Entering the Door

"I'll be giving you a special class for three days. You can ask me anything you don't understand during this time, but I'll only answer repeated questions once. After three days, regardless of whether you've grasped the stance, you'll all join the main class to practice together until you master the skill..."

Smith's expression was cold, making everyone's hearts tighten. A few individuals without combat talents even started to regret their decision. They hadn't gotten a free spot; they had exchanged it for a half-price loan.

They had initially wanted to take a gamble, but it seemed it wouldn't be that simple.

"It's not too late to regret it. Is anyone dropping out?"

Swish~ Swish~

Three students immediately raised their hands. A moment later, a fourth person also raised their hand. These were all students without combat talents!

Originally, there were nine people after two more joined later, but now it was nearly halved.

"Good. You can leave. It's wise to know when to cut your losses."

Smith didn't mock them. It was good enough that they could stop their losses in time. Looking at the remaining five people, he continued, "I know most of you should have combat talents, and there's one with decent talent. But whether you can adapt to it depends on yourselves. We'll start today. Perform a set based on the movements I showed you earlier. Recover as much as you can..."

As his words fell, the five people spread out and stood on the cinders of the training ground, recalling the previous movements.

But how could ordinary people's memories possibly recall an entire fifteen-minute boxing routine in one go?

Even simple, repetitive movements like calisthenics were hard to remember perfectly on the first try!

Without breaking down each movement one by one, this was bound to be a disaster.

In fact, because many of the movements were quite strange and went against the natural way the body generates force, one person even fell on the spot.

None of this exceeded Smith's expectations. He watched with a smile.

But soon, his expression stiffened. He stared at Tao Yu and frowned slightly.

Although Tao Yu didn't perfectly replicate the movements, relying on his Dynamic Vision to memorize everything, combined with his slightly-beyond-human physical abilities and the Level 2 [Basic Combat·Modified] skill, he was the only one on the scene who looked like he knew what he was doing.

Regardless of how well he performed, he maintained fluidity. By the time the other students had stopped, Tao Yu, stumbling a bit but still managing, completed the entire routine and even struck a proper finishing pose.

Tao Yu, who could already sense Blood Essence through his Deified breathing technique, unexpectedly found that this set of movements provided a supplementary boost.

Even though it wasn't standard yet, he felt a slight tingling sensation all over his body, which was drenched in sweat.

Because of [One Proof, Eternal Proof], his body should have undergone a slight improvement. Although not significant, it still made Tao Yu feel very excited.

This was something that could complement his breathing technique.

"What's your talent?"

Smith looked at Tao Yu, who had finished, with a complex expression.

"A-rank [Dynamic Vision]."

Tao Yu had no reason to hide it, as it was meant to be revealed.

"A-rank?"

"It's actually A-rank, no wonder!"

"Good heavens..."

The other students, who had felt complicated and even a bit jealous moments before, suddenly felt balanced.

An A-rank talent was supposed to be like this!

Zhang Wei sighed inwardly at this moment. He had initially thought his physical talent would have an advantage, but now it seemed there was no comparison!

What if his physical talent wasn't as good as his?

An A-rank [Dynamic Vision] could instantly memorize all the movements!

And his physical condition was much better than his own!

Even though he was the one who possessed the physical talent...

"[Dynamic Vision]? No wonder. Your physical condition is also quite good, probably not worse than mine. Your [Basic Breathing Technique] and [Basic Combat] levels should be quite high. You must have invested a lot of Wish Power?" Smith said with some emotion. This was an absolute newcomer who had only just awakened! To have this level after only going to the Abyss once.

It was rare for people from the Outer City to have such significant investments. Perhaps it was because his A-rank talent had attracted some investment, or it was a condition for joining certain factions.

But that was none of his business. Without waiting for Tao Yu's reply, he continued, "With Wish Power, this skill is actually easy to learn. Judging by your performance, you can master it today. I'll correct you, and then try to use Wish Power to upgrade it to Level 2. After three days, when they go to the main class, I'll teach you the boxing techniques."

He paused here.

"This stance is a basic ability, and accelerating it with Wish Power won't cost much, so don't worry."

Compared to before, although Smith's mood was a bit complicated, his outward enthusiasm had increased. He continued to instruct Tao Yu, "However, practicing martial arts is physically demanding. To master it quickly, you'll need nourishment. The dojo's cafeteria sells medicinal meals. Qi Replenishing Soup costs 10 units of Wish Power per bowl, which is a welfare price from the dojo. You can't buy it outside."

