Intensive Training

"Ha, ha, ha..."

On the sports field, most of Eighth Team were squatting beside the track, gasping for breath. Even Jie Qiansi, who loved striking up conversations, had no strength left to talk. He could only gulp down air, his face covered in something that was neither sweat nor tears. Everyone else looked about the same, their faces seeming ready to melt.

"Did we get scammed?" Yuan Dang wiped his face with his sleeve and looked at the other teams on the field. "Why does it look like we're the only ones exhausted like dogs?"

"Dogs aren't as tired as we are," Qiao Muyi said gloomily. There was little sweat on her face, but she was sitting on the grass with the other girls, slowly regulating her breathing.

Following the method Zhao Jingzhong had taught them, they ran around the field while breathing and exhaling in a set rhythm. Although the method was rather complicated, after a dozen or so attempts, building up muscle memory was not difficult. Everything after that was repetition—the Breathing Method was like broadcast gymnastics. Though broadcast gymnastics had many movements, they were all made up of simple ones.

Many of them had feared that this so-called cultivation method would be some incomprehensible mystical scripture. They had not expected it to be an ordinary Breathing Technique, something they had encountered while learning yoga online. They were not afraid of it at all. These civil servants were at least above average in intelligence, so it took them no more than an hour to fully master it.

However, the difficult part was that they could not complete sixty-four cycles.

Each round of breathing took an average of one minute. Sixty-four cycles meant an entire hour. Yet when they ran while following this Breathing Method, they found that their exhaustion accelerated. Even if they merely jogged or speed-walked, they could not keep it up.

Every interruption meant starting over, but their fatigue did not reset—it accumulated. Most of them collapsed from exhaustion after becoming familiar with the Breathing Method. Only a few could persist for around ten cycles, but they too soon fell by the roadside. Zhao Huo, for example, had only completed twenty-four cycles before dropping flat from exhaustion.

Jie Qiansi sensed that something was wrong and suddenly walked over to the other teams. Not long afterward, he returned with a livid face. "Fuck, the instructor played us!"

"What is it? Did he teach us a fake one?" Zhao Huo touched the iron ring on his earlobe and narrowed his eyes.

Jie Qiansi said, "My friend's Breathing Method only needs four cycles, and it isn't as complicated as ours. He asked his instructor, and the instructor said there are actually three kinds of Breathing Methods. The basic one only needs four cycles, the intermediate one needs sixteen, and the advanced one needs sixty-four. The harder the Breathing Method, the more efficiently it absorbs aura."

"They all teach the basic Breathing Method first, so the body can gradually adapt to the Aura Constitution. Otherwise, in an environment where aura is this densely concentrated, ordinary people simply can't persist in practicing the intermediate and advanced Breathing Methods unless they're physically very strong!"

The trainees immediately erupted. "The instructor actually screwed us over like this!?"

"But it's allowed." Jie Qiansi's expression was ugly. "The instructor only has to teach us a Breathing Method. Their instructor said that most soldiers start directly with the intermediate Breathing Method, since their bodies are in good shape after training. A few can even use the advanced Breathing Method right away, and its efficiency is more than a level above the intermediate one."

"Even if we question him, he can say that we have good talent and that teaching us the advanced Breathing Method first was for our own good. If the basic Breathing Method's average efficiency is one, then the intermediate one is two, and the advanced one is four!"

"Training consumes physical strength, and there is only so much strength one has in a day. If you can master the advanced Breathing Method from the start, naturally your progress will be far faster than everyone else's."

Li Qingxuan said, "Now, not only have we failed to complete even one full breathing cycle, we've also used up most of our stamina... At most, the instructor wasted an entire morning of our time. There's nothing we can do about it."

Yuan Dang asked, "Then, Young Master Jie, did you get the basic Breathing Method?"

"Of course I got it." Young Master Jie raised his head. "The basic Breathing Method is very simple. Listen to me..."

"It seems none of you managed to complete a full breathing cycle."

Zhao Jingzhong, who had also been practicing on the field, suddenly walked over. Looking at the sweat-soaked trainees sprawled everywhere, he shouted, "Eighth Team, assemble!"

That shout seemed to employ some kind of Aura Technique. Though it was not particularly loud, it barely weakened as it carried, and everyone on the field could hear him. The scattered trainees resting elsewhere also returned to assemble.

"Originally, I thought Heaven's Chosen like you would quickly grasp the Breathing Method." Zhao Jingzhong seemed regretful. "I overestimated you. Now I can only teach you the simpler basic Breathing Method so you can get started quickly."

Without exception, the trainees' faces twitched. What else could they do—blame themselves for not being geniuses?

Who would have thought that Zhao Jingzhong, with those thick brows and honest-looking eyes, would hold such a grudge? He had even taken this chance to disgust them a little.

"All right, remember this. The basic Breathing Method is... Hm? We're missing someone?"

The trainees froze slightly and looked at one another. They were not familiar with each other, so they could only check whether their roommates were present. Yuan Dang soon said, "Ren Suo isn't here!"

"Ren Suo?" Several people who knew Ren Suo looked around, quickly finding him. "He's on the track!"

Everyone looked over and found Ren Suo jogging on the track, utterly focused as if nothing else existed. Every time he covered a stretch of distance, he gently exhaled a finger-length wisp of white mist from his mouth, an extraordinary sight!

