Mo Bei returned straight to the Mo family villa.
After experimenting a little in his room, he asked around and found his elder sister, Mo Yan, cultivating in the inner courtyard.
In the garden, the scent of spring lingered in the air. Fresh grass peeked through the cobblestones.
Gentle light passed through the tree branches, casting scattered shadows. A slight breeze carried the scent of damp earth and blooming flowers.
From the artificial mountain, the sound of water flowed — narrow streams winding through stone, feeding into a pond where golden carp drifted lazily.
'It's beautiful here.'
Mo Yan sat cross-legged on a wide, flat stone near the pond, her training robe simple and sleeves neatly tucked. She meditated with a focused expression, unmoving.
'And with her eyes closed like this, Mo Yan's quite pretty too…'
Mo Bei stood there quietly, watching her.
A minute passed.
He then lightly said: "Sister."
Mo Yan opened her eyes, surprised. "Little brother?"
"Yes. Sister, can you teach me about Gu cultivation?"
"Eh? You want me to teach you?... But the Gu Academy starts tomorrow. They'll explain everything then."
"I know," Mo Bei said, stepping forward. "but I want to start now."
He had just gone from a mortal to cultivator — from an ordinary person to having a dantiant. How could he not want to dive in?
"You're very diligent, little bro!" Mo Yan smiled, clearly pleased. "That's good! But… what should I teach you…"
She looked a bit lost.
Mo Bei suggested, "Maybe how to move Primeval Essence? Or how to inspect my Aperture level?"
"Oh, that kind of stuff. Well, sure. That's the first thing they teach in the Academy anyway." She tapped her chin. "I'll give you a few tips so you can start ahead of the others!"
Mo Yan began explaining the basics: Primeval Essence, the Aperture, Gu worms — her tone a mix of confident and some stuttering. She wasn't a professional teacher, but she got the job done.
In this world, cultivators were called Gu Masters. The Aperture was a special organ where they stored and refined Primeval Essence. Mo Bei knew that much.
Despite being part of the body, it housed an inner space - the Primeval Sea - where Gu worms were nurtured.
Gu worms were magical creatures that provided Gu Masters with unique abilities. Primeval Essence was the energy used to activate them.
"Inspecting your Aperture is mostly about talent," Mo Yan said. "There's not much to teach you — I can just give you a rough guideline, then it's up to you to practice."
The "guidelines" boiled down to: use your willpower and figure it out yourself.
Classic cultivation teaching. Basically: good luck, don't explode.
But to Mo Bei's surprise, he found it wasn't hard at all.
After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and said, "My Primeval Sea… is around 50%. Does that sound right?"
He had used Gun Gu twice already and done a little experimentation with his Primeval Essence, so it made sense he hadn't recovered from that.
"Huh? You can tell already? Or are you just guessing?"
"... It's an estimate. Not exact."
"That comes with experience… But wait, how can it only be at 50%? Isn't your Aptitude 70%?" Mo Yan frowned. Her eyes widened. "You can already move your Primeval Essence?!"
"I guess so." Mo Bei scratched his head.
Apparently, that wasn't normal.
'Okay. Just act cool. Be the 'special genius' kid. That always works.'
Mo Yan blinked, then nodded slowly. "It took me a full day to inspect my Aperture. And they still called me a genius. It took even longer to move my Essence…"
"..."
She narrowed her eyes. "Little brother, let me inspect you!"
"Okay."
Mo Bei didn't resist. The only thing he did was quietly move his Gun Gu, which had originally sunk to the bottom of his Aperture, back up to his upper arm. Better to keep his cheat-code tucked away.
Mo Yan placed a hand on his abdomen and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them again. "Your Primeval Essence is… yeah, 48%. You've really used that much already?!"
"Oh," Mo Bei said.
Off by 2%. Not bad. He'd take the W.
Mo Yan stared at him, dumbfounded.
Mo Bei gave her a casual 'I'm built different, it can't be helped' kind of smile.
Finally, Mo Yan said, "Alright. Let's try something!"
Suddenly, a Gu worm flew out from her Aperture — a shimmering blue gemstone, slightly curved.
Mo Bei squinted at it. 'That looks like Moonlight Gu… but not quite. Wait...'
"This is my Vital Gu, the Rank 2 Moonlight Sabre Gu!" Mo Yan said proudly. "Try sending your Primeval Essence into it. Just to see if you can interact with it."
"Okay."
Mo Bei took the gemstone Gu into his hand and pushed his Essence toward it. Immediately, he felt a strong resistance.
"Oh…!" Mo Yan gasped, watching him carefully. She then smiled brightly. "You're a genius, little bro!"
Then, like a missile locked on target, she tackled him into another tight hug. She looked jubilant.
Mo Bei chuckled. "Thanks, I guess."
Clearly, Mo Yan thought he was some cultivation prodigy.
Not entirely wrong… just the complete truth was that his genius came from being a reincarnated gun nerd with a cheat.
