Chapter 250 236 Breathing Skill Practice
"Inhale~"
"Exhale~"
"Inhale~"
"Exhale~"
Yue Ying guided with all her heart, constantly monitoring Bai E's physical reactions and adjusting the rhythm of her instruction accordingly.
The purpose of the Breathing Skill was to adjust a person's body and mental state to be most suitable for sensing Spiritual Energy. If one was too deliberate in following, it was impossible to truly quiet one's mind and feel that profound and mysterious power of Spiritual Energy.
Most people might never come into contact with such seemingly subjective power in their lifetimes. Living in a materialistic world, they would need to completely break and discard their inner "prejudices" to glimpse the "truth" of the world.
The first time was particularly difficult.
The reason why only those so-called "talented" individuals, whose Spiritual Energy easily emits outward, are allowed to practice Spiritual Energy within the human community is because these naturally gifted ones find it easier to get started. They can sense the so-called Spiritual Energy without needing overly focused one-on-one guidance.
This process is incredibly time-consuming and energy-intensive, and the efficiency is touching.
Their vast population also allows them to make such luxurious selections.
Didn't work with this group? Just switch to another.
Therefore, humans do not have a process of acquiring the Breathing Skill from scratch, only improving from having it to perfecting it.
At least Yue Ying had never heard of any human Cultivation Skill that included tricks to guide the untalented to the threshold.
This was probably also why human organizations of Spiritual Energy practitioners paid no attention to Bai E, an artificial human without talent and born with prohibitions. To them, he was a waste.
But the Elf Race was different. With their smaller population, they needed to value every member.
Even those who did not show great potential would have elders from within their own race diligently guiding them into the realm of Spiritual Energy, ensuring they had enough power to defend themselves.
The Elf Breathing Skill was all about teaching indiscriminately.
[You are using combat experience to adjust your breathing rhythm...]
[Current follow-through completion: 94.7%]
Sensing Bai E's increasingly smooth and gentle breathing, the corners of Yue Ying's mouth curled up slightly.
Regardless, this human warrior's comprehension was as exceptional as ever.
Under her guidance, he had quickly gotten on the right track in a short amount of time. Although it might still take a little while for him to sense Spiritual Energy, the fact that he could use the Breathing Skill to adjust the state of his spirit and flesh to enter the ethereal state was already a significant progression.
As Yue Ying guided Bai E's breathing, she did not relax control over her own body.
Years of practicing the Elf Breathing Skill had integrated this special skill into her instincts, where every inhalation and exhalation was a chance to refine her body and spirit. The cultivation of Spiritual Energy continued every moment, as long as she was breathing, her power was growing every second.
Breath flowed into her nostrils, circulated through her body, and was then exhaled.
A faint Spiritual Energy was mixed within it, and if one had excellent Spiritual Energy vision, they could vaguely see thin strands of milky white Spiritual Energy within the breath.
"Inhale~"
"Exhale~"
Their breaths enveloped the two of them.
As the guide, Yue Ying intentionally infected Bai E with her own rhythm and insight to lead him into the entry-level teachings.
The milky white Spiritual Energy exhaled from her flowed into Bai E.
The breath, threaded with Spiritual Energy, circulated between the two, temporarily connecting all their sensations on a certain level.
Their connection was seamless and unending.
In Yue Ying's "eyes," Bai E "saw" a dazzling and illusive world.
Multitudes of stars of different colors hung far off at the edge of the sky, and streams of light ribbon fell far before the eyes… Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet - the infinite stars all seemed to hang on the horizon, waiting for one's harvest.
And among them, a vast, cold white "sun" sat at the very center of the "starry sky"...
"Exhale~"
"Inhale~"
"Cough, cough!"
[Node record +1, collect more Breathing Skill tricks, and you will be able to become fully accustomed to this breathing rhythm.]
Bai E's breath hitched, and he suddenly bent over, coughing violently.
Yue Ying, seated with her legs crossed, watched the suddenly disrupted Bai E with a slight frown.
It wasn't Bai E's fault.
It was... the Breathing Skill's fault.
The Breathing Skill of the Elves, created specifically for them, wasn't quite suitable for humans, considering the differences in their physiques.
The proper rhythm for elves might not be as smooth for humans.
The close connection between spirit and flesh was inseparable. The adjustment of the Breathing Skill was not just about reaching a relaxed and peaceful mental state; the mobilization of certain body parts was equally important.
Humans did not have the tricks to get started, and the Elf Breathing Skill wasn't quite fit for humans.
It seemed that artificial beings were naturally excluded from the realm of Spiritual Energy, with no Cultivation Skill fit for their practice in the world.
However, since Yue Ying wished to teach, she naturally considered all of this.
If it didn't exist in the past, was it impossible for the future? If there was no Cultivation Skill suited for artificial beings in the past, why not try to adapt one?
All these required time...
"Continue."
Yue Ying's voice rose, steady, unaffected by minor setbacks.
The exact physical momentary state of Bai E and the role the Elf Breathing Skill needed to play at that moment replayed over and over in her mind. Harmonizing the cooperation between the two was the most crucial point.
Since she wanted to do something unprecedented, it would naturally require extensive practice to continually refine her ideas.
