Chapter 4 – Fourteen Years of Persistence
The following morning...
Li Tianyu left his rented residence carrying a small wooden box.
Inside rested the Blazing Heart Gu he had refined.
Rather than heading toward the Refinement Hall, he walked to a small Gu shop tucked away in a remote corner of the village.
The shopkeeper inspected the Gu for a long while before nodding.
"Good quality."
"I'll offer fifty-eight primeval stones."
Li Tianyu nodded.
"Deal."
The transaction was completed.
As the Gu changed hands, fifty-eight primeval stones entered Li Tianyu's possession.
Thirty-three stones.
That was his actual profit.
For an ordinary Rank One Gu Master...
It was no small sum.
Leaving the shop, Li Tianyu made his way toward a nearby tavern.
For the first time in months, he spent a full primeval stone on a proper meal.
Several dishes of beast meat.
Fresh vegetables.
A pot of wine.
He ate quietly without wasting a single grain of rice.
Only after finishing did he slowly return home.
It was no longer the residence of the Gu Master who had raised him.
A month after his aperture awakened, the clan-appointed guardian's duty had officially ended.
Their relationship had always been a transaction.
His father had paid.
The clan had fulfilled its obligation.
Nothing more.
The Gu Master had soon adopted another orphan in order to continue receiving the clan's benefits.
As for Li Tianyu...
He had rented a modest courtyard using the primeval stones he had carefully saved over the years.
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It was small.
But it belonged to him alone.
---
The following day...
Li Tianyu returned to the Refinement Hall.
Without hesitation, he repaid the twenty-five primeval stones he had borrowed.
His debt was settled.
The refinement elder merely glanced at him before recording the repayment.
Nothing more.
Li Tianyu was quite satisfied.
The less attention others paid to him...
The safer he was.
In the Gu World...
Being unnoticed was often a blessing.
Days quietly passed.
Several months later...
Li Tianyu once again stood before the refinement elder.
"Elder."
"I have successfully refined Blazing Heart Gu."
The old man looked up briefly before nodding.
"Very good."
"Continue working hard."
That was all.
No surprise.
No praise.
No investigation.
After all...
Refining a Rank One Gu after several months of study was hardly unusual.
The elder dismissed him with a few encouraging words before returning to his work.
Li Tianyu quietly left.
Exactly as he had hoped.
From then onward...
His life settled into a simple routine.
Cultivate.
Study.
Refine Gu.
Sell Gu.
Repeat.
Refinement was never smooth.
Sometimes he succeeded.
Sometimes the Gu exploded midway through refinement.
Primeval essence rebounded.
His soul shook violently.
More than once, he was forced to remain bedridden for days recovering from the backlash.
Even so...
He never stopped.
One year later...
Li Tianyu finally began researching a Gu of his own.
A completely original Gu.
One that had never existed before.
From that day onward...
Nearly every primeval stone he earned disappeared into his research.
Every day, he refined one or two ordinary Gu worms.
Some were sold to recover his costs.
The rest became experimental materials.
He was exceedingly cautious.
Only a small portion of his refined Gu were sold through the Refinement Hall.
The majority were quietly sold to small shops scattered throughout the outer corners of the village.
He never sold too many to the same shop.
Nor did he frequently visit the same location.
Every few months...
He changed where he conducted business.
Likewise...
He never sold Gu of unusually high value.
Steady profits attracted little attention.
Sudden wealth attracted disaster.
Years quietly slipped away.
At the age of twenty-six...
Li Tianyu reached Peak Rank One.
His aperture had long since reached its limit.
No matter how diligently he cultivated...
His D-grade aptitude refused to let him advance.
Among D-grade aptitudes...
His was considered one of the poorest.
To others...
His cultivation path had already reached its end.
Yet Li Tianyu never cared.
His greatest reliance had never been his aptitude.
Time continued to flow.
Four more years quietly passed.
...
Li Tianyu.
Thirty years old.
Inside the familiar rented courtyard...
He quietly looked at the tiny crimson Gu resting within his palm.
After a long silence...
He chuckled.
"I finally succeeded."
Fourteen and a half years.
Countless failed refinements.
Countless explosions.
Countless injuries.
Every primeval stone he could spare...
Had been poured into this single Gu.
Several times, he had nearly died during refinement.
Yet today...
Everything had finally borne fruit.
Rank One — Ember Spark Gu.
A unique Fire Path Gu.
Every Gu worm contained fragments of the Great Dao.
By burning the Dao fragments contained within sacrificed Gu worms, Ember Spark Gu could resonate with the Great Dao itself and perform deductions.
Its sole ability...
Was deduction.
Once a deduction was completed, the resulting knowledge would be directly imprinted into the user's mind.
It granted neither greater intelligence nor higher attainment.
Nor did it improve talent or comprehension.
It merely provided knowledge.
Knowledge purchased with Gu worms.
Unlike ordinary Gu...
Ember Spark Gu required no conventional food.
It fed directly upon the Great Dao.
Li Tianyu slowly opened his aperture.
Within it...
Only one Gu remained.
Ember Spark Gu.
His former vital Gu...
Sunny Thought Gu...
Had become its core refinement material.
Without hesitation, Ember Spark Gu flew into his aperture and settled within his primeval sea.
It became his new vital Gu.
Li Tianyu slowly smiled.
"What should I test first?"
After a brief moment of thought...
He transmitted his will.
"Ember Spark Gu."
"Deduce the Rank One refinement recipe of the Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu."
The tiny Gu emitted a faint crimson glow.
Moments later...
A thought entered his mind.
Deduction possible.
Required payment: 8,999 Rank One Gu worms.
Li Tianyu froze.
Then...
He laughed.
Not because the price was cheap.
Quite the opposite.
To an ordinary Rank One Gu Master...
Eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Rank One Gu worms represented an astronomical fortune.
Yet to Li Tianyu...
The price itself was meaningless.
What truly mattered...
Was that the deduction was possible.
That single answer proved everything.
The impossible...
Could be deduced.
He slowly calmed the excitement in his heart.
"Not yet."
"I don't have enough capital."
"First..."
"I'll accumulate wealth."
"Then..."
"I'll begin reshaping the Gu World."
Outside...
The afternoon breeze gently rustled the leaves.
Inside the small rented courtyard...
A tiny crimson Gu quietly floated above a sea of Crystal green primeval essence.
The first piece of Li Tianyu's grand ambition...
Had finally fallen into place.