An Introduction

"I'll give you private lessons for three days. During that time, you can ask me anything you don't understand, but I'll only answer repeated questions once. After three days, whether you've grasped the stance technique or not, you'll join the main class and practice with everyone until you master it..."

Smith's expression was cold, making everyone tense up. A few of the students without combat talents were already regretting it. They hadn't gotten free spots; they'd taken out half-price loans to pay.

They'd thought they could take a chance, but it looked like it wouldn't be that simple.

"If you regret signing up, it's not too late to leave. Anyone want to quit?"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three students raised their hands at once. A fourth followed a moment later. They were all students without combat talents!

Two people had been added to the original group, bringing their number to nine. Now, they'd been cut almost in half.

"Fine. You can leave. At least you know when to cut your losses."

Smith didn't mock them. Knowing when to cut their losses was already good enough. He turned to the five who remained and continued, "I know most of you have combat talents, and one of you has a pretty good talent. But whether it suits you is up to you. We'll start right now. Try to copy the set of movements I demonstrated earlier. Do as much as you can..."

At his words, the five students spread out across the cinder-covered training ground and tried to recall the movements.

How could ordinary people remember an entire set of punches that took fifteen minutes to perform after watching it just once?

Even simple, repetitive exercises like radio calisthenics were hard to remember in one go!

Without breaking the movements down one by one, this was bound to be a disaster.

Many of the movements were strange, and some went against the body's natural mechanics. One student even fell over.

None of this surprised Smith. He watched with an amused smile.

But soon, his expression stiffened. He stared at Tao Yu and furrowed his brows.

Tao Yu hadn't copied the movements perfectly, but thanks to his Dynamic Vision, he'd remembered them all. Combined with physical abilities that slightly exceeded human limits and his level-two Basic Combat: Enhanced, he was the only one there who looked like he knew what he was doing.

It wasn't that his form was particularly good, but he kept moving smoothly. By the time the other students had all stopped, Tao Yu had made it through the entire set, stumbling along the way, and even struck a convincing finishing pose.

Since his Deified Breathing Technique let him sense his qi and blood, Tao Yu had already noticed that the movements could provide supplementary benefits.

His form was still far from standard, but his body already felt faintly prickly and numb. He was drenched in sweat.

Thanks to One Proof, Eternal Proof, his body had improved slightly. It wasn't much, but it still left him feeling excited.

This could complement his Breathing Technique.

"What's your talent?"

Smith regarded Tao Yu with a complicated look as he finished.

"A-rank Dynamic Vision."

He'd brought it up to be seen, so Tao Yu had no reason to hide it.

"A-rank?"

"He's got an A-rank talent? No wonder!"

"Damn..."

The other students had been feeling conflicted too, even a little jealous, but now they felt much better.

With an A-rank talent, this was only to be expected!

Zhang Wei sighed inwardly. He'd thought his physical talent would give him an advantage, but now it seemed there was no comparison!

So what if Tao Yu's physical talent was weaker than his?

A-rank Dynamic Vision let him memorize every movement in an instant!

And his physical abilities were much better than Zhang Wei's!

Zhang Wei was the one with the physical talent...

"Dynamic Vision? No wonder. Your physical abilities are quite good too. They're probably no worse than mine. Your Basic Breathing Technique and Basic Combat levels must be pretty high as well. You've invested a lot of Willpower, haven't you?"

Smith sounded impressed. Tao Yu was a complete newcomer who'd only just awakened. He'd been to the Abyss only once, yet he'd already reached this level.

It was rare for someone from the Outer City to make such a large investment. Perhaps Tao Yu had gotten some support because of his A-rank talent, or perhaps it had been part of the terms for joining some organization.

But that wasn't Smith's concern. Without waiting for Tao Yu to answer, he continued, "With Willpower to spare, this skill shouldn't be hard to learn. From the way you look, you could master it today. I'll correct your form, then you should spend as much Willpower as you can to raise it to level two. After three days, when the others join the main class, I'll teach you the boxing technique."

He paused, then added, "This stance technique is a basic skill, so accelerating it with Willpower doesn't cost much. Don't worry."

Compared to before, Smith seemed conflicted, but he was much friendlier on the surface. He continued to remind Tao Yu, "Training takes a lot out of you. If you want to master it quickly, you'll need supplements. The dojo cafeteria sells medicinal meals. A bowl of Qi Replenishing Soup costs ten units of Willpower. It's a special price for dojo members; you can't get it elsewhere."

