As the students observed the Gu Masters, Qing Shu, Chi Shan and Mo Yan also observed the students.
"Oh? There are two Gu Yue Fang Zheng." Yao Hong saw Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng, shouting out subconsciously.
The green hair male Gu Master Gu Yue Qing Shu helplessly sighed, "Did you see the information I gave you yesterday? Fang Zheng has a twin brother, they look very similar in appearance, but his brother is only C-grade talent."
"Oh so that's the case. I seem to have heard that the one who made poems when he was young was Fang Yuan? Are we getting him into the team?" Yao Hong patted her forehead with her palm, saying whatever she thought of.
Qing Mao shook his head, "The clan leader specifically mentioned, do not recruit him. He seems to be wanting to observe something. The brothers don't have a good relationship anyway. Even if we want to recruit him, Fang Yuan probably wouldn't join."
Yao Hong did not think much of it, muttering, "Among the groups, we are the publically acclaimed number one, joining us means a bright future. Any student would be interested. How could he be unwilling?"
Qing Shu laughed lightly, "That's because you don't know him, look at the information I sent you first."
At this time, the clan leader Gu Yue Bo, and the authoritative clan elders Gu Yue Chi Lian and Gu Yue Mo Chen entered, getting into the seats under the tentage.
"Not only the clan leader, but also Lord Chi Lian and Lord Mo Bei are attending this year."
Seeing this, not only the students but also the Gu Masters were excited, this did not happen in previous years.
"Nothing strange, Chi Lian and Mo Chen's grandsons are all in this year's class."
"Fang Zheng is the clan leader's successor, the hope of the future to go against Bai Ning Bing. The clan leader naturally has to observe carefully."
There were many ongoing discussions among the crowd.
"Perform well brother." Mo Yan looked at Mo Bei among the people, silently praying in her heart. Her group had the most people, it was of the largest scale. Thus there were a bunch of Gu Masters around her, showing her imposing aura.
As her strongest competitor, Gu Yue Chi Shan of the Chi faction stood alone—his towering, broad frame resembling a massive red pillar amidst the crowd, making him stand out prominently.
After glancing at Chi Cheng, he withdrew his gaze.
With a few words from the clan leader, the year-end examination officially began.
All three stages hosted battles simultaneously.
Instantly, the arena was filled with a mix of loud cheers, the sharp swishes of moonblades, the impact of fists and kicks, and the buzzing conversations of the Gu Masters below—blending into a chaotic symphony of noise.
"This year's physical fighting skills is high." Soon, Yao Hong saw the difference.
"Hehehe, all thanks to Fang Yuan." Gu Yue Qing Shu laughed.
"What do you mean?" Yao Hong did not understand.
Qing Shu explained to her.
Yao Hong exclaimed in shock after listening, "Fang Yuan this lad, he's really daring, almost to the point of fearless. Hehehe, bullying even his own brother. This is interesting."
She looked towards Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng from the crowd, thinking internally — Which is the elder brother and which is the younger one.
"Next, Gu Yue Jin Zhu against Gu Yue Mo Bei." On the arena, the hosting Gu Master shouted.
Gu Yue Mo Bei jumped onto the stage while Jin Zhu followed with a focused and serious look.
They exchanged respectful bows before immediately launching into battle.
Moonblades flashed through the air as they attacked.
Both kept firing continuously while dodging and repositioning without pause.
Despite being a girl, Jin Zhu displayed solid fundamentals and was able to hold her ground against Mo Bei for some time.
However, as the fight dragged on, her stamina began to wane, and she gradually lost the upper hand.
In the end, drenched in sweat and drained of energy, she admitted defeat.
Mo Bei, on the other hand, remained composed and unaffected.
On another stage
"Damn, jumping like a rabbit!" On another stage, a youngster angrily shouted, "Gu Yue Chi Cheng, you're not a man, do you dare to fight with me physically?!"
"Tsk, only a fool would fight close range with you." On the stage, Gu Yue Chi Cheng laughed in disdain. He used the Scarlet Pill Cricket Gu and jumped around, his body being very agile.
His opponent only had a Flower Boar Gu. Even if he could temporarily raise his strength by one boar, it was useless. Chi Cheng would not go hand to hand with him.
Finally, he got hit by a moonblade from Chi Cheng and lost too much blood, retiring from the fight.
The healing Gu Masters below the stage quickly rushed up and treated his injuries.
As time passed, more and more students were mercilessly eliminated, and many youngsters also started to show their abilities.
Chi Cheng, Mo Bei, Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng...
Until noon
The D-grade talents were all eliminated. They had limited talent and all chose support-type Gu worms for production line or transport, which suited their lives. Thus, they had little help in battles.
"Little junior sister, your vital Gu is a Life Breath Grass right? my group needs a healer Gu Master."
"Senior, I wish to join your group, my vital Gu is a Moonlight Gu."
"Sorry, we are not lacking any attack-type Gu Master."
The small groups swiftly began recruiting new members, while the students also chose the groups they wished to join.
The battles on stage lacked visual excitement, and after several rounds, there were few memorable moments—it was, in fact, quite dull.
This was largely because the majority of participants had chosen the Moonlight Gu.
Most battles began with both sides launching moonblades at each other.
The first person to exhaust their primeval essence would usually be the one to lose.
If both contestants ran out of primeval essence, the fight would devolve into a brawl of punches and kicks until one of them collapsed.
Whether it was the students, Gu Masters, or even the clan elders, they all grew bored watching.
Some even looked like they were about to fall asleep.
By evening, fewer than ten students remained on the stage.
"Finally ending." Some Gu Masters lifted their spirits, shrugging off the sleepiness.
At this moment, the Gu Master shouted, "Next round, Gu Yue Fang Zheng vs Gu Yue Mo Bei!"
Fang Zheng and Mo Chen both walked up the stage.
"Fang Zheng, don't think that I will lose just because you have Rank two cultivation! Today I will challenge and beat a higher realm." Mo Bei gritted his teeth, his expression solemn, cheering for himself in his heart. Against the Rank two Fang Zheng, he indeed felt a strong sense of pressure.
"Come." Fang Zheng roared, rushing out ferociously.
Mo Bei's heart jumped, this Fang Zheng wasn't acting according to plan. Normally, they would first shoot moonblades before using hand to hand combat. But this time, he actually rushed up immediately, and wants to fight physically?
"Isn't he afraid of getting injured by my moonblade when exchanging punches and kicks?" Mo Bei was perturbed.
He wasn't concerned about Fang Zheng's safety, but knew that at close range, a moonblade would be hard to dodge.
Mo Bei quickly stepped back and flicked his wrist, firing a moonblade.
Fang Zheng rolled aside, dodging it with ease and kept closing the distance, lunar energy forming in his palm.
Mo Bei grew tense, retreating again.
Despite training hard, he was no match for Fang Zheng, who had been personally guided by the clan leader.
Unsuitable for close combat, Mo Bei was quickly overwhelmed.
"Eh? That side is interesting." The battle on this arena attracted much attention.
"They're actually fighting so closely, this Fang Zheng has guts." Yao Hong could now discern who is Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng.
"It must be the clan leader's teaching. Normally when students fight, they would be ten meters apart. Further than this distance and the moonblade would dissipate. If they fought closer than this distance, the students would not react in time." Gu Yue Qing Shu's gaze shone, "Fang Zheng's battle distance now has shrunk to six meters, but his ability to avoid the moonblade is proficient. It seems that not only is the clan leader helping Fang Zheng, but Fang Zheng also put in some hard work and went through much hardship."
After a few rounds Mo Bei was defeated
The organizing Gu Master announced, "The victory goes to Gu Yue Fang Zheng."
Gu Yue Fang Zheng panted as he stepped off the stage.
Three Gu Masters approached to heal him and handed him primeval stones to restore his essence.
After a short rest, he fully recovered and returned to the stage—this time, facing Gu Yue Chi Cheng.
Chi Cheng looked at Fang Zheng, laughing dryly, "Very good! Fang Zheng, you defeated Mo Bei that rascal, if I defeat you now, it would be killing two birds with one stone."
He seemed very confident.
"Dragonpill cricket Gu!" Chi Cheng's thought flashed, and immediately an orange red-coloured glow came from both his legs. He leapt lightly and instantly retreated ten meters away.
The distance that Fang Zheng had just shortened was immediately lengthened.
"Hehehe." Chi Cheng got smug and laughed, "Fang Zheng, you have no speed increasing Gu, and with your two legs, you cannot catch me. Although this stage isn't big, it is enough for me to maneuver. Your tactic might have worked on Mo Bei, but against me it is ineffective."
"Is that so?" Fang Zheng stopped his movements and stood on the spot, staring intently at Chi Cheng.
He smiled, his eyes showing iron will, shouting loudly, "Continue dodging like that, but everytime you use the Dragonpill cricket Gu, you have to use a certain amount of primeval essence. You have merely Rank one peak stage green copper primeval essence, but I am already at Rank two red steel primeval essence, three times your endurance. Your talent is inferior to me as well. At the end, you would run out of primeval essence and the loser will be you!"
"You!" Chi Cheng was shocked, he only saw his advantage but did not notice his weakness. Right now, he could not help but agree with Fang Zheng, and his fighting spirit dampened.
Chi Cheng's weak nature was analyzed by him to Fang Zheng. Now that he saw Fang Zheng using it to his advantage, Gu Yue Bo was very pleased.
"It seems that Fang Zheng is this year's number one." Beside the clan leader, Gu Yue Mo Chen said.
Gu Yue Chi Lian snorted, watching closely. He clearly hoped his grandson would defeat Fang Zheng and bring glory to the Chi faction.
But things didn't go his way—Chi Cheng, shaken and off his game, kept making mistakes.
Fang Zheng seized the chance, exploited a major opening, and knocked him off the stage.
"Gu Yue Fang Zheng wins!" Gu Master announced.
"Fang Zheng beat Mo Bei and Chi Cheng simultaneously with wits and courage, it seems he is the first place this year," Some people praised.
"Makes sense, I think well of him as well. Too bad he cannot join our group." As the groups choose students, students are also choosing groups. A seeded student like Fang Zheng was already long booked.
"Fang Zheng is the clan leader's faction, while Mo Bei, Chi Cheng are the Mo faction, Chi faction's future leaders. This way, it seems that the Gu Yue Clan would be heavily dominated by the clan leader faction, suppressing the two clan elders." Some people could see even further.