18 My Good Old Friend
The sun was intense after the snow had passed.
Gu Masters entered the academy in the morning.
As time passed, more and more Gu Masters entered through the academy doors and stayed in the arena.
These were male and female Gu Masters. There were young, middle-aged and old faces too.
Gu Masters, upon graduation, would go out and form small teams to complete clan quests. The Gu Masters who came to the arena were all representatives of their groups to assess the student's performance and absorb them into their teams.
This was injecting fresh blood for the small groups and expanding their group.
The newly joined members, under the older members' guidance and teaching, can quickly adapt to the new environment and more effectively complete clan missions, resulting in fewer deaths.
The sun gradually rose as the students joined the fray.
"So many people today." The young people proclaimed.
"See quickly; this is Lord Qing Shu. He is the number one person in our Gu Yue Clan among Rank Twos and is known for his kind and charitable temperament." One person pointed at the green-haired Gu Master and shouted.
"Senior Chi Shan is here too."
"This is the Mo family's little Miss Mo Yan!"
Qing Shu, Chi Shan, and Mo Yan were the rising stars of the Gu Masters, known to every student.
"Sigh, your teams are too hard to get into. I'm only D grade, and my vital Gu is a Gentle Silk Spider; I must be a support team." A young man sighed and asked his friend, "You?"
"I solved that with relationships through my uncle's cousin's sister's godson.
…
With a speech from the clan leader, the year-end exam began.
The three stages held fights at the same time.
At the same time, screams, sounds of Moonblade flying and sounds of punches and kicks, and the Gu Masters' discussions below the stage merged into a loud banter.
As time passed, more and more students were mercilessly eliminated, and many young people also began to show their skills.
Chi Cheng, Mo Bei, Fang Zheng and especially Xiang Yao were destroying all his opponents without giving them a chance to fight back...
Noon.
The D-grade talents were all eliminated. They had little talent, and all chose support-type Gu worms for production lines or transport, which suited their lives. Thus, they needed more help in battles.
"This Xiang Yao's physical abilities are frightening." Yao Hong commented to Qing Shu.
"Yes, it seems he was very good at hiding his true strength for so long." Qing Shu commented with interest in his voice.
"I've seen that look before, don't tell me you want to recruit that boy?" Yao Hong asked as he raised an eyebrow at Qing Shu.
Qing Shu lowered his head and seemed to think for a while; "Maybe I'll recruit him; he's very good at being patient and accumulating his strength hidden from everyone; that's a point I admire."
...
The small groups quickly recruited newcomers, and the students chose the groups they wanted.
The fights on stage had little visual appeal, and after a few rounds, there weren't many highlights; it got boring. This was because most people chose Moonlight Gu, and for most people, the fight would start with shooting moon blades. Whoever spent their primal essence first would lose.
If both parties no longer had primal essence, they would fight with punches and kicks. In the end, one will fall.
Whether it was students, Gu Masters or clan elders, they got bored watching, and some were about to fall asleep.
By evening, there were only less than ten students left on stage.
"Finally ending." A few Gu Masters lifted their spirits, ignoring drowsiness.
Fang Zheng and Xiang Yao had already defeated all the other competitors, with only the two left to decide the winner.
"Last match, Gu Yue Fang Zheng Vs Gu Yue Xiang Yao!" A little while later, an announcer shouted.
"Oh, interesting."
"And to think that in the end, it's a match between a mere C grade versus an A grade."
"Xiang Yao…" Seeing this, the clan leader's smile faded slightly, "Let's see what else you hide from everyone!" The clan leader wanted to take this opportunity to see the strength this young man was hiding from everyone and find out why he had hidden it for so long.
The final match has finally begun.
The two climbed up at the exact moment and looked at each other in the same arena.
As soon as they climbed into the arena, they greeted each other and prepared to fight immediately.
Fang Zheng followed the same strategy as in the other fights – running at his opponent without giving him space to fight back.
Fang Zheng rushed forward and instantly closed the distance. In his hand was a ball of moonlight.
Xiang Yao's expression was as serene as the sea before a storm; there wasn't a single change when he looked at Fang Zheng's attack. He didn't step away; blue moonlight also gathered on his right palm.
Suddenly!
