Training

His first experience with the Breathing Technique was guided by a highly skilled knight who had practiced it for many years, maximizing the benefits of his first session.

He felt a strange force surge through the cells in his body, improving him.

Like spring bamboo shoots breaking through the soil after a rain, Borne's small, frail body seemed to grow taller.

When Borne came to, he found himself sitting on the carpet in the study. Two maids stood nearby, but the knight captain was gone. He had apparently left.

Having someone take complete control of his body so he could experience the technique was like having a master martial artist possess a novice and teach him with all his heart and soul. He had gained the master's entire body of experience in an instant.

It was simply unbelievable!

He imagined that doing this must place a tremendous strain on even a high-ranking knight.

As if anticipating Borne's reaction when he woke, the knight captain had ordered the maids to prepare food in advance.

The moment he saw the food, intense hunger flooded his mind. Forgetting all decorum, he grabbed it with his hands and started eating. For the first time in his life, Borne thought the food in this world tasted so delicious.

His stomach seemed to have cast a space-expansion spell, growing several times larger. To the maids' astonishment, Borne ate enough for three people.

Only when his stomach felt like a bottomless pit did Borne realize just how hungry someone could get. It was as if every cell in his body was crying out.

The food he swallowed was quickly broken down by stomach acid and absorbed by his body as nutrients.

When he was about seven-tenths full, Borne stopped. He knew that after suffering such intense hunger, he shouldn't eat too much at once. It wouldn't do his stomach or his body any good.

Even though he had stopped practicing the Breathing Technique, strength continued to well up slowly throughout his body. After being weak for so long, he relished the feeling of having strength. Borne felt that these changes in his body might last for a while!

Only then did he notice that he was covered in grime, sticky and even streaked with blood. It was terribly uncomfortable and disgusting.

With the maids' help, Borne hurriedly changed out of his filthy clothes. Then he went through three buckets of clean water before he finally washed all the grime away.

After all that, the sky outside was already awash with red clouds. Borne ate a little more, then hurriedly climbed into bed to rest. He slept soundly that night.

The next day, Borne woke early, just as dawn broke. Sitting on the bed, he no longer felt weak. He could genuinely feel strength in his body.

He clenched his fist, then stood up and jumped on the bed, overjoyed!

Before, he hadn't been able to do something like that; he would have fallen straight to the floor. Now his mind and body were almost perfectly in sync, and he could manage complex movements!

He couldn't believe the Breathing Technique was so effective!

At the thought, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began practicing the Breathing Technique.

But after stumbling through it once, he noticed almost no change. He knew he was doing something wrong, but couldn't correct it. He couldn't control his abdominal muscles or internal organs nearly as well as the knight captain did.

Borne suddenly recalled some of the haphazard martial arts, qigong, and Daoist breathing exercises he had seen online.

Maybe he could try them?

"No."

Borne immediately rejected the idea. Not only were his memories incomplete, but all that stuff had been made up by who knew who and posted online. What if he experimented on himself and ended up crippled...

Before long, a maid came in. He had gotten used to being waited on by now. Before, he hadn't been able to do things for himself; now, he simply didn't want to.

After changing into gray-and-white noble's clothes, washing up, and eating breakfast, Borne was led by a guard to a room in the castle.

It had been set up as a classroom, and more than a dozen students were already seated at the back.

They were all children from the castle, selected after several rounds of screening.

Before coming, their parents had told them how precious this opportunity was. They would be able to join the ranks of the literate, and their status wouldn't be too low when they grew up.

Besides, the chance to study alongside the "crown prince" might come only once in their lives. Unless something unexpected happened, Borne would inherit the Ioulaum House, and the next generation of "officials" would likely come from among them!

Poor families' children learned to fend for themselves early. Those who had made it here were sure to be clever and socially perceptive. No matter how much they looked down on Borne in their hearts, they wouldn't let it show. As for trying to embarrass him or get their comeuppance, that wasn't going to happen either. The people hung on the wall several years ago were still fresh in everyone's memory. As soon as Borne entered, they stood and bowed.

Borne calmly scanned the room. Most were older than him, the youngest around five and the oldest about eleven or twelve.

The lectern was at the front, with Borne's seat beside it. Status determined everything. The class was organized around serving Borne; the others were merely an added extra.

Footsteps sounded, and an elderly man with white hair entered. He wore a scholar's robes and looked learned.

The old man went to the lectern. An attendant behind him placed some books and parchment beside it.

"My name is Rodney. I'm a scholar, and Viscount Gordon invited me to teach you." The old man spoke with a stern expression and a booming voice.

Everyone stood and bowed.

"Sit down. We'll begin class now. You can ask me anything you like." Rodney gestured for them to sit. He directed his last words at Borne, knowing he was the real "sponsor."

"Our first lesson today is..."

The days passed like this, one after another. At first, every morning was devoted to literacy. Under Rodney's guidance, they learned to recognize characters, then practiced writing and conversation.

That was when Borne learned that, besides Common, the language used by commoners, the nobles had their own language. He felt like cursing...

The wicked nobility had not only divided society into classes; they even had their own language.

In the afternoons, Borne also studied noble etiquette and the arts needed to become a well-rounded gentleman. Etiquette lessons included dining, social gatherings, and public conduct, as well as role-playing different situations.

