Inside the academy, all eyes were fixed on Fang Yuan.
Their faces displayed a mixture of shock, fear, ridicule, and cold detachment.
But Fang Yuan ignored them completely. With a serious expression, he looked straight at the academy elder and pointed at the unconscious guard on the floor.
"Reporting to elder, these two guards had impure motives, devious intentions! They broke into my room when I was at the crucial moment of breaking through into the middle stage. As everyone knows, a Gu Master cultivating cannot be interrupted. Especially so when one is trying to break through into higher realms. A moment of distraction would not only cause the breakthrough to fail, but their aperture would also get damaged. Thankfully my luck was good, because at the moment where they barged in, I had already stepped into the middle stage."
"However!" Before the masses had reacted, Fang Yuan continued, "These two did not admit their mistakes earlier. To my surprise, they boasted shamelessly about wanting to get rough with me, even scolding our clan's ancestors, lying that the act of disturbing my cultivation was the esteemed elder's decision. Your student did not believe so, and resisted furiously. These two had strong martial arts, and I had to fight for life before finally defeating these two people."
"But seeing as they were the academy guards, your student did not kill them immediately. I merely cut off one of his arms, and the leg of the other person. Although there was quite some blood loss, they are still alive. That is my report for this matter, please uphold justice for me, esteemed elder!" Having said so, he cupped his fists towards the academy elder.
He spoke urgently, delivering a flood of information without giving anyone a chance to interrupt.
Only after he finished did the people around him begin to process what he had said.
"What did Fang Yuan say earlier, I did not catch it."
"I think he said he advanced to the middle stage!"
"How is that possible, he is just a C-grade trash, to think that he actually advanced to the middle stage first."
"He definitely lied, he is afraid of the academy's punishment, thus he lied!"
The students were loudly engaged in discussion.
Compared to Fang Yuan's advancement to the middle stage, the lives of the two guards seemed insignificant.
They weren't members of the Gu Yue clan—who would care whether they lived or died?
"You said you advanced to Rank one middle stage?" The academy elder's voice was ice cold, his expression unforgiving. "Fang Yuan, this is not a laughing matter. If you admit your wrongdoing now, I can still take into account that this is your first mistake and deal with you leniently. If you want to continue lying and attempting to cover up your mistakes, then I can tell you now, lies are easily seen through."
Fang Yuan did not explain himself further, he laughed lightly and said to the academy elder, "Please inspect, elder." Fang Yuan had reached the middle stage a week ago; he was simply playing out the scene according to his previous life.
Even without Fang Yuan saying a word, the academy elder had already stepped forward.
He placed a hand on Fang Yuan's abdomen and sent a trace of his spirit inside. Instantly, he was able to observe the interior of Fang Yuan's aperture.
Inside, there was no Gu to be seen.
The Spring Autumn Cicada had already concealed itself. As a rank six Gu, it far surpassed a rank three academy elder, and if it chose to hide, it wouldn't be easily discovered.
As for the Liquor Worm and the White Boar Gu, Fang Yuan had left it in the dormitory's wine reserves and hadn't brought it with him.
With his eyes closed, the academy elder could see a green copper primeval sea, calm and still like motionless water.
The drops of primeval essence within were all emerald green, the distinct color of middle stage primeval essence.
The aperture walls glowed white, reflecting light as though they were made entirely of water. Streams of liquid energy flowed swiftly along their surface.
A water wall!
"He really advanced to the middle stage, how is this possible?!" The academy elder shouted in his heart, a sign of shock under his calm expression. But he tried to hide it to the best of his ability, his face still expressionless.
A moment later, after he had digested this fact, he drew back his hand, speaking in a solemn voice, "It is indeed middle stage."
The students had been holding their breath, anxiously awaiting the result.
The academy elder's announcement triggered an uproar throughout the academy.
Everyone was filled with confusion and shock, their faces etched with disbelief.
Fang Yuan was only a C-grade, yet he was the first to break through to the middle stage—this defied all logic!
In a Gu Master's cultivation, talent was supposed to be the most crucial factor. How could a C-grade be the first to advance? What would the A and B grade students think of this?
"This!" Gu Yue Fang Zheng's face turned pale. He had been full of confidence the night before, but now, faced with the truth, he couldn't accept it and collapsed to the ground.
Gu Yue Mo Bei clenched his fists, while Gu Yue Chi Chen gritted his teeth in frustration.
The academy elder was not someone who could be easily deceived, so how had Fang Yuan managed this?
In that moment, every young cultivator turned their eyes to Fang Yuan, all harboring the same question—how had someone with C grade talent managed to advance?
Even the academy elder's heart was filled with doubt.
Under such great empuzzlement, he ignored the idea of suppressing Fang Yuan and asked directly, "Fang Yuan, I hope you can explain this, how did you manage to advance to middle stage."
Fang Yuan laughed silently, "Heaven rewards the hard-working, and as a result of student's persistent training, I managed to advance smoothly."
"Lies!"
"Tsk, if heaven rewarded the hard-working, I'd be first long ago!"
"Diligently studying and training? Some time ago, I still saw him strolling around the shop district."
The students were evidently not satisfied with such an answer.
"Is that so?" The academy elder replied neutrally, his gaze staring at Fang Yuan, emitting pressure.
