Capítulo 14: Groups take shape
*Crunch* *Crunch*
In a spacious yard surrounded by decorative flowers, under the full morning sun, a small brown beetle eagerly devours a piece of meat many times its size, eating with the enthusiasm of someone at a grand feast.
Hei Tu, watching the Hound Strength Gu's morning feeding, wears a puzzled expression, still wondering where all that food is going. Surely, it can't just be for the tiny beetle's stomach, right? Not that he wonders much anymore; he's seen it eat like this countless times.
But even so, he still isn't completely accustomed to seeing such a small beetle consume so much meat as if it were nothing.
In any case, Hei Tu quickly shifts his focus, looking at the sky and noting the sun's position, which indicates that it's around seven in the morning.
His thoughts turn to the clan academy, where he'll need to head soon.
This morning's class holds more importance to him than usual, as today he has firmly decided to join Su Ah's circle of "close supporters," having weighed his decision over the past few days.
His reasons are clear: from what he's seen in brief conversations with her, she has a good personality, and, as the daughter and likely direct heir to the clan leader, she stands in an influential position. Both her elder siblings have only C-Grade talent, making her a natural choice for succession.
With this understanding, and knowing that the roles of class chairman and vice-chairman were established specifically to help talented individuals form a close group of companions who will serve as a loyal support base when they begin to establish their political influence within the clan.
For those who don't possess the talent to obtain these leadership roles, it's a practical system, as they leave the academy already integrated into a faction and with a leader to follow.
It's honestly quite a well-thought-out and efficient system for its purpose. Understanding this intention through his own deductions, Hei Tu feels some admiration for the clan's high-ranking members, who have proven to be more than a group of old dumb cultivators; they've shown skill in political strategy, unlike the bumbling elders often seen in Chinese cultivation novels.
And so, Su Ah became his choice over Bi Xia. Bi Xia may be the grandson of an elder and possess a natural charisma and gift with words, but his C-grade talent doesn't compare to Su Ah's. As a B-grade talent, she has a much more promising future within the clan.
Of course, there's also the possibility of him becoming a chairman himself and building his own group of close supporters.
However, he doesn't rely on this outcome. While he believes he has the ability to become a vice chairman by being the third to reach the Middle Stage, he understands that the opportunity to build a significant group of supporters will likely elude him.
This is because, as seen with Su Ah and Bi Xia already reaching out to him and other talented youths in the clan academy, by the time the third person refines their primeval essence to the Middle Stage and secures the vice chairman position, there will be virtually no one left to recruit.
It's only natural when comparing the magnetic pull of the clan leader's daughter or the elder's grandson to that of a relatively unknown vice chairman—whose identity is still uncertain, with only a few speculations pointing to capable candidates like himself.
'Seems like he's finished,' Hei Tu thinks, seeing the little brown beetle now lazily resting in the empty bowl that once held dog meat.
He quickly stores the Hound Strength Gu in his aperture before heading inside to prepare for the clan academy.
---
"…This is the significant difference between my Light Silver Primeval Essence and yours. For example, when using the Bamboo Shoot Gu, you expend 7.5% of your primeval essence. For me, the amount is so negligible that I can't even feel it, even if I use the Gu to the point of killing it," the academy elder explained calmly while releasing the aura of his primeval essence for all the students to sense. "The same applies, theoretically, to cultivation. By using my superior-quality primeval essence, everyone here could reach the Middle Stage in just a single day of cultivation."
"Of course, this only holds true when my primeval essence is used to refine or cultivate Gu of a lower rank. When it comes to equal ranks—like Rank 3—the difficulty of refinement and ciultivation is comparable to my primeval essence quality," he concluded.
As the elder finished speaking, the students nodded in agreement. After hearing so much about how the quality of primeval essence was one of the most crucial aspects of cultivation, it had become an undeniable truth in their minds.
Hei Tu also nodded, acknowledging the explanation. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a student raising his hand to ask a question.
The academy elder gestured for him to proceed. "Elder, if that's the case, why don't those with relatives who are higher-ranked Gu Masters—Rank 2 or 3—assist them in this way? Is it to ensure fairness in cultivation?"
Hearing this, Hei Tu turned his attention to the young man seated not far from him. Judging by his dumb question, Hei Tu immediately deduced that he came from a mortal background.
This conclusion was based on something his father had carefully explained during his free time after returning from a clan mission. It boiled down to this:
For cultivation, using someone else's primeval essence would inevitably leave behind small impurities. The more foreign primeval essence one used, the greater the accumulation of impurities, which would later hinder cultivation progress.
