"*huff*, *huff*, *huff*..."
On the sports field, most members of Team Eight were squatting by the track, gasping for breath. Even Xie Qiansi, who liked to chat up others, had no energy left to speak and could only gulp in air, his face neither sweaty nor teary, looking like it was about to melt. The rest appeared much the same, their faces seemingly on the verge of dissolution.
"Have we been had?" Yuan Dang wiped his face with his sleeve and looked at the other teams on the field. "Why does it seem like only we're tired as dogs?"
"Even dogs aren't as tired as us," Qiao Muyi said despondently. She didn't have much sweat on her face, but like the other girls, she was sitting on the grass, slowly adjusting her breathing.
Following the method taught by Zhao Jingzhong, they ran around the sports field while practicing their Breathing Technique. Although the technique was quite complicated, it was not hard to master with a dozen tries, creating muscle memory. After that, it was all repetition—as with radio calisthenics, which have many movements, but all are just a combination of simple actions.
Many of them had feared that the Cultivation Technique would be an incomprehensible scripture, but it turned out to be a very ordinary Breathing Technique. They had already encountered similar practices while learning yoga online and were not afraid to try. With intelligence at least above average, they mastered it in no more than an hour.
However, the problem was that they couldn't complete it 64 times.
Each Breathing Cycle took an average of one minute to complete, so 64 cycles would take an hour. But when running with this Breathing Technique, they found themselves tiring more quickly. Even when just jogging or power walking, they couldn't keep it up.
Every interruption meant they had to start over, but the exhaustion didn't reset—it accumulated. Most collapsed from fatigue soon after becoming familiar with the Breathing Technique. Only a few could persist for about 10 cycles before similarly collapsing by the track. Zhao Huo managed 24 cycles before he too simply gave in to exhaustion.
Xie Qiansi felt something was wrong and suddenly left for the other teams. Not long after, she returned with a face ashen with anger. "Damn it, we've been fooled by the instructor!"
"What's wrong? Did he teach us something fake?" Zhao Huo touched the iron ring on his earlobe and squinted as he spoke.
Xie Qiansi said, "My friend's Breathing Technique only required four cycles, and it was less complex than ours. When he asked the instructor, he was told there are actually three levels of Breathing Techniques — the Basic one requires four cycles, the Intermediate sixteen cycles, and the Advanced sixty-four cycles. The more complex the technique, the more efficient it is at absorbing Spiritual Energy."
"They are all taught the Basic Breathing Technique first to let their bodies slowly adapt to the spirit attribute. Otherwise, in an environment where Spiritual Energy is so densely concentrated, unless one has a very strong physical condition, ordinary people can't withstand practicing Intermediate and Advanced Breathing Techniques!"
The trainees immediately became tumultuous. "The instructor actually set us up like this!?"
"But it's allowed," said Xie Qiansi with a grim expression. "The instructors only have to teach the Breathing Technique. Their instructors said that most soldiers start with the Intermediate Breathing Technique because they're in good shape from training. A few can even directly use the Advanced Breathing Technique, which is much more efficient than the Intermediate one."
"Even if we question him, he can just say we have good talents and teaching us the Advanced Breathing Technique was for our own good. Because if the average efficiency of the Basic Technique is 1, then the Intermediate Technique is 2, and the Advanced Technique is 4!"
"People need to expend physical strength to cultivate, and there's a limit to one's daily strength. If you can master the Advanced Technique from the beginning, naturally, you'll progress much faster than others."
Li Qingxuan said, "Now, not only have we failed to complete a full cycle of Breathing, but we've also nearly exhausted our physical strength... The instructor at most just wasted our morning, and there's nothing we can argue about."
Yuan Dang asked, "Master Xie, did you get the Basic Breathing Technique?"
"Of course, I did," Master Xie lifted his head proudly. "The Basic Technique is quite simple. Just listen to me..."
"It seems that none of you have completed a full cycle of Breathing, huh."
Suddenly, Zhao Jingzhong, who had also been practicing Breathing on the sports field, walked over. Observing the sweaty and disheveled trainees, he bellowed, "Team Eight, assemble!"
His voice seemed to carry some technique of Spiritual Energy. Though not particularly loud, the diminishing speed of the sound was notably slow, audible to everyone on the field. Even scattered trainees resting elsewhere came back to form ranks.
"I thought that you, a group of privileged talents, would have quickly mastered the Breathing Technique," Zhao Jingzhong appeared regretful. "It seems I overestimated you. Now, I have no choice but to teach you the simpler Basic Breathing Technique, so you can quickly get started."
Without exception, the trainees' faces twitched. What could they do—blame themselves for not being geniuses?
Unexpectedly, Zhao Jingzhong with his bushy brows and big eyes, was quite the vindictive sort, giving them a bit of a hard time in such a context.
"Alright, make sure you remember, the Basic Breathing Technique is... Huh? Is someone missing?"
The trainees were momentarily stunned, looking around at each other. They were not well acquainted, and could only check if their roommates were present. Soon, Yuan Dang said, "Ren Suo isn't here, ah!"
"Ren Suo?" A few who knew Ren Suo looked around and quickly located him: "He's on the track!"
Everyone turned to look and indeed, Ren Suo was jogging on the track, his expression focused and undistracted. Every few steps, he would gently exhale a wisp of white mist the length of a finger, exhibiting an extraordinary phenomenon!
