As it turned out, Gong Yuan truly did regard Fang Qianyuan in a different light.
After Fang Qianyuan displayed his astonishing talent, Gong Yuan began teaching him cultivation arts personally and guiding him with his own cultivation experience.
In just half a month, Fang Qianyuan's Spirit Essence increased by fifty percent, and he smoothly entered the Second Transformation, mastering speech through a Spirit Creature as well as several Borrowing Arts of the same level.
Gong Yuan simply could not bear to see Fang Qianyuan mingling with those mediocre disciples in Gending Court. However, academy rules left new disciples nowhere else to live, so he could only work around the matter through an assignment.
Thus, Gong Yuan secured him a cushy steward's post organizing texts in the library overseen by the Heavenly Hall.
This arrangement killed several birds with one stone.
First, it gave Fang Qianyuan a quiet, free environment in which to devote himself to cultivation without breaking any rules; second, an assignment came with a salary, giving him an additional source of money beyond his disciple's stipend-something precious at the lower ranks-to purchase whatever he needed; third, it allowed him to meet more outstanding senior fellow disciples and gain access to the library's texts, broadening his horizons and building connections without neglecting either.
Fang Qianyuan did not squander Gong Yuan's painstaking efforts. After taking up his post, he worked conscientiously and cultivated diligently.
Thanks to Gong Yuan's generous support, his injured Swift Eagle Spirit also received nourishment from essence-enhancing pills, recovering completely and even growing stronger.
Fang Qianyuan continued practicing the Spirit Taming Art's inner cultivation method, preparing to ride his momentum straight into the Human Rank Third Turn.
At this point, the other new disciples had yet to reach even the bottleneck at the peak of the First Turn. The slower ones still struggled to form hand seals smoothly.
In the blink of an eye, it was already late August.
Behind the library, in the woods beneath a barren mountain.
Fang Qianyuan darted swiftly about, leaping between several trees before suddenly lunging forward and raking his fingers out with tremendous force.
With a muffled hiss, he gouged five claw marks a full inch deep into the hard bark.
Fang Qianyuan slowly stepped back, then suddenly spun around. Curling his five fingers, he struck fiercely with a move called Black Tiger Rips Out Its Heart.
He instantly pierced the hard bark and trunk, sending wood chips flying.
After a brief pause, a blue-green glow appeared in Fang Qianyuan's palm. He clenched his hand hard, crushing what he held into powder.
By the time he withdrew his hand, a huge hole had appeared in the trunk.
Yet his fingers had not suffered so much as a scratch.
Fang Qianyuan smiled faintly. "At its core, the Borrowing Art is still a way of using Spirit Essence!"
"Whichever Spirit Creature you establish communion with, you have to uncover its nature and innate gifts. That's why even the same Borrowing Art can produce vastly different effects."
"The Swift Eagle Spirit lends the Eagle Eye Art, while this Gray Wolf lends Wolf Rush and Claw Strike."
Three days earlier, Fang Qianyuan had finally received the opportunity to establish communion with a Gray Wolf, making it his second Spirit Creature.
Like the Swift Eagle, this Gray Wolf was a low-grade Human Rank Spirit Creature. Under the academy's usual practice, new disciples had to reach the Human Rank Third Turn before one could be allotted to them.
That generally happened a year after the academy's entrance assessment.
But Fang Qianyuan had Gong Yuan looking after him. Gong Yuan felt that, given his talent, letting him use a Gray Wolf ahead of schedule would actually be beneficial, so he made an exception.
Sure enough, acquiring this Spirit Creature only made Fang Qianyuan's cultivation go more smoothly. He learned both Wolf Rush and Claw Strike in one go.
"Junior Brother Fang, you're cultivating here again. You really do work hard!"
Just then, a voice drifted over.
Fang Qianyuan turned to look and saw Senior Brother Ding Long, who served alongside him as a library steward, approaching the edge of the clearing with a leather bag in one hand and a ledger in the other.
"Senior Brother Ding, did you need something?" Fang Qianyuan withdrew his Spirit Essence and walked over to him.
