"This whole process took almost two hours," Carl sighed.
He continued, "This breathing technique, indeed, seems very basic for increasing the oxygen level in the blood, but if that's the case, I know something much better," Carl thought, recalling a breathing technique that had become famous in his time on Earth.
"The Wim Hof ice man's breathing technique," Carl murmured.
This was a breathing technique included in a method that consisted of exposure to cold, breathing technique, and meditation. In this case, Carl only needed the breathing technique present in the method and meditation, which should be normal for mages and warriors.
"I will use the Wim Hof Method breathing technique. If it works, it will probably be better than this one described in the basic mana refining technique," Carl murmured to himself while stroking his chin.
He sat cross-legged once again and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, calming his mind, preparing for the Wim Hof Method breathing technique.
Carl began the process with deep inhalations, drawing air into his lungs with determination. Each inhalation was energetic, full of purpose, while his exhalations were relaxed and effortless. The rhythm of his breathing accelerated, each cycle of inhalation and exhalation becoming a continuous flow, almost like a wave moving within him.
After about 30 breaths, when he felt his body vibrating with energy, Carl allowed the last breath to escape his lips and held his breath. The silence that followed was profound, a stillness that seemed to echo in his soul. He remained like this, suspended in time, until the natural urge to breathe resurged.
With a deep and revitalizing inhalation, he filled his lungs to maximum capacity, holding the air for about 15 seconds, before releasing it gently. The warmth and energy he felt coursing through his body were remarkable.
Carl repeated this cycle two more times, each round intensifying the sensations and deepening his connection with the process. He could feel every cell of his body responding, absorbing the energy that the intense breathing provided.
Concluding the cycles, Carl remained seated, his eyes still closed, while the waves of energy calmed within him. He observed the sensations, the increased focus, and mental clarity. There was something indescribable in this state of being, a perfect harmony between mind and body.
Carl focused his mind to enter meditation mode while his body continued to perform the technique almost instinctively. In his past life, he practiced the Wim Hof method every day, so this was natural for him.
Plunging into the darkness of his mind, Carl soon saw that familiar light. The 0s and 1s began to rain down in the darkness, intense, larger.
"Amazing, these binaries are almost ten times larger and more intense compared to those from before." The binary numbers, which had previously fallen like a drizzle, now resembled a storm.
Robust, larger, and brighter, they fell in greater quantity and with more vigor toward the infinite within his mind. "I won't waste time," Carl thought, while starting to 'build' the bytes of the six elements again from the torrential rain of 0s and 1s.
Initially, Carl noticed one thing: "It's faster," he thought. The binary numbers were responding in a faster and more precise way to his thoughts, enabling more efficient formation of the elemental bytes and the 'mana' matrix.
Ten minutes later, another drop of refined mana, shining with the color of the six elements, rested in Carl's transparent core.
"This is hardly logical," Carl thought while scratching his head. Not only had he managed to form a drop in ten minutes, but the drop was ten times the size of the previous one, which was absurd.
"Wim Hof, the ice man, I love you, bro," Carl clenched his fist in a silent celebration.
Somewhere in the basic mana refining technique, he had read that the best existing techniques had half the performance of the Wim Hof Method breathing technique. "I'm not complaining, but this is, indeed, something absurd," Carl, stroking his chin, couldn't stop thinking that this was a very suspicious coincidence.
"Well, that's what's written, but surely those centennial families and even those great families with more than a thousand years of history have better techniques that are not revealed to the public," Carl continued as he snapped his fingers. "That's it, these families wouldn't last thousands of years for nothing."
"Setting that aside, since it won't help me at the moment, let's go back to cultivating," Carl closed his eyes again as he settled into the bunk bed. Repeating the entire process perfectly, he continued with it for the rest of the day.