After reaching the mission location, Fang Ming discovered that picking Light Fungus was harder than expected.
The mission sounded simple.
Find Light Fungus.
Pick Light Fungus.
Store it properly.
Return to the village.
But the mountain was covered in fresh snow, and the snow had hidden many of the places where Light Fungus usually grew. Shaded rocks, old roots, damp cracks, and cold hollows were all covered beneath a white layer. Even if faint light leaked from underneath, it was easily scattered by the snow and reflected light around it.
Fang Ming had read extensively.
He knew where Light Fungus usually grew. He knew what kind of environment it preferred, what parts should not be damaged while picking it, and how to preserve its quality after harvesting. But knowledge and experience were different. The books recorded the experiences of Gu Masters who had collected Light Fungus before, yet those descriptions were still too general when placed against an actual snowy mountain.
Still, Fang Ming did not treat the mission carelessly.
He searched seriously.
He checked shaded cracks beneath rocks, brushed away snow near old roots, examined damp slopes where sunlight rarely reached, and carefully looked under fallen branches. Whenever he found Light Fungus, he did not pull it roughly. Damaged Light Fungus would lose value as refinement material, so he used a small tool to loosen the frozen soil around it before storing it properly.
An hour passed.
Fang Ming counted what he had gathered.
It should be enough for his required share.
After confirming this, he found a nearby rock, brushed off the snow, and sat down.
Several Light Fungus containers were placed beside him.
Then he looked up at the sky.
The winter sky above Qing Mao Mountain was pale and empty. Thin clouds drifted slowly, and the cold air carried the faint smell of snow and damp wood. Fang Ming sat there leisurely, as if he had not just abandoned his team and run ahead alone.
Some time later, hurried footsteps approached.
Shi Nan and the others finally arrived.
Their appearances were miserable.
Gu Yue Lan Yu and Gu Yue Ruo Yin were breathing heavily, their faces pale from exhaustion. Gu Yue Shi Qiu looked even worse. His legs were trembling slightly, and sweat had soaked through part of his clothes despite the cold. Even Shi Nan's breathing was no longer calm.
Their expressions were ugly.
They were tired.
They were angry.
But they still rushed here.
The consequences of Fang Ming dying outside were too severe. The mission hall would not care about their little conflict or pride. They had taken one of the clan's 2 A-grade talents and future hopes outside the village. If they failed to teach him properly or protect him, the blame would fall on them no matter how unreasonable Fang Ming acted.
So even though they wanted to smash Fang Ming's head into the snow, they still endured their exhaustion and hurried to the mission location.
Only to find him sitting leisurely on a rock, looking at the sky with an absent-minded expression.
Beside him were several containers of Light Fungus.
That sight threw oil onto fire.
Gu Yue Lan Yu could no longer hide her temper. Her voice turned sarcastic.
"Oh? Junior Fang Ming is already resting. You must have gathered all the Light Fungus for this mission."
Fang Ming did not even glance at her.
He continued looking at the sky.
Lan Yu's expression stiffened.
The rest of the team became even angrier.
Shi Nan took a few steps forward, forcing his tone to remain steady.
"Fang Ming, what you did earlier was complete disregard for team rules. You separated from the team without permission and put everyone in danger. Being talented is no excuse for lawlessness. Admit your mistake and apologize to your teammates. They were worried about you."
His words immediately gained approval from the others.
Gu Yue Shi Qiu stared at Fang Ming with anger.
Gu Yue Lan Yu's face was cold.
Even Gu Yue Ruo Yin, who had been quiet until now, looked displeased.
Fang Ming finally showed a bothered expression.
He turned his gaze away from the sky and pointed at the containers beside him.
"These are my required share of Light Fungus. Do not step on them. Store them properly so they do not rot and reduce in quality."
Then his eyes moved across the team.
"You are too noisy, and right now, you are being a complete eyesore. Go do your part of the mission. Do not talk nonsense and waste any more of my time."
After saying that, Fang Ming turned back and continued looking at the sky with a blissful expression.
The team members froze.
Then rage rose almost at the same time.
This was not only disrespect.
It was complete disregard.
Shi Nan's face darkened. His fists clenched, and he walked toward Fang Ming step by step.
Fang Ming noticed him approaching and stood up from the rock.
