Fang Yuan had already seen through the deeper meaning behind this gesture — it was a small probe from the clan leader.
He swept his gaze across the martial arena. The three most outstanding squads in the entire clan were all present here: the Qing Shu squad representing the clan leader's faction, the Chi Shan squad representing the Chi branch, and the Mo Yan squad representing the Mo branch.
For an ordinary student, joining any one of these three squads would mean securing a powerful backer, with a bright future stretching ahead.
But for Fang Yuan, it was the exact opposite.
In the eyes of the clan's higher-ups, he had already been stamped with a factional label. If he rashly joined one of these three squads, the trouble would be enormous.
Say he joined the Chi Shan squad — the Chi Family naturally knew they had never recruited Fang Yuan. Their first thought would be: Fang Yuan is clearly someone else's piece on the board, so what are his intentions in joining our squad?
Their next thought would be: the mysterious faction that recruited Fang Yuan ahead of time has already broken the rules. Now that Fang Yuan has switched to their side, the Elders would assume it was the Chi Family who had secretly recruited Fang Yuan first. Wouldn't that make them take the blame? No good — they would have to detain Fang Yuan, monitor him, investigate him! Gather concrete evidence and root out that mysterious backer.
But the truth was, Fang Yuan had no backer at all!
"Once I join any of these three squads, I'll have offended one of the three biggest powers in the clan. Absolutely not! I originally intended to quietly join Jiang He's squad. But behind Jiang He's squad, there's also the shadow of a Discipline Hall Elder. Now, with everyone watching, me joining rashly would be extremely inappropriate." Fang Yuan hesitated for a moment.
Clan Leader Gu Yue Bo's smile deepened, and he continued: "Fang Yuan, if you won't choose, then I'll assign you to one."
The Elders beside him watched in silence, their expressions motionless, like a row of statues.
"Hmph, so they're starting to pressure me." Fang Yuan's eyes flickered, and he immediately guessed what Gu Yue Bo would say next — either thrusting him into the Chi Shan squad or the Mo Yan squad.
Gu Yue Bo knew perfectly well that he himself had never recruited Fang Yuan. For him, this move could simultaneously clear his own suspicion, weaken a political rival, and expose the mysterious faction — a triple benefit in one stroke. Redirecting trouble eastward; it looked simple but was deeply calculated, showcasing Gu Yue Bo's masterful political finesse.
"No — I absolutely cannot let Gu Yue Bo assign me. It seems I can only choose an insignificant squad." Fang Yuan was just about to speak.
At that moment, a voice came from the crowd: "Why not join our squad? We just happen to be short an offensive point."
Who was it?
In an instant, everyone turned to look toward the voice.
The speaker was neither tall nor short, with sallow skin that gave him a sickly appearance. A pair of triangular eyes now glinted with sharp light.
"That's Sick Snake — Gu Yue Jiao San," someone identified him.
"Gu Yue Jiao San? But that's just an insignificant squad with no backing at all!" Disappointment flickered across the faces of the clan leader and the Elders.
"Jiao San…" A barely perceptible dark gleam passed through Fang Yuan's eyes.
He and this Gu Yue Jiao San had never met before; he couldn't even recall whether this person existed in his memories.
Why had Jiao San spoken up to invite him? Was it simply because he had ranked first in the evaluation?
How could that be possible!
Only someone as naive as Fang Zheng would harbor such innocent thoughts.
But then again…
Since Jiao San had personally spoken up and extended the invitation, it was nothing short of a breakthrough for the current situation.
"The clan's higher-ups must be quite disappointed. Heh." A faint smile surfaced at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth as his eyelids lowered, concealing the sharp gleam in his eyes.
"Then I'll join your squad." Fang Yuan agreed without hesitation, cutting off whatever Gu Yue Bo had been about to say.
"Has Fang Yuan lost his mind?"
"He passed up those outstanding squads and chose to join Sick Snake's squad?!"
"Something's wrong with his head. Jiao San's personality — heh…"
The students and Gu Masters in the arena began to murmur, their gazes upon Fang Yuan like they were staring at a fool.
The clan leader and the Elders' expressions darkened involuntarily.