Chapter 52

When Hu Gao walked out of the consignment shop, he realized that he felt as if he had just come out of a sauna, drenched in sweat, sticky and wet, with his legs barely able to support him.

In the final moments, the fat boss had slightly released a bit of his aura, which not only frightened Xiao Wu to the point of near collapse but also made Hu Gao feel almost suffocated. He could hardly remember how he had managed to walk out.

"I will never do such risky things again; it was really too dangerous just now." Hu Gao's hands, which were holding the beast skin, were also drenched in sweat. He suddenly recalled that he had felt nothing when he had interacted with the high priest, indicating that true experts had the ability to收敛 their aura.

The fact that Xiao Wu and he were both trembling suggested that this guy was not only at a high realm but also had a totem of a terrifyingly high level. He knew that the reason he could so easily destroy the totems of the three people today was ostensibly due to the Bloodlight Snake, but in reality, it was because Xiao Wu, as a divine beast, had a powerful suppressive effect on lower-level totems.

But this time, even Xiao Wu couldn't handle it. Could it be that this guy had a totem even higher than a divine beast? That was too terrifying!

Hu Gao instinctively wanted to inform the high priest about this guy, after all, he was also a member of the Hu family, and having such a powerful and unknown martial artist in Ningcheng was a huge隐患.

But after careful consideration, he rejected his own idea. The Hu family had been entrenched in Ningcheng for a thousand years, with too many secrets within the family. Even the so-called four major families only saw the surface. Since the fat boss had been in Ningcheng for hundreds of years without any issues, there was no need for him to cause trouble, especially since Wang Hu's family still needed his protection.

At present, Hu Gao had no power in the otherworld. Jile was a friend, and Wang Hu in the future could also be a good ally. At this time, he could only rely on the Hu family and other external forces to cultivate more of his own base, such as Hu Dehua, a genius with a sixth-stage totem, who was a bit too low-key and terrifying. There must be many more people like him in the Hu family, right?

After some thought, Hu Gao returned to Hu Feng's residence. He was not in a hurry to break through and wanted to lay a more solid foundation, especially after seeing Jile get stuck at a bottleneck and then break through, which made him realize the importance of a solid foundation. His early cultivation had relied too much on external forces, feeling a bit like cheating, and since he rarely attended classes at the Battle Academy, he had very little knowledge of cultivation, which was clearly detrimental to his future path.

Hu Feng looked much more haggard than before. The Hu family's affairs must have been a great burden on him. As the elder in charge of transmitting techniques to elite disciples, he had made the greatest effort to quickly improve the realm of the Hu family's descendants.

Seeing Hu Gao, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, he managed to force a smile. In terms of talent, Hu Gao was considered top-notch in the Hu family. To break through to the Fifth Stage of the Condensation Shadow Realm in such a short time could be described as a genius.

"Hu Gao, how is your cultivation of the [Guiyuan Yiqi Flow] that I taught you last time?"

"Reporting to the elder, I have basically mastered it. I wonder if there are any advanced parts to this secret technique?" Hu Gao thought that such basic techniques usually had room for improvement, but he didn't know if the [Guiyuan Yiqi Flow] did.

To his surprise, Elder Hu Feng shook his head. "This secret technique is already the highest level. Let me see the current state of your totem." He extended his hand and placed it on Hu Gao's abdomen, feeling the totem in his dantian as if taking his pulse.

After a moment, Hu Feng released his hand and said, "The foundation of your totem is relatively solid, but I feel that the yuan force in your body is very chaotic. In theory, the method you use to gather force is the most orthodox secret technique, so it shouldn't be like this."

Hu Gao was startled. It seemed his speculation was correct. Relying on the yuan force from the demon core to rapidly advance his realm was too unconventional. The breakthroughs in the earlier stages were also very strange, seemingly due to the mysterious effect of the jade pendant, which made it natural for Elder Hu to be puzzled. "I hope the elder can give me more guidance."

"Absorb the force into the sea, and condense the totem. These two phrases are the key points of cultivation in the Condensation Shadow Realm. Have you read the [Condensation Shadow Technique] I gave you last time?"

"I've been busy with the Battle Academy's martial arts competition these days and haven't had time to read it yet." If it weren't for Elder Hu Feng's reminder, Hu Gao would have almost forgotten about it.

