An Unreasonable Species

Ripples, clearly not naturally formed, spread outwards from the river surface around Zeppeli's legs. Seeing this scene, Jonathan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wh-what are those ripples?"

"What I'm doing now is the same as when I poked your diaphragm with my finger just now. It's just regulating your breathing, generating power through a special breathing method.

To put it simply, breathing is related to blood, because blood transports oxygen from the lungs, and the oxygen in the blood is related to cells. The body is formally composed of cells. In other words, like creating ripples in water, we use a breathing method to generate ripples within the body... creating energy!"

At this point, Baron Zeppeli turned his gaze to a frog squatting on a rock by the river. Before it could react, he raised his fist high and punched directly.

This punch seemed to hold nothing back, but the result was astonishing. A crack appeared on the rock beneath the frog, while the frog itself was completely unharmed. The next moment, startled, it jumped into the water and quickly disappeared.

"Th-the frog is completely fine! Breaking the rock is impressive, but what's incredible is that I hit the frog, and the frog is fine, but the rock cracked!" Jonathan's tone was full of surprise.

"This is the power of the Ripple Hermit Style!" Seeing Jonathan and Erina's surprised expressions, Baron Zeppeli was very satisfied. After all, he had put in so much thought and effort and finally achieved the desired result. However, when he turned his gaze to Link, he found that although Link was slightly surprised, he was far from the level of Jonathan and Erina, which made him a little unexpected.

The reason Link wasn't as surprised as Jonathan by the power of the "Ripple Hermit Style" displayed by Baron Zeppeli was his familiarity with Eastern culture, which made the scene before him sound familiar. He knew that what the other party was demonstrating was the ultimate technique of "hitting a bull through a mountain."

This belonged to extremely high martial arts skills. At least after practicing fighting techniques for so long, Link had even specifically sought advice in Chinatown, but he had never seen anyone who could do it. Therefore, Link was still extremely impressed, after all, what Baron Zeppeli did was even more difficult than hitting a bull through a mountain. After all, being separated by a mountain and being separated by a frog are two completely different concepts.

He was a little surprised by Link's reaction, but his goal had been achieved. The main target, Jonathan, had completely taken the bait. Baron Zeppeli then explained, "My ripple energy was transmitted through the frog and shattered the rock!"

"Can you actually do something like that?" Jonathan asked in surprise.

Baron Zeppeli then said something that shocked Jonathan even more: "My Ripple Hermit Style can counteract the power of 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 exclaimed in unison.

Unlike them, Link was currently concentrating on recalling Zeppeli's breathing and movements when he demonstrated the power of the Ripple Hermit Style just now.

The most basic aspect of the Eastern cultivation system is breathing and regulating qi. The Ripple Hermit Style stimulates the energy in the blood and body through a specific breathing frequency, generating ripples and unleashing powerful force. In other words, as long as one masters the breathing frequency and can apply it skillfully, it is very likely that they can master this magical Ripple Hermit Style.

However, unfortunately, Link did not have rich cultivation experience in this area and could not fully grasp Baron Zeppeli's special breathing frequency for a while. He tried several times but couldn't find the way in.

Baron Zeppeli then explained to Jonathan why he had found him: "There was an Easterner on the street talking about the Joestar family fire. After I heard about it, I had been investigating him. Later, when I learned that the Stone Mask was with the Joestar family, that Easterner had already disappeared...

I have been searching for the Stone Mask for decades! To defeat the person wearing the Stone Mask, I painstakingly cultivated and mastered the Ripple Hermit Style.

A person who wears the Stone Mask will become a true Vampire. You defeated Dio, but with the power of the Stone Mask, he will recover quickly. When that happens, he will definitely seek revenge on you. If you want to defeat him, you must learn the Ripple Hermit Style, otherwise you and the people you care about will die!"

Baron Zeppeli's words made Jonathan's expression serious. Immediately after, he saw something floating down the river with the current, which made him involuntarily grip the branch beside him.

Floating down the river was a corpse with a terrifying appearance. The corpse was completely withered, as if all its blood had been absorbed. This reminded Jonathan of Dio, and he finally believed deeply in Baron Zeppeli's words that Dio was not dead.

Thinking of Baron Zeppeli's words just now, Jonathan made up his mind to completely eliminate him. He unconsciously increased the force in his right hand gripping the branch, and then flowers actually reappeared on the branch he was tightly holding – this was caused by the residual ripple power from Baron Zeppeli's treatment of his arm being unconsciously stimulated.

Seeing this scene, Baron Zeppeli's eyes lit up. He felt that he had not found the wrong person. This young man indeed possessed astonishing potential. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that he was able to win in the battle against the terrifying Stone Mask user.

Link also realized what the re-blooming branch represented, and he couldn't help but be surprised. He had just tried to imitate Baron Zeppeli's breathing movements, but he hadn't even touched the surface of the Ripple Hermit Style, let alone stimulated the true power of the Ripple Hermit Style. However, Jonathan was able to use the power of the Ripple Hermit Style unconsciously. As expected, he was the protagonist.

Next, in order to take revenge on Dio and protect Erina beside him, Jonathan resolutely decided to become Baron Zeppeli's disciple and learn the Ripple Hermit Style that could restrain Vampires. Link also hitched a ride and got the opportunity to learn the Ripple Hermit Style.

After obtaining the complete Ripple Hermit Style cultivation method, Link immediately began to cultivate.

The Ripple Hermit Style is a magical method passed down from Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. Cultivators breathe at a specific frequency. It is important to note that they must maintain stable breathing at all times, otherwise if their breathing is disordered, the Ripple Hermit Style will no longer be able to generate power. After all, the Ripple Hermit Style is produced by special breathing, and the strength of the power is directly related to breathing.

Once the cultivator has completely memorized the ripple breathing method and made it instinctive, they can further cultivate the advanced techniques.

After completing the cultivation of the advanced techniques, ripple cultivators can freely generate ripple power for combat.

The above steps would take at least several years for an ordinary person to succeed. At the very least, Baron Zeppeli spent three years just on the first step.

Link was relatively familiar with Eastern culture, had outstanding intelligence, was proficient in combat himself, and had strong control over his body. His progress speed surprised even Baron Zeppeli.

However, what was even more surprising was Jonathan. This person, as a foreigner, actually gained the power of the Ripple Hermit Style in just two days, leaving Link speechless with surprise. In the end, he could only sigh that protagonists are truly an unreasonable species.