Internal Affairs Hall, interrogation room.
Winter sunlight entered through the only window, falling across the floor in a pale beam. Fine dust floated slowly inside the light, drifting without sound.
Fang Ming sat on the chair beneath that light.
His clothes had already been changed, but bandages still wrapped several parts of his body. Some wounds had been treated, while others still carried faint pain whenever he moved. Yet there was no fear on his face.
Only indignation.
In front of him was a long table.
Several elders sat behind it, their expressions serious.
The interrogation had already continued for some time.
"Fang Ming," one elder said slowly, "repeat what happened from the beginning."
Fang Ming frowned.
"I already said it twice."
"Repeat it."
Fang Ming looked at the elders with an expression full of confusion and anger, as if he truly could not understand why he, the victim, was being questioned like a criminal.
Still, he spoke.
"We left the village for the Light Fungus mission. Shi Nan kept acting like a lunatic through and through. Sometimes he ran fast, sometimes he slowed down until he was almost walking, and for absolutely no reason. Throughout the whole road, he kept talking about seniority this, seniority that, and kept belittling me, his junior. After tolerating this for quite some time, I knew I had enough. If it continued any further, I would explode and cause the mission to fail, so I decided to no longer communicate with them and simply adopt a moderate pace instead of following that lunatic style of constantly changing speed for no reason."
His voice carried impatience.
"Seeing me ignore him and run at a moderate pace instead of following his nonsense, his ego got bruised. So he ran faster and asked me to catch up, but I was having none of that nonsense any longer, so I kept at my speed. Eventually, that bunch of lunatics got tired from changing their pace like crazy and stopped to rest. I caught up to them, but knowing them too well already, I figured they were going to start another rodeo of speeding up and slowing down, so I decided not to join that nonsense and simply passed them, continuing ahead toward the mission location."
Fang Ming's expression became more indignant.
"I basically scouted the road for them. When I reached the mission location, they were nowhere to be seen. I figured they were still playing that bully-the-newcomer game by slowing down and hiding, but I was not having it. I am a person who likes to play when it is playtime and do serious things when it is serious time. The mission may have appeared as game time to them, but that was not the case for me. This was my first mission, and I was taking it seriously. I was not going to split my focus with their nonsense and power games."
He pointed at himself.
"So I continued doing the mission, looked for Light Fungus as I had learned from the academy elder, and after 1 hour of hard work, I collected enough to fulfill my quota share of the mission. Yet the moment I stopped to rest, they appeared and ignored all my contribution. They started accusing me with every whimsical excuse they could think of. Their goal was obvious. They wanted my share of Light Fungus that I worked so hard to collect."
Fang Ming's eyes turned colder.
"But I saw right through them, and I was not going to be bullied. I had already suffered enough hardship from their antics. Enough was enough. So I exposed their plan directly to their faces. This caused them to become embarrassed and angry, so Shi Nan walked over and grabbed my collar forcefully."
His gaze sharpened.
"I refused to accept physical humiliation. They really thought I had no temper. I had tolerated their nonsense for so long for the sake of the mission, and now he even dared to act physically with me? Who does he think he is? So I put him right where he belonged — on the ground, with a punch."
An elder asked, "Why did you leave the team and run ahead?"
Fang Ming looked at him strangely.
"Elder, did you not hear what I said?"
The elder looked at Fang Ming sternly.
"Answer the question."
Fang Ming proceeded to say, "I did not leave the team. They left me. I already told you, I ran at a moderate pace. They were the ones acting like lunatics, sometimes speeding up and leaving me behind, and other times acting tired and falling behind. How can you say I left the team when I ran at the exact same speed the whole journey?"
The elder's expression stiffened slightly.
Fang Ming continued, "If you are asking me why I did not follow those lunatic and stupid maneuvers, that is simply because I am not a lunatic. I will not do stupid things. Why would I speed up and slow down constantly when I could just run at a moderate speed?"
The elder asking the question was left speechless.
Shi Nan's team had indeed run erratically, but was it not normal for seniors to make things difficult for a newcomer? Why was Fang Ming phrasing it this way? And what did he mean by them pretending to be tired and falling behind? They had indeed been tired. Although they were at fault for rushing too fast and exhausting themselves, that was not pretending. They had truly been tired.
Another elder looked through the report and asked, "Why did you ignore your team leader's order? Shi Nan mentioned that he called for you to slow down, but you ignored his orders and kept going."
Fang Ming answered matter-of-factly, "At that point in the journey, I was already convinced they were plotting to harm me. I am not an idiot. I would not follow their orders and walk straight into their well-arranged trap."
His expression turned even more indignant.
"And I was right. Look how angry they became later after failing to trap me. They even disregarded all pretense and attacked me."
Another elder slammed his hand on the table and roared, "You are spouting nonsense! You were the first to punch Shi Nan!"
"He grabbed my collar first."
"That does not mean you can strike your team leader unconscious."
Fang Ming's face showed even more indignation.
"So I should let him grab me? Let him humiliate me? Let him show everyone that I can be bullied as long as someone calls himself my senior?"
His voice rose.
"I had already tolerated his words. I had already tolerated their harassment. But if he wanted to use his hands, then he should have been ready to be hit."
The elder frowned but did not immediately refute him.
Another elder asked, "Did Gu Yue Lan Yu truly activate Moonglow Gu first?"
"Yes."
"Did she attack first?"
"She pointed Moonglow Gu at me and threatened me." Fang Ming's tone was matter-of-fact. "In the wild, if someone points a Rank 2 attack Gu at me, am I supposed to wait until the moonblade leaves her hand before reacting?"
The room quieted.
A different elder leaned forward.
"Did you aim for her head?"
Fang Ming sighed.
"No."
"Then why did Gu Yue Ruo Yin suffer such a serious wound?"
Fang Ming looked at him as if the question itself was absurd.
"How would I know? I threw a warning blade at Lan Yu. How was I supposed to know what got into Ruo Yin's head and made her jump into the moonblade's trajectory?"
Several elders' eyes twitched.
A warning blade?
A Moonglow blade aimed near someone's head was being called a warning blade?
But Fang Ming's expression was too righteous, too indignant, as if everyone else was unreasonable for doubting him.
Another elder asked, "Why did you return alone instead of waiting for the team?"
"They attacked me." Fang Ming's voice turned colder. "Was I supposed to stay there and ask whether they wanted to attack again?"
"Why did you cause panic at the village gate?"
"I returned injured and bleeding after being attacked by my own team. What panic did I cause? The panic came because others saw my injuries and cared about the clan's A-grade talent more than the team did."
"Why did you refuse to explain until the clan head arrived?"
Fang Ming's expression became even more stubborn.
"Because this matter involved the Shi faction team assigned to me. If I spoke casually before everyone, who knows how others would twist my words? I wanted the clan head and elders to hear it properly."
The elders exchanged glances.
One elder said, "Repeat the story from the start again."
Fang Ming's face filled with helpless indignation and tiredness.
He inhaled slowly, then began again.
"We left the village for the Light Fungus mission. Shi Nan kept acting like a lunatic through and through. Sometimes he ran fast—"
"Why did you try to kill your teammates?" an elder suddenly interrupted.
Fang Ming stopped.
His eyes turned toward that elder with clear irritation.
"If I wanted to kill them, none of them would have survived. Shi Nan was lying unconscious under my feet the whole time, and he survived."
His tone became sharper.
"Elder, please do not interrupt me again and then make me repeat the whole story."
The elder's face darkened.
Fang Ming turned back and indignantly restarted.
"We left the village for the Light Fungus mission. Shi Nan kept acting like a lunatic through and through…"
Before he could continue for long, another elder finally raised his hand.
"Enough. Fang Ming, go rest outside for a bit. We will call you later."
Fang Ming stood up directly.
He did not bow deeply. He only gave the minimum courtesy, then turned and left the room.
After the door closed, the elders looked at each other.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Shi Nan's team had also returned and reported the incident. They had been questioned separately, and the problem was that both sides were mostly consistent on the facts.
The difference was perspective.
In Shi Nan's team's account, Fang Ming was arrogant and uncooperative from the beginning. He ignored team rules, ran ahead alone, refused to communicate, disrespected the team leader's authority, punched Shi Nan without warning, and then escalated the conflict into a life-and-death fight.
In Fang Ming's account, Shi Nan's pace test had been bullying from the start. The team had harassed him repeatedly, and he had already been magnanimous enough to tolerate their verbal provocation. Shi Nan was the one who crossed the line by grabbing his collar, while Lan Yu was the one who pointed Moonglow Gu at him first.
Both accounts overlapped.
Both accounts contradicted each other in meaning.
One elder rubbed his forehead.
"The team did try to suppress him."
"That is a common practice for proud newcomers," another elder said. "But using it on Fang Ming…"
He did not finish.
There was no need to finish.
Fang Ming's arrogance and pride were already well known. Testing and power displays might work on ordinary newcomers, but with Fang Ming's personality, it was almost guaranteed to provoke conflict sooner or later.
The deeper issue was the Shi faction.
Everyone knew Shi faction wanted to suppress Fang Ming and bring him under control, but this could not be said openly. It could not be written into the record, and it could not be placed on the table.
Finally, one elder spoke.
"Fine each of them 200 primeval stones."
Another elder added, "Split the team apart and assign each of them to new teams."
The others nodded.
This was the compromise.
Everyone would be punished, but the matter would not be escalated into a life-and-death crime.
Not long after, Fang Ming was called back into the room.
The elders told him the result.
Fang Ming accepted the fine.
But when they told him he would be assigned to another Shi faction team, his expression immediately changed.
"I refuse."
The elder from the Shi faction frowned.
"This is already a compromise. Shi Chan's team is one of our faction's main teams. Their strength and temperament are better than Shi Nan's group. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
Fang Ming looked at him coldly.
"I refuse."
The Shi faction elder's irritation rose.
This brat was not following any script. Even after they compromised and arranged for him to enter a stronger Shi faction team, he still refused.
The elder's voice turned heavier.
"Then what do you want?"
Fang Ming replied matter-of-factly.
"I am a Rank 2 Gu Master now. According to clan rules, I am allowed to form my own team. So I want to form my own team."
The Shi faction elder slammed his hand on the table.
"Fang Ming! You are a Rank 2 Gu Master, but you are still a complete beginner. You have yet to accomplish any mission properly. You are inexperienced, and we cannot allow you to create your own team and risk other Gu Masters' lives because of your lack of experience."
Fang Ming's anger rose immediately.
"Then what do you want? Put me in another one of your teams to bully me and scheme against me?"
His voice became louder.
"No. I refuse to be bullied again. Once was enough. I would rather die a proud Gu Master than live as a coward being bullied by you."
"Fang Ming, watch your words!" the Shi faction elder snapped. "No one is going to bully you."
Fang Ming looked at him with clear indignation.
"Is elder not bullying me right now? It is clearly written in clan rules that a Rank 2 Gu Master can form his own team, yet you are going against clan rules and distorting facts just to stop me from having what is rightfully mine."
The Shi faction elder pointed at Fang Ming, but for a moment, he did not know how to refute him.
At this moment, a neutral elder spoke.
"Fang Ming, we truly cannot let an inexperienced Gu Master lead a team and risk the lives of other Gu Masters. We have to be responsible for their lives."
Fang Ming turned toward him.
"Elder, I do not need you to assign teammates to me. I will find them on my own. Those willing to join my team will know my situation. They will follow me because of my strength and despite my weakness. They are responsible for their own lives and their own choices."
The elders fell silent again.
The Mo faction elder, who had been sitting at the side, finally spoke.
"Alright, Fang Ming. You can go and form your own team."
The Shi faction elder's expression changed.
But before he could speak, the Mo faction elder continued.
"However, you should understand that each team is required to complete 1 mission every month. If you cannot achieve that, your team will be disbanded, and you will be forced to join another team."
His gaze settled on Fang Ming.
"Even if you do not find anyone to join your team, you will still be forced to complete that mission alone."
Fang Ming nodded.
"I understand, elder."
The Mo faction elder watched him for a breath.
"Then go."
Fang Ming turned around and left.
After he left, the Shi faction elder slammed his hand on the table again.
"This arrogant brat! Who can tolerate him? Who will ever join his team?"
The neutral elder chuckled.
"This brat needs some tempering. Let him experience the hardship of being a lone Gu Master. Once he understands that, he will learn the value of teamwork and eventually find a team to join."
The Mo faction elder stood up from his seat.
"That being said, your Shi faction played this card badly."
The Shi faction elder's expression darkened.
The Mo faction elder continued calmly, "Could you not have found a milder-tempered team that could accommodate Fang Ming's temper and slowly boil him in warm water?"
No one spoke.
"Fang Ming's arrogance and bad temper are well known by now. This could have gone much worse, with both sides killing each other. I do not know what you were thinking by placing him in such a team."
He paused, then added, "Even if they did not fight on the first day, such a thing was bound to happen sooner or later."
The Mo faction elder's tone became more serious.
"Do not forget, Fang Ming is not an ordinary Gu Master you can play with. He is an A-grade talent. Whether your Shi faction can still hold the right to nurture him after this incident still needs to be discussed."
His eyes swept across the room.
"At least, we will no longer stand back and watch you destroy one of the village's hopes with your clumsy planning."
