"Gu Yue Chen Bo." The elder held the name list and called out the first person. He walked three steps into the flower sea ashore but could make it no further. He felt incredibly weak and sickly, turning around and leaving the river quickly.
"Gu Yue Chen Bo, three steps, no talent to become a Gu Master. Next, Gu Yue Zao Xie!"
"Gu Yue Mo Bei!"
"Gu Yue Kai Bun!"
The list of names continued as fifteen-year-olds continued to determine the rest of their lives.
Nearly an hour passed, and yet only about fifty of the youths had walked through the flower sea. About twenty-five of them had no talent for cultivation, while most of the rest had either C or D grade talent. At this point, only Mo Bei and Chi Cheng were B-grade talents; both of them were the grandchildren of respected and influential clan elders.
"Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"
Lin Feng's ears immediately turned toward the center. At that moment, his surroundings went quiet. Countless eyes focused on one person, many holding A-rank expectations, all waiting to see Fang Yuan open his aperture.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Fang Yuan walked across the river and reached the opposite bank.
"Damn… if I'm being honest, Fang Yuan looks a bit girly right now," Lin Feng thought. "That long hair is definitely part of it." His thoughts were cut off as Fang Yuan continued walking.
**************
The pressure of a few Hope Gu was easily ignored as Fang Yuan kept moving forward.
After every step Fang Yuan took, he could feel a pressure building about three inches below his navel. One after another, the Hope Gu would fly out from the sea of flowers and enter his body, joining the ball of light.
Fang Yuan ignored the frowns and the whispers around him as he focused on the light building about three inches under his navel.
Ten steps.
Twenty steps.
Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven.
Fang Yuan counted in his heart; when he walked the twenty-seventh step, he could hear a bang, and between his two kidneys, the ball of light reached its limit and exploded.
C-grade aptitude, Lin Feng thought. He knew Fang Yuan couldn't move forward anymore. I wonder what my aptitude will be.
"You can't go any further?" The academy elder shouted across the river, holding onto a small thread of hope. Fang Yuan turned around and walked back, answering with his actions.
Again, the buzzing of ants around him filled his ears as he walked back to the group and awaited the next ant to unlock their aperture.
The thoughts and opinions of others were worth less than the water he could feel soaking his boots. Fang Yuan ignored their disappointment.
"Sigh…" The academy elder let out a deep breath and shouted, "Next, Gu Yue Fang Zheng!"
But no answer came. "Gu Yue Fang Zheng!" The elder yelled again, the sound of his voice reverberating inside the cave.
Lin Feng watched everything quietly. Seeing Fang Yuan's expression, he was sure he was in the second timeline according to his wish and Fang Zheng walked forty-three steps, just like in the novel, igniting hope in the hearts of the elders.
Oh my god, A grade talent!" The academy elder screamed, seeming to have lost his mind.
"A grade, really an A grade!?"
"It's been three years, an A-grade talented genius has finally appeared in the Gu Yue clan!"
The clan elders who were watching in the darkness were also screaming out at the same time, losing their composure.
"Well, the Fang bloodline originated from us Chi bloodline. So the Chi family will adopt this Gue Yue Fang Zheng," Gue Yue Chi Lian immediately announced.
"How is that possible? You old bag Chi Lian, your morals and abilities are out of order, but you're definitely good at misleading young boys. It's better to pass this kid to I, Gu Yue Mo Chen, to raise!" Gu Yue Mo Chen roared back instantly.
"Stop arguing. No one is more qualified to raise this child than the current clan leader. Whoever has any objections is to go against me, Gu Yue Bo!" The Gu Yue clan head had gone crazy and swept his fiery red gaze over the disappointed and discouraged looks of the other elders.
When the clan head got in this state, there was nothing they could do to stop him from getting what he wanted.
After that, a few more students were called one after another. The excitement from earlier had already faded. After the Fang brothers' awakening, no one was expecting anything interesting anymore. Most people just wanted the ceremony to end quickly.
Being the last one, Lin Feng stepped forward. No one paid him much attention as he walked toward the river.
With each step Lin Feng took, he could feel a faint pressure building about three inches below his navel. At first, it was light, almost unnoticeable, but as he continued walking, it slowly grew heavier.
One after another, Hope Gu flew out from the sea of flowers and entered his body, gathering into a ball of light. The pressure kept increasing.
Twenty-five steps. when he walked the twenty-fiveth step, he could hear a bang, and between his two kidneys, the ball of light reached its limit and exploded.
All of this happened inside his body; outsiders could not see anything. Only Lin Feng could feel the reaction at that moment. The fine hairs on his body stood up, his pores tightened, and his mind stretched to its limit as the pressure gathered into a single point.
So, I'm also C-grade…
Before he could examine his aperture, a blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him, interrupting his thoughts.
[System binding complete]
[Host has awakened aperture. Distributing appropriate reward.]
[All rewards have been distributed. Check inventory in the system panel to obtain them.]
Lin Feng didn't check anything at that moment. The system had finally appeared. That alone was enough to make his heart beat faster. The reward could wait. Lin Feng turned around and walked back.
After the Fang brothers, his result did not stand out. Most people were still talking among themselves, discussing what had just happened earlier.
After returning, his gaze went to Fang Yuan again for a brief moment before shifting away.