Xiang Yao took a firm step after stepping onto the ground and fearlessly moved towards Fang Zheng instead of retreating.
Fang Zheng didn't expect Xiang Yao's move, but he didn't panic, calmed down internally, and quickly fired a moon blade to try to hinder his charge.
"That Fang Zheng has matured; he calmed down and thought so quickly about the situation!" Fang Zheng's adaptability took Xiang Yao aback but then refocused on the fight. He rushed forward and twisted his body, avoiding the moon blade by a hair's breadth.
His expression was calm and serene, without shouting or aggression. But in his silence, an aura of an absolute battle fanatic emanated from him.
"What an amazing feeling!" Xiang Yao almost let out a smile from his calm expression.
Fang Zheng subconsciously took a few steps back. His limit was six meters, but now Xiang Yao was five meters away. This time it had to be him trying to increase the distance.
Fang Zheng may have matured and increased his adaptability, but he still couldn't compete with a battle fanatic like Xiang Yao, who has been to war twice and treated the place like his playground. Not to mention that Xiang Yao has acquired 500 years of experience from Fang Yuan.
Dun, dun dun.
Fang Zheng backed away as he flicked his right wrist several times, sending moon blades flying to try and push Xiang Yao back as he tried to calm down.
Xiang Yao took fluid steps, one after another, his body extremely agile. He moved intensely, and every time, he managed to avoid the moon blade with no room for error. It felt like he was dancing with the enemy.
Xiang Yao ended up unable to contain his smile any longer and smiling broadly in satisfaction as he fought with Fang Zheng.
Fang Zheng seeing Xiang Yao's smile, couldn't help but break out his own as well; for some reason, he was very excited about this fight, to the point of wanting to enjoy every moment.
"That! Who knew that pretty face was a fight freak." A female Gu master gasped as she looked at the fight.
"Who is this boy? Why had I never heard of him before?" Others wondered.
"This Xiang Yao is even more daring; now, even I want him on our team!" Yao Hong exclaimed with a smile.
"Such a battle; they have already disregarded death; it looks like they are enjoying every moment", Qing Shu exclaimed.
The clan leader looked at the youths' battle, and an idea exploded in his head; "Perhaps this young man will help temper Fang Zheng's personality; a man always needs a worthy rival to continue always to improve." The clan leader made up his mind as he ran a hand through his beard.
"Just What I Needed, Another battle maniac!!" Mo Yan clenched his teeth, glancing at Chi Shan, who was not far away.
Chi Shan was expressionless, but his eyes sparkled occasionally.
The noise from the audience stopped; everyone was captivated by the battle on stage.
The moon blades fluttered and landed on each other as they dodged. They constantly escaped at the last moment and counterattacked the other, showing their battle talent.
The clan leader and clan elders showed a severe expressions.
Chi Cheng and Mo Bei gaped, watching them impossibly dodge each moon blade. Mainly Fang Zheng, who seemed to be evolving along with the battle.
"This Fang Zheng is nothing like the one I knew in the original; this one is much more talented and strong-willed. It's like a completely different person." Xiang Yao looked at Fang Zheng in surprise.
Xiang Yao went toe-to-toe, throwing capoeira kicks and boxing punches at Fang Zheng, leaving him stunned momentarily.
"Ugh!" Fang Zheng activated his 'Jade Skin Gu', but that wasn't enough to stop Xiang Yao's onslaught of punches and kicks.
Xiang Yao punched Fang Zheng's face. Fang Zheng responded by raising his guard.
But Xiang Yao stopped his punch midway, ducked, and tripped Fang Zheng's feet.
While all this was going on, Xiang Yao did not stop using the system on Fang Zheng to see if he was still the same Fang Zheng or a transmigrate like him.
[Sell Rank 1 – Gu Moonlight – for 50 points?]
[Sell Rank 1 – Jade Skin Gu – for 100 points?]
[Sell Rank 1 – Bronze Skin Gu – for 100 points?]
[Scan Level 2 – Body of a Gu Master Grade A talent – 80% - for 500 points?]
[Scan Level 2 – Fate of Fang Zheng – for 5,000?]
[Scan Level 2 – Memoirs of John Lockhart – for 3,000 points?]
