Dou Calendar 1762, June.
Yan State, Jinshan County, within Jinshan Taoist Institute.
Dawn was about to break.
Amid the urgent sounds of the wooden clappers, a throng of apprentices from the Jinshan Taoist Institute yawned as they got out of bed and went about their everyday major business—their morning bathroom routine.
Xu Jin was no exception.
However, before heading to the latrine, Xu Jin turned back into his room and took three or four pebbles he had picked up from his small bundle, then proceeded.
Inside the latrine, there was a recycled bamboo token for cleaning up after oneself—it goes without saying.
The previous apprentice used it and the next continued to use it after swishing it in a bucket of water.
That water—God knows how often it was changed—it was already muddy…
Based on just this, Xu Jin, who had transmigrated here a few months ago, couldn't stand it.
He desperately wanted to return, although the chances were slim, but he at least had to try.
After three months in this world, Xu Jin no longer thought about fair thighs, slender waists, long black hair, beer, lobster, or spicy hot pot; he only longed for the cheap and convenient toilet paper from his previous life.
But this was not the fundamental reason why Xu Jin urgently wanted to go back.
After sorting out his personal business, Xu Jin followed the crowd of apprentices to the early morning class plaza of the Jinshan Taoist Institute, quickly found his spot, took off his shirt, and revealed a body as thin as a rack of ribs.
Right in the center of his chest, a faintly visible round tattoo the size of a baby's fist could be seen; the tattoo merged with the skin color, with only the lines faintly visible.
On the entire plaza, aside from a few females, almost all the male apprentices had taken off their shirts just like Xu Jin.
However, most of them were robust; Xu Jin, with his skeletal frame, stood alone.
The body Xu Jin had transmigrated into had some problems.
Moments later, a streak of dawn suddenly appeared in the east, and amidst the urgent metallic sounds at the edge of the plaza, a woman dressed in light blue, tall, with a green veil over her face and using a crutch, appeared like a whirlwind at the forefront of the plaza.
Although Xu Jin had seen this scene hundreds of times, each time, it still amazed him.
Not even the fliers from his previous life were faster than Instructor Ning, who was handicapped in one leg.
This was Instructor Ning Yuchan, Xu Jin's instructor for the spring session of the Star Pointing Conference; the youths called her Iron Crutch Ning, some called her Rakshasa Ning, and many privately called her Cripple Ning—Xu Jin dared not.
"Dawn breaks, Dining Dawn Form, begin!"
One by one, the youths stepped forward, slightly squatted, hands held in front as if embracing something, facing the first light of dawn with eyes slightly closed, in a state between relaxed and tense, they began to mimic breathing in and out with the morning dawn.
Each breath lasted about ten seconds.
In just a short moment, changes appeared in these hundreds of youths, and their tiers became clearly distinguishable.
One youth, with just one breath, had his chest Star Pattern light up, emanating faint starlight; with each breath, the starlight from his chest covered his torso and even his arms, now spreading towards his right leg.
Instructor Ning Yuchan's gaze was clearly most satisfied with this youth.
Another ten-plus youths also had their chest Star Patterns flicker with frail starlight, mostly covering just their torsos, with a few having the light spread to their arms.
Another forty or so youths had the Star Pattern's luster spread across their torsos between breaths.
And the remaining over three hundred youths, like Xu Jin, had chest Star Patterns that remained dim, occasionally lighting up briefly before quickly fading.
Instructor Ning's gaze roamed among these youths.
With only a few days left, it was uncertain how many more would successfully stabilize their Star Patterns.
At this moment, Xu Jin also concentrated on practicing the Dining Dawn Form, envisioning the Star Pattern on his chest while imagining the dawn light from Heaven and Earth being drawn into his mouth and channeled into his Star Pattern.
Extremely focused.
Between each breath, Xu Jin's chest Star Pattern also began to faintly flicker with starlight, but every time it lit up, the starlight would extinguish again.
However, it was evident that, with the continuous practice of the Dining Dawn Breathing Technique, the duration of starlight illumination on Xu Jin's chest was increasingly prolonged.
The possibility of fully activating it was also increasing.
Even Instructor Ning Yuchan's glances towards Xu Jin became more frequent.
Xu Jin was somewhat special, and she still hoped this youth could successfully stabilize his Star Pattern.
Suddenly, Instructor Ning Yuchan's gaze shot towards Xu Jin's direction because during the Dining Dawn practice, Xu Jin's rosy lips suddenly turned dark blue, his facial color quickly draining away...
"Not again!"
With a sigh to herself, Instructor Ning Yuchan walked over to Xu Jin with her crutch, not waiting to reach him, Xu Jin had already moaned and collapsed to the ground.
Just like several times before, Xu Jin's lips turned black, his heart pounding like a drum, his body sweating profusely, his mouth gaping as he gasped for air, his right hand trembling as he reached for the pouch at his waist, but unable to grasp it.
Before Instructor Ning could reach him, a fellow apprentice surnamed Qian beside Xu Jin had skillfully taken a Heart-saving Pill from Xu Jin's waist pouch and fed it into Xu Jin's mouth.
"Only practice the Dining Dawn Breathing Technique, do not hold any visualizations."
In a moment, Xu Jin's breathing began to stabilize, the darkness on his face receded, and only then did Ning Yuchan leave, advising, "Your health isn't good today, so do not practice." shaking her head helplessly as she spoke.
Xu Jin's talent was not bad, but his problem lay with his body, and it was congenital.
Xu Jin also looked helpless.
This situation had occurred three times since he had transmigrated here.