Breath Regulation Method

Breath Regulation Method

After hearing Cheng Zitong's instructions, Chen Chuan replied steadily, "This student is ready."

Cheng Zitong was fairly satisfied with his attitude. He did not consider himself good at psychological counseling; if a student panicked first, things would become troublesome. Fortunately, Chen Chuan was in good mental condition, sparing him a great deal of trouble.

He said, "Let's go to the Training Room."

The two entered the single-person Training Room in the dormitory. Cheng Zitong had Chen Chuan stand opposite him and said, "The Breathing Method I'm teaching you now is called the 'Breath Regulation Method.' It is a necessary prerequisite for exerting force. Place your hand on my back, then pay close attention to my breathing."

Following his instructions, Chen Chuan placed a hand on his back. After a while, he suddenly sensed a sound emerging from within Cheng Zitong's body.

If the basic Breathing Method went from minute subtleties to calmness, until it was utterly placid, then this Breathing Method was far more pronounced. It was like wind drumming through some hollow chamber, deep and heavy.

Moreover, as the breathing continued, Cheng Zitong's entire body seemed to begin trembling faintly. Even beneath his skin, tiny ripples seemed to emerge.

More than that, through the contact of their palms, Chen Chuan's body soon began trembling along with him, and his own breathing was naturally drawn into the rhythm as well.

After breathing steadily for a while, Cheng Zitong stopped and asked, "Did you feel it just now?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "A little. It felt as if my whole body was resonating with Teacher's breathing."

Cheng Zitong said, "That resonance is the specific manifestation of the Breath Regulation Method. It allows you to reach the subtle parts of the body that are usually difficult to train. The more accurately you perform the Breathing Method, the deeper it reaches into your body.

"By the same principle, after being stimulated this way, those Mutated Fascia tissues will also spread into every deep layer of your body, becoming the foundation for your future exertion of force.

"Without this Mutated Fascia to support it, complete and superior force is out of the question. Those with only a small amount of Mutated Tissue, or none at all, can only master some 'Small Force.'

"In the Old Era, this Breathing Method was kept strictly secret. But in this day and age, as long as you can afford it and possess the necessary qualifications, schools can teach it.

"However, the one I'm teaching you is an internal version, refined and organized many times by our predecessors, rather than those outdated versions outside. Its greatest feature is that it does not need to be passed down through cumbersome verbal explanations. Instead, through resonance between our breathing, your body directly learns what to do. When you teach students in the future, you can pass it on just as directly."

Chen Chuan nodded.

Cheng Zitong said, "I'll demonstrate it a few more times. You should be able to remember it after that."

Next, he demonstrated it more than ten times in a row. As Chen Chuan experienced it, he gradually became familiar with the process. More precisely, his body remembered the rhythm.

Seeing that he had become familiar with it, Cheng Zitong finally relaxed and stopped guiding him. He himself had not practiced this Breathing Method in a long time and was somewhat rusty.

In truth, although instructors could pass it on directly like this, they were not required to do so. If they encountered someone impatient, they might simply toss the student a booklet and make them figure it out themselves. In that case, they might not learn it even after several months.

He walked to the side, took out a small bottle of the medicine he had brought, poured out a pill, then casually poured Chen Chuan a glass of water. "Here. Kai Lian Powder is for external application, while this Aperture Opening Pill is taken internally. Just swallow it directly."

"Thank you, Teacher." Chen Chuan accepted it and swallowed the pill with the water.

Cheng Zitong said, "All right. Whether you can guide it out from here on depends on you. This medicine can be taken multiple times, but its Medicinal Power is ultimately extremely stimulating to the body. Even with your current physical condition, I estimate you can take at most fifteen to nineteen pills in a single day. Any more may exceed what your body can bear, and you will suffer greatly. In any case, give it a try first."

Chen Chuan answered, "All right."

He moved to one side and tried guiding his breathing as Cheng Zitong had demonstrated. Yet he quickly discovered that while his breathing had flowed smoothly when Cheng Zitong guided him, it was completely different when he tried on his own. Many parts simply would not obey his control, and only part of his body joined in the breathing adjustments.

