Rapid progress over the weeks. The mid-term examination begins

Old Man Wang got up from the ground and frantically rushed toward the wooden house.

"No need to be in such a hurry, old man," Chi Yan called out as his eyes followed the old man's hurriedly leaving figure.

At that time Wang Er and Sister Wang had already stood up. Even if Wang Er seemed prideful, he didn't dare to blatantly disrespect the Gu Masters and instead only kept glaring at the ground.

Chi Yan looked closer and then took a good look at Sister Wang who immediately lowered her gaze as she noticed his eye contact.

After a moment Chi Yan sighed. Old Man Wang's young daughter was indeed incredibly beautiful and charming. If the novel was to be believed, then she was also very gentle, kind and had a strong character, even if she was impulsive.

Chi Yan also had a feeling that both the beautiful Sister Wang and the skilled Wang Er might have a strong cultivation talent as well, and especially that Wang Er could potentially be a useful subordinate at the mortal level.

However, Chi Yan knew that he would outgrow these two so quickly that they would only be burdens.

Furthermore, they would be completely useless at the Immortal level, and only Sister Wang could be considered a pretty decoration or a source of spiritual motivation, having little chances of becoming a Gu Immortal herself.

If there was no Fang Yuan in this world, then Chi Yan would have surely tried to hook up with Sister Wang. He would then bring her into the Gu Yue village along with her family, make Wang Da his lackey and personal assassin, pull some strings to allow Sister Wang to become a Gu Master and then save her from dying during the final wolf tide, later making her one of his many concubines.

Without losing sight of the highest peak, Chi Yan wished to be a real chad like the Thousand Transformation Ancestor. As long as he played things right and wasn't too unlucky, he might not need to walk Dao by himself and have the support of a few wonderful and dedicated lovers.

And Sister Wang was one of the few gentle and kind girls from the novel that he was interested in. Her mortal status and 'ordinariness' were also her charming points.

In truth, he was aware that based on the novel barely any woman could help him fight at the top Immortal level where it truly mattered, and most could only provide him spiritual motivation or mildly help with gathering resources.

Naturally, Chi Yan understood that his lovers could also be his weakness that others could strike, yet he still wished to pursue this dream of his and live in the moment.

It was not only out of lust or possessiveness, but because he wished to have various and wonderful experiences of love in this life. Although Chi Yan felt fairly at peace with loneliness, especially once he came to this world and was given a chance to ascend to a higher level, he was very lonely deep within his heart in the first life and it was a void that was never truly filled. 

Chi Yan also felt that his lovers might be the only people that he could even come close to trusting in this harsh world of betrayal. He didn't have an interest in having friends, but lovers he could accept.

This world was so beautiful, so wonderful and magical, and Chi Yan loved it with all his heart. If he could experience the beauty of this world not alone but with a company of charming flowers he loved that also supported him, then it would be only more wonderful.

He could only bitterly accept it if he suffers due to following his heart's desires.

But as things stood right now Chi Yan was simply not sure what to do and lacked motivation in the matter of Sister Wang.

It was just too easy for Chi Yan to simply do nothing and let the young mortal girl get murdered by Fang Yuan along with the entire Wang family. If he didn't step aside, the future might become unpredictable, especially at the time when Tie Xue Leng and Tie Ruo Nan come to the village and investigate Wang Da's case.

According to Chi Yan's estimation, it's actually tomorrow that the Wang family will get killed. Today, at night, Fang Yuan should discover White Boar Gu, and tomorrow he will go out to hunt wild boars, encountering Wang Er.

Right now that the Wang family was still alive, Chi Yan wanted to at least get a map with wild beast territories for his own use and then he would decide what he'll do next - whether he would scheme intensely to maintain his future-knowledge advantage while trying to get to know Sister Wang closer or not.

At this time Old Man Wang returned from the building, carrying paper and a brush. He knelt on the ground and immediately began to quickly draw black lines, curves and dots.

"You can take your time, Old Man," Chi Yan mildly said and then he turned to Jiang He and cupped his fists. "Senior Jiang He, thank you for your help, you can leave and focus on your work now."

