Rizz Taoist Master

Fang Yuan's A-grade potential is HUGE. Plus, both his parents are gone, and he's one of only two Fang Zhi descendants left.

Basically, whoever snags him is set for life. Hundred years of prosperity, easy. The clan chief alpha's like, "Okay, listen up, y'all. Compete fairly. No shady stuff, no family drama, no being cring, 'kay?"

The alphas are all, "Nah, we'd never," totally lying.

"Good night, then," the clan chief alpha says. The alphas scatter, already plotting. The corridor empties out. Spring rain wind blows through the window. The clan chief alpha walks over, takes a deep breath of that fresh mountain air. Ah, serenity. For now.

The clan chief alpha's up in his attic, looking out at Gooner Yue Village. Even though it's late, tons of lights are still on. Everyone's hyped (and stressed) about tomorrow's ceremony. It's a big deal for the whole clan. 

"These are the hopes for the future," the clan chief alpha sighs, all sentimental. Meanwhile, someone else is also watching those lights. 

Scene transmission!

"Yo chat, is this real? If my eyes ain't cappin', I've gone back in time!"

This was said by Fang Yuan. He's staring at the village, his eyes full of…stuff. "Gu Yue Village, 500 years ago?! Spring Autumn Cicada, you the real MVP!" he thinks. He's standing by the window, letting the rain soak him. The Spring Autumn Cicada is a straight-up time-travel cheat code, ranked #7 on the OP Gu list. Basically, it's a "do-over" button for life. 

"I'm back, baby! 500 years in the past!" Fang Yuan stares at his baby hands, clenches them. This is real. Rain's tapping on the window. He closes his eyes, then opens them. "500 years of experience," he sighs, "feels like a fever dream." But he knows it's not. This is happening.

Okay, so, there's this legend about a time river, right? It's like, the source of all time. And they say the Spring Autumn Cicada can take you upstream, back to the past. Most people think it's just a myth, a scam. Because using the Cicada is insanely expensive. You gotta sacrifice your whole life and cultivation. And even then, you don't know if it'll actually work! So, nobody really uses it unless they're super desperate.

Fang Yuan was definitely desperate though, he was about to get his cheeks clapped before he activated it. And now, he's a believer. Because, duh, he's back in time!

"Too bad," he thinks, "I worked my butt off to get that Cicada. Killed, like, a million people, made the heavens mad, all for nothing." Even though he's reborn, the Cicada didn't come with him. Some Gu are one-use, some are reusable. The Cicada? Probably a one-and-done deal. "But whatever," Fang Yuan thinks, "I can just get another one. I did it before, I can do it again."

He's not even that bummed about losing the Cicada. He's got something way better: 500 years of memories and experience. He knows about all the hidden treasures, the big events, the future geniuses. He's basically got a cheat sheet for life. With this knowledge, he's gonna crush it. Level up, break the system, easy peasy. Gotta get on that sigma male grindset, ASAP. 

Okay, so, Fang Yuan's thinking, "Okay, I'm back, now what?" 500 years is a long time. He can't even remember half of it. And even the stuff he does remember (treasure locations, key events) is scattered all over the place and tied to specific times.

"Cultivation is key," he realizes. "I'm just a mortal right now! Gotta level up ASAP so I can capitalize on these opportunities."

Plus, a lot of those treasure spots are death traps without the right skills. So, step one: get strong. "I need clan resources," he thinks. "I'm too weak to go gallivanting around the mountains. Even a wild boar would mess me up. If I hit Level 3 Gu Master, I can at least protect myself and bounce."

Qing Mao Mountain feels like a tiny cage to him now. Safe, but also limiting.

"Fine," he decides, "I'll stay in this cage for now. Once I'm Level 3, I'm out. Luckily, the Awakening Ceremony is tomorrow, so I can start training soon." He thinks about the ceremony, and some old memories pop up. "Talent, huh?" he scoffs, staring out the window. Just then, his door creaks open, and some kid walks in.

"Bro, why are you standing in the rain?" the kid asks.

Okay, so, the kid is skinny, shorter than Fang Yuan, and looks exactly like him. Twin vibes. Fang Yuan raises an eyebrow, then goes back to being ice cold. "It's you," he says, all detached. 

The kid, Fang Zheng, is looking at his shoes, classic shy kid pose. "I saw your window was open," he mumbles, "so I came to close it. Big day tomorrow, you should probably sleep. Aunt and Uncle would be worried."

 Fang Zheng's used to Fang Yuan being frosty. He's always been like that. Fang Zheng thinks, "Maybe geniuses are just weird." He knows he's nothing special, just a regular dude. They're twins, but it's like the universe played favorites. Fang Yuan got all the talent, Fang Zheng got…nothing. Everyone just calls him "Fang Yuan's little brother." 

His aunt and uncle are always telling him to be more like Fang Yuan. Even he gets sick of looking at his own face in the mirror. This Fang Zheng was definitely giving SDE. 

Fang Zheng's been having these thoughts for years. It's like a weight on his heart, making him more and more withdrawn. "Worried?" Fang Yuan scoffs internally. He remembers his "parents" dying on a clan mission when he was three, leaving him and Fang Zheng orphans. His aunt and uncle took them in, but mostly just wanted the inheritance. His aunt and uncle treated the twins worse than Cinderella's stepfamily treated her. 

They treated the boys like garbage. Fang Yuan's original plan was to lay low, hide his talents. But life was too hard, so he had to show something. His "talent" was just his adult Earthling brain and a few classic poems. That was enough to impress everyone. To protect himself, he put on a cold, aloof act, and it just kind of…stuck.

His aunt and uncle chilled out after that. As they got older, things got better. Not because they loved them, but because it was a good investment. Classic grindset.