Wang Hai raised a hand and pointed in a direction.
"A complete run-through of the Five Animal Fist takes a while. You won't learn it just by following along once or twice. There's a tablet over there. You can watch it and practice on your own later."
Shen Heng looked in the direction Wang Hai indicated and saw a table against the wall, with a tablet plugged into a charging cable on top.
"Is... is learning from a tablet really okay?" Shen Heng couldn't help questioning.
Wang Hai said, "Learning from a tablet isn't as detailed as having someone teach you, but there's nothing wrong with the overall movements and postures. As for the finer points, I'll come by every few days. If you're doing anything wrong, I'll help correct it then!"
Shen Heng opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Was this... technology changing cultivation?!!
"All right, sit down. Next, I'll teach you a cultivation technique for absorbing Origin Power-the Heavenly Cycle Breathing Technique!" Wang Hai pointed at the floor, motioning for Shen Heng to sit.
Shen Heng took a deep breath and stopped overthinking it. Bending his legs slightly, he sat down where he stood.
The moment he closed his eyes, with nothing left to draw his attention, the noise came surging back: ringing in his ears, footsteps, vibrations in the ventilation ducts...
Wang Hai didn't leave Shen Heng to suffer the torment of the noise for long before speaking beside him:
"Relax. Rest the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Imagine a stream of clear air passing from your nasal cavity through your throat and chest, sinking all the way down into your abdomen!"
"After letting it settle in your abdomen for a while, guide it upward along your spine to the crown of your head, then breathe it out through your mouth!"
"Repeat this process!"
With his eyes gently closed, Shen Heng tried hard to ignore the various noises in his ears and followed the captain's instructions.
He rested the tip of his tongue lightly against the roof of his mouth, then slowly took a deep breath through his nose, imagining the air traveling down through his nasal cavity, throat, and chest until it finally reached his abdomen.
After settling in his abdomen for a few seconds, the air slowly rose along the same path and was finally exhaled through his parted lips.
After he repeated this several times, the captain's voice sounded in his ears again.
"The next part is the formula for the Heavenly Cycle Breathing Technique. Remember it!"
Shen Heng listened silently without answering. Two seconds later, the voice sounded again.
"Still the heart and focus the spirit; Origin Power gathers,
Exhale softly through the nose; part the mouth slightly to draw breath.
Let intent guide the source's flow; set the heavenly cycle in motion,
Open the Conception and Governing Vessels; let Origin Power flow unhindered.
With each inhalation, the world's Origin Power streams unbroken,
Entering gently at the tip of the nose, trickling along the Conception Vessel,
..."
At some point, the steady voice fell silent.
Shen Heng paid it no mind, still struggling to adjust his breathing amid the harassment of the noise.
One minute, two minutes, ten minutes...
At last, Shen Heng's mind gradually calmed.
His awareness began to slip free of his physical body's constraints, reaching out to sense the Origin Power around him.
One minute, two minutes, ten minutes...
Wisps of faint yet unmistakably clear energy began to appear in Shen Heng's perception.
They carried an indescribable sensation, as light as morning dew slipping from the tip of a leaf, yet as deep as the undercurrents stirring in the ocean's depths.
Shen Heng knew what it was without needing an introduction. Without further hesitation, he began trying to guide this wisp of energy with his intent.
The first attempt failed!
Origin Power seemed unwilling to be restrained. The instant his intent approached, it scattered like startled fish.
Shen Heng wasn't discouraged. He kept adjusting his breathing and intent, bringing his mind into resonance with Origin Power.
The second attempt failed!
The third attempt failed!
On his thirty-seventh attempt, Shen Heng's intent suddenly brushed against a trace of coolness-the drifting wisp of Origin Power no longer fled, instead twining affectionately around his awareness.
He held his breath and guided it with the utmost care, as though cradling a drop of dew about to fall in the void.
The next second, the dewdrop fell into the space between his brows.
His dormant meridians abruptly seethed!
An icy current raced through his meridians. Wherever it passed, it was as though frost gently brushed against them, raising a faint, numbing tingle accompanied by a distinct freshness that sent a shudder through him.
Shen Heng felt as though even his soul had been washed by that coolness, becoming clear and lucid.
Even without Wang Hai telling him, Shen Heng knew.
The Heavenly Cycle Breathing Technique-he had done it!
Not far away.
The moment the Origin Power in the air subtly fluctuated, Wang Hai realized something and immediately turned his gaze toward Shen Heng.
Had he finally learned it?
Wang Hai watched Shen Heng silently. Shen Heng had taken even longer than he expected to learn the Heavenly Cycle Breathing Technique. Normally, someone who had already awakened an ability should have learned it in a little over ten minutes, but Shen Heng had taken nearly half an hour.
Still, that didn't matter very much. After sensing Origin Power for the first time, he wouldn't have to go through this process again. Besides, the truly difficult part of the Heavenly Cycle Breathing Technique wasn't getting started, but...
Maintaining efficient, sustained breathing cultivation!
Breathing cultivation seemed to be nothing more than simple breathing, but in truth, it placed extremely high demands on the cultivator.
During breathing cultivation, Origin Power constantly interfered with the practitioner's thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate. On top of that, human thoughts naturally tended to wander.
Under the influence of these two factors, a person's thoughts would gradually begin to wander during breathing cultivation, eventually turning into a vacant daze.
And once they fell into a daze, they often couldn't immediately realize it themselves, ultimately disrupting the efficiency and effectiveness of their breathing cultivation to a tremendous degree.
"I wonder if he can last ten minutes on his first try without being disturbed by Origin Power?" Wang Hai murmured.
Back then, he himself had only lasted fourteen minutes before Origin Power interfered with him and he began spacing out!
Yet even that had been the best performance in his cohort in Lingnan Province.
Wang Hai withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked off to the side.
He stopped a little over ten meters from Shen Heng, then spread his legs slightly and punched out sharply with his right fist, beginning his own training.
The two continued cultivating separately in the spacious training room.
Time flowed slowly by.
"Huff-"
Shen Heng sat cross-legged where he was, breathing quietly.
With every breath he took, tiny strands of Origin Power flowed into his body along with it.
At some point, various sounds seemed to rise in his ears again.
"Bzz, bzz..."
"Woof, woof..."
"An Lin, sorry for the trouble, but could you take Dahuang for a walk?"
Was he getting a little distracted... Shen Heng quickly recognized his state. He slowly inhaled, readjusting his breathing and entering a state of breathing cultivation once more.