A Different Way of Breathing

Looking at the intelligent youth before him, Kujo Tachibana said with sincere gratitude:

"Master, thank you."

Seeing the genuine expression on Kujo Tachibana's face, and noticing that even his eyes seemed to have regained a glimmer of their former vitality, Ubuyashiki Kagaya finally set his mind at ease and urged:

"Rest well for a few days, and do not do anything so reckless again."

Kujo Tachibana nodded.

Seeing this, Ubuyashiki Kagaya took the group of corps members who had come to visit Kujo Tachibana and departed.

Five days later, Kujo Tachibana was discharged again and returned to his own estate.

From then on, Kujo Tachibana sequestered himself at home, spending his days and nights recalling memories from his past life.

He racked his brain, searching for a solution to the trauma in his lungs.

At the same time, he sought out other potential remedies.

Half a month flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Yet, at this moment, Kujo Tachibana still had no leads whatsoever.

Feeling his physical condition gradually deteriorating, Kujo Tachibana knew he had to resolve, or at the very least delay, this problem.

If he let it drag on any longer, he feared he would truly become a sickly invalid.

Early the next morning, Kujo Tachibana rose from bed and began to practice a set of movements.

It was a form of martial arts that anyone in his past life could learn, one that did not require high physical standards and consisted of very light, gentle movements—Tai Chi.

This was a set of "Tai Chi" that Kujo Tachibana had downloaded from a computer at an internet cafe back when he was a teenager on Blue Star and dreaming of martial arts fantasies.

As for whether it had any effect, his method of death in his past life was proof enough, though that didn't necessarily mean this Tai Chi was completely useless.

It could only be said that the youth had been too "fickle-minded" and lacked the discipline to persevere.

Of course, Kujo Tachibana did not expect that practicing Tai Chi would turn him into an peerless master.

Not to mention whether such power even existed, even if it did, without the guidance of a renowned teacher, practicing this widely circulated "Yang Style 24-Form Tai Chi" would never make Kujo Tachibana a peerless master.

This Yang Style 24-Form Tai Chi belonged to the "officially" certified version of Tai Chi.

Many of the original moves and techniques had been replaced or modified, and its function had been reduced solely to strengthening the body and maintaining health.

Furthermore, given his current physical state, even if he were given a peerless divine technique, he wouldn't be able to achieve any results.

One must realize that as long as you are human, you need to breathe; if you have trouble breathing, you will be weak and sickly at best, and near death at worst!

And he, Kujo Tachibana, could currently be described as being caught between being weak and sickly and being near death.

He chose to practice Tai Chi simply because he wanted to keep his body moving as much as possible to slow the rate of his physical decline.

That evening, as usual, Kujo Tachibana began to slowly practice his "health-preserving fist" under the ginkgo tree in the courtyard.

However, it had to be said that this Tai Chi really did have some effect.

Because Kujo Tachibana could now observe the minute changes in his own body, he was exceptionally sensitive to the effects brought about by the Tai Chi.

Now, not only did he practice it himself, but he also dragged the true "sickly invalid," Ubuyashiki Kagaya, to practice with him every morning.

The sweltering heat of the day began to turn comfortable as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

The evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, blowing across the youth's sweat-drenched body, and Kujo Tachibana couldn't help but let out a groan of comfort.

Taking off his damp outer robe, Kujo Tachibana went to the well in the courtyard and scooped up a ladle of well water. Just as he was preparing to wash his clothes, he noticed something.

An earthworm was currently crawling along the edge of the well.

"Little guy, you can't swim; this is no place for you to play."

Kujo Tachibana casually picked up the earthworm from beside the well, just about to toss it onto the soil nearby.

At that very moment, the wet, slippery sensation of the earthworm caused a flash of inspiration to strike Kujo Tachibana's mind!

Kujo Tachibana pulled his hand back and watched silently as the earthworm writhed in his palm.

Kujo Tachibana was no stranger to creatures like earthworms.

In his past life, there was a period when he was obsessed with fishing, and he knew this "bait" very well.

Earthworms had a very strong attraction for certain carnivorous and omnivorous fish.

Such as crucian carp, catfish, grass carp, snakehead, common carp, tilapia, and so on...

Uh, he had digressed; back to the main point.

And that unique way the earthworm breathed!

It was exactly what reminded Kujo Tachibana!

Why must breathing necessarily require the lungs?

One must know that earthworms also need to breathe, yet they lack the organ known as lungs because they can rely directly on their skin to respire!

What about humans? Can they breathe through their skin and pores?

In this world, no one could give Kujo Tachibana an answer.

Actually, the direction Kujo Tachibana was thinking in was not wrong.

The pores on human skin can, in fact, breathe!

The human body can not only expel toxic substances through its pores to achieve self-purification.

Within twenty-four hours each day, the amount of oxygen absorbed through human skin is approximately three to four grams.

This amount is also related to temperature.

At thirty degrees Celsius, human skin respiration accounts for one percent of total gas exchange.

In high-temperature environments, skin gas metabolism accounts for about fifteen to twenty percent of pulmonary gas metabolism.

And this is only when the human body is unconscious, uncontrolled, and reacting solely to external environmental stimuli through the automatic action of some pores.

So, exactly how many pores are on the human body?

The answer is! Millions, varying specifically from person to person.

If someone could control every pore on their body, could they discard their lungs and rely entirely on pore respiration?

Looking at the earthworm in his palm, Kujo Tachibana closed his eyes and began to search his mind for memories related to keywords like "body respiration" and "pore respiration" from his past life on Blue Star.

A moment later, Kujo Tachibana slowly opened his eyes; they were so bright!

Watching the earthworm in the center of his palm, Kujo Tachibana patiently found a patch of damp soil in the courtyard, set the earthworm down, and whispered:

"We both have a bright future."

Yes, Kujo Tachibana had found some relevant information in his own memories!

He was now full of confidence in walking the path of body respiration!

Back in his past life on Blue Star, Kujo Tachibana had once browsed a post online regarding the realms of ancient martial artists.

Of course, it was posted on the internet by modern people, so Kujo Tachibana could not verify its authenticity at the time and simply read it as a curiosity.

According to this post, when an ancient martial artist's internal energy reached the realm of a first-class expert and they cleared all the meridians in their body, they would reach a realm called Xiantian.

Upon reaching this realm, one could not only strengthen the five internal organs but also use mental power to control the opening and closing of every inch of skin pores on the body, achieving the effect of body respiration.

In the modern era, roughly during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, martial artists focused more on the practice of fist techniques due to the massive loss of internal energy caused by war.

Fist techniques were divided into internal and external styles. When martial artists practicing internal styles reached a very high level of proficiency in their techniques.

They would also reach a realm similar to body respiration, which the martial artists of that time called—Breaking the Void, Seeing the Divine, and Remaining Unbroken.

Martial artists who reached this realm could not only rely entirely on the pores of their skin to breathe.

They could even control their body hair, allowing it to grow and shed at will.

Furthermore, there were legends of the Taoist masters of China.

It was rumored that enlightened masters who had practiced Taoist arts to a certain level also possessed a realm similar to the body respiration of martial artists.

All of this told Kujo Tachibana that utilizing pores for body respiration was entirely possible!