Decisions and Consequences

In the underground cave aglow with stalactites, Fang Yuan walked through a river stream. All eyes were glued to him with expectations as he was the most prodigal amongst this generation.

Pressure built up against him with each step, making it difficult to walk. At some point the small orbs of light at the riverbank floated up and clung to his feet, reducing the pressure.

"Hope gu." Fang Yuan mused. Hope gu's origin was stated in an ancient literature masterpiece 'Tales of Ren Zu'. The tale regarding the hope gu could be summarized like this-

In the prehistoric savage world emerged the first human- Ren Zu, who lived like animals, eating meat and drinking warm blood while suffering from the natural elements. He was often met with hungry wild beasts called predicaments whom he could never best with his pitiful strength and intelligence. He had to flee and could barely save his neck from the predicaments.

At some point, 3 gu worms came to him and bartered with him to grant powers that could help him survive predicaments. Ren Zu gave his youthful years to the first gu and gained strength with which he could fight the predicaments and survive better.

But strength alone wasn't enough, especially against large numbers of predicaments. So Ren Zu gave his prime middle years to the second gu and gained wisdom in exchange. Now he was able to survive better. He could set up snares and traps, and hunt aptly. He could think and use his experiences and knowledge to thrive.

But eventually Ren Zu grew old. His strength waned and his wisdom lowered. The two gu worms abandoned him at this point, saying that he didn't have anything to give them.

Now weakened, dumb, and old Ren Zu was surrounded by predicaments and his heart was filled with despair. At this point, the third gu worm reemerged and offered his aid to escape predicaments. But Ren Zu said that he has nothing to give in exchange.

At this, that gu worm said he takes not years of life, but heart instead. Ren Zu agreed and gave his heart to the gu and gained hope in exchange. With hope he glowed resplendent and the predicaments ran away from him. Even without strength or wisdom, people could survive predicaments as long as they had hope.

Fang Yuan treaded forward, one step at a time. Hope gu allowed him to face the pressure of the river and continue; but eventually he slowed down and after the 27th step, could no longer proceed.

Fang Yuan blanked out as his body experienced a light explosion inside. The next moment he realized that his aperture had been formed inside his body below the navel. This aperture was seemingly made of light, and although was inside the body, was not actually an organ. It was there and yet not. One could not touch it, or see it, but it could be sensed.

Inside the aperture was the primeval sea, a greenish blue liquid. It was through this primeval sea, each drop of which was called primeval essence, and which could replenish itself over time even after complete expenditure, that gu masters could cultivate and use gu worms. The higher the aperture, the bigger the primeval sea, and thus the better the performance in all aspects.

Fang Yuan smiled and turned around to walk back to the shore. Everyone gazed at him with disappointment.Fang Yuan had shown great talent at a young age, coming up with poems filled with wisdom. Everyone had high hopes for him, but for him to walk only 27 steps meant-

"Gu Yue Fang Yuan, 27 steps! C grade!"

The crowd began to murmur. Fang Yuan seemed unfazed by the result. Fang Zheng stared at him intently.

"These people have no idea that Fang Yuan is to become a rank 9 immortal venerable! And yet, such humble beginnings. Truly, resilience is you, brother. But of course, you already know the future. And yet, you do not know the changes I shall bring into it. As long as I live, you will never become an immortal venerable." Fang Zheng's gaze darkened as he walked towards the river the moment his name was announced. "I will kill you before that!"

Fang Zheng and Fang Yuan's eyes met as they passed each other. Their gazes were equally cold, but one's eyes were uncaring, the other's defiant.

Slosh-slosh-slosh…. Water rippled as Fang Zheng walked steadily.

"The fate of this clan, this world, the entire humanity rests upon my endeavors," Fang Zheng thought, "I must succeed, I must kill Fang Yuan before his spring autumn cicada regains power."

Fang Zheng snapped out of his thoughts when he felt an invisible wall blocking him. He could not take another step further. Frowning he turned to look back and noticed that everyone was staring at him incredulously.

"Gu Yue Fang Zheng! 47 steps! A grade talent!" An elder shouted.

"Oh my God! A grade talent!"

"Holy shit!"

Everyone began screaming hysterically. Fang Zheng exchanged a glance with Fang Yuan. Seeing that his twin was still as indifferent as ever, Fang Zheng remembered that he was dealing with an over 300 years old demon. How could a mere A grade talent threaten him. And yet…

"I have the advantage of superior talent and aperture, Fang Yuan. Just you wait. I will certainly kill you before you can ascend to even rank 2." Fang Zheng thought and walked back.

The clan elders had begun shouting at each other like laymen, trying to claim guardianship of Fang Zheng.

"Hmph! Nobody is more capable of training this youth than me- Gu Yue Bo. Whoever doesn't agree, may challenge me for a fight!" The clan leader growled and the bickering of the elders quieted down immediately.

