Chapter 15 Yu Zhong Er

Another month passed in the Ancient Soul Sect, marking roughly ten weeks since Xuanyuan and the new batch of disciples joined. The vast majority of new outer sect disciples had already refined their Vital Gu, and a good portion had already reached the Middle Rank 1 Gu Master stage.

Those with B Grade Talents had started to lag behind those with A Grade Talents, and the disparity between those with a greater innate Talent had starred to grow.

Someone like Xuanyuan could cultivate everyday without fail, his primeval essence sea completely regenerating overnight.

Someone like Chu Yueli or Lu Guo on the other hand, had to ration their primeval essence for both cultivation and practicing with their Gu.

Not to mention refining the Vital Gu, many Gu Masters opting to use their primeval essence stones in order to speed up the process, preventing them from cultivating.

The buzz around Xuanyuan's speech on becoming a Venerable had slowly died down, the aforementioned young man keeping a low profile ever since his discussion with Elder Luo.

Xuanyuan still attended his bi-weekly classes, since expanding on them, taking both Dark Path and Light Path classes, in order to help broaden his perspective on the Shadow Path.

His weekly expenses, including food for his Gu was about eight primeval essence stones. Xuanyuan had considered revealing the complete Shadow Stinger Gu recipe, but refrained from doing so.

It was too short of a time for a Rank 1 Gu Master to figure out such a thing. Xuanyuan's memory wasn't perfect, and his comprehension wasn't monstrous enough for him to solve an incomplete Gu recipe after only a single month.

It would attract more attention on Xuanyuan's actions than what he would be comfortable with.

"I think I've gotten the hang of this thing by now", Xuanyuan muttered, flexing his tail once and striking with an almost five meter meter long scorpion stinger. The Shadow Stinger Gu smashed into the shadow of the wooden target, shattering it, causing fragments of wood to scatter about.

The Shadow Stinger Gu was roughly the same thickness as a adult male thigh, but with the flexibility reminiscent of a snake or serpent.

Xuanyuan had divided his time between cultivation, Gu and Gu material research, martial arts practice, Gu recipe deductions and attending classes. These five activities were the only things he did over the course of the past month.

Xuanyuan had his occasional chats with Elder Luo, and had discussed the Information Path with Elder Kui once a week, but other than that, he only researched Gu in his free time.

His aperture walls had begun to appear much more firm than what its liquid-like appearance suggested. Xuanyuan would say that he wouldn't need to take twice the time to reach the Upper Rank 1 Gu Master stage.

His cultivation was increasing steadily, and his only weakness was that his accumulation of primeval essence stones was much slower than before.

"Senior Sister Yu, what stage should we be before accepting missions from the Sect?", one of the other Gu Masters in Xuanyuan's Light Path class asked.

Yu Zhong Er was the Rank 2 Gu Master who taught the introductory class related to the Light Path. She was a similarly beautiful woman with features similar to Long Xi. Although, for whatever reason, her long, straight black hair carried streaks of white within them, making her features seem more otherworldly in comparison.

She was friendly, but somewhat distant in Xuanyuan's eyes. Smiling she responded to the question.

"In my opinion, the safest option is to wait until the Peak Rank 1 Gu Master stage. With that level of cultivation, even the lowest of B Grade Talents can use their Gu multiple times a day, and even a Rank 2 Gu once or twice if they were forced", she raised her hand, as one of the other students in he class, tried to open their mouth to speak.

"Now, I am perfectly aware that the majority of you do not wish to wait that long before earning yourselves primeval essence stones. Which is why the Upper Rank 1 Gu Master stage, should be sufficient so long as the Gu Master in question possesses multiple different Gu".

"No single Gu can claim to be invincible under Heaven. Even legendary Gu such as Wisdom Gu and Perseverance Gu do not claim such a thing. A Gu Master must be prepared for all sorts of situations and encounters. Which is why, having at least a single offensive Gu, a single defensive Gu, and either a movement or a concealment type Gu is the most optimal for someone of your cultivation".

"This will allow you to defend yourself, run away or hide, or strike in the even that something like that is necessary. Your life is your most important thing in this world. Do no waste it on challenging things, that you know should not be challenged". 

Although a few of the other Middle Stage Rank 1 Gu Masters listened to her words, the vast majority of her Light Path class did not, swiftly gathering in groups after class discussing their Gu as well as any potential Sect Missions they could take part in.

Outer sect Rank 1 Gu Masters were limited in the variety of Sect Missions they could partake in, mostly limited to resource retrieval, material or information delivery or other miscellaneous tasks. B Grade Talents sought to increase their cultivation speed in order to match that of A Grade Talents, while A Grade Talents didn't want to let someone with a lower Talent their own exceed them.

Xuanyuan considered taking on a couple Sect Missions, but found that the invested return on his time wasn't worth spending in comparison to spending that time deducing incomplete Gu recipes or researching Gu materials.

Xuanyuan's knowledge on different type Gu materials and their relationship with the materials of other Paths was increasing with every passing day. With the sole sole exception of those descendants of Elders or powerful Gu Masters, Xuanyuan was sure that his knowledge and understanding of Gu materials exceeded that of any Rank 1 Gu Master in the Ancient Soul Sect. 

Opening his notebook, Xuanyuan examined the steps of another incomplete Rank 1 Shadow Path Gu. 