Would it work? She did not have a solid idea herself.
But many things first require faith to undertake before there is a chance to see the results.
She didn't share these thoughts with Bai E.
Only she had the vision, and only she could make improvements.
Telling him might only cause him to conjure unnecessary and chaotic self-correcting thoughts, which could be counterproductive.
'I can do this!' Yue Ying affirmed with conviction.
There aren't many paths in life an elf can take as a belief, but they treat each difficult challenge with seriousness.
After all, it's only in the pursuit of "the path" that the sensitive needs of the body and desires can be briefly suppressed.
"Yes."
Bai E adjusted his posture, sitting cross-legged.
He recognized the issue he had just encountered and understood why the mission requirements for completion were marked with "???".
It was because the Elf Breathing Skill wasn't entirely suitable for humans.
Just now, his completion rate had nearly hit one hundred percent, yet the result was his own undoing due to a bout of breathlessness in his chest.
Under the guidance of someone at Yue Ying's level, there's rarely any mistake, so the issue could only be with the Elf Breathing Skill, which didn't fully match the human body.
Yue Ying was clearly looking for a solution to this problem; under her deliberately changing guidance rhythm, his completion rate was actually fluctuating and not unchangingly approaching one hundred percent.
But... it was too slow.
[Free Creation Mode: You are attempting to combine the skills and abilities you've learned with your own characteristics to create a new Breathing Skill that better suits your constitution. Based on your abilities, the current success rate is "extremely small". However, you can assist your creation by paying a certain price (combat/general experience). (Cost: 20 experience/min)]
The required experience is double that of mere learning, but it allows the creation of something never mastered before under the panel's "hint feature."
Of course, even the Elf Breathing Skill itself was not something Bai E was familiar with. Learning and creating had to be done simultaneously.
Thirty experience points per minute is something he could afford to burn.
But not right now...
How could Bai E talk about creation when he wasn't fully familiar with the Breathing Skill?
He would need to become more acquainted with it before considering making his own improvements.
Bai E focused his mind, not perturbed by his earlier failure.
As long as there is hope and a clear direction for effort, many can persevere.
Yue Ying, sensing Bai E entering the state almost instantly, nodded to herself in approval.
Not falling into self-doubt after an accident is also a significant aid in cultivation.
"Exhale~"
"Inhale~"
Yue Ying's gentle guiding voice rose again, and the hidden corner was filled only with sounds made by her alone.
Patrolling soldiers passed not too far away, but Bai E, barely disturbed in his thoughts, remained unaffected by the outside world.
The patrolling soldiers also failed to notice the two of them.
Read latest chapters on empire
Yue Ying's aura enveloped the space where they were. Unless it was a Spiritual Energy practitioner with sharper senses, ordinary patrolling soldiers would never discover them.
His state was gradually improving.
[You are paying combat experience to adjust your breathing rhythm...]
[Current Completion Rate: 85.1%]
The completion rate is neither high nor low.
Having had one experience, Yue Ying chose to be more cautious. Under her guidance, Bai E's breath stabilized, and those extraordinary forces seemed to pour into him through the crown of his head, cleansing his body that was fully open to embrace.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
If one wants to cultivate Spiritual Energy, they must first accept it.
From the mind to the body.
Purely mental power requires an equally mental approach. It's not just the mind and will that must accept, but also making the indescribable instincts of the body familiar with the existence of Spiritual Energy, which is the first step in cultivation.
Resistance... Any bit of resistance could cause the loss of Spiritual Energy.
In this process, both sides need to become familiar.
The breaths of the two formed a bridge of fusion, completely enveloping the small space they occupied.
If an outsider were to discover this secluded corner, they would see two spaces gently rippling like water, emitting wonderful halos of light, dark, deep, and flickering intermittently.
Ordinary people without Spiritual Energy capacity would feel dizzy just by glancing at it, unable to maintain focus.
Of course, Bai E could not yet embark on formal cultivation; this was Yue Ying using her own methods to let him personally perceive the mysteries of Spiritual Energy, their Elf Race's style of guidance being this harmonious mixture.
In the midst of guiding, Yue Ying quietly opened her eyes. She did not need to concentrate wholly during this process, allowing her to think about more things—
Bai E was not resisting Spiritual Energy, from body to soul; he allowed it to pass through smoothly. The so-called ban on artificial humans didn't seem to show more resistance in him, not at all like the challenging impediments typical of a first-timer's experience.
Perhaps because he indeed had encountered demons before, experiencing Spiritual Energy firsthand?
No matter what, this was good news.
Next, she had to continue to push the limits.
Only by allowing Bai E to error test with his body could she tailor make a Breathing Skill just for him... or rather, a Breathing Skill that would enable humans, even those without talents, to embark on the path of cultivation.
"Exhale~"
"Inhale~"
[You are paying combat experience to adjust your breathing rhythm...]
[Current Completion Rate: 97.3%]
The progress was picking up again.
Bai E was very satisfied with Yue Ying's decision.
She needed to trial and error, and he needed the complete information on the Elf Breathing Skill.
Only when the panel judged that he had collected enough tricks of the Elf Breathing Skill would the success rate of creation naturally rise...