"Hmm, don't be too eager to advance. Go back and read that book carefully. Condensing the totem is a crucial matter for a martial artist, determining your future achievements. Especially after reaching the Transformation Realm, if you don't have a solid foundation, you will find it difficult to progress." Hu Feng sighed. "There are countless experts at the Burst Yuan Realm, but only one in ten thousand can break through to the Transformation Realm. With your talent, breaking through to the Burst Yuan Realm is just a matter of time. You must have a long-term perspective."

"Yes! Elder, I wonder what realm the high priest of our Hu family is at?" Hu Gao felt the elder's concern and developed more respect for this diligent old man. However, he was also curious about the level of the Hu family's top combatants.

Hu Feng looked at Hu Gao seriously. The information from the Dark Knight Group had already confirmed his identity within the core of the Hu family. Although they still couldn't explain why a soul survived in Qing Gao's body after the guardian god's descent, what they were most concerned about was when the guardian god would truly awaken.

But now, looking at this calm and inscrutable young man, he was a bit puzzled. Why did a soul that had lost its memory exhibit such formidable abilities, and why was it now paying attention to the high priest's realm? What kind of person was inside him?

"The realm of the high priest is not something you should know. I can only tell you that it is definitely above the Burst Yuan Realm. Although the family has high hopes for you, don't be too ambitious."

Hu Gao nodded. His thoughts were not what Elder Hu Feng imagined, but there was no need to explain further. He simply thanked the elder politely and returned to his residence.

He took out the [Condensation Shadow Technique] from his room and immediately began to read it. The content of this book was much more obscure than the [Totem Origin Explanation]. The book compiled various anecdotes from the continent's many strong figures during the Condensation Shadow Realm to support its conclusions. Fortunately, Hu Gao had an extraordinary understanding ability. While absorbing the book, he also gained a lot of knowledge about the continent.

Hu Gao carefully separated the parts related to history in his mind and organized them. To truly understand a world, the most important part was its chronology.

From this book, Hu Gao learned that the famous sage Kong Meng had named this magical world the Totem Continent in his work [The纵横春秋]. This name was quite fitting and was adopted by most historians in later generations. The only exception was Fang Wuxu, the founder of the Dragon Tiger Empire, who mentioned in a notebook discovered by later generations that this continent was called the Beast World in prehistory.

This led to intense debates among the historians of the major empires. Eventually, one school of thought argued that humans were also a type of beast, the result of biological evolution, and thus the continent was called the Beast World. Since all discovered totems were of the beast race, there was no essential difference between the Totem Continent and the Beast World, which ended the endless debate.

The history of the Totem Continent can be simply divided into two periods based on the Ice Age Chaos that occurred ten thousand years ago, commonly known as the Prehistoric Civilization and the Posthistoric Civilization. The main reason for this division is that there are no written records of anything in prehistory, only some vague patterns and oral traditions left by some secret families.

However, a widely accepted theory is that in prehistoric times, human martial artists may not have been dominant on the Totem Continent. The prosperity of human civilization in posthistory may have been closely related to the terrifying Ice Age Chaos.

All of this is based on the various books left by the first high priest of the Lonemoon Empire. The specific records of the Ice Age Chaos are also vague.

In the ten thousand years of posthistoric civilization, human martial artists, based on totems, established a very detailed and complex cultivation system. Relying on some of the most powerful martial artists, they established several powerful unified empires on the continent, which occupied almost half of the historical timeline.

The Lonemoon Empire led by Yao, the Dragon Tiger Empire led by Fang Wuxu, the Heavenly Silkworm Empire led by Li Hu, and the Eternal Life Empire led by Wang Zhong. These four martial artists were later called the Four Gods of humanity, and it was said that their strength ultimately broke through the Sky-Breaking Realm, reaching the level of gods.

Below the Four Gods, the most well-known were the Ten Sages led by Kong Meng. They not only had explosive combat power but also made significant contributions to the cultivation system, earning the reverence of later generations. The current Totem Continent, though fragmented, has some countries founded by the descendants of these powerful figures.

In addition to the countries, humans also had a relatively mysterious organization called the Five Sacred Places. There are very few records about them, and no one knows their exact locations. They were extremely powerful yet neutral, never participating in the continent's wars. However, a few extremely impressive martial artists have left a deep mark in history.

---

**End of Page**