The trainees immediately remembered that when they had watched Zhao Jingzhong practice on the field, he too had exhaled a white mist as long as an arm. Otherwise, they would not have so easily believed that this Breathing Method could truly be used for cultivation. A few of them had tried exhaling white mist themselves, but they could not keep it up for long.

Being able to exhale white mist proved that he had completed a breathing cycle!

Zhao Jingzhong gestured for the trainees not to speak. "Let him run. Let's see when he collapses."

Yet five minutes passed, then ten, and Ren Suo was still practicing on the track. Everyone's expressions grew increasingly astonished. When nearly fifteen minutes had passed, Ren Suo finally stopped. But rather than collapsing from exhaustion, he walked over looking refreshed and alert!

"Why isn't he tired?" someone asked in amazement.

Zhao Jingzhong said calmly, "With the advanced Breathing Method I taught you, aura surges back after a complete breathing cycle, restoring at least one-third of your stamina and increasing your recovery speed. It won't be long before you can begin a second cycle."

"The basic Breathing Method has no such benefit. Overall, a day's cultivation progress with the basic Breathing Method is only one-tenth that of the advanced Breathing Method, because the advanced Breathing Method allows for much longer cultivation time!"

"Of course, that only applies to individuals. Some people have good aptitude and can cultivate with the basic Breathing Method ten times faster than average. Others have poor aptitude and cannot even reach half the average level with the advanced Breathing Method..."

"Aptitude?" Everyone was startled. Yuan Dang directly asked, "Spirit Roots!?"

"What Spirit Roots? You've read too many novels. Aptitude is merely one manifestation of physical fitness." Seeing how nervous they were, Zhao Jingzhong did not continue to scare them. "Don't worry. Like physical fitness, aptitude can gradually improve. For example, my aptitude seemed to be 2.13 at first. When I tested it last week, it was already 2.33."

Ren Suo walked over just then. Hearing them discuss aptitude, he perked up and asked, "Then how can we learn our own aptitude?"

"Once all of you have formed aura vortices, you can have your aptitude tested. It's scheduled for the fifth day." Zhao Jingzhong glanced at Ren Suo. "You completed a full breathing cycle?"

"Yes."

"Your body's in good shape. Were you in the military before?" Zhao Jingzhong said. "Everyone else collapsed, but you're still fairly presentable. The advanced Breathing Method only produces aura reflux at the very end. You have to force your way through the first sixty-three cycles with sheer stamina. Most people can only practice the advanced Breathing Method after forming an aura vortex... You're not bad."

"No." Ren Suo looked at the others. "I just... used to like working out."

Zhao Jingzhong did not quite believe him, but he did not care. "Then rest for a while and continue practicing on your own. You can also listen to the basic Breathing Method, though its efficiency is much lower than the advanced one you're using. Listen carefully! The basic Breathing Method goes like this..."

Ren Suo knew that he had definitely only managed to complete an advanced breathing cycle because of the reward, "Physical Fitness Optimization." Otherwise, a shut-in like him would surely have collapsed from exhaustion too.

However, he could clearly feel a heartbeat-like pulse in his dantian, and throughout the entire cultivation process, he had not felt tired at all!

The effects of "Physical Fitness Optimization" seemed even stronger than he had imagined. It did not merely enhance one aspect of him; it fundamentally improved all of his physical attributes. For example, Ren Suo's waist had become a little stronger, and his kidneys had become a little stronger too. The resulting effect was that he might have become much stronger in that department—though he had no use for it.

After Zhao Jingzhong finished explaining the basic Breathing Method, Zhao Huo and Qiao Muyi surrounded Ren Suo. They hoped to practice the advanced Breathing Method with him later.

"Before, people kept dropping one after another, so we didn't have anyone leading the way. Now that you're out front, I think we can challenge the advanced Breathing Method."

Since Zhao Huo and the others put it that way, Ren Suo naturally had no objections. Several other trainees heard Zhao Huo's words and came over as well.

He had no interest in keeping a low profile, and besides, keeping a low profile meant keeping a low profile in life and making a big splash in action.

During intensive training, he should display his abilities as much as possible. Only then could he expand his connections and attract the attention of those above him, greatly improving his prospects. Ren Suo was not as calculating as Jie Qiansi, but he would naturally not refuse benefits that were so easily obtained.

Most importantly, this was his chance to grow closer to Qiao Muyi!

He had not forgotten that there was still a treasure chest in the game console at home!

Strangely enough, Ren Suo had originally thought that "talented people" and keys overlapped. Yet until now, he had only discovered keys on Qiao Muyi, Li Dan, Yu Kuangtu, and two other Black Vests—a total of five people. None of the other trainees or instructors gave him that heart-stirring feeling at all.

He had thought he could get dozens of keys during this intensive training and use them at his leisure...

Meanwhile, in Kamiya Village near the Taidamia Mountain Range, a strange rumor spread: someone had seen a blond woman in thin clothing moving through the jungle, crossing mountains when she encountered mountains and passing through forests when she encountered forests, incredibly fast and agile.

The only problem was that two villages five kilometers apart in a straight line both had sightings of this blond woman. Yet the Taidamia mountains were high and the forests dense. Even without counting the wild beasts, the mountains alone could kill a person from climbing them. No one could possibly travel such a long distance on foot in a single day...