Dragon Hibernation Breath, Baji Quan!

"How was it? Did you feel it?"

Instructor Zheng stood beside Fang Qingyu's fist and asked softly.

"Yes."

Fang Qingyu suppressed his shock and nodded.

He hadn't expected that in just two days, martial arts would have given him such a profound experience.

First, the concept of meridians, and now this sensation of time almost standing still.

It felt a bit too fantastical.

"This is a breathing technique specifically for combat. You thought time had stopped, but in reality, it's just your focus concentrating on a single point, allowing you to perform at an extraordinary level."

Instructor Zheng, seeing Fang Qingyu's thoughts, explained calmly.

"Breathing technique?"

Fang Qingyu frowned and muttered.

"Yes, I just had you remember that feeling. Next, I'll teach you how to enter that state. Generally, the longer you can maintain this state, the longer you can fight."

As Instructor Zheng spoke, he pulled Fang Qingyu to the side.

He held up three fingers: "Inhale for three seconds, hold for two, exhale for four, and then cycle according to the rhythm of my knuckles tapping."

The tapping on the wooden frame produced a rhythmic tap-tap sound.

"When you inhale through your nose, expand your ribcage. When you exhale, contract your abdominal muscles."

Instructor Zheng suddenly lightly punched Fang Qingyu's waist.

At the moment he should have lost his breath, the impact was diffused due to the precisely controlled exhalation rhythm.

When Fang Qingyu completed the third full breathing cycle.

That special frequency returned once more.

The fingers of Instructor Zheng, who was continuously tapping the frame, seemed to slow down again.

However, the good times didn't last.

In less than two seconds, Fang Qingyu was once again pulled out of that frequency.

His vision returned to normal.

"Do you remember how to practice it?"

Instructor Zheng asked when he saw this.

"I remember."

Fang Qingyu nodded seriously.

This was incredibly valuable practical knowledge for actual combat.

"Good. You can practice it slowly from now on. But you must remember, this is just a state of extreme focus. Things that are supposed to be fast are still fast. If your body can't keep up with the reactions, you'll still get hit."

"Okay."

Fang Qingyu exhaled after listening.

He had actually discovered this during the first time he entered that state. He had thrown a punch at Instructor Zheng then.

But Instructor Zheng had dodged it.

It was indeed his body not being able to keep up with the reaction.

With that, Instructor Zheng led Fang Qingyu to the punching post area.

"Before practicing weapons, practice fists."

"First, perform the Basic Fist Technique. Let's see which style suits you."

"Okay."

Fang Qingyu agreed with a nod.

He assumed the Hidden Dragon Stance, activated his Martial Seed, and performed the Basic Fist Technique with all his might.

After silently watching, Instructor Zheng said, "You are more suited for Baji Quan."

"Alright."

Fang Qingyu replied immediately.

Even people who hadn't practiced martial arts had likely heard of Baji Quan.

It was vigorous and swift, with extremely high lethality!

It suited his intentions perfectly.

"Okay, I can't teach Baji Quan myself. You wait here."

Seeing that Fang Qingyu had no objections, Instructor Zheng turned and went to call someone.

Fang Qingyu was left standing by the punching post, watching others practice.

I hadn't noticed before in the regular class.

Only now did I realize how much stronger these people were.

Take Qi Hao, for example. When he practiced his punches, his face was fierce and menacing. I bet he could overwhelm his opponent with sheer presence before even throwing a punch.

And the sound each punch made against the training post, while not loud.

Fang Qingyu felt that if a real person were standing there.

Their skull would probably explode.

Moreover, everyone here was uniformly a [Martial Arts Apprentice].

Unlike the regular class, where Martial Arts Apprentices were rare, and most were ordinary working-class professionals.

The separation between regular and formal was quite fitting.

It didn't take long.

Instructor Zheng arrived with another person.

Just as Fang Qingyu was about to greet them, he was stunned upon seeing who it was.

"You?"

The newcomer also recognized Fang Qingyu and spoke with a smile.

"You know each other?"

Instructor Zheng, standing nearby, looked surprised.

"We met once at the club."

The newcomer was that red-clad professional.

The [Whisperer].

"You call him Brother Zhao, right?"

Instructor Zheng nodded upon hearing this and introduced them to Fang Qingyu.

"Brother Zhao."

Fang Qingyu greeted him.

