Gu Daoist Master

Chapter 4 – Gu Yue Fang Yuan

The sun rises in the sky, the sun ray brilliant. The mountain fog is not very thick; the sharp rays easily pass through.

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. Every generation of clan head had lived in the pavilion. With every major ceremony or big incident, the clan elders would gather and discuss meetings here as well. This was the entire village’s authority central.

“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. However they did not go up, but were led downstairs after going through the entrance of a great hall. Following down a constructed stone ladder, they went into an underground cave.

The group of youths made surprised and amazed noises. The underground cave was beautiful, stalactites sparkling with the colors of the rainbow. This light shone on the youth’s faces, the neon hues gorgeous.

Fang Yuan was mixed into the crowd, quietly observing everything that was happening. In his heart, he thought: Hundreds of years ago, the Gu Yue clan came to Qing Mao Mountain and settled down after migrating from the central lands to the South Border. It was when they found a spirit spring in this underground cave. This spirit spring produces a large number of primeval stones – It could be said that this was the foundation of the Gu Yue village.

They walked several hundred steps. It got darker and the sounds of water were faintly heard. After turning around a corner, a 3 zhang – wide(1) underground river greeted them. By now the colorful lights of the stalactites had disappeared completely, yet in the darkness the river emitted faint blue light. It was like a star river of the night sky.

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. The beautiful blue and pink colored petals were like shaped like a crescent moon; the flower stems were like jade, the center of the flower shining like the sort of warm brilliance that radiates from pearls under the light. At first glance, in the dark background the flower sea looks like a huge piece of land covered in bluish green carpet dotted with countless pearls.

The moon orchid is food for a lot of Gu. This flower sea could be said as the clan’s biggest cultivation medium, Fang Yuan thought knowingly to himself.

“Wow, so pretty!”

“It really is beautiful!”

sight opened the young teenagers’ eyes. Each one of them had a light radiating from their gaze

the opposite bank. Walk as far as you can, of course

clear,” the youths replied. Actually before they came here, they had all heard their family members or seniors talk about it. It is known that the further you can walk, the better

Chen Bo.” The elder held the name list and called out the first

up to a youth’s kneecaps. 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

said, “Gu Yue Chen Bo, 3 steps, no talent to

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,

to him, as if reality had killed all his hopes. Many people threw him pitiful gazes, while even more had fixated stares

pity that this youth could only walk four steps forward

the natural talent to be a Gu Master. Generally speaking, it is not bad if five out of ten people have talent. In the Gu Clan, this ratio is higher, reaching six people. This is because the Gu Yue clan’s ancestor – The first generation clan leader was a famous, legendary and powerful man. Due to cultivation reasons his bloodline carried powerful genes,

the scene in the dark started making ugly expressions. Even the clan head was frowning slightly. The next moment, the academy elder called out

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

with wide opened eyes, shocked. The academy elder happily exclaimed, “Good, Gu Yue Mo Bei, B grade talent!

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 six by six, can

of the family. A C grade talent youth after two years of cultivation will usually be able to become a rank two senior Gu Master, becoming the clan’s backbone. A B grade talent must be cared for. Often becoming a future clan

would bring great luck to the entire clan. Great care must be given; with this talent in about 10 years they can become a rank four Gu Master. At that moment they would be able to compete for the

become one of the elders of the Gu Yue clan. That is why the academy elder laughed happily; the elders watching

face was already smiling. He provokingly looked at his old nemesis and said, “What do you think? My

Lian had a head full of red hair. He made an annoyed ‘hmph’, not replying to other.

quite a number of C and D grade talents among them, while half of those youths

master, but in the end he perished together with the Flower Wine monk and did

academy elder shouted,

all the elders looked at Gu Yue Chi Lian; this was Gu