Chapter 7: Secrets (Part 2)

Eagle Demon led the way, with a few friends scouting ahead. The sigil worms here were fierce, so he rode his warhorse carefully, trying not to make much noise. Warhorses made quite a noise when running, but fortunately, the ground was covered with a thick layer of decaying leaves, acting like a dense carpet, so the sound of hooves was almost unheard.

A day passed quickly, and the journey went smoothly—no sigil worms were encountered, and even ordinary wild beasts were rare. Eagle Demon stopped at the foot of a mountain peak and said, “Let’s camp here today!”

Luo Jie and the others rode forward, while Guo Shieru observed the surroundings. The location was excellent—backed by a not-too-high cliff, with a flat area below and a stream flowing through it. The surrounding view was open, making it an ideal campsite.

They cleared the weeds and sparse trees from the ground and set up tents. Guo Shieru said, “We were too nervous last night. Tonight, I’ll train everyone’s bodies. Leopard, build a larger tent at the foot of the cliff.”

Huo Bao called a few companions to help set up the tents. Chen Hong followed Guo Shieru awkwardly, carrying her sigil bag.

From time to time, Guo Shieru took items out of the bag and laid a large animal skin on the ground. Huo Bao cut down a few trees, stripped off their branches and leaves, and began constructing the tent frame.

Chen Hong became flustered and kept making mistakes. Knowing she was nervous, Guo Shieru pretended to look for his master, allowing her to calm down.

Luo Jie, Qi Nanshan, and Eagle Demon sat around a thick animal skin mat, while Guo Shieru sat next to his master and said, “Master, I’ll train Leopard and the others tonight. They should be about to advance.”

Eagle Demon laughed, “Heh, good luck. It happens to be the time for the altar ritual. Unfortunately, they’ll only advance to Sigil Warriors… I think the greatest use of this altar is to help Sigil Warriors advance to Grand Sigil Warriors. I wonder how many Sigil Warriors have been stuck at this stage.”

Luo Jie said, “Advancing to Sigil Warrior is the easiest among all professionals. It’s harder for others… With a good sigil master, an Sigil Warrior’s advancement is almost certain… If the altar is only for Sigil Warriors, its value is much lower. Heh, but I really want to see the legendary Sigil Sacrifice.”

Guo Shieru smiled and said, “Master, it seems you’ve reached a bottleneck too, right?”

Luo Jie’s eyes lit up before dimming again. He said, “I don’t even know what comes next for a Grand Sigil Master, or how to advance further.”

Guo Shier said, “I think there should be an even higher level. The person we saw last time was definitely more skilled than a master-level practitioner.”
Eagle Demon was surprised, “Master level… can one advance further?”
Qi Nanshan replied, “It should be possible. But here, our tradition stops at the master level. However, in other places… it’s not certain.”
Eagle Demon asked curiously, “Other places? Where?”
Guo Shier said, “Since there’s a path to the secret realm here, there must be other places as well. We just don’t know what they are.”
Eagle Demon exclaimed in shock, “That’s… impossible! If it were possible, outsiders should be able to enter here. How come I haven’t heard of it?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly, “I don’t know either. Maybe there are some restrictions.”
Luo Jie sighed, “There are too many secrets about the secret realm. We only know a little bit.”
Qi Nanshan added, “Even that little bit is terrifying.”
The three old men kept sighing and expressing their concerns. Guo Shier said gloomily, “Gentlemen, stop sighing. It’s not like the end of the world. Things are fine now.”
Luo Jie sighed again, “Sigh, children are truly wonderful—carefree… how great!”
Seeing Guo Shier speechless, Qi Nanshan and Eagle Demon burst into laughter.
The three unscrupulous old men were bullying a child, and Guo Shier saw himself as such at that moment. He stretched and said, “I’m going to train Baozi and the others. You three, keep chatting…” If he stayed, he’d become a target for the old men to mock mercilessly. He wasn’t willing to go through that.
…
Huo Bao and the others had already set up a tent—a large one that could hold five or six people, quite spacious. Guo Shier went to the center of the tent, took out a wooden platform, and then placed dozens of talismans in fixed positions. This was his portable training platform.
Using visible talismans for training was the safest and most common method. Ninety percent of talisman masters used them to train their followers. But Guo Shier had switched to blood talismans. Blood talismans were extremely rare; only experts could create them, and their materials were hard to come by, which limited their use.
Since switching to blood talismans, Huo Bao and his group’s strength had grown rapidly, and they were almost at the level of advanced Talisman Warriors. This latest training session with blood talismans was particularly important, so Guo Shier was very cautious. Originally scheduled for yesterday, it was moved to tonight to ensure greater success.

