Based on the Chapter 3 draft and the corrected points we just locked.
Chapter 3: First Lesson
A week passed.
Inside the village academy, dozens of youths sat in neat rows while the academy elder stood before them. His voice carried steadily through the classroom as he explained the foundation of cultivation.
Humans stood above all creatures, while Gu were the essence of heaven and earth.
Those who opened their aperture, possessed primeval essence, and used it to feed, refine, and control Gu were known as Gu Masters.
The youths listened with bright eyes.
7 days ago, they had still been ordinary children waiting for fate to judge them. Now, those with aptitude had opened their apertures and taken the first step into cultivation. Even the least talented among them could no longer be considered the same as mortals.
Gu Yue Fang Zheng sat in the first row with his back straight and his expression tense.
Ever since the Awakening Ceremony, his treatment had changed completely. The clan head personally sponsored him, the academy elder paid him special attention, and the surrounding youths looked at him with envy they could not hide.
A-grade aptitude had already become a halo above his head.
Yet Fang Ming was also an A-grade talent.
Logically, he should have been sitting near Fang Zheng, receiving attention from the front row under the academy elder's eyes. The Shi faction had already arranged cultivation resources for him, and many people in the clan were watching him.
But Fang Ming did not sit in the front.
Instead, he sat in the back row beside Fang Yuan, close to the window where sunlight entered from the side and spear bamboo swayed gently in the spring wind outside.
Fang Yuan leaned against the desk, sleeping soundly, while Fang Ming sat beside him with a calm expression that made it seem as though he was listening to the elder's lesson.
In truth, Fang Ming's reason for choosing this seat was very simple.
Fang Yuan had too many things worth copying.
Fang Ming's first use of Advanced Copy Gu had already been spent on Fang Zheng's A-grade aptitude, and the cooldown had not ended yet. But when the time came, he wanted Fang Yuan to already be within reach.
Sitting beside him from the start made everything natural.
No need to create another opportunity.
No need to suddenly approach him later.
No need to make his interest too obvious.
A seat chosen on the first day could easily become habit.
Over the past few days, Fang Ming had also confirmed something important about Advanced Copy Gu. The targets it could copy were not limited to natural gifts from birth. Acquired talents, abilities formed through long experience, repeated practice, and deep understanding could also be copied.
And Fang Yuan was filled with such things.
Fang Yuan had lived for 500 years before rebirth. What he brought back was not only memory, but also mastery accumulated through survival, refinement, killing, planning, and struggle.
In Fang Ming's perception, Fang Yuan possessed several tempting targets.
Flying mastery.
Refinement mastery.
Combat experience.
Blood path grandmaster attainment.
Spring Autumn Cicada.
The last 2 were visible, but currently unreachable.
Spring Autumn Cicada was Rank 6. Advanced Copy Gu could detect it, but Fang Ming could not copy it. His own level was far too low, and he could only copy Gu of the same level or lower than himself.
As for blood path grandmaster attainment, that was also beyond him right now. Fang Ming could copy attainment, but not by leaping over the required foundation. To copy grandmaster attainment, he first needed at least blood path master attainment. Only after finding such a foundation elsewhere could he return and copy Fang Yuan's blood path grandmaster attainment.
Greed was useful only when it could be acted on.
The more practical targets were Fang Yuan's other accumulated talents.
Flying mastery and refinement mastery were both extremely valuable. Even a small portion of Fang Yuan's experience would be more reliable than most natural talents among the academy students.
Gu Yue Mo Bei, for example, had a natural talent in physical strength. That sounded useful, but in practice, it was not even as valuable as a Rank 1 Black Boar Gu.
Fang Yuan's talents were different.
They were not vague potential waiting to be developed.
They were already shaped by 500 years of surviving in the Gu world.
That was why Fang Ming chose this seat.