Seeing his difficulty, Cheng Zitong said from the side, "That is normal at the beginning. Some parts of your body do not yet contain Mutated Fascia, so you must combine the stimulation of the Medicinal Power with the Breathing Method to make it grow into those areas. Only then can you gradually mobilize them.

"The Breathing Method and this Mutated Tissue reinforce one another. Once you master this Breathing Method, you will be able to sense the Mutated Tissue in your body and clearly feel its growth and spread. If anything goes wrong, you can detect it quickly, rather than waiting until it harms your body enough to produce symptoms before dealing with it."

Chen Chuan understood. His gaze naturally turned toward the Second Self. The signs of fading there were densely packed and extraordinarily complex, rising and falling as they spread toward different parts of his body. It was enough to prove that Cheng Zitong was right.

But this differed from the basic Breathing Method. Drug stimulation was instead the most important part. The Second Self could at most remove the damage afterward; helping during the process would probably not be so easy. He could only guide it repeatedly, over and over.

Still, he believed there was a way to speed up the process: swallowing more stimulating pills. As for the damage and pain caused by the pills, he could use the Second Self to transfer them away.

But there was no need to rush into that yet.

Afterward, he focused entirely on the Breathing Method, trying again and again. Whenever the Medicinal Power dissipated, he swallowed another pill.

Cheng Zitong watched from the side. He understood the pain and torment brought by the medicine, yet Chen Chuan swallowed each pill without changing expression. He felt that this student's tolerance was truly exceptional.

After Chen Chuan completed his tenth attempt, Cheng Zitong said, "Stop for now. Go eat a few sticks of Nutrient Paste, then do some light activity to let your body recover. We'll continue in the afternoon."

Only then did Chen Chuan realize that what had seemed like only a short while had already become noon. He returned and ate five sticks of Nutrient Paste, rested for a while, then followed Cheng Zitong's instructions and performed some stretching movements. Once his mind and body had more or less recovered, he resumed.

Over the course of the afternoon, he swallowed another nine pills in order to guide his breathing.

Seeing that it was about enough, Cheng Zitong said, "That's enough. Let's stop here for today." But Chen Chuan raised his head and said, "Teacher Cheng, I want to continue."

Cheng Zitong frowned. "Nineteen pills are already a lot. If you take any more, the burden on your body will be too great. There is also the harm caused by the Breathing Method itself. This is no joke. I know you desperately want to master the Breathing Method as soon as possible so you can practice force, but this cannot be rushed."

Chen Chuan looked at him and said earnestly, "Teacher, I know my own body. I used Limit Breaking Strike before, yet it did not cause much damage to my body. These medicines and the Breathing Method do not feel like much of a burden either. Teacher, please believe me. I would not joke with my own life."

"Is that so?"

Cheng Zitong paused. Yet this student had indeed displayed unusual qualities during the Breathing Method practice. After considering it, he said, "If that is what you say, then it is part of your talent. You have a strong capacity to endure harm, so naturally you can withstand more Medicinal Power. I cannot say whether this is good or bad for you, but since you insist, your teacher will respect your choice."

With his permission, Chen Chuan continued swallowing the pills. However, Cheng Zitong still imposed a limit, allowing him only five more. If he truly had no problems afterward, then he would be allowed to continue.

The next day, Cheng Zitong confirmed that he had indeed suffered no problems and was finally at ease. In truth, Chen Chuan had long since used the Second Self to bear the damage inflicted on his body by the Breathing Method and the Medicinal Power.

Over the following days, he attended no Open Classes. He simply remained in the Training Room, wholeheartedly guiding the Breathing Method, while the amount of medicine he swallowed each day gradually increased. At the same time, he did not abandon the basic Breathing Method, because he knew he did not possess that kind of "talent," so he had to maintain it.

Under the combined stimulation of medicine and breathing, he could clearly feel the Mutated Tissue growing deeper into his body. After an unknown length of time, one day, a powerful feeling suddenly arose within him: mastery of the Breathing Method should be within reach.