It was only natural that the clan leader would take up the guardianship of the only A grade talent that had emerged after 3 years.

It was obvious that Fang Zheng would be trained over the years to compete for the next clan leader position.

***

Things changed dramatically over the course of the next few days. Fang Yuan who was exalted as a young prodigy, suddenly became a subject of ridicule. Not only that, he himself seemingly became depressed and began drinking liquor everyday!

As for Fang Zheng, he was showered with praises everywhere he went, and he did delight in it. These were all his clanspeople. They were all always good to him. Fang Zheng smiled at them and vowed in his heart that he will protect them. He chuckled inwardly whenever teenaged and even mature women flirted with him.

But most surprising was Shen Cui's change of behavior. She had been reassigned as Fang Zheng's maid and was dedicatedly trying to appease him. She would blush and smile whenever her gaze caught up with Fang Zheng's.

"Young master, your tea is ready." Shen Cui said, putting the green bamboo tea on the small table while kneeling. Her upper garment was unbuttoned and her modest bosom was pronounced in her tight blouse, even revealing a fair amount of her alluring cleavage.

"Hmm." Fang Zheng nodded, took a seat and brought the teacup to his mouth. Taking a sip, he hummed again. It was good tea.

"What's the matter?" He asked, noticing that Shen Cui was still kneeling before him.

"I-uh…well…" Shen Cui blushed and looked up at Fang Zhen with imploring eyes. However, she was disappointed to see a mirthless stare from him. It was so similar to Fang Yuan's that she slightly shivered and retreated. "It's nothing! I'll be right outside the door if you need anything." She said and hurried off.

Crack!

The teacup cracked in Fang Zheng's hand but didn't break as he quickly regained his composure. He placed the teacup down and glared straight ahead.

"To think that it was like this…" Fang Zheng thought. "Earlier she declined my offer ruthlessly, thinking that Fang Yuan was better than me. But now that the tables have turned, she has been consistently trying to win me back. Heh, was this her real character all along? Had I been fooled by her even in my previous life?" Fang Zheng frowned. He could not tell for sure, but he knew in his heart that it was so.

"Sigh…women are so unpredictable. So many years of heartache I endured, missing this wretched girl; preserving my love and devoting it to her memory, only to realize now that she was just a cunning thot."

Decisions always have consequences. Shen Cui's decision from earlier led to Fang Zheng waking up to reasoning and realizing her true nature.

Fang Zheng shut his eyes and began to cultivate. This was his way of tempering himself whenever humiliation and self-pity threatened him. During cultivation, all worldly thoughts would go away, and it brought Fang Zheng respite.

Inside his aperture the bluish-green primeval sea swirled round and round against the aperture's light membrane that contained it. The key was to refine this membrane to the limit and then break it with the powerful swirl of primeval sea so that a new layer of the aperture emerges, signifying ascension to the next rank. Accordingly the new higher primeval essence is produced which gives better perks to the gu master.

Each cultivation rank had 4 realms/stages to it, pertaining to the condition of the aperture membrane. These were- initial stage, middle stage, upper stage, & peak stage. Fang Zheng along with all his contemporaries was at rank 1 initial stage. It would take some time to level up but he was competing against a fate-destroying, heaven defying, otherworldly immortal demon. He could not take things easily. He had to strive the hardest!

***

Inside the clan's academy, the basics classes were ongoing in the usual manner. The academy elder was explaining about apertures and the students were eagerly listening to him while hurling out questions. Fang Yuan sat on the back bench, sleeping soundly as usual. For a whole week he had been either drunk, loitering around the edge of the village, or asleep. Some students joked that there was a sleeping gu in his desk.

Fang Zheng on the other hand sat rigidly on his table, calmly listening to the class but his mind was on his aperture. He was cultivating with his eyes open. Although the proficiency of moving the primeval sea in this manner would be lowered but Fang Zheng had been a rank 8 gu immortal who could use multiple immortal killer moves together. He could certainly multi-task even at this nascent state.

"Alright, all of you have learned how to shift your primeval sea around and cultivate. You are ready enough to refine your first and vital gu. After this class go to the academy's gu room and pick a rank 1 gu of your liking. When you have refined it, you can come back to the academy for classes." The academy elder said. "Whoever can finish this assignment first will be rewarded with 20 primeval stones!"

Everyone gasped. Primeval stones were used as currency but were also the basic cultivation resource. By absorbing it, one could replenish their primeval essence. And so, the more primeval essence one had, the more edge they would have over others. But then again, so many resources were needed to refine, nurture and upgrade gu worms that primeval stones were an absolute necessity. All businesses revolved around and through them. For newbie rank 1 gu master students, 20 primeval stones was a large amount. It didn't stir Fang Zheng in the least until he remembered that Fang Yuan had won this prize in the previous life, startling everyone.