The Shi faction elder clenched his fist in fury.
In his heart, he did not think it was clumsy planning.
It was not the best plan, but it was not clumsy.
Who would have thought Fang Ming was not just an arrogant fool, but a madman who would start a life-and-death fight over bullying and a power display?
How could they have known that?
Days passed quickly.
Gossip about Fang Ming fighting his team members on his first mission spread through the village.
To fight on the first mission was already shocking.
To use Gu and nearly kill each other was unheard of.
According to some rumors, Fang Ming had started the fight and heavily injured his teammates. Others retorted that Fang Ming had returned covered in blood too. Some said the team had bullied him. Others said Fang Ming had always been a madman who could not tolerate even the slightest disagreement.
The argument spread quickly.
Many people said Fang Ming had a terrible temper, was arrogant, quick to anger, and would even attack clansmen and team members over small conflicts.
This version spread easily because Shi Nan's team members were experienced Gu Masters who had been around for a long time. Many people knew them and were willing to vouch for their character.
Fang Ming, on the other hand, was not known for good character.
His former classmates took the chance to show their presence. One after another, they told others about their firsthand experience with him.
They swore that Fang Ming had the worst character and was completely intolerable.
During all of this, Fang Ming was cultivating in his rented house.
The room was quiet.
Fang Ming sat cross-legged, his breathing steady, while his aperture absorbed and refined primeval essence.
Fang Ming contemplated the result.
To be honest, everything had happened faster than expected.
At first, he had only wanted to annoy his team and slowly guide them into hating him. Eventually, they would attack him and give him an excuse to fight back. He had expected this process to take weeks, perhaps even months.
Who would have thought his team had such hotheaded fools?
They cared too much about trampled pride and acted so quickly over so little provocation.
More importantly, Shi Nan, the strongest one among them, was foolish enough to walk toward him without defense and get knocked unconscious by a single punch.
At that moment, Fang Ming had truly planned to kill all of them.
The mission site was far from the village.
If he killed them there, he could have attracted beasts, arranged the scene slowly, and covered up the deaths.
That was why he aimed to behead Lan Yu with the first Moonglow blade.
Even though Ruo Yin saved her, that would not have changed much. Fang Ming had still intended to kill them both.
He had not truly fought with everything.
His close combat with nearly 8 boars' worth of strength was more terrifying than his moonblades. With Rank 2 defensive Gu protecting his body, one all-out punch could smash through the 2 female Gu Masters' defenses.
Killing them would not have been too difficult.
It would only have taken time.
The problem was Shi Qiu.
The weakest Rank 1 male Gu Master had run away the moment Fang Ming threw his first moonblade toward Lan Yu's head.
That changed the situation.
Because Shi Qiu escaped, Fang Ming had to change his mind, let the others live, and switch to the current outcome.
Still, things had gone fairly well.
At first, Fang Ming expected the Shi faction to try blocking the matter and resolving it internally.
That was not what he wanted.
So he blew the matter up in front of the village, ensuring the Shi faction could no longer hide the internal infighting.
He had expected follow-up pressure from the Shi faction, but now it seemed the other factions were already pressing them over this matter. For the moment, they no longer had time to buzz around him.
Now, he had managed to split away and create his one-man team.
Fang Ming slowly opened his eyes.
Next, the roles would reverse.
It would no longer be the Shi faction controlling the pace, slowly boiling Fang Ming according to their own arrangements. From now on, Fang Ming would be the one controlling time.
The clan would wait for him.
They would tolerate him.
They would advise him, pressure him, and eventually try to pull him back into the system once they believed he had suffered enough as a lone Gu Master.
If Fang Ming had been the only A-grade talent in the clan, this period would have been much shorter. The clan would not have allowed him to wander outside the system for too long. They would have constantly advised him, pressured him, and even forced him back into the clan's arrangements.
But Fang Zheng existed.
That changed many things.
As things stood, most of the clan elders already had a complicated impression of Fang Ming. Compared to dragging him back immediately, many of them would rather see Fang Zheng develop smoothly while leaving Fang Ming alone for a while. In their eyes, Fang Ming was arrogant, difficult to control, and too troublesome to handle directly. Letting him experience the disparity of a lone Gu Master might be better.
Once he suffered enough, he would naturally understand the value of the clan system and return by himself.
That was what they would think.
And that was exactly the time Fang Ming wanted.
If he played this correctly, this period could stretch into a whole year, perhaps even longer.
For Fang Ming, that was enough to reach Rank 3.