It was already nighttime. Sun lotuses dimly illuminated the streets of the city.
Jin Ju came back looking for Bao Zhi. He didn't find him at the marketplace after the awakening ceremony so he came to the district where he was supposed to rent a house. As he was strolling around, he noticed a familiar sight:
"Isn't that our cart?" He exclaimed to himself as he recognized it. Jin Ju collected his courage and knocked on the door.
As expected it was Bao Zhi who opened the door.
"Ah Jin Ju, it's you. So you finally found a house to rent, I see, haha." He remarked with sarcasm and a smiling face. "Come on in, come on in!" He invited Jin Ju.
Jin Ju felt ashamed. He felt like he has betrayed the trust Bao Zhi has given him by not completing his task. He went in with his head hung low.
Bao Zhi didn't seem to mind it in reality: "Come. You must be hungry, the food's almost ready. Let's have a talk while we eat."
Jin Ju thought to himself: "Am I going to get scolded or beaten? Oh wait, what am I thinking? I'm not a slave anymore!" He looked at his benefactor, Bao Zhi with gratitude as he remembered how Xing Zan would beat him for the smallest reasons. Before even taking his seat at the table, he took out the pouch he was entrusted with:
"Here, I return the money. I didn't spend any of it! I'm incompetent."
"No matter, no matter. Take a seat and have a chat." Answered Bao Zhi without taking back the primeval stones. He continued: "Although I have to say, you did mess with my future plans."
Jin Ju: "I'm so sorry. I'm so useless, I was-"
Bao Zhi: "No, let me finish. It's not about the primeval stones or that I had to look for you. I don't mind that, it's already in the past. Originally I had planned to go to the capital after selling the wares and settle down there." He sighed as he continued: "I had a suspicion about you and it turned out to be true in the end."
Jin Ju almost choked on his soup as he had a bad premonition hearing this: "Oh no, in the end, he's dismissing me? What am I to do?"
Bao Zhi: "B grade, eh? I went to the city square and I saw your name on the list. You have a good aptitude for cultivation but you are still too green... I can't bear to see you waste away here."
Jin Ju: "I don't understand, is this not a good thing?"
Bao Zhi: "They will take you by force if they need to, you should not go against them. In their eyes, you are nothing more than a future pawn to be discarded at the opportune moment. They do not see you, they only see your B grade aptitude."
Jin Ju: "..."
Bao Zhi: "I can only help you now. Even if you don't want my guidance, that bag of primeval stones is yours. Treat it as my gift to celebrate your aperture's awakening."
Jin Ju: "I can't accept it, I have not earned this money!"
Bao Zhi: "You will need it. You don't know it yet, resources are the cornerstone of Gu cultivation. Even if your foundation is great, you still need the bricks to build a proper house. Without resources, your cultivation will stagnate and your gu worms will starve."
Jin Ju: "But I can't take this much with me. I'm going to get robbed, this is such a huge sum. I cannot keep it."
Bao Zhi: "Hmm, indeed this is a problem. How about this then, I will go with you to the academy to make sure things don't go south."
Jin Ju had a surprised look, he asked: "Will they let you in?"
"No need to worry about that, I have my methods." Remarked Bao Zhi smiling mysteriously.
Jin Ju did not know that they were expecting Bao Zhi there as well as he didn't notice him participating in the awakening ceremony.
After they finished their meals Bao Zhi stood up and looked at Jin Ju solemnly: "Come, I will explain to you the ways of gu cultivation. While you listen, sit there comfortably." He tossed a gu worm to Jin Ju casually. It had a spherical shape and a faint glow around it.
Jin Ju: "Oh, I know this gu worm. It is Green Copper Relic Gu! It is used by gu masters to raise their cultivation by a small realm. But relic gu are rare and expensive, how could I take this?" He felt his palms burning with excitement as he caught the gu worm. Then he sat cross-legged and listened attentively.
Bao Zhi: "It's yours. Start refining that gu worm, but don't use it yet. Cultivation of small realms is increasing in difficulty: Initial, middle, upper, and peak stage. Relic gu has the greatest use when going from upper to peak stage. It saves the most effort and time that way..."
Jin Ju placed the gu worm on his palm while he held his other hand above the gu worm as he gently clasped the relic gu. Next, he tried to force his primeval essence to move towards his palms with great difficulty. He followed the instructions he was given and managed to refine a portion of the gu worm before he went to sleep. He was wondering to himself:
"This Bao Zhi is so knowledgeable about cultivation. Every word he says has great meaning... He is also really strong. He beat that tiger miserably only with his bare hands... But he looks just my age. Can I be as powerful eventually as well? Did he use lifespan gu or does he have a superb inheritance? I cannot ask him, personal matters regarding cultivation and gu worms people owned are a huge taboo."
Curiosity and anticipation were burning his mind before he fell asleep soundly. Today's matters have exhausted him in both body and mind.
