Ray smiled widely as he moved the door of his little shack
He had forgotten that there was a lot more to the Rank 10 Sovereign Immortal Body than just its selective conflicting Dao marks and extremely large aperture.
The physical and mental capabilities of it was also greater than possibly any natural body
His thoughts had been greatly accelerated and extremely clear which aided him in his planning for the future, not only could he quickly remember if he thought about it but the voice also recalled the things that he had said
The body's physical capabilities was also extremely powerful - the stamina it granted was what allowed him to remain awake for the entire night and think of solutions to his problems.
With assistance from the voice of course.
He smiled as the rising sun shone on his face from above.
'I really am curious about my aptitude.'
He started to walk towards where he suspected the clan hall was and stood in the back of the line
He got many disdainful looks due to his dirty appearance which was due to the dirt and mud on his clothes, hair and face
Right now the line went from those who existed within the gu master village and then those from the mortal branch and Ray was far at the back.
He sighed as he looked forwards
'None of these people mattered' He said
'None except Fang Yuan'
Fang Yuan seemed to be at the half way mark separating the mortal and gu master family branch, his eyes faced forwards and unlike everyone else his was calm and unshaken
It seemed that Ray was the last one to arrive.
"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 elder of the academy spoke.
Ray smiled and followed the group remaining at the back of the line as they walked into the clan pavilion and started to move down into the path
The group moved down the tunnel for a long while, each step they took the tunnel became darker and darker and after a few hundred steps the faint sound of water could be heard
Ray sighed
He had already heard the water from a far while back, and the darkness in the tunnel did not affect him either. Ray had the senses of the Sovereign Immortal Body and it was powerful enough for him to see and hear perfectly fine
After a little while more of walking the group came to a corner which they had turned into
The darkness in the area was not as deep as before as the children could see a feint blue light being emitted by the river illuminating the fish, plants and even the sand beneath
That was not the thing that took their breath away though
It was the sea of flowers at the opposite end of the river, each one had pink and blue crescent shaped petals connected to a blue jade like stem
'Moon orchids..'
He was mesmerized by the sight
Ray had been a mortal on earth and even though he may have been a unique mystical existence in the Gu world he was new to these beautiful and mystical sights
He smiled looking at it
'Could I take all this into the aperture?' He smiled
Could he take all the people in the entire village into the aperture?
It was possible, after all - he had an immortal aperture
[It is advised not to do so.]
Ray sighed
It was true
Changing the current events this early was going to be a detriment to his future changing most of the future events in a way that would eliminate the advantage he had in terms of future knowledge
Ray continued to look at the petals but was pulled out of his thoughts by a voice
"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 all of you clear on that?"
The elder said
The group of children replied respectfully with anticipation in their voice
"Yes!"
They said
Ray looked around again and gazed at their expressions.
Some were heated with anticipation, some were flowing with anxiety some were in the middle of the two
Ray already knew that out of the hundred of so gathered here only 57 would be passing and awaken an aperture.
Only one would be a talent of A Grade, there would be only 2 B Grade and then a large amount of C and even more D grade
'What will I be...' He smiled and let out a deep breath
The Gu world was cruel to them and it would have been cruel to him if he did not have the type of existence he was in this world and the resources he had and the resources he had access to
Even if he did not have a great aptitude or any at all, he still had an immortal aperture and the means to awaken an aperture through treasure yellow heaven and he was going to make the up most use of it if he remained a mortal
None of his plans would change in the long run, all it meant was that he would be forced to waste a single month until Essence Stone Gu produced his immortal essence stones
Perhaps it was cheating but he did not care
He had been given an ultimate chance by the gods themselves.
And he was not going to feel bad about it.
In a day he would have the future Heaven Refining Demon Venerable as a brother.
In a few years he would become an elder.
In a few more he would leave this mountain and gain glory.
In a few years he would become a true immortal with his other aperture
And a while after that he would become a venerable!
This was his story now, this was the story of Ray or in this world – of Gu Yue Yuxuan.
and this was simply the first step
So he waited to walk forward because he would never stop after that.
The academy elder called the first person – no talent.
Then he called the second – no talent either.
Then the rest of them started to step forwards one by one.
Gu Yue Mo Bei was called and announced to have a B-ranked aptitude after being checked by the elder.
Soon after that the other failures and other mediocre people stepped forward, most C and D
Then was Gu Yue Chin Chen, who was announced to have a B grade talent, which both he and Fang Yuan knew was a lie, but both of them had kept quiet.
Upon hearing Fang Yuan's name being called, Yuxuan started to pay more attention.
'My turn is coming soon.'
He thought as he watched Fang Yuan step forwards
It was true.
Many people gazed, following him with a variety of different looks – pride, jealousy, hope
They all had such great expectations for the boy.
'A shame he won't work for you all, but he will be my helper instead.'
A wry smile crept onto Ray's face as he observed
He watched Fang Yuan take those same 27 steps and stop walking.
He watched as the whispers around sounded in disappointment and shock.
