"Don't worry," Fang Yuan said, giving Shang Xin Ci a reassuring smile. He had the benefit of being able to use his hindsight from the future. He already knew that Shang Xin Ci was destined for great things. "I'm sure that with time you will begin establishing your position within the Shang Clan and will get the chance to become an immortal. Even if your own Shang Clan Elders don't support you, or try to put obstacles in your path, do not worry. I, Fang Yuan, will be here to guide you towards the world of Immortals should it come to that," he added, thumping his chest. "So long as I am alive, you will always have an ally in this world."
Shang Xin Ci was starry-eyed by this point.
"Teacher, are you serious?"
While she was happy upon hearing the news that Fang Yuan had managed to get to Rank 6, she was sad about it as well. Before, when she had been a mortal and Fang Yuan had been at Rank 5, the gap between the two of them was already massive.
And there was no denying her own feelings to herself. No matter how she wrestled with them, she couldn't deny the fact that she was in love with Fang Yuan.
However, when she was allowed to become a Gu Master and had gained the backing of Shang Yan Fei, and by extension a good portion of the Shang Clan, she thought, as unlikely as it might be, that she too might be able to one day, if not so much as reach his level, at least reach close enough to it that she could speak with him on equal terms.
But the distance between them had not vanished - it had widened even further. It was as if she did not have the qualifications to even look directly at him.
'If I can't even become an Immortal, I really can't hope of ever being on a level with Fang Yuan,' she thought to herself.
"In that case, teacher, please take care when you travel to the Western Desert," she said.
"Don't worry, I will," Fang Yuan answered.
While they were talking, Fang Yuan was simultaneously testing out one of the new gu worms he had developed.
He had recently gained quasi-master attainment in the Luck Path. After paying a small sum, he was able to obtain some Luck Path Gu worms over Yellow Treasure Heaven. These were mainly Rank 4 Gu worms. Luck Path was not so much suppressed as kept hidden by its founder, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable. And if there were other Luck Path cultivators, they also wanted to keep it hidden. Fang Yuan was not even able to find Rank 5 gu worms of the Luck Path despite willing to offer a very good amount for them.
Still, these Rank 4 and below Luck Path gu worms formed the basis for his research. He could still inspect them and build upon them using other means.
Fang Yuan had still not had enough time to delve too deeply into the Luck Path, and only had a rudimentary idea of all that it could do and entailed. He had no way of measuring his own luck directly. He had wanted to find out a way to to do so ever since the Goody Two-Shoes System had granted him boosts to his own luck so that he could confirm it was working.
He had, however, been able to use his foundation to advance one of these Rank 4 Gu worms that he had managed to find on Yellow Treasure Heaven to Rank 5.
Speaking of Yellow Treasure Heaven, Fang Yuan had thought about the person who had offered him a Pill Path inheritance in exchange for a Luck Path inheritance, however he was only quasi-master in the Luck Path. Even if his attainment was a bit higher, he would need to dive deeper into the Luck Path in order to be able to create an appropriate inheritance worth trading.
The gu worm he had managed to develop looked similar to Equality Gu, appearing like a set of weighing scales, though they were made of gold and had tiny wings at each end. This was Rank 5 Weighing Luck Gu.
Fang Yuan had only been able to advance this gu worm because of his Master attainment in the Refinement Path, his attainment in the Luck Path, no matter how small it was; as well as a portion of his Human Path understanding.
He could not measure his own luck directly, but what this gu worm allowed him to do was measure his luck against another person's. Fang Yuan's luck was measured on one of the scales, and the other was measured against the other person's. Based on this, he could weigh the difference between his luck and someone else's luck. Its range was limited and needed time to use, but that was not a problem right now.
He was at Rank 6, but had not passed through a single Earthly Calamity as of yet, and so was still able to use this Rank 5 Gu worm.
He was astonished to see its effect when he tried testing it against Shang Xin Ci. His side of the scale suddenly rocketed upwards as if there was nothing kept there while the other immediately sank to the bottom like an anchor tossed into the sea. It seemed like his luck only had the weight of a feather, whereas that of Shang Xin Ci's had the weight of a stone.
Now that Fang Yuan had begun to understand some basics of the Luck Path, he could also see how useful it was. He had already suspected that Shang Xin Ci was born with a large amount of luck based on her achievements in his previous life. He naturally was not showering her with all of this praise and these gifts for no reason.
While it was true that once Shang Xin Ci became an Immortal, as well as a Supreme Elder, his influence in the Shang Clan would increase and he could use their influence for various aspects in the Immortal world, that would occur far too late to be meaningful.
Based on his own estimations, even if Shang Xin Ci managed to reach Rank 5 Peak Stage in the next ten years, which was by itself a daunting feat, by that time Fang Yuan would easily be at Rank 7. By then, his own strength would be more than enough to buy quite a large amount of influence within the Shang Clan.
His real goal with Shang Xin Ci, however, was finding a way to exploit the amount of luck that she had and use it for his own gain.
He had found that his own luck tended to be at the balance between good and bad. He was luckier than most people he had tested it against, but that was likely only because he had advanced to become an Immortal. Despite that, though, even though Shang Xin Ci was only at Rank 3, her luck seemed to far outclass Fang Yuan's.
Once he did some further research into the matter of the Luck Path, he would be able to exploit her luck and use it for his own. His foundation in the Human Path and the way that Equality Gu worked had already planted a seed of an idea in his mind, but it would need testing to work.
"I think that concludes our final lesson," Fang Yuan said.
Shang Xin Ci was misty-eyed, but she nodded. "Thank you for everything, Teacher. I don't think I would have gotten anywhere near this far if it were not for your help."
"There's no need to despair," Fang Yuan said. "I can see that you have a bright future. Continue to walk the path of righteousness, just like I do, and without a doubt, your heart will always be at ease and your mind clear."