Dancing moonblades

The azure sky stretched out, appearing pristine as though freshly washed, with the golden sun casting its radiant glow.

White clouds drifted lazily by as a flock of vibrant peacock parrots chirped in unison, flying gracefully beneath the expansive blue canvas, forming a distinctive arrow pattern as they glided.

These particular parrots, a sight reserved for springtime gatherings, boasted plumage resembling the hues of a rainbow, their majestic forms rivaling that of an eagle. Sporting parrot-like beaks and the magnificent, elongated tails of peacocks, they added a burst of color and splendor to the skies.

It had been ten days since the day Fang Yuan managed to acquire number one in the test to refine one's Vital Gu, by using the aura of his Spring Autumn Cicada to suppress the will of his moonlight Gu. It had also been 13 days since Qin revealed his "true" talent to Chi Lian and became a hidden representative of the Chi Family.

His actions didn't have any outward effects, since nobody else knew of improved status but himself and Chi Lian, so life went on as usual. Revealing even a bit of his abilities would undo all the work Qin did to be seen as a background character by his peers, so his behavior remained unchanged. He attended the academy every day and acted as Chi Chen's right hand, backing him up whenever he got into cockfights with Mo Bei and Fang Zheng while also glaring at Fang Yuan along with his classmates from time to time to keep up appearances. He didn't mind putting on a show and compared to the others, he wasn't wasting any time as his primeval essence was constantly nourishing his aperture walls.

After he finished attending the academy for the day, he usually studied about Gu worms, common refinement materials, and the history of this world, along with Chi Chen. He also trained his body till failure every sunset and experimented with his moonlight Gu at night. He also slept for exactly 5 hours every day, as his body and brain would deteriorate if he didn't, despite his soul remaining unaffected.

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The gentle spring breeze swept across the lush greenery of the entire mountain, stirring the vibrant wildflowers into eager bloom. Bees and butterflies flitted about in joyful harmony, adding to the lively dance of life unfolding all around. It was a breathtaking symphony of nature's beauty.

The breath of spring was so strong that the tall bamboo walls surrounding the training grounds could not hold it back.

This training field occupied 200 square meters. The ground was flat, paved with a layer of thick and wide grey graphite. Its four sides were surrounded by green spear bamboo; these bamboo poles were placed closely together side by side forming a square of green walls.

At the base of the wall corners lay stones, while clumps of green grass sprouted from various patches across the field. Interspersed among the bamboo were wild roses, their delicate blooms peeking in from the outside, adding a touch of untamed beauty to the serene surroundings.

Fifty-seven young teens at the age of fifteen were standing in the midst of the training field right now, formed in a semi-circle around the Academy Elder who was in the center, forcing their focus toward him.

Today, the students would be taught a lesson on how to use the Moonlight Gu, which made most of them tremble with excitement. To the youngsters of the Gu Yue clan, the Moonlight Gu was not a simple Gu worm, but the symbol of the clan's glory.

"The Moonlight Gu is our Gu Yue clan's symbolic Gu, just like the Xiong Clan's Bear Strength Gu, and the Bai Clan's Water Stream Gu. The majority of you on the field have chosen the Moonlight Gu as your vital Gu, so you must all pay attention. I will demonstrate how to use the Moonlight Gu to attack. The students whose vital Gu is not the Moonlight Gu must also concentrate on me, as this classical long-distance attacking method can also be used on other Gu as well.

As he spoke, the Academy Elder stretched out his right hand, his five fingers opening wide. He lowered his palm so that the young teens could see the center of it.

"Firstly, you use your mind to mobilize the Moonlight Gu, moving it to the center of your palm." Following his voice, the crescent mark that represented the Moonlight Gu moved down the elder's arm and into his palm. This was one of the benefits of refining a Gu completely. The Gu master and the Gu became linked, and the Gu could even become intangible, passing through its user's body if he so desired.

"Then, you mobilize the primeval essence from your aperture, pouring it into the Moonlight Gu." A thread of white silver coloured primeval essence gushed out from the elder's body, so fine it was almost impossible to see, and the elder could have made it completely invisible if he wanted to, but he needed to make sure even the dumbest of students could follow his lead. The primeval essence entered the Moonlight Gu in his palm.

The academy elder was Rank three , and only Rank three Gu Masters could produce white silver coloured primeval essence. Rank one Gu Master's primeval essence was commonly known as green copper primeval essence, while Rank two Gu Masters had theirs called red iron primeval essence. When they reached Rank three, it became white silver primeval essence.

