Over a hundred 15 year-old youths gathered in front of the clan pavilion. The clan pavilion was in the middle of the village, reaching 5 storeys and having sharp tilted roofs; it was heavily guarded. Before the pavilion was the square, and in the pavilion was the shrine of the Gu Yue ancestor memorial tablets.
"Good, all of you are punctual. Today is the Awakening Ceremony; it is your life's great turning point. I won't say much, just come with me." The one responsible at the moment was the elder of the academy. His beard and hair were white and he was in high spirits as he led the young teenagers into the pavilion.
Fang Yuan was mixed into the crowd, quietly observing everything that was happening. They walked several hundred steps. It got darker and the sounds of water were faintly heard.
The river flowed from the dark depths of the cave. Inside the crystal clear waters, one could see fish, aquatic plants and even the sand beneath the river. Opposite the river was a sea of flowers.
This was the Gu Yue Clan's closely cultivated moon orchids.
"Wow, so pretty!"
"The moon orchid is food for a lot of Gu. This flower sea could be said as the clan's biggest cultivation medium."
"It really is beautiful!"
The moon orchid is food for a lot of Gu. This flower sea could be said as the clan's biggest cultivation medium.
The new sight opened the young teenagers' eyes. Each one of them had a light radiating from their gaze with excited and anxious feelings.
"Alright, listen as I call your names. Those who are called must walk through this river to the opposite bank. Walk as far as you can, of course the further you go the better it is. Are you all clear?" The elder said.
"All clear," the youths replied.
"Gu Yue Chen Bo." The elder held the name list and called out the first person.
Chen Bo's face was full of seriousness as he stepped into the flower sea ashore. As he did so, he could feel an invisible pressure as if there was a wall in front of him that he could not see, blocking him from walking forward. During this moment, the flowers at his feet suddenly gave off a weak white light. The light gathered around Chen Bo and entered his body. For a moment Chen Bo felt the pressure drop; the invisible wall blocking him suddenly felt softer. With this, Chen Bo gritted his teeth and mustered his strength, walking forward. He tried to force his way in stiffly, yet after three steps the wall in front of him hardened again back to the state before. Thus he could not walk any further.
As he watched this the elder sighed. While recording what happened, he said, "Gu Yue Chen Bo, 3 steps, no talent to become a Gu Master. Next, Gu Yue Zao Xie!"
Chen Bo was deathly pale as he walked pass the river back to the youths, clenching his teeth. Without the endowed talent he could live as a normal human, holding the lowest position in the clan.
Not everyone has the natural talent to be a Gu Master. Generally speaking, it is not bad if five out of ten people have talent.
The next moment, the academy elder called out the third name: Gu Yue Mo Bei.
"Here!" A horse-faced youth dressed in linen robes lightly called as he came forth. He was tall in build, looking much sturdier than his peers. There was a brave aura about him. He crossed the river in a few steps and reached the opposite bank. 10 steps, 20 steps, 30 steps; one after another small lights entered his body. He walked until he reached 36 steps before he could finally go no further.
The youths at the riverbank watched with wide opened eyes, shocked. The academy elder happily exclaimed, "Good, Gu Yue Mo Bei, B grade talent! Come here, let me see your Primeval sea."
Gu Yue Mo Bei walked back to the academy elder's side. The latter stretched out his hand and put it on the juvenile's shoulder, closing his eyes as he checked with focus. Then he retracted his hand and nodded, recording down on the paper: Gu Yue Mo Bei, primeval sea measuring 66%, can be vigorously trained.
One hour later, half of the youths had already walked through the flower sea. There were quite a number of C and D grade talents among them, while half of those youths had no talent at all.
At this moment, the academy elder shouted, "Gu Yue Chi Chen!"
On hearing this name all the elders looked at Gu Yue Chi Lian; this was Gu Yue Chi Lian's grandson.
Gu Yue Chi Lian had a small and short build with a face full of pockmarks. He was clenching his fist, his entire face sweating. It was evident that he was incredibly nervous.
As he walked onto the opposite bank, the little lights entered his body; after walking straight for 36 steps he stopped.
"Another B grade!" The academy elder yelled.
The youths started a commotion, sending Gu Yue Chi Chen envious stares.
"Hahaha, 36 steps, 36 steps!" Gu Yue Chi Lian shouted, proudly staring at Gu Yue Mo Bei. This time it was Gu Yue Mo Chen's turn to have a sour face.
"Gu Yue Chi Chen, huh…" In the midst of the crowd, Fang Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. In his first life, the clan heavily punished Gu Yue Chi Chen because he cheated during the Awakening Ceremony. And in his second life, he extracted a lot of spirit stones from Gu Yue Chi Lian using it as leverage.
As he pondered, he suddenly heard the academy elder call out his own name: "Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"
'It's getting more and more exciting,' Fang Yuan thought to himself with a laugh. Under the gazes of the masses, he walked across the river and reached the opposite bank.
He could feel a layer of pressure on him. This pressure came from the spirit spring deep in the flower sea. The spirit spring produced primeval qi – because the qi was too rich in here, it caused the pressure.
But very quickly from the flowers below Fang Yuan's feet, little lights made their way up. These dots of light enveloped his entire body before finally entering him.
These are the Hope Gu.
They converged into a stream of light and started entering Fang Yuan's body. Due to the outside pressure they quickly gathered into his abdomen and collected into a group spontaneously, 3 inches under his navel.
Fang Yuan suddenly felt the pressure lessen. He began to walk forward. With every step he took, one after another the Hope Gu would fly out from the sea of flowers and enter his body, joining the ball of light. The ball of light grew brighter and brighter, but the person in charge opposite the riverbank frowned.
"This number of Hope Gu is lesser than expected." Many elders watching Fang Yuan in the dark thought this as they saw the sight. The clan head frowned as well. This was definitely not the sign of an A grade talent!
Fang Yuan withstood the pressure, continuing to walk forward.
When he walked the 27th step he could hear a bang and in between his two kidneys the ball of light reached its limit and suddenly exploded.
This burst of energy only happened inside his body; outsiders cannot see it. Only Fang Yuan alone could feel at that moment, an earthshaking reaction. Instantly the fine hairs on his body stood up, his pores shut tight, his mind stretched to a tense limit.
Soon after, his mind went blank, his entire body becoming soft as if he fell into some clouds. His heart relaxed, his fine hairs flattening and his pores re-opened again.
In a short while his entire body was perspiring.
This entire process felt long, but it actually happened in a short time. The feeling went away as fast as it came.
Fang Yuan was blanked out for a short moment before he returned to his senses. He secretly focused his attention into his body and found that below his navel and in between his two kidneys, an aperture had formed out of thin air.
The Awakening Ceremony was a success!
This was the hope to immortality!