"Coach Lin was supposed to teach you, but he's busy. Since I happen to know a bit about martial arts, teaching you the basics of Baji Quan is no problem~"

Brother Zhao seemed to notice Fang Qingyu's confusion and offered an explanation.

After speaking, he took out a stone from his pocket.

"Before you start practicing, you need to understand what 'Baji Quan basics' means."

With that, he tossed the stone into the air.

As it fell back towards him.

Brother Zhao suddenly took a small step forward with his left foot, his right hip twisting like a spring.

Fang Qingyu didn't even see the trajectory of the movement. He only saw his right elbow lash out diagonally from bottom to top, accompanied by a whistling sound. The moment his elbow joint made contact with the stone, a muffled thunderclap erupted.

The stone shattered in mid-air.

"To practice Baji Quan, you must be harder than your opponent, no matter what your opponent is."

"So, still want to practice?"

Brother Zhao patted his elbow and asked with a smile.

"Yes!"

Fang Qingyu suppressed his excitement and nodded.

He wasn't afraid of being tired, nor of pain. What he feared was practicing a fake art.

With this kind of power, why would he hesitate?

"Alright, I'll teach you."

With that, Brother Zhao led Fang Qingyu to the side.

Instructor Zheng stood in place, watching Fang Qingyu's retreating back.

That guy Old Qin really didn't lie this time.

Judging by what I've seen so far, he's indeed a promising talent.

Even knowing the path ahead would be arduous.

His eyes weren't filled with fear or hesitation, but with an extreme, exhilarating surge of blood.

On the other side.

"Brother, are you a Taoist priest?"

Several hours later, Fang Qingyu lay on the ground, his eyes vacant, and mumbled the question.

Brother Zhao, who was Zhao Feng, was squatting on the ground applying something to Fang Qingyu's limbs.

The two had already learned each other's full names during their Baji Quan practice.

Zhao Feng was very approachable. After practicing for a while, he told Fang Qingyu to drop the "Zhao" surname.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Zhao Feng wiped himself down, looking quite happy.

"You kept calling yourself 'this humble Taoist.' It would be hard not to know."

Fang Qingyu endured the pain and rolled over.

Despite Zhao Feng's usual gentle demeanor and soft-spoken nature, he was absolutely ruthless when teaching.

Fang Qingyu was now certain that there wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't bruised.

But it was all worth it.

[Detected Profession Advancement Skill "Baji Quan" is activating (15/100)]

The third advancement skill had been snagged!

The second was the Dragon Hibernation Breath he'd just acquired.

He suddenly had two more skills to grind.

"Heh, how is it? Still hurts?"

Zhao Feng asked cheerfully.

"Much better. What is this medicine?"

Fang Qingyu put his training uniform back on.

"It's for bruises and sprains. It's for you. You'll need it for your Baji Quan training."

Zhao Feng casually tossed the medicine bottle to Fang Qingyu.

"Uh..."

Feeling a cool sensation spread across his body, he knew the medicine was expensive.

Fang Qingyu wasn't sure if he should accept it.

"Take it. It's not much."

"When you encounter younger disciples practicing martial arts in the future, you can help them out too."

Fang Qingyu listened thoughtfully, "Is this what they talk about in Taoism as 'fate'?"

"Haha, you could say that."

Zhao Feng laughed heartily.

"Alright, I should get going. Starting tomorrow, Coach Lin's group will teach you."

"See you, brother."

Fang Qingyu could only sit on the ground and wave.

"Goodbye."

Zhao Feng seemed to be in a hurry and left quickly, soon disappearing at the entrance of the Martial Hall.

There were only a few minutes left until class ended at 12 o'clock.

Soon, Qi Hao walked over.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"Qingzi, I'm so sorry."

"?"

Fang Qingyu held out his hand to him, a question mark appearing above his head.

Qi Hao slung Fang Qingyu's arm over his shoulder, pulling him up and walking towards the door.

"I forgot to remind you not to choose Baji Quan..."

"Why?"

Fang Qingyu frowned slightly.

After practicing for over an hour, he still quite liked this martial art.

"Baji Quan is basically self-harm! Didn't you just experience it!?"

Qi Hao looked at Fang Qingyu in surprise.

Fang Qingyu understood, of course.

During that hour, Zhao Feng had hit him at least a hundred times, targeting his bones and paralyzing points.

But...

"Have you ever heard the saying..."

"All suffering that doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!!"