An Unreasonable Species

The unnatural ripples spreading outward from the river surface around Zeppeli's legs came in perfect circles. At the sight, Jonathan was the first to gasp in shock. "Th-then what are those ripples?"

"What I am doing now is the same as when I poked your diaphragm with my finger earlier. I am merely regulating your breathing and generating power through a special breathing method.

To put it simply, breathing is connected to blood, because blood carries oxygen from the lungs. The oxygen in the blood is connected to cells, and the body is made up of cells. In other words, just like creating ripples in water, this breathing method creates ripples within the body... generating energy!"

As he spoke, Baron Zeppeli turned his gaze toward a frog crouching on a rock by the riverbank. Before it could react, he raised his fist high and punched straight down.

The punch looked as though he had held nothing back, yet the result was astonishing. A crack appeared in the rock beneath the frog, while the frog itself remained completely unharmed. Startled, it leaped into the water and quickly vanished.

"Th-the frog is completely fine! Breaking a rock is impressive enough, but the unbelievable part is that he hit the frog, the frog was unharmed, and the rock cracked instead!" Jonathan exclaimed in astonishment.

"This is the power of the Ripple Hermit Style!" Baron Zeppeli was deeply satisfied by Jonathan and Erina's shocked expressions. After putting in so much thought and effort, he had finally achieved the result he wanted. However, when he looked at Link, he found that Link was only mildly surprised, nowhere near as stunned as Jonathan and Erina, which left him somewhat surprised.

The reason Link was not as astonished as Jonathan by the power of the "Ripple Hermit Style" Baron Zeppeli had displayed was his familiarity with Eastern culture. The scene before him was something he had heard of before. He knew that what Zeppeli had demonstrated was the martial arts technique of striking through an obstacle.

This was an extremely advanced martial arts skill. Despite practicing combat techniques for so long, and even specifically seeking instruction in Chinatown, Link had never seen anyone capable of doing it. He still greatly admired Baron Zeppeli, because what Zeppeli had done was even more difficult than striking through an obstacle. After all, striking through a mountain and striking through a frog were entirely different concepts.

Though Link's reaction had surprised him somewhat, Baron Zeppeli had already achieved his goal. His primary target, Jonathan, had completely taken the bait, so he explained, "My Ripple energy passed through the frog and was transmitted onward, shattering the rock!"

"You can actually do something like that?" Jonathan asked in amazement.

Baron Zeppeli then said something that shocked Jonathan even more. "My Ripple Hermit Style is a power capable of countering the Stone Mask. Jonathan, I know you defeated Dio, but Dio is not dead, and the Stone Mask has not been destroyed!"

"What did you say?! Dio is still alive?!" Jonathan and Erina cried out together.

Unlike them, Link was fully focused on recalling Zeppeli's breathing and movements when he had demonstrated the power of the Ripple Hermit Style.

The foundation of Eastern cultivation systems was breathing exercises and regulating one's breath. The Ripple Hermit Style used a special breathing rhythm to stimulate the energy within the blood and body, producing ripples and unleashing tremendous power. In other words, as long as one grasped that breathing rhythm and could use it proficiently, one might be able to master this miraculous Ripple Hermit Style.

Unfortunately, Link lacked extensive cultivation experience in this area. For the moment, he could not fully grasp the special rhythm of Baron Zeppeli's breathing. After several attempts, he still could not find the way in.

Baron Zeppeli also explained to Jonathan why he had sought him out. "There was once an Easterner talking in the streets about the fire at the Joestar estate. After learning of it, I began investigating him. Later, when I discovered that the Stone Mask was in the possession of the Joestar family, that Easterner had already vanished...

I have been searching for the Stone Mask for decades! In order to defeat those who wear the Stone Mask, I endured countless hardships to train and master the Ripple Hermit Style.

Those who wear the Stone Mask become true vampires. You defeated Dio, but with the Stone Mask's power, he will recover soon. When that happens, he will certainly seek revenge against you. If you want to defeat him, you must learn the Ripple Hermit Style. Otherwise, both you and those you care about will die!"

Baron Zeppeli's words made Jonathan's expression turn grave. Then he spotted something floating downstream in the river, and instinctively gripped a branch beside him.

What drifted down with the current was a corpse in a horrifying state of death. Its entire body was shriveled, as though every drop of blood had been drained from it. This made Jonathan think of Dio, and he finally believed without doubt that Dio was still alive, just as Baron Zeppeli had said.

Thinking of Baron Zeppeli's words, Jonathan made up his mind to destroy Dio completely. His right hand tightened unconsciously around the branch, and flowers suddenly bloomed again from the branch in his grasp—this was caused by the residual Ripple energy left behind after Baron Zeppeli had healed his arm being unconsciously activated.

At the sight, Baron Zeppeli's eyes lit up. He felt that he had not chosen the wrong person. The young man before him truly possessed astonishing potential. Perhaps that was precisely why Jonathan had been able to win against the terrifying wielder of the Stone Mask.

Link also realized what the flowering branch represented, and he could not help but feel shocked. He had just tried imitating Baron Zeppeli's breathing and movements, yet had not even grasped the barest surface of the Ripple Hermit Style, much less activated its true power. But Jonathan could use the power of the Ripple Hermit Style unconsciously. He truly was worthy of being the protagonist.

Afterward, in order to avenge himself on Dio and protect Erina at his side, Jonathan resolutely became Baron Zeppeli's disciple and began learning the Ripple Hermit Style, which countered vampires. Link also caught a ride and gained the opportunity to learn the Ripple Hermit Style.

After obtaining the complete methods of Ripple Hermit Style cultivation, Link immediately began training.

The Ripple Hermit Style was a miraculous method passed down from Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. Practitioners breathed according to a specific rhythm. What they needed to keep in mind was that they had to maintain stable breathing at all times. Once their breathing became disordered, the Ripple Hermit Style could no longer generate power. After all, the Ripple Hermit Style was produced through a special manner of breathing, and its strength was directly related to one's breathing.

Once practitioners had completely committed the Ripple Breathing Method to memory and made it as instinctive as breathing itself, they could proceed to train in the *** technique.

After completing the training in the *** technique, Ripple practitioners could freely activate Ripple power for battle.

For ordinary people, the above steps required at least several years to succeed. Baron Zeppeli alone had spent three years on just the first step.

Link was relatively familiar with Eastern culture, possessed exceptional intelligence, and was skilled in combat. His control over his own body was extremely strong, and his rate of progress even surprised Baron Zeppeli.

But even more surprising was Jonathan. As a foreigner, he had actually gained the power of the Ripple Hermit Style in just two short days. Link was so stunned that he could not speak. In the end, he could only sigh that protagonists truly were an unreasonable species.