Breathing

The next day, early morning.

Chen Feng carefully tucked the money bag inside his clothes, closed the door, and set off early, heading towards the Inner City.

He passed through a few alleys and turned down a few streets, finding a flat house courtyard near the Inner City.

The door was ajar, and shouts could be heard from inside, along with the dull thuds of fists and feet hitting wooden stakes, audible even through the courtyard wall.

Chen Feng looked up at the wooden plaque above the door – Dragon Walk Martial Arts School.

This was the place.

"Dong dong dong."

Chen Feng stepped forward and knocked.

After waiting a moment, the wooden door opened, and a strongman, eight feet tall with a face full of coarse flesh, emerged. He scrutinized Chen Feng with cold eyes. Seeing it was Chen Feng, his expression softened slightly.

Chen Feng had inquired about the price before and had been sincere, even slipping some copper coins to this strongman, which was why the strongman recognized him.

"Saved enough money?"

"Yes."

"Come in."

The strongman turned, and Chen Feng strode after him, stepping through the courtyard gate.

Inside the courtyard, a dozen men, bare-chested, were lifting stone locks to train their strength.

The strongman who opened the door led Chen Feng through a corridor, speaking as they walked.

"You know the fees. Two liang is the basic, seven liang includes accommodation and meals, and ten liang adds medicinal soup. The term for all is half a year. How much you learn depends entirely on yourself. Which package do you want to sign up for?"

"Two liang is fine."

Arriving at the payment counter, Chen Feng stated his name and age for registration. Then, he took out the two liang of silver shards he had prepared from his money bag and handed them to the accountant.

After the weight was confirmed and recorded, the accountant quickly handed Chen Feng a wooden token. It was engraved with his name and the payment date.

After half a year, the wooden token would become void, and he would need to pay the tuition fee again.

[You witnessed the process of the martial arts school recruiting disciples... Experience +100]

Chen Feng was surprised that even this could add to his experience.

"From today onwards, you are a disciple of our Dragon Walk Martial Arts School. My name is Zhao Shanyue, and I am responsible for guiding the newly admitted disciples this month."

"Senior Brother Zhao." Chen Feng bowed.

Zhao Shanyue nodded.

"Turn around."

Chen Feng did as he was told. Zhao Shanyue gently placed his hand on his shoulder, his fingertips sinking slightly as he traced along the shoulder bone, then the spine, knees, and ankles, unhurriedly.

Chen Feng felt a slight numbness penetrate his bones.

[You underwent a Bone Structure test... Experience +100]

"Hmm... Slightly Superior Gen Gu. If you train diligently for a few years, and an opportunity arises, you might become a Martial Artist."

"Yes."

Chen Feng sighed inwardly. He had initially held out hope that his talent was extraordinary, thinking that as a transmigrator, he wouldn't be too bad. To his surprise, it was only this.

A few years... Such aptitude was truly disheartening.

Chen Feng had inquired; bone structure was extremely important for the Martial Way. For example, there was a person in Pingcheng with innate divine strength, capable of lifting cauldrons as a child.

They started at the finish line for most people from birth.

Zhao Shanyue's comforting tone clearly implied that his hope of achieving success through martial arts was slim.

However, the money had already been paid, and there was no way to get a refund.

"Alright, follow me. I'll teach you the Breathing Method first. Once you've got the basics of the Breathing Method down, you can start combining it with training."

Chen Feng followed closely behind Zhao Shanyue to a training yard paved with Blue Stone Slabs.

In a corner of the yard stood a row of Wooden Dummies, along with Stone Locks and Stone Shoulder Poles of various sizes. The largest were several Giant Rocks, as tall as a person.

The people training here were different from the group of men he had seen earlier; they were all youths. However, the strongest among them could already lift a Giant Rock and perform squats.

"Come, stand here. Watch me demonstrate."

Zhao Shanyue walked slowly in front of Chen Feng and personally demonstrated the breathing posture. His feet were shoulder-width apart, his spine was straight, and his head felt as if it were suspended by a thread.

"Inhale to store, exhale to release. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth..."

Chen Feng listened carefully, not daring to miss a single word.

[You listened attentively to the explanation... Experience +200]

"Alright."

Zhao Shanyue straightened up and handed Chen Feng a piece of paper.

Chen Feng took it, his eyes quickly scanning the text: Tuna Gong.

