Concept · Wiki
Aptitude
资质
Cultivation · Grades
The grade a child's primeval sea is given at the Aperture Opening Ceremony, and, in the Gu Yue Clan's arithmetic, the exact number of years and ranks their life is expected to be worth.
Cultivation, as statedevery figure cites the line it came from
In the textevery mark is a paragraph; click one to read the line
Written into 31 of 346 published paragraphs (9%) — first at chapter 1, ¶30, most recently at chapter 5, ¶44.
What it is
Aptitude is the clan's measure of what a child can become, decided once, in public, and never revisited. In Gu Yue Village it is spoken of as a grade, and then as a percentage of the Primeval Sea.
What the grades are worth
Chapter 4 sets out the clan's arithmetic in full, and it is the clearest thing the book has told us about how this world works.
With about three years of training, a youth with Grade D aptitude could become a seasoned Rank 1 Gu Master, forming part of the clan’s foundation.
Chapter 4, paragraph 35
After two years of training, most youths with Grade C aptitude could become Rank 2 Gu Masters, forming the backbone of the clan.
Chapter 4, paragraph 36
Usually groomed as a future clan elder, such a youth could become a Rank 3 Gu Master in six or seven years.
Chapter 4, paragraph 37
With attentive care and priority access to resources, such a youth could become a Rank 4 Gu Master in around ten years.
Chapter 4, paragraph 38
What it means to have none
No aptitude to become a Gu Master.
Chapter 4, paragraph 22
Without aptitude, he could only live as a mortal, occupying the very bottom of the clan’s hierarchy.
Chapter 4, paragraph 23
And the majority of children tested have none at all.
Quite a few had shown Grade C or Grade D aptitude, though nearly half of those tested had none at all.
Chapter 4, paragraph 42
What the grades are worth to an elder
A grade is also a political weapon. Gu Yue Chi Cheng's was faked upward by his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian (see that entry for what the deception was for.
Why it matters
Aptitude is the first thing this world ever asks a person: not what you want, not what you would do, but what you were born holding. Fang Yuan, who already knows what he becomes with a mediocre grade, is standing in the line listening to all of it.