Beast God
Chapter 61: Uncertain Growth Rate

Chen Guan arrived in an area filled with wandering ghosts and lonely spirits. He noticed quite a few young cultivators chasing after these low-level spirits, even some who were pursuing a single wild ghost with their blades. Although he had mentally prepared himself, knowing that killing mystical spirits here required snatching them quickly, he hadn’t expected the competition to be so fierce. Even for wandering ghosts and lonely spirits—such low-grade, ordinary mystical spirits with no special quality—there was a scramble.

“It seems contacting Ji Nanhong would be better. She should have access to some paid areas, right? But I wonder if she has connections near Samsara City. If I need to go to other cities, that would be too far, and at my current level, traveling might not be safe,” Chen Guan shook his head, abandoning the idea of testing with wandering ghosts and lonely spirits here.

He found a secluded spot, then punched a towering ancient tree with his level 2 strength. Not even the bark was scratched. After activating the First Secret Technique, Chen Guan punched the tree again. This time, the bark cracked in many places.

“The First Secret Technique seems to provide a pretty good boost to physical strength,” Chen Guan observed his fist, noting it remained flawless—still fair and healthy with no red marks at all.

When a mortal body confronts a tree, even if the attack is active, the fist itself will endure backlash. There’s no way a punch that hard would leave the fist completely unaffected. This could only mean the First Secret Technique had a powerful body-enhancing effect, allowing his fist to stay unharmed.

Chen Guan wanted to test if the First Secret Technique granted any support to secret skills, but his current 2 points of primordial energy were insufficient to use the level 3 Blood Palm secret skill.

“The First Secret Technique can’t be this weak,” Chen Guan thought. The secret technique created by the Ancestral Emperor could never be just a simple physical enhancement.

“Well, since it’s come to this, I’ll keep trying. At worst, I’ll sell pets for money, then get a heavy repair treasure and start cultivating at level 1 again,” Chen Guan steeled himself and continued practicing the First Secret Technique in a hidden, empty place.

With the power of the First Secret Technique, even without killing mystical spirits or relying on rare materials and exotic fruits, purely absorbing the stray primordial energy in the secret realm could still raise his cultivation level.

He activated the First Secret Technique again. Primordial energy from the world swirled like a whirlpool and surged into his body, filling his limbs and bones, circulating with his movements.

Unlike ordinary secret techniques, which ultimately concentrate primordial energy in one spot—usually one of the three energy veins: upper, middle, or lower—some powerful techniques can store energy in all three simultaneously.

The Stealth Kill Art could store primordial energy in both the upper and lower energy veins, already a very good technique.

But the First Secret Technique was completely different. Primordial energy did enter the three energy veins, but it didn’t just store there; instead, the energy spread throughout the entire body, refining all muscles, bones, and internal organs. The primordial energy used the whole body as a carrier, directly merging into every cell and strengthening them all.

He had expected to reach level 3 quickly. After all, with such a strong ability to absorb the world’s primordial energy, the amount absorbed was considerable—far surpassing the Longevity Art many times over.

Previously, the First Secret Technique had only run for one full cycle before instantly reaching level 2. Now, Chen Guan had run it for ten cycles but still hadn’t advanced to level 3.

“I’ve absorbed so much primordial energy. The total amount must be more than when I leveled up the Stealth Kill Art by five levels. Why haven’t I reached level 3 yet?” Chen Guan wondered, but he was even more convinced the First Secret Technique was no trash technique and certainly had some extraordinary traits.

He kept activating the First Secret Technique. After several hours and over a hundred full cycles, he suddenly felt a jolt throughout his body, as if some kind of shackles were released. His entire body instantly became incredibly light, and his cultivation level rose to 3.

Chen Guan felt as light as a swallow, yet filled with power. His muscles were more defined, and his skin tighter and more radiant.

Though he couldn’t see his own eyes, even his pupils seemed clearer, like a bottomless, crystal-clear spring.

He could clearly feel that his body’s strength and power had increased significantly—not just a little, but noticeably.

Checking his internal information, Chen Guan was stunned to see his primordial energy had increased to 4 points.

Just by leveling up once, his primordial energy limit jumped from 2 to 4—a gain of 2 points. By normal calculation, his growth rate was now 2.0.

“Why does the amount of primordial energy gained per level in this secret technique vary so much?” Chen Guan wondered, deciding not to do anything else for now and focus on understanding the First Secret Technique.

The wild was no place to linger, especially as dusk approached. This was not like the Divine Land where security was good; here, banditry happened often in the wilderness.

After all, fighting a crowd for mystical spirits was tough. It was clearly easier to steal from the many human cultivators around.

Only human cities in the secret realm had some semblance of order, so Chen Guan headed toward the location of Samsara City.

Buildings in Samsara City were mostly built with local stone and wood. The city was vast, reportedly home to over a million permanent residents.

Chen Guan suspected this figure didn’t account for the large floating population. Just by observing the crowds moving in and out, Samsara City was evidently prosperous.

He paid one coin to get a permit to enter the city. Actually, entering wasn’t mandatory. Many who refused to pay had set up tents outside the city walls, even forming a market where people sold mystical spirit materials and the like.

Chen Guan wasn’t exactly rich, but one coin was nothing to him. Safety came first. He entered the city and spent ten coins to rent a room at an inn.

Once inside, Chen Guan locked the door and began cultivating the First Secret Technique.

Running an inn in Samsara City meant having some backing; no one dared cause trouble lightly, so safety wasn’t a big concern.

Still, Chen Guan released Warring States and Rouge to guard by his bedside.

Reaching level 3 had been difficult; reaching level 4 was even harder. He hadn’t slept all night, cultivating nonstop until morning—over twelve hours—but still hadn’t managed to reach level 4.

“The first five levels should be the fastest to raise. Normally, it should come quickly. The Stealth Kill Art reached level 5 after killing only a few mystical spirits, much faster than this. I wonder if, aside from absorbing primordial energy, the First Secret Technique has any other faster leveling methods?” Chen Guan pondered silently.

Right now, fighting for mystical spirits was too difficult, and his low level made it risky. It was better to stay here absorbing the world’s primordial energy.

Chen Guan renewed the rent and continued cultivating in the inn room, not stepping out for four days. Aside from eating, drinking, sleeping, and other necessities, almost all his time was spent practicing the First Secret Technique.

On the morning of the fifth day, Chen Guan’s body once again felt reborn. His bones crackled loudly; sweat mixed with gray impurities soaked him through. His cultivation level finally broke through again, reaching level 4.

Ignoring his body’s strange sensations, Chen Guan checked his internal information, dumbfounded to find his primordial energy had soared to 8 points.