The sun rises, signifying the arrival of another day.
The students lined up properly, faces flushed with excitement as they stood before the academy Gu storage room.
Today was the day where they would pick their second Gu!
As the first to advance to middle stage, Fang Yuan had the priority in choosing, thus he stood at the front of the queue.
Behind him was Gu Yue Mo Chen, Gu Yue Fang Zheng and Gu Yue Chi Cheng.
Creak.
The Gu storage room's door was opened by the guards, and Fang Yuan was the first to set foot into it.
The Gu room was not big, but was a sight to behold. The surrounding walls had square holes in them, some were big but others were small, holding all sorts of containers in them.
There was rock pots, jade pots, cages made of woven grass, and some porcelain ware.
All sorts of Gu worms, being all Rank one, were stored in these containers. The academy probably spent more than 1000 primeval stones every day just to feed these Gu worms.
Fang Yuan glanced through and found that in many containers, they were already empty, having no Gu worms inside.
The Gu worms in the storage room were replenished once a year. Previously when they were choosing their vital Gu, most of the youngsters chose the Moonlight Gu, thus the storage room had no moonlight Gu left at the moment.
The storage room had no windows, there was only a small skylight at the rooftop.
The sunlight shone in from the skylight and formed a rectangular golden image on the ground.
The first time when he entered the Gu room, Fang Yuan already had an objective and chose the Moonlight Gu immediately. But now, he had several possible targets in his mind.
Yet these targets also depended on whether there was stock in the storage room.
Fang Yuan moved along the left wall and strolled inside slowly while examining the catalogue.
Five steps later, he paused.
A square box frame near his shoulder had a bronze bowl inside, and within it was a Gu worm.
This Gu worm was like a bedbug, flat and wide with a small head, having an oval body. It was yellow-orange throughout, and emitted a faint bronze-like glow.
This was the Bronze Skin Gu, the choice for most close-combat Gu Masters. The academy's martial arts instructor raised such a Gu, and once activated, causes the body to glow yellow, greatly raising defense.
Fang Yuan's knowledge was deep and broad, so of course he did not have any urge for this Gu. He continued forward and saw a Stone Skin Gu.
The Stone Skin Gu and Bronze Skin Gu were similar in appearance, but the Stone Skin Gu's body was grey instead, like an art piece made of rock.
After six Stone Skin Gu, there was the Iron Skin Gu.
Iron Skin Gu and Bronze Skin Gu were outwardly similar but with only a tiny difference. It was silently staying in an iron bowl, unmoving. It emitted a black iron-like glow around its body.
As humans have clans, so do Gu.
The three Gu that Fang Yuan saw simultaneously were all from the same series. They were similar in appearance and had similar effects.
"Iron Skin, Bronze Skin, Rock Skin, Jade Skin Gu….. if there is a Jade Skin Gu, I might as well choose it." Fang Yuan mumbled as his heart felt a tiny flicker of expectations rising, and he continued walking.
However he was destined to be disappointed, for after the Iron Skin Gu, he saw the Beast Skin Gu.
The Jade Skin Gu and Beast Skin Gu belonged to the same series as the Bronze Skin Gu etc. But they had a great difference in value—the Beast Skin Gu was the most common, even cheaper than the Rock Skin Gu, but it had more evolutionary lines and could fuse with more varieties of Gu.
The Jade Skin Gu was the most rare Gu in this series. Its market value was only second to the Liquor worm, and at times the price would fluctuate and rival with the Liquor worm itself.
Fang Yuan took a look, but he did not find a Jade Skin Gu. He was not disappointed, but laughed in relief, "Gu Yue village is just a middle-sized clan, the academy Gu storage room is only of middle tier quality. To have a Jade Skin Gu, that is rather impossible."
The left side of the wall had already been inspected, so Fang Yuan swapped to another wall and continued strolling.
On this wall, there was mostly the Longhorn Beetle Gu.
Similar to the Skin Gu series, Longhorn Beetle Gu was a large clan among the Rank one Gu worms.
Their outer appearances were similar—they had long and circular cylinder figures, the back area having many outlines. A large part of the body was a black colour, giving out a metallic luster. It had a pair of feelers that were long and exceeded the body size; its chin was strong and it gave out screeching noises, like the sound of timber being sawed.
With this, a few Gu Masters from some places would call them as the 'sawing tree bunch'.
What first entered Fang Yuan's vision was a Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu.
Its entire body was a red metallic colour, and it had a pair of antennae that was coarser than the usual Longhorn Beetle ones. On the top surface of the antenna there was a bamboo joint-like growth with every small interval.
This Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu was highly sought after in the market; earlier the caravan that came to the Gu Yue village had people who sold large numbers of this Gu.
The Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu gave Gu Masters temporary super strength. It had the reputation of the strength of one bull, and could sustain for five breaths.
But it had two weaknesses.
One was that every activation consumed too much primeval essence. Rank one middle stage required 10% primeval essence, but if converted to initial stage, it would consume 20%.
Another was sequela. If the Gu Master had a weak constitution, using this Gu a lot would cause their muscles to get injured, even experiencing muscle tearing. Only Gu Masters with a strong body would choose to use this Gu. A small-sized person like Fang Yuan was unsuitable for it.
Fang Yuan knew this too, and walked past the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu, continuing to look around.