“Huo Bao goes first, Hong Shi gets ready, Chen Bing waits a bit longer, and Chen Hong last.”
It wasn’t Chen Hong’s first time undergoing physical training. Blushing, she agreed and ran out of the tent to wait outside.
Huo Bao quickly stripped down and stood naked on the training platform, saying, “Guo Shier, strengthen my arms this time. I always feel my arms lack strength.”
Guo Shier replied, “Arm strength comes from the waist. How much strength can arms alone have?” This was based on his experience from his past life. Although he wasn’t very skilled in martial arts in that life, he had studied them for a while and practiced Tai Chi for a long time in his old age, giving him some understanding of martial arts and how to use strength.
Huo Bao asked in confusion, “The waist? What does arm strength have to do with the waist?”
Guo Shier usually paid little attention to the training of martial artists because he had seen the inhuman strength of people like Qi Nan Shan and the terrifying combat power of top martial artists. He never thought martial arts from his past life could be more advanced than their skills. But seeing that Huo Bao was even confused about basic strength application, he began to doubt.
After thinking for a moment, Guo Shier said, “Let’s focus on physical training first. We can discuss this later. Bao, I know more about physical training than you do, so… I won’t strengthen your arms. I’ll strengthen your waist and abdomen.”
Huo Bao trusted Guo Shier greatly and wasn’t annoyed. Smiling, he said, “Okay, then let’s do physical training according to your plan.”
Training four people in a row was exhausting—each person took over an hour, so the total of more than five hours left Guo Shier feeling drained. Maintaining such high concentration of mind and spirit was beyond what most people could endure. After finishing the training, he immediately returned to his tent to chant scriptures for cultivation before going to bed.
After chanting, Guo Shier slept very well, recovering from physical and mental fatigue in just two hours. The night passed peacefully, and in the early morning, he woke up on time. He stretched vigorously, stepped out of the tent feeling refreshed, went to the stream to wash his face, and began practicing the nine basic movements. This was foundational training, and no slackness was allowed.
Huo Bao and the others also got up and started their morning exercises. The camp soon became lively.

The rune warriors and rune martial artists were all training, with even experts like Qi Nan Shan and Eagle Demon no exception. Rune-based physical training only enhanced physical fitness; skills and combat tactics had to be learned and practiced—they didn’t develop automatically—so daily training was essential. Only through consistent training could the runes within the body be integrated into one’s own strength, which is why the profession of rune warrior was extremely demanding.

One hour of training per day—everyone stuck to it whenever they had time.

Guo Shier had finished his training and was walking around the camp. Now he began observing the training of the rune martial artists and comparing it with the boxing techniques he had learned in his past life.

It’s not fear of not recognizing quality that matters, but fear of comparing products. Through this comparison, Guo Shier noticed a problem: the people here relied too much on strength. After some thought, he realized that under absolute strength, technique became less important. Focusing on strength naturally led to neglecting technique.

If one had both strength and technique, and their levels were similar, the person with technique would prevail.

The boxing techniques from his past life relied mainly on technique, and in terms of strength, they were nowhere near comparable to those of the rune martial artists in this world. The strength of rune martial artists was terrifying, not to mention that of grand rune martial artists. If such a person had existed in his past life, they would almost have been regarded as a deity.

At the level of grand rune martial artists, the pursuit of strength wasn’t as intense as that of ordinary rune martial artists. They began to focus on the application of technique. But the problem was that they were already accustomed to great strength, so technique became a secondary concern—having it was good, but lacking it didn’t matter much. This was the difference between his past life and the present.

Guo Shier thought to himself that perhaps he could pick up the boxing techniques from his past life and train with them, combined with using dark runes for physical training. This would surely improve his physical fitness and add a layer of survival ability. Once a rune caster was brought close by a rune martial artist, the danger could be fatal. If he learned boxing again, he might be able to defend against such close attacks.

“Shier, it’s time to eat!”

Chen Hong’s tender voice rang out. Guo Shier responded and hurried over. Eating was a serious matter—nothing could be neglected. Since his soul awakened, he had developed an excellent appetite, which pleased Guo Shier greatly. In his past life, he had suffered from hunger and loved hiding food and savoring delicious meals.

Only after eating his fill could he feel at ease. That was Guo Shier—he was satisfied as long as he had food. As for other things, he didn’t care much.

After breakfast, they packed up their tents and luggage and mounted their horses to leave.

Guo Shier rode his horse over to Eagle Demon and asked, “Uncle Eagle Demon, how far is it to the altar?”
Eagle Demon replied irritably, “Shier, why do you call me uncle instead of elder?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “You still look young.” This flattery made Eagle Demon very pleased.
Eagle Demon said with a smile, “We’ll arrive in two days. It’s not far. The best news is… there are no powerful Symbol Worms from the entrance of the secret realm to the altar. Hehe, last time we encountered Symbol Worms only after going deep inside the altar. I wonder if the situation has changed now.”
Guo Shier said, “Sixty years… that’s quite a long time. I don’t think things will go that smoothly.”
Squeak!
Eagle Demon slapped his forehead and said helplessly, “Ah, you don’t have to be so accurate!”
“Symbol Worms detected! Prepare for battle!”
Guo Shier stared blankly ahead, muttering to himself, “Could I have the knack of bringing bad luck?”