The academy elder continued explaining cultivation ranks, telling the students that Gu Masters were divided into 9 ranks. Rank 1 to Rank 5 belonged to the mortal ranks, and each rank was divided into initial stage, middle stage, upper stage, and peak stage.
The students listened eagerly.
When the elder spoke of aptitude, many eyes turned toward Fang Zheng.
A-grade talent could cultivate quickly and had the greatest chance of reaching higher ranks. Fang Zheng lowered his head slightly, still unused to such attention.
Some eyes also turned toward Fang Ming.
Fang Zheng's rise had already shocked the students, but Fang Ming's result was just as unexpected. Before the ceremony, most of them had barely noticed him, yet 2 A-grade talents appearing in 1 ceremony had shaken the entire clan. Even now, the students still felt it was unreal.
Soon, whispers drifted toward the back.
Some wondered why Fang Ming was sitting there instead of the front row, while others noticed that he was sitting beside Fang Yuan. A few guessed that he pitied Fang Yuan, since Fang Yuan had once been the famous genius, only to be surpassed by both his younger brother and Fang Ming.
Fang Ming ignored them.
Pitying Fang Yuan was laughable.
Among everyone in this classroom, Fang Yuan was the last person who needed pity.
The academy elder's gaze also swept over the back row. When he saw Fang Yuan sleeping, his brows tightened, but when he saw Fang Ming sitting beside him, his expression became more complicated.
Fang Ming was A-grade.
Even if his behavior was strange, the elder would not scold him casually.
This was the difference aptitude brought.
If a C-grade youth slept in class, he was wasting clan resources. If an A-grade youth sat quietly in the back row, the elder would at least consider that he had his own reason.
Fang Ming understood this clearly.
This was why he needed the clan to see his talent.
Without A-grade aptitude, even sitting where he wanted might have become troublesome.
Still, this action was also a small test.
He was not sitting obediently in the front row.
He was not trying to copy Fang Zheng's proper, respectful appearance.
He was not eagerly placing himself under the academy elder's gaze to show that he was a good seedling waiting to be shaped.
It was only a seat, but sometimes small things were enough to begin forming an impression.
Fang Ming was still calm, still polite on the surface, but he had already begun allowing a faint edge of pride to show.
The lecture continued until the academy elder mentioned clan history.
He spoke of the first generation clan head establishing Gu Yue Village, then of the fourth generation clan head, a Rank 5 expert of remarkable talent.
The youths became more attentive.
The academy elder's voice soon grew heavier as he said that the fourth generation clan head had unfortunately been harmed by the despicable demon, Flower Wine Monk.
The classroom immediately stirred.
Fang Ming's eyes flickered when he heard that name.
Beside him, Fang Yuan opened his eyes.
The movement was subtle, but Fang Ming noticed it.
Of course Fang Yuan would wake now.
Flower Wine Monk, the Liquor Worm, and the hidden inheritance were among his earliest opportunities.
The academy elder began telling the familiar story.
In the clan's version, the fourth clan head was righteous and benevolent, while Flower Wine Monk was a shameless demonic thief who had sneak-attacked him and died in the end.
The students were angry.
Some cursed Flower Wine Monk as despicable, while others declared that such a person deserved death. A few even said that if they had lived in that era, they would have helped the fourth clan head.
Fang Ming listened without expression.
The clan's story was propaganda.
Both he and Fang Yuan knew this.
But the truth did not matter to these youths. They were clan members who had grown up hearing the same story, so their anger was real.
The academy elder noticed Fang Yuan waking, and his gaze lingered on him briefly.
In the elder's eyes, Fang Yuan was now only a disappointing C-grade youth who could not even stay awake during class.
Fang Ming glanced at the elder and looked away.
How could an ant know the grandeur of an elephant?
The elder saw only C-grade aptitude.
He could not see what Fang Yuan truly was.
Fang Ming's thoughts moved elsewhere as he considered whether he should try to take the Flower Wine Monk inheritance for himself.
The idea was tempting.
