Regulating Blood and Lowering Qi: The Start of Training

Regulating Blood and Lowering Qi: The Start of Training

When Yu Gang was sitting there, Chen Chuan could already tell that he was very tall. But once he stood up, Chen Chuan realized the man was at least two meters tall. Yet his massive frame did not feel oppressive; instead, it gave off a sense of steady solidity.

Half of Yu Gang's body was bathed in the afternoon light. In his characteristically deep, rich voice, he said, "During the second-round examination, Wu Yi University will arrange for a senior student to come forward and spar against the candidates. This has been the custom for the past several decades. As long as you defeat that student, you will be judged to have passed.

"The senior student will only be decided one month before the official start of term, and detailed information will be released so the examinees can learn about them. The students will then have a month to make targeted preparations and training. You need that step too, so in reality, you only have two months."

"Two months..."

Chen Chuan thought to himself that even with the Second Self, a sense of urgency still rose within him unbidden.

Yu Gang continued, "Two months. By normal means, trying to make up for the gap created by someone else's more than ten years of effort in a mere sixty days is impossible. So we can only use drastic medicine."

Lu Ke said softly from the side, "Master, do you mean banned drugs?"

Yu Gang raised his hands and folded them across his chest, saying in a deep voice, "Banned drugs that stimulate potential are one method. But if you want to go far down this road, it's best not to touch them. That isn't what I meant."

He looked at the handsome youth before him. "Chen Chuan, I'm going to teach you a Breathing Method. If you persevere with it and cultivate it deeply, it can comprehensively improve your physical fitness. Even merely getting started with it can increase your resistance to blows and enhance the results of your training. If you can master the Breathing Method before the official match, then you may have a chance of passing the second-round examination."

Before the exam, Chen Chuan had flipped through some books on competitive fighting, but this was his first time hearing of a Breathing Method. He could not help asking curiously, "Mr. Yu, is this Breathing Method some secret technique passed down in private?"

Yu Gang said, "It isn't some secret transmission. It is also taught in some boxing clubs outside; as long as you pay, they will teach you. But if underage students begin practicing the Breathing Method too early, it can cause irreversible harm to their bodies. So students who train from childhood usually only begin after enrolling, under the guidance of coaches and teachers, to avoid this. The Breathing Method is dangerous, but it is also the only shortcut you currently have. What do you say?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Chuan said, "Please teach me, Mr. Yu!"

Yu Gang gave a grunt, approving of his straightforward response. If one wanted to gain something, one had to pay something in return. If he did not even possess that much resolve, then the training that followed would amount to nothing more than doing all one could and leaving the rest to fate.

But pretty words were useless. What mattered was Chen Chuan's performance from here on. The pain of beginning Breathing Method training was not something an ordinary person could endure.

He said, "You have very little time. Every day must be used as fully as possible. Since you came today, we'll begin right now. Any questions?"

Chen Chuan answered with absolute certainty, "No questions."

Yu Gang pulled a ten-Jianyuan Currency note from his pocket and handed it to Lu Ke. "Go buy five jin of Black Rat Meat. Remember to bring back the change."

"Got it, Master!" Lu Ke took the money, glanced at Chen Chuan, and ran out.

Yu Gang walked to one side, carried over a round wooden stool, and set it before Chen Chuan. "Come. Sit."

Once Chen Chuan was seated on the stool, Yu Gang said in a gentle tone, "Sit steady. Relax your breathing. Don't tense your muscles, but don't let yourself slump either." As he spoke, he patted Chen Chuan's shoulders, waist, spine, and other areas.

Chen Chuan followed his instructions, gradually relaxing his entire body.

Seeing that he had maintained the proper state, Yu Gang began explaining the precise steps of the Breathing Method in detail. As he demonstrated, he had Chen Chuan imitate him, telling him how to grasp the rhythm within it, where to draw in, where to ease off, and how to coordinate with the abdomen.

A full cycle of this Breathing Method took more than ten minutes, but some parts repeated. Once broken down, it was not complicated. After Yu Gang demonstrated it three or four times, Chen Chuan had memorized it.

