More than three thousand years ago, the Great Qin Iron Cavalry swept across the land, as Emperor Shi pursued the secret of immortality, discovering the Grotto Heaven Blessed Secret Realm, glimpsing Supreme Secret Techniques, gathering Secret Treasures, taming Secret Spirits, and with these in hand, unifying the eight wildernesses and six harmonies, establishing the Great Qin Ancestral Court. From then on, all lands under heaven belonged to the king, and the four seas and eight wildernesses were the ancestral domain.
The Emperor Shi, who cultivated secret techniques, attained immortality and eternal youth, remaining in his prime even after a thousand years, presiding over the Ancestral Court for more than two millennia. Carts traveled on the same tracks, written script was unified, and ingenious craftsmanship flourished. The world soon entered the industrial age; at the same time, everyone could enter Secret Realms, practice secret techniques, obtain Secret Spirits. The world was prosperous, technology and secret arts stood side by side, and human civilization entered an unimaginable era. The Emperor was venerated by all as the Emperor Ancestor.
Over a thousand years ago, a strange Secret Realm appeared in the sky, like a palace shrouding the heavens, blotting out the firmament. Countless anomalies emerged in the world, as if Immortals secretly dwelled within, and the Divine Land was wracked with inexplicable changes everywhere.
The sky lost its sun, nights had no stars, yin and yang merged, seasons became confused, all things withered, and crops failed to grow.
The Emperor Ancestor personally led a million elite Great Qin Iron Cavalry—those cultivators with perfected arts—to wage war against heaven and fight into the Secret Realm, slaughtering until heaven and earth changed color, winds and clouds surged, and the sound of carnage echoed to the heavens. A torrential rain of blood washed the Divine Land for ten days before heaven and earth finally returned to clarity.
The Celestial Secret Realm dispersed, sun and moon shone anew, the world returned to normal, but the Emperor Ancestor and those million Great Qin Iron Cavalry disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again.
The world fell into chaos, warlords rose everywhere, the Ancestral Court collapsed, and after more than two hundred years of turmoil, the Divine Land finally ushered in an era of peace once again. The Ten Celestial Kings reconstituted the Ancestral Court and became the first generation of Ancestral Court Elders.
There were no more emperors in the world, only the Chief Judge of the Ancestral Court and the ten Ancestral Court Elders who held voting rights to elect the Chief Judge.
"Awaken Lifebound Ultra-Secret Talent… Spirit of the Cheerleaders…" Chen Guan stood there dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long time.
Ever since becoming a cultivator, Chen Guan had fantasized countless times about what sort of Lifebound Talent he would awaken during the coming-of-age ritual at eighteen, upon entering the Secret Realm. For cultivators, the Lifebound Talent is enough to determine one's fate for an entire lifetime.
He had dreamed of awakening a top-tier Lifebound Talent, such as the legendary unparalleled talents: "Unparalleled Dao Body," "Celestial Vein Sword Bone," "Ten Directions Martial Arts Battle Soul."
Chen Guan had also considered the possibility that he might not awaken such unparalleled talents—after all, the odds of awakening one were one in a billion, with only one or two people in the world ever obtaining each kind.
There are five qualities of Lifebound Talents: Common, Rare, Uncommon, Unique, and Unparalleled—the lowest being Common, Unparalleled being the best.
Awakening a talent is simple: upon reaching eighteen, after getting started in secret cultivation and entering the Secret Realm for the first time, sensing the existence of primordial energy, one reaches Celestial-Human Communication and awakens the primordial energy talent.
Chen Guan had envisioned countless possibilities, but never imagined he would awaken such a Lifebound Talent.
Just by the name, you could tell this kind of Lifebound Talent gave no boost to secret technique cultivation or secret skill use. Instead, it seemed more like some sort of morale-boosting talent ability—most likely an auxiliary-type talent.
This was an era where personal martial power was celebrated; everyone took pride in becoming a powerhouse. To survive in the Secret Realm, one needed formidable martial prowess as a foundation.
No matter how good an auxiliary talent, it would inevitably rely on others, living under the noses of the strong—a result Chen Guan could not accept.
"Even if I've awakened an auxiliary Lifebound Talent and lack a self-strengthening talent, I can still master secret techniques to the highest level and close the gap between Lifebound Talents; I can still control powerful Secret Spirits and measure up to the top cultivators." Chen Guan didn't brood for long and calmly felt out his newly awakened Lifebound Talent.
Chen Guan: Cultivator (Level 1).
Primordial Energy: 1.
Lifebound Talent: Spirit of the Cheerleaders (Ultra-Secret).
Secret Technique: Level 1 Longevity Skill (Common).
Secret Skill: None.
Secret Spirit: Level 1 Self-red Chow Chow (Common).
The rules of the world inside a Secret Realm differ from the outside. Within, a cultivator who practices secret techniques can look inward to view their own status—allowing everyone to clearly recognize their cultivation situation.
