Days passed after the year-end examination.
Fang Ming was assigned to a Gu Master team.
The team belonged to the Shi faction's influence. On paper, this was normal. Fang Ming had received support from the Shi faction during his academy year, so being arranged into a related team after graduation was expected.
Before meeting the team, Fang Ming had already made another preparation.
He copied a Rank 2 defensive Gu.
Solid Rock Skin Gu.
It was the advanced Rank 2 version of Stone Skin Gu.
Fang Ming had not chosen it because it was the strongest defensive option available. There were better defensive Gu in the world, and even within Rank 2 there were many paths with stronger potential. But Solid Rock Skin Gu had one advantage that mattered greatly right now.
It was explainable.
He had previously bought Stone Skin Gu and had used it publicly during the final assessment. If he later revealed Solid Rock Skin Gu, others could accept that he had advanced his Stone Skin Gu into its Rank 2 version. Whether they believed the full story or not did not matter. The surface logic was enough.
Publicly, Fang Ming now had Moonglow Gu and Stone Skin Gu.
Privately, he had Solid Rock Skin Gu ready.
His team still thought his defensive Gu was only Rank 1 Stone Skin Gu, and Fang Ming had no intention of correcting them unless necessary.
The team leader was a Rank 2 Gu Master named Gu Yue Shi Nan.
He had a gentle expression and spoke politely. When he saw Fang Ming, he smiled like a senior looking after a junior.
"From today on, you'll move with us. You just left the academy, so don't rush to prove yourself. Watch first, ask when you need to, and follow the team's pace. As long as you don't act recklessly, we won't let you suffer losses."
Fang Ming nodded.
"Then I'll learn from senior for now."
Shi Nan's smile deepened slightly.
The other team members also greeted Fang Ming.
There were 2 female Gu Masters and 1 male Gu Master.
The first female Gu Master was Gu Yue Lan Yu. She had a calm appearance and careful eyes. When she greeted Fang Ming, her tone was polite, but she did not speak more than necessary.
The second female Gu Master was Gu Yue Ruo Yin. Compared with Lan Yu, she was quieter and more reserved. She only nodded lightly after giving her name.
The last member was Gu Yue Shi Qiu, a Rank 1 male Gu Master from the Shi faction. His smile was warmer than the others, but Fang Ming could feel some dissatisfaction hidden behind it.
Their attitudes were friendly on the surface, but their smiles were measured, their words were polite, and no one asked too much.
Fang Ming did not care.
This was not a family.
This was a team arranged through faction interest.
Not long after, Shi Nan accepted their first mission.
Collect Light Fungus.
Light Fungus was a material used in refining Little Light Gu. It grew in cold and shaded places where faint light gathered. The material was not rare, but wild Light Fungus was scattered and difficult to collect in large amounts.
The location was also far from the village.
Going there, collecting it, and returning would take several days.
The mission was not dangerous.
But it was slow, boring, and not profitable.
Fang Ming understood the meaning immediately.
This was not harsh suppression. It was too proper for that.
A newly graduated Gu Master being given a low-danger collection mission was reasonable. A senior team taking care of a newcomer was also reasonable. Even if Fang Ming complained, others would only think he was arrogant and unable to endure hardship.
This was the useful part of proper rules.
They did not look like chains.
Fang Ming did not become angry.
Anger was for the weak.
He simply saw the arrangement clearly, went along with the flow, and prepared his own countermeasures.
Right now, he needed wilderness experience more than high-risk rewards. He needed to observe terrain, understand beast habitats, learn how teams chose camping locations, how they moved in the wild, how they arranged watches, how they carried supplies, and how they handled mission materials.
Books could shorten the road.
But books could not replace walking on the road.
More importantly, Fang Ming still had gaps.
His public attack Gu was Moonglow Gu. His public defensive Gu was Stone Skin Gu, though he now had Solid Rock Skin Gu hidden as an extra assurance. But he had no movement Gu, no investigative Gu, and no real mission experience.
In the academy arena, that was acceptable.
