Breathing and Flow

The next morning, Son Gohan stood at the eastern edge of the platform with nothing blocking the view before him. Wind rose from the valley below, climbed along the platform's edge, and formed a steady current where he stood, blowing the hem of his clothes backward. Yet the edge of the fabric remained stable in the airflow, without fluttering wildly.

"Breathing isn't just inhaling and exhaling," he said. "At the foot of the mountain, the air is denser. When you take a breath, it naturally fills your lungs. Here, the air is thinner. You need to adjust the rhythm and depth of your breathing to achieve the same effect."

He had Lin Chen stand beside him, facing east. "Don't inhale yet. First, feel the direction of the wind. Wait until it stabilizes, then breathe in."

Lin Chen stood there, feeling the wind blowing straight at him. He waited about ten seconds. When the wind's direction did not change, he took a breath, slightly deeper than usual. After he finished inhaling, Son Gohan said, "This time, wait until the wind changes direction before you breathe."

Over the next few seconds, the wind slowly shifted. During the turn, it paused for an instant. He did not hesitate and inhaled at that very moment. The air he drew in felt smoother than before, as if a passage had opened.

"You felt it," Son Gohan said. "If the timing of your inhale matches the wind's shift, breathing becomes smoother. The longer you stay on the mountain, the easier it will be to find that sense of synchronization. That's all you'll practice today."

The morning training consisted only of breathing exercises. Lin Chen stood at the platform's edge, repeatedly adjusting the relationship between his inhales and the wind direction. Sometimes the wind and his breathing