Yu Gang then had him try it once himself, pointing out and correcting the places where he went wrong. Once Chen Chuan was thoroughly familiar with it, he said, "The key to the Breathing Method is not to regard its scattered steps as intermittent breaths, but as a single whole. That is also the hardest part. When your breathing becomes seamless and unified, that is when you have mastered it.

"But everyone is different, and no two people's breathing rhythms are exactly alike. This makes it hard for outsiders to help with actual practice. You need to find the trick yourself through constant attempts."

Chen Chuan asked him, "Mr. Yu, then how do I know when I've found the trick?"

Standing there, Yu Gang said, "I can demonstrate it for you. Pay attention and feel my breathing." As he spoke, he deliberately made his breathing heavier.

Chen Chuan focused intently. To his surprise, Yu Gang's breathing was even and drawn out. At first glance, there was little rise and fall, but upon closer examination, he could sense a unique rhythm within it, formed by countless tiny pulses of breath linked together.

At the same time, Yu Gang's chest, abdomen, and other areas maintained a faint tremor. If it were broken down section by section, it was precisely the method he had just been taught. But because every part connected so naturally, he appeared no different from an ordinary person on the surface.

After cycling it for a while, Yu Gang stopped and asked, "Do you understand?"

Chen Chuan drew a breath. "I understand the general idea."

Yu Gang said, "The Breathing Method is extremely important. If you want to go farther in Combat Cultivation, you must master it well, and the sooner the better."

Chen Chuan nodded. "Mr. Yu, I understand."

Yu Gang said, "Becoming proficient in breathing is only the first step. The entire Breathing Method must be paired with medicine, using it to stimulate your vitality and speed up the circulation of your qi and blood. Then you use the Breathing Method to guide and connect them, finding the pathways between qi and strength. In Old Martial terms, this is called 'lifting the Life Mechanism.'"

He walked behind a partition where clothes hung. When he emerged, he held a packet of medicinal powder. "I originally prepared this for Lu Ke, but he tried it and gave up. For now, you can have priority."

Just then, a voice came from outside. "Master, I bought the meat!"

Lu Ke ran in carrying a black bag. Yu Gang took it and opened it, and a sharp, bloody stench immediately rose from within, filling the entire room.

Chen Chuan glanced at it and saw that it was full of chopped meat. The surface of the skin was black, while the inner layer was the normal color of flesh.

Yu Gang seemed entirely unaware of the smell. He nodded. "The color is right. Very fresh." He tossed it back to Lu Ke. "Go stew it. Call me when the heat is right."

"Don't worry, Master." As Lu Ke turned around, his gaze swept over the medicinal powder on the table. He paused, then immediately lowered his head. "Master, I'm going out."

Yu Gang gave a grunt. Lu Ke slowly walked out. At the door, he looked back once before quickening his pace and leaving.

Yu Gang had Chen Chuan perform the Breathing Method once more. After confirming that he had made no mistakes or omissions, he said, "Your breathing cannot become too practiced yet. If it turns into a habit, it will become exceptionally difficult to grasp those pathways again. So you need to begin training as soon as possible. Are you prepared?"

Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Yu, I can begin at any time."

Yu Gang never dragged his feet. He took out a bottle of medicinal wine, poured in the powder, dissolved and mixed it evenly, then instructed Chen Chuan to remove his shirt and outer trousers and sit relaxed on the stool.

He patted the prepared medicinal paste onto Chen Chuan's back, then instructed him to apply it himself to his chest, abdomen, waist, legs, and other areas. Finally, he took a clean blanket and tossed it to him, warning, "Wrap yourself up tightly. Don't let the medicinal effect dissipate too quickly. This should last about half an hour. Make good use of the time now. Apply the Breathing Method I just taught you and try to find the pathways within it."

Chen Chuan's mind immediately sharpened. He forced himself into the proper state and began guiding his breathing step by step according to the method.

At first, he felt nothing. But after only a short while, a needle-pricking pain spread across his skin. Visible to the naked eye, his skin reddened like a boiled lobster.

To be honest, this pain was still bearable, but it interfered with him enormously. Wave after wave surged over him, and as the medicinal effect spread, it gradually intensified. It became difficult for him to gather his attention, so his breathing was fairly steady at first, but before long, it fell completely into disarray.