Autumn passed, and winter arrived.
In the blink of an eye, nearly 1 year had gone by since the Awakening Ceremony.
It was now early February. Fang Ming's academy days were approaching their end, and there were only a few weeks left before the final assessment and academy graduation.
By this time, Fang Ming had already been a Rank 2 Gu Master for over 2 months.
He had broken through around mid-November.
Fang Zheng, on the other hand, had only recently advanced to Rank 2.
This gap was not small.
During the earlier months, Fang Ming's cultivation speed had been extremely fast. With A-grade aptitude, Liquor Worm, and enough primeval stones, his progress had surpassed the academy's expectations again and again. By the time he reached Rank 1 peak stage, none of the other students had even reached Rank 1 upper stage yet.
This once again refreshed many clansmen's understanding of Liquor Worm.
Liquor Worm was indeed a good Gu. There was no denying that. But the reason Fang Ming could sell it above its normal market price was not because Liquor Worm was truly miraculous by itself. It was because Fang Ming had used his own cultivation speed as the best advertisement.
To outsiders, Fang Ming's progress looked almost unreasonable. Many clansmen naturally placed most of the credit on Liquor Worm and began to think of it as a rare cultivation treasure.
In truth, Liquor Worm was only part of the reason.
Fang Ming was A-grade. He had spent nearly all his time cultivating, reduced unnecessary training, and poured primeval stones into his aperture without hesitation. At his most intense period, he spent more than 8 primeval stones a day just to cultivate faster.
Once the clansmen calmed down later, they would naturally understand this. Liquor Worm was powerful, but not miraculous. Fang Ming's speed came from talent, resources, focus, and reckless spending working together.
But at that moment, the heat around Liquor Worm had not yet cooled.
That was why Fang Ming chose to sell it then.
That evening, Fang Ming went early to a busy inn often frequented by Gu Masters. He bought dinner and wine for himself, sat quietly near the side, and ate slowly. Dozens of minutes later, the inn entered its busiest period. Gu Masters came in one after another, the tables filled, and the noise gradually rose.
Only then did Fang Ming stand up on a table.
The inn quieted slightly.
When he saw that enough eyes had turned toward him, Fang Ming directly announced that he was selling Liquor Worm here and now, to the highest bidder.
The Gu Masters in the inn were immediately shocked.
Recently, Liquor Worm had been discussed too many times. Fang Ming's cultivation speed had already proven its value in their eyes, and many Rank 1 Gu Masters dreamed of obtaining one. Now that Fang Ming was publicly auctioning it, the atmosphere quickly became heated.
Bids rose one after another.
In the end, Fang Ming sold the Liquor Worm for 650 primeval stones, even higher than the price of the previous Liquor Worm he had sold.
After collecting the primeval stones, Fang Ming left the inn.
That was only one part of his gains during this year.
His physical strength had also increased greatly.
Fang Ming had copied Gu Yue Shi Shan's natural strength talent, then copied and used several boar strength Gu variants. First was Black Boar Gu, then White Boar Gu, then Brown Boar Gu. Later, after he became Rank 2, he encountered a Rank 2 Black Boar King Strength Gu and chose to copy it.
He had actually encountered a 4th Rank 1 variant, Grey Boar Gu, but by then, his situation had changed. He was already Rank 2, and after seeing Black Boar King Strength Gu, copying Grey Boar Gu was no longer worth it.
Black Boar King Strength Gu alone gave strength equal to roughly 5 boars.
Together with the 3 Rank 1 boar strength variants, Fang Ming now possessed nearly 8 boars' worth of strength.
This was no longer ordinary strength.
A single punch from him could easily break through weaker Rank 1 defensive Gu effects, especially lower-end defenses like Mud Skin Gu or Clay Skin Gu.
After breaking through to Rank 2 in November and causing another uproar, Fang Ming began attempting to refine and fuse Moonlight Gu and Little Light Gu into Moonglow Gu.
The process did not go as smoothly as he had expected.
He had copied Fang Yuan's refinement talent and master-level attainment, but talent and attainment did not mean he had Fang Yuan's hundreds of years of refinement experience. Fang Ming understood the process much better than ordinary Gu Masters, yet when he truly attempted the refinement, unexpected problems still appeared.
He failed several times.
Each failure injured the Gu, forced him to wait for recovery, and required him to buy more materials.
The cost was not small.
But in the end, Fang Ming succeeded.
Moonglow Gu became his main Rank 2 attack Gu.
After solving his attack Gu problem, Fang Ming turned toward defense.
His first target was Jade Skin Gu.
Jade Skin Gu was one of the better Rank 1 defensive Gu. It was reliable, well known, and had several advancement paths leading toward different Rank 2 defensive Gu. Fang Ming spent a long time searching for it and even offered a premium price.
Eventually, he found someone willing to sell.
But at the last moment, the seller suddenly changed his mind.
This left Fang Ming with questions.
He suspected that someone had interfered behind the scenes, perhaps even an elder. The strange part was that Fang Ming could not understand why. At that point, he had not offended anyone deeply enough to justify such a move.
Since the Jade Skin Gu path was blocked, Fang Ming pretended to give up on buying a defensive Gu for the time being.
But as the academy final assessment approached, he secretly bought a Rank 1 Stone Skin Gu.
Publicly, his visible foundation was simple.
Moonglow Gu.
Stone Skin Gu.
As for the rest, not everything needed to be shown.
By this point, Fang Ming's copied path through the year had already become quite long.
In March, he copied Fang Zheng's A-grade talent.
In April, he copied his first Liquor Worm.
In May, he sold that Liquor Worm and copied a second one.
