"The rain had stopped, the sun had risen, the birds had begun to sing, everyone enjoying the spring morning dew with the light morning mist on the mountain. It would have been perfect weather... if that damn watchman hadn't started ringing that demonic bell near my room," Fang Zheng muttered with Deep dark circles over his eyes.
"Fortunately, all the work last night was worth it," Fang Zheng muttered as he looked at the floating system screen in front of him.
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Skill Sheet:
Phytotherapy - Level 1 (96/100)
Acting - Level 1 (20/100)
Boxing - Level 1 (11/100)
Capoeira - Level 1 (7/100)
Muay Thai - Level 1 (4/100)
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Fang Zheng was pleased with the new skills he had acquired, mainly because he now had a better understanding of how the system's criteria for creating skills worked, and he had also used up all the items in his medicine box.
All to find out what would happen after a skill leveled up. It was a pity that he had used up all the herbs and ointments before he could level up.
Unfortunately, martial arts skills took a long time to gain experience. He kept doing several series of movements to increase his experience by only 1 or 2 points at a time, which was very exhausting.
Tok Tok
"Are you awake yet, Young Master?" A voice sounded at the entrance to the room before the door opened. Fang Zheng, who was already standing at the window, turned his head and saw that the person who entered his room was a middle-aged woman who was slightly above average weight.
She was carrying a basin of water in her hands, but what really surprised Fang Zheng were the huge pots of milk that this lady was carrying. Not even in his past life visiting suspicious websites had he seen such an anomaly.
"God bless," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the lady's breasts. If he had been wearing a hat, he would certainly have taken it off as a sign of respect.
The middle-aged lady entered the room with a bow and saw that Fang Zheng was already awake and commented. "I brought some water for you to wash yourself." After placing the basin of water on the only table in the room, she stepped back and waited near the door.
Fang Zheng snapped out of his reverie and began to get ready, performing the basic routine that every young man is required to do if he wants to stay clean in a medieval era.
Touching the water in the basin, he realized that it was no longer warm; it was already starting to cool down. He had expected this, because he knew he was the most disregarded member of this family. But even if his uncles and brother despised him.
The servants couldn't do the same, after all, Fang Zheng was still a member of the Gu Yue clan, so even if he was a mediocre talent in the awakening ceremony, his life was still worth more than those mere foreign slaves.
There was one thing Fang Zheng learned last night in the house library as well: Gu Masters are like a superior race of humans, while mortals are like monkeys—similar, but with a complete evolutionary gap between them.
But even among mortals, there is a distinction of importance. For example, mortals who bear the Gu Yue surname are more important than those mortals who are not part of the clan's lineage.
That's why the middle-aged lady still took the trouble to call him young master, of course, it's not without reprimand either, for example, the water, she knew she should bring him warm water, but she brought him almost cold water.
It was enough to avoid being reprimanded, but not enough to be acceptable. Fang Zheng suspected that this was due to his own uncles, who always liked to make these small distinctions between the treatment of the twins.
He ignored this and took the towel and wet it in the water, then used it to first wash his face and remove the remnants of sleep.
Then he took off his shirt and began rubbing the wet towel on his body to remove sweat and dirt. He did this all over his body, and the water in the basin, which had been crystal clear before, was now dirty with sweat and impurities.
Finally, he took the famous medieval toothbrush, which was nothing more than a stick with a chewed tip to serve as bristles. In his case, it was a bamboo branch typical of the mountains, and then he added a little sage with salt to serve as toothpaste.
[You engage in Phytotherapy, Experience +6]
[Your "Phytotherapy" skill has been upgraded to level 2, gaining 1 Potential point.]
[Current: Phytotherapy - Level 2 (2/200)]
–So improving skill levels yields Potential Points. Now, what are Potential Points for? – Fang Zheng opened his system and began to examine it.
He noticed that in the Constitution, Aptitude, Spirit, and Skills sections, there was a bright "+" sign catching his attention. He immediately deduced what that potential point was for.
Stimulated by curiosity, he selected and clicked on the "Aptitude" section.
[Aptitude: 9]
[Your Aptitude has been improved!]
Fang Zheng felt an invisible energy spring from within his body and spread like a cool afternoon breeze warming his body, but after that he felt no palpable or visible change.
Perhaps the aptitude that the system refers to is the same as the size of the Primeval Sea that everyone awakens in today's ceremony, or it could be that this aptitude is something more comprehensive and ambiguous, which is why there was no visible change.
Either way, that was fine. And since he had little time, he decided to study more about the system interface after the ceremony.
He quickly finished scrubbing his teeth with the bamboo stick, he even chewed on the stick a little and involuntarily sucked on some of the salt, forcing him to spit it out quickly because of the bitter taste of sage.