* * * * *
Soon it was morning, a knocking was coming from the front door.
"Students Bao Zhi and Jin Ju, present yourselves!"
Bao Zhi was the one to get up and receive the man outside. He already woke up early, not needing much sleep was one of the subtle perks of his half-immortal body.
"I am Bao Zhi, is there a problem?" He asked feigning ignorance why the man visited.
"I'm here on behalf of the Brilliance Lotus Academy. Here is your personal token of studentship and the official rank one gu master clothing." The man passed over a package of neatly folded clothes with a small circular token on top of them. It had a "One" symbol on it with a lotus image on the backside. He continued:
"Is student Jin Ju here as well?"
"Yes, should I call him over? Or I can pass the items to him." Said Bao Zhi as he motioned behind him and then extended his hand to take the other pile the man had prepared.
"That won't do. I have orders to personally deliver it. Please notify him then change into your clothes. I will be waiting for both of you here."
"Alright."
After enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn, two youths presented themselves dressed in green robes. Their attire was plain, some floral patterns were the only decoration on them. Their green color also denoted their rank one status, corresponding to the color of green copper primeval essence.
Now that both of them were ready the man instructed:
"Follow me. I will take the two of you to the academy and show you your classes."
Jin Ju was still sleepy as he rubbed his eyes on their way, he was thinking to himself as he sneaked a glance at Bao Zhi: "Sure enough, he was invited as well. How did he do it? It's been such a short time since we arrived here. Did he bribe someone?"
The more he thought about this the more mystified he felt about his traveling companion. But he pushed this train of thought aside as he couldn't come to a satisfying conclusion. He observed his surroundings, he saw many similar sights: Youths in green robes led in the same direction.
"I can't wait to start cultivating! My father told me yesterday that our family had a rank two inheritance he could not cultivate because of his lack of talent. He told me I can have it if I make it to rank two!"
"Ha, you only have C grade aptitude. You can dig out those trash gu worms from your family grave before you reach rank two."
"Shut up! Nobody asked you. I will show it to you!"
"Frog in a well... Want to bet?"
"Don't mind him. He's stuck up even though his aptitude is B grade, it is just barely. The difference is not much between you two. I saw his results yesterday."
"Aptitude is only one thing, but you commoners have no idea. I can have my aptitude raised straight to A grade if I asked my grandfather. You can't even dream of what's possible for me. Just my breakfast costs more than what your family earns in a week's time!" - This young master continued to boast.
"Humph, typical spoiled lazy brat. I bet you never knew what hard work is. Try asking your grandpa to buy some of that for you as well. Hehe."
"You!"
"Behave yourself!" - Berated their designated leader.
"A lowly servant dares to scold me?" - Fumed the youngster.
"I represent the academy here. Do you wish to get expelled?" - He asked in a threatening voice as he pulled out an official document with the academy's seal on it.
"You'll all regret this..." - The young master mumbled under his breath.
Not long after, Jin Ju's group joined this other group and another small mass, their leaders greeted each other cordially and made some small talk as they soon reached the gates of the academy. They were led inside, taking a small tour around the buildings of the institution.
Jin Ju had an amused expression as he took in the sight of the multiple-story buildings ornately decorated with intricate wooden carvings.
Between the buildings were pathways lined with benches, flowering trees overhanging them. There was also an open space further in, for the students to train and the occasional events to be held.
After finishing their tour, the students arrived in their respective classrooms.
"Good morning students. I'm pleased to meet you, I will be your teacher from now. You can just call me teacher Tao." - Introduced an old man standing before them.
Teacher Tao had a hunched back and a walking cane. His red robes were embroidered with golden leaves and a big "Teacher" character on his back denoting his status and cultivation realm.
The youths paid their respect in unison as they cupped their fists and bowed to their elder before taking their seats.
"First I will introduce to you the history of our academy. It was the first academy established shortly after Sun Lotus City was founded. It dates back to..."
Bao Zhi was sitting close to the back rows. He was not interested in such mundane trivia, so he ignored it. He decided to use his time more wisely while he was stuck here.
"My biggest immediate problem is securing a steady flow of resources. With the two of us cultivating we will live up the savings of Xing Zan quite quickly. While I figure out a better solution, I can just sell some mortal inheritances under a false name or anonymously."
As he decided on that, he started to piece together some rank three and rank four inheritances. It was actually quite difficult to achieve this, but not for the usual reasons. A mortal gu master would have to painstakingly innovate and improve their techniques and combination of gu worms. But for Bao Zhi, with great grandmaster attainment in wood path, creating some mortal techniques was as easy as drinking water. The difficulty lay in making it seem authentic. Most of the rank three and four inheritances were full of underlying flaws and discrepancies in the eyes of an immortal. He had to replicate these and imitate the thought process a gu master would take.
Before he noticed, today's class has already ended.
* * * * *