NOVEL NEXT Chapter 238: Chapter 2572
Fang Yuan raised his hands, breaking the two out of their stupor.
"I'm sorry," he said with a firm, almost growling voice. The greatest master in my clan is only a Rank 5. He can refine with a success rate of about 70% for any Gu under rank 3, 50% for rank 4, and 35% for Rank 5."
"Certainly not worthy of the attention of 2 mighty clans such as yourselves…"
The two kids perked their ears up,
One had to know that even Rank 6 Gu Immortals were as rare as hen's teeth. The entire population had taken a tremendous drop. Fang Yuan had pillaged just about every resource in the world, and the subsequent fight brought the number of people in the Gu world down from 7 Billion(1) to a mere 1 Billion.
So to have survived the war was already considered a huge win! And not to mention being a non-combatant was even rarer! And a Rank 5 Gu Refiner at that!
"Tell us! If it's not too outrageous we can certainly come to a deal!" they both said, thinking that Fang Yuan's master was humble, yet his descendant confidently boasted of such high success numbers, which only added to the veracity of his skills!
They both thought, "This clan must have been newly established after the patriarch's original clan was destroyed, he's probably limited by resources and yet can still attain such a high success rate, he must be quite talented!"
Gu Immortals weren't the only thing lacking after the war, resources were scarcer than ever before, this was largely because Fagn Yuan looted half the world of all their resource points, and then bought the other half from forces at bargain bin prices.
Only the Central Continent and the Western Desert remained largely unchanged, in fact, the Western Desert was seen as more prosperous than ever!
This is due to the large number of Dao Marks of unique and rare paths that formed from the fight between the 7 sins, the 4 Venerable Kings of Heavenly Court and Fang Yuan!
Though natural treasures took millennia to form, the sheer volume and concentration there have allowed rank 6 treasures to be in quite high abundance, and even Rank 7 and 8 aren't too uncommon, with a few close to the rank 9 level!
That and the lack of a strong central power or clans of power, as most lived a nomadic life, with few towns and even fewer cities, meant that resources were up for anyone to grab.
And believe me…anyone was willing to brave the risks.
"The Wu Clan has just managed to claim another inch of land out in the Western Desert!" Wu Fei Hong was the first to pounce, "The region is rich in many Rank 5 and even Rank 6 resources but mainly of Wind Path."
After all, the Wu Clan was big on Wind Path and their young usually trained in Wind Path inheritances, though Wu Yong has been taking measures to broaden the scope of talents in his clan.
"Hmph! Big deal," Lan Zhuo snorted, "The Wu family as a whole may be rich but what about yourself?"
Lan Zhuo pointed accusatorily at Fei Hong, "You may be the great-great-granddaughter of Wu Yong, but everyone knows that in terms of the number of wives and concubines, Wu Yong only loses to the Supreme leader of the Great Love Alliance, Wu Shuai!"
Wu Fei Hong was fuming, because Lan Zhuo was right!
"How much financial backing could you have? Enough to support an entire clan?" Lan Zhuo stuck out his chest and proclaimed confidently, "I am the direct son of the Central City's City Lord! When I speak I carry the full weight of my father before me, and I can guarantee that I will not only support your master but your entire clan as well!"
In terms of overall wealth, the Wu Clan was certainly in a better position than the City Lord's finances, but in matters regarding the city as a whole? Not to mention Central City, the capital of the Central Continent, and headquarters to Heavenly Court itself?
Even the Wu Clan would tread carefully before entering a bidding war with them, not to mention the great-great-granddaughter of the Wu Clan.
Fei Hong wasn't even in the top 10 amongst Wu Yong's great-great-grandchildren.
Fei Hong refused to let up, "Still…joining me is tantamount to joining the Wu Clan, and with all the perks and freedom, joining Lan Zhuo will only lead your clan down the path of an indentured servant, don't you think so Fang Yuan?"
It was at this point that the 2 turned to the target of their bickering, only to find empty air.
"Erhm!" Wei Cheng cleared his throat once the dust settled, "Great sir Lan Zhuo and madam Wu Fei Hong…the young master Fang Yuan has left…long ago."
"..."
~
Testing grounds
All manner of people could be seen walking freely, either spectating alone or waiting their turns in groups.
"The people here are from all over the 5 regions, the central continent natives don't even make up more than 20%."
A young dashing man, with jet-black hair and tattered clothes that sharply contrasted his handsome face, was walking through the crowd towards one of the testing squares.
"Well, this is to be expected, ever since the 5 Regions began merging, the issue of suppression at the border dropped significantly, and I guess with time so did much of the prejudice."
This was, of course, Fang Yuan!
The testing method at the Heavenly Academy was simple in design but difficult to attempt.
It was made of 3 stages, the number of stages that you placed within the top 500 determined the level of student one would.
1 stage, meant that they would have the right to enrol, but only as an honorary student, the lowest of the low, given a tiny stipend, a small selection from the mess hall, a shared dorm, access to school-wide lectures, and low-level access to the libraries.
2 stage meant that the individual possessed moderate talent, hard work or skill, this meant they were an official student, they would be given private living quarters, with 1 or maybe 2 roommates, medium access to the library, and specialised classes during the week.
Passing all 3 stages would entitle one to the highest tier, true student, these students were given the most privileged access to all the school facilities, including training grounds, and inheritances, and even allowed to attend special lectures that the other students weren't privy to.
These lectures were usually always conducted by Rank 6 Gu Immortal and were mostly for the benefit of Rank 5 students who were hoping to overcome their tribulation and reach Rank 6.
Doing extraordinarily well in the test would grant students the title of a distinguished student, they were assigned under the care of certain staff within the school, and held an even loftier position, as they could connect with the higher-ups of the Gu World.
Many students were nervously pacing back and forth,
"Which test should I do first…I'm most confident in my knowledge compared to strength, but maybe I should do what I'm bad at first and make up for it later."
"Who cares about the other 2, it's the 3rd test that is scary, who ever heard of measuring luck and talent? Talent I get, but luck? Who can affect their luck? This is biased towards the Northern Plains and Giant Sun descendants!"
Fang Yuan overheard all these conversations,
"It seems Star Constellation is quite strict, choosing people based on not just their talent but innate luck as well. Interesting…"
After ascending to a higher plane of existence Fang Yuan began to feel different, although his goal could be considered 99% complete, he was still only a half-step Reverend, he had not truly broken free of the confines of mortality.
"Before I do that I must sever myself from the world completely and thoroughly, it is crucial for the next step of my plan!"
Wisdom Gu chimed in, "It's still an insane plan, but I get it, without going that far, to even risk your eternal existence, you won't be satisfied and my revenge won't be complete, so I won't talk you out of it, in fact, I'll encourage it!"
(1)I don't remember the number of people in the Gu World, I feel like it's been mentioned but I forgot, so I just use Earth numbers.