Kapitel 9: Friends
The sun had already set. The sunset glow was still burning in the sky. The mountains far away in the distance were covered in a thick layer of grey ash, gradually turning to black.
In the academy, a day's class was over. The students walked out from the academy in groups of twos and threes. Mo Bei was no exception, talking to Shi Feng and Tang Chi, C-grade talents with a bright future. According to his grandfather, the more people he drew to his side, the better it would be in the future. He might even form a party during the beast tides, and the connections he made in the academy would come in handy at the time.
"I'm really happy today, I learnt quite a few things. Especially how I got to learn how to use the Moonlight Gu", Shi Feng spoke
"The way the moonblade flies in the air looks so cool. It's too bad that my talent isn't enough, so in the future I can only be a support Gu Master", Tang Shi said in a sad voice
A few of them called their friends over.
"Let's go and eat, we can drink some rice wine while we're at it, what do you think?", Shi Feng said in a mischievous tone. Shi Feng had a man bun, and although he was just 15, he knew how to enjoy life, always proposing to go to the outskirts of the village, in some wine tavern to enjoy themselves.
He winked at Mo Bei while hinting at Tang Shi. Obviously, he was saying: 'Come on, Mo Bei! Just go for once and go out with her!'
It must be said that with Mo Bei taking first place in both the refining and moonlight practice tests, he was seen as the most talented youth in the generation, standing above the A-grade talent Fang Zheng and B-grade talent Chi Chen.
"Sure, that's not a bad suggestion", Tang Shi said in a shy voice
"You guys go on first, I need to go to the store beside the academy's Gu room and buy a grass puppet. It will be easy to practice at home with it", Mo Bei said, unwavering in his pursuit of strength.
Of course, he would enjoy life, but survival came first.
Mo Bei went to the Gu room alone. The academy's Gu room kept quite a few Rank one Gu worms. There were many types and variations, and Mo Bei's Moonlight Gu was taken freely from inside.
Once in a while the students would have a free chance to pick a Gu worm. If one wanted to get extra Gu, they would need to pay up. In this short time Mo Bei had no wish to refine any other Gu. He walked to the building beside the Gu room – it was a small store.
In the store there were seven students, each of them negotiating over the counter with the store owner for buying grass puppets.
"It's you, junior." The Rank one Gu Master responsible for the store was in his twenties. When he saw Mo Bei, he automatically greeted him while bargaining with his customers.
Mo Bei was taken by surprise, finding out that this Gu Master was Jiang Ya. He was an upper stage rank 1 Gu Master with quite some authority in the academy. He also happened to be an instructor.
"Ah, it's you senior." Mo Bei nodded his head, his face expressionless.
Jiang Ya took out a grass puppet from the counter behind him, passing it to the student who purchased it. At the same time he threw Mo Bei a friendly smile and asked, "Did junior brother come here to buy a grass puppet as well? If you want me to leave one for you, you just need three pieces of primeval stones. These things sell like hotcakes, right now there's only seven left, if you wait any longer there won't be any stock left."
Jiang Ya's attitude towards mortals was arrogant, but towards people like Mo Bei, he was very kind and sincere.
Mo Bei shook his head, laughing secretly as he thought, this Jiang Ya really did know how to do business. The grass puppets were made with the Scarecrow Gu. Even after including the primeval essence that was put in, the final cost should not be more than one and a half primeval stones.
"Senior, this isn't fair. It should be first come first serve, why leave any for him?", a few underlings of Chi Chen complained
"Yeah, we all came early. If you want to do business you should know the rules.", Fang Zheng complained too from a distance
However, reputation was a useful tool. As he was seen as a genius, even the professors and academy staff like Jiang Ya naturally made life easy for him.
"Three pieces will be three pieces, here's the primeval stones, give me a grass puppet", Mo Bei spat coldly
The youngsters in the store were all worried when they heard that the store only had seven puppets left. They stopped trying to negotiate, and took out their stones to buy it. Grass puppets were of utmost importance. Even if the moonlight practice had ended, many students felt like they were far from having mastered the Moonlight Gu. As for Mo Bei, he knew that there was no such thing as too much practice. With the primeval stones he had saved, he could afford to train as much as his body could handle, and the effort he put in training now would surely serve him later on.
Very quickly, seven satisfied teenagers walked out.
After making his purchases, Mo Bei left the small shop and headed back towards the Mo Household. As he walked, he couldn't help but think about his financial situation.
Raising Gu worms was not a cheap endeavor, and he had to be careful with his spending. He had already spent a significant amount of his primeval stones on feeding his current Gu worms, and he knew that he would need to continue spending more in the future.
Purchasing pork cost him roughly 2 primeval stones a week, just to feed the [White Boar Gu]. Both the [Moonlight Gu] and [Little Light Gu] only consumed grass that he could find in the outskirts of the forest, so he thankfully did not need to spend any primeval stone in it. As for the [Liquor Worm], it cost him roughly one primeval stone a week. As a result, the 3 primeval stones handed out by the academy weekly only served to feed his Gu worms.
However, cultivation and practicing also required primeval stones, if only to allow him to replenish his primeval essence once it was depleted.
Thankfully, he was a talented Gu Master and had already received a significant amount of primeval stones from the academy and from his family. But he knew that he couldn't rely solely on the academy's subsidies if he wanted to continue to raise and refine more Gu worms. He was already losing primeval stones on a weekly basis through training alone.
He needed to find a way to earn more primeval stones, and he knew that he could not keep making great achievements. His grandfather most likely rewarded him greatly at the beginning to motivate him and give him an edge against others. However, even the Mo family could not afford to give him hundreds of primeval stones a month.
Mo Bei arrived back at the Mo family's mansion and stored his purchases in his room. He then sat down at his desk and began to review his knowledge on the moonlight Gu.
As he studied, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. The moonlight Gu was one of the most powerful weapons in a Gu Master's arsenal, and he was eager to see what he could do with it.
First of all, he could start practicing his skills by hunting wild boars in the forest.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein