Rizz Taoist Master

Okay, so, Fang Yuan's got this insane new space inside him. It's called the Primeval Sea Aperture, or sometimes the Purple Prefecture, or the Chinese Pool. It's, like, both huge and tiny at the same time. 

It's a sphere covered in this flowing white light, kind of like a force field. That's from the Hope Gu explosion. The light membrane keeps the aperture from collapsing. Inside? The Primeval Sea. It's this smooth, greenish-blue liquid with a copper sheen. 

Only Rank 1 Gu Masters have this "green copper sea." The water level is at 44% – that's his C-grade limit. Every drop is pure primeval essence, basically, Fang Yuan's life force condensed. This essence is what Gu Masters use to power up their Gu. So, yeah, Fang Yuan's officially a Rank 1 Gu Master! No more Hope Gu are coming in. Fang Yuan tries to take another step, but nope. Invisible wall. "Just like last time," he thinks, shrugging. 

"Can't go any further?" the alpha yells, still holding out hope. Fang Yuan turns around and walks back. The kids are losing it. 

"Wait, 27 steps?! Fang Yuan's only C-grade?!" 

"No way! That genius is just C-grade?!"

The crowd goes wild! "Big brother..." Fang Zheng whispers, staring in shock. His own brother, just C-grade?! He always thought Fang Yuan was A-grade. Everyone did! Aunt, uncle, the whole clan! But nope.

"Damn, only C-grade?!" the clan chief alpha mutters, disappointed. The alphas are all reacting differently – frowning, whispering, sighing.

"Maybe the test is wrong?" someone suggests.

"No way," someone else says. "It's foolproof, and we were watching. Cheating's impossible." "But what about how smart he is?"

"Yeah, smart kids often have good primeval seas, but it doesn't guarantee high talent. The test is the only thing that matters."

"Ugh, the hype was real, but so is the disappointment. The Gooner Yue clan ain't what it used to be."

Fang Yuan's socks are soaked, freezing cold. He walks back, face blank, ignoring all the stares. Amazement, shock, sneers, schadenfreude, indifference – he sees it all. It's giving him major deja vu.

He remembers this exact moment from his past life. He felt like the sky was falling. He even tripped in the river and nobody helped him up. Oof.

The cave erupts in laughter. "The Fang bros? Mid," the clan chief alpha scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Fang Zheng's flailing in the water, looking like a total clown. He can't get up, he's choking, and the laughter's just making it worse. Suddenly, he's yanked up. It's Fang Yuan, grabbing his collar.

"Big brother..." Fang Zheng chokes, then starts coughing up water.

"LOL, the Fang fam is a mess!" someone yells from the riverbank.

The alphas's just frowning, disappointed.

Fang Zheng's panicking, then Fang Yuan says, "Go on. The future's gonna be wild."

Fang Zheng's confused. Fang Yuan's face is calm, and he's even got a little smirk. How is he so chill? He's just C-grade! Fang Yuan pats him on the back and walks away. Fang Zheng, still dazed, walks into the flower sea.

"I can't believe he's so calm," he thinks. "If that was me..." He's spacing out, then wait a minute. He's way further than anyone else. 43 steps!

"OMG, A-GRADE!" the alpha screams, losing his mind.

"A-GRADE?! For real?!"

"Finally, after three years, an A-grade!" The alphas in the shadows are freaking out too.

"The Fang bloodline is from the Chi family, so we're adopting him!" Gooner Yue Chi Lian announces immediately.

"Nah, fam, no way!" Gooner Yue Mo Chen yells back.

"Chi Lian, you're washed! You just manipulate kids! He's coming with me!"

"Yo, chill!" the clan chief alpha, Gooner Yue Bo, interrupts, losing his cool. "I'm raising him! Anyone got a problem with that?!" He glares at everyone, who are all looking salty, but none of 'em can speak up before his Rank Four aura. 

A week later...

"Humans? Top tier. Gu? Heaven and Earth's VIPs. This world's crawling with 'em – dirt, bushes, even beast fur."

"As humans multiplied, the OGs figured out Gu's secrets. Aperture? Open it. Primeval essence? Feed, refine, control Gu. Those are Gu Masters, y'all."

"And you? Apertures opened last week. Primeval seas? Coagulated. You're all Rank 1 Gu Masters now."

In the village academy, the alpha's dropping knowledge bombs. 57 students, glued to his every word.

Gu Masters are legends, so everyone's hyped.

A kid raises his hand. "Alpha, we know about Rank 1, 2, etc. Can you break it down?"

The alpha nods. "Nine ranks, from 1 to 9. Each rank's a big deal, with four mini-levels: initial, middle, upper, and peak. You're all Rank 1 initial stage."

"Grind hard, and you'll climb to Rank 2, even 3. Talent? That's your cheat code."

"D-grade? Primeval sea fills 2-3 layers. Max rank? 2. C-grade? 4-5 layers. Usually stops at Rank 2, but some lucky peeps hit Rank 3 initial. B-grade? 6-7 layers. Rank 3, maybe even 4. A-grade? 8-9 layers. The GOATs. Rank 5, easy."

"Rank 6 and up? Legends. I don't even know. Gooner Yue's never had a Rank 6, but we've had 4s and 5s."

The teens are hanging on every word, eyes sparkling.

They all glance at Fang Zheng, sitting front and center, A-grade flexin', giving off main character energy right there. Jealousy and envy vibes are strong. Then, they shift their gaze to the back of the classroom.

Fang Yuan's slumped over his desk, snoozing hard.

"Still sleeping?" someone whispers.

"He's been out for a whole week!" someone else adds.

"And? He's been wandering around the village all night."

"Homie crashed real hard after taking an L that big."

"Yeah, he's been spotted, like, multiple times. Wandering around with a wine bottle, wasted. Good thing the village is safe now." The classmates are gossiping like it's their job. Tea is being spilled.

"Dude, he got wrecked. Everyone thought he was a genius, then he's just... C-grade."

"And to make it worse, his little bro's A-grade now, living his best life. Younger bro's flying high, older bro's hit rock bottom. Oof. Big yikes."