of Gu insects |
| Status | Active; currently awakened by Cao Xiaochun 2 3 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 2 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Black Iron, Level 0 | 3 | Cao Xiaochun awakens as the unique Gu Master. His Spirit reaches 100 at Level 0, while his physical attributes remain low. |
| Level 4 | 7 | Reached after using Gu swarms to eradicate multiple Goblin tribes in Dark Forest. |
| Level 5 | 21 | Reached during the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain trial after the defeat of Ice Tiger groups. |
| Level 6 | 25 | Reached while traveling toward Skasa's lair atop the Abyss Toad; its poison kills monsters encountered along the route. |
| Level 8 | 35 | Reached during the trial's final regional massacres, setting a new school trial record alongside Cao Xiaochun's team. |
| Level 9 | 38 | Comprehends the Gu Master’s first innate skill, the nine-character mantra, gaining multiple techniques for empowering and controlling Gu. |
Background
Gu Master is a unique hidden class for which only one practitioner can appear in each era. When the first known Gu Master emerged three hundred years earlier, the myriad races regarded him as a possible child of destiny and temporarily returned occupied Nine Provinces dungeons. 3
Despite that dramatic beginning, the class gained a disastrous reputation. Historical Gu Masters possessed weak bodies, could not use conventional magic, and relied exclusively on controlling Gu—yet no one understood what Gu were or how to cultivate them. The three known Gu Masters of the era subsequently vanished from public view. 3
The third Gu Master spent his life developing the Pinch-Pinch Worm, an expensive healing Gu whose effect was far weaker than a priest’s Holy Light. This failure cemented the public belief that Gu Master was inferior even to lifestyle classes. 3
Cao Xiaochun awakens the class at H City Third Middle School amid a Heaven’s Admonition phenomenon. The Divine Gu Master Support System activates immediately afterward, granting him Souls, Gu-refining knowledge, stores, and initial Gu insects, allowing him to pursue a cultivation path unavailable to earlier practitioners. 2 3 4
Characteristics
- Gu Masters are physically frail and lack the strength and conventional spellcasting available to most combat classes. 3
- Their combat strength depends on the Gu they control, refine, nurture, and equip. 3 21
- Gu cultivation is resource-intensive: materials can cost millions, and powerful system-store Gu require Souls obtained by killing sentient beings. 3 5
- The class’s known methods can demand morally troubling materials, including human hearts for the Rank Two poison Love’s Parting. 30
- A Gu Master does not inherently control dungeon bosses. Cao Xiaochun subdues the Binuoxiu sisters only after favorable circumstances create an opening. 44
Abilities & Skills
Gu Control
A Gu Master commands cultivated Gu in battle. Cao Xiaochun uses swarms, toxic creatures, living weapons, and subdued monsters to scout, attack, transport allies, gather materials, and overwhelm opponents. 6 21 28
- Swarm warfare — Locust Gu devour living targets and vegetation, while Killer Bee Gu automatically attack lifeforms in their path. 6
- Poison warfare — The Abyss Toad releases poisonous mist and Five Poisons phantoms capable of incapacitating an entire Frost Tiger den. 20
- Subjugated servants — The Binuoxiu sisters retain intelligence and can wield Gu-enhanced staffs after being subdued. 12 13
- Limit — Gu Master combat methods are exceptionally lethal, making restraint and nonlethal sparring more difficult than outright killing. 21
Gu Refinement
Gu can be refined from suitable materials through specialized formulas. Cao Xiaochun receives the Myriad Worlds Gu Refining Formula, allowing him to produce Gu rather than depend entirely on system purchases. 4
- Refinement can produce unexpected results, such as the upgradeable Abyss Toad Gu created from Five Poisons materials. 5
- Multiple Gu types may be refined simultaneously through the Heaven-Earth Black-Yellow White Jade Gourd. 5
- Gu can be combined or modified; Cao Xiaochun plans to fuse Copper Skin Gu traits into Locust Gu offspring to improve their survivability. 13
- Refinement imposes heavy mental strain and requires extensive, costly materials. 5
Nine-Character Mantra