[Scan Level 2 – Group Chat System – Why 1,000,000?]
Right after Fang Zheng fell to the ground, he saw the fist coming towards him; he knew that if that fist hit him, it would be his defeat. Then he rolled to the right dodging the punch.
Baaamm!
The ground where Xiang Yao punched it completely cracked, showing his absurd strength.
"Who is this madman? I don't remember him being mentioned in the novel I read." Fang Zheng thought in his heart. That's right, you heard, this isn't the Fang Zheng everyone knows, but John Lockhart, another huge Reverend Insanity fan who ended up here too.
"Is this guy a reincarnate like me? If so, I could ally with him to help me survive until my system fully activates." John came into this strange world just over four months ago, and luckily he had been given a system.
The only problem is that the system came only partially activated. To unlock its primary function, he needed to complete one last mission: to refine a Gu Rank 2 alone without anyone's help.
"But why do I find this guy's movements familiar?" John wondered as he briefly recognized the moves Xiang Yao was making. He then got up and went forward with Xiang Yao.
While John was thinking about his plans, Xiang Yao was thinking about his too.
"John Lockhart? What is this bastard doing here?" Xiang Yao had a big smile of happiness as if he knew this person well.
Xiang Yao rushed forward and collided with Fang Zheng as they smiled at each other; "John, you super-evolved Chimpanzee, how did you end up in this shitty world?" Xiang Yao cracked a smile as he greeted his longtime friend.
As if he had a realization on the spot, Fang Zheng immediately recognized Xiang Yao; "Danton You Yellow Baboon, were you sent to this world too?" Fang Zheng spoke with a smile as he realized his old friend.
They continued the fight while whispering to each other, and even if someone heard something, they wouldn't be able to understand anything, as they were speaking in a language that the people of this world didn't know.
"So that means you've been in this world for over a year, and you've already killed Fang Yuan and stolen his memories?" Fang Zheng was amazed at his best friend's feats.
"I know, pretty crazy right? And did you get a Chat system?" Xiang Yao replied as he asked in surprise at his friend's system.
"Yes, it is, but it's still useless right now, not as useful as your storage system." Fang Zheng said as he sighed.
They had already told each other everything, from their arrival to their Golden Fingers. They were always very close and trusted each other, so they had no reason to hide it from each other.
"Let's end this fight soon. I want you to help me complete the system quest soon." Fang Zheng said as he started to fight at full strength.
"Let's go!" Xiang Yao replied as he rushed towards Fang Zheng.
Xiang Yao's punch was pulled from a hidden angle, aiming to land a straight side to Fang Zheng's stomach.
Fang Zheng's body bent to the side and dodged the punch. He quickly shielded his head, got into a boxing pose, and charged towards Xiang Yao, delivering straight punch to his mouth.
Xiang Yao was still leaning to the side and did not have enough time to dodge and get punched in the mouth.
Xiang Yao retreated two steps back and threw a kick at Fang Zheng's legs again.
Bam!
Fang Zheng tried to dodge by jumping backwards, but it turned out to be a feint from Xiang Yao, so he got punched in the stomach, almost making him vomit.
Recovering, Fang Zheng backed up and walked away from Xiang Yao.
They looked at each other for a while, and as if they understood each other, they advanced on each other, aiming a punch at the other's head whoever lands the punch first wins.
Bam! Bam!
Both landed the punch on each other's face at the same time. They stayed in position, trying to push their force more than the other.
They stared at each other for a second before Fang Zheng's fist fell along with his body which collapsed to the ground in a faint. Soon afterwards, Xiang Yao fell to his knees on the ground, his arms trembling and in pain from having punched the Jade Skin Gu with all his might.
But even though his whole body was sore and bleeding, Xiang Yao still gathered the strength to stand up and raised his left fist upwards as if to declare victory.
Ultimately, Fang Zheng lost the battle; the winner was Xiang Yao, thanks to his absurd strength.
The entire arena was silent.
Xiang Yao's bloodied fist was still raised to the point where his bloody fingers could be seen. Drops of blood fell and dripped onto the stage.
It took a while for the arena to come out of its slumber, but as soon as they saw Xiang Yao raise his fist, it was like it was the moment they had been waiting for.