His expression was calm and nonchalant.
Shi Nan reached out and grabbed Fang Ming hard by the collar.
"Fang Ming, you—"
Before he could finish, Fang Ming punched him in the face.
The sound was dull and heavy.
Shi Nan's words were cut off mid-sentence. His head snapped back, and his body fell directly onto the ground.
The team members stared in disbelief.
Fang Ming had crossed every line they had imagined for him.
No warning.
No argument.
No hesitation.
He had directly punched the team leader to the ground.
For a breath, the snowy mission site became silent.
Then Lan Yu's anger erupted.
"Fang Ming!"
A pale blue crescent formed in her hand.
Moonglow Gu.
Her eyes were filled with fury as she pointed the light toward him.
"You really think we have no temper? You think no one dares attack you just because you are an A-grade talent?"
She thought this would intimidate him.
She miscalculated.
Fang Ming had been waiting for this.
He wanted the team to lose their temper first.
As for whether Lan Yu had actually released the moonblade or merely held it while threatening him, that no longer mattered. Pointing a Moonglow blade at him and threatening him was enough.
Fang Ming's palm lit up.
Moonglow Gu activated.
Unlike Lan Yu, he did not hold it in place.
He released it directly.
The moonblade flew toward her head.
Lan Yu's eyes widened.
The sudden turn was too fast. She had not expected Fang Ming to attack so decisively, much less aim for her head.
At the critical moment, Ruo Yin pushed her away.
The moonblade missed Lan Yu.
But it struck Ruo Yin instead.
Ruo Yin had defensive Gu, but it was only Rank 1. A layer of mud-like protection appeared over her back, yet at such close range, Fang Ming's Moonglow blade cut through it violently.
The defense cracked.
A deep wound opened across her back, and blood immediately began to seep out.
Fang Ming did not care.
He followed with another attack, once again aiming at Lan Yu's head.
This time, Lan Yu was fully awake.
She finally understood.
Fang Ming was not bluffing.
He was not trying to scare her.
He truly dared to kill.
Lan Yu dodged and released her own moonblade.
Fang Ming shifted aside and counterattacked.
In an instant, the conflict turned into an all-out life-and-death fight.
Moonblades flew across the snowy ground.
Lan Yu had a close-range movement Gu. Her body moved sharply between short bursts, allowing her to dodge and reposition. She used this advantage to avoid Fang Ming's Moonglow blades while looking for chances to attack.
Fang Ming quickly judged that chasing her was inefficient.
So his target changed.
He turned toward the heavily injured Ruo Yin and released another moonblade.
Ruo Yin's face paled, but she was not incapacitated. She endured the pain and countered with her own Moonlight Gu.
The fight immediately became 2 against 1.
Moonblades flashed everywhere.
Snow exploded.
Tree bark split.
Rock fragments flew.
Fang Ming activated Solid Rock Skin Gu.
A thicker gray layer spread across his body, far sturdier than the Rank 1 Stone Skin Gu he had shown before.
At the same time, he destroyed the Rank 1 Stone Skin Gu.
The traces had to be cleaned.
Even while fighting 2 Rank 2 middle-stage Gu Masters, Fang Ming was already thinking about the aftermath.
Lan Yu and Ruo Yin both outranked him in cultivation. They were Rank 2 middle stage, while Fang Ming was only Rank 2 initial stage. But Fang Ming had injured Ruo Yin severely from the start, and his combat talent, strength, and Moonglow Gu control allowed him to hold the advantage.
The 2 women were experienced, but their anger had destroyed their rhythm.
Fang Ming remained cold.
He dodged when he should dodge, blocked when necessary, and retaliated whenever either of them exposed weakness. Wounds began appearing on both Lan Yu and Ruo Yin.
The situation continued tilting toward Fang Ming.
Shi Nan was still on the ground.
That punch had knocked him down hard, and he had yet to recover.
As for Gu Yue Shi Qiu, he was nowhere to be seen.
The Rank 1 male Gu Master had started running the moment Fang Ming released his first moonblade toward Lan Yu's head.
The fight continued.
Although Fang Ming was clearly gaining the upper hand, he did not push the advantage to the end.
Instead, he created an opening and suddenly turned to run toward the village.