Once it absorbed the thread of white silver primeval essence, the crescent-shaped mark in the elder's hand instantly glowed brighter and brighter. Although it was daytime, it still had a brilliant pale-blue light.

"That's awesome!"

"How beautiful." The youngsters could not help but let out praises of surprise and amazement when they saw it.

The pale blue light was clear like water. It flickered faintly in the elder's palm. At first glance it would seem as if the academy elder's hand was scooping a handful of moonlight. The Academy Elder smiled a little. "Now watch carefully, the last step is the most tricky...launching it out."

As he said this, his widely opened five fingers slowly closed together, then he lifted his arm up and slowly moved it forward, his arm straight. Finally he waved his palm lightly in a cutting motion.

The entire movement was steady and powerful.

*Swoosh*

Following the Academy Elder's movement, the condensed blue light in his palm was launched. The light transformed into a small moonblade in the air, barely equal in size with a wide-open hand. Its shape was just like a crescent moon in the night sky. It drew a straight line in the air before it hit a grass puppet ten meters away.

A tearing sound was heard, and the grass puppet's neck that was about thirty centimeters thick was cut cleanly by the moonblade. The puppet's body swayed about, the huge head falling onto the ground below.

After cutting the grass puppet, the moonblade immediately appeared dimmer. However it continued to fly about six more meters in the air before the crescent began to gradually fade away, finally dissipating in the air.

Looking at the grass puppet's neck again, one could see that the cut area was extremely flat, as if it was cut away by the sharpest sickle.

The youngsters were all shocked as they saw this, their eyes wide-open. A few of them even touched their own necks involuntarily, astonished by the attacking power of the moonblade.

After a short silence, the sounds of exclamation began. The teenagers had shining eyes as they stared at the grass puppet, while some of them stared at the elder's palm. A few of them were looking at their peers, talking and whispering excitedly.

Only Fang Yuan stood hidden in the crowd with a cold expression, his demeanor calm.

In his previous life, Fang Yuan had cultivated to Rank six, and he had created the Blood Wing Demonic Sect in the Central Continent. He taught tens of thousands of people, and was reputed as a figurehead of the Demonic faction. If his "fighting ability" itself was to be quantified, he would undoubtedly be far above a Master.

The academy elder was just a pitiful Rank three Gu Master. This small trick was just child's play to him, it would not cause any ripple of emotion in Fang Yuan's heart.

Then, with an almost imperceptible side glance, Fang Yuan looked towards one of the youths to his left. A simple black haired teen with sparkling eyes and with a look of awe on his face, just like the others. Based on his location, he was clearly a henchman of Chi Chen, standing slightly behind him. By all means, this Gu Yue Qin shouldn't have been worthy of attention, as Fang Yuan didn't even remember him from his past life. The only thing slightly suspicious about Qin was the stunt he pulled during the Awakening Ceremony when he refused to get out of the river for 2 minutes. Fang Yuan didn't remember such a thing happening during his previous life, but back then he might have been too lost in his own despair and distracted by the laughter of his peers to pay attention to anyone and anything besides his twin brother's A-grade talent. With his measly C-grade talent, It would not be impossible that Gu Yue Qin was a simple character that didn't make any waves in Fang Yuan's past life, causing Fang Yuan to not remember him at all. 

'No matter what, until I acquire a Gu that allows me to remember my past life with perfect clarity, all my thoughts are naught but suppositions...And despite the Spring Autumn Cicada being my vital gu and biggest trump card, I don't yet know anything about the side effects its use might bring...who's to say the ripples it made in the river of time didn't affect anything else besides myself? Maybe this Qin indeed didn't exist in my past life, but there might as well be dozens of changes that I wouldn't be able to detect...' Fang Yuan thought in silence, formulating dozens of plans and discarding just as many before finally resolving himself to not take all his future knowledge for granted...at least until he confirmed the validity of his memories. As for Gu Yue Qin, he didn't forget about him, but until the boy did anything suspicious or stood in his path, he could go eat rocks for all Fang Yuan cared.

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"All those of you who have refined the Moonlight Gu, step out. Each one of you shall stand in front of a grass puppet and follow my example. You shall practice attacking by throwing out moonblades until you run out of primeval essence."

Once the Academy Elder's speech was finished, around thirty students stepped out.

