Morning.
Chenfeng pushed aside the corner of the curtain, and sunlight streamed along the silk curtain's weave, flowing into golden threads.
Dust motes danced in Brownian motion within the lattice of light, dyeing the wood grain on the desk into shifting patches of radiance.
Fang Qingyu rose and came to the window, then pulled the curtains wide open.
He let the room, which had barely seen sunlight in a month, air out and lose some of its dampness.
At last, the rain had stopped.
That line people used to say online—You say spring isn't late, while my underwear hasn't dried in a month—had become reality in April.
Fang Qingyu quietly basked in the sunlight for a while.
All his cells, which had been silent for an entire day, seemed to emerge with the sunlight and slowly awaken.
The feeling of weakness had stayed with him throughout yesterday.
The twelve two-hour periods written about in Ancient Methods History had turned out to be uncannily accurate.
It was only after waking up this morning that he had fully recovered.
Time to train, time to train!!
Fang Qingyu was already a little impatient.
He grabbed his backpack and rushed downstairs. After quickly eating three baskets of xiaolongbao and a bowl of wontons at a breakfast shop, he rode his electric scooter to the martial hall.
He had only been gone for a day.
As he looked at the Chenfeng Martial Hall sign above his head, he felt an unusual sense of familiarity.
"Are you planning to stand there and play door god?"
Instructor Qin's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Instructor Qin."
Fang Qingyu immediately turned around at the sound of his voice and greeted him with a smile.
"Come inside. Did you get a good rest yesterday?"
Instructor Qin led the way into the martial hall as he asked casually.
"I did."
Fang Qingyu had only done four things yesterday.
Saved money, delivered food, worked as a security guard, and practiced his breathing method.
None of them involved much physical exertion. Compared with martial arts training, they had been far too easy.
"Mm. Although practicing martial arts is like rowing upstream—if you don't advance, you fall back—when your boat can't hold out any longer, you still need to dock and repair it."
Instructor Qin was quite relieved to hear that Fang Qingyu had gotten a proper rest.
It had not been easy for a promising student to appear. He could not let the boy wear himself out.
"Go train."
Once they entered the martial hall, Instructor Qin waved dismissively.
"Got it."
Only then did Fang Qingyu head to the changing room and put on his training clothes.
"How's the breathing method?"
Coach Zheng still stood meticulously beside the weapon rack. When he saw Fang Qingyu approaching, his first question was about his progress.
"I feel like I'm about to reach the entry level."
Fang Qingyu answered honestly while looking at Coach Zheng's right hand, which was in a cast.
"Coach Zheng, your hand..."
"Oh, I took a fall. It's nothing serious. How long can you maintain it now?"
Coach Zheng glanced at his own right hand without the slightest change in expression, as if it were an insignificant little matter.
"Thirty seconds."
Seeing that, Fang Qingyu could not bring himself to ask further.
"Then you're indeed almost at the entry level. When you practice Baji Quan with Coach Lin later, you need to maintain the breathing method's rhythm as well."
Coach Zheng nodded approvingly. He could tell at once that Fang Qingyu had not slacked off during his break.
"Mm."
Although Coach Zheng was not as warmhearted as Instructor Qin, he was just as serious about teaching.
Even with his hand in a cast, he continued instructing the others.
As usual, Fang Qingyu found a corner with Qi Hao and used actual combat to train his breathing method.
"Stop, stop, stop!!"
However, they had barely fought for a while when Qi Hao jumped back in surprise and shouted.
"How much is your punching power now?"
"I don't know. I haven't tested it these past two days."
Fang Qingyu shook his head.
"Test it first."
Qi Hao insisted on dragging Fang Qingyu over to the machine nearby.
Bang—
Fang Qingyu steadied his mind and used the little Baji Quan knowledge he had learned.
155 KG!!
"?"
"How much was it last time?"
Qi Hao froze for a moment before turning around.
"143."
Fang Qingyu answered honestly.
He had gained a little more strength after practicing two days ago, so this number was not surprising.