In June, he copied Fang Yuan's refinement talent and master-level attainment.
In July, after advancing to Rank 1 middle stage, he copied Fang Yuan's battle instinct talent.
In August, he copied Black Boar Gu.
In September, he copied White Boar Gu from Fang Yuan and later sold Liquor Worm.
In October, he copied Brown Boar Gu.
In November, he copied Gu Yue Shi Shan's natural strength talent and broke through to Rank 2.
In December, he copied Rank 2 Black Boar King Strength Gu.
In January, he copied Rank 2 Solid Rock Skin Gu.
Most of these things could not be exposed. Some were Gu, some were talents, and others had already become advantages fused into Fang Ming himself. Individually, each gain had its own value, but together, they had completely changed his foundation.
Fang Ming was no longer the same person who had first entered the academy. His cultivation had reached Rank 2, his body carried nearly 8 boars' worth of strength, and his combat instincts had sharpened through repeated training and copied talent. Even his Gu path had begun to take shape around Moonglow Gu, Stone Skin Gu, and overwhelming close-combat strength.
But this was still not enough.
That was why Fang Ming came to the mountain.
In the forest, a wild boar lowered its head and charged.
Its 4 hooves trampled the ground, sending dried leaves flying behind it. Its tusks were sharp, and its body was thick with muscle and fat. Compared to an academy student standing still as a target, a charging wild beast was completely different.
Fang Ming stood several steps away, his gaze fixed on the boar.
He had been hunting wild boars regularly during this period.
Part of it was to strengthen himself through the boar strength Gu he had copied.
Part of it was to collect meat and materials for small income.
But the more important reason was training.
He needed to test his combat ability, practice Gu coordination, train against real killing intent, and hit moving targets that could run, dodge, turn, and charge at him. Shooting stationary grass puppets had been useful at the beginning, but its value was limited. A grass puppet would not suddenly lower its head and rush forward, twist its body at the last moment, or force him to control distance while avoiding tusks.
The wild boar rushed closer.
Fang Ming raised his hand.
Moonglow Gu activated.
Pale blue light gathered in his palm, brighter and deeper than Moonlight Gu.
Fang Ming did not release it immediately.
His eyes watched the boar's hooves, shoulders, and head. The copied battle instinct helped him read small changes: the slight shift of the boar's weight, the tilt of its head, and the way its right front hoof dug deeper into the ground.
It was going to adjust its charge.
Fang Ming stepped sideways.
The wild boar brushed past him.
At that instant, Fang Ming released the moonblade.
A bright crescent flew out and struck the side of the boar's neck.
Blood splashed.
The wound was far deeper than what Moonlight Gu could have done.
The boar screamed and stumbled, but it did not fall immediately. Its body twisted, hooves scraping against the ground as it tried to turn back toward Fang Ming.
Fang Ming's expression did not change.
He moved again, keeping distance.
The wild boar charged a second time, slower than before but still dangerous.
Fang Ming did not rush.
He waited for the angle.
Blue light gathered again.
This time, he released earlier.
The moonblade cut across the boar's front leg.
The beast lost balance and crashed into the ground, sending dried leaves and soil flying.
Fang Ming stepped forward and raised his palm once more.
The third moonblade struck the boar's head.
The wild boar twitched heavily, then stopped moving.
Fang Ming lowered his hand.
He did not feel joy.
Instead, he immediately checked his primeval essence.
Moonglow Gu was powerful, but it was also expensive.
Fang Ming had already been Rank 2 for over 2 months, so he was no longer completely unfamiliar with Rank 2 primeval essence. Even so, he was still only at Rank 2 initial stage. Compared to Rank 2 upper stage or peak stage Gu Masters, his primeval essence quality was much weaker. When they used Rank 2 Gu, their attacks would be stronger, and the relative consumption would be lower.
Fang Ming was different.
He could use Moonglow Gu, but every attack still consumed a noticeable portion of his reserve. This was an advantage, but also a danger. If he threw moonblades carelessly, an enemy could kite him until his primeval essence was exhausted. Once that happened, his Rank 2 cultivation would not save him.
This weakness would improve as his cultivation rose.
But as a Rank 2 initial stage Gu Master, even with A-grade aptitude, Fang Ming still had to watch every use.
He looked at the boar's corpse.
The fight had been short, and the result was clean, but Fang Ming was not satisfied enough to become careless.
A real enemy would not charge as simply as a wild boar. A Gu Master would dodge, a wolf pack would surround, and a stronger beast might endure the first wound and close the distance anyway.
This training was useful, but it was still only training.
Fang Ming walked to the corpse and checked the wound.
The Moonglow Gu's cutting power was indeed strong. The wound on the boar's neck was deep and clean. Against flesh, it was far more decisive than Moonlight Gu.
But hitting the target was still the key.
A powerful attack that missed was only wasted primeval essence.
Fang Ming took out what useful materials he could carry: boar tusks, some meat, and parts that could be sold cheaply.
The income was not much, but Fang Ming did not dislike small gains. A small gain that repeated many times became useful.
He wiped the blood from his hand and looked deeper into the forest.
The winter wind moved between the trees, and dried leaves scraped against the ground.
Fang Ming did not stay long.
He had tested what he needed today.
Moonglow Gu could kill wild boars cleanly. His battle instinct helped him read moving targets better, his body could keep up with ordinary wild beasts, and his primeval essence consumption was still a weakness.
These were all useful results.
Fang Ming turned and left the area.
He would come again.
Before graduation, he needed more moving targets, more real pressure, and more chances to coordinate his body with his Gu.
The final assessment was only a few weeks away.
That was Fang Ming's last controlled test before leaving the academy.