Under the full moon, most of the villagers had already descended into a beautiful sleep. The streets were empty and gusts of cold wind blew here and there.

Meanwhile, the restaurants in the village kept getting rowdier. Many hunters cheered and laughed. Some even partied hard because of earning a great catch.

Small lamps filled with glowing stones were constructed on the edges of the streets; illuminating the village.

A young boy with a haggard appearance walked quickly towards the Clan Academy under the moonlight. His robes stinking with sweat and his hair stuck on his forehead.

His face was completely pale and his eyes bloodshot. If someone did not know the boy's true identity, they would think that a ghost had started to haunt the village under the full moon.

He was Gohan.

Right now, he had already completed the refinement of his first Gu Worm. It was Core Strength Gu.

As he walked, Gohan split his attention to observe the situation of his aperture and saw that his aperture was only 18% filled. 

Inside the Copper Green Primeval Sea, a beetle kept on floating lazily. It would sometime swim to a different region of the aperture and then lay lazily once again... like a turtle.

Immediately, a part of Gohan's Primeval Essence was injected inside the Core Strength Gu.

Pah

The Gu Worm turned into a brilliant brown light, slowly dispersing from his aperture.

Whoosh

Gohan's Primeval Essence started to fall continuously as he felt his whole body getting 'straight'.

Yes, he could feel his arms connected to his chest and his limbs connected to his abdomen, with every move, he could attack without losing his balance and the attack will produce the maximum output capable by the body itself.

"Hoo... this is really interesting. Listening to the lectures is different from experiencing practically."

"If I had this Gu Worm on Earth, I might have become the World's best Martial artist."

Gohan chuckled as he stopped using the Gu Worm. Immediately, he felt his body getting 'disconnected'. Even if he had his previous battle strength, Gohan now felt even more motivated to increase his cultivation and create a whole new combat system.

Soon, he reached his destination— Clan Academy.

***

"Shit, why is it so hard?"

Ray's eyes were bloodshot and his expression was extremely ugly. 

Unlike other kids, he had already understood that the first step of his cultivation is to refine a Gu Worm. He did not even take any advice from the Elder that recruited him.

After all, he was smart enough to understand that if the Elder wanted to advise him on Cultivation, he would've called him personally.

He knew that giving out this assignment was also the test of the academy. It was to see the wisdom of the students. If they could set up their priorities and excel in the academy.

Everything was going fine. He had collected enough resources, he had a top-notch aptitude and he had selected his Gu Worm. 

But he encountered trouble in the refining itself.

The will of the Gu Worm was very hard to erode. It was like a huge iron gate that refused to budge even a little.

He had already spent one Primeval stone to recover a bit of his Primeval Essence. But even with such an expenditure, he could only refine 6% of the Gu Worm.

Only 6%!

His expression was cloudy and he could only think of the performance of his peers.

He was not worried about Daisy or Bai. He was only afraid of Kugo and Gohan.

Even when common sense dictates that Kugo will be the first to refine his Gu worm because of selecting a Gu Worm before them, Ray still had an ominous feeling that Gohan will be problematic.

He had no evidence or clue, he just had this intuition that kept on eating him from inside.

Sigh

"No point thinking about others. Even if I cannot get the first position, I still need to refine a vital Gu."

Ray quickly calmed his mind and started refining the Gu Worm in his hand.

Even though he felt a little uncomfortable, he was informed that it usually takes a week to refine the first Gu worm.

So Ray still felt that he had some time to spare and also has a slight chance to grab the first position.

Alas...

Kugo was running towards the Academy in full speed. His breathing was heavy, but his eyes were shining brightly.

He had decided to follow the advice of his Grandfather and used up all of his Primeval Stones to fully refine his vital Gu.

If he can grab the first position, his value and reputation would rise immediately and this would be the first step to increase his strength and showcase his potential to the Village.

After a few moments, he could make out the vague structure of the Academy in the darkness.

His expression brightened and he sped even more.

Knock

Knock

"What now?" The academy Elder had a gloomy expression as he shouted at his servant.

The beautiful girl immediately quivered and knelt down.

"Young Lord Kugo has also arrived. He says that he has refined his Vital Gu and wants to claim the first position."

Hearing the maid's words, the Academy Elder fell silent. He couldn't help but look at the youth in front of him.

"Gohan... here you go. 20 Primeval Stones." The Elder sighed and gave out a leather pouch as the reward of attaining the first position.