Ding Long said, "Junior Brother Fang, I'm here to distribute your monthly salary. Under the library's rules, you receive five pieces of spirit jade each month. Once you've put them away, sign your name here."
"As for your stipend, you'll have to collect that from the Administrative Hall yourself. Since you advanced to the Second Transformation this month, you need to report it on your own initiative. Once they verify it, you'll receive a hundred and fifty spirit stones. Otherwise, they'll pay you at the First Turn rate."
Fang Qianyuan said, "Thank you for reminding me, Senior Brother. I'll take care of it shortly."
As Ding Long counted out five pieces of spirit jade and watched him sign the ledger with a bamboo pen, he asked curiously, "Junior Brother Fang, I heard it's only been a month, all told, since you became a Spirit Tamer. Have you already consolidated your Second Transformation cultivation and nearly reached the point of attempting the Third Transformation?"
Fang Qianyuan said, "Yes."
Ding Long sighed in admiration. "You really do deserve to be called a genius. Back then, it took me a full three months to reach the Second Transformation, and another half a year to reach the Third Transformation!"
Fang Qianyuan found it awkward to respond, so he merely gave a faint smile.
Fortunately, Ding Long had only made the remark in passing and did not pursue the subject. Fang Qianyuan had just finished his cultivation for the day, so they headed to the front courtyard together.
Just then, several white-robed disciples approached them, apparently on their way to borrow texts from the library.
One of them walked amid the others like a crane standing among chickens.
It was not merely his handsome appearance or the Spirit Essence within him, far deeper than that of ordinary disciples. The confidence and pride that could not be concealed between his brows made it clear at a glance that he was one of heaven's favored sons.
Without looking to either side, he walked straight past them.
Fang Qianyuan glanced at him indifferently, then withdrew his gaze and continued reflecting on what he had learned during his cultivation. Beside him, however, Ding Long gave a sudden start and stared fixedly at the young man's retreating back.
Only after they entered the library did Ding Long turn around, hurry to catch up with Fang Qianyuan, and say in a low voice, "That was Ye Tianming!"
His thoughts interrupted, Fang Qianyuan asked in puzzlement, "Who is Ye Tianming?"
Ding Long said in astonishment, "You actually don't know who he is? Oh, right, you only just arrived. You probably haven't had time to hear about him."
Ding Long then patiently explained things to Fang Qianyuan.
As it turned out, Ye Tianming was the son of Ye Li, an elder of Cang Mountain Academy's Discipline Hall. From birth, he had borne the Ye Household's honor and expectations on his shoulders and was regarded as the heir of its younger generation.
Ye Tianming began cultivating at six. His Lineage hired renowned teachers to instruct him with meticulous care, and at nine, he successfully opened his Spirit Sea. After laying a firm foundation, he contracted his first Spirit Creature at twelve: a top-grade Human Rank Moon-Howling Gray Wolf that the Ye Household had purchased specifically for him at great expense. This put him far ahead of his peers. After turning fifteen, he tempered his body and refined his soul, leaving others his age even further behind.
His family circumstances were exceptional. Not only his food, clothing, and everyday provisions, but also his cultivation resources far surpassed those of ordinary disciples entering Cang Mountain Academy. While ordinary disciples were enjoying carefree childhoods, he was already cultivating strenuously under renowned teachers; when ordinary disciples began encountering the path of cultivation, he had already found the arts and cultivation methods that suited him, advancing with tremendous speed far beyond ordinary people; by the time ordinary disciples finally succeeded in contracting Spirit Creatures and mastering the basics of spirit taming, he had already become an accomplished expert through his superior Spirit Creature and exquisite spirit-taming arts.
He had taken part in the academy's entrance assessment the previous year, revealing Human Rank Sixth Transformation cultivation right from the start and stunning everyone present. Just half a year later, he advanced to Seven Turns, likewise leaving every disciple in his intake far behind. Moreover, because his Spirit Creature was a rare top-grade Human Rank creature, his actual combat prowess was beyond anything disciples at the same level could match. He had sparred with others many times since, and no one had been able to defeat him. His battle record could only be called glorious!