CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 110: THE STAND-IN DAD

Although Little Qinghua was quite reluctant, she still reminded Chen Guan to be careful on his journey and said that once she achieved success in her cultivation and had the ability to leave the Daoist Temple, she would have the chance to meet Chen Guan again.

After agreeing, Chen Guan bid farewell to Little Qinghua and departed.

When Chen Guan returned to the cave to pack his belongings, he kept pondering that he needed to find some Secret Skills to enhance his abilities. Otherwise, having so much Primordial Energy would be hard to utilize, like a baby wielding a large hammer, which seemed quite wasteful.

Weapon Secret Skills, Body Technique Secret Skills, Fist and Foot Secret Skills, Body Protection Secret Skills, and so on—all need to be arranged; the more secret skills one learns, the better since having many skills won’t be a burden.

However, having many skills doesn’t mean being sloppy. Naturally, Chen Guan wouldn’t just learn any Secret Skill randomly—mainly because learning too many Secret Skills leaves no time for practice, and if the Secret Skill Level doesn’t increase, their power is limited. Moreover, learning too many Secret Skills of the same type is useless.

The best choice, of course, is to have one Unparalleled Secret Skill of each type. Unfortunately, Chen Guan currently doesn’t have enough money to purchase Unparalleled Secret Skills, and encountering Secret Spirits for them isn’t something that can just happen on a whim.

Even if he encounters them, they might not necessarily drop Secret Skills.

After thinking it over, Chen Guan still felt he could first find some lower-quality but unique Secret Skills like the Profound Nether Yin Fire Palm to keep as provisional protection and consider acquiring Unparalleled Secret Skills later.

"Survival first; I need to start with a Body Protection Secret Skill." Chen Guan thought about tackling the Body Protection Secret Skills first.

There are many famous Body Protection Secret Skills; the most common include Horizontal Training Thirteen Grand Protectors, Iron Cloth Shirt, Golden Bell Shield, among others, with qualities ranging from ordinary to rare.

The highest quality Body Protection Secret Skill most people can get is a rare quality Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

If one wants a unique item or Unparalleled Divine Skill, the price isn’t something most people can afford, plus it depends on luck. Usually, only auctions sell such Secret Skill Cores, and they aren’t always available.

Many people know Body Protection Secret Skills, but the frequency they are used in actual combat is quite low.

It’s primarily because of the Primordial Energy issue.

Once a Body Protection Secret Skill is activated, it consumes Primordial Energy every moment, and the average Cultivator’s Primordial Energy can’t endure using a Body Protection Secret Skill and a battle Secret Skill simultaneously.

If they keep a Body Protection Secret Skill activated, even the lowest level Horizontal Training Thirteen Grand Protectors and Iron Cloth Shirt, a First Awakening Cultivator can only maintain it for a dozen seconds.

This is assuming only the Iron Cloth Shirt is used, without any other Secret Skills; not to mention those high-quality Body Protection Secret Skills. Normal Cultivators can only occasionally use them to block some fatal attacks; nobody would keep them constantly activated in a fight.

Chen Guan doesn’t have such worries; his Primordial Energy is abundantly unmatched, so Body Protection Secret Skills are more practical for him.

Apart from ordinary-quality Horizontal Training Thirteen Grand Protectors and rare-quality Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Shield, the only thing Chen Guan can directly buy with money is the rare quality Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

Even though this item is merely of rare quality, it consumes a lot of Primordial Energy—6 points per second—a First Awakening Cultivator can use it for a maximum of 3 seconds, and that’s a Level 1 Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

However, the price of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill remains very high, as it’s something that can ensure survival in critical moments.

Chen Guan checked online, and the value of one Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill has now risen to seventy-six thousand.

"Are rare Secret Skills all this expensive?" Chen Guan checked the prices for Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Shield, finding they all cost more than ten thousand.

Even ordinary-quality Body Protection Secret Skills like Horizontal Training Thirteen Grand Protectors cost several thousand; it’s apparent that everyone thinks alike—safety first, survival first.

"I’ll think about it when I get back; I need to figure out how to make some money." Chen Guan considered whether he should try using the Spirit of the Cheerleaders to catalyze some high-quality pets to sell—this is the fastest way to make money.

However, Chen Guan didn’t know for which pets the Spirit of the Cheerleaders would be effective. If it only boosts the pets’ combat ability, then any random pet would benefit from the Spirit of the Cheerleaders.

But when it comes to enhancing the pets’ quality, not all pets can achieve that.

The pet itself must have potential, and Chen Guan’s use of the Spirit of the Cheerleaders must be appropriate to enhance the pet’s quality, like with Yan Zhi.

Like with Warring States, Chen Guan praised it almost every day, trying to see if there was any language of praise that could enhance its quality.

As a result, until now, this guy hasn’t changed a bit, proving that the potential of a watchdog is indeed quite low.

As he walked out, Chen Guan saw Warring States outside getting some fresh air, hanging out with that black-and-red little panda, looking like lovers reluctant to part.

Seeing their life-and-death parting-like scene, Chen Guan didn’t call Warring States back, allowing them some more time together.

Warring States knew it was time to leave, and after nuzzling the black-and-red little panda’s face, it returned to Chen Guan, turning back thrice with each step.

Just as Chen Guan was lamenting their relationship, he saw the black-and-red little panda turn and leave without glancing back, with no hint of nostalgia and extremely fast, vanishing before Warring States could turn back again.

Warring States suddenly froze, staring blankly at the empty platform for quite a while before coming back to its senses.

"Let’s go, Warring States." Chen Guan called, and Warring States finally turned to follow him, hanging its head in dejection and lacking spirit along the way.

"Just a... little panda... there are plenty... one’s gone... another will be better... shall I find you a female watchdog..." Chen Guan tried to comfort Warring States as they walked.

Yet Warring States seemed not to hear, walking ahead with drooping ears, its silhouette appearing very lonely.

As the person and dog reached the foothills, almost leaving Holy Lamp Mountain, a familiar figure appeared ahead.

Suddenly, Warring States perked up, its eyes shimmering, tongue lolling, and it scampered over joyfully.

Observing a dog and a little panda kiss and cuddle on the stone steps up ahead, Chen Guan cursed inwardly: "Nowadays, even dogs are showing off romance and acting out love dramas?"

As he was thinking whether he could coax the black-and-red little panda to leave with them, the panda turned to slip into a cave in the mountain wall beside.

Just when Chen Guan assumed it left, the black-and-red little panda reemerged, only this time with a mini version of itself carried in its mouth.

"Oh my goodness!" Chen Guan’s eyes widened, mind momentarily blank.

Chen Guan’s first thought was that Warring States might become a dad unexpectedly; it’s been just over ten days, and even if Warring States did anything, it couldn’t possibly have offspring this quickly, right?

Moreover, Warring States and the black-and-red little panda aren’t even the same species, could they produce offspring?

Feeling conflicted, Chen Guan watched Warring States joyfully licking the tiny panda’s fur with its tongue, wondering: "A devoted admirer really does end up with a bad outcome—perhaps it’s about to raise someone else’s child?"

Indeed, under Chen Guan’s gaze, Warring States trotted back with the baby panda, hopeful expression clear.

Its face hopeful while its tail wagged high, clearly wanting Chen Guan’s permission to keep the black-and-red baby panda.

"Alright, since it’s your child, let’s raise it." Chen Guan agreed happily.

This is a black-and-red little panda; if successfully trained, it doesn’t need to be killed and can use the spirit medium skill to help acquire pets, something many forces would desire. Of course, Chen Guan wouldn’t turn it down.

"Warring States, you just rest easy being the step-parent."