"Then I'll leave the rest to you, junior. You can always find me in the village if you need something or if you want to have a meal or some 'fun'." Jiang He cupped his fists with a friendly smile and meaningfully motioned with his eyes at Sister Wang when he said 'fun', before turning to leave.

Jiang He's gaze caused Sister Wang to shudder, while Chi Yan remained expressionless. He turned back to Old Man Wang and the other two.

As Jiang He left, silence filled the area, no one spoke.

The Old Man continued drawing the map, and Chi Yan used this time to cultivate in peace. He sat down and closed his eyes, practicing, while the Rank 2 Gu Master kept watch.

Half an hour later the old man finished drawing and handed out ten bamboo papers to Chi Yan.

At that moment Chi Yan had already decided - he would give up on Sister Wang and these people.

In his heart Sister Wang was a nice and lovely potential waifu, but she was simply too much trouble. She would cause him to lose his future-knowledge advantage without bringing anything to the table apart from a pretty face, so, feeling a little regret, he decided to give up on this troublesome woman he didn't even know.

Chi Yan looked at the bamboo papers, before placing them back on the ground. "Old man, I have never read a map before. Please explain it to me."

After receiving explanations from Old Man Wang, Chi Yan took out a Gu worm from his Aperture and in front of everyone's shocked eyes had it eat all the map pieces.

'What a shame…' Chi Yan thought as he sent one final glance at the beautiful Sister Wang, before he left everything in the hands of Fate and the Demon Fang Yuan.

Chi Yan then returned to the Gu Yue village.

From that point onward, from time to time he would go out into the wilderness to practice combat on live targets. However, he had never met Wang Er or Old Man Wang ever again.

***

After a week, the Academy resumed lectures.

Another seven days later the Academy Elder was once again giving out subsidies.

"Gu Yue Chi Yan!" In the academy, the elder called out.

Chi Yan got up from his seat and came before the Academy Elder.

Under the admiring and envious gazes of his classmates, Chi Yan received a heavy bag of forty primeval stones.

"Chi Yan, you are the first to advance to upper stage, this is your reward. Good job, continue working hard." Academy elder smiled amicably, patting Chi Yan's shoulders.

Chi Yan expressionlessly acknowledged with a nod. He took the money bag and returned to his seat.

In a front seat nearby Fang Zheng clenched his fists, his eyes shining. Thanks to the clan leader's encouragement he didn't feel too affected by Chi Yan's rapid cultivation advancements.

'Chi Yan, your cultivation speed really is fast, but it's only at Rank 1 that you can have such an advantage over everyone. Once you reach Rank 2, the Liquor Worm will become useless to you. At that time, the advantages of an A-grade talent will begin to show!' Fang Zheng cheered for himself in his heart, repeating the words of Gu Yue Bo like a mantra.

These days the clan leader Gu Yue Bo himself began to secretly guide Fang Zheng in cultivation, filling him with confidence.

'Damn it, Chi Yan already advanced to upper stage, taking first place again. Not only is his Aptitude higher, but he also has a Liquor Worm. Damn it, damn it!' Gu Yue Mo Bei sat on his seat, arms crossed, feeling indignant. As he cultivated these couple of weeks he began to see just how big the advantage of a Liquor Worm and a higher aptitude was. No matter how hard he worked, he was once again left far behind Chi Yan.

"Chi Yan advanced to Rank 1 upper stage so quickly."

"I haven't yet reached middle stage myself. He's really leaving everyone in the dust."

"Of course, he has a false A-grade talent and a Liquor Worm. Even Fang Yuan managed to be second to advance to middle stage thanks to a Liquor Worm."

"At this rate no one will be able to beat Chi Yan."

"If Fang Zheng had the Liquor Worm then he might have had a chance. But it's in the hands of Fang Yuan and he's not putting in effort, sleeping in class and drinking wine all day."

The surrounding students discussed, feeling indignant in their hearts, helplessness and envy.

'Chi Yan really is advancing quickly. He was always carefree in the first life, but now he disregards his life and death. At this rate the future of the Gu Yue clan might be completely different than in my past life.' Fang Yuan felt uneasy in his heart as he watched with half open eyes.

Having an Extreme Physique, and one associated with Lightning at that, Chi Yan had the potential to completely change the situation on the Qing Mao Mountain!