The Liquor Worm alone was precious. For a Rank 1 Gu Master, it could purify primeval essence and greatly improve cultivation speed. To Fang Yuan, whose aptitude was only C-grade, it was extremely important.
For Fang Ming, who now had A-grade aptitude, the Liquor Worm was not as necessary, but it was still useful.
The Flower Wine Monk inheritance also contained more than 1 benefit. If Fang Ming could seize it first, he could weaken Fang Yuan while strengthening himself.
But after considering it for a short while, Fang Ming rejected the idea.
It was not worth it.
He was different from Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was C-grade, and the clan's expectations of him had already dropped. If he wandered around the village at night, people might gossip, but they would not watch him like a treasure.
Fang Ming, on the other hand, was A-grade.
The Shi faction had paid a price to sponsor him, the academy elder paid attention to him, and other elders were also watching. If he moved strangely, someone might ask questions. Leaving the village often would not be as easy for him as it was for Fang Yuan.
More importantly, Fang Ming did not know the exact location of the inheritance.
He knew the rough event, but Fang Yuan had future memory and could search through clues like liquor aroma. If Fang Ming rushed out without precise information, he might waste time, attract suspicion, or run into unnecessary trouble.
There was also Fang Yuan himself.
Neither of them had refined Gu yet, but Fang Yuan still had 500 years of experience. If Fang Ming fought him over the inheritance now, A-grade aptitude would not make up for that difference.
Fang Ming did not overestimate himself.
The inheritance was valuable, but not valuable enough to clash with Fang Yuan before his path had even begun.
It was better to let Fang Yuan take it.
The Liquor Worm mattered far more to Fang Yuan than to him. If Fang Yuan obtained it, Fang Ming could still look for a chance to benefit from him later. That was safer than fighting over it now.
Beside him, Fang Yuan gazed out of the window with an unreadable expression.
Fang Ming also looked forward again, acting as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
The class continued while the spring wind passed through the bamboo grove outside.
The spear bamboo stood straight, their tips sharp like blades, while birds flew between branches and the mountains stretched green beneath the blue sky.
Inside the classroom, the academy elder finally reached the end of the lesson.
After teaching them how to observe their apertures, move primeval essence, and begin their foundation, it was now time for them to refine their vital Gu.
The students immediately became excited, but the academy elder raised his hand and suppressed the noise.
After class, all of them would go to the academy's Gu room and select a Gu worm. Once they had chosen, they were to return home and focus on refining it. Only after refining their Gu could they return to continue lessons.
Then his gaze swept across the classroom as he announced the first assessment.
Whoever refined their vital Gu first would receive a reward of 20 primeval stones.
The classroom erupted at once.
To newly awakened students, 20 primeval stones were not a small sum.
Fang Ming's eyes sharpened slightly.
The first academy assessment had begun.
Vital Gu selection.
Fang Yuan would choose the Moonlight Gu on the surface, but his true target was still the Liquor Worm.
As for Fang Ming, this was not merely an opportunity.
It was a contest he had to win.
If he could refine his vital Gu faster than Fang Zheng, his value in the clan's eyes would rise again.
Fang Zheng was personally sponsored by the clan head, while Fang Ming had been taken in by the Shi faction. Since both of them were A-grade talents, comparison between them was unavoidable.
If Fang Zheng won, it would be expected.
If Fang Ming won, it would prove that he was not only equal to Fang Zheng in aptitude, but also better in refinement speed and control.
More reputation meant more attention.
More attention meant more resources.
The 20 primeval stones were useful, but the greater value was the signal it sent.
Academy life was a miniature reflection of clan politics. A small victory over Fang Zheng would not change the entire clan, but it would still be a victory that needed to be encouraged and rewarded.
Such rewards were part of how clans controlled and governed their subordinates.
Fang Ming's plan was simple.
Make the Shi faction invest as much as possible as for whether that investment would ever return to them was another matter.