"Ahhh! What an incredible fight!" The crowd went wild as they congratulated the two fighters.
"These two are crazy. Look, Fang Zheng is still smiling even after being knocked unconscious." Yao Hong spoke with Qing Shu.
"It was a wonderful fight!" Qing Shu said with a satisfied smile.
"I will take a look." The academy elder couldn't take it anymore, and after saying that, he jumped onto the stage.
He first crouched down and watched Fang Zheng pass out, sighing in relief to find that Fang Zheng was not in critical condition. His head suffered a huge impact, causing him to fall unconscious.
"Unbelievable, with the defence of the Jade Skin Gu, he still suffered such severe injuries from someone using his bare hands." The academy elder was internally shocked, lifting his head and looking at Xiang Yao, who had already knelt on the ground again, his eyes tired but still emitting a fierce glare.
"Young Xiang Yao, I will heal you." The academy elder stood up, taking a few long strides towards Xiang Yao and placing a hand on his right shoulder.
Xiang Yao's entire body was in terrible condition. Not only was the blood and skin vaguely crumpled on her arm, but even her bones were revealed. Because of the significant impact, there were also cracks in the bones. And on her face was a horizontal cut from the corner of her mouth to the end of her chin, bleeding profusely.
"How intense is this pain, but he doesn't even frown a bit; quite the contrary, he sketches a smile of satisfaction." Even though he was the academy's elder, his heart shuddered at the sight of such injuries.
His tone was complicated, saying to Xiang Yao, "Hold on, the scarring is very itchy and painful."
He said his five fingers opened and emitted a wave of blue moonlight. The moonlight grew brighter and caused the academy elder's right hand to become translucent with the glow.
At first glance, the Academy Elder's right hand was like a piece of blue jade; the blood vessels and bones were all turned into jade.
The academy elder slightly raised his right hand and covered the side of Xiang Yao's face.
It was like a piece of cold jade touching a wound caked with blood and flesh. Xiang Yao felt a heart-rending pain and let out a small snort.
"Ugh. Damn, I have to endure this until the elder checks my aperture and confirms the liquor worm," Xiang Yao thought in his heart as he endured the pain of having his face restructured.
The academy elder's hand emitted soft moonlight, nourishing Xiang Yao's wounded spot.
In the bones, the cracks began to heal, and the flesh and skin began to overgrow and heal.
Xiang Yao felt an intense itch, making him breathe heavily.
The academy elder's expression was calm. As he healed Xiang Yao, he shifted some of his concentration to Xiang Yao's arm and inspected its aperture.
At the aperture, the dark green copper primaeval essence raged like waves in the sea.
A fat white liquor worm swam and played in the primaeval sea; just below was a Bronze Skin Gu.
The four walls of the aperture were all made of white-coloured crystal walls. This clearly showed Xiang Yao's peak-stage cultivation level.
The academy elder did not look away but continued to scan Xiang Yao's body.
Finally, he discovered the Moonlight Gu and the Little Light Gu in Fang Yuan's palm.
"That! A liquor worm, how did he manage to get his hands on such a rare Gu?" The academy elder's eyes flashed in realization.
"Clan Elder, thank you for your treatment." Xiang Yao smiled in gratitude to the elder and slowly left the arena.
Although he still felt some pain, the wound had already healed.
"I wish that elder had checked my aperture," Xiang Yao thought as he hoped that the elder had spied on his aperture, thus drawing suspicion away from him. Afterwards, he could say that he got it from the caravan but was afraid of being robbed if he showed it.
For good measure, he left the White Boar Gu and the Jade Skin Gu at home in hiding. As for Spring Autumn Cicada, with her Rank 6 status, if she wanted to hide, even Rank four Gu Yue Bo wouldn't find her if he inspected her, significantly if the system was suppressing her. Now regarding Moth of Ten Dreams, she is a Gu of the Way of Dreams, a path still in development, the Gu of the dream way are too mysterious and mystical to be found by a layman.
As if he had found the great answer to his doubts, the elder finally relaxed and declared the result of the end-of-year exam.
"Young Xiang Yao, you performed well; keep working hard." Finally, the academy elder patted Fang Yuan on the shoulder and loudly declared, "In this year's final exam, first place goes to Xiang Yao!"
