Ray was laying back down on the ground just as he had done through the entire night.
'This body...'
He smiled
The sovereign immortal body's main strengths were in the size of its aperture and the nature of non conflicting dao marks but it was incredible in other aspects as well, something that he had forgotten
The mental facilities granted to him was unbelievably perfect especially since he used no wisdom path methods on himself. The generation of thoughts made it so that he essentially would never feel mental fatigue when dealing with mortal affairs not to mention that he was able to dedicate pieces of his mind to different thoughts and tasks
Once he started to think about the mental capabilities of the body his mind, a part of it at least shifted to the physical capabilities
With a bit of time he would be able to recall all his memories but thanks to the voice he was given assistance and learned all of his new found power
Well, some of it
The durability of the body would allow him to tank the majority of mortal level attacks, almost all of them without the use of any defensive measures. He could also survive massive blunt force impacts like landing head first from a height above the Eifel tower
The speed of the body and movement ability of the body allowed him to jump over mountains and rivers easily
The stamina of the body was beyond great as well, with a nearly inexhaustible amount of it - at least for mortal activities
Would he need to sleep any time soon?
No, most likely not for about half a year
He smiled feeling the sunlight seep in through the cracks in the walls indicating that it was morning
Today was the day of the awakening ceremony
'I wonder what my aptitude is...'
He thought as he started to walk towards the middle of the village
Eventually after a short time he made it to the group even though he was at the very back of the line.
The group seemed to be mixed but there was a clear division within the group of children. The front half consisted of those who resided within the gu master section of the village and the latter half consisted of the mortal born
Many disdainful looks were thrown at him from the mortal born children due to the dirt and mud on his body and crude clothes that stuck to him as he laid down
He did not mind their looks though, in fact he simply did not care
When he was on earth he got many looks of similar nature, a few were of pity and the majority was of disdain and disgust
He sighed
'When will it change?' He asked himself
Those looks
Would they change once he gets his aptitude? would it remain the same? would it be filled with anger?
His expression froze
'Did any of it matter anyway?'
All these people would die relatively soon, the only person that mattered within this group was Fang Yuan
Ray was at the very back of the line and Fang Yuan seemed to be standing at the back of the gu master born group
Unlike everyone else who's eyes held tension and anxiety, hope and fear his was calm and unmoving
It made sense
He had the knowledge of what his aptitude was already and had already come to terms with it
Ray looked forwards as he heard a voice come from the very front of the group.
"Good, all of you are punctual. Today is the Awakening Ceremony, it is your life's great turning point. I won't say much, just come with me."
The Elder of the academy spoke and turned walking away
Ray followed the group remaining at the back of the line as they walked into the clan pavilion and started to move down into the path
The group moved down the tunnel for a long while, each step they took the tunnel became darker and darker and after a few hundred steps the faint sound of water could be heard
That was what the others experienced
He had already heard the water from a far while back, and the darkness in the tunnel did not affect him either. Ray had the senses of the Sovereign Immortal Body and it was powerful enough for him to see and hear perfectly fine
After a little while more of walking the group came to a corner which they had turned into
The darkness in the area was not as deep as before as the children could see a feint blue light being emitted by the river illuminating the fish, plants and even the sand beneath
That was not the thing that took their breath away though
It was the sea of flowers at the opposite end of the river, each one had pink and blue crescent shaped petals connected to a blue jade like stem
'Moon orchids...'
He was mesmerized by the sight
Ray had been a mortal on earth and even though he may have been a unique mystical existence in the Gu world he was new to these beautiful and mystical sights
He was in awe looking at it
'Could I take all this into the aperture?'
He asked
Well, he could
He could take almost anything here into the immortal aperture with the help of the voice but he would not do so right now
He could not directly take the entirety of Qing Mao Mountain into the immortal aperture without gu worms like pulling mountain or some other type of gu but he could pull the humans into the aperture as well as the resources.
He could also just make a copy of it all directly within the aperture
The humans that were copied would not have their soul and sense of self copied, just their bodies but the resources would be copied identically
It was just that there was not really any use in taking these and it was better for him to leave them here
Changing the events of the story early was going to be a detriment to the knowledge of the future that he possessed and he wanted to maintain that advantage for as long as possible
Did that mean the had no plans to change anything?
No of course not, but he would change them in a positive way.
Ray continued to look at the petals but was pulled out of his thoughts by a voice, the same as the one before
"Alright, listen as I call your names. Those who are called must walk through this river to the opposite bank. Walk as far as you can, of course, the further you go, the better it is. Are all of you clear on that?"
The Elder finished
The group of children yelled with excitement and anxiety laced in their voice
"Yes!"
They said
Ray too felt a bit of that anticipation though not as much as the others
He looked around slowly and took in all their faces
Out of the hundred or so children gathered here only 57 would pass
Of those 57 only one would be of an A grade talent, there would be one real B grade and one fake and the remainder would be of C and D grade
He sighed deeply
Even if he was a mortal with no aptitude at the end of the month he would have immortal essence stones and could very easily awaken an aperture. If that aperture had a low talent he could purchase gu to raise it
But what about these people gathered here?
They would remain mortal
He watched as the first person was called and walked in the river
no talent.
Then the second
no talent either.
Then the rest of them started to step forwards one by one.
Gu Yue Mo Bei was called and announced to have a B-ranked aptitude after being checked by the elder.
Soon after that the other failures and other mediocre people stepped forward, most C and D
Then was Gu Yue Chin Chen, who was announced to have a B grade talent, which both he and Fang Yuan knew was a lie, but both of them had kept quiet.