Outside the village, those gaps could become fatal.
His finances were stable for now, but far from abundant.
After selling 2 Liquor Worms for over 1,300 primeval stones, selling Green Blood Cockroach Gu for over 500, and receiving roughly 400 from Shi faction support and academy allowance, Fang Ming had earned a large amount during the academy year.
But he had also spent heavily.
Around 150 primeval stones had gone into materials for refining Moonglow Gu. Feeding the many Gu he had copied had taken roughly 400. Fast cultivation had consumed around 1,200 primeval stones, and Stone Skin Gu alone had cost him 400.
Now, Fang Ming had around 400 primeval stones left.
This amount would not last long at his cultivation speed, but it was enough to keep him stable until the next caravan arrived. Hopefully, the caravan would still arrive early, around March as expected.
He had not even settled his housing properly yet.
For the past few days, Fang Ming had stayed in an inn while observing prices and locations. The landlords clearly knew he had won first place and had money, so several of them wanted to cheat him out of his primeval stones. He had also checked where Fang Yuan rented to use as reference, only to find that Fang Yuan was still staying in an inn like him.
That matter could wait.
For now, the Light Fungus mission was acceptable.
The only bad part was that it interrupted his cultivation time.
But Fang Ming understood that he could not have everything.
Shi Nan led the team out of the village.
The snow-covered mountain road stretched ahead of them. The path was uneven, and under the snow there could be loose stones, roots, pits, old traps, or frozen mud.
Shi Nan looked at the sky and said, "The location is far. Light Fungus is scattered, so collecting it will take time. Everyone, keep up."
Then he turned toward Fang Ming with a mild smile.
"Fang Ming, if you cannot keep pace, tell us. You are a newcomer, so there is no need to force yourself."
His tone was kind.
But Fang Ming understood.
This was an authority display.
The team leader wanted to set the pace, test him, and show hierarchy without creating open conflict.
"Understood," Fang Ming said.
Shi Nan moved first.
The team followed.
At first, Fang Ming kept up naturally.
The pace was already somewhat harsh. Snow made every step troublesome. A wrong step could sink the foot into hidden gaps or slide down a slope. Sometimes they had to leap over roots, sometimes climb over rocks, sometimes bend through narrow spaces between trees.
But Fang Ming's body was strong.
With several boar strength Gu effects and Gu Yue Shi Shan's monstrous natural strength talent, his physical foundation was far above most newly graduated Gu Masters.
Shi Nan increased the pace little by little.
He did it carefully.
Not enough to look unreasonable.
Enough to test where Fang Ming's limit was.
Fang Ming kept following for a while.
Then he stopped matching them.
His body could still keep up, but the problem was not physical strength. The problem was the road.
Snowy mountain terrain was dangerous. Some snow hid holes beneath it. Some patches were not solid. Some slopes were slippery, and some falls could become dangerous because of pointed stones or hidden roots beneath the snow.
Fang Ming had experience in the mountains. During his last academy months, he had hunted many boars in the surrounding area and had his own share of suffering and falling. He knew the pace he was used to.
If danger appeared or if he was being chased, he could run faster.
But running all the way to the mission site at that pace was foolish.
Not because his physique could not endure it.
Because it was mentally exhausting.
At high speed, he had to constantly judge terrain, snow thickness, footholds, slopes, roots, and hidden danger. At his own familiar pace, he could analyze the road almost instinctively, without wasting too much energy or focus.
So Fang Ming simply slowed down.
Not because he could not keep up.
Because he did not want to waste attention on Shi Nan's little test.
The team members noticed quickly.
At first, they had been impressed. Fang Ming had kept up with such a harsh pace easily, and he was not even huffing. His physique was clearly better than some members of the team.
Then he suddenly slowed down by himself.
This puzzled them.
He was not exhausted.
He was not injured.
He simply stopped matching their pace and began running at the speed he wanted.
Shi Nan noticed it too.
For a moment, a strange look flashed in his eyes.
