Fei Cai's figure could be seen running towards the Tribal Camp. Whoever saw Fei Cai smiled and shook their heads. A kid, Fei Cai's age, was supposed to be a ball of energy, and he had to portray wild 'joy' for his discovery and report the existence of the ownerless gu worm to his father. He made sure to flush his face in mock excitement and kept on tapping his foot while the Rank 2 senior made him wait outside the camp and leisurely stepped inside to inform the Tribe Chieftain.

The Northern Plains cultivated fierce warriors that only knew how to respect strength, their ancestors, and their elders. Even if Fei Cai was the Chieftain's child, he did not have the necessary strength to evoke awe from a rank 2 Gu Master. This nature was so deeply rooted that most of the Gu Masters usually only bent their waist in front of their superiors and not their knees. This was to show respect to strength while stating that only the ancestors are worth kowtowing to. Soon, the senior came out and gestured Fei Cai to run in. Not waiting to even pay proper respect to his senior that usually bathed alone silently just to show how 'excited' he was, Fei Cai ran into the camp and bowed to his father.

"Father, I have discovered something—"

Instantly, as if realizing his folly, Fei Cai shut his mouth and bowed deeply.

"Apologies, father, and greetings Elders."

Fei Cai's respectful tone resounded within the tent as the four elders looked at him, and his father finally nodded in satisfaction. To a father, there was nothing more proud of a moment when his son realizes his mistake and works on it to grow more mature, and this is what Fei Cai did. While he was here to make a contribution to the tribe, Fei Cai never lost the sight of his main objective— to keep Fei Qing under his palms. 

There were many ways to achieve his plan of making Fei Qing agree to his decisions and support and nurture him unconditionally. This was an action that went against the norms of the culture of the Northern Plains, but to Fei Cai, these cultures barely held any meaning. With the gazes of all the elders and the Chieftain focused on him, Fei Cai stood straight and spoke with a tone that still expressed his excitement but also a slight traces of pride, "Father, I discovered a gu worm when adventuring into the grassland."

His words instantly dampened the interest of everyone present in the camp. Unlike other locations, the tent was decorated with furs and old weapons of high significance to the tribe. After a Chieftain is dethroned, he would place its first weapon in the camp. Four blades were places on the leathery surface of the tent behind Fei Qing as he looked at his son with annoyance growing within his heart. Finding wild gu worms— though uncommon— was not something to be celebrated openly. Every gu worm, if used correctly, could add to the overall value of a Gu Master. These fortunes are supposed to remain silent, and yet his own foolish offspring decided to bark about it. Before any other elder could scoff or rebuke Fei Cai's audacity to interrupt the meeting, the 'witless' youth continued, "Father, it is a Rank 3 earth lizard house gu worm!"

His words silenced the tribe as Fei Qing, and the other elders failed to control their expressions for the first time. Fei Chang, the second strongest Gu Master of the tribe and Fei Qing's wiser counterpart, finally inquired, "Nephew, can you describe the situation."

This was the most rational response to Fei Cai's words. The youth had just entered the camp, disrupted the daily meeting, and claimed that he had discovered one of the gu worms that their tribe lacked in. Not to mention the fact that Fei Cai had just stepped into the path of Gu Master so he could have been muddled with fear and transformed a wild lizard into a gu worm. Such cases weren't uncommon, but Fei Cai naturally understood the thought of the higher-ups. Every single Gu Master in this camp, aside from him, massacred their peers in hundreds! This achievement didn't just stem from their battle strength but also their devious minds. 

How could it be possible for only five Gu Masters to control hundreds of Rank 2 Gu Masters and a little over thousand Rank 1 Gu Master? Through their wisdom and tactics. Making sure that his words perfectly describe the rank 3 gu worm and present it in a pathetic state, Fei Cai spoke with an anxious expression, "Uncle Chang, that gu worm's mane has lost its luster and even the windows inside it looked muddy. The skin of the gu worm also traced the rooms within. Please, I urge you to make haste!"

His words pulled a sense of unease as even Fei Chang felt slightly tempted. If what Fei Cai had seen was correct, then he had made a vast contribution to the Tribe. Fei Chang looked towards his older cousin— Fei Qing— and found that the Tribe Chieftain was already gazing back at him. Fei Chang nodded and released a sigh as the Chieftain stood up and laughed loudly.