Upon hearing Fang Yuan's name being called, Ray started to pay more attention.
'My turn is coming soon.'
He thought as he watched Fang Yuan step forwards and take another 27 steps before he stopped
It was true.
Many people gazed, following him with a variety of different looks – pride, jealousy, hope
They all had such great expectations for the boy with seemed to fade away being replaced by disappointment
A wry smile crept onto Ray's face as he observed
He watched as Fang Yuan returned and was announced as a C-grade talent, and everyone seemed to lose hope.
Then he watched Fang Zheng get called and walk up, tripping on his way and being looked down upon, which changed as he got the A-grade aptitude with 80% primeval sea.
Everyone celebrated and showed happiness, and the clan head chose to take him in as a disciple.
The remaining children went, and honestly those whose children had a B grade aptitude and above wanted to leave and were only still there for the respect of the ritual.
'Anticipation is killing me...'
He waited for all the people to be called, most of them mortal, some of them D grade and a few C grade, and then he heard his name.
"Gu Yue Yuxuan, come forward."
Ray smiled and walked forward, making note of all the bad looks he was getting from those of the mortal village who knew him, and he saw the disinterest of those who were Gu masters.
He stopped in front of the academy leader and bowed his head only before turning back forward and continuing to walk, stepping into the waters.
The elder, of course, ignored him, wanting to end this ritual – this one was a guaranteed mortal as far as he was concerned.
He felt cool on his legs that were bare due to the lack of fitting clothes he had, and then he moved. forward
'Lets see what my talent is.'
He said in his mind at the system.
[Yes]
It responded enthusiastically.
Ray took a step forward and then another one and then another.
He felt the white lights known as hope gu flow into the area between is kidneys combining into a bigger one - he started to smile more and more as he was able to continue walking feeling not a single ounce if pressure
He continued to walk, admiring the sounds from behind.
'Hahaha'
He laughed to himself inwardly with an emotion that far surpassed happiness
Apparently, he had been given blessings while also being someone with great innate talent
The excited whispers grew louder and louder as they watched him cross each step barrier.
But he started to get worried
The pressure had yet to mount to a point that he could not walk forwards and the aperture had not yet formed, what did this mean?
It meant he had a good aptitude
But possibly an extreme aptitude
Would have have one of the extreme physiques? Was he the one who had the Ancient Desolate Moon physique?
'If I am all my plans have to change!'
He screamed hoping that it would stop and form
If he had the Ancient Desolate Moon Physique the First Gen Gu Yue would most likely awaken and Ray would need to kill him and that was going to change many of his plans
Not to mention he would need to alter his body, most easily with yin yang rotation gu to prevent himself from blowing up
40, 41, 42 ...
Eventually he stopped.
"48 Steps!"
The academy elder yelled.
"Another A-grade talent!"
"The Heavens have blessed our clan!"
48 steps was his limit, his body started to feel the pressure grow to powerful to take another step
Just as he stopped, the ball of light seemed to explode, there was no pain – rather, the feeling was euphoric.
His aperture had formed.
Ray sucked in a deep breath, relief washed over him
Thankfully he did not have an extreme physique and even better he had a extremely high aptitude
'Well, at least I know I'm talented'
He said while internally releasing a breath
This also had many benefits that he would make full use of
He turned around and walked back, taking only 1 step out of the river and standing on the bank.
Everyone was shocked and in a heated state.
Right now there was a silent competition between the clans on Qing Mao Mountain.
The Xiong clan was not really a concern in terms of talents, but the Bai clan had the genius Bai Ning Bing, who had an extremely high aptitude.
So now the Gu Yue Clan that had been on the slow decline for a few years, having no A-grade geniuses, suddenly had 2
Suddenly everyone turned their attention to the Mo and Chi clan elders that were arguing over who was going to take this genius.
The clan head too watched Yuxuan with greed and made his bid as well.
Ray just stood there patiently allowing them to make their decision.
"I will take this one too."
The elders would not have made a fuss under normal circumstances, but right now the clan head already had an A-grade aptitude and was now trying to covet the other.
The academy elder too had been pulled out of his stupor by the 3 who were arguing and moved to test Yuxuan's primeval sea.
The old man was gentle and seemed to have a soft smile and bright eyes a complete 180 from what it had been when he stepped into the water
[Please refrain from killing him.]
'This two-faced bastard...'
Looking down on him like he was a snake now, gazing at him because he could soar like a dragon
"95% primeval sea!" - The elder yelled.
There was another wave of commotion.
Fang Zheng had been an A grade too, but he had an 80% aptitude, and Yuxuan had 95% – comparing the 2 was like looking at the house of an elder and then the house of the clan head themselves.
"Clan Head, you have already taken Fang Zheng, please give this talent to the Chi clan."
"No, the Chi clan produced a B-grade talent last year, and they have another this year. This one should belong to the Mo clan!"
They started to argue again, something about how one can compare an A grade and a B grade and some other bullshit.
Ray ignored them both and walked over to the clan head and bowed.
"Gu Yue Yuxuan greets the clan head."
Like that it was clear who would be taking him it
Ray stood from his bow and gave a bright smile, especially since, as he lifted his head, his eyes glanced at Fang Yuan's face.
Clearly Fang Yuan was confused as to who this new person was that had an A-grade aptitude since this did not happen in his past.
But Ray had already started to think about his own plans
The next task was to get Fang Yuan under the influence of the Gu, Eternal Brotherhood