Hope Gu was one of the legendary three gu mentioned in the beginning of 'The Legends of Ren Zu.'
Ren Zu was the OG human, and as he found himself in an unfamiliar world, found that he was surrounded by monsters known as 'Predicaments.' These Predicaments hunted him down relentlessly, and in the harsh environment he constantly was hounded and harassed.
One day, three gu appeared before him. One was Strength Gu, which offered him strength in exchange for his youth.
Using strength, Ren Zu was able to overcome many of the Predicaments.
Yet, even brute strength was not enough. There were many Predicaments that could not be overcome with just Strength Gu's help, and so he had to rely on Wisdom Gu, the second of the three gu which had gathered before him.
"Oh human, give me your middle life, and I will help you," Wisdom Gu said.
Ren Zu gave up even his middle life, and with that gained the power of Wisdom Gu. He was able to outsmart and outfight nearly all of the Predicaments who were after him, but eventually, after trading so much of his lifespan away, he was left as nothing but the husk of an old man. His hair had turned grey, he could barely see, and all of his teeth had fallen out.
Both Wisdom Gu and Strength Gu left him, and he was abandoned, left to the whims of nature.
So there he was, breathing raggedly, as the Predicaments finally caught up with him.
"Looks like this... is the end..." he sighed to himself.
"Human," the third gu that had approached him said. "I can still help you!"
"I no longer have anything to offer you," Ren Zu replied. "I gave up my youth first, and then my middle ages. I wish to enjoy whatever lifespan I have left, even if it is just for one breath longer."
"Human, out of the three gu, I have the least requirement when it comes to using me," the third gu said. "I only need your heart."
"But oh, even if that were true, what can I do?" Ren Zu asked. He was surrounded on all sides by Predicaments like a rock in a lake. "Even if both Strength and Wisdom came back to help me, it would not be enough to tip the scales. But... alright, I shall offer my heart to you."
The third gu was Hope Gu, and entered Ren Zu's heart.
Immediately, it let out a bright light, and wheresoever the light landed, the Predicaments screamed out in pain and agony.
"Oh no! It's Hope!"
"We're terrified of Hope Gu!"
Immediately, the Predicaments turned tail and fled the scene.
And in that way, Hope Gu had saved Ren Zu's life.
In the present day, Fang Yuan watched as the elder called out the youngsters names one by one.
The first person nearly tripped over his own feet as he began to walk into the spirit spring.
As he took a step, Hope Gu began to fly around him.
After three steps, this person felt like he could not walk any further, as if he had run into an invisible wall.
The elder frowned. "Three steps, no talent to become a Gu Master. Next!"
The boy in question burst into tears. Many looked at him sympathetically- only about half of humans had any talent to become a Gu Master. It was a bit higher among the Gu Yue villagers, about sixty percent or so, because the founder of their village, the Gu Yue ancestor, had been a powerful Rank Five Gu Master in his own right.
If one was not a Gu Master, they were at the bottom of the hierarchy of this world. In other words, that boy was destined for nothing higher than servitude. Upon seeing him, many of the youngsters began desperately praying for at least a D-grade talent if nothing else.
There were two people that Fang Yuan remembered were of note during this ceremony, aside from himself and Fang Zheng.
One was Gu Yue Mo Bei, a boy who had a long face like that of a horse, who was a B-grade talent. His grandfather Gu Yue Mo Chen, was an elder of the clan.
The other was Gu Yue Chi Chen, Gu Yue Chi Lian's grandson. He was also a B-grade talent... at least, it had seemed so at first. In reality Chi Chen only had C-grade talent much like Fang Yuan, but his grandfather had helped him cheat and appear as a B-grade talent. They were both punished later for this by the village head - after all, cheating during this time was greatly frowned upon.
Though, there was a reason why Chi Lian had done so. He and Mo Chen were both elders, and political rivals. But neither could live forever, and their future prospects depended on their inheritors. If word got out that Chi Lian's grandson and heir was only a C-grade talent, it would massively damage their family's future.
Fang Yuan tapped his chin, considering if there was a move he could make to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, right now he was too weak to get away with blackmailing Chi Lian.
The further that one walked, the greater one's talent when it came to cultivating. Anything less than ten steps meant that one had no talent whatsoever, but both Chi Chen and Mo Bei managed to walk thirty-six steps, just as Fang Yuan had remembered.
"B-grade talent!" the elder exclaimed. Until that point, there were many frowns among the elders. After all, it seemed that only about half rather than sixty percent of the youngsters had talent, and of these all were D-grade or C-grade talents. To finally have two B-grade talents gave them some relief.
"Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"
Finally, his own name was called out. Fang Yuan sighed, as everyone suddenly turned to look at him expectantly.
The greater one's expectations, the greater the disappointment when they were dashed. Fang Yuan knew the result already, so his heart was calm and tranquil. Though, there was one big change this time.
Fang Yuan smiled, he was a bit surprised that this 'system' had not been discovered yet. Here, there were countless eyes and investigative methods watching, so whoever set up the 'system' must've been a Rank Five expert at the least.
As Fang Yuan walked, Hope Gu began to enter a region above his umbilicus and below his sternum, coalescing until he could walk no further than twenty-seven steps.
Main Mission Complete!
Completed the Awakening Ceremony!
Cultivation Blessing Granted - Talent Obscuration!
Cultivation Blessings are single-use effects granted by the system. Using Talent Obscuration, you can deceive others and show yourself to be a B-grade talent!
New main mission unlocked!
I'm A B-Grade Genius!
Requirement: Deceive people into thinking you have B-grade talent using this Cultivation Blessing!
Reward: ???