On the ring, Fang Zheng lay unconscious on the ground, utterly still.
As for Fang Yuan, he still wore his characteristic cold expression, standing at the center of the ring.
After a brief moment of silence, the entire arena erupted in uproar.
"How could this be?" Some held their heads, their faces twisted in disbelief.
"Two punches shattered the defense of a Jade Skin Gu—this, this, this..." Others stood there, struck dumb with shock.
"That's too brutal! He violently smashed through the jade light—doesn't he feel any pain?" Many of the female Gu Masters gasped.
"Without using any defensive Gu Insect, he struck the jade light with his bare hands—that's genuine self-mutilation!" Even the male Gu Masters, looking at Fang Yuan's severely injured hands, felt their eyelids twitch. They were shocked by his sheer ruthlessness.
Being ruthless toward others was easy. Being ruthless toward oneself was hard.
Fang Yuan had shattered the Jade Skin Gu's defense with his bare hands—not only was he ruthless toward his own younger brother, he was even more ruthless toward himself!
"Let me take a look." The Academy Elder could no longer stay seated. With those words, he personally leaped onto the ring.
He first crouched down to check on the unconscious Fang Zheng, then let out a soft sigh of relief. Fang Zheng was fine—he had merely suffered a heavy blow to the head and fallen unconscious.
"Unimaginable. Under the defense of a Jade Skin Gu, someone was able to inflict such a devastating blow with bare fists." The Academy Elder was secretly alarmed. He raised his head and turned his gaze toward Fang Yuan, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
"Fang Yuan, let me treat you." The Academy Elder stood up and, in just a few large strides, reached Fang Yuan's side, directly grabbing his forearm.
Fang Yuan's hands were severely injured. Beyond the mangled flesh and blood, even the white bones of his hands were exposed. Due to the heavy impact, visible cracks had formed on the surface of his finger bones.
"The pain must have been excruciating, yet Fang Yuan didn't even furrow his brow." Even the Academy Elder, upon seeing such injuries, felt his heart tremble.
His tone grew somewhat complicated as he said to Fang Yuan, "Bear with me. The treatment will be very itchy, and quite painful."
As he spoke, the five fingers of his right hand spread apart, radiating a burst of blue moonlight. The moonlight grew brighter and brighter, rendering the Academy Elder's right hand semi-transparent.
At first glance, his entire right hand appeared to have transformed into a piece of blue jade. The blood vessels and bones within seemed to have turned to jade as well.
The Academy Elder gently placed his right hand over Fang Yuan's injured fist.
It was like a piece of ice-cold jade making contact with mangled flesh. Fang Yuan felt a piercing, excruciating pain. He clenched his teeth and made no sound.
The Academy Elder's palm radiated a gentle, warm moonlight that nourished Fang Yuan's wounds.
The cracks in his finger bones were rapidly healing. The torn flesh was also quickly regenerating and mending.
Fang Yuan immediately felt an unbearable itch. He took several heavy breaths.
The Academy Elder's expression remained calm. Seizing the opportunity while treating Fang Yuan's injuries, he extended a thread of his consciousness along Fang Yuan's arm and probed into his Empty Orifice.
Inside the Empty Orifice, dark green Bronze True Essence rippled in waves.
A plump, gleaming white Wine Worm frolicked freely in the Yuan Sea.
The four walls of the Empty Orifice were a seamless expanse of white crystal, laying bare the full extent of Fang Yuan's Peak First Transformation cultivation.
The Academy Elder did not withdraw his consciousness. Instead, he swept it through Fang Yuan's entire body.
Finally, on the skin of Fang Yuan's right palm, he discovered the Moonlight Gu and the Little Light Gu.
"No other Gu Insects... could it be that Fang Yuan truly broke through the Jade Skin Gu's defense using nothing but his own strength? Such strength already surpasses that of an adult mortal. He's only fifteen—how could he possibly possess such power?" A flicker of doubt crossed the Academy Elder's eyes.
"Elder, thank you for the treatment." Fang Yuan withdrew his hand from the Elder's grasp and flexed it a few times.
There was still some pain, but the wounds had already healed. Back on Earth, injuries like these would have required a year or two of recovery, and would likely have left serious lasting consequences.
Such was the wonder of this world. Now Fang Yuan's hands had fully healed, though they felt extremely weak when he moved them or tried to grip. In seven or eight days, this mild lingering weakness would disappear as well.
However, Fang Yuan felt no gratitude toward the Academy Elder. He knew full well that any other healing Gu Master could have treated his injuries just the same. The Academy Elder's true purpose had been to seize the opportunity to inspect his Empty Orifice.
Fang Yuan had long anticipated this. Both the White Pig Gu and the Jade Skin Gu had been stored in the second secret cave. As for the Spring Autumn Cicada—a Sixth Transformation Gu bent on concealing itself—even if Gu Yue Bo, at the Fourth Transformation, were to personally inspect, he might not necessarily be able to detect it.
The Academy Elder had found nothing, and his brows furrowed slightly. Though many doubts still lingered in his mind, with so many people watching, he couldn't very well press for answers.
"Fang Yuan, you performed well. Keep up the effort." In the end, the Academy Elder patted Fang Yuan's shoulder, then loudly announced, "In this year's Year-end Exam, first place goes to Fang Yuan!"
From the moment the Academy Elder had stepped onto the ring, the crowd below had watched in utter silence. Now, hearing the Elder's announcement, another wave of noise erupted.