Getting Stronger Just by Lying Down!

The night was deep and deserted, the cold wind bleak.

After a brief conversation with the two, Ye Li went out alone to practice martial arts.

He jogged all the way, finding a cool, secluded spot hundreds of meters away from the residential area amidst the night.

Ye Li surveyed his surroundings:

"The moonlight is excellent tonight, but I must be extra careful!"

"Otherwise, why would those people from the Li Family curse me?"

"My fear is justified."

As the saying goes, if you read three hundred web novels, you can at least recite poetry even if you can't write a book!

According to the Chekhov's Gun theory, since the narrative has already established Li Xi's stubborn and self-opinionated personality, a conflict is bound to arise!

A single Li Xi is not terrifying, but in classic tropes, the righteous family is divided while the villains are incredibly united—hit the small one, and the old one comes out.

With no power or influence, and though he has no parents, he still has his uncle and aunt's family to worry about; he could hardly withstand the might of the Li Family.

"The villain has already jumped out on his own! Li Xi is one! And then there is the Li Family!"

A chill crawled up his spine to the back of his head; Ye Li felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Life itself is a massive game with no save-scumming, where every decision represents a choice.

The existing information had successfully made the main quest triggered for Ye Li clear:

"Facing the threat of the Li Family, you decide!"

A: Work hard on cultivation

B: Slack off and be lazy

Choose correctly and life is fulfilled; choose wrongly and one might face the destruction of their family!

Clearly, choosing A is the quintessential start for a path of extreme martial arts, protecting one's family from harm!

As for option B, it might trigger a "family destruction" Bad Ending, forcing him onto the protagonist's path of revenge—"thirty years east of the river, thirty years west."

"Are the tropes of extreme martial arts novels forcing my hand? I cannot slack off!"

"For the sake of my family, I shall unleash the Azure Dragon Force upon the Li Family!"

Thinking this, he decisively assumed the starting stance of the Azure Dragon Force!

"Hiss... hoo..."

"Hiss-hiss... hoo—"

"Hiss... hoo... hiss..."

Coordinating with the unique rhythmic breathing technique, Ye Li began to twist and turn his body under the cover of night.

Each repetition deepened his understanding of the Azure Dragon Force, making his next execution carry more of the Azure Dragon's aura.

In the darkness, his silhouette resembled a flood dragon dormant in the abyss, waiting for the moment to strike!

Sweat soon soaked his thin clothes, clinging to his skin and bringing a hint of chill, only to be quickly dispelled by the surging heat within his body.

His muscles groaned under the efficient tempering, each stretch bringing a sharp, clear pain, yet this pain only served to sharpen his focus!

About an hour later, Ye Li finally withdrew his stance.

He looked as if he had just been fished out of water, drenched from head to toe, steam rising from his body.

The soreness in his muscles surged like the tide, signaling that he had reached his limit for tonight's training.

Feeling the throbbing pain in his muscles, he calmly scanned his attribute panel.

Mortal (8/1000)
Azure Dragon Force (33/100)

"Hoo... the progress is good."

A faint smile appeared on Ye Li's weary face.

At this rate, the Azure Dragon Force would surely reach perfection within three days!

He looked forward to seeing what effects this core technique, treated as a treasure by the gang, would have once perfected, and what miraculous power it would display.

Ye Li moved to the stone steps in the corner, maintaining his breathing technique while using his trembling hands to knead and pat his aching muscle groups, especially his thighs and lower back.

The pads of his fingers pressed into the taut muscle fibers, bringing waves of intense soreness and numbness.

"I have never exercised this intensely in this world; I fear my muscles will be aching to the point of cramping tomorrow."

Ye Li pondered, doing his best to massage out the congested muscles, preparing himself for tomorrow's practice!

Half an hour later, having washed up, he dragged his heavy body back to the communal dormitory!

The room was pitch black, filled only with the sound of light, rhythmic snoring.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the door crack, Ye Li swept his gaze over the three people fast asleep.

Without disturbing anyone, he groped his way up to his own bunk.

Almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, a heavy drowsiness dragged him into darkness.

Yet, in deep sleep, his body did not fully slumber.

Having learned the cultivation technique through World-Shocking Wisdom, everything seemed to have merged into his instincts.

Even while unconscious, Ye Li mimicked the breathing rhythm of Azure Dragon Force.

Following this passive respiration, his chest rose and fell with rhythmic regularity.

His internal organs, the skin and membranes covering his entire body, and even his surging blood were in a state of constant vibration.

Like a pair of invisible hands, it smoothed away the fatigue accumulated from the day's strenuous exercise at an unimaginable speed, tempering this body that was currently undergoing a metamorphosis.

Early morning, the sky was not yet bright, and a thin mist permeated the air.

The impoverished life of the past decade had conditioned his biological clock to the rhythm of working at sunrise.

He sat up from the wooden bed almost instinctively.

"Ugh..."

The intense soreness he expected, as if struck by a heavy hammer, making every step difficult, did not arrive as anticipated.

On the contrary, an indescribable sense of lightness enveloped his entire body; his physical state was surprisingly good, and his muscles carried a heavy, solid sense of fullness.

"The people of this world are truly durable. I'll increase the training intensity a bit more today."

Surprised in his heart, Ye Li subconsciously summoned the panel, but the information on it made him freeze.

Mortal (9/1000)

"I remember it was only 8 points when I slept last night. It reached 9 points after just one night?"

Ye Li was startled and suspicious; this point represented a reduction of one hour of training.

Passive respiration of Azure Dragon Force, cultivation progress +1

"Passive respiration..."

It wasn't until the panel prompted him that Ye Li realized he had been maintaining the breathing frequency of Azure Dragon Force as if it were instinct.

But now that it had been pointed out, his breathing shifted from automatic to manual.

This discovery shocked him beyond measure!

Because this meant that even if he did nothing, maintaining this breathing technique would allow him to gain 2 points of cultivation progress every day.

Just by sleeping, as long as he kept breathing without stopping, the accumulation over time would allow him to easily enter the threshold within two years.

"Wonderful! Isn't this the legendary 'getting stronger while sleeping'?"

"As expected, World-Shocking Wisdom did not drag down my world-shocking talent!"

"This is fine too; increasing cultivation progress every day counts as an extra gain."

This discovery greatly boosted his spirits.

Glancing at his three roommates still in their dreams, Ye Li left the dormitory quietly without disturbing them.

After washing up and eating, Ye Li went straight to the gang's martial arts arena.

The early morning arena was empty and cold; the morning mist had not yet fully dissipated, and the ground was damp with dew.

More than a dozen figures were already there earlier than him, practicing Azure Dragon Force in the arena!

These were all outer sect gang members who, like him, had not yet entered the threshold.

Those who had officially entered the martial path did not practice in the same area as these people.

The gap in realms was too great, lest they accidentally get crushed like speed bumps.

Ye Li took a deep breath of the cool, grassy air, joined their ranks, and began to practice with focus.

Amidst the dull and bitter training, three days flashed by.

The Azure Dragon Force he practiced was also about to reach perfection!