"Oh? This is not bad." He halted his steps.
It was a Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle Gu.
The beetle's figure was a tiny bit thinner and longer than the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu, the entire body coated in dark yellow colour. Its pair of long feelers did not have bamboo joints, and the roots were yellow in colour, slowly fading into black at the tip.
The Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu could grant a Gu Master temporary strength, and this type of strength was immediate, only lasting for five breaths. But the Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle Gu could grant the Gu Master durability and allow their stamina expenditure to be greatly reduced, however it could only sustain for fifteen minutes. At the same time it had no repercussions.
Among the Rank one Gu worms, the Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle had high market value, comparable to the Moonlight Gu and only losing to the Jade Skin Gu and Liquor worm.
Fang Yuan inspected the surroundings and found that there was only one Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle.
"The Gu is not bad, but it is not compatible with me." Fang Yuan shook his head, giving up this Gu.
Very quickly he walked and reached the corner of the wall, having finished looking at the second wall, but he was not satisfied.
The Gu in the storage room were only of this quality, and if he wanted to get lucky or get a surprise Gu, the chances were slim.
Fang Yuan turned to the third wall and continued inspecting.
On this wall, the Boar Gu were dominant.
Boar Gu was a series among the Gu worm.
There's the Flower Boar Gu, Pink Boar Gu, Black Boar Gu and White Boar Gu.
Pink Boar Gu had the least value, almost no Gu Masters chose them. It only had one ability, and that is to gain weight. After a Gu Master injects their primeval essence, the Pink Boar Gu would change their constitution and cause them to get fat. No matter how skinny they were, they would be able to become a big fat person.
There was only two to three Pink Boar Gu in the storage room, obviously of no nurturing value.
The Flower Boar Gu was the most abundant, having a dozen at least lining into a row. These Gu worms had flower patterns on the surface, either white and black, black and pink, or white and pink. There were even some that had all three colours.
The Flower Boar Gu's use was similar to the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu, temporarily adding strength to the Gu master.
The Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu gave one bull's strength, and the Flower Boar Gu gave one boar's strength. The Flower Boar Gu spent the same amount of primeval essence as the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu but could sustain for ten breaths, twice of the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu.
This was because the Gu Master gained lesser strength, thus lesser side effects.
"The Flower Boar Gu is the most common Gu worm, and it is sold most abundantly in the market. It's price is half of the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu, truly value for money. But among the Boar Gu clan, only those two last Gu has greater value, being even more expensive than the Jade Skin Gu and Liquor worm!" Fang Yuan's eyes showed a light of deep thoughts.
A Black Boar Gu or a White Boar Gu could sell for 600 primeval stones in the market. Once it appeared, it was often sold immediately.
The Black and White Boar Gu's ability was to change the Gu Master's body constitution and raise their strength permanently.
Although the Brute Force Longhorn Beetle could grant a bull's strength, it could only last five breaths, uses too much energy to sustain and had strong after-effects.
The Black and White Boar's strength increment, although a little at a time, would be accumulated over time and once obtained, the strength would belong to the Gu Master wholly. Even if the Gu dies, this strength will still remain on the Gu Master's body.
This is the reason why the Black and White Boar Gu's value is higher than the Liquor
Worm.
The public recognises that the Liquor worm's value should be slightly inferior to the Black or White Boar Gu.
The Liquor worm can only refine primeval essence, and after an intense battle, a Gu Master's primeval essence is easily depleted. For the remainder of the battle, they can only rely on their martial arts and their physical strength. This is when the White and Black Gu show their worth; they are more reliable than the Liquor worm.
"If I can refine a Black Boar Gu or White Boar Gu, that would be good." Fang Yuan was just imagining the scenario, but with this type of Gu storage room which only has one Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle, how can there be White or Black Boar Gu which are so rare?
He walked another round and saw all the Gu worms the room had to offer. As expected, there was nothing that truly captivated him.
At last, he retrieved a Little Light Gu at a corner of the wall.
There were five Little Light Gu in the storage room.
This Gu was oddly shaped, looking like a pentagram, and only half as large as a fingernail.
The Little Light Gu was mainly paired with the Moonlight Gu, a common assistance-type Gu worm for the Moonlight Gu. To Fang Yuan had chosen this Gu, it was merely an average option, but at least it suited his development path.
"Fang Yuan is out."
"Geez, finally out after so long."
"I wonder what Gu he chose?"
"He already has the Liquor worm, this is his third Gu, maybe he won't be able to raise them properly. Hehe."
Fang Yuan leisurely walked out of the storage room. The students were outside for such a long time and had started to become restless.
"It's my turn! I wonder what Gu has Fang Yuan chosen?" Once Gu Yue Mo Chen saw Fang Yuan stepping out he hurriedly took big steps and entered the storage room.
He checked and found that the sole Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle was still there. Mo Chen could not refrain from becoming overjoyed, immediately taking it away.
Afterwards, Fang Zheng went in.
"I have the Moonlight Gu for offense, but I lack a defensive-type Gu worm." Gu Yue Fang Zheng after long consideration, decided to choose a Bronze Skin Gu.
Gu Yue Chi Cheng was the fourth to enter.
"I need an evasion ability, so in future battles I will be able to hit others, but others cannot hit me. I'll be virtually unbeatable." He looked left and right, and finally chose a Dragonpill cricket Gu.