If Fang Ming had continued keeping up, Shi Nan's authority display would have lost effect. But now that Fang Ming had slowed down, Shi Nan had a chance to show both authority and care as a senior.
He signaled the team to stop and wait.
When Fang Ming approached, Shi Nan smiled gently and said, "Junior Fang Ming, there is no need to force yourself. We are a team. Just tell us, and we will slow down for—"
Fang Ming did not stop.
He did not listen.
He did not reply.
He did not even acknowledge Shi Nan.
Since he knew the target location of the mission, he simply ran past them at his own pace and continued forward.
The team froze.
For a breath, no one spoke.
Then Gu Yue Lan Yu stared at Fang Ming's back and asked in disbelief, "He just ignored us like that…"
Gu Yue Shi Qiu had the weakest physique in the team. He had already been sweating from Shi Nan's earlier forced pace, and now his face showed clear indignation.
"Brother Shi Nan, that Fang Ming is too full of himself. He did not even respect you, the team leader. Who does he think he is?"
Gu Yue Ruo Yin did not speak, but her gaze toward Fang Ming's back became more guarded.
Shi Nan's smile disappeared.
A gloomy look appeared on his face.
He looked at Fang Ming running ahead and said coldly, "Keep up."
The team hurried after Fang Ming.
Fang Ming continued jogging forward at his own pace.
His eyes moved across the road as he ran, comparing what he saw with what he had read. The books had told him what dangers might exist. The mountain road told him how often they appeared and what they looked like before becoming obvious.
A suspicious patch of snow might only be shallow frost.
A harmless-looking depression might hide a hole deep enough to twist an ankle.
A slope that could be crossed slowly might become dangerous if someone rushed through it.
Some records exaggerated danger because the Gu Masters who wrote them had nearly died there.
Fang Ming did not laugh at that.
A person who survived danger had the right to exaggerate it.
But he still needed to separate fear from fact.
The road continued.
Time passed.
Fang Ming kept his pace steady.
He was not sprinting.
He was not showing off.
He was simply moving at a rhythm his body and mind could maintain for a long time.
Behind him, Shi Nan and the others gradually found the situation becoming worse.
Fang Ming's pace was not explosively fast, but maintaining it for hours was difficult. Fang Ming's physique allowed it. That did not mean the others could do the same.
Gu Yue Lan Yu and Gu Yue Ruo Yin were already breathing heavily.
Gu Yue Shi Qiu was nearly exhausted.
Even Shi Nan was sweating, his breathing no longer as calm as before.
He had shouted for Fang Ming several times, but Fang Ming ignored him completely.
Finally, Shi Nan rushed forward and ran beside Fang Ming.
"Junior Fang Ming, please slow down."
Shi Nan tried to keep his tone composed.
"We have 2 girls in the team, and they cannot keep up. As you know, we are a team. We have to care about the girls in the team."
He tried to preserve his authority by framing it as concern for the female Gu Masters.
Fang Ming did not look at him.
His reply was short, flat, and without emotion.
"Keep up."
Shi Nan's expression turned ugly.
Fang Ming was no longer simply acting arrogant.
He was directly defying him.
Yes, the team had been ordered to take care of Fang Ming, but this was too much. Fang Ming was stepping on his seniors and telling them to keep up.
Shi Nan stopped in place.
Anger broke through his expression.
"Fang Ming!"
His voice echoed through the snowy mountain path.
"This is an order! If you do not stop now, I will report you to the mission hall!"
Fang Ming continued running at his own pace.
He did not even give Shi Nan a reply.
Shi Nan stood there, his face gloomy.
There was still around 1 hour of running at the current pace before they reached the mission location. He might barely be able to endure it, but the rest of the team could not.
He could only stop.
Behind him, the exhausted team members finally caught up and collapsed into brief rest on the snowy ground. Their breathing was rough, and their faces were ugly.
Shi Nan turned back to look at them.
His own expression was even worse.
Before this, suppressing Fang Ming had been an order from the faction head.
Now, it had become personal.