The sky was a clear, bright blue, as if freshly washed.

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The sun shone golden.

White clouds floated by, and a flock of colorful parakeets chirped noisily, forming an arrow formation under the blue sky and white clouds, soaring with flapping wings.

These colorful parakeets only appear in large groups during spring. Their feathers are brilliantly multicolored, their bodies as large as eagles, with parrot-like heads and beaks, and tails resembling peacock tails, trailing long behind them.

It had been over ten days since Fang Yuan took first place in the Life-Bound Gu refining assessment.

The spring breeze turned the mountains green with grass, wildflowers bloomed in competition, and bees and butterflies danced together. It was a scene full of vibrant spring energy.

The essence of spring was so strong that even the tall bamboo walls surrounding the martial training ground couldn't contain it.

This martial training ground covered three acres, with a flat surface paved with thick and wide green-grey stones. Around it, Green Spear Bamboo was transplanted, each stalk standing straight and close together, forming a high green wall.

Although the corners were also paved with stone bricks, clumps of grass had sprouted in many places. Between the bamboo, wild roses had crept in from outside, even climbing to the top of the wall.

Fifty-seven fifteen-year-old youths stood in a semicircle in the martial training ground, watching the Academy Elder at the center.

This was a class teaching the youths how to use the Moonlight Gu.

"The Moonlight Gu is the signature Gu insect of our Gu Yue Clan, just like the Bear Strength Gu of the Bear Clan and the Stream Gu of the Bai Clan. Most of you here have chosen the Moonlight Gu as your Life-Bound Gu. Watch closely, as I will personally demonstrate how to activate the Moonlight Gu for an attack. Even if your Life-Bound Gu isn't the Moonlight Gu, pay attention, as this classic long-range attack method can be applied to other Gu insects and has a wide range of applications."

With that, the Academy Elder extended his right hand, spreading his fingers and lowering his palm so the youths could see his palm.

"First, use your mind to move the Moonlight Gu to your palm." As he spoke, the crescent mark representing the Moonlight Gu moved along the Elder's arm to his palm.

"Then, channel the True Essence from your empty aperture into the Moonlight Gu." A trace of silver True Essence flowed from the Elder's body, almost imperceptible, into the Moonlight Gu in his palm.

The Academy Elder was at the Rank Three level, and only a Rank Three Gu Master could refine silver True Essence.

A Rank One Gu Master's True Essence was commonly known as Bronze True Essence, and a Rank Two Gu Master was known for Red-Iron True Essence. Only at Rank Three did it become Silver True Essence.

Absorbing this trace of silver True Essence, the crescent mark in the Elder's palm grew brighter, emitting a bright pale blue glow even in daylight.

"Amazing!"

"So beautiful." The youths couldn't help but exclaim in wonder at the sight.

The pale blue light was as clear as water, flickering in the Elder's hand, as if he held a handful of moonlight.

The Academy Elder smiled slightly, "Watch carefully, the final step is to release it like this."

He slowly closed his spread fingers, then raised his arm, extending it forward, finally slicing through the air with a gentle chop.

The entire movement was steady and powerful.

Swish.

The youths heard a soft sound by their ears.

With the Elder's movement, the pale blue light gathered in his palm was thrown out.

The light formed a small moon blade in the air, the size of a palm, like a crescent in the night sky. It traced a straight line in the air, striking a straw doll puppet ten meters away.

With a hiss, the moon blade sliced through the thirty-centimeter-thick neck of the straw doll puppet, causing its body to sway and its large head to fall to the ground.

After cutting through the straw doll, the moon blade dimmed but continued to fly for about six more meters before gradually fading and finally dissipating in the air.

Looking at the straw doll puppet's neck, the cut was extremely smooth, as if sliced by the sharpest scythe.

The youths all widened their eyes in surprise at this scene. Some couldn't help but touch their own necks, amazed by the moon blade's power.

After a brief silence, exclamations followed. Some youths stared at the straw doll puppet with shining eyes, others at the Elder's palm, and some whispered excitedly among themselves.

Only Fang Yuan remained hidden in the crowd, his expression indifferent and unmoved.

In his previous life, he had cultivated to Rank Six, founded the Bloodwing Demon Sect in Central Continent, with tens of thousands of followers, and was hailed as a Demon Path Overlord, renowned and formidable.

The Academy Elder was merely a Rank Three Gu Master, his skills were child's play and couldn't stir any waves in Fang Yuan's heart.

"Next, anyone who has refined the Moonlight Gu, step forward. Each of you will have a straw doll puppet. Follow my method to activate the moon blade and practice your attack."

As soon as the Academy Elder finished speaking, over thirty youths stepped forward.

In this batch, over a hundred youths from the entire clan participated in the Aperture Opening Ceremony. Fifty-seven had cultivation aptitude, and among them, thirty-five chose the Moonlight Gu. After days of effort, they had all refined the Moonlight Gu.

The remaining youths had Grade D Aptitude. It wasn't that they didn't want to refine the Moonlight Gu, but their aptitude was insufficient, forcing them to give up.