Lan Yu's eyes reddened with anger.
Fang Ming had nearly beheaded her, injured Ruo Yin heavily, fought them like a madman, and now he wanted to run?
And he wanted to run in front of her while she had a movement Gu?
Lan Yu chased.
Fang Ming fled.
The 2 continued exchanging attacks while moving through the snowy forest. Fang Ming ran ahead, occasionally turning to release Moonglow blades. Lan Yu pursued from behind, using her movement Gu to close distance and fire back.
The chase lasted for a while.
Eventually, Lan Yu's breathing became unstable.
Her primeval essence was running low.
Fang Ming, on the other hand, still looked energetic. Even after everything, he still had almost a third of his reserve left.
Lan Yu finally stopped chasing.
Fang Ming did not turn back to fight her.
He continued running toward the village at his own pace.
As he ran, he added more injuries to himself.
Not enough to truly endanger his life.
Enough to look miserable.
By the time he approached Gu Yue Village, blood had stained much of his robe. His breathing was rough, his hair was messy, and his wounds looked frightening at a glance.
His personality might be unpleasant, but he was still a Gu Yue clansman.
More importantly, he was one of the clan's A-grade talents.
If he returned to the village bleeding like this, villagers and Gu Masters would naturally sympathize with their own clansman first, especially when no one knew what had happened.
The mission location was far, and it took Fang Ming some time to return.
He deliberately headed toward the main gate.
At this time of day, traffic was high.
The Gu Masters guarding the gate saw him returning covered in blood and immediately rushed forward.
"Fang Ming?"
"What happened?"
"Who attacked you?"
Some guards went to report to the elders, while others hurried to support him.
Fang Ming naturally accepted their help.
This was the time to gather sympathy.
He began yelling.
"They ganged up on me!"
"They attacked me!"
"They joined forces!"
His voice was filled with fury.
But the problem was that no one understood who he was talking about.
When people asked him, Fang Ming only became angrier. He shouted more, cursed more, and refused to explain clearly.
The villagers gathered.
Gu Masters nearby also came over.
Hearing his anger and seeing his wounds, many people began imagining their own versions of events.
Soon, rumors began spreading.
At first, someone said Fang Ming had been attacked outside the village.
Then someone said Bai clan and Xiong clan had joined hands to ambush Gu Yue clan's A-grade talent.
Another person swore Fang Ming's team had fought desperately to protect him, sacrificing themselves so he could return to the village.
Someone else claimed they had heard Fang Ming say "they joined forces," which must mean enemy clans.
The matter changed with every mouth it passed through.
In a short time, complete chaos spread through Gu Yue Village.
The incident alerted not only the elders but also the clan head.
Fang Ming was brought to the mission hall.
Before the elders arrived, the Gu Masters there tried asking him what had happened, but Fang Ming stubbornly refused to explain clearly.
His face was full of indignation and hatred.
"I will have my revenge myself."
No matter who asked, that was all he said.
When the elders arrived, Fang Ming still refused to speak properly.
He looked wronged.
He looked furious.
Most importantly, he looked at the Shi faction head with obvious resentment.
This immediately confused the elders.
Shi Lian's expression changed slightly.
Why was Fang Ming looking at him like that?
Soon after, Gu Yue Bo arrived.
Only then did Fang Ming say that he was willing to speak.
But he wanted to speak in private.
Gu Yue Bo looked at him for a moment, then agreed.
The clan head entered a private room with the elders following behind.
Only after the room was sealed did Fang Ming begin narrating his side of the story.
His voice was emotional.
His words were filled with anger.
He spoke of being suppressed, bullied, threatened, and betrayed. He blamed Shi Nan for abusing team-leader authority. He blamed the team for ganging up on him. He blamed the Shi faction's arrangement for putting him under people who wanted to humiliate him instead of teach him.
In Fang Ming's narration, he had only wanted to complete his mission share.
He had only wanted to avoid wasting time.
Yet the team tried to force him into submission, threatened him, grabbed his collar, and even pointed Moonglow Gu at him.
Only then did the conflict escalate.
As the elders listened, their expressions changed drastically.
Fighting between clansmen in the wild was already serious.
Throwing moonblades at each other was even worse.
If this matter was not handled carefully, it could become a major internal scandal.