Chen Chuan listened to Cheng Zitong’s instructions and said calmly, "I am ready."
Cheng Zitong was quite satisfied with his attitude. He admitted he wasn’t very good at psychological counseling, so it would have been tricky if the student had panicked first. Fortunately, Chen Chuan was in a good ntal state, which saved a lot of trouble.
He said, "Let’s go to the training room."
The two of them walked into the dorm’s private training room. Cheng Zitong had Chen Chuan stand opposite him and said, "This Breathing Technique I’m about to teach you is called the ’Breathing thod of Qi Breathing.’ It is a necessary prerequisite for Force Application. Place your hand on my back and pay close attention to my breathing."
Chen Chuan did as he was told, placing his hand on his back. After a mont, he suddenly felt a sound emanate from within Cheng Zitong’s body.
If the Basic Breathing Technique went from subtle to gentle, even tranquil, then this Breathing Technique was far more dynamic. It was like the sound of wind stirring in a hollow space—muffled and heavy.
Moreover, as the breathing continued, Cheng Zitong’s entire body seed to begin vibrating slightly, and even faint ripples appeared to form beneath his skin.
Not only that, but because of the contact from his palm, his body soon began to vibrate along with him, and his own breathing was naturally pulled into the rhythm.
Cheng Zitong continued breathing for a while, then stopped and asked, "Did you feel it?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "I felt a little. It was like my whole body was vibrating along with your breathing."
Cheng Zitong said, "This vibration is the tangible expression of the Breathing thod of Qi Breathing. It can be used to penetrate the minute parts of the body that are normally difficult to exercise. The more accurately you perform the Breathing Technique, the deeper it will penetrate into your body.
"By the sa principle, after this stimulation, the Mutated Tendons and Ligants will perate the deeper parts of your body, becoming the foundation for your future Force Application.
"Without the support of these Mutated Tendons and Ligants, complete and superior Power is impossible. Those with only a small amount of Mutated Organization—or even none at all—can only master what we call ’Small Force’.
"In the old days, this Breathing Technique was a secret that was never passed on to outsiders. But in this day and age, as long as you can afford it and have the right qualifications, schools can teach it.
"However, the version I’m teaching you is an internal version, summarized and refined by our predecessors, not one of the old versions available outside. Its greatest feature is that it doesn’t need to be conveyed through complicated verbal explanations. Instead, through mutual respiratory resonance, your body learns directly what to do. In the future, if you teach students, you can also pass it on in the sa direct way."
Chen Chuan nodded.
Cheng Zitong said, "I’ll demonstrate a few more tis, and you should have it down."
He then demonstrated it over a dozen tis in a row. Chen Chuan gradually familiarized himself with the process through this repeated sensation—or, to be more precise, his body morized the rhythm.
Seeing that he was familiar with it, Cheng Zitong finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped his guidance. He hadn’t practiced this Breathing Technique himself in a long ti and was a bit rusty.
In truth, although instructors could teach it directly like this, they weren’t required to. If they were impatient, they could just toss the student a booklet to figure out on their own, and it might take them months to learn.
He then walked to the side, took out a small vial of the dicine he’d brought, and poured out a pill. He also poured a glass of water for him and said, "Here you go. The Training-Opening Powder is for external use, but this Enlightennt Pill is for internal use. You can just swallow it."
"Thank you, Teacher Cheng." Chen Chuan took it and swallowed the pill with the water.
Cheng Zitong said, "Alright, whether you can successfully perform it from now on is up to you. This dicine can be taken multiple tis, but its potency is extrely stimulating to the body. Even with your current physical condition, I estimate you can take at most around fifteen to nineteen pills in a day. Any more might exceed your body’s limit, and you will be in great pain. Anyway, go ahead and try."
Chen Chuan agreed.
He moved to one side and, following Cheng Zitong’s demonstration, tried to guide his breathing. However, he quickly discovered that while his breathing had been very smooth when Cheng Zitong was guiding him, it was completely different when he tried it himself. He couldn’t control many parts of his body at all, and only a fraction of it participated in the breathing exercise.
