Kid, Don't You Know How to Breathe?

July's fire had begun to fade.

This year, Rongcheng's summer heat had departed far sooner than in previous years.

The morning breeze carried a hint of chill, and the air was fresh—perfect for exercise.

"Little Li, heading to work out again?"

Dawn had barely broken, yet pedestrians already appeared in twos and threes along the residential community's roads. Most were aunties carrying fans, preparing to go dance their fitness routines.

Compared with young people who had to attend school and work, retired uncles and aunties were far more passionate about exercising.

"Yeah, just getting in a morning workout." Li Changqing nodded to the passing neighbors one by one.

The moment the pleasantries ended, the aunties revealed their true purpose.

"Little Li, you've graduated this year and you're still single. Do you have..."

"Goodbye, Auntie Zhang—"

Sure enough, no matter the era, aunties who loved playing matchmaker had always been the main melody of the times.

After running all the way out of the residential community, Li Changqing arrived at the fitness park beside it.

If the plaza was the aunties' domain,

then the park was the domain of old masters, each with some hidden skill up their sleeve.

Thud, thud, thud—

Leaves fluttered down, carpeting the ground.

The moment he entered the park, Li Changqing was given a show of force.

An uncle built like a giant bear was using his sturdy, powerful shoulders to shake a large tree, sending leaves drifting down from its branches.

The muscles all over his body were enough to make a fierce man with two and a half years of training burst into tears.

After taking a few more steps, Li Changqing's eyes went wide when he saw two ropes tied to high branches, blocking the path.

An uncle hung suspended in an eerie hanging posture, his chin hooked over the ropes while his legs swung back and forth as though he were sprinting.

"What peerless divine art is he practicing?" Li Changqing could not understand it, but he was deeply shaken.

Seriously, if an ordinary person tried this, they would one hundred percent hang themselves to death.

But this was only the beginning.

As he left the wooded greenery around the park's perimeter and formally entered the exercise area,

the sight before him finally made him understand what it meant for everyone here to possess extraordinary skills.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Li Changqing truly could not make sense of it.

What had he just seen?

An uncle had both feet hooked over a horizontal bar, his entire body spinning like a windmill as he performed full 360-degree Thomas flares.

He was spinning so fast and with such imposing momentum that Li Changqing worried the uncle might take off into the sky at any moment.

"Oh, young man, I'm exercising."

The uncle's voice was full and resonant, the deep echo from his chest carrying its own reverb.

"Want to join me?"

"Ah, Uncle, you go ahead. I won't disturb you." Li Changqing hurriedly declined the uncle's invitation to team up.

He weaved left and right, finally finding an open patch of ground in this park where immortals seemed to roam freely.

An uncle who did not look quite so muscular, wearing sunglasses, was crouching on the ground and fiddling with flowers and grass, presumably taking a mid-session break.

"Young man, you're new here, aren't you?"

This park was the uncles' private plot, so a young unfamiliar face like Li Changqing's stood out greatly.

"I just moved here. I live next door in Dongguang Residential Community."

"A college student? Just graduated?"

When Li Changqing nodded, the old man's gaze swept over him.

"You're in good shape, and your blood and qi run deep and steady. Keep training for a while longer, young man, and you'll definitely pass the Martial Arts Academy assessment."

Li Changqing was somewhat curious.

"Uncle, how did you know I was going to take the Martial Arts Academy assessment?"

"There aren't many college students like you whose blood and qi run so deep and steady. If you aren't taking the Martial Arts Academy assessment, are you really willing to go look for a job?"

Li Changqing was startled. Even now, he had no ability to judge someone's blood and qi simply by looking at them.

Unless...

"Well, this whole area, including Dongguang Residential Community where you live, was resettlement housing the government assigned to us old bones after we retired."

"Retired military?" Li Changqing quickly asked, "Uncle, were you a Martial Artist before?"

At the mention of his glorious past, the old man, whose back had been somewhat stooped, straightened slightly. Pride shone in his eyes.

"When I was young, I was a noncommissioned officer stationed with the Qingzhou garrison. Unfortunately, I was just a little short of accommodating psionic energy and becoming a High-Rank Martial Artist. Now I'm old, and my blood and qi have declined."

A Mid-Rank Martial Artist from the military!

Blue Star's soldiers were different from those of the past.

Aside from civilian staff and the small number of researchers who had not given up,

one had to be at least a Lower-Rank Martial Artist to enter the military.

Thinking of that, Li Changqing's mouth twitched.

If his residential community was housing for retired military personnel,

then did that mean he was actually the weakest person in the community?

