A month later
.....
Academy
"Because of Lan Shi's hard work and his achievement of reaching the upper stage of first place, the academy will award him 50 primeval stones."
The academy elder grabbed the bag of primeval stones and handed them to Lan Shi.
"Keep working hard, I expect a lot from you."
After receiving the primeval stones, Lan Shi felt no joy or excitement. Success was nothing new to him. He had been successful his entire life, but it didn't matter to him. He was rich after all.
50 primeval stones, really? I think I understood the saying that money doesn't bring happiness. Apparently, when you become extremely rich, money doesn't really matter. Hahaha.
Then the academy elder turned to the rest of the students and addressed them.
"I hope you take Lan Shi as your role model and work harder."
The students couldn't help but silently complain about their grievances in their hearts.
"Why does Lan Shi have so much money? He doesn't even need it. What serious work is the academy elder talking about? He's talking as if we're just wasting our time having fun and loitering.
"We're doing our best every day, but what are we doing?" We don't have a 99% primeval sea or a mountain of primeval stones that we can use to spend as much as he has. What made them even more frustrated was the widening gap between their Cultivation. While he had reached the upper stage of the first rank, all the students were still at the initial stage of the first rank. It wasn't as if they wanted to compete with him; they had given up on the idea since they were children, ever since Lan Shi had started making a name for himself throughout the Southern Border. But the idea that the gap between their Cultivation was this large was still disturbing.
...
"Come on, all of you. Lan Shi will distribute his prize."
"What again!?"
" In the academy courtyard, after the lectures ended, the students gathered after hearing that Lan Shi would be distributing his prizes to the students. This wasn't unprecedented. Since they had entered the academy, Lan Shi had distributed all the prizes he had earned. Some of the wealthier students, like Feng Jiu Ge, politely refused to accept any of the primeval stones. Others, the majority, like Si Xuan, gladly accepted them. "Thank you."
"Brother Lan Shi is so generous."
"I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life."
"Haha, no need to thank you, guys. We are brothers from the same clan after all."
In this world, people often try their best to prove themselves. Perhaps it's through their strength, intelligence, or character. But Lan Shi doesn't need to do that. He's a genius recognized not only by his clan, but by the entire Southern Border. While this has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages.
Just as a snake that crawls on the ground hates a bird that soars in the sky, he also hates a lot of things. People who enjoy the light of glory.
Lan Shi realized this during his life in this world through the distance he felt between himself and his peers.
Lan Shi wasn't a mind-manipulator or a social expert, so he instinctively adapted to this new environment and did what he thought would make people like and accept him.
He tried to appear kind to them. Of course, he didn't go overboard, making them look strange or exploitative.
However, this didn't mean he was emotionless, and that his actions were merely cold calculations. He truly loved his peers, having lived with them for 15 years and spent a lot of time with them.
...
The Lan Family House
The Lan family house consisted of four wings:
The eastern wing was where Lan Zhao, Lan Shi's father, lived.
The western wing was where Yi Hua, Lan Shi's mother, and his younger brother, Lan Jin, lived.
Between them, there was a stone path that extended from the front door of the house and then branched out into the rest of the house.
Then there was the middle wing. The middle wing of the house was where Lan Shi and his older sister, Lan Huang, lived. Then there was the southern wing, where the servants lived. Between the middle wing and the southern wing was a large, empty courtyard called the middle courtyard. Lan Shi used it to practice using his Gu. Today, he used it to practice using his kite wing Gu. This was a first-rank Gu shaped like a kite's wing. It was used to fly at low altitudes of between 10 and 20 meters. Being a first-rank Gu, it was slow and poor at maneuvering. After a round of failed flights, Lan Shi stopped to lie down on the ground in the grass. "Ah, flying with a Gu is really hard." "There are several variables to consider, such as the amount of power used while flying, balance, and dealing with different air currents." "But I seem to be improving every day. I estimate that I will be able to fly in six months. Of course, my flying level will be very poor. It will be dangerous to fly during combat, but in the future, maybe in five years, when I have become a professional pilot." This will give me a huge advantage, whether it's in combat or navigating the world."
In the Gu world, resources were scarce, and ordinary Gu masters had to fight for every primeval stone. Cultivation and care of Gu worms consumed a lot of primeval stones, and the price of Gu worms was also very high. Therefore, Gu masters were selective about their choice of Gu worms. Most of them owned between four and five Gu worms. Therefore, unless a Gu master was wealthy, they wouldn't invest in Gu that might benefit them in the distant future, such as flying Gu.
"Well, the time for rest is over. I should refine my aperture."
Lan Shi stood up and went to his room. There, he took out a Gu resembling a jar. A smiling face was carved with a malicious smile, showing signs of cunning and greed. He then placed a hundred primeval stones inside it. This was the first-rank Gu, the "Jar of Greed," a Gu invented by Lan Shi. This Gu converts primeval stones into primeval essence without the intervention of a Gu master. This is extremely useful because, while refining the walls of the aperture, a Gu master will spend 1% of their jewels every minute. This means that even someone with a 99% primeval sea like Lan Shi would be finished in 1 hour and 40 minutes. An aperture would need approximately seven minutes to create 1% of the primeval sea, which is roughly 12 hours for the primeval sea in the aperture to reach its maximum capacity. This means that whether the aperture is D, C, B, or A, it takes 12 hours to fill to its maximum capacity. It is impractical to wait that long every time your supply of primeval sea runs out, because just as Lan Shi tries to A Gu master is refining the walls of the aperture. These walls will resist and regain their strength over time, wasting some of the Gu master's work. Therefore, Gu masters use primeval stones to recover their supply of the primeval sea. A single primeval stone can recover 30% of the primeval sea within 30 minutes. However, during this time, a Gu master cannot cultivate, halting their previous momentum and recovering the walls of the aperture. Only the most experienced Gu masters, after decades of experience, can do both. This is where the Jar of Greed comes in handy: it gives you infinite primeval essence as long as it contains primeval stones. Unfortunately, it can't be used in battle. In order to use this Gu, it must be outside, above the Gu master's head, making it easy for any enemy to destroy it. Lan Shi sat down and then transferred his consciousness into his aperture. It contained 99% of the primeval sea, but something strange had been happening there for several days. His primeval sea was seething, as if it were boiling. This phenomenon occurred for an hour or two every day. He didn't know what the problem was, so he asked several doctors, but they said there was nothing wrong and that the condition was caused by the Gu Master's psychological state. Therefore, he ignored the matter and let it be, then continued his cultivation. However, after a few minutes, the raging Primordial Sea became more intense, to the point that Lan Shi thought his aperture was going to explode.
"What's going on?"
Lan Shi trembled in place, his head dripping with sweat. He had lost his temper, but he quickly regained his composure and focused all his strength on calming his Primordial Sea. Lan Shi's attempts were like someone trying to stop a storm by blowing on it. Instead of calming down, his Primordial Sea grew more agitated, until it reached the point of exploding. At this moment, Lan Shi thought he was going to die, but instead, his Primordial Sea suddenly calmed down, revealing something that shocked him. "What's going on? My efficiency has reached 100%!!!"