Back in his dormitory, Fang Yuan has inn workers stack twenty jars of green bamboo wine under his bed, bought in one trip at two primeval stones a jar. The forty stones spent leave him with thirty-nine, and the inn treats him as a valued customer. After night falls he sits in the dark and turns his focus into his aperture, where the green copper primeval sea fills forty-four percent of the space, the ceiling his C grade talent allows. The Spring Autumn Cicada sleeps above it, and a small white Liquor worm plays on the water. He feeds the worm a tenth of his primeval essence, and it radiates white light that gathers into a wine mist wrapped around its body. He then sends a second tenth of his essence up into that mist, and as the two merge and the mist vanishes, this second tenth condenses to five percent, now a darker pale green. That color belongs to a rank one middle stage Gu Master’s essence, a step above his own rank one initial stage. Turning five percent of his sea to that grade costs twenty percent of ordinary essence, so converting the whole forty-four percent would cost around one hundred eighty percent. He reaches for a primeval stone the size of a duck egg to speed the work. He resolves to keep blocking the academy gate every seven days, when the allowance is next paid out. ch. 29
This world is not Earth, and constant fighting against beasts, harsh weather, and rival Gu Masters is the norm, so brawling among students draws encouragement rather than punishment. The Southern Border alone spans seven to eight times the surface of Earth, and clans hole up in mountain villages where Gu Masters serve as the core defense against yearly losses. A clan can never have too many battle Gu Masters. Fang Yuan never strikes the lower jaw or the back of the head, uses only his palm, and keeps his kicks few, so the fallen are at most lightly wounded. He is not bloodthirsty, and treats killing only as a means to a clear goal, using whatever method reaches it fastest. ch. 29
That same night, Chi family elder Gu Yue Chi Lian asks his grandson Chi Cheng, sporting a black eye, about the beating. Chi Cheng wants his grandfather to help him settle the score, but Chi Lian refuses, since losing one stone and taking a bruise is not injury enough to justify stepping in. Chi Lian explains that Chi Cheng represents the whole Chi branch in its long rivalry with the Mo branch, and that the elders backing the family need to see him stand on his own strength. He admits that he already helped Chi Cheng cheat his way into a false B grade reputation, and tells him now to train hard, cultivate toward middle stage, and aim to win the class monitor’s honor for the family. ch. 29