Cheng Zitong saw his difficulty and said from the side, "This is normal at the beginning. So parts of your body don’t have Mutated Tendons and Ligants yet. You must use the stimulation from the dicine’s potency, pushed by the Breathing Technique, to encourage their growth into those areas. Only then can you gradually activate those parts.
"The Breathing Technique and these Mutated Organizations are mutually reinforcing. So, once you’ve mastered this Breathing Technique, you’ll be able to feel the Mutated Organization inside your body. You’ll be able to clearly sense their growth and spread. If anything is wrong, you can detect it quickly, instead of having to wait until your body is hard and shows symptoms before dealing with it."
Chen Chuan understood. He naturally turned his focus to his Second Self. The signs of virtualization there were dense and incredibly complex, rising and falling as they spread to different parts of his body, proving that Cheng Zitong was correct.
’But this is different from the Basic Breathing Technique; the dicinal stimulation is actually the most important part. My Second Self can remove the damage afterward, at best, but it probably won’t be so easy for it to help during the process. I can only keep trying to guide my breathing over and over again.’
’But there has to be a way to speed this up. I could swallow more of the stimulating pills to reach my goal. As for the damage and pain they cause, I can use my Second Self to transfer it away.’
’But I don’t need to rush into that just yet.’
He then focused completely on the Breathing Technique, trying again and again. Whenever the pill’s potency dissipated, he would swallow another one.
Cheng Zitong watched from the side. He was well aware of the pain and tornt the dicine brought, but seeing him swallow it unflinchingly every ti, he found the student’s endurance to be truly outstanding.
After Chen Chuan’s tenth attempt, he finally spoke up, "Stop for now. Go eat a few sticks of Nutrition Paste, then do so simple activities to let your body recover. We’ll continue this afternoon."
Only then did Chen Chuan realize that what felt like a short while had brought them to noon. He went back, ate five sticks of Nutrition Paste, rested for a bit, and then followed Cheng Zitong’s instructions to do so stretching exercises. He continued only after his mind and body had mostly recovered.
Over the course of the afternoon, he swallowed another nine pills in his effort to master his breathing.
Cheng Zitong, thinking that was enough, said, "That’s enough. Let’s stop here for today." But just then, Chen Chuan looked up and said, "Teacher Cheng, I want to continue."
Cheng Zitong frowned. "Nineteen pills is already a lot. If you take more, it will put too much strain on your body, not to ntion the damage from the Breathing Technique itself. This is no joke. I know you’re eager to master the Breathing Technique so you can practice Power, but this can’t be rushed."
Chen Chuan looked at him and said earnestly, "Teacher, I know my own body best. I’ve used the Limit-Breaking Strike before, but it didn’t cause much damage to my body. And with these pills and the Breathing Technique, I don’t feel too much of a burden either. Teacher, please trust . I wouldn’t joke with my own life."
"Is that so?"
Cheng Zitong was taken aback for a mont. But the student’s performance during the Breathing Technique had indeed been unusual. He thought for a mont and said, "If what you say is true, then this is part of your talent. You have a tough damage resistance, so naturally you can withstand more of the dicine’s potency. I can’t say if this is good or bad for you, but since you insist, I will respect your choice."
Having received his permission, Chen Chuan continued to swallow the pills. However, Cheng Zitong still set a limit, only allowing him to take five more. If he was really fine after that, he would be allowed to continue further.
The next day, Cheng Zitong confird that he indeed had no problems, and only then was he relieved. In reality, Chen Chuan had long since used his Second Self to bear the damage to his body from the Breathing Technique and the dicine’s potency.
In the following days, he didn’t attend any public classes, but single-mindedly focused on mastering the Breathing Technique in the training room. The number of pills he swallowed each day also gradually increased. At the sa ti, he did not give up on the Basic Breathing Technique, because he knew he didn’t have that kind of "talent," so he had to maintain it.
Under the multiple stimulations of the dicine and his breathing, he could clearly feel the Mutated Organization growing into the depths of his body. He didn’t know how long it had been, but suddenly one day, a strong feeling washed over him: mastery of the Breathing Technique was just around the corner.
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