His real name was Liu Bufan, and he was old neighbors with Chen Guan's family, being just over a year older than Chen Guan.
The reason he got the nickname "Old Bird" was because, from a young age, he had an extraordinary talent. His slingshot skills were so exceptional that hitting a bird from a hundred steps away without missing was no exaggeration. He was very famous in Chen Guan's area, often taking Chen Guan to the wild forests to hunt wild chickens, doves, and pigeons.
Later on, Old Bird chose to practice the art of archery, hoping to leverage his talent to acquire some archery secret techniques and skills, thereby making a name for himself. Eventually, he did indeed showcase a strong talent in archery at the academy.
Old Bird was among the graduates of the previous year's class, and he too chose the Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land. But ever since entering Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land, there had been no news of him. It's been more than a year without any information, which was a common occurrence, leading his family to assume he had long perished in the Secret Realm.
Chen Guan did not expect to see him here, but he did not immediately plan to assist. Instead, he retreated a bit and hid in a more concealed corner, where the trees obscured his presence.
People often said that the "Guan" in Chen Guan's name meant "spectator," which, though not entirely accurate, was indeed indicative of his disinclination to meddle in other people's affairs, especially when it required him to take risks.
The level of that Secret Spirit was clearly much higher. Old Bird was no novice either, and Chen Guan did not believe his abilities were stronger than Old Bird's.
Old Bird had been in Pingdu Mountain for over a year and never left, so his level couldn't be low. Before seeing the situation clearly, Chen Guan did not want to act rashly.
However, Chen Guan did not leave, as the peculiar Secret Spirit was something he had never seen or heard of. It wasn't mentioned in the school's textbooks nor in the information about Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land he had researched. At the very least, it was a rare-quality Secret Spirit, or possibly even uncommon quality, with a high level. If he could find an opportunity to finally kill it, he might gain some benefits.
After all, rare and uncommon Secret Spirits are not something one encounters casually. In areas with many human cultivators, such resources are usually contested.
Chen Guan continued to observe while evaluating the strength gap between himself and the Secret Spirit, calculating various possibilities.
Old Bird stumbled and crawled, and just as he got up, the Secret Spirit's red hand was already coming down over his head, leaving him no room or strength to dodge, causing him to feel a profound sense of despair.
Crack!
A black cold shadow flew from behind the Secret Spirit, slicing directly at the neck of the Secret Spirit, actually decapitating it.
The shadow's power did not cease, cutting into the tree behind Old Bird, the blade lodged into the bark. Only then did Old Bird clearly see that it was a black short saber resembling a pig-killing saber.
Old Bird, still shaken, saw a person and a polar bear-sized white rabbit appear behind the fallen headless corpse of the Secret Spirit. That person seemed somewhat familiar.
"Chen Guan…" Old Bird exclaimed with surprise and delight, wanting to say something, but then he saw numerous red particles spill out from the Secret Spirit's body, converging into Chen Guan's hand like countless fireflies, and in the blink of an eye, transforming into a blood-red Secret Core.
Chen Guan grasped the Secret Core, and with a slight contemplation, he obtained the information from the Secret Core.
Secret Skill: Level 1 Blood Hand Seal (Uncommon).
Cultivation Requirements: None.
Primordial Energy Consumption: 1.6.
Skill Level: Level 1.
Without any hesitation, Chen Guan immediately operated the Longevity Skill to absorb the Blood Handprint Secret Skill, thus acquiring his first Secret Skill, which was of uncommon quality, a very rare achievement.
Unfortunately, Chen Guan's Primordial Energy limit was only 1 point. Even after learning the Blood Hand Seal, he couldn't use it until his level increased to 2 and his Primordial Energy limit increased, allowing him to use the Blood Hand Seal.
The blood-colored Secret Core dissolved into particles and merged into Chen Guan's body, disappearing. Old Bird felt a bit envious but, having narrowly escaped death, had no thoughts for anything else.
"Chen Guan, how are you here?" Old Bird asked with joy.
"Did you forget? I'm only a year younger than you. I'm already eighteen. Today, I just chose to enter the Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land and was teleported here. What about you? Since you're not dead, why didn't you go back?" Chen Guan countered.
Old Bird's face turned bitter. "Do you think I don't want to go back? But this island doesn't have a teleportation station. We can't get back."
Chen Guan was slightly stunned. "This is an island?"
"Yes, it's a big island and very strange. Not only is there no teleportation station, but there's also no sign of any mainland in the vicinity. It's likely in the sea far from the mainland. Everyone who was teleported here is trapped on this island…" Old Bird finally found an outlet, recounting all his experiences and suppressed frustrations of the past year.
Those teleported to this island weren't just Old Bird; there were many others like him, all first-time entrants to the Secret Realm.
Strangely, they were all teleported a year ago, on the same day, with no evidence of previous arrivals, and no new arrivals since. That's why Old Bird was so surprised to see Chen Guan here.
The Secret Spirits on this island were all very peculiar, mostly unidentified or not mentioned in textbooks or documents, and there were many high-quality Secret Spirits.
Outside, rare Secret Spirits needed to be contended for. Here, they can often be seen. Uncommon quality Secret Spirits could be found occasionally, and even unique Secret Spirits might exist.
There were also some very mysterious areas on the island. In those areas, there might be unique Secret Spirits or even world-defying Secret Spirits.
However, the Secret Spirit levels on the island weren't very high. The highest level Secret Spirits Old Bird had seen were Level 10. He hadn't seen higher-level Secret Spirits, possibly because their strength wasn't sufficient to reach higher-level areas.
Among the cultivators teleported here the same day as Old Bird, there were over a hundred people. Since they were all novices in the Secret Realm at the time, many died early on. Over a hundred people struggled to survive on the island, and now only about thirty remain.
Currently, the highest-level human on the island is Level 10. Old Bird is only Level 7, one of the weakest among the survivors.
"With your archery talent, how did you end up so miserable?" Chen Guan was a bit surprised, not expecting Old Bird to be doing so poorly.
"Don't mention it. There are always people better than you. In our small place, I thought my talent was excellent. To put it shamelessly, I used to think I was the reincarnation of the Arrow God and would surely become a legend," Old Bird smiled bitterly. "It wasn't until I entered the Secret Realm that I realized my talent was nothing. Too many people here are more talented than me. My archery, which I thought was proficient and trained for so many years, isn't even as accurate as others' casual practice."
Chen Guan listened with some silence. Although he couldn't fully empathize with Old Bird's feelings, he had heard the story of that peerless prodigy who cultivated for ten thousand years and finally ascended to the Immortal Realm, only to find himself just a minor celestial soldier in a campaign against monkeys. The frustration of such a realization could indeed be imagined.