Vital Gu

Shasi slowly went inside the Gu Storage House, as soon as he entered, he sensed the cold aura being released by the Gu Worms in there, Ju Clan specialty was Wind and Ice path so naturally most Gu Worms raised by them would be related to one of those paths.

Naturally, like most Mid-Sized Clans they had at least one enslavement and wisdom path expert so that they wouldn't be at a disadvantage if some type of war broke out, but those people were handpicked by the Clan Head himself. They would normally be thought by the current generation expert and not take a regular path through the Academy.

Shasi had already read all about this, he curiously examined a few Gu that caught his eye.

"Wind Barrier Gu... Once Gu Masters jointly activates Wind Barrier Gu's ability, it forms a formless barrier made of a certain amount of silky wind which turns into green threads It covers a certain range according the the Gu's Rank."

"Wind Flower Gu... Once a Gu Master activates Wind Flower Gu's ability, a gust of wind condensed into a giant flower appears beside the Gu Master. The wind flower nimbly changes its direction, carrying Gu Master with it."

"Eating Wind Gu... allows the user to consume wind and fill it's stomach...". "Not ideal, since my classmates probably all picked attack-type Gu, I can't afford to stay behind in that regard, even if it takes longer for me to refine it". Shasi then began searching for attack-type Gu.

Each Gu had a small text in front of it, describing it's effects.

"The Clan won't give out expendable Gu Worms, since they're more expensive due to there not being a need to feed them... Sigh, it would've been a perfect choice for someone with low aptitude like me" Shasi lamented but also kept in mind that feeding the Gu Worm couldn't be too expensive and it couldn't have too much of a primeval essence consumption when using it.

"I think I'll just go with the Clan's special Frost Arrow Gu, the Clan holds the recipe to refine this Gu from Rank 1 to 4, and it's greatest advantage is low Primeval Essence consumption, even a rank three Gu Master could use the Rank 4 version without suffering any backlash, it's food is the commonly sold Wind Willow leaf so it will also not be a problem since those are pretty cheap for Ju Clansmen." Shasi thought as he picked a Frost Arrow Gu from one of the boxes and stored it on his aperture. It was shaped like a drain fly, its body was blue like ice, and its mouth was long and needle-like.

After picking, he quickly left the Storage House and received his 3 primeval stones allowance from the Academy Elder who strangely gave a light smile before calling in the next student.

Shasi remained expressionless on the outside, but he couldn't help it, he had to examine his first Gu Worm, he couldn't wait to begin refining it and eventually use it, to him, only when he used his Gu for the first time, he would become a real Gu Master.

Meanwhile, the other students were quick to choose their own Gu, all with excited expressions. The Academy Elder still had that light smile on his face and his eyes were half closed."Now that you've all chosen your first Gu, it's time to impose your will onto it and refine it, like you've been thought... and ah right, I almost forgot, following academy rules, the one who manages to refine their Gu first will get a 15 primeval stones reward, Work hard!" The Elder said and left.

"It's better not to get my hopes up, judging by aperture capacity, it's not even half my brother's or Yao Guang's so it'd be foolish to use my monthly allowance to try and fasten the refinement my Gu.... Since my chances are so low, I'll save them for future endeavors". Fortunately for Shasi, he knew his limitations, unlike some his classmates who had C and D-Grades that thought they could compensate their lack of talent with their 3 primeval stones, luckily, Shasi knew better.

Soon, almost everyone went to their respective houses, they didn't want to waste no time whatsoever, the first ones to leave were Yao Guang and Feng Mo, Shayu curiously stayed behind and so did Shasi.

"Father wants to meet both of us in my family's compound". Shayu coldly said and walked away, not even bothering to see if Shasi would accompany him.

Shasi's eyes instantly lit up."About what, I wonder? In all these years my father have barely directed any words to me and never seemed to care". For a brief moment he considered not going due to his past trauma, but eventually ended up deciding to follow his brother.

Buildings such as the Clan's Gu Storage House, Elders Assembly, the Clan's academy and the 3 main families compounds were all located in the center of the Clan's village. Being a known Sha Family member, Shayu naturally caught the eye of a few people along the way, he always held his chin high and gave off an arrogant aura, some clansmen would even greet him when passing by.

Shasi on the other hand looked like a common Clansmen, his ordinary looks weren't enough to attract any looks. After a few minutes walk, they got to their family's house and went inside.

It was very big and fancy and there was about 7 to 8 servants constantly cleaning and taking care of things. Even Old Chen was there, since Shasi became a Gu Master, he prefered to stay in the academy dorm rooms, as he couldn't stand the place he'd been confined for the last fifteen years, so he naturally wasn't seeing Old Chen as much.

Shasi smiled and waved at Old Chen who smiled back, these two clearly had a strong bond, Old Chen had been his caretaker since birth, so he was like a father figure to him.

The Sha brothers swiftly walked toward a more reserved room in the end of a hallway and entered, inside the room was Shaxi their father who sat in a lotus position over a mat. "Sit, please". Shaxi said and pointed to two other mats in front of him.

Both boys sat down beside each other, their gazes a bit confused."I won't take too much of your time since you both probably have things to do, you may know that as the head of the family, it's my duty to ensure that my descendants become influential figures inside the Clan". Shaxi began explaining and took out seemingly from out of nowhere two sacks of Primeval Stones and gave one to Shayu while looking at Shasi.

"At first, I have treated you unfairly and most certainly not in a way anyone surnamed Sha should've been treated, so I've summoned you today to make a deal". Shaxi said as he moved the primeval stones sack towards Shasi but didn't release it.

This has been the longest set of words his father ever directed to him, Shasi naturally felt suspicious, even a fifteen year old like himself would feel something wrong about a situation that had been the same for over a decade and now suddenly changed, but regardless of his suspicions, he let his father continue.

Realizing Shasi's willingness to listen, Shaxi continued. "The family will now treat you the same way as your brothers as we it should've been from the beginning, that includes a 10 Primeval Stones allowance and a Rank 2 Gu once you're done with the academy... Also I'll publicly acknowledge you as my son".

Shasi was naturally tempted, not that he needed his father's acknowledgement, his only wish was to make him regret not treating him fairly, but the resources promised were naturally very enticing. "So what's the catch then?". Shasi coldly replied.

"Mind your tone little bast-".

"Shut it, Shayu". Shayu was clearly annoyed by Shasi's tone but was cut of by his father.

"As expected of my son, very perceptive indeed... All I ask is for you to forfeit your claim to my heritage, you probably would never lay hands on anything since your three brothers are all ahead of you... All three of them would have to die for you to ever get anything, and that's highly unlikely... So I wanted to present this opportunity to you as a fatherly gift". Shaxi stated his conditions while shooting a glare at Shasi while faking a smile, clearly pressuring him to make a decision.

Shasi was no fool, even if he was several years younger than his father, he could clearly feel the atmosphere in the room change. "And how do I know you'll honor your part of the deal?". He knew he couldn't outright refuse, as it may cause some unexpected reactions, so he simply inquired.

Shaxi was quick to take out a purple red finger-sized Gu Worm with a strange mouth, his previous forced smiled lightened a bit as he asked. "I believe you've heard about this Gu Worm?".