Gohan, who stood in front of the Academy Elder smiled lightly and claimed his reward. He wasn't afraid to show his Core Strength Gu to the Academy Elder. 

Even if he gained this Gu from the Clan Head, it wasn't against the rule. And he was also sure that the other A Grade Aptitudes were given some rare Rank 1 Gu Worms as their Vital Gu.

As the two Gu Masters, one student and one Elder conversed with each other, they completely ignored the existence of the quivering maid kneeling in front of them.

The Elder did not even allow Kugo to meet with him. After all, Kugo did not grab the first place, Gohan did. Even if he allowed Kugo to meet with him, it will just waste his time.

"Alright, Gohan. You can go and have a rest. I will meet you in the class."

"Yes, Elder. I hope you have a nice rest, too."

As Gohan spoke, he involuntarily looked towards the quivering maid. 

She was wearing a low cut night dress. The whole dress was translucent that showed some of her assets, making her look even more alluring.

Hearing Gohan's words, the Elder couldn't help but chuckle.

"Good, student. Still worrying about my health. Go on, I will rest well." 

Gohan nodded and walked away.

After seeing him close the door, the Elder looked at the girl and smiled lightly.

"Come here."

Hearing his words, the maid felt a slight shiver, but she still obeyed his words and stood up.

Her pure and beautiful face reflected slight fear and her chest was completely on display in such a dress.

The Elder nodded in a satisfied manner and slowly spoke as his hands roamed all over her body.

"Sigh, you are such a beautiful girl. I can even say that you are one of the most beautiful girls that I have ever slept with."

The Elder slowly walked behind her and his hands slid between her thighs, causing her breaths to get heavy and her face to flush.

"But it is very sad. As an Elder, I have to be a role model for my students. But you have ruined my image in front of the most talented student in my class. Think about your mistake in your next life."

Immediately, the place where the Elder was fondling her felt a little cold and almost immediately, she was covered in a thick layer of ice.

Cleaning his hands with a cloth, the Elder couldn't help but look at the ice sculpture and sigh in disappointment.

"You should feel lucky that I have killed you using a Gu Worm."

With that, the ice sculpture broke into many pieces and fell on the ground.

***

As the Elder sought after pleasure in his own twisted ways, Gohan was standing in front of Kugo. His expression neutral, but his eyes were clearly looking down on Kugo.

"You? What were you doing with Academy Elder?" Kugo asked with a cloudy expression. He had an ominous feeling that things were going to go bad.

"Me? I went to take my reward. I have already refined my Gu worm."

This time Gohan did not ignore him. But his cold voice under the moonlight sent a shiver down Kugo's spine.

But when Kugo heard Gohan's words, he almost spits out blood. 

"Wh— What did you say?"

He still couldn't believe it. Even after expending all of his Primeval Stones, Kugo still fell short to Gohan.

If he knew that he was going to lose after betting it all, he would have refined his Gu worm conventionally. After all, it would've only delayed him by two or three days.

"I said, I am the first student to refine a Gu Worm and you can get out of my way." 

Gohan smiled lightly.

The color had already returned to his face, but his eyes were still bloodshot.

Hearing the confirmation from Gohan's mouth, Kugo couldn't help but tremble.

All the hard work... for what?

To meet Gohan and become the target of his contempt?

To lose it all and still win nothing?

No!

I am not satisfied!

Kugo screamed internally, his expression was twisted, but his mouth did not utter a single word. His pupils matched Gohan's and he could only nod slightly before leaving.

After all, he still couldn't drive a wedge between the Clan Head and his Grandfather due to his own anger and helplessness. His mind was still clear about the priorities.

To show his potential...

There are still many chances.

His fists were clenched and he turned back and started to walk away.

"How interesting... only fifteen years old and such control." Gohan looked a little cold.

In this world, your own ambition is the truth and everyone else are the resources to be used and exploited. Even Kugo fell under this category.

But youths like Kugo will gradually get more ambitious, their wisdom would skyrocket and their means will get only more vicious and crueler.

All in all, Kugo was the kind of man that will become troublesome in future.

"According to the rumours, only two figures resisted the entry of new Gu Masters— The Clan Head and the strongest Elder, Tien Kame."

"Alliance between the Clan Head and Tien Kame will only make this village more stable. We can't have that while I am still here."

Gohan's eyes squinted as he watched the back of a leaving Kugo.

"Well, there is still an unknown external threat— The Crane Village."

Gohan started to walk towards his courtyard and started to think about various information known to him about the Kame Village and the Crane Village.