บท 8: Clan Academy
"...so humans who succeeded in their aperture awakening and became Gu Masters, after learning to inspect their aperture and control their primeval sea, use their abundant primeval essence to wield Gu like this," the academy elder says slowly, drawing everyone's attention to a small wooden bug in his hand.
Sitting in the second row next to the window, Hei Tu can breathe in the fresh air outside. He still feels somewhat strange about the fact that Gu are genuinely worms and insects of various types, as depicted in Ren Zu, which he thought was something made up because it was merely a tale for children. But, in the end, he is in a real cultivation world where supernatural abilities, which he had only read about in books, truly exist. Thus, he quickly accepts this reality without much difficulty.
In fact, he even wonders if the part about them being able to talk is also a fabrication of the story or not. However, since the academy elder hasn't shown such a trait of the Gu, and he is not inclined to ask anything that might be common knowledge, there's little he can do to verify it.
"Gu come in all shapes and sizes, each with a unique ability, but it is possible for different Gu to share the same ability in essence," the elder continues, casting his gaze over all the youths in the room, including Hei Tu, who listens intently with full focus.
As he particularly keeps comparing the elder's words with what he had read in the legends of Ren Zu even if it's a children's story or his knowledge of other cultivation worlds, while constantly making mental notes.
"The use of Gu is not restricted to humans; even wild beasts can host them in their bodies and use their abilities in times of need... However, their use of Gu is crude, lacking the wisdom and intelligence of humans."
"Furthermore, they can only attract wild Gu and cannot control them directly, so the Gu retains its own will, even escaping to save its life in times of great danger like after the beast dies."
After finishing these words, the elder lifts the wooden bug in his hand. With a gentle wave, the small insect transforms into several bamboo strips bound together, with various indecipherable inscriptions written on them, making Hei Tu wonder if the small wooden puppets he had seen walking around the clan's streets were also Gu.
"Additionally, wild beasts lack the ability to refine Gu to higher ranks as we Gu Masters do or create artificial Gu like this one or the clan's main Gu," he says, his gaze turning upward as if recalling something.
"...In summary, man is the spirit of all living beings, Gu are the essence of heaven and earth, which is why these first days are crucial. I will teach you how to inspect your apertures and control your primeval sea!"
Hei Tu nods slightly along with several other students. After spending all day yesterday learning from his father, who emphasized the importance of skillfully controlling his primeval essence, and practicing this control as well, he is no longer as ignorant about how this world's cultivation works.
In fact, he even feels that he has a better understanding than Zi Heng beside him, who has a pensive expression, hand on his chin, looking as though he understands everything. But Hei Tu has a suspicion that this isn't the case, remembering how he had to help Zi Heng walk home the day before yesterday because he was too drunk to make it alone.
That could have been a bit of a problem since he didn't know where Zi Heng's house was, but a few quick lies about being too drunk himself to remember where it was solved the issue easily.
"Well, before I can teach directly, those of you who have already learned to inspect your aperture and have begun controlling a bit of your primeval essence, please raise your hands," the elder says with a look that seems to expect students to raise their hands.
Immediately, Su Ah, wearing a beautiful green dress with purple details and sitting in the first row, raises her hand without hesitation.
She's followed by a long-haired boy sitting in a corner by the wall, who nearly jumps out of his seat with enthusiasm as he raises his hand.
Hei Tu, observing the two, recalls his father's words about the importance of showing maximum talent in the academy to obtain more resources for future cultivation. And also being recognized as a talented prospect by the clan would bring significant benefits compared to those who are average or untalented, so he raises his hand calmly.
The elder, seeing the three with their hands raised, gives a thoughtful look and waits for a few moments to confirm that no other student will raise their hand. Then, he picks up his brush and writes something on the bamboo strips in his hand.
"For now, you three can use this class to continue improving your skill in controlling your primeval essence while I teach the other students how to inspect their apertures. Later, I will guide you personally," the elder says as he steps away from the front of the room and slowly walks closer to the students.
"For all of you, pay close attention to my words, as inspecting your apertures is not a simple task for most..."
As he says this, Hei Tu already has his eyes closed, barely listening to the elder's words, which have become indistinct background noise to him as he focuses on a vast sea of light-green primeval essence, moving clumsily under his mental command.
'It's truly an indescribable sensation,' he thinks with excitement, as he clumsily maneuvers the primeval essence to collide with the thin membrane of light surrounding this boundless sea, which quickly shrinks as he does so due to his still-unskilled and unrefined control.
The reason he's doing this is simple: this is how cultivation works in this world—by nurturing the walls of his aperture gradually using his primeval sea until they undergo a qualitative transformation to a minor higger realm.
