Sound

After the system had informed him that, after more than twenty years of uninterrupted breathing, he had gained some insight into breathing, Lu Ren discovered that his breathing had suddenly become much smoother. As long as he maintained the rhythm, he could also recover his stamina quickly.

If it could form into a skill, it would definitely bring a considerable improvement.

He had asked both Zhang Kui and Yan Zhenghua about it, but they guarded their Breathing Techniques closely, saying that unless one was a true disciple, they would not teach the genuine methods of breathing and breath control.

They had only offered him a few pointers, but to Lu Ren, they did not feel nearly as effective as the breathing adjusted by the system. Breathing Technique held an extremely important place in traditional martial arts cultivation; it was a secret transmission of the Fist Law School.

It was an important aid for regulating the entire body and mobilizing everything within it, a necessary means of exchanging qi and blood so that the internal organs and every cell throughout the body could receive a full supply of oxygen.

Lu Ren had also asked whether Breathing Techniques could cultivate things like internal energy and true qi. Both men had looked at him as though he were an idiot and told him not to read so many movies and novels. There was no such mystical stuff in this world.

The body and the mind.

Those were the only two things in martial arts cultivation.

And Breathing Techniques were secret methods that could help people surpass their limits and break their Shackles.

Yet, more often than not, one could not succeed through secret breathing techniques alone. To transcend the ordinary, talent, perseverance, and luck were all indispensable.

Second by second, time passed. Outside, the sky had completely darkened. There was no moon, and without any lights, one could not see one's hand in front of one's face.

The faint screams and cries that had once been barely audible had already vanished without a trace. There was no movement at all.

Lu Ren glanced at the six people murmuring among themselves in the distance and did not pay them much attention for the moment.

He only needed to safely make it through the night. Still, he could faintly hear their conversation.

He had also caught their names when this temporary group of stranded people introduced themselves.

The calm-looking woman in office attire was called Li Shu. The two high school students were Wang Chengliang and Ren Zhoucheng. The middle-aged man was Chen Jin, the sharp-tongued woman was Zhao Hui, and the taciturn man in work clothes was Feng Zicheng.

Without exception, they all expressed worry and despair over their current predicament. What surprised Lu Ren was that Li Shu and the two high school students seemed full of fighting spirit.

These two boys had read too many novels. They looked like they thought they were the protagonists, brimming with power.

Brave little bulls~

Using the faint glow of his phone screen, Lu Ren shut the tempered-glass door of the small room he was in. He then braced it with an office desk and, under the gazes of the six people—each wearing a different expression—calmly lay down on the sofa and slowly fell asleep.

It was not until the middle of the night that a faint sound suddenly came from the corridor outside, causing Lu Ren to snap his eyes open and swiftly roll to his feet.

Tap, tap, tap~

The crisp sound grew clearer and clearer. It sounded very much like high heels striking tiled flooring.

Yet in such a dark, silent environment, it was incomparably eerie and terrifying.

Lu Ren silently moved the office desk aside, slowly pushed open the glass door, and made sure not to create the slightest sound. Then he leaned against the door and waited quietly.

The six people beside him had also been startled awake. None of them dared make a sound or move. Their faces were filled with terror. A sound abruptly appearing in a place like this was simply too frightening!

Tap, tap, tap...

As the footsteps grew clearer and more hurried, whoever it was was obviously approaching them. Finally, the footsteps came to an abrupt stop outside the door they had barricaded.

Thump! Thump!

The surroundings were so quiet that they could hear only their own heartbeats.

Lu Ren took a long, deep breath. As he tried his utmost to remain calm, his mind raced. He glanced at the six people curled into a ball, his gaze fixed firmly on the barricaded door.

He had a bad feeling. The other party had probably discovered them.

Boom!

A dull, heavy bang suddenly rang out, making his heart clench. The door, braced by furniture, visibly shook.

Lu Ren's pupils constricted sharply. The piled furniture weighed at least five or six hundred jin, yet the impact had actually shifted it. Even more unnerving, the impacts came in rapid succession. After the first probing strike, the thing began ramming the door again and again with savage force.

At least it was not some supernatural nonsense. For no apparent reason, Lu Ren felt a little relieved. At the same time, he turned on his phone's flashlight.

"Quick! Get up there and brace the door!"

Li Shu's voice trembled as she stumbled forward, crawling and scrambling toward the door on weak legs. Seeing this, Wang Chengliang and Ren Zhoucheng gritted their teeth. Terror spread across their faces, but they still stepped forward and pressed themselves against it.

Lu Ren did not hesitate either. He rushed over in two strides and braced the door with his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin, Feng Zicheng, and Zhao Hui, the sharp-featured woman, desperately shrank back, not daring to take a single step forward. Their faces were full of fear.

In such a terrifying environment, anyone willing to step forward could be considered exceptionally brave.

Fear was human nature. Wang Chengliang and Ren Zhoucheng truly made Lu Ren see them in a new light.

Lu Ren could not help glancing at Li Shu, who was straining beside him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

The increasingly violent impacts shook Lu Ren's body and left his shoulder aching.

"We can't hold it. You should move away first."

Lu Ren shouted in a low voice. Li Shu and the two youths hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lu Ren's strong hand gripping the iron shard. Without further hesitation, they knew that lingering here and wasting time would be no different from courting death.

After Li Shu and the other three quickly moved away, Lu Ren could no longer withstand the tremendous force. He swiftly Borrowed Strength and retreated backward.

When the door was pushed open and Lu Ren saw the figure outside, his expression still changed.

This was fucking ugly!

It was a fat woman in high heels—or rather, calling her a mountain of flesh would not have been an exaggeration. Every movement made the fat on her body wobble. She wore a tattered purple dress, but her legs were bizarrely thin and withered, their cracked skin a dead gray. When she opened her mouth, sparse pointed teeth and drool were plainly visible.

Lu Ren's stomach churned.

"Aaaah!!!!"

The monster's shrill roar made Lu Ren's ears ring. Chen Jin and the others behind him were horrified and scattered in every direction with screams.

Lu Ren stopped, grabbed a chair beside him, and hurled it out. It slammed fiercely into the creature's body, but to his frustration, apart from making the fat on its body wobble, it had no effect whatsoever.

However, because its body was excessively wide and it wore high heels, though it possessed tremendous strength, it appeared clumsy.

When the chair successfully caught its attention and it came stomping toward him, Lu Ren did not hesitate in the slightest, nor did he feel any fear.

He stepped forward twice, then sprang into the air. Twisting his waist midair, he narrowly dodged its swinging arm and drove the sharp iron shard in his hand into the monster's slanted neck. The shard sank deep inside, piercing straight toward its heart.