"..."
Qi Hao fell silent, the corner of his mouth twitching.
His punching power had risen by more than ten kilograms in a day—and yesterday had been a rest day.
"What? Can't take the hit?"
Fang Qingyu walked over to him, holding back his laughter.
He had seen this scene before.
With Instructor Qin.
"Heh."
Qi Hao's smile looked more like a grimace as he turned around.
"Come on, let's keep training."
"He's Fang Qingyu."
While the two were locked in heated combat, Coach Zheng introduced him to the person beside him.
"Mm."
Coach Lin stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching quietly with an impassive expression.
Although Fang Qingyu had gained some strength, he was still suppressed and beaten throughout the entire exchange.
Qi Hao was not using any martial techniques, however.
The two were simply using the most basic stances and boxing techniques to fight each other.
When his opponent's strength and reflexes were both superior to his own, Fang Qingyu not only had to keep from being beaten too badly, but also had to maintain the rhythm of his breathing.
However, the scene was not as disastrous as one might have imagined.
Whenever he entered the Dragon Hibernation Breath state,
once he could barely see Qi Hao's movements, the Weakness Gaze skill began to show its power.
Some movements he had originally been unable to react to in time automatically formed the trajectory of the next move in his mind, allowing Fang Qingyu to predict them in advance.
"Have you studied combat before?"
Coach Lin watched from the side, frowning slightly.
"No. Fang Qingyu, male, eighteen years old. He grew up at Guangyi Orphanage. As a child, he claimed to have a brain condition, but the hospital never found any problems. His grades had always been poor. He met Qi Hao in high school and was introduced here to study a few months after graduation. His records are clean."
Coach Zheng shook his head from the side, having apparently memorized Fang Qingyu's entire life history.
"That's a little interesting."
After hearing this, Coach Lin watched the fight thoughtfully.
However, before the fight was over, Fang Qingyu suddenly raised his hand.
Qi Hao happened to throw a punch at that moment. He stopped it abruptly in midair and nearly suffocated himself.
Fang Qingyu ignored him. Instead, he let out a long breath and closed his eyes.
Congratulations, you have activated the Advancement Skill "Dragon Hibernation Breath."
A great deal of insight into Dragon Hibernation Breath instantly appeared in his mind.
It was yet another unique experience of learning a skill.
In fact, he could use it from the moment it was activated.
It was just that its duration had been rather hard to describe.
But now, things were different.
Fang Qingyu opened his skill panel.
Class: Martial Arts Apprentice Lv.2 (38/200) Talent: Martial Seed (★) . Advancement Skill 2: Dragon Hibernation Breath Lv.1 (0/100)+ . Skill Points: 2
He currently had two skill points saved up. Delivery Driver and Security Guard had both leveled up some time ago.
He had been waiting for this very moment!
He immediately clicked the plus sign after Dragon Hibernation Breath.
The moment the skill points were infused, Fang Qingyu felt as if he had fallen into a deep pool.
Water ripples formed an ancient rhythm beside his ears. His pores opened and closed with the sound waves, and he could clearly sense the airflow surging in through his nasal cavity.
His originally clumsy breathing rhythm suddenly had its cipher unlocked.
"Awesome!!!"
Fang Qingyu opened his eyes and instinctively let out a long breath.
He felt much more clear and comfortable all over.
"You reached the entry level???"
Qi Hao was the closest. Seeing the familiar scene, he asked in disbelief.
"Mm."
Fang Qingyu nodded, then looked at him excitedly.
"Again! This time, you don't need to teach me the breathing method!"
Dragon Hibernation Breath activated!
Fang Qingyu wanted to see exactly how long a level-two breathing method could last in combat.
"Damn, how are you supposed to play against a cheat like this?!"
Hearing that, Qi Hao became frantic. He roared and charged forward as well.
Coach Lin stood to the side, frowning slightly.
If he remembered correctly, Fang Qingyu had only joined the Formal Class the day before yesterday.
He had learned the breathing method in two days!?
Before you continue