"Can you read?"

"I can."

The original host had attended school for a few years and could recognize characters and read.

"That's good. Read it yourself. Call me if you don't understand. The posture is just as I demonstrated. The breathing essentials are all written on the paper. Once you get the hang of it, I'll teach you other things."

With that, Zhao Shanyue turned and left, going to instruct other trainees in the courtyard.

Chen Feng roughly read through the breathing method in his hand.

It was densely written, no different from Zhao Shanyue's demonstration.

However, he smiled secretly. This paper recording the breathing techniques was now useless, because...

With a thought, lines of text appeared in his eyes.

[Tuna Gong]: Novice (0/200)

As early as when Zhao Shanyue was demonstrating, his Experience System had already recorded this breathing method. Now, all Chen Feng needed to do was to add points.

[Experience: 12675]

"Shen Lan! Add points!"

As Chen Feng's thoughts stirred in his mind, the data on the panel changed rapidly.

[Tuna Gong]: Minor Accomplishment (0/200)

At this moment, Chen Feng felt a warm current surge within his body, washing through his meridians and cleansing him. He felt full of vitality, wanting to find something to punch a few times to vent.

"Continue," Chen Feng thought to himself.

[Tuna Gong]: Proficient (0/200)

Reaching the Proficient realm, Chen Feng immediately stopped adding points, worried that too high a proficiency would lead to obvious external changes.

Previously, when he maxed out his Tai Chi Fist, there were sudden changes in his body that startled others. It took a lot of talking to cover it up, and he gained experience from it.

The purpose of doing this was to prevent being too outstanding and arousing suspicion. In this world, the biggest fear was being the first bird to get shot.

With each inhale and exhale, Chen Feng could feel his surging vitality. The urge to vent had also lessened, and the warm current within his body had become even stronger.

"Awesome!"

Chen Feng shouted internally, the breathing method was truly miraculous. He felt that if he had known this breathing method during his physique test in his previous life, he wouldn't even be out of breath after running a thousand meters.

Chen Feng didn't immediately call Senior Brother Zhao over. Instead, he practiced the movements on the spot a few times, feigning the appearance of a beginner, making his posture look a bit stiff.

"Hmm, not bad."

Zhao Shanyue, who was guiding other disciples nearby, felt very pleased seeing Chen Feng gain some understanding so quickly.

Although this junior brother had average gen gu, he still had some comprehension.

However, next, Zhao Shanyue was shocked—he saw Chen Feng's posture and movements become more and more proficient, smoother and smoother, and his breathing more and more rhythmic.

"This has clearly entered the introductory stage! This kid actually has such comprehension! He's achieved a minor success in such a short time!"

Surprise flashed in Zhao Shanyue's eyes. After finishing with the disciple in front of him, he came to Chen Feng's side.

"Senior Brother Zhao." Chen Feng bowed respectfully.

"You've done very well, you have talent. To master this Tuna Gong within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, even I can't do it."

"Thank you for the praise, Senior Brother."

A hint of admiration flashed in Zhao Shanyue's eyes. He was neither servile nor overbearing, and was polite, truly making people feel favorably inclined towards him.

The other trainees nearby, seeing Chen Feng's excellent comprehension, began to discuss in low voices.

"Hey, who is that guy? His comprehension is so good."

"I don't know, I haven't seen him before. He should be from an ordinary family."

"Martial arts should be learned from a young age. Someone like him, who joined midway and is almost an adult before learning, I'm not optimistic."

"Let me tell you, when I came over just now, I happened to see Senior Brother Zhao examining his bones. Guess what? Slightly Superior Gen Gu!"

"Slightly Superior Gen Gu? What is that? Isn't gen gu divided into upper, middle, and lower grades?"

"Ah, you don't understand this. Senior Brother Zhao speaks more tactfully. He's always afraid of discouraging people and causing trouble or demands for refunds. This 'Slightly Superior Gen Gu' means Zhong Xia Gen Gu."

"Zhong Xia! Not even middle grade?"

"That's right, that's right. But it's still better than lower grade gen gu. It's better than never even seeing the threshold of a Martial Artist in one's life."

"How long do you think it will take for that person to cultivate Qi Blood?"

"Tch, Zhong Xia martial bones. You'll see, he'll slink away in shame after half a year."