10 units of Wish Power was the equivalent of Tao Yu's parents' daily income. Just for one bowl of Qi Replenishing Soup, and he would likely need to consume several bowls a day, it was still a considerable expense.

Fortunately, Tao Yu had recently gained quite a bit, so he could afford it.

When practicing the Basic Breathing Technique in the Abyss, he had already felt that even with the nutrition from meat, his digestion speed couldn't keep up with [Basic Breathing Technique·Modified]. Now, with the addition of the stance, he might struggle even if he ate and practiced constantly.

That Qi Replenishing Soup was probably similar to the recovery effect of eating Blood Orchid raw, providing more nutrients in a smaller, more easily absorbed amount.

Hearing this, Tao Yu took the opportunity to humbly ask Smith for advice.

"Senior Brother, I wonder if the dojo has any skills to aid digestion."

"Haha, you're quite the clever one. If there were skills to aid digestion, eating diligently would be enough, but it wouldn't save much. Eating meat still costs money."

Smith immediately understood Tao Yu's intention but still explained, "The dojo does have a skill called Saliva Swallowing Technique, which helps with eating and digestion. Although the learning fee is only 1000, it's best to have a core boxing technique reach Lv3 before mastering it. Otherwise, you won't even be able to control your stomach, making it very difficult to learn."

Due to Tao Yu's displayed talent, Smith was clearly much more amiable.

"Moreover, the original purpose of this skill was for stronger consumption. It's generally used in conjunction with Qi Replenishing Soup. Thinking about it during the stance training phase is still too early."

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I understand."

Tao Yu nodded. As long as it exists!

His various Deification skills would greatly increase physical or mental exertion. Relying on the recovery effect of One Proof, Eternal Proof to ravenously consume food was the most cost-effective way to supplement.

Wish Power supplementation – Tao Yu had tried using a little over ten points of Wish Power, and the speed was truly fast. Both for recovery and healing, it far surpassed eating, but the cost-effectiveness was extremely low.

His current physical condition alone would require hundreds of points just to recover stamina. The stronger his physical condition, the greater the consumption for recovery, let alone healing. It could only be considered for emergencies and absolutely could not be used regularly.

Therefore, for Tao Yu himself, the priority of learning this digestion skill was even higher than the dojo's secret advanced breathing techniques.

However, all of this was predicated on mastering the boxing techniques first!

Tao Yu slowly exhaled, then cupped his hands towards Smith.

"Please guide me, Senior Brother."

"Good. Let's also save time. You all watch together. I will explain while guiding Junior Brother Tao Yu. Remember everything; I don't want to see repeated mistakes."

As Smith finished speaking, he gestured for Tao Yu to begin, treating Tao Yu as a general teaching model.

"Although it looks standard, many parts are still not in place. This is stance training, not combat. Don't consider speed or power at all; the goal is to train every muscle. Some movements even need to be deliberately slowed down..."

As Smith spoke, he continuously patted Tao Yu, correcting minor flaws.

Occasionally, the sound of creaking bones and joints could be heard, and Tao Yu could feel a burning sensation all over his body.

But with the cooperation of Blood Essence, the effect this time was at least several times that of the initial set!

After finishing the second set, Tao Yu was exhausted, his clothes completely soaked, but he didn't rest.

He wasn't afraid of ruining his body!

It's best to strike while the iron is hot!

"Junior Brother, you should rest for a bit. Don't rush for success. Although your physical condition is good, it's not innate talent."

Hearing that Tao Yu wanted to continue, Smith couldn't help but frown slightly.

Although it seemed like only two sets, the burden on the body was not light!

"Senior Brother, I know what I'm doing. I ate a lot of special herbs in the Abyss, and the medicinal effects might not have been fully digested yet. My whole body feels warm and fuzzy."

Tao Yu carelessly 'inadvertently' revealed information about having eaten the Blood Orchid again.

This made Zhang Wei look somewhat surprised and uncertain. What herbs? He did remember the other party packing quite a few red flowers back then; was it that stuff?

This also made Zhang Wei ponder.

"Alright, as long as you know your limits. One last time, then you need to rest. The dojo has specialized Blood Activating Ointment, 20 Wish Power per jar, at an internal price."

As he finished speaking, Smith gestured for Tao Yu to begin again, secretly admiring the other's perseverance.

Setting aside whether his body could withstand it, just starting and going continuously, that soreness was quite unbearable!

Tao Yu's persistence also paid off.

He had already remembered the movements clearly, and the feeling was coming. After receiving close correction from Smith for the third time, a hint of enlightenment vaguely appeared in his mind.

Subsequently, the skill orb for Myriad Flow Stance Lv1 appeared. The skill had been mastered!