When it came to Gu refinement, the process was inherently complex and time-consuming. The higher the Gu's rank, the more challenging it became. Therefore, now, while they were working with Rank 1 Gu, was the ideal time to practice and gain experience. A parent refining their child's Gu for them at this stage would only harm them in the long run, leaving them unprepared for future Gu refinement without the necessary skills.
And he imagined that any young student father here, if they were a Gu Master, would have explained the same thing.
Therefore, the only reason for someone not to know this would be if they came from a mortal background or had a particularly negligent parent.
"The reason is simple..." the academy elder began his response, echoing Hei Tu's thoughts but in a much more structured and comprehensive manner.
Hei Tu, however, didn't focus on the elder's explanation, as it was knowledge he already understood. Instead, his gaze wandered to the three distinct groups of students that had formed over the past few days.
The largest group, to his mild surprise, was Bi Xia's. But after some thought, Hei Tu realized this outcome made perfect sense. With Bi Xia's social skills and natural charisma, it was only natural for him to attract a following.
What Hei Tu noticed, though, was that most of the members in Bi Xia's group were girls. They seemed to be silently competing to get closer to him, using their feminine charms. This had caused numerous murmurs of jealousy among the young men in the academy.
He guesses for these girls—many from mortal origins or low-status Gu Master families—developing a romantic relationship with the grandson of an elder would be the pinnacle of their aspirations. Such a connection could elevate their families' status from the ground to the heavens overnight.
Of course, not all of them might have such intentions. Some could simply be following their parents' advice to align themselves with Bi Xia, while others might genuinely admire the young man, who compensated for his average looks with talent and an influential family background.
The opposite dynamic was also true in Su Ah's group that he is part of. Most of her supporters were boys. Whether they joined because of the same reasons as he imagines the girls in Bi Xia's group did or because they couldn't refuse a shy, sweet girl with a timid smile asking them to do was something Hei Tu wasn't entirely sure of. He did know, however, that Zi Heng—sitting beside him—clearly fell into the latter category. In fact, Hei Tu suspected even he might have been slightly swayed by Su Ah's demeanor.
Lastly, there was the third group, if it could even be called that. This group wasn't really a group but rather a collection of students who still sat alone or with just one or two friends. The largest subgroup among them was a cluster of six students gathered around the boy who had placed third in both the Gu refinement test and the Bamboo Shoot Gu test.
While he entertained these thoughts, the class, which was already nearing its end, quickly concluded as the academy elder dismissed the students to return home.
As usual, everyone respectfully saluted the elder before leaving.
However, something was different this time, at least for Hei Tu. Instead of leaving with just Zi Heng and engaging in light conversation, he now walked directly beside Su Ah, almost like a bodyguard. This made him feel like a lackey straight out of a generic cultivation novel.
Of course, he wasn't the only one. Another tall and similarly built young man, albeit slightly less muscular, named Tai Gu, walked on Su Ah's other side. With his chest puffed out and head held high, Tai Gu gave off the impression of thinking that he is a imperial guard brimming with honor and authority.
To Hei Tu, this display seemed over the top. After all, Su Ah had only asked them to accompany her to the academy's exit to establish some "formality" of hierarchy within their group. This made Hei Tu suspect that she was trying to imitate the behavior she had observed in her father or the clan elders.
Regardless of how he felt about it, Hei Tu was still somewhat satisfied. Su Ah choosing him for this role at least indicated that she considered him one of the more talented members of her group, alongside Tai Gu.
Judging from Tai Gu's performance—he placed fifth in the refining test, right after Hei Tu—Hei Tu deduced that she was likely using their refining results as a benchmark for evaluating their talent. Though this method wasn't perfect, he figured it was the best she could manage with the information she had so far.
As for the other youths in Su Ah's group, they followed the three closely, chatting animatedly amongst themselves. They appeared to be bonding now, perhaps because they expected the group to remain close even after their time in the clan academy.
Throughout all this, Su Ah retained much of her shyness, speaking only occasionally with him, Tai Gu, or other young girl who seemed much closer to her than anyone else. Hei Tu guessed they had been friends for a long time.
But when Hei Tu glanced ahead at Bi Xia, the contrast was clear. Bi Xia, smiling brightly, spoke enthusiastically with everyone in his circle, which was predominantly made up of girls but also included a fair number of excited young men.
Hei Tu didn't linger on this sight for long, as it didn't take much time for everyone to reach the academy pavilion's exit. Su Ah's group split off here, with her heading directly home, accompanied by the girl Hei Tu assumed was her closest friend.
Hei Tu also made his way home, walking alongside Zi Heng, who couldn't stop talking about how lucky he was to have walked right next to Su Ah. This earned him nothing more than a helpless shake of the head from Hei Tu.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder