Without Rules and Regulations, the World is Dark

"Hey, did you hear? That Gohan took the first place in refining the Vital Gu."

"Yeah, how could I not know it? The whole Village is in an uproar."

"Someone also said that they saw Kugo running towards the Academy yesterday. It's speculated that he was just late by a moment."

"Hmph, that Gohan only won due to luck."

"Luck? Kugo picked up his Gu two days before Gohan and he still lost to him. This is still considered luck? Heck, it's talent."

"Yeah, there is also rumour that he has an unprecedented talent in A Grade Aptitudes."

The two classes were already merged to increase the efficiency of teaching. But right now, the only thing in the minds of these kids was the news of Gohan grabbing the first place.

But not all the students were in the mood of discussing this particular news.

Right now, the classroom had a total of five A Grade Aptitudes, this is totally unheard of in the history of the Clan.

Gohan sat at the last seat with his head down while the three Talents from Kai Village sat together and formed a group.

Meanwhile, Kugo sat on the first seat.

Strangely, the seatings of these five represented the whole political condition of the Village.

Tien Kame was being eyed by the group of other Elders and they also conspired against the Clan Head actively.

Of course, these group of Elders would completely erase the clues that could provide the shreds of evidence pointing towards them. After all, they were still afraid of the might of Clan Head.

The classroom was in the same situation.

Daisy, Ray and Bai were totally against Kugo and have already started to pressure him by taking away his thugs and reducing his social circle.

Meanwhile, these three remained afraid of Gohan.

These three were already aware of his Martial Prowess and they wouldn't want to have their body broken by Gohan by making him upset.

'This is to be expected from one of ten Extreme Physiques.' The Academy Elder smiled silently.

This Village was very weak compared to the grand scheme of things. So these Villagers did not know about the ten Extreme Physiques.

Originally, even he was in the dark about such existences. But it was the Clan Head who enlightened him and made him see the true potential of Gohan.

"Alright, everyone, be quiet."

The moment the Academy Elder spoke, the whole class fell silent. Everybody was already clear about the temper of the Elder and they didn't want to piss him off.

"The Clan Head and the other Elders have decided to pass on a new policy. Whoever breakthroughs to the next stages of rank 1 will earn 10 Primeval Stones each time."

Immediately, the whole class fell stunned.

"Not only that, if someone is fortunate enough to advance to Rank 2 before the graduation, he will be rewarded with a rank 2 Gu worm of his own choice."

Snap

The class couldn't wait for the elder to finish his words anymore.

The news was too exciting.

The price of Rank 1 Gu Worms is around 100 Primeval Stones to 200 Primeval Stones.

And the starting price of Rank 2 Gu Worms is 800 Primeval Stones.

800!

The reward for reaching Rank 2 was too lucrative.

"If I could reach rank 2 before anyone else..."

Everybody had the same thought, but once they reached this point of understanding, they couldn't help but turn to look at Gohan.

Gohan was considered the most talented Gu Master of their generation, so of course, he had the highest chances to receive this award.

Unknown to them, four pair of eyes burned with determination when they heard the new policy of the academy.

"I have to show my worth." Kugo clenched his fists and his expression turned cold.

"But I need to find a source of Primeval Stones beside the weekly stipend..."

Kugo started to think of various business opportunities scheduled in the Village. Out of these, he could only select a few of them.

He did not even think of requesting his family to help him financially.

"The whole village is an organisation and these kids are comparable to workers. Of course, the elders of the family won't help them. Active interference in their lives during these moments will eventually limit their growth."

Academy Elder smiled silently. He was absolutely clear about the true structure of the Village.

"Hehe, those Elders thought that they could benefit from arranging such a policy because they have three A Grade Aptitudes in their control. Pathetic!"

The Elder couldn't help but snort, he was one of the Clan Head's men and obviously, he was ticked off by the petty schemes of these Elders.

"Sigh, no matter how pathetic schemes they create. This ended up benefitting Gohan and the Clan Head itself. Hehe, << Legends of Ren Zu >> taught that knowing about the Rules and Regulations will benefit oneself. But one should also know about their opponents."

Elder was feeling a little complicated. On one side, he was feeling indignant towards the scheme against his own interests while he was feeling joyful that such a scheme ended up benefitting his own interests.

After all, if Gohan grows stronger under his care, he will have the right 'reason' to ask for more rewards from the Clan treasury.

Merits should be rewarded appropriately. This is the most basic approach of an organisation and this is also applied to this Village.

"I will ask the Elder to give me more Primeval Stones. With that, I will be able to cultivate quickly." Daisy's eyes were radiant.

"If I can become stronger than Gohan, I will be able to get his attention. And then... hehe"

She couldn't feel smug about her 'plan' and ambitions.

"Sigh, it's good that I haven't used all my Primeval Stones in a hurry to refine the Gu Worm. I should use the stones to nurture my Aperture Walls and then refine the Gu Worm regularly. It won't be long till I refine it anyway." Ray also started to change his priorities according to his circumstances.

"Fuck all of them! I will simply practice my Martial Arts and cultivate together. This way, I will perform better in actual combat." Bai's thinking was completely different. His squarish face and his large body were quite suitable for such a practice method.

"Hehe, what a good rewarding system. With this, the other students will be truly motivated to cultivate harder. Even if they know that they cannot take the reward, they wouldn't want to feel left behind."

Gohan understood their plan. In any organisation, there should be rewards and punishments for various situations and circumstances.

The reward of rank 2 Gu Worm was really lucrative. Even he felt moved.

One has to know that he had already used the Core Strength Gu once and it left him an extremely deep impression.

"But the basis of such a rule is still the appearance of our group."

Even under such a temptation, his heart remained calm.

If their group hadn't emerged, then Kame Village would only have one A Grade Aptitude genius.

Such a policy of handing out a Rank 2 Gu Worm would then obviously favour the family of the genius and other Elders couldn't see that happening.

But now, the three factions had their own geniuses and the competition was equal. Such a policy would actually facilitate the growth of the clan and the younger generation.

So the Elders were happy to pose such a rule on their own accord.

"Well, unlike Earth, the existence of rule and regulation could be seen from the time of the creation of this Gu World."

Gohan smiled slightly. This world's history was too rich and it easily attracted his attention.

***

To find the Longevity Gu and restore his lifespan, Ren Zu decided to heed the Hope Gu's advice and braved many dangers to find the two Gu Worms. To his surprise, he ended up getting trapped inside a dark cave and lost his way....

Just when he was at a loss about what to do, two voices spoke to him from the darkness.

One voice said, "Human, you're here to catch us? Go back, for even if you had the Strength Gu, it would be impossible."

The other said, "Human, go back, we will not take your life. Even if you had the Wisdom Gu to help you, you may not be able to find us.

Ren Zu laid exhausted on the ground, panting. "The Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu had left me long ago and I do not have much lifespan left so I'm at my wit's end. But as long as there's hope in my heart, I will not give up!"

Hearing Ren Zu's words, the two voices went silent.

After a while, one of the Gu said, "I understand, human, you have already given your heart to the Hope Gu. You will not give up no matter what."

The other continued, "In that case, we shall give you a chance. As long as you can say our name, we will allow you to use us."

Ren Zu was stunned. To find their names among all the words in the world, it was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Furthermore, he did not even know how many words were in their names.

Ren Zu quickly asked the Hope Gu, but it did not know either.

Ren Zu had no alternatives and had no choice but to randomly guess their names. He said many many names and wasted a lot of time but the darkness did not respond to him so evidently, he was wrong.

Eventually, Ren Zu's breath got weaker as he turned from an old man into a dying man. It was like the scene of the evening's setting sun. The sun that would slowly descend had already been lowered halfway across the horizon, becoming a sunset.

The food he had brought was gradually reduced, his brain becoming slower and he barely had any energy to speak anymore.

The voice in the darkness urged, "Human, you are almost dead, so we will let you go. Using your remaining time, you can climb out of the cave and take a final look at the world. But you have offended us, and as punishment, the Hope Gu shall stay here as our companion."

Ren Zu clenched his heart and rejected, "Even if I die, I will not give up hope!"

The Hope Gu was very touched and answered Ren Zu's call enthusiastically, emitting a bright light. At Ren Zu's chest area, a light began to shine. But this light was too weak, it could not illuminate the darkness. In fact, it could not even cover Ren Zu's entire body, but only engulfed his chest area.

Yet Ren Zu could feel a renewed surge of energy gushing into his body from the Hope Gu.

He continued to speak, shouting out names. But he was already muddled. A lot of names had already been said but he could not remember that and repeated them, wasting a lot of effort in the process.

As time continued to flow, Ren Zu's lifespan was almost over.

Finally, when he was on his final day, he said out the word 'Regulation'.

A sigh came from the darkness as a voice spoke, "Human, I admire your perseverance. You have said my name, so from today onwards, I will obey your commands. But only with my brother can I aid you in capturing all the Gu in the world. Otherwise, with my ability alone, it is impossible. Thus, you should give up. You're almost dead, you might as well use this chance to take a final look at the world."

Ren Zu was determined and shook his head, he made use of all his time to continue saying out names as he tried to guess the other Gu worm's name.

Seconds and minutes went by and soon he only had one hour left.

But at this time, he unknowingly said the word 'Rule'.

Immediately, the darkness dissipated.

The two Gu's appeared before him. As the Hope Gu had said, one was cubic, called 'Regulations'. The other was spherical, called 'Rules'. Together, they made up 'Rules and Regulations'.

The two Gu said together, "No matter who it is, as long as they know our names, we will listen to them. Human, since you know our names already, we will be at your service. But you must remember, it is important to not let others know of our names. The more people that know our names, the more people we have to obey them. Now that you are the first to subdue us, tell us your request."

Ren Zu was overjoyed. "Then I order you both, go and catch me a Longevity Gu."

The Rules Gu and Regulations Gu worked together and captured an eighty-year Longevity Gu.

Ren Zu was already a hundred years old but after consuming this Gu, the wrinkles on his face vanished and his frail limbs became muscular again. A vibrant aura of youth oozed from him.

With a belly flop, he jumped up onto his feet.

He ecstatically looked at his body, knowing that he had regained the body of a twenty year old! 

***

"Without Rules and Regulations, the whole world will become chaotic. Everybody will feel lost and they won't have any methods to achieve their ambitions."

"In the legends, the dark cave represent the inability of the society to operate without rules and regulations. It could be understood by the whole cave getting illuminating after the emergence of the two Gu Worms."

Gohan simply sighed in admiration. He really couldn't understand how such a legend could be created and passed down.

Unknowingly, he felt that he had reached a certain sense of understanding. His eyes showed a trace of confusion, but he regained his clarity soon.

"What was that?"

His expression darkened. First, he couldn't refine his vital Gu and now he felt that he could understand some things through intuition alone, this whole thing troubled him.

"Should I talk with that Clan Head again. Does he know something?"

Gohan couldn't help but think as the class continued.