So it's intuitive for anyone with common sense to understand why the amount of a Gu Master's primeval sea is so important; it directly affects how much primeval essence he can use before it runs dry, as well as how quickly it recovers, according to his father's words yesterday.
Furthermore, although he hasn't used any yet, he's already aware that the utilization of Gu also heavily relies on primeval essence.
Just as his primeval sea had dropped by half, he hears the elder's words directed not only at him but also at the other two who had raised their hands earlier.
As expected, the elder's calm and wise words truly help him, as he quickly follows them and sees a noticeable improvement in his control over his primeval essence. The elder's instructions are clearly of higher quality and easier to follow than his father's teachings on controlling his primeval essence, demonstrating why he is the academy elder.
'Hmm, at this rate, I'll have full control of my primeval sea in two days at most...' Hei Tu thinks to himself, and, like Su Ah and the long-haired boy, he occasionally asks questions and receives immediate, wise responses from the clan elder, who seems pleased to answer their doubts.
---
"...Well, it still seems hard for me to focus completely on inspecting my aperture," Zi Heng says, frustration etched in his tone as he walks slowly, hands clasped behind his head. "It took me about four hours to get it the first time, and even now, I still need to focus for a few minutes just to inspect it."
Walking beside him, Hei Tu shakes his head. Though Zi Heng took longer than he did, his time wasn't bad compared to the many students who still hadn't managed to inspect their apertures, even after the elder's intensive six-hour lesson.
"Maybe if you hadn't been so focused on your hangover, you could've inspected your aperture sooner," Hei Tu says in a light joke.
"Ahhh, it wasn't even that—I didn't drink a single drop yesterday! My father made me practice inspecting my aperture from morning till night, shouting in my ear the entire time..." Zi Heng sighs, lowering his head, looking defeated.
Hei Tu nods in understanding, recalling the look on Zi Heng's father's face when he saw him having to be helped to walk home by Hei Tu after one too many drinks that day.
Zi Heng raises his head, looking at him with a curious expression as they step out of the academy pavilion. "Honestly, I don't know how you, Su Ah, and that other guy managed to learn to inspect your apertures and control your primeval essence before even starting academy training."
Hei Tu reflects on this. He imagines Su Ah, the clan leader's daughter, must have had private instruction from her father, along with the best tutors over the years. This likely made her the most theoretically prepared youth of their generation, and her innate talent, the highest in the class, set her up for early success in cultivation.
The "other guy," Bi Xia, also stood out. As the grandson of an elder and with the second-highest cultivation talent, Bi Xia had a reputation for diligence and discipline. Hei Tu had seen how intensely he approached learning and cultivation, so it was no surprise to anyone that Bi Xia was progressing quickly.
Hei Tu was the real anomaly among the three, and he knew it. The fact that he could "keep up" with them should seem surprising to everyone, even himself, considering he'd been in this world for less than three days. He couldn't help but attribute this to his unique status as a transmigrator, which he firmly believed gave him an edge.
"Well, just a bit of natural talent—and I did spend a lot of time practicing, probably like the others," he says with a shrug. "Besides, you're still above average, according to the elder."
Zi Heng nods, a slight smile breaking through his frustration. "Yeah, I guess I can't call myself untalented, unlike some of those with C-grade talent who still haven't managed to inspect their apertures. Haha!"
Hei Tu listens, recognizing that although Zi Heng spoke in plural, he was likely referring specifically to Tai Ni. Tai Ni had surprised many by awakening C-grade talent despite both his parents being mortals, something that had stirred a mixture of awe and envy among their peers.
Some of the youths, particularly those displeased at a mortal's child having more talent than them, had taken to disdainful comments and light jests at his expense. For Hei Tu, he didn't hold any particular disdain for mortals without cultivation abilities, but he could understand why some felt that way in a world where cultivation was everything.
He felt, however, that they should be more disappointed in their own cultivation skills. After all, Tai Ni, who came from a mortal family, had likely received no training in cultivation theory and was only now learning about inspecting apertures. His slower progress was natural compared to theirs, who had grown up around cultivation.
As sons of Gu Masters, many of them had likely been guided by their parents since childhood on inspecting apertures. He himself, like Zi Heng, had been trained by his father all day yesterday. Needing hours to succeed, after a lifetime of guidance, seemed more shameful than Tai Ni taking more than one lesson.
"Well, good luck with it, then. I'm sure your father will make sure you put that talent to good use," Hei Tu says, waving to Zi Heng as he turns down a different path, since his house is in that direction, while Zi Heng's is straight ahead.
"Definitely..." Zi Heng mutters, giving a fleeting glance toward a nearby restaurant where some youths were already gathered, laughing and drinking. He continues on, murmuring something Hei Tu couldn't quite make out.
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