Reverend Insanity - Perpetual Motion

Nightfall descended like a gentle veil. The moon hung among wisping clouds like a polished silver disk, while scattered stars dusted the heavens with their faint glow.

Gu Yue Mo Bei stood motionless in the courtyard, his upturned face catching the moonlight that made his eyes shimmer with an inner fire.

"Little brother, word reached me about your injury today." His sister Gu Yue Mo Yan's voice drifted from behind him, laden with poorly concealed concern.

"Sister, are you worried that getting beaten until I coughed blood might have left some lasting scars?" Mo Bei turned, his lips curving into a knowing smile.

Seeing her brother's lightness of spirit, Mo Yan felt her heart ease. Though genuine worry had gnawed at her, she chose different words.

"As if! Your big sister knows you better than anyone. My good brother, you've got an iron will worthy of our Mo family's future leader. How could such a minor setback shake you?"

"Hehehe, I knew sister cared for me the most," Mo Bei chuckled, scratching his head with boyish embarrassment.

"You know what, sister?" Under the moon's gentle radiance, the fifteen-year-old's eyes blazed with determination. "Though I failed today, I heard Fang Yuan's breathing grow ragged during our match. Remember when he defeated me so easily before, with just two or three casual strikes? His gasping today revealed a crack in his armor. He's not the invincible figure everyone makes him out to be. One day, I'll defeat him fair and square."

"Well said! That's the spirit of our Mo bloodline!" Mo Yan laughed, affectionately patting her brother's head while concern lingered in her eyes. "But those internal injuries need time to heal. No martial arts practice for the next few days."

"Stop treating me like a child, sister. I'm not that young anymore." Mo Bei shrugged away from her touch, his tone carrying a note of protest. "I understand what you're saying, and I have my own plans. These coming days, I'll focus on strengthening my aperture walls. Once I breakthrough from initial stage to middle stage, I'll claim the position of class president and put an end to Fang Yuan's dominance. He'll learn that true Gu Master cultivation comes down to talent!"

"I'm proud you think this way. I only managed vice president in my time. If you become president, you'll fulfill my old dreams too."

"Rest easy, sister. That position will be mine, without question!"

Meanwhile, within the Chi family compound.

A solitary torch cast dancing shadows in a limestone-walled secret chamber, its flame the room's only illumination.

Gu Yue Chi Lian sat facing his grandson, Gu Yue Chi Cheng. Both rested on prayer mats as their shadows wavered against the rough walls, moving in rhythm with the torch's flickering light.

Chi Lian extended his palm, pressing it against Chi Cheng's abdomen.

Anxiety etched itself across the young boy's features as he dove deep into his aperture, struggling to contain the turbulent waves in his primeval sea.

Like snowflakes, no two primeval essences in this world mirror each other perfectly. When foreign primeval essence enters an aperture, the native essence instinctively resists the intrusion.

Should Chi Cheng fail to maintain control, allowing his primeval essence to react, the resulting clash could devastate his aperture.

A Gu Master's primeval sea within their aperture forms the very foundation of their power – their cultivation's deepest roots.

Aperture damage could result in anything from minor setbacks in cultivation to permanent talent reduction. In the worst case, a shattered aperture meant certain death.

Time stretched on before Gu Yue Chi Lian gradually ceased his essence transmission, withdrawing his hand with measured care.

Chi Cheng released a long-held breath, his tense muscles finally unwinding. 

"Thank you, Grandfather, for nurturing my aperture with your essence transfusion every three days. I know the toll it takes on you!"

Sweat beaded on Chi Lian's forehead as he sighed deeply. "We have no choice in this matter. Your C-grade talent means reaching middle stage through natural means would take far too long. Twice the time of a B-grade, four times that of an A-grade. Such a delay would expose your true talent level. Despite the risks, this remains our only option."

"Grandson understands grandfather's wisdom."

"Good that you do." The elder sighed again, his voice heavy with meaning. "This method carries another consequence. Though my white silver primeval essence provides stronger nurturing, it remains foreign to your body. Even when your aperture walls transform from light wall to water curtains, they'll carry traces of my energy. The more external essence accumulates, the more impure your aperture becomes, stunting your talent and limiting your future growth."

Gu Yue Chi Cheng bit down hard on his lip. "Grandfather, I willingly sacrifice my future potential for the Chi family's prosperity!"

Pleasure flickered across Gu Yue Chi Lian's face as he stroked his beard. "Such dedication pleases me. Yet fate may still smile upon you – all hope isn't lost. The Cleansing Water Gu could purify your aperture walls, washing away all foreign energies from your primeval sea and eliminating these side effects."

"I've also leveraged my connections searching for a Liquor worm. This gu can help a Rank one Gu Master refine their primeval essence, enhancing it by one minor realm. Since the refined essence would be your own, this method leaves no lasting damage or risks, offering far superior nurturing benefits!"

Joy lit up Gu Yue Chi Cheng's face. "Grandfather, your kindness knows no bounds!"

"However," the old man continued, "Liquor worms prove exceptionally elusive. Among Rank one Gu worms, specimens like the Liquor worm, Boar Gu, and Bookworm are incredibly scarce. They vanish from the market moments after appearing. There are also whispers of Gu capable of altering a Master's talent entirely, though in all my years, I've never witnessed such gu – only heard fragments of rumors." The elder's expression shifted subtly, taking on an unsettling cast.

In truth, his search had extended to oath-binding gu as well, though these proved even more scarce. 

The thought drew his brows together in a deep furrow. 

Why? Because with each passing day, he realized how gravely he'd underestimated Qin. 

That boy's mask painted a picture of absolute perfection – not a single crack in the facade. Even Chi Chen, whose intelligence Chi Lian knew to be sharp, hadn't caught a glimpse of his supposed best friend's true nature! 

A week of deception was believable, a month might be excused, but to maintain such a flawless mask day after day after day... This went beyond what any ordinary teenager should be capable of! Chi Lian recognized the boy's disturbed nature, but Qin was proving more twisted than anyone could have imagined. 

Such individuals, capable of burying their true nature so deeply that it became second nature, could either be the greatest blessing or the most insidious curse – and one might never know which until it was far too late!

His grandson complained about Fang Yuan's ruthlessness, completely blind to how his "friend" Qin was exponentially more dangerous! Every interaction, every shared moment, every seeming kindness – all calculated moves in a game of benefits!

The Clan Member within Chi Lian screamed to eliminate Qin, to cut out this venomous snake before it could strike at the clan's heart.

"Grandfather?" Chi Chen's voice broke through his dark musings.

Chi Lian smoothed his features, gesturing dismissively. His grandson bowed slightly, a trusting smile on his face as he left the hidden chamber. Chi Lian watched the boy's retreating form, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions.

"Alas, I am greedy," he whispered into the torch-lit darkness.

Greedy enough to sacrifice his grandson's already limited potential, greedy enough to deceive both Patriarch and clan, and most dangerously, greedy enough to believe he could harness a viper. Though he served the clan, his identity as Chi Family's head consumed his thoughts first and foremost.

His gaze hardened as he extinguished the torch with a sharp breath.

"Time remains on my side... he's only reached rank 1 middle stage. Even achieving rank 2 won't shift the balance significantly... Yes, time remains on my side..."

Yet fate played its cruel joke, for at that very moment, barely fifty meters away in his private chamber, Gu Yue Qin silently transcended to rank 1 upper stage, his breakthrough hidden from all eyes.