Ten units of Willpower was what Tao Yu's parents earned in a day. Spending that much on a single bowl of Qi Replenishing Soup—and likely needing several bowls a day—was no small expense.

Fortunately, Tao Yu had just received quite a bit of Willpower, so he could afford it.

When he'd practiced the Basic Breathing Technique in the Abyss, he'd already felt that even the nutrients in meat weren't enough to keep up with his Basic Breathing Technique: Enhanced, given how quickly his body digested food. With the stance technique added, he might not be able to keep up even if he ate and trained nonstop.

The Qi Replenishing Soup was probably like eating Blood Orchid raw: it supplied more nutrients in a smaller, more easily absorbed amount.

Hearing this, Tao Yu took the opportunity to ask Smith humbly, "Senior Brother, does the dojo teach any skills that help with digestion?"

"Haha, you little schemer. If you had a skill that helped with digestion, you could eat more often and probably keep up. But it wouldn't save you much, since meat costs money too."

Smith immediately understood what Tao Yu meant, but still explained, "The dojo does have a Saliva Swallowing Technique that aids digestion, but although it only costs a thousand to learn, you should ideally have a core boxing technique at level three before trying to master it. Otherwise, you won't even be able to control your stomach, and it'll be hard to learn."

Smith had clearly become much kinder to Tao Yu after seeing his talent.

"Besides, the technique was originally meant to meet the needs of people with higher energy consumption. It's usually used alongside Qi Replenishing Soup. It's a little early to worry about it at the stance-technique stage."

"Thanks, Senior Brother. I understand."

Tao Yu nodded. As long as the skill existed, that was enough!

His Deification skills greatly increased his stamina or mental energy consumption. With the recovery effect of One Proof, Eternal Proof, he could keep eating to replenish himself, which was the most cost-effective option.

Tao Yu had tried using a little over ten points of Willpower to replenish himself, and it was incredibly fast. It restored him and healed his injuries far more quickly than eating, but the cost was extremely high for what he got.

With his current physical abilities, merely recovering his stamina would probably take hundreds of points. The stronger he got, the more it would cost to recover, let alone heal injuries. It was only useful in an emergency, not something he could rely on all the time.

So for Tao Yu, learning this digestion skill took priority even over the dojo's secret advanced breathing technique.

But all of that depended on mastering the boxing technique first!

Tao Yu slowly breathed out, then cupped his hands toward Smith.

"Please correct my form, Senior Brother."

"Fine. Let's save time. You all watch. I'll explain as I guide Junior Brother Tao Yu, so pay attention and remember everything. I don't want to see the same mistakes repeated."

As he spoke, Smith gestured for Tao Yu to begin, using him as a demonstration model for the lesson.

"Your form looks standard, but there are still plenty of things you're getting wrong. This is a stance technique, not a fighting style. Don't think about speed or power. The goal is to train every muscle. Some movements even need to be done deliberately slowly..."

As Smith spoke, he repeatedly tapped Tao Yu's body, correcting the flaws in his movements.

Every so often, Tao Yu heard his bones and joints creak. He could feel a burning pain all over his body.

But with his qi and blood working in tandem, the results this time were at least several times better than before!

After finishing the second set, Tao Yu was exhausted and soaked through, but he didn't rest.

He wasn't afraid of overtraining!

When the feeling was there, he needed to keep going and build up momentum!

"Junior Brother, you should rest a bit. Don't rush things. Your physical abilities are good, but you don't have a physical talent."

Seeing Tao Yu prepare to go again, Smith couldn't help frowning slightly.

He'd only done two sets, but the strain on his body was no joke!

"Senior Brother, I know my limits. I ate a lot of special herbs in the Abyss. My body might not have finished absorbing their effects yet. I'm still warm all over."

Tao Yu casually let slip once again that he'd eaten the Blood Orchid.

Zhang Wei looked doubtful. What herbs? He vaguely remembered Tao Yu collecting a lot of red flowers back then. Were those the ones?

Zhang Wei began to have some ideas of his own.

"Fine, as long as you know your limits. One last set, then you need to rest. The dojo sells a special Blood Activating Ointment for twenty Willpower per jar. Member price."

After saying this, Smith gestured for Tao Yu to start again. He was impressed by Tao Yu's determination.

Never mind whether his body could take it. Going straight into another set right after starting out was painful—the soreness was no joke!

Tao Yu's persistence paid off.

He already knew the movements and had found his rhythm. After Smith corrected his form up close a third time, Tao Yu began to grasp the technique.

Then a Myriad Flow Stance skill Light Ball appeared. He'd mastered the skill!