They were led to a separate room where many gu worms were stored.
Gu came in all shapes and sizes, though most of them took the appearance of insects. The clan nourished all of the gu worms inside, the costs to feed which were paid for by primeval stones obtained from the spirit spring. This was a huge burden upon the clan's finances, which is why Fang Yuan had been very shocked to learn that gu in his inventory didn't need to be fed.
The only gu worm he had currently was the Green Copper Relic Gu, which was a gu that could only be used once. It was a terrible choice for a vital gu, despite its other uses, which is why
"Go ahead, each of you can take a single Rank 1 gu worm," the academy elder said.
Gu, just like Gu Masters, came in ranks from 1 to 9. For best effect, the rank of Gu Master and gu had to match, if one used a gu of weaker rank than oneself, it was akin to fighting with rubber gloves. If one used one of higher rank, it was like trying to use a Pokemon which you didn't have enough badges to control.
The vital gu would great affect his development, and if he couldn't get the Liquor Worm, he would have to settle for something from here.
"Moonlight Gu..."
It was the signature gu of their clan, and about eighty percent of the class would choose this gu worm. Seeing nothing better in sight, Fang Yuan resolved himself to take this.
A message popped up as he left.
New Main Quest!
Refining The Moonlight Gu
Description: Be the first to refine the Moonlight Gu and win the contest!
Reward: ???
The academy elder had already promised 20 primeval stones to whoever was the first to refine a gu worm, though Fang Yuan had little hope in succeeding. Others might think that he would be able to, but that was because he was disguised as a B-grade talent who was second only the Fang Zheng. They though that he might be able to get lucky, though Fang Yuan knew that he actually had no chance of succeeding.
'What's important right now is the Liquor Worm...' he thought to himself. That was worth more than whatever reward he would get like this.
As he was about to leave though, he was stopped by the academy elder. "Fang Yuan, I wanted to have a word with you."
"Ah, sorry about sleeping in class, I was so eager to start today that I couldn't sleep last night ehehe..." Fang Yuan said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's not about that," the elder said. "It's about the beggar you ended up giving a primeval stone too a few days back."
"Right, there was that..."
"I wanted to tell you that it's a waste of your time and resources," the elder said. "That beggar was a mere mortal, and that stone would've been spent better in helping you cultivate."
"I understand," Fang Yuan said. There was something oddly... robotic about the way he replied. The academy elder had thought that Fang Yuan would protest, but he seemed to already recognize the futility of his actions.
Or did he? The academy elder decided to deal the killing blow. "Do you know what happened after you gave him the primeval stone, Fang Yuan? Your action was noticed by a few Gu Masters, one of whom snatched it away from the beggar after giving him a good beating."
The beggar, of course, was a mortal and had no status in the village hierarchy. Many Gu Masters struggled with finances, and a single stone was still valuable for someone at Rank 1 or Rank 2.
The Gu Master who took it might have even justified his actions saying that he was doing the beggar a favor, after all, all he did was beat the mortal up- if it was someone else, they might've opted to kill him to get that stone instead, after all.
Forget Gu Masters, if mortals had seen the beggar with a stone, they too would have conspired to rob him. Either way, the beggar would've ended up worse off thanks to Fang Yuan's 'gift.'
The academy elder was explaining this to Fang Yuan to get him to understand that while kindness had its place, it should be directed at the proper people.
He expected Fang Yuan to either protest and look horrified, but Fang Yuan's expression was unchanged. "I knew that was going to happen," was his reply.
The academy elder was lost for words.
What did he mean by that?
Why hand over the stone in the first place if he knew no good would come of it?
Was this some sort of strange sadistic joke that Fang Yuan had played?
"Oh... I see..." the academy elder finally got those words out, the lecture he had prepared beforehand now lost.
Fang Yuan left, leaving the elder mystified. Fang Yuan's actions now were incongruous with what he had done earlier.
Mortals were lower than even the dogs in many ways within the villages of Gu Masters. Perhaps someone like Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable could make a society where they were treated with respect, but that was a massive exception.
Still, humans were humans and empathy was part and parcel of such. It was not abnormal for a young boy like Fang Yuan to take pity upon someone suffering and offering them some money.
The academy elder had wanted to explain to Fang Yuan that while kindness and charity had its place, such aid was best directed at the clan members, not mortals.
Fang Yuan was a B-grade talent after all, a future elder of the village. It was important to impart the value of family ties within him.
But, Fang Yuan had been completely unfazed by learning of what had happened to the beggar. Shouldn't he feel some guilt at what happened to the mortal?
It seemed to be too elaborate for a simple prank as well, and as such, the academy elder could not wrap his head around it.
How could he know that Fang Yuan had earned a net profit of four primeval stones from that transaction through the system? Whatever happened afterwards was of no concern to Fang Yuan.