Breathing

“Hmm, not bad. You’ve got some backbone after all—not as timid as I thought.”

Zhang Heng looked at Su Xuan, who had arrived in the training room in simple, practical clothing. A strange, hard-to-describe smile tugged at his lips—like a drill instructor about to announce something “good” during military training.

That creepy smile made Su Xuan’s back break out in cold sweat. Despite all his mental preparation, a chill ran down his spine.

“Let me congratulate you in advance for breaking through to the Initial Form in half a month… but that’s only if you survive the next 14 days of hellish training.”

As he spoke, he bared his teeth in a grim grin.

“Every fatty is a hidden gem—I’ve got high hopes for you!”

“…Fatty?”

“Just a metaphor. All that energy accumulated in your cells from a cultivation standpoint makes you, well, a big fatty.”

“Your cells not only need to absorb energy particles, they must also learn to use them. The process of entering the Initial Form is really about learning to utilize these particles—how to decompose them, release their energy, recombine that energy, or even project the particles externally. That’s what you’ll be learning next.”

“So basically, your cells are full of energy. And in a way, that makes you an undeniable energy ‘fatty.’ If all you do is slowly wear down the nengzi during normal practice, how are you ever going to break through fast?”

Zhang Heng’s powerful, rhythmic words struck a chord in Su Xuan’s heart.

“Right… if simply absorbing energy particles could make you stronger, then what’s the point of all these trials?”

Su Xuan finally understood why his cultivation had been so slow.

“Have you developed your Energy Chamber yet?” Zhang Heng asked.

“Yes…”

“Knew it. Since you’ve already got an Energy Chamber, the training needs to ramp up even more.”

Zhang Heng muttered as if he were talking about something completely trivial.

“Before you learn to control energy particles, you have to master control over your body. No one can micromanage individual particles to transform them into energy directly. But the body does have mechanisms to convert nengzi into usable energy. Your job now is to make that abstract process concrete—through feel.“

“Some people visualize fire blazing—the stronger the energy usage, the fiercer the flames. Others see lightning and thunder—the more intense the consumption, the more frequent the lightning strikes and louder the thunder roars. Once you have this vivid, sensory image of energy use, it means you’re beginning to understand how to control it.”

“And controlling energy is key to entering the Initial Form. The three keys to Initial Form: Energy Chamber, Energy Control, and External Projection. You already have the chamber. Next is learning to control.”

“But before that… you have to master breathing!”

“Breathing? Like breathing into your dantian or something?”

Su Xuan was confused—he didn’t understand what breathing had to do with energy control.

“Learning to breathe is actually a form of macro-level regulation over your body’s energy systems—like adjusting a furnace’s airflow. When you can’t control the fire by adjusting the coal, you control the wind instead.”

“Though nengzi don’t need air to become energy, the activation of that transformation is triggered by latent abilities within your cells. These micro-energies are small but crucial—and they come from your body itself.”

“Even if energy particles come from the world of the Hei Xie, that doesn’t mean they ignore the rules of our own world. By controlling your breathing, you regulate the release of your body’s starting energy, which indirectly controls how nengzi are released. Once your control hits a certain level, you’ll be able to regulate them at will—and that’s when the vivid imagery will kick in to help you.”

“So, that ‘Breathing Training’ written at the top of yesterday’s note… this is what it meant?”

Su Xuan recalled the piece of paper he received yesterday. The top line had those very words: “Breathing Special Training.”

Still, what he really wanted to know was—what do these mental images have to do with training?

“Coach Zhang, what’s the connection between those visualizations and actual cultivation?”

“Everything. Once you enter the Initial Form, those different visualizations will indicate your affinity with different elemental attributes. But we’ll get into that after you break through. It’s part of the ‘Etching Method,’ and it won’t make sense until you’ve reached that stage.”

“Oh!”

Su Xuan clenched his fists, even more eager now to reach the Initial Form. Only then would he learn what the Etching Method was all about. High school had taught him far too little—because even if they told you, it wouldn’t help.

It was like learning linear equations in school and being told: “In college, you’ll study the Leibniz Rule, spatial geometry, and linear algebra…”
Just knowing the names meant nothing—you wouldn’t understand them anyway.

High school was all about focusing on one thing: consolidating the soul essence.

Everything else was barely mentioned, let alone taught.

So now, everything Zhang Heng was saying felt new and fresh—pulling Su Xuan deeper into curiosity and ambition.

In his old world, Su Xuan at this moment would be like a high schooler clinging to a retired university professor, begging to learn college-level material, only to be told, “You’ve got talent, kid—but your foundation’s weak. Gotta build that up first.”

“Come with me.”

Zhang Heng stood up.

Only then did Su Xuan realize that today, Zhang Heng was wearing a long robe—like an old-school scholar from ancient times.

He was reminded of the infamous man known to be the only one to drink while standing and still wear a long robe…

Meanwhile, Zhang Heng—leading the way—let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Good thing I still had this robe at home.

No way I’d let myself get embarrassed in front of a student.

Last night, his wife had even asked why he was in such a rush…

Training a student who’s beautiful but untouchable really does test the heart.

After a few turns, they arrived at a massive door. Zhang Heng pushed it open. Inside—completely empty.

There was a high-mounted structure—a horizontal bar as thick as five fingers bundled together. It formed an open elliptical ring, with a gap about two meters wide.

A ladder ascended at the opening, about three meters off the ground.

The whole structure spanned around forty meters in circumference.

The ground beneath it was covered in black iron mesh.

“Tightrope walking. Ever heard of it?”

Zhang Heng grinned mischievously.

“The key to walking a tightrope is stability—steady mind, steady breath. Then comes control—balance, strength. Once you can wear this backpack and make it across in ten seconds or less, without falling, it means you’ve mastered your breathing.”

He pulled out something that looked like a backpack, though it resembled more of a swimmer’s life vest.

“Try it on.”

Amused, he tossed it over. Su Xuan eyed the “life vest” suspiciously and strapped it on.

“Press that red button on the chest.”

“Okay…”

PSSSSSSSH—

A hissing sound. Within seconds, Su Xuan could feel pressure tightening around his lungs and chest cavity—like one of those blood pressure cuffs inflating around his chest.

He opened his mouth, struggling to breathe.

“What the hell…”

Completely insane. Combine this thing with a tightrope challenge, and you’ve got hell mode unlocked.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Zhang Heng added casually, “that black mesh underneath? It’s not for protection. It’s for punishment.”