For example, during a formal meal, he had to use his knife, fork, and spoon in the correct order to eat the appetizer, main course, and dessert. He also had to know how to excuse himself gracefully without causing offense if he suddenly needed to leave the table...

Learning to appreciate the arts was much more troublesome. But Borne knew that to enjoy the privileges of this class, he had to obey its rules!

The rest of his time was spent learning combat techniques from the knights. The other children were taught by different knights, but because of Borne's age and stamina, the knight captain taught him alone for the time being.

The basic moves of the Cross Sword Technique were horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, thrusts, diagonal cuts...

Then came the footwork: advancing, retreating, sidestepping left and right, dodging...

The high-ranking combat professional had a keen eye. He always stopped just as Borne approached the limits of his body and will, then had him practice the Breathing Technique.

For the first few days, the knight captain had to assist by guiding Borne's body through the exercises. It wasn't until the eighth day that Borne could just barely complete them on his own.

Borne's progress in training was only so-so, but he showed astonishing talent in his cultural lessons. Even Scholar Rodney was deeply impressed by his memory!

While everyone else was still learning basic Common, Borne could not only hold a conversation but write it down, too. Rodney adjusted his pace to Borne's progress, and the others couldn't keep up. Some broke down on the spot and were led away by the guards. Others cried silently and forced themselves to keep going, but could barely make sense of the lessons...

It wasn't just the students who were overwhelmed. Rodney was under tremendous pressure, too. Borne was learning far too quickly. In less than three months, he had memorized over five thousand commonly used characters in Common and the noble language, and could converse and write in both.

At this rate, Rodney had no idea how much longer he could teach him. As a scholar from a common background, he had a certain reputation among the public and was more than capable of teaching ordinary children. After all, in this era, being able to read and write could earn someone a fine position in a noble's household.

Borne learned so quickly that Rodney had to bring out the most precious items in his collection: a few rare manuscripts. Even Rodney didn't fully understand them. He could only read them aloud to Borne, occasionally adding his own thoughts and interpretations.

After a while, Borne gradually understood Rodney's predicament and slowed down his studies. This finally gave Rodney some breathing room. Borne then shifted his focus to training.

With his persistent exercise over this period, his formerly emaciated body had gradually grown sturdier, and his pale, frail complexion had improved. Borne felt the Breathing Technique had played a crucial role in this. That didn't mean training had no effect, of course; it was simply less significant by comparison.

Borne especially enjoyed the feeling of growing stronger day by day. Although he had no modern precision instruments to examine him, his powerful mental strength allowed him to clearly sense the changes each day.

A year later, Borne was four years old and could just about keep up with the other children in training.

The others training with him were all older, yet he could now just about keep pace. That meant Borne's physique was no longer inferior to that of other children his age.

Viscount Gordon had been keeping a close eye on Borne's changes. He was delighted by the improvement in Borne's "illness," and even had a better appetite.

The knight captain also understood that Borne's astonishing perseverance had played an indispensable role in his recovery!

The castle, the little garden beneath Borne's room.

After putting up the last frame, Borne clapped his hands and looked over his tactical training ground with satisfaction.

He went to the pull-up bar, jumped up, and did a few pull-ups. Then he quickly climbed a vertical obstacle, using both hands and feet, before dropping back down!

The knight captain watched, somewhat dumbfounded, and couldn't help asking, "Borne, what are you doing?"

"This is a tactical training ground I designed myself!" Borne said smugly. "By using different obstacles to recreate terrain, I can move quickly and exercise all the muscles in my body, making me more coordinated."

After speaking, Borne started trying to get through the obstacle course from the beginning. Although he had designed it himself, some of the obstacles were still challenging for him. Some were too high, while others were too close together.

The knight captain understood Borne's intentions and stroked his chin. He could see further advantages: this method not only quickly exhausted the trainee but also exercised the internal organs.

As a high-ranking combat professional, the knight captain could control every muscle in his body, even his internal organs. He could even take control of Borne's body just like this.

But not every combat professional could control every muscle in their body. Many people got stuck at this stage when trying to advance to the higher ranks.

"Hmm, this is interesting!" The knight narrowed his eyes.

With his superior understanding, Knight Captain John immediately thought of dozens of obstacles and movements that could better engage every muscle in the body during practice!

At the same time, he couldn't help reflecting that if he'd known about this training method years ago, he wouldn't have had to suffer so much...

Watching little Borne sprint around, the knight captain couldn't help marveling that Borne had come up with such a new training method after only a short time practicing.

Was this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?

After speaking, he stepped forward and helped Borne adjust the obstacles, then demonstrated a few movements.

"This way may be slower, but it'll engage most of your muscles and make your arms and legs more coordinated."

Borne thought that made sense. At the same time, he realized something else: he could use his memories of his previous life for reference, but he shouldn't copy them wholesale.

As a high-ranking combat professional, the knight captain's experience would clearly be more useful to him. He could consider the methods he remembered, but shouldn't simply follow them all.

From then on, Borne practiced in the little garden every morning and after his afternoon martial training.

The knight captain also came to watch Borne practice each day, reminding him to do the Breathing Technique once he finished, so he wouldn't suffer any hidden injuries.