Seeing that Fang Zheng had finished his morning care, the middle-aged lady picked up some clothes that had already been set aside and helped Fang Zheng get dressed for the ceremony. It was a simple light blue Hanfu along with a white corset and long pants.
In fact, what he called a corset was nothing more than a thick band wrapped around his waist, looking more like a belt that also served as a corset.
After finishing getting dressed, he dismissed the servant and left his room, heading towards the stairs to greet his uncles before leaving for the ceremony. Coincidentally, the stairs were close to Fang Yuan's room.
Walking slowly toward the stairs, he heard a familiar female voice coming from Fang Yuan's room and unconsciously turned his head to look. The door to the room was open, and he ended up seeing who was inside.
It was a young woman in a light green dress that exuded youthful femininity. She had a simple but well-groomed face, she had applied something light to her lips to highlight them, but not to the point of looking vulgar, her cheeks slightly flushed due to the makeup.
She really looked like a girl in love. This young woman was Shen Cui, the girl the original Fang Zheng was madly in love with, or thought he was, because to the current Fang Zheng, it was obvious that this girl was only deceiving him and playing both sides.
She was a very cunning little fox, while approaching the older and more talented twin, she also kept the younger one on the hook as a backup plan in case things with the first one didn't go as desired.
Lowering his gaze slightly, he looked at the young girl's more modest bust and compared it to the massive war machines of the old lady who had served him a moment ago, and smiled with a feeling of victory to his older brother.
Fang Zheng, who had lingered a little on the pair, ended up meeting the gaze of his older twin brother, who had just coldly dismissed the servant while finishing getting ready by himself.
Fang Yuan finished getting dressed and walked towards the door, and Fang Zheng, who was standing in front of the door, immediately saw his brother's eyes and realized that he had changed his gaze again, this time more restrained and slightly excited.
For some reason, this "excited" look, which would be common for any young man attending today's ceremony, seemed fake to Fang Zheng. After the look he saw last night, he would not believe any other expression his older brother showed.
While analyzing with fascination the way Fang Yuan naturally changes his facial expressions, Fang Zheng even forgot to act like a shy and depressed young man.
This ended up catching Fang Yuan's attention and causing him to stop in his tracks for a few seconds before moving forward again.
Fang Yuan passed Fang Zheng and said in a cold voice, "Let's go." Without looking at Fang Zheng.
Fang Zheng nodded and lowered his head as he followed behind his older brother. As they descended the stairs, they were greeted by their uncles, who only said goodbye to them.
[You engage in Acting, Experience +4]
They did not stop for breakfast, as it was customary for young people to go to the awakening ceremony on an empty stomach, so that some young people would not vomit in the Spirit Spring due to nervousness or spiritual pressure during the awakening.
Walking through the streets of Gu Yue Village, Fang Zheng became increasingly aware of the village's beauty. Bamboo grew beside the houses and blended naturally into the warm surroundings. The morning air was pleasant and gentle to breathe, even though they were almost at the top of the mountain.
Young people of the same age as them also followed the same path while chatting enthusiastically. Fang Zheng even heard some talking about him and his brother, some maliciously and others enviously.
It didn't take long for them to reach the center of the village, with a huge pavilion covering their view. In front of the pavilion was an open square with more than a hundred young people standing and waiting.
Standing in front of the pavilion entrance was an old man dressed in noble attire, his bearing exuding authority. His white eyebrows were moved by the wind, as were his catfish-like whiskers.
He stared at the young people for a while, then smiled slightly before saying loudly, "You all know why you are here today, and I don't plan to delay this for long. Come, follow me in a straight line."
As soon as the old man said this, he entered the pavilion with the huge group of young people following behind. After descending a few stairs toward the clan's Spirit Spring, the young people found themselves facing an almost dreamlike scene.
Huge stalactites glistened at the top of the underground cave like a kaleidoscope of stunning colors. All the young people opened their mouths in surprise and murmured compliments.
Fang Zheng himself couldn't help but agree with everyone's reaction; the scene was truly magical, truly corresponding to the supernatural of a Xianxia world.
After walking for a short time, the sound of flowing water could be heard, indicating that they were close to their destination, making some of the young people even more excited and anxious.
At the end of the path, a small river greeted them elegantly, the river glowing with a natural neon blue light as if it radiated that color. This was the main Spring of the clan's economy and power. If they lost this Spring, they would lose their power and, consequently, their position on the mountain.
If the young people looked more closely, they would see that the blue light of the river came mainly from the beautiful little orchids that clustered in the river. These orchids were the clan's specialty and were the main material for refining and feeding many Gu worms, but mainly the Moonlight Gu, the clan's characteristic Gu.