At Level 9, Cao Xiaochun comprehends the Gu Master’s first innate skill: “Spirit, Dart, Command, Harmony, Release, Heart, Rend, Unity, Zen.” The final two arts remain sealed due to insufficient level. 38
- Spirit Art — Transforms Gu into weapons; stronger realms produce stronger weapons. 38
- Dart Art — Imbues Gu with the user’s fighting will, with effectiveness tied to combat experience. 38
- Command Art — Restores a Gu to full strength up to one tier above the user’s rank; limited to three uses daily. 38
- Harmony Art — May increase a Gu’s combat power tenfold, but activation is luck-dependent. 38
- Release Art — Removes abnormal status effects from a Gu. 38
- Heart Art — Can theoretically triple the power of a Gu formation. 38
- Rend Art — Tears off a fragment of the user’s soul to add a layer of control over Gu with special abilities. 38
Gu Formations
Gu formations combine large numbers of Gu into battlefield-scale techniques. Cao Xiaochun purchases Bronze-grade formations after realizing that Heart Art requires formation support. 47
- Profound Yin Thirteen Swords Gu Formation — Requires 100 Profound Yin Gu, 100 Sword Gu, and 1,000 Grass Gu. It covers up to 800 meters and manifests Profound Yin Mountain with ten thousand soul-damaging swords. 47
- Enemies below Silver grade without adequate defenses can have both body and soul destroyed within ten breaths of entering the formation. 47
- Four Pests Five Plagues Gu Formation — A second Bronze-grade formation acquired by Cao Xiaochun; its detailed effects are not disclosed. 47
Known Gu
- Flying Head Gu — Rank Two, Bronze-tier Gu refined from Gu Master heads; fast, powerful, corpse-poisoned, blood-feeding, and capable of carrying other Gu. 4
- Moonlight Gu — Attack-type Gu that creates a dark-blue Moon Blade with a ten-meter range. 4
- Wine Gu — Purifies and condenses a Gu Master’s power, raising it by half a rank below Black Iron tier. 4
- Vitality Grass — Healing Gu comparable to a Bronze-tier priest’s Holy Light; also a component of Love’s Parting. 4
- Abyss Toad Gu “Xiao Qiang” — Upgradeable poison Gu possessing the traits of the Five Poisons; serves as Cao Xiaochun’s primary mount and large-scale combat asset. 5 25
- Mother Locust Gu — Produces endlessly regenerating Locust Gu offspring. 6
- Killer Bee Mother Gu — Produces Killer Bee Gu that automatically attack living targets. 6
- Bookworm Gu — Support Gu that stores a designated memory so long as it is not lost; used to teach the Binuoxiu sisters Moonlight Gu techniques. 13
- Love’s Parting — Rank Two poison requiring Vitality Grass, widow spiders, red-needle scorpions, and a Heart of True Love. A woman’s heart produces its most poisonous form. 30
Associated Items
- Heaven-Earth Black-Yellow White Jade Gourd — Gu-path divine artifact that stores all Gu, accelerates their growth, healing, and evolution, and allows rapid Gu deployment in battle. 4
- Eye of Truth — Detection ability that sees through falsehoods, concealment, and restrictions. 4
- Bone flute — Carved from a mutated Ogre Hand Bone; Cao Xiaochun learns to play it while exploring music-related Gu control. 15 38
Known Practitioner
- Cao Xiaochun — The current Gu Master. He overturns the class’s reputation by subduing the Binuoxiu sisters, defeating Silver-tier examiner Zhao Hao while still at Black Iron rank, and developing Gu formations. 9 43 47
Story Role / Major Arcs
- Awakening Ceremony — Cao Xiaochun awakens the unique hidden class amid a Heaven’s Admonition, but public excitement collapses when the result is revealed as Gu Master. 2
- Dark Forest expedition — He establishes his combat style through swarms, Flying Head Gu, Moonlight Gu, and the Abyss Toad, then subdues the Level 18 Binuoxiu sisters. 6 9
- School trial — The class enables his team to clear Frost Tiger territory, explore Skasa’s lair, ambush Zhang Heng’s group, and reach Level 8. 20 28 35
- College entrance examination — Cao Xiaochun’s Gu overwhelm Silver-tier Sword Immortal examiner Zhao Hao, publicly disproving the class’s reputation as weak. 42 43
- Post-exam development — He begins investing in Bronze-grade Gu formations and investigates the evolution potential of his intelligent Gu. 47
Trivia
- The public once believed Pinch-Pinch Worms were the only Gu ever developed by the class. 3
- Cao Xiaochun describes any creature controlled by a Gu Master as a Gu, using the Abyss Toad as an example. 21
- Gu Master abilities are commonly mistaken for those of a Spirit Beast Master because outsiders interpret the controlled Gu as contracted pets. 10 20