"I will accompany Little Cai back. The elders should stay and keep a lookout until I return. If that gu worm is indeed an earth lizard house gu worm, then the fortune of our tribe has really turned for the better."

While Fei Qing's thick lips spread into a wide grin, the underlying meaning of his words was apparent— My son's contribution would remain in the family. This was also the reason why Fei Cai did not bother leaving the gu worm in the wild for his own selfish use. He wasn't just a 'nobody.' He was the son of the Tribe Chieftain. And even if he wasn't respected now, that didn't mean that he could get bullied into losing his contribution to the tribe. Fei Qing's words, meanwhile, made the four elders smile.

"It's just like the Chieftain said. And, a brief expedition with Chieftain might also broaden nephew's horizon," Fei Chang accepted the decision instantly, and the others simply didn't dare refuse. Usually, there remained an ongoing competition between Fei Qing and Fei Chang. This was, Fei Qing cannot turn the tribe into his personal power drive, and Fei Chang also cannot easily gather forces and dethrone Fei Qing due to a simple fact— both of them wanted the tribe's prosperity. The duo was in a tacit agreement that active competition benefited the tribe. Even the elders were divided into two camps. Two of the elders sided with Fei Qing, and the remaining one-sided with Fei Chang.

Fei Qing walked forward and gestured Fei Cai to follow him and left the tent as the four elders sighed. Aside from Fei Chang, who was already a Rank 4 lower-stage Gu Master, the remaining three elders were Rank 3 peak-stage Gu Masters with top battle prowess. Still, they considered Fei Qing as a being that could challenge the tribe by himself. He was that mighty!

"Did you hear about Little Cai's luck in his first hunt yesterday?"

One of the elders— Fei Sheng, spoke up while rubbing his white beard. He was the oldest one in the group, but his knowledge of gu professions was also the deepest. He was the elder of the Tribe's treasury and the merits system, and he easily learned about Fei Cai's extraordinary fortune of hunting three Lucky Pythons. He shared the news with others as the remaining three whistled.

"Three pythons in a day? That's quite a catch. I barely found one in my first month."

A young elder chuckled. Meanwhile, Fei Chang looked thoughtful, "It isn't his fortune only. My son told me that instead of a girl, Fei Cai accepted a youth as his slave to help him hunt."

"Tribe Chieftain is the truly fortunate one here. Having such a sensible child."

Fei Kao shook his head with a sigh. He was the only elder of the tribe without any marital relationship and remained unfettered.

"That combined with the fact that he most likely chose Aperture Nurture Gu, he might become a great seed in the younger generation."

The four elders nodded. The world of Gu Masters was crueler than the law of the jungle. It wasn't just about the survival of the fittest, but also the wisest. The stronger the Gu Master becomes, the greater he is exposed to the world. Those who adapt to the changes become wiser in the way of society, and those who fail to adapt would be forgotten by the passage of time. As the four elders discussed cultivation and commented on the current Gu Masters that could become the pillars of the Tribe, Fei Qing, and Fei Cai walked towards the stable and stood in front of a pitch-black monster. Its height more than a meter, and there was no fur on its pitch-black skin. The creature had a horse's face, but the sheer size could compete against two ordinary horses from Earth. Finally, instead of hoofs, the musclebound limbs of the creature ended with webbed claws that struck flat on the ground.

There wasn't even hair on the back of its head, and only red, thick tail flicked behind it every now and then. This was a terror horse. More specifically, this was one of the Terror Horses under his father's command. A saddle was bound on its back, and Fei Qing quickly mounted the horse before leaning down and extending his hand towards Fei Cai.

"Little Cai, come up. Don't be afraid."

Of course, Fei Cai kept an anxious expression before nodding with hesitation and settling over the saddle after his father helped him. By now, Fei Cai already knew of Fei Qing's motives. Each time his father brought him somewhere, he would make Fei Cai do all the tasks so that he could learn. If he had ascended the beast, then it could only mean...

"Little Cai, today, I will teach you how to properly ride on a beast. And not just a terror horse, but any beast that runs on land."

