Body Breathing

Why is it that across thousands of years, these disparate groups with entirely different power systems all arrive at a similar result?

Could it be that while the Great Dao has three thousand paths, they all lead to the same destination?

It is simply because these people, in their essence, are all advancing along the path of biological evolution.

If the senses can control muscles and blood vessels, what about the pores?

They should be controllable as well, right?

Kujo Tachibana muttered to himself.

One must realize that the human body contains six billion muscle fibers, and the blood vessels are even more exaggerated.

Two hundred and fifty trillion of them!

If connected end-to-end, their total length would reach one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers!

Of course, the vast majority of these are capillaries.

Some of the capillaries in the human body are much smaller than pores, invisible to the naked eye of an ordinary person.

Since he could control such fine blood vessels, there was no reason he couldn't control his pores, right?

Thinking of this, Kujo Tachibana focused his mind and began to experiment on his own body.

Sensing the countless tiny, densely packed openings covering his entire body—holes he had never noticed before—Kujo Tachibana attempted to slowly control the pores on his arm, making them open and contract.

After all, it was his first time controlling his pores, so Kujo Tachibana was still somewhat clumsy.

The manipulation was inevitably slow and cumbersome, but as time passed, Kujo Tachibana's powerful mental energy made controlling the pores on his arm increasingly smooth and effortless.

As the pores on his arm opened, air quickly entered Kujo Tachibana's body.

Before long, Kujo Tachibana felt a faint coolness emanating from his arm.

The process went smoothly; using his sensory spirit to control the opening and closing of his pores was not difficult at all.

Kujo Tachibana's eyes brightened.

He could feel it! His body was truly breathing!

Breathing without relying on his lungs, relying solely on his pores!

This long-lost sense of satisfaction flooded Kujo Tachibana's entire body.

Suddenly, as if he had realized something, Kujo Tachibana's pupils constricted sharply, and he stared at his arm in astonishment.

He had to remember, he was currently only controlling the pores of a single arm to breathe!

And this one arm was equivalent to eighty percent of the breathing efficiency he had when his lungs were perfectly intact in his prime!

If he were to control the pores of his entire body to breathe, how astonishing would that be?

Wouldn't a single breath taken through his entire body's pores be equivalent to dozens of breaths taken with his lungs in the past?

Kujo Tachibana hurriedly used the pores on his arm to breathe a few more times, only then calming his excited emotions.

After a moment, Kujo Tachibana realized he might have been happy too soon.

He could breathe through his pores now, but he could no longer use his previous breathing techniques!

However, thinking about it, it was only natural; after all, the previous breathing techniques were all developed by Yoriichi specifically for the lungs.

Who could have predicted a freak like him?

How could conventional breathing techniques possibly work for him?

But if he couldn't use a breathing technique, what was the point of having such powerful breathing efficiency?

If too much oxygen entered the blood without being consumed, it would only be harmful rather than beneficial!

Therefore, now that Kujo Tachibana had mastered the method of Body Breathing, if he wanted to obtain this power that far surpassed his past self, he would have to create a breathing technique suited for Body Breathing!

That very evening, unable to wait any longer, Kujo Tachibana went once again to the residence of Tamayo.

Upon meeting Tamayo and Yushiro, Kujo Tachibana did not hide anything and directly told the two demons about the Body Breathing method he had discovered.

After the two demons had finished digesting the information, they exchanged a glance.

Tamayo asked, full of confusion:

"Kujo-san, are you saying that you can now use the pores on your body to breathe?"

Kujo Tachibana nodded earnestly and said:

"Yes! If you don't believe me, Tamayo-san, you can find something to plug my nose and mouth."

"Try it, and you will see."

Tamayo did not reject Kujo Tachibana's proposal; she also wanted to see if it were truly as Kujo Tachibana claimed, that the pores of the human body could also perform Body Breathing.

"Very well, Yushiro, go fetch a basin of water."

After Yushiro left, Tamayo looked at Kujo Tachibana and asked:

"Since you can breathe through your pores, you should hold your breath while submerged in the water. That will be fine, won't it?"

Kujo Tachibana shook his head and said with certainty:

"It is fine. Rest assured, I will be perfectly safe."

"There is one more thing I must trouble you with. While I am holding my breath later, please draw a vial of blood to see what other differences exist between Body Breathing and pulmonary respiration."

Tamayo nodded with a smile; even if Kujo Tachibana hadn't asked, she had already intended to do so.

She was truly looking forward to it. In the four hundred years of her existence, she had never encountered anyone like Kujo Tachibana.

For a condition that even she found herself helpless against, he had managed to find such a heaven-defying solution all on his own.

Yes, at this moment, even without the experiment, Tamayo already believed in Kujo Tachibana's method of Body Breathing.

Perhaps this was the gap between a genius and an ordinary person.

Before long, Yushiro returned to the room carrying a basin of clear water.

Kujo Tachibana tied back his long hair, leaned over, and submerged his face completely into the water in the basin.

As time passed, he reached the limit of what a normal person could hold their breath for—between forty and fifty seconds.

Tamayo took out a syringe with a needle, lifted Kujo Tachibana's arm, and slowly inserted it into the vein on the back of his hand.

Only after drawing a full vial of blood did she pull the needle out from the back of Kujo Tachibana's hand.

Immediately, Tamayo looked at Yushiro and said:

"Yushiro, take this blood to be analyzed. I need to stay here and keep an eye on Mr. Kujo."

"As you wish, Lady Tamayo."

Yushiro did not say anything else; he took the syringe and headed to the laboratory in the small courtyard.

About five minutes later, Tamayo tapped Kujo Tachibana on the shoulder and placed a clean towel in front of him, signaling that he could sit up.

Kujo Tachibana straightened his back and used the towel on the table to wipe the water droplets from his face.

Looking at Kujo Tachibana's calm expression, he did not look at all like someone who had just been holding his breath.

Tamayo was greatly astonished. After pulling Kujo Tachibana to sit down, she began to ask him detailed questions.

It was not until an hour later that Yushiro walked in with a handwritten data report, interrupting the pair who were deep in conversation.

Tamayo picked up the data report and examined it with great care.

A moment later, Tamayo set the report down.

She looked at Kujo Tachibana with a smile and said:

"Congratulations, Mr. Kujo."

"Your current respiratory state has reached the level of a healthy person."