Chen Guan had just entered the Secret Realm and awakened. The Longevity Skill he cultivated before was a common Secret Technique anyone could use. Even after awakening, he only possessed 1 point of primordial energy—the starting point for the vast majority of cultivators.
Upon seeing the words "Ultra-Secret" behind his talent, Chen Guan was first elated. He thought that although his was only an auxiliary talent, if it was Unparalleled in quality, it should still be of tremendous value.
But after looking more closely, the happiness on his face turned to confusion.
Among the five qualities—Common, Rare, Uncommon, Unique, and Unparalleled—there was no "Ultra-Secret" level at all; it seemed like some kind of bootleg version of "Unparalleled."
"Are there even bootleg Lifebound Talents?" Chen Guan was shocked and suspicious, carefully focusing his mind in an attempt to figure out exactly what was up with his Lifebound Talent.
Spirit of the Cheerleaders (Ultra-Secret): Words of praise overflowing in expression, able to arouse hidden potential of life, liberate the constraints of the soul, allowing the one being praised to be invigorated, blissful, as if gaining divine assistance. The more florid the words, the more they touch the heart, the better the effects.
The more Chen Guan read, the more confused he became. He had never heard of this "Ultra-Secret" quality, nor did he know what it meant.
Judging from the literal description of Spirit of the Cheerleaders, it was pretty much as he suspected—a kind of morale-boosting or inspirational ability, seemingly activated through words or actions; and apparently, the more lavish the praise, the better the effect.
Chen Guan didn't know how this ability differed from the usual means leaders used to inspire or motivate. Only after testing it could he know how effective this talent really was.
"I've never heard of the Ultra-Secret grade, but whichever way I look at it, it's nothing like a common talent. It's so rare and unheard of—maybe it's higher and rarer than even Unparalleled. If that's the case, then even if it's an auxiliary talent, it must still have immense use—no ordinary auxiliary can match it…" Chen Guan suppressed his restless heart, surveying the surroundings, pondering how he could test out Spirit of the Cheerleaders.
He was situated in a valley, which was completely devoid of grass but piled high with all kinds of bizarre white bones, like a massive burial pit.
Currently, Secret Realms are divided into two main types: Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands. Grotto Heavens are high-level Secret Realms. Without a high enough level, one simply cannot enter; many cultivators spend their whole lives without ever entering a Grotto Heaven.
Blessed Lands, comparatively, have much fewer restrictions. Once humans turn eighteen, they can enter Blessed Lands. If not yet of age, no matter how close, the Blessed Land remains invisible—even dragged by others, you still can't get in, only able to watch others pass through mountains while you're blocked by cliff walls unable to enter.
Practicing secret techniques outside of Secret Realms can only strengthen body and mind; since there is no primordial energy outside, one cannot accumulate it through practice, nor strengthen the body thereby.
Only by entering the Secret Realm can the body absorb primordial energy, allowing the awakening of Lifebound Talent and truly embarking on the path of cultivation.
Every Blessed Land is like a boundless Otherworld; to this day, no humans have been able to fully explore an entire Blessed Land.
When first entering a Blessed Land, you are teleported to a random place—a process uncontrollable—but generally you're sent to a low-level Secret Spirit area, whether due to mysterious forces or simply the rules of the Secret Realm.
Chen Guan had no idea where he was. Before entering this "Pingdu Mountain" Blessed Land, he had done extensive research, but still didn't know where this was.
The bones here were sometimes even larger than dinosaur bones, and some as small as toothpicks—all manner of shapes, obviously from different species.
As he was observing, he suddenly saw something move among the bones. Looking closely, he realized it was a creature whiter than snow, almost like a polar bear.
Staring intently, he saw it was not a polar bear, but a gigantic snow-furred rabbit as big as a polar bear.
Calling it a rabbit, but it was quite different from real rabbits. Its head and body proportions were reversed; the head was bigger than its body, and it sat upright on its hind legs, its front paws not touching the ground, almost like a human standing up.
Although he hadn't seen its face yet, that fluffy body, round head, and extra-long rabbit ears made it look just like an anthropomorphic cartoon rabbit.
At that moment, a crunching sound came from the rabbit, making Chen Guan suspect that the giant rabbit was gnawing on a carrot.
While Chen Guan was observing, the giant rabbit suddenly turned its head to look at him. Sure enough, it had an anthropomorphic rabbit face—round, fluffy with long hair, and huge eyes, looking almost adorable.
But Chen Guan didn't find it cute at all—because those gleaming white rabbit teeth, and the snow-white fur around its mouth, were stained with fresh blood. One paw clutched a giant blood-soaked pig-killing saber, the other held a gnawed, bloody bone stick, with scraps of meat and gore still clinging to it.
The rabbit's blood-red eyes stared at Chen Guan, its adorable face twisted in a wicked expression. In Chen Guan's eyes, its whole form seemed to radiate a sinister and bloody aura.