At this moment Fang Yuan felt that his future advantage could be greatly reduced. However, he could only accept it and actively change himself to gain the best benefits from the situation.

In regards to Chi Yan himself, if Fang Yuan didn't notice that Chi Yan was wary and suspicious of him, then his 500 years of life might have been in vain.

'However, I certainly am suspicious and different from the other students. What's important is that Chi Yan doesn't find out about Flower Wine Monk's Inheritance. As long as he doesn't get in my way then I'll just play along with his overly friendly attitude. Once I reach Rank 3, I'll immediately leave this poor mountain,' Fang Yuan's heart thought.

***

Several weeks passed by. 

Eventually Fang Zheng advanced to Rank 1 upper stage, while Chi Yan reached Rank 1 peak stage shortly after.

As for Gu Yue Mo Bei and Fang Yuan, they were still at Rank 1 middle stage.

At the end of the week, being the first to reach peak stage, Chi Yan once again collected the first place reward of thirty primeval stones along with his ten primeval stones Class Chairman subsidy in front of everyone's envious eyes, forty primeval stones in total.

The academy elder patted Chi Yan's shoulder with a deep smile, giving him a meaningful look. To this date he had never met a student who cultivated so quickly.

After Chi Yan went down from the stage, the academy elder continued calling out names one by one, and the students went up continuously to collect their primeval stones allowance, and returned to their seats.

After the allowance was given out, the academy elder used his hand to hit the table. "Everyone, quieten down."

All of a sudden, the academy became silent.

"Now, you've all mastered your second Gu worm and even some of you broke through into the upper stage and the peak stage. In the past months, you have all worked hard, and now you have some basics, it is time for you to train in the wilds. True battles are not scarecrows or puppets, wooden puppets that stand there and await your attacks."

"-The following mid year examination will be held three days later, all students have to attend! The examination content is to hunt wild boars. By collecting wild boar teeth as results to record, those who collect the most wild boar teeth will get better scores. At the end of the examination, each wild boar tooth can be exchanged for ten primeval stones. Furthermore, you are allowed to hunt in groups."

The academy elder's words caused a commotion among the students.

During Fang Yuan's extortion the same day, he let go of Fang Zheng, Mo Bei and Chi Yan and did not take their primeval stones.

As it seemed to the academy elder, after being suppressed in cultivation by others, Fang Yuan began to worry about his future and had given up, lowering his head to the clan to appeal to the various factions. The elder was very happy when he heard the news, as it seemed that Fang Yuan accepted the reality and slowly began integrating into the clan. 

…

Three days passed in a flash and the Mid-year Exam began.

On a hidden small hill, there was a temporarily built tent. The tent blocked the punishing sun rays and casted an area of cool dark shadowy shade.

Under the cover, there were a few chairs and tables, with the academy elder sitting at the main seat. Beside him, there were other clan elders. A few Gu Masters were standing behind them.

In the surrounding forests around the tent, there were also some hidden Gu Masters.

The academy elder looked toward a Rank 2 Gu Master, and asked, "Then at this point, whose results are the best?"

The Gu Master answered immediately, "Reporting to Lord, at this point, Gu Yue Chi Yan, Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng and Mo Bei are leading. Mo Bei killed five boars, Fang Zheng killed seven and Fang Yuan killed eight." Then the Gu master paused for a moment, before continuing, "And Chi Yan has the most kills - fifteen."

"What?"

"Is this report correct?"

"You said Chi Yan killed fifteen wild boars?"

An immediate discussion erupted among the elders.

"Of course, my lords. I wouldn't dare to lie," kneeling Gu Master answered.

"Chi Yan killed fifteen, but Mo Bei killed five and Fang Zheng seven? And Fang Yuan is before them, having killed eight?"

"The gap is huge," as one of the elders spoke, the room fell into silence.

Amidst the silence only Gu Yue Chi Lian chuckled under his nose. How could an A-grade or B-grades compare to one of the Ten Extreme Physiques?

Though the main point was - Chi Yan had such a variety of strong Gu worms, a genuine peak stage cultivation and had already hunted wild boars in the past. This kind of hunting competition was child's play for him.