Fei Qing said as the Terror Horse mobed without any indication or Fei Qing's command. Its gait was slow and modest. Since the beast was enormous, Fei Cai and Fei Qing, who sat in the middle of its back, felt disturbed by the movements only by a slight amount. Under the awestruck eyes of the tribe members, Fei Cai and Fei Qing gradually left the tribe, and the moment they reached the beginning of the grassland, Fei Qing stated calmly, "All right, I will now teach you how to ride a beast without a beast enslavement gu worm. You will slowly lead me to the site of gu worm while learning the art."

Fei Qing's words were absolute, and Fei Cai nodded without any hesitation. What Fei Qing was teaching was something that other mortals or even Gu Masters would only dream about. Fei Cai, of course, had to learn the art. Even when the sun had started its descent, Fei Cai slowly used the reigns to direct the terror horse towards the intended opening, and when he reached the grass door that hid the entrance, Fei Qing suddenly opening his mouth and released a solid blade of air and cut the entrance from the middle.

With growing darkness in the surroundings, the underground area looked only darker, and to tackle the issue, Fei Qing used another one of his gu worms and created a giant ball of crimson blaze over his hand before urging Fei Cai to descend in the method he had taught. Fei Cai continued the journey, and needless to say, Fei Qing was pleasantly surprised when he found the intact Rank 3 gu worm and jumped down from the horse before teaching Fei Cai how to ascend and descend a mount with a small body.

Before entering the gu worm, however, Fei Qing injected his primeval essence into the gu worm and only nodded in satisfaction after failing to find out any problems with the gu worm. He then entered the gu worm alongside Fei Cai, and once they reached the room with the dead Gu Master, Fei Qimg turned to Fei Cai and inquired with a slight frown.

"Little Cai—"

"Father," Fei Cai interjected and smiled happily. This was the nail that Fei Cai would pin into Fei Qing and change his posting in his father's eyes. Mobilizing the manure gu worm and making it appear over his arm, Fei Cai continued, "while I searched the body of this dead Gu Master, I found this manure gu and refined it right here and now. I didn't dare refine the earth lizard house gu worm because I am a rank 1 lower-stage Gu Master. It would have been selfish of me to keep this gu worm hidden from the tribe. I apologize for hiding manure gu worm from you, father."

As Fei Qing heard his son's reasoning, a pleasant expression, far more than the discovery of the house gu worm, touched his face, and he nodded without making any comments.

'Astute enough to hide the small gains from the public that would help him in the future while remaining loyal to the tribe and exposing the gu worm. Not to mention, he told the truth before I could point out the obvious tempering in the clothes of this corpse. This shows that he is filial... Little Cai is really growing up.'

Fei Qing thought for a moment before nodding. He didn't ask if Fei Cai found anything else. Most Gu Masters keep their treasures in storage-type gu worms, and if Fei Cai exposed the manure gu worm, then he would also have exposed any other gains. Since he didn't, Fei Qing kept quiet about it.

"Little Cai, did you inspect the aperture of this corpse?"

It didn't take a genius to understand that only a Gu Master could keep a house gu worm with him. Meanwhile, Fei Cai showed a genuine look of confusion and inquired, "Inspection? How do we inspect an aperture, father?"

Fei Qing gestured Fei Cai to sit close to him and pulled on the arm of the corpse and stated drily, "Try and inject your primeval essence into the body and then sense for the aperture."

Fei Cai did as instructed, and much to his surprise, he could sense the lifeless and dry aperture without a hint of primeval essence. Observing Fei Cai's expression, Fei Qing continued, "Experienced Gu Masters can detect the stream of primeval essence, so do not try to inspect a living Gu Master's aperture or I won't be saving you from the subsequent troubles.

Fei Cai nodded as the father-son pair looked around the gu worm, and Fei Qing taught how to look for any hidden treasure. This was an essential craft since Gu Masters might leave some important things in their surroundings that only the fated ones could find.

After that, in front of Fei Cai's slightly astonished gaze, Fei Qing refined the gu worm at a breakneck pace, and then the gu worm shrunk visibly before disappearing into Fei Qing's aperture as the Chieftain looked towards Fei Cai and imparted further knowledge.

"I am Peak-stage Rank 4 Gu Master. I have multiple rank 4 gu worms, and using their aura, I can suppress the will of a single rank 3 gu worm and refine it without too much expenditure of my mental health."

There were a few critical notes that Fei Qing did not expose Fei Cai to, and continued, "Little Cai, here's a word of advice: Practice your control over primeval essence and refine your control."