The trainees immediately remembered how they had seen Zhao Jingzhong at the training field, exhaling a white mist as long as an arm from his mouth, which was why they found it easy to believe that this Breathing Technique could actually be cultivated. There were even a few who had tried to exhale white mist themselves, but couldn't sustain it for long.
Being able to exhale white mist proved that he had completed one cycle of Breathing!
Zhao Jingzhong signaled the trainees to be quiet, "Let him run, and see when he'll collapse from exhaustion."
However, five minutes went by, then ten, and Ren Suo was still practicing on the track, to the growing amazement of everyone. Approaching the fifteen-minute mark, Ren Suo finally stopped, but instead of collapsing exhausted, he walked over, looking refreshed and energetic!
"How is he not tired?" someone asked in astonishment.
Zhao Jingzhong spoke indifferently, "The Advanced Breathing Technique I taught you all, once completed, allows spiritual energy to rebound, restoring at least one-third of one's physical strength, with recovery speed also enhanced. It won't take long before you can perform the second cycle of Breathing."
"However, the Basic Breathing Technique doesn't have such a benefit, so overall, in one day, the progress made through Basic Breathing Technique is only one-tenth that of the Advanced Breathing Technique, because the practice time for the Advanced Breathing Technique is longer than the Basic Breathing Technique!"
"But, this is merely for individuals. Some people have good talent and can practice with the Basic Breathing Technique, but their speed is ten times the average; some have poor talent and even practicing with the Advanced Breathing Technique, they can't reach half the average standard..."
"Talent?" everyone exclaimed, Yuan Dang directly asked, "Is it about Spirit Roots?"
"What Spirit Roots, you've been reading too many novels. Talent is just a manifestation of physical condition," seeing their anxious looks, Zhao Jingzhong didn't scare them further and said, "Don't worry, like physical condition, talent can gradually be improved. Take me, for example, I started with a talent of 2.13, and by last week's assessment, it had reached 2.33."
At this moment, Ren Suo walked over, hearing them discussing talent, he perked up and asked, "So how do we find out our talent?"
"Once you all generate a Qi Cyclone, you can go test for your talent, which is scheduled for Day 5," Zhao Jingzhong glanced at Ren Suo, asking, "Completed a Breathing Cycle Completion?"
"Yes."
"Your physical condition is not bad, have you served as a soldier before?" Zhao Jingzhong said, "Everyone else has collapsed from exhaustion, only you still look decent. Advanced Breathing Technique only returns spiritual energy at the very end, you have to tough it out with physical strength for the first 63 cycles of Breathing, normally people practice Advanced Breathing Technique only after they have opened their Qi Cyclone... You're doing well."
"No," Ren Suo looked at the others and said, "I was... just into fitness before."
Zhao Jingzhong was skeptical but didn't care much, "Then you rest for a bit, and continue training on your own. You can also listen to the Basic Breathing Technique, but the efficiency of Basic Breathing is much lower compared to the Advanced Breathing Technique you're using. Listen up, everyone! The method for Basic Breathing is..."
Ren Suo knew for certain it was the 'Physical Fitness Optimization' reward that allowed him to persevere and complete an Advanced Breathing session; otherwise, as a homebody, he would have definitely been exhausted too.
Moreover, he could clearly feel a heartbeat-like pulsation at the location of his dantian, and throughout the entire practice, he didn't feel tired at all!
The effect of 'Physical Fitness Optimization' seemed more potent than he had imagined. It did not simply enhance a certain aspect of him, but rather improved his overall physical condition. For instance, Ren Suo's waist became slightly stronger, as did his kidneys, resulting in potentially much-enhanced performance in a certain department—not that it was needed.
After Zhao Jingzhong finished explaining the Basic Breathing Technique, Ren Suo found himself surrounded by Zhao Huo and Qiao Muyi, who hoped to join him in practicing the Advanced Breathing Technique later.
"Previously, because people kept falling down one after another, we didn't have a leader to take the lead. Now with you at the front, I think we can challenge the Advanced Breathing Technique."
When Zhao Huo and the others said this, Ren Suo naturally didn't mind. A few more trainees overheard Zhao Huo's words and followed suit.
He had no interest in keeping a low profile, and besides, low profile means 'stay humble but act with distinction'.
During the training camp, it is crucial to showcase one's ability as much as possible in order to get noticed by higher-ups and expand personal connections for a promising future. Even though Ren Suo wasn't as calculating as Xie Qiansi, he certainly wouldn't reject such easy benefits.
Most importantly, this was his chance to grow closer to Qiao Muyi!
He hadn't forgotten about the Treasure Box in his home gaming console!
Oddly enough, Ren Suo had thought that 'those with talent' would coincide with having a key, but so far, he had only discovered that Qiao Muyi, Li Dan, Yu Kuangtu, and two other trainees in black body armor, a total of five people, had keys. The other trainees and instructors didn't trigger any 'sense of excitement' in him at all.
He had thought that he could slowly use the several dozen keys he'd get during this training camp...
Meanwhile, near the Tadamia Mountain Range, a strange rumor spread through Kamiya Village: a blonde woman in flimsy clothing had been seen moving swiftly through the forest, easily scaling mountains and threading through woods with speedy agility.
The only problem was that villages five kilometers apart in a straight line both had eyewitness accounts of this blonde woman. However, with the Tadamia mountains lofty and forests dense, not to mention wild beasts, it would be impossible for anyone to travel such a distance by foot in a single day...