Fang Yuan's expression was calm and sincere as he met the elder's gaze without a trace of fear.
His body was stained with blood, and his linen shirt hung in disarray, as though he had just emerged from a fierce battle.
His black, abyss-like eyes held a sense of serenity and detachment, with even a faint trace of amusement hidden within.
The academy elder's heart wavered the moment he met that gaze.
"This Fang Yuan, he is not afraid, not fearful, not threatened, and not shocked, how can he be interrogated by me right here? With his C-grade talent, being the first to advance to middle stage, there has to be a secret. But since he does not want to say it, as the academy elder, I cannot forcefully interrogate him. It seems I can only investigate this privately."
Thinking of this, the academy elder retracted his gaze and his cold expression became milder.
Fang Yuan however did not let the matter go, "Your student is frightened, esteemed elder. How are you going to deal with these two guards? They have lost a lot of blood, if they are not treated soon, they might die."
"Frightened? You?" The academy elder retorted in his mind. His brows frowned deeply.
At this point, as the person in charge of the academy, he had to step forward and settle this.
"But how should I resolve this?" The academy elder could not help but feel troubled.
He fell into deep thought.
Fang Yuan noticed every shift in the academy elder's expression and smiled inwardly. The elder must be feeling incredibly conflicted right now.
Those two guards were outsiders—normally, their lives would be seen as worthless. In ordinary circumstances, no one would care whether they lived or died.
But this case was different.
They had been sent on duty by the academy elder himself. If they were to die, it would damage his credibility and reputation.
That meant the guards had to survive—there was no other option. The academy elder would have to step in and save them.
What truly troubled the elder wasn't the guards, but what to do with Fang Yuan.
In his original plan, Fang Yuan had skipped class and killed the guards—blatant disobedience and arrogance. According to clan's law, that should land him in the clan's jail, reflecting on his crimes.
But Fang Yuan's recent advancement changed everything.
Now, his skipping class and killing the guards could be framed as part of his intense cultivation efforts.
And more importantly, he succeeded—he became the first in his class to reach the middle stage.
That made everything different.
His success justified his actions.
He trained hard, fought his way through obstacles, and achieved results.
The key issue—how he managed to advance so quickly—could be dealt with later.
For now, what mattered was the outcome.
In this world, results speak louder than anything.
Winners are celebrated, losers cast aside.
No one questions the methods of someone who succeeds.
Because of that, the academy elder couldn't punish Fang Yuan.
What is the purpose of the academy? To train and produce outstanding Gu Masters who can strengthen the clan.
Now that someone like Fang Yuan had emerged, would the academy elder really punish him? That would seem unjust and petty.
Just like a teacher whose student earns top marks—he should encourage and praise, not scold and condemn.
A teacher who punishes success would never be respected.
Maybe the other elders would cause trouble for Fang Yuan in secret, whether out of fear, envy, or personal grudges.
But the academy elder couldn't do the same.
As the head of the academy, he had to appear impartial and fair.
At least on the surface.
Those were the rules.
"Do I just let him go like this? It was not easy finding a weakness of his." The academy elder was indignant.
To the others, this was just a spectacle—something amusing to watch.
But they failed to grasp the deeper meaning, missing the true excitement behind this confrontation.
In reality, this was a battle of wits between the academy elder and Fang Yuan.
At first, the elder tried to use the rules to suppress Fang Yuan, aiming to break his momentum and authority among the students.
But Fang Yuan struck back. His response may have appeared reckless, but it was precise—he used his advancement to the middle stage as a powerful counterargument.
Caught in the middle of their intellectual clash were the two unfortunate guards—nothing more than disposable pawns in their strategic exchange.
"This Fang Yuan, he is too cunning! If he had really killed the two guards, I can still retaliate against him with this reason. Although his talent is lackluster, with such a meticulous and experienced method, it is hard to believe that he is just a fifteen year old. The worst part is, I cannot retaliate. No wonder back in those days, the clan had rumors about his early awakened intelligence!" The academy elder suddenly realised, he had lost.
The academy elder lost this exchange because of his position—it gave him authority, but also limited him.
Fang Yuan had long understood that strength can also be weakness.
Though frustrated, the elder knew Fang Yuan's explanation was full of holes.
The guards would never insult their ancestors—Fang Yuan was clearly framing them.
It was a deliberate trap.
If the elder pursued the truth, he'd be forced into a no-win situation.
Thus, the best solution was to discard the guards, praise Fang Yuan, and preserve harmony.
Even the guards would think this was fair, unaware they were being sacrificed.
Though logic told him this was the smartest path, the elder felt deeply wronged.
Fang Yuan had humiliated him publicly and used him as a stepping stone.
Worse, if the guards ever spoke up, the elder would have to silence them himself to protect his image.
It felt like Fang Yuan had defiled him, and he still had to smile and clean up after it.
The humiliation burned, and he longed to strike Fang Yuan.
But in the end, he simply reached out and patted Fang Yuan's shoulder.
"Good lad." The academy elder's face was dim like stillwater, forcing the words out of his mouth.
"It is all thanks to the academy's nurturing," Fang Yuan replied plainly.
The corner of the academy elder's eye twitched.