"You set an unbeatable record in combat!?"
Fang Yuan smirked, "I was just lucky, " he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Elder Zhuang's mouth went dry, even though Gu, which can store visual information, wasn't rare, to give so many of them out at a large event like this would tank the finances of even the wealthiest man.
So, to cut costs, only those deemed special in advance had recording features on their token.
Since Fang Yuan was not deemed exceptional before his performance, no one had bothered to record it, but Examiner Gui Ren had noted down the battle in a voice recording, giving no room to doubt Fang Yuan's capabilities.
"He beat all 5 waves…and not only that…he beat them in the fastest time ever…" Elder Zhuang was astonished, to say the least, "Examinee Fang Yuan, what is your specialisation? What kind of path will you pursue?"
"Hmm," Fang Yuan scratched his chin and pondered, "I haven't given it enough thought, but for now I guess I'll go for…"
Elder Zhuang had read the token and the attached information. He knew that Fang Yuan had written Gu Refiner as his background, so he was under the assumption that he would pick…
"Wisdom Path."
"?!?!?!" Elder Zhuang did a sharp 180, "Wisdom Path, are you sure?!?"
Fang Yuan pretended to be shocked and leaned back at the 'sudden' reaction, "Y-yes, is that strange?"
"Haha! Not at all! Not at all!" Elder Zhuang was beyond ecstatic.
"Psst," Wisdom Gu whispered, "I thought you'd want to be a Gu refiner since you know, you're the Great Love Immortal Venerable and all that, why change your plans?"
"Don't you think it would be super suspicious that another great gu refiner appeared with the name Fang Yuan?" Fang Yuan responded.
"Well, I guess so? But it's not the same surname nor spelling, so you would have to be an absolute paranoid, oh…."
Fang Yuan clued Wisdom Gu in on his plans, "This Elder Zhaung is a Wisdom Path cultivator, yet his aura is a bit shaky, indicating that he's newly advanced, most likely he is an honorary elder, after all a Rank 8 is still a Rank 8, so his position will not make him a political enemy, rather all sides will try to rope him in."
"But this academy is run by Star Constellation. What internal faction would go against her?"
"Please," Fang Yuan scoffed, "Unless there is a grand overarching threat, or something that threathens the enitre human race, there is no such thing as a compeltely unified faction, and from what I can gather Star Constellation runs this place in name only, she seems to mostly be a figurehead at this point.
"What you say makes sense," Wisdom Gu wasn't using any of it's deduction powers, as it would soon require the consumption of lifespan to sustain, something Fang Yuan could not afford right now, "So you plan to cozy up with this elder so that you can have a smooth journey?"
"Nope." Fang Yuan smiled, "I want to use him to get closer to my real objective: Gu Yue Starlight!"
?!?!?!
Wisdom Gu gave Fang Yuan a disgusted look, the kind you give to a pervert who has crossed the line, "Isn't it enough that you have Han Xie Mo? You want your daughter now, too?"
Fang Yuan gave a smile that didn't extend to his eyes as a swift punch landed on Wisdom Gu's head, "Firstly, don't say her name, secondly, that's not what I meant!"
The exchange happened within the mindscape that Wisdom Gu's corporal form existed i..
"How did you do that???" Wisdom Gu rubbed the spot he was hit.
"Hmph, I have Great-Grandmaster attainments in just about every field, and near Supreme Grandmaster in Wisdom and Soul, it is child's play for me to manifest my soul into the mindscape for something like this."
"You!?" The pain Wisdom Gu felt was only mental, yet for a Wisdom Path Gu, it was tantamount to physical.
"Getting access to Gu Yue Starlight is the fastest way for me to get closer to Wu Shuai, and to see for myself if he has become seduced or not." Fang Yuan shook his hand in the mindscape, "And even though this guy is not an official Elder, he holds special privileges and freedoms that being his disciple affords."
"Yeah, I got all that," Wisdom Gu rubbed at the bump that had grown on its head, "I just don't understand how you are going to get from this Elder Zhuang to Gu Yue Starlight."
"Yeah, me neither." Fang Yuan shrugged.
"..."
"..."
"What…"
"You heard me."
"...then why…?"
"Nothing is set in stone yet, I just want him to be interested in me, wait till I ace this test as well, then we'll talk."
Elder Zhuang was leaping for joy so much that he nearly forgot his first assignment was to protect the intelligence portion of the exam.
"Oh goodness! Elder Peh, look at the time!" Elder Zhuang took out a small ornate pocket watch that was another mortal Gu House, a time path one!
"It's 5 Minutes before the exam has to start, and little Fang Yuan over here hasn't even been registered!" Elder Peh, Fang Yuan, and everyone present had strange expressions, catching onto something that Elder Zhaung seemed to have just let slip out.
"Did he just call Fang Yuan affectionately as little Fang Yuan? Is he going to take him as his student already?" was what everyone else, including Elder Peh, thought, but Fang Yuan instead said, "Wow, this old geezer is much richer than I thought, to be able to buy a mortal Gu House just to tell time."
"That or this world's progress on Gu Houses has reached a practical level of application where anyone can afford the marvels of what you would know as technology."
"This won't do at all," Elder Zhuang was still completely oblivious to the thought processes of everyone present, "If Fang Yuan misses this exam, he'll have to wait till tomorrow for the next slot!"
"!!!" This caught Fang Yuan's attention, "Oh, now that certainly won't do."
Elder Zhuan nodded, "Indeed, it would be utterly unacceptable."
"I wanted to set all 3 highest scores before the end of the day."
"Mhm indeed all 3…wait what."
"What!" everyone gasped, including Wu Fei Hong, Elder Zhuang and Elder Peh, "Set all 3 high scores! That's impossible!" but only Wu Fei Hong spoke aloud.
Fang Yuan glanced toward her, causing her to blush, "Ah! It's not like I don't believe that you are a talented individual, it's just that though the first 2 tests are within anyone's control, the 3rd one…"
Elder Zhuang shook his head, "The 3rd one is frankly the most illogical and weird test in the world, only Heavenly Star Academy uses it."
A soft cough drew everyone's attention to Elder Peh, "Not to worry Elder Zhaung I have procured Fang Yuan's information and registered him straight into this test and the 3rd test, the head of tests was quite amused to hear of someone daring enough to challenge all 3 test in the same day, let alone setting each high scores, she would like to remind Elder Zhuang that while it is unconventional, the test of Luck has had a proven track record, after all, Heavenly Star Academy's lineige trace its roots to Star Constellation Immortal Venerable herself, and naturally by association, Wu Shuai and of course the Reverend Fang Yuan; to some lose extent."
Hearing the name Fang Yuan, all those present had a trace of awe and wonder sparkle across their eyes, even Elder Zhuang was somewhat rueful, and jealous of the name Fang Yuan.
"Hehe," Wisdom Gu chuckled, "Never thought I would see the day people revere the great demon Fang Yuan."
Fang Yuan's eyes once again didn't match his smile as a swift nod to the head reminded Wisdom Gu, "It's the Great Love Immortal Venerable to you."