Wei Ran sat alone in his room, staring at the small, tree-like Gu worm in his palm. Ninety percent of its body had already turned a rich, healthy brown—the color of his refined will. Only the remaining ten percent stayed withered and grey, clinging to its wild nature.
With a focused thought, Wei Ran sent a stream of his dark-green primeval essence into the Gu. Half an hour of silent struggle passed before the last of the grey faded. The refinement was complete.
"Now, I want to see what this can do..."
He gripped the wooden Gu firmly and channeled his essence. The Gu began to glow, vibrating with life. But a moment later—
BOOM!
A sharp explosion rocked the room. Thick smoke billowed from Wei Ran's hands. His face paled, not from pain, but from sheer confusion and a flicker of dread.
"Damn it... why did it explode?" he thought frantically. It made no sense. A fully refined Gu should follow its master's will, not self-destruct.
The blast was loud enough to alert the entire wing. Within seconds, the doors burst open. Guards and maids rushed in, their eyes wide with terror as they saw the smoke-filled room and their young master standing in the center, soot-stained and disheveled.
"Young Master! What happened? Are you hurt?" a maid cried out, her voice trembling.
"Call the healers, immediately!" the captain of the guards barked.
"No need," Wei Ran cut him off, raising a hand to silence them. His voice was calm, though his mind was racing as he looked at the black scorch marks on his palms. "I am fine. It was just a minor mishap."
Before he could say more, the crowd parted. His mother, Emma Fairy, rushed into the room, her face etched with maternal panic. She grabbed his hands, checking for injuries.
"Wei! Was it the pain again? I told you to rest!"
"Mother, don't worry. It was just a mistake during Gu activation," Wei Ran replied softly.
"A mistake? With your talent?" Emma Fairy's brow furrowed. "A Gu exploding during use is unheard of for someone of your caliber. If the sect hears of this, they might question your stability. Perhaps the incident during your awakening affected your essence..."
Wei Ran remained silent. Her words hit the mark. His "disability" wasn't just about primeval stones; his essence itself seemed toxic to certain Gu.
"Servants, clean this mess!" Emma Fairy commanded before turning back to her son. "You're coming with me. Your father must hear of this. If your essence is rejecting standard Gu, we have a serious problem."
As he followed her, Wei Ran thought: "If my essence destroys ordinary Gu, then I must find extraordinary ones. Or find a different way to command them."
Once the room was cleared and his mother had left to consult with his father, Wei Ran pulled out his second Gu—the Ice Sword Gu.
"I hope it's different this time," he muttered.
He channeled his essence. Unlike the wooden Gu, the ice Gu drank his energy greedily and stabilized. In an instant, a long, jagged blade of ice manifested in his hand. It was simple, resembling a frozen spike more than a crafted sword, yet it felt deadly.
"I remember... Bai Ning Bing's Rank 2 Gu was described similarly..." He swung the blade a few times, feeling the cold air bite at his skin. This one worked. His essence didn't reject the ice.
Later that day, Wei Ran arrived at the Spirit Affinity House's elite training hall. Only twelve students sat inside—all of them descendants of the sect's Immortals.
"I may know the lore of this world, but I lack practical experience. These lessons are vital," he noted.
A Rank 5 Elder stood at the front. To teach the children of Immortals, anything less than a Rank 5 master would be an insult to their lineage.
"Today, you receive your first mission!" the Elder shouted. "I assume you have all refined at least one Gu. Your ultimate goal is to reach Rank 2 within eight months. But first, a test of blood."
The classroom was structured like a lecture hall, but without the chalkboards of Earth. It was an intimate, high-stakes environment.
"Your mission: Within one week, hunt down a Hundred Beast King and bring me its head."
To a commoner, this was a death sentence. To the children of Immortals, it was merely the price of admission.
Outside, a heavy rain began to fall. The streets of the sect were filled with people huddled under umbrellas, moving quickly to escape the downpour.
Amidst the crowd, a single boy walked with a deliberate, slow pace. It was Wei Ran. He stopped when he saw two girls shivering under a small overhang.
The older girl, around twelve or thirteen, was strikingly beautiful, her features possessing a lunar elegance. The younger one, barely five, clung to her sister, her brown eyes wide with cold. Both were mere mortals.
"Indeed... in this world, strength is everything. Without it, you are less than dust," Wei Ran thought.
He walked toward them. When the little girl looked up at him, Wei Ran made a silly, clown-ish face. The girl burst into a sudden, bright laugh.
The surrounding Gu Masters glared at the commoner children for their "disrespect," and the older girl immediately moved to kneel and apologize to the noble-looking boy. But Wei Ran stopped her, holding his umbrella over them.
"Come. Become my servants," he said.
In truth, he didn't care for servants. This was a facade to appease the watching Gu Masters. He winked at the older sister and handed her a jade token from his belt—his family crest.
"Take this. If anyone tries to stop you, show them this mark." He handed her the umbrella as well.
"T-Thank you... but we have nothing to give in return," the older girl stammered, tears welling in her eyes.
Wei Ran turned to walk away into the rain. "Just go to the house on this invitation. I have made my choice."
As he walked, a thought resonated in his heart: "Strength is everything, and I cannot save the whole world... but I am the sun of this world, and my heart tells me to help these two. I will never doubt the decisions of my heart."
The two girls watched his receding figure, bowing deeply in gratitude.