"What a pity." At the mention of his past, the old man's thoughts drifted far away.

"We've all grown old, and those dog-bred alien bastards still haven't come. They locked down our planet's technology, yet they hide like garlic-headed turtles and don't dare show their faces."

He turned to look at Li Changqing, deeply sighing with emotion.

"Young man, the future depends on youngsters like you. Work hard."

The old man slapped Li Changqing on the shoulder.

"Strive to become a Martial Artist, become a Psionic User, and when those alien bastards come, smash their balls to pieces! Let's see if they still dare blockade our planet."

"Don't worry, Uncle. When those aliens come, I'll smash their balls to pieces for you!"

Li Changqing laughed aloud.

He had never forgotten that. Otherwise, back when he had not acquired his current ability and his body had no extraordinary talent, he would never have applied to Qingzhou Psionic University.

To climb to the end of the martial path was Li Changqing's dream.

Likewise, he hoped that on the road to fulfilling that dream, he could smash the balls of those aliens lurking beyond the depths of space and watching them.

And now,

it was time to train!

The vast blood and qi dormant within his body awakened.

Under Li Changqing's control, it soared into the heavens like a hidden dragon taking flight.

Bang!

His feet rooted themselves in place, as if connecting him to the earth.

His fist technique flowed smoothly, driving every muscle throughout his body as his surging blood and qi propelled his movements.

Faster, stronger.

Li Changqing's breathing was deep and steady. With every exhale and inhale, his movements were graceful.

In the blink of an eye, he swiftly completed the first twelve forms. Yet Li Changqing's blood and qi remained abundant.

Can I succeed?

The instant that thought surfaced, Li Changqing swiftly suppressed it.

Only with a mind free of distractions could one stay the course to the end.

The thirteenth form!

From this moment on, every form's consumption of blood and qi suddenly doubled.

Yet Li Changqing did not panic in the slightest. Glycogen within his muscles rapidly metabolized, flooding him with abundant energy and keeping his blood and qi deep and steady.

The fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth forms.

He unleashed three consecutive forms in a seamless sequence, the force of his punches stirring the fallen leaves across the ground.

Looking closely, within the range where Li Changqing's legs were rooted, not even a speck of dust remained on the entire concrete surface.

It was as spotless as if it were brand new.

The seventeenth form!

Boom!

His blood and qi boomed. A faint light flickered in Li Changqing's pupils. Thanks to the enhanced agility he had gained from learning the Tai Chi Throwing Style last night,

his control over his body rose to another level. He forcibly mobilized his muscles, preventing the sudden massive expenditure of blood and qi from leaving him weak.

Continue!

The eighteenth form!

From this moment onward, the pressure multiplied.

Li Changqing's expression was no longer relaxed, and he quickened his movements.

The nineteenth and twentieth forms.

His blood and qi churned. His face had noticeably turned pale, but Li Changqing still slowly yet firmly delivered the next form.

The twenty-first form!

He held his breath, attempting to forcibly control his muscles and complete the final four forms.

Yet his movements grew slower and slower. A distance of mere millimeters felt like an insurmountable chasm.

He was only a little short of bringing every muscle in his body into place under the guidance of the fist technique.

But he was just that little short.

His breath gave out.

Bang!

Li Changqing collapsed onto the ground. He had been just a little short of succeeding!

"Young man, don't you know how to breathe?"

"Hm?"

Li Changqing abruptly raised his head and saw that the old man from earlier had returned and was standing before him.

"Breathe?" Li Changqing did not understand.

"Uncle, my breathing rhythm didn't get disrupted, did it?"

"What do you mean, disrupted or not?" The old man waved a large hand. "You don't know how to breathe at all."

Seeing the confusion in Li Changqing's eyes, the old man let out a long breath.

"Watch carefully."

Hiss—

A sharp explosive crack rang out, like the tip of a soft whip lashing through the air.

Under Li Changqing's astonished gaze, the old man's chest visibly swelled.

No!

It was not just his chest.

Li Changqing's pupils constricted. What kind of martial art was this?

In that instant, the gaunt old man suddenly expanded. With his breathing, his shirt was directly torn apart by his bulging muscles, and a hulking muscleman leaped forth.

"Ha!"

The old man, transformed into a muscleman, no longer bore any trace of his previous gauntness. He threw a punch at a birch tree as thick as an adult's waist.

His fist of flesh and blood was comparable to refined steel.

A deep fist mark was branded into the middle of the trunk.

Wisps of white smoke still rose from it.

The old man turned his head, the sunglasses on his face reflecting the blazing sunlight.

"Young man, this is what breathing is."

"What you were doing was just panting."