The name of the recorded Gu was Silhouette Strings. From what Xuanyuan could decipher about the Gu, it creates strings from the Gu Masters shadow, which were as thin as a hair, yet sharper than any mortal blade. It meant that the strings were tangible, and were almost completely invisible in darkness. 

The range of Silhouette Strings Gu was only ten feet, but within ten feet, up to a maximum of five strings could be produced.

Everyday before Xuanyuan began his cultivation, he used Shadows As Thought Gu to produce Shadow Thoughts relating to Gu refinement. Countless ideas and concepts that would've taken him weeks to come up were produced in an instant, most of which were written down in his diary or notebook.

The names of the other four incomplete Gu recipes in the tattered pages Elder Kui had given him were Wandering Shadow Gu, Formless Steps Gu, Swallowing Shadow Gu, and Crimson Shadow Gu. Out of all of them, Crimson Shadow Gu was the least complete, and the description of which confused Xuanyuan the most.

"Crimson Shadow Gu relies on some sort of unique form of Light in order to be formed. Light from the Immemorial Nine Heavens no longer naturally appear in the Gu World, and it is completely possible that this Gu has been lost to time. Unless someone can figure out a way to replicate, or recreate it, this unique type of Light is... lost forever".

Light banished the Dark, and from it, the shadows of all living things were born. Unique shadows could be born from unique Light, or unique Dark, but just as things found in the Immemorial Antiquity Era cannot be found in the Current Era, things born in the Current Era may not have been discovered or created in the Immemorial Antiquity Era.

Xuanyuan wanted to as Senior Sister Yu about the different kinds of Light that were commonly found in relation to Gu materials. He waited until the class was almost over before raising his hand, his other hand finishing writing something.

"Senior Sister Yu, I wanted ask you about different kinds of Light Gu and Light Gu materials. For example, Red Light Gu and Shattered Light Rubies. How do they differ to say Blue Light Gu and Burning Light Flowers?".

The black and white haired Gu Master blinked for a moment before glancing at Xuanyuan, giving him a small smile.

"The difference between Red Light Gu and Blue Light Gu is that Red Light Gu carries a much harsher an intensive type of Light, in comparison to Blue Light Gu. Both kinds of Gu can inflict damage against a target, although while Red Light Gu inflicts more of a burn, Blue Light Gu carries properties similar to water, allowing it to travel through bodies of water unhindered. It is essentially more effective than Red Light Gu against Water Path, however Red Light Gu inflicts a greater damage normally".

"Shattered Light Rubies and Burning Light Flowers are also Light Path Gu materials. The former appear as rubies which carry a faint red light within them, while the latter produce minute motes of red light from its petals. Shattered Light Rubies do not produce light, and are gemstones which contain a great amount of light, but lose them the moment the rubies are cracked. Burning Light Flowers only produce a couple motes of red light every day, but over the course of its existence, will produce more than ten times the amount of light in comparison to Shattered Light Rubies".

"When taking this into consideration, Burning Light Flowers in great number can be used to prepare an environment for Gu refinement. Red light is produced and can be used to increase the success rate of Gu refinement, while Shattered Light Rubies are primarily used as Gu refinement materials, directly while the refinement is underway".

Senior Sister Yu gave Xuanyuan a once over, smiling at him, leaning softly against her desk.

"Is there anything else you don't understand, Xuanyuan?".

The young man just shook his head, feeling the gazes of other young men on his body. Senior Sister Yu was a popular young woman with many admirers, with new outer sect disciples joining her class every week.

The Light Path was also very popular with women, most not interested in the Earth Path or the Dark Path finding the Light Path a much more clean and refined way of using Gu. Xuanyuan had no doubt that Senior Sister Yu was making more than 50 primeval essence stones a week just from her classes.

It made him interested to give his own classes after he reached Rank 2, but his depth of knowledge on the Shadow Path wasn't quite there yet. Not to mention, the Shadow Path wasn't nearly as popular amongst Gu Masters, and even a beauty like Long Xi couldn't change that.

After the class was over, Xuanyuan packed up his notebook, moving towards the exit before a familiar sounding voice echoed from the other side of the room.

"I thought I would find you here Little Yuan. Have you been cheating on me with Zhong Er?".

Xuanyuan rolled his eyes at Long Xi's words, his expression unchanging as he turned to face his Shadow Path teacher.

"Senior Sister Yu is an excellent teacher Senior Sister Long. Her explanations are concise and accurate, and her breadth of knowledge on the Light Path is quite extensive".

The corners of his mouth raised slightly as he continued.

"Maybe you could learn a thing or two from-".

Xuanyuan's words were cut off as he dodged a fist sized ball of shadows aimed at his stomach. The Rank 1 Gu Master slid to the side, watching as the shadow ball collided against a stone wall, splattering a thick layer of shadows against it.

Glancing at it, he turned back to face Long Xi, who just held another ball of shadows in her hand.

"Shadow Ink Gu? The ink from such a Gu would stain my skin permanently! I would need another Gu to remove the ink without permanently scarring myself!".

Long Xi just narrowed her eyes, smiling playfully at Xuanyuan.

"It'll teach you to respect your Senior Sister, Little Yuan! Cheating on me with Zhong Er, and then slandering my teaching abilities. Is this the arrogance of a future Venerable?".

Xuanyuan rolled his eyes again, avoiding another ball of shadow ink thrown in his direction. The ink splattered harmlessly against the chairs and tables in the room, before another voice cut through the tension, her tone amused and whimsical.

"Little Dragon. Xuanyuan. What do you think you two are doing in my classroom?".