But more importantly, something stirred in Mo Bei's mind.
Touching the Moonlight Sabre Gu had triggered a spark – a slightly crazy, intriguing idea.
Moonlight Gu was a Rank 1 Gu. If he could acquire and refine one, then combine it with his Rank 1 Gun Gu…
Would that evolve it into a Rank 2 Moonlight Gun?
Laser blaster mode unlocked? Gun Gu: Star Wars edition?
Projectiles made of moonlight instead of metal – not only flashier, but potentially deadlier.
For now, it was only a theory. He'd need a proper Moonlight Gu to test it.
After Mo Yan discovered his talent with Primeval Essence, she began teaching him how to circulate it inside the Primeval Sea to nurture the Aperture walls.
She also explained the refining process in more detail: what to be mindful of when pushing his Will and Essence into a Gu worm to claim ownership.
Finally, Mo Yan stood up and stretched. "Well, that should be enough for today. I have to head out and pick up a mission for my team."
"Oh, okay…"
She grinned. "Today was my day off, but starting tomorrow I'm back on duty. I refuse to fall behind Chi Shan's team!"
"Thank you!... Sister!" Mo Bei called out to her while watching her leave.
After a while, his eyes narrowed.
He felt a pang of sympathy for her. Mo Yan was strong, talented and resource-rich... yet it seems she still fell into the clan's trap.
She chased glory. Obedience. Empty praise from the elders.
If she focused solely on cultivation, she might have not been far from being a Rank 3 Gu Master already – a Clan Elder.
But according to the novel's story, the clan elders wouldn't want the new talents rising too quickly to begin standing at the same level as themselves. They handed out endless missions in the name of "nurturing" and "gaining experience," dragging her time and attention away from progress.
She didn't need those missions. Her status and secluded cultivation could've carried her further.
But they sold her a dream of glory and duty. And she bought it.
Mo Bei wanted to help Mo Yan break free from all that and achieve her potential.
… But right now, he was a barely-qualified noob. All his "insight" came from listening to a Chinese web novel through Text To Speech during his boring work in the magazine.
So, for now, he'd just shut up and observe.
Then his thoughts shifted.
Something clicked.
At this exact point in the timeline, no one in his generation, not even Fang Yuan, had any Gu worms.
That wouldn't change for a full week until they pick their first Gu Worm to refine at the Academy.
Which meant…
If he wanted to kill Fang Yuan, now was the time! Just aim… and pull the trigger. It would be the easiest thing in the world.
But why would he do that?
Mo Bei wanted to rise up with the Gun Path, to become a powerful Gu Master – a peak level a Gu Immortal. Perhaps he could do that.
But to reach the same level as Fang Yuan? To become someone with the ultimate body and talent of Sovereign Aperture Fetus? With Spring Autumn Cicada and countless other overpowered goodies?
That… would only be possible if he became the pawn of Heaven's Will, just like Fang Yuan.
Otherwise, no matter how flashy his bullets were, he'd always be a side character in someone else's cultivation story.
Currently, Fang Yuan was completely defensless. Killing him was easy.
Unfortunately, attempting that was not without consequence.
Because of Heaven's Will.
If Mo Bei killed Fang Yuan, maybe Heaven's Will would choose him as the new pawn. But there was no guarantee. He might just get smited on the spot.
Mo Bei hesitated for a long time.
He then thought of the reason he was transmigrated.
He hadn't received some epic quest to save the world, had no meeting with a God in the void. Just a gun and a "good luck" slap from the universe.
Wasn't that setup basically screaming: "Do something insane"?
And what could be more insane than capping the main character on Day 1?
Bold. Unhinged. Possibly fatal. Perfect Isekai Protagonist Behavior.
It was… Reverend Insanity!
But it might also get him instantly killed.
So he didn't bet on plot armor just because he Isekai'd. He assumed he could absolutely die.
Because... it was Reverend Insanity.
As dusk crept in, Mo Bei remembered: around this time, Fang Yuan would begin sneaking out, searching for the Liquor Worm.
This is it!
If he wanted to avoid Heaven's Will findout out his thoughts, the only way was to act fast — before it could read his subconscious and predict his plans.
One bullet, no hesitation. If he waited too long, he might not be the one holding the gun anymore.
Heart racing, Mo Bei left the Mo family villa alone.
He might be walking to his death. But if speed was king, then hesitation was death. He had to act before the world could respond.
He didn't bring anyone.
This was a gamble with fate – win, and he could rewrite the entire story.
Lose… and he'd probably be a footnote in Fang Yuan's internal monologue.
But the world was whispering: You only get one shot. One opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted.
Would you capture it?...
Or just let it slip?
He inhaled.
Exhaled.
Then grinned.
Time to aim at Fate and pull the trigger.
…
…
…
AN: I'm proud of this chapter, guys.
What will happen next? Find out on the next episode of Gun Master Z! Chapter 5: Heaven's Recoil!