Four Innate Secret Techniques

Origin Continent was endless. Even its length and width, measured in light-years, were enormous numbers.

At the center of the continent stood a divine mountain, billions upon billions of light-years tall.

At its peak stood a gigantic throne. The person seated upon it had been asleep for a very, very long time.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his eyes opened. A golden light shot from his enormous eyes, piercing the entire Origin Continent.

"So it's true. Perhaps I can use him to reach an even higher world," he murmured. His slightly parted lips could easily fit an entire large Universe Country!

At the foot of the mountain stood a golden palace. In its center, someone was flipping through a ledger. It had exactly three thousand pages.

"Universe 2456 of the Primal Universe is about to reach the end of a cycle. In the next cycle, let this Universe Ocean produce ten True God Weapons and one Void True God Weapon."

The ledger was open to page 2456. With a few simple strokes, he decided what the strongest weapons in this Universe Ocean would be.

"Hao Tian, I'll be away for a while. I'm leaving Origin Continent in your hands. Make your own decisions," said the figure atop the mountain.

"Ah, but I don't think I'm ready yet," said the person flipping through the ledger. His name was Hao Tian, and he had held this position for tens of thousands of cycles.

"It's fine. I won't be gone long—three cycles at most." To beings as powerful as them, a cycle passed in the blink of an eye. What Hao Tian feared was that he might be left alone for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of cycles. He wasn't sure he could handle everything himself.

"I'm off. If there's anything you can't decide, remember to come to me." With that, the figure atop the mountain vanished.

Back on Earth, Sett and Luo Feng went home after finishing their strength tests. To ease the burden on his family, Luo Feng tutored students after school.

Thanks to his Advanced Student status, he could earn a hundred yuan an hour. His father worked as a mover and made only three thousand yuan after a month of hard labor. On top of that, his younger brother was disabled, so Luo Feng took his training especially seriously.

Sett's family was a little better off, so he didn't tutor students. Although he'd been found in a park, his adoptive parents treated him like their own child. They hadn't wanted children of their own, either. Sett had known since childhood that he'd been adopted, but he'd never felt the slightest distance between himself and his adoptive parents.

"You're back?" Sett's mother said. "Go get cleaned up. Dinner's almost ready." His mother was Jin Wenying, and his father was Xia Hai. They were both ordinary wage earners.

The family of three sat down to eat. Jin Wenying said, "I heard you slept in class today and played dumb to make your teacher angry?"

Sett rubbed his head sheepishly. "Uh, I stayed up too late last night, so I was a little out of it today."

"I told you to go to bed early, but you wouldn't listen. You were having fun all night, weren't you? You're seventeen now, so we can't keep a close eye on you. You need to learn some self-discipline. Go apologize to your teacher tomorrow." Jin Wenying didn't press the matter.

"Sett, get to bed early tonight. The college entrance exams are coming up, so you should still focus on your regular studies," Xia Hai said, picking up another bite of food.

"Being a Martial Artist comes with good perks, but it's dangerous too. Broken arms and legs are one thing, but if you run into a powerful monster, you could be done for. I think you'd be better off getting into a good college and finding a job. If that doesn't work, you can tutor students as an Advanced Student.

"Your good friend Luo Feng tutors students to help his family. He makes a hundred yuan an hour. Unlike us, who work hard for a month and barely earn anything."

"Listen to yourself. What's wrong with being a Martial Artist? Without them, would we be able to sit here and eat in peace? Honestly." Jin Wenying rolled her eyes at Xia Hai.

"I'm just worried about Sett. This kid could've done anything, but he had to choose to become a Martial Artist. It's so dangerous. Back during the Great Nirvana... Ah."

"Don't listen to your dad. I support you becoming a Martial Artist. They contribute to all of humanity—that's something to be proud of. Keep at it, Mom believes in you!"

Listening to his parents chatter on, Sett felt like he was back in his student days in his previous life. It wasn't until he'd entered society that he'd understood how hard his parents had worked for him.

He'd given his family plenty of trouble as a student. Even though this body wasn't his, their care still filled him with a special warmth.

Lying in bed, Sett thought back over the day. It still felt unbelievable. He'd transmigrated into Swallowed Star, a world with an incredibly vast setting.

Everything here seemed great. He just didn't know what had happened to him back in his old world. Ah, well. He'd leave it to fate.

Just as Sett was drifting off to sleep, a jumble of strange information suddenly appeared in his mind. It took him a full two hours to understand what it was.