"Sorry Fang Yuan, but I cannot let you gain a single edge in this life. You will not claim this prize for I will refine the vital gu first. I absolutely cannot let you pick up your cultivation speed like the previous life." Fang Zheng decided inwardly.

***

The gu room was about 60 meters square in size. The students lined up outside and went in one at a time. Fang Zheng looked around and found it to be just like the previous life. The four walls of the room had holes where gu worms of different shapes and sizes were kept. Most of these gu were making different kinds of sounds which together produce quite a unique symphony.

Gu worms had the same levels as gu masters, from rank 1 to 9. The higher ranked the gu, the more difficult to refine, nurture and upgrade, but higher the usability/power. One could use a higher ranking gu than their own rank, but it would have consequences and thus was not advisable. Many a gu masters had suffered backlashes and even lost their lives when using higher ranking gu worms.

Fang Zheng observed the different category sections- battle, support, defensive, healing. These weren't really labeled but an experienced gu master could tell with their assortment. All the gu worms were of different-different paths- strength path, enslavement path, transformation path, information path, wisdom path etc.

Gu Yue clan was only a mid-sized clan in a backwater mountain of the southern border. It didn't have all the paths' gu worms. The clan thus often relied upon merchant caravans to trade for new, better and varying gu worms. Even so, for rank 1, there were ample gu worms to choose from.

"I already mastered the blood path to great grandmaster level, Enslavement path to the same, and painting path to grandmaster level in terms of expertise. I could pick either of them for quick ascension, though there are no painting path gu worms here, or anywhere for that matter." Fang Zheng thought. This path was kept exclusively within the Heavenly Court of the Central Continent. It was the legacy of Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable who imparted its secrets to Fang Zheng to bolster his prowess to counter Fang Yuan. It was done in complete secrecy and not even the Heavenly Court knew about it.

"I will have to refine painting path gu worms myself, but I dare not use them until I become a gu immortal. Otherwise I will be hunted down by even immortals while being a mortal myself." Fang Zheng thought.

"Using the blood path cannot be safe as it is hated by everyone. Though our ancestor was certainly a blood path gu master heh. That leaves Enslavement path but…"

Fang Zheng exited the gu room and his classmates excitedly asked him which gu he had chosen. He smiled and told them it was a secret. Then he left the place immediately without sparing a glance at his brother.

***

"What in the world did you say?" The clan leader Gu Yue Bo was stumped.

"I picked the 1 li sense gu, respected clan leader." Fang Zheng bowed. It was in his usual schedule to visit the clan leader's house for tuition after academy hours.

Gu Yue Bo was speechless for a while. He stared at Fang Zheng, trying to decipher his motives. He himself had told him the advantages of the clan's signature gu worm- the moonlight gu, along with various other powerful gu worms; but Fang Zheng chose an uncommon support type gu worm! What kind of future clan leader would do that?

"Why did you pick this gu worm?" Gu Yue Bo asked calmly. He was mature and wanted to know Fang Zheng's reason. He wasn't going to reprimand him for his decision anyway. Teenage life is volatile. It must be molded carefully.

"Information is the key to all things." Fang Zheng replied. "Us clansmen do not engage in combat solo anyway, but rely on our teamwork to do battle and complete missions. With cohesion and discipline, great predicaments can be overtaken. With this gu worm I will be able to sense other gu masters, gu worms or dangerous beasts within a 1 li radius (half kilometer) area around me. Accordingly, my team and I can decide how to interact or deal with them.

"I will refine battle-centric gu worms in the future, but this gu worm will still bring greatest value and benefit to me and my comrades."

Gu Yue Bo smiled widely. "This boy," he thought, "is a great sapling to nurture!"

"Thinking about the benefit of your comrades, and considering all assignments from the viewpoint of a team, you show great foresight, Fang Zheng. Indeed, alone this gu worm might not be too good, but when used in a team, it is mighty helpful. It can be upgraded to 3 li sense gu at rank 2, then 7 li sense gu at rank 3, 12 li sense gu at rank 4 and 20 li sense gu at rank 5, making the gu master formidable in sense of information gathering! And there is more. There are different paths to which it can be upgraded to, resulting in different variations and different abilities. I will teach you all about it."

Fang Zheng smiled and kowtowed. "Thank you clan leader." Inwardly he thought, "I need to keep an eye on Fang Yuan all the time possible. How can I do that while occupied with clansmen, classes and clan leader? Nevertheless it is likely that I'm already being guarded by clan elders in secret as in the previous life, since I'm being raised as the next clan elder. It will restrict my movements. How can I track Fang Yuan down and kill him secretly then? This gu worm is thus crucial! After I've slain Fang Yuan… I'll just suffer some backlash and replace my vital gu with an enslavement path gu worm."

Decisions have consequences. Fang Zheng's decision regarding his vital gu had already set a new ripple in the river of time, which would undoubtedly result in different scenarios and outcomes. Whether it would result in his victory or failure was yet unknown.

Or was it?