In this year's batch, the entire clan had a hundred young teens joining the Awakening Ceremony. Out of these 100, those who had cultivating talent were around fifty-seven. Among these 57 students, those who had chosen the Moonlight Gu numbered around thirty-six. After going through a few days of hard work, they had all refined the Moonlight Gu. Those that were left were all D grade talents, and they all had to choose other Vital Gu. This was not because they did not desire to refine the Moonlight Gu, but it was due to their inability, which was in turn caused by their low talent and lack of primeval stones. 

Very quickly thirty-six of them stood in a row. Each of them faced forward, standing ten meters away from a grass puppet on the opposite side.

Qin stood at the side of the row, alongside Chi Chen, but as usual, he did not garner any attention from the other youths...The practice began.

The students all stretched out their right hands, letting the Moonlight Gu move to the center of their palm. One by one the blue crescent marks started to give out blue light as green copper primeval essence was poured in.

But when they drew a vertical cut with their palm, only eight moonblades flew out. Among these moonblades, some of them only appeared for a short moment before dissipating away. Some flew out for two to three meters before disintegrating into blue light with a bang. Some flew further, but the direction was severely off-course, flying straight up to the sky or scratching the stone pavement below.

The teens all frowned. When they saw the elder's demonstration earlier it seemed quite easy. But when they started practicing themselves, they realized the skill required in this action. To throw out a moonblade and to have it hit on the grass puppet, it really was not that simple.

The elder had a faint smile as he watched. He saw this scene every year, and  he was not surprised. The remaining twenty-one students could only stand outside the field, watching jealously.

After practicing for five minutes, the youngsters became gradually more able to produce moonblades. For a time in the training ground, pale-blue coloured moonblades flew about everywhere.

A few moonblades would fade halfway, a few unluckily crashing into another. Some flew out of the training field, twisting around. Those that were able to hit on the grass puppets were just a small few. Of course these were all due to sheer luck.

The academy elder started to tutor and guide each one personally.

He focused greatly on Fang Zheng, Mo Bei and Chi Chen and a few others with decent talent. He patiently corrected their postures, teaching them his experience. Towards those with low C or D grade talent, like Fang Yuan, he only mentioned two sentences.

"That's good, Chi Chen, now keep condensing the light in the palm of your hand…you do so as well, Qin" The elder guided Chi Chen patiently and this came as a benefit those standing nearby the future underlings of the Chi family heir. This was of course one of the intentions of the Academy elder, making the students subconsciously more inclined to join one of the three "future leaders" amongst them. Alas, who knew what expression the elder would make if he knew that one of the students he was doing his best to instruct was doing his best to ignore each and every word he said.

With the field a mess at the moment and no one focusing on himself too much, Qin released his hold on the Moonlight Gu, his palm tilting a little, making a cutting action.

With a whoosh, a moonblade flew out quickly, passing through the center of chaos, drawing an almost straight line in the air yet only grazing the puppet  and then dissipating in the air.

The grass puppet didn't even tremble, and very quickly, the green area that was scratched began to regrow, grass tangling together and healing the wound.

Of course, this grass puppet was not a normal scarecrow. It was a Rank one Scarecrow Gu, having the nature-type ability of self-recovery.

No one paid attention to Qin, as his throw was intentionally calculated to seem just a bit above average. Even as he continued to throw some moonblades now and then, his thoughts were not focused on the target in front of him, instead, the only thing in his mind was the Moonlight Gu itself…more specifically, the changes it underwent the moment it was refined by him a few minutes ago.

Indeed, despite having the Moonlight Gu for more than a week, Qin didn't attempt to refine his Gu even once. Until this day, it remained in the exact same state as it was the moment he took it from the academy's storage room. It could be said that the Gu was "wild", filled with Heaven's will and unusable by an ordinary Gu Master. Of course, this rule didn't apply to Qin. The peculiarities of his Fate Devouring Soul made it as such that he could dictate the actions of Wild gu…which had heavy implications. For one, the Gu wouldn't require any primeval essence to be used, akin to being used by an aperture-less beast. This meant that basically any mortal Gu master at his level would be slaughtered if they engaged in a battle of endurance with Qin. His only limiting factor would be his Gu sustaining damage from overuse, a concern usually only felt by immortals.

'Of course, there are downsides as well, just like with everything in life...' Qin pondered as he ignored a small commotion made by a certain somebody who almost severed the neck of a grass puppet on his first try.