Holy crap! Sett couldn't help swearing. In the original story, only a handful of creatures received Innate Secret Techniques as rewards from the Primal Universe, and most of them were unique Special Lifeforms. Yet now, the Primal Universe had rewarded Sett with four Innate Secret Techniques.

Pummel: You crave a fight and can barely keep your hands still. Your movement speed toward enemies increases, and you strike them with a heavy punch. You also have a chance to terrify them. The better your Force Application Technique, the greater the damage.

Haymaker: You refuse to stay down, and the more badly injured you are, the higher your attack power becomes. You can also throw a heavy punch forward, dealing extra damage to enemies. The higher your life gene level, the more effective Pit Grit becomes.

Facebreaker: You pull enemies on both sides toward you, dealing damage. If you grab multiple targets, you slam them into one another. The greater your spatial comprehension, the wider the area of effect.

The Show Stopper: You seize an enemy and charge forward with them over your shoulder, knocking aside enemies in your path before slamming your target into the ground. The impact sends out a shockwave that deals area damage. The higher your comprehension of the Law of Metal, the wider the shockwave.

Note: Your Innate Secret Techniques will improve as your strength increases. Frequent use will increase their proficiency, improving your strength and life gene level.

You can use Pummel once you reach Apprentice Level, Haymaker at Planetary Level, Facebreaker at Star Level, and The Show Stopper at Universe Level.

In addition, your Law Comprehension can unlock more forms of Innate Secret Techniques.

"This! I'm going to soar!" After learning he'd gained four Innate Secret Techniques, Sett kicked his legs and sprang out of bed. Then he remembered that his parents were asleep. He crept outside and hurried up to the rooftop.

"Hahahahaha!" Sett stood on the rooftop and laughed several times. The lights in the other apartments across the complex began flicking on.

"Is that lunatic seriously howling in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

"You little brat! Don't make me come up there!" As a few more angry voices rang out, Sett paid them no mind. He lay on the rooftop and gazed up at the stars.

In the original story, the Lord of Nine Serenities' Innate Secret Technique was incredibly powerful, as was Luo Feng's later I Am the Universe. Sett couldn't use his techniques yet, but he knew that once he became a Martial Artist—once he reached Apprentice Level—he'd most likely take off.

Sett thought about how he'd been an ordinary person in his previous life. Since fate had given him such a wonderful opportunity, he had to make the most of it. On top of that, he knew the original story and had some idea what the future held. He needed to plan carefully.

The first step was naturally to become a Martial Artist. Becoming an Advanced Student was difficult for ordinary people, but the times were changing, and he had to go with the flow.

Once he became a Martial Artist, he could use his Innate Secret Techniques, which would also boost his life gene level and strength.

In the Swallowed Star universe, life gene levels were incredibly important. The higher the level, the more energy a lifeform could hold, and the larger its body could become.

Luo Feng's strength would rise considerably after he fainted during the college entrance exam. After the exam, he'd pass the Martial Artist assessment and become a Quasi-Martial Artist. I wonder if I can do the same. I should test myself again tomorrow. Maybe my strength will have shot up.

Since the Primal Universe had granted me four Innate Secret Techniques, I must have decent talent. Whatever. Fate will decide. Either way, as long as I become a Martial Artist, my status in this life will far surpass what it was in my last.

Sett's thoughts wandered for a long time. By the time the moon was directly overhead, he finally tidied up and went back to bed.

That night, Sett dreamed he was full of boundless ambition, punching the Bug Race and kicking the Monster Race. He had the time of his life!

The next day, Sett left early and went to the Advanced Student Martial Arts Hall. He did a little training to improve his control over his body, and he could already feel that he seemed a bit stronger.

Soon, Sett arrived at the Punch Strength Tester. He put all his strength into his punch, driving it forward with his waist and arm.

Beep, beep, beep. 1280 kg.

Sett stared at the result, mouth agape. His punching strength had increased by more than 400 kg overnight. It seemed that when he received the Innate Secret Techniques, his strength had risen along with them.

Sett quickly tested his speed, too. He reached 28 meters per second.

The threshold for becoming a Martial Artist was a punching strength of 1,000 kg and a speed of 25 meters per second. It looked like becoming a Martial Artist was practically guaranteed. Sett thought this as he headed to school, grinning from ear to ear.

"Still, I'll wait and take the Martial Artist exam with Luo Feng. I'll spend this time practicing some more. Yeah, that's the plan."

Students entered Yi'an District No. 3 High School in groups of three or five. The youthful energy in the air made Sett feel nostalgic.

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