For the youths of the Gu Yue Clan, the Moonlight Gu was not just a Gu insect but a symbol of the clan's honor.

Soon, thirty-five youths stood in a line. Each faced a straw doll puppet ten meters away.

Fang Yuan stood in the middle of the line, unremarkable.

Practice began.

The youths extended their right hands, moving the Moonlight Gu to their palms. The blue crescent marks, infused with bronze True Essence, emitted a series of water-blue glows.

However, when they sliced through the air with their palms, only seven or eight moon blades flew out. Some appeared for just a moment before quickly dissipating. Some flew only two or three meters before suddenly bursting into blue light. Some flew far but veered off course, shooting straight into the sky.

The youths frowned. Watching the Elder's demonstration seemed simple, but when they tried it themselves, they realized the intricacies. Launching a moon blade and hitting the straw doll wasn't easy.

The Elder watched with a slight smile, having seen this scene every year, it was no surprise.

The remaining twenty-two youths could only watch enviously from the sidelines.

After five minutes of practice, the youths gradually managed to launch moon blades. For a time, the martial training ground was filled with pale blue moon blades flying everywhere.

Some moon blades dissipated mid-air, some collided with each other, some flew out of the field, crooked and askew. Only a few moon blades occasionally hit the straw doll puppets, more by chance than skill.

The Academy Elder began individual guidance.

He focused on students with excellent aptitude like Fang Zheng, Mo Bei, and Chi Cheng, patiently correcting their posture errors and sharing his insights. For students like Fang Yuan with Grade C aptitude, he only offered brief pointers.

Fang Yuan kept the blue light in his hand, slicing through the air several times without releasing it, just going through the motions. Seeing the chaotic scene, with no one paying attention to him, he moved his mind, releasing control over the Moonlight Gu, tilting his palm slightly, and made a chopping motion.

To avoid drawing attention, he didn't aim at his own straw doll puppet but at one diagonally in front of him.

With a swish, a moon blade flew out swiftly, cutting through the chaotic central area, tracing a straight line in the air, and accurately hitting the neck of a straw doll puppet.

The straw doll trembled, its neck cut halfway through by the moon blade, but soon the severed green grass stems began to regrow, intertwining, and the wound healed.

This straw doll puppet wasn't an ordinary straw doll but a Rank One Straw Doll Gu, with a slight self-healing ability of the plant-type.

Unless the straw doll was cut in two at once, the wound would soon heal as if nothing had happened.

"Wow, look at that moon blade!"

"Impressive, who launched it?"

Moon blades that hit the straw doll puppets were rare. Fang Yuan's casual strike resulted in the most significant attack effect so far, immediately drawing exclamations from the students outside the field.

Even the Academy Elder's attention was drawn, and he asked, "That was a good moon blade just now, was it you?"

He looked inquiringly at a Grade C student, as the puppet corresponded to him.

The male student blinked repeatedly, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden attention. Honestly, the scene was too chaotic earlier, with moon blades flying everywhere, and he wasn't sure if it was his.

"Well, it seemed like it might have been," the youth thought, nodding instinctively.

The surrounding youths suddenly looked at him with newfound respect.

"Who is he, what's his name?" some female students asked around.

"If even he can launch a moon blade, I can't lose!" Gu Yue Mo Bei's eyes flashed with determination.

"So it wasn't my brother," Gu Yue Fang Zheng inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. After his uncle and aunt's comfort, he had recovered from the previous blow.

"Brother, you got first place last time because you were lucky and chose a weak-willed Moonlight Gu. A Gu Master's cultivation can't always rely on luck, I will beat you." Fang Zheng silently encouraged himself.

"Well done, keep it up, capture that feeling from just now," the Academy Elder patted the student's shoulder, smiling encouragingly.

The youth nodded excitedly, his eyes shining with a different light.

Taking this opportunity, the Elder announced to everyone, "Listen up, this is your homework. Practice well after class, and in three days, we'll check the results. Whoever performs the best will receive a reward of ten Primordial Stones. Did you all hear that?"

"Oh!" the youths responded loudly, even more excited at the prospect of a Primordial Stone reward.

However, just three minutes later, the moon blades flying in the air began to thin out.

"Damn, each moon blade consumes ten percent of my True Essence."

"The moon blade's consumption is too high. I'm only Grade C, with an empty aperture that can store thirty-eight percent of bronze True Essence. I can only launch three moon blades in a row."

The youths who stopped sighed in frustration.

The Academy Elder observed all this without a change in expression, but he sighed inwardly, "This is the advantage of high cultivation aptitude. To use the moon blade, it's nothing more than practice makes perfect. Those with high aptitude have more True Essence stored in their empty apertures, and their True Essence recovers faster, giving them more practice opportunities. If one's aptitude is lacking, they can make up for it with Primordial Stones to increase practice volume. If one's aptitude isn't high and they don't have Primordial Stones, even if they want to practice, they lack the means. Alas, Gu Master cultivation is this harsh, I should focus more on those students with high aptitude."