The elder walking in front stopped at the edge of the lake with a notebook and brush in his hand and said, "You must have already been taught by your relatives, but as a reminder, you need to walk from one end of the river to the other. The farther you go, the better your aptitude will be."
Everyone nodded, and some even swallowed nervously. The elder nodded and then continued, "As soon as I call your names, you must step forward and take the test."
"Gu Yue Chen Bo!"
The elder called the first name, and then a young man with bowl-cut hair and freckles on his face stepped forward and began to walk across the river. He had barely set foot in the river when he suddenly felt an enormous pressure weighing down on him.
This made the young man tense for a few seconds before he composed himself and positioned himself correctly in the river. His feet did not sink very far into the river; in fact, they barely reached his knees. At that moment, the blue orchid flowers began to release small points of bright light.
These bright lights seemed to give Chen Bo energy, as he felt that the weight pushing him down had become more manageable. With renewed energy, he gritted his teeth and took firm steps forward.
The bright lights were called Hope Gu. This small Gu worm was responsible for awakening the opening of all Gu masters in the world. There is even a legend, like a folk tale that adults use to educate younger people, that mentions it.
<
One step, two steps, three steps, but on the fourth step, he felt the weight return with twice the force upon him. Chen Bo tried to gather his strength and force his way forward, but his body didn't move an inch. His body was covered in sweat and his forehead was full of veins from the effort.
His eyes began to water and his face became a little snotty. He wanted to scream and jump forward, but an insurmountable invisible wall prevented him from moving forward. Just as he felt he was about to faint from the effort, he heard the old man's voice: "Come back."
The old man sighed and wrote in his notebook as he commented, "Gu Yue Chen Bo, no talent to become a Gu Master."
The young man, knowing that he couldn't make a dramatic scene here, simply turned his back with great fatigue and returned to the crowd exhausted and with his face down in depression.
The young people who were watching enthusiastically felt the weight of reality falling on them, making them wonder, "What if it's us?"
One of them muttered, "He could barely take a few steps and was already having difficulty walking in the river."
"Wasn't Chen Bo the son of the hunter Hao, a Level 2 Gu Master?" Another spoke nervously.
The young people's enthusiasm gradually faded, and the elder who was watching everything simply sighed and continued calling out other names.
"Gu Yue Zi Qiu."
Fang Zheng, who was watching everything, was quite intrigued, because from what little he had learned last night, he knew that this world was quite elitist, where even the son of a Gu Master was not guaranteed to have the talent to become one himself.
It was a completely random and cruel condition. This was different from other Xianxia novels that Fang Zheng had read in his past life, where being related to a powerful figure guaranteed good talent and experience.
But in this world, even if you are the son of the clan leader, if you are a mere mortal without aptitude, your life is worth no more than a mere servant who is a Level 1 Gu Master. In other Xianxia worlds, this would guarantee at least a good and stable life.
"This world is much more complex than I thought." This excited Fang Zheng for some reason. After all, based on his experience in Xianxias, the greater and stricter the criteria for cultivating power in the world, the greater the potential power of the world.
Several other young people failed the ceremonies, and the few who succeeded were only Grade D or at most C talents. This made the face of the elder supervising the ceremony very serious, but that didn't last long after he saw the next name on the list.
The elder then called out with a hint of enthusiasm and hope: "Gu Yue Mo Bei!"
A tall young man with a more robust body stepped forward from the rest, generating some murmurs from the other young people. Mo Bei dressed like someone of a higher rank than the others, his robe was smooth and shiny, his expression noble and heroic.
He truly had the bearing of a minor noble in the clan, dressed in soft, smooth linen clothes with shiny details. He took long strides across the river, very different from all the previous young men who showed fatigue from their very first steps.
Not to mention that the number of Hope Gu around him was countless times greater than that of the other young people. His steady steps took him far into the river, soon he had taken 10 steps, then 20 steps, and only after 30 steps did he show signs of feeling the pressure that everyone else felt at the beginning.
Mo Bei walked up to 36 steps, where he could no longer go on, so he turned on his heels and returned with his head held high. The young people on the opposite bank were open-mouthed and enthusiastically commenting on the feat, and the elder himself also had a smile on his face.
The academy elder touched Mo Bei's belly for a moment and then commented with satisfaction, "Gu Yue Mo Bei, Grade B Talent, can be nurtured vigorously."
"So this is what a genius looks like," said one of the young men.
Another young man standing nearby replied, "It was to be expected, after all, he is Mo Bei, son of Elder Mo."
"That's true, but it doesn't take away from his achievement," said another.
The elder ignored the enthusiasm of the other young men and continued with the ceremony, calling out the next name: "Gu Yue Fang Yuan."