He watched as Fang Yuan returned and was announced as a C-grade talent, and everyone seemed to lose hope.
Then he watched Fang Zheng get called and walk up, tripping on his way and being looked down upon, which changed as he got the A-grade aptitude with 80% primeval sea.
Everyone celebrated and showed happiness, and the clan head chose to take him in as a disciple.
The remaining children went, and honestly those whose children had a B grade aptitude and above wanted to leave and were only still there for the respect of the ritual.
'Anticipation is killing me...'
He waited for all the people to be called, most of them mortal, some of them D grade and a few C grade, and then he heard his name.
"Gu Yue Yuxuan, come forward."
Yuxuan smiled and walked forward, making note of all the bad looks he was getting from those of the mortal village who knew him, and he saw the disinterest of those who were Gu masters.
He stopped in front of the academy leader and bowed his head only before turning back forward and continuing to walk, stepping into the waters.
The elder, of course, ignored him, wanting to end this ritual – this one was a guaranteed mortal as far as he was concerned.
He felt cool on his legs that were bare due to the lack of fitting clothes he had, and then he moved. forward
'Lets see what my talent is.' - He said in his mind at the system.
[Yes]
It responded enthusiastically.
Yuxuan took a step forward and then another one and then another.
He felt the white lights known as hope gu flow into the area between is kidneys combining into a bigger one - he started to smile more and more as he was able to continue walking feeling not a single ounce if pressure
He continued to walk, admiring the sounds from behind.
'Hahaha!' – He laughed to himself inwardly with an emotion that far surpassed happiness
Apparently, he had been given blessings while also being someone with great innate talent
The excited whispers grew louder and louder as they watched him cross each step barrier.
But he started to get worried
The pressure had yet to mount to a point that he could not walk forwards and the aperture had not yet formed, what did this mean?
It meant he had a good aptitude
But possibly an extreme aptitude
Would have have one of the extreme physiques? Was he the one who had the Ancient Desolate Moon physique?
'If I am all my plans have to change!' He screamed hoping that it would stop and form
If he had the Ancient Desolate Moon Physique the First Gen Gu Yue would most likely awaken and Ray would need to kill him and that was going to change many of his plans
Not to mention he would need to alter his body, most easily with yin yang rotation gu to prevent himself from blowing up
40, 41, 42 ...
Eventually he stopped.
"48 Steps!"
The academy elder yelled.
"Another A-grade talent!"
"The Heavens have blessed our clan!"
48 steps was his limit, his body started to feel the pressure grow to powerful to take another step
Just as he stopped, the ball of light seemed to explode; there was no pain – rather, the feeling was euphoric.
His aperture had formed.
Ray sucked in a deep breath, relief washed over him
Thankfully he did not have an extreme physique and even better he had a extremely high aptitude
'Well, at least I know I'm talented' He said
This also had many benefits that he would make full use of
He turned around and walked back, taking only 1 step out of the river and standing on the bank.
Everyone was shocked and in a heated state.
Right now there was a silent competition between the clans on Qing Mao Mountain.
The Xiong clan was not really a concern in terms of talents, but the Bai clan had the genius Bai Ning Bing, who had an extremely high aptitude.
So now the Gu Yue Clan that had been on the slow decline for a few years, having no A-grade geniuses, suddenly had 2
Suddenly everyone turned their attention to the Mo and Chi clan elders that were arguing over who was going to take this genius.
The clan head too watched Yuxuan with greed and made his bid as well.
Yuxuan just stood there patiently allowing them to make their decision.
"I will take this one too." - The clan head spoke.
The elders would not have made a fuss under normal circumstances, but right now the clan head already had an A-grade aptitude and was now trying to covet the other.
The academy elder too had been pulled out of his stupor by the 3 who were arguing and moved to test Yuxuan's primeval sea.
The old man was gentle and seemed to have a soft smile and bright eyes a complete 180 from what it had been when he stepped into the water
[Please refrain from killing him.]
'This two-faced bastard...'
Looking down on him like he was a snake now, gazing at him because he could soar like a dragon
"95% primeval sea!" - The elder yelled.
There was another wave of commotion.
Fang Zheng had been an A grade too, but he had an 80% aptitude, and Yuxuan had 95% – comparing the 2 was like looking at the house of an elder and then the house of the clan head themselves.
"Clan Head, you have already taken Fang Zheng, please give this talent to the Chi clan."
"No, the Chi clan produced a B-grade talent last year, and they have another this year. This one should belong to the Mo clan!"
They started to argue again, something about how one can compare an A grade and a B grade and some other bullshit.
Ray ignored them both and walked over to the clan head and bowed.
Like that it was clear who would be taking him it
Yuxuan stood from his bow and gave a bright smile, especially since, as he lifted his head, his eyes glanced at Fang Yuan's face.
Clearly Fang Yuan was confused as to who this new person was that had an A-grade aptitude since this did not happen in his past.
But Ray had already started to think about his own plans
The next task was to get Fang Yuan under the influence of the Gu, Eternal Brotherhood