Inside the inner view,
Bruno Hornes sat high on the throne. Around him were ghosts and skeletons, reaching out to grab him. But as Bruno's bones began to glow, his body kept growing taller. The ghosts and skeletons looked at him with fear and respect.
Then, the ghosts and skeletons pushed each other back, falling to their knees and trembling. They were chanting something to Bruno, but he couldn't understand it.
It was only after sixty-two years of experience that he finally realized it was just an illusion created by Nell Gaston. When he opened his eyes, a feeling of loneliness slowly faded away.
"Huh? I think I heard someone scream," Bruno said, looking around. The martial arts hall was empty. Outside, the moon was high in the sky.
The martial arts hall provided food and lodging, but now it was late at night. Where was he supposed to go for a dorm?
Bruno had no choice but to return to the castle.
"Master, you're back?" Fabian, who had been waiting at the door, said.
Bruno nodded. "Get me something to eat."
Fabian said okay and went to prepare.
At the dinner table, Fabian sighed and said, "Master, you seem different."
"Oh? How?" Bruno asked, taking a bite of steak.
"I don't know. You feel colder now," Fabian said, then paused. He thought for a moment and then added, "Or maybe not cold. It's just... different."
Bruno didn't answer. He was thinking, maybe it was because of The Ten Thousand Hells?
After reaching the High Rank, the Meditation Technique started to affect reality, changing some things?
Bruno didn't even know the answer, so how could Fabian understand? He just felt that his master was different-but couldn't say how.
Maybe it was the way Bruno's eyes looked deeper now. Or the way he moved, sat, or stood, carried a kind of unspoken power. Even... a faint, unsettling chill that made people feel uneasy.
After dinner,
Bruno returned to his training room.
He sat cross-legged and automatically began meditating on the hell view.
To his surprise, the moment he focused on his own body, he could see a layer of white light covering his bones.
The bones glowed. His strength increased!
This was a clear sign that The Ten Thousand Hells had entered the High Rank and was now nourishing and refining his body!
Bruno felt amazing. After learning the breathing techniques, he would be fully on the path of Arcane Power.
The next day,
Bruno told Fabian he was moving into the martial arts hall to focus more on his training.
Fabian thought it was a bad idea and tried to stop him. But Bruno was determined. Fabian had no choice but to pack his things.
Bruno took some money and went back to the Gaston Martial Arts Hall to sign in for a room.
The dorm wasn't very luxurious. It was a three-person room, but it was quiet and close to the training area.
When Bruno opened the door, there were exactly two people inside.
By the window, a thin young man with sharp eyes was polishing a short sword. When he saw Bruno come in, he immediately smiled warmly: "New guy? Welcome, welcome. I'm Kaiden, from the West Street."
The other one was a big, quiet guy, sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating.
Bruno introduced himself simply: "Bruno. Take care of me from now on."
Kaiden pointed to the big guy and said, "Barry. Don't mind him. That's just his personality."
"Okay," Bruno said with a small smile and put his luggage on the bed.
Kaiden talked a lot. He asked, "You started training yesterday, but why so late?"
"School teaching was too basic. I heard changing the breathing method was a pain, so I waited until I had enough money at home and came directly to the martial arts hall," Bruno said, mixing truth and lies, and no one noticed.
"Your family is poor?" Kaiden's eyes lit up.
"Yes," Bruno nodded. If it weren't for Avery's "support," he might have been thrown into the Sunset River to feed crocodiles by Aldor by now.
Kaiden, who was already acting like an old friend, put his arm around Bruno and laughed, "You ever hear the saying, 'poor scholars, rich warriors'? Fighting is expensive. Whether it's paying the martial arts hall seniors to teach you meditation and breathing techniques, or the baths and food supplements after body refining, it's all a huge amount of money."
Bruno's face changed slightly. He asked, "What do you mean, Kaiden brother?"
Kaiden leaned in and lowered his voice: "Bruno, you look like you're not an ordinary person. Want to make some extra cash? I know a way. It's fast and not too risky."
Bruno kept moving his hands, didn't even look up, and just said coldly, "Thanks, I don't need it right now. I just want to focus on training."
He wasn't short on money. He just instinctively felt that Kaiden's "business" smelled bad.
He didn't want to make trouble, especially now when his strength wasn't fully stable.
Kaiden was politely turned down. His smile froze for a second, but he quickly recovered and laughed awkwardly. "Okay, okay. Training is important." Then he stopped talking.
Next to them was the training ground. Today, there was class.
The three of them walked to the classroom together.
Along the way, someone started talking.
"Did you hear about the employee who saw a ghost in the training room yesterday?"
"Really? Is that true? The martial arts hall has ghosts?"
"Of course it's true. The guy was so shocked he passed out and got taken to the hospital."
"Wow-"
Everyone gasped and started talking, all shocked.
Bruno heard it and widened his eyes, surprised. "Does the martial arts hall have ghosts?" He knew that if the martial arts hall had someone over 12 stages of Arcane Power Master, then having ghosts would be funny.
Kaiden also hesitated and said, "I've never heard of ghosts in the martial arts hall, but someone did come early in the morning to pick someone up from the hospital."
Could this place even be lived in?
Bruno was very doubtful.
At nine o'clock, the teacher moved from Room 2 to Room 1. Kaiden explained that Room 2 was for Meditation, and Room 1 was for training the Breathing Method.
As for the other two rooms on the third floor, they were all sparring halls, where students learned combined combat skills.
"Fourth floor is off-limits for us," Kaiden pointed to the stairs leading to the fourth floor and reminded Bruno.
"Oh, by the way, after class, let's go eat. I still have a few high-quality food supplements in the cafeteria. We can all eat them together," Kaiden said generously.
Bruno smiled and agreed, but his mind was getting more and more alert.
Something still didn't feel right.
The classroom filled up with students quickly. Soon, the instructor arrived - a tall young woman with bright red hair like fire.
She was beautiful, and the sharpness in her face added to her charm, but her cold, distant look gave people a sense of pressure.
"Elena, the second disciple of the master," Kaiden bumped Bruno's shoulder. "Tursos from yesterday was the first disciple."
Bruno was a bit surprised. He didn't expect that the honest and simple Tursos was the master's first disciple, but it also made sense. After all, both Tursos and the master were bald...
Elena's voice was clear and strong, with a powerful tone. She said, "From now on, I will be teaching you the Thunderclap Breathing Method. This method focuses on sudden power and lasting endurance. Your breath should be like a sudden thunder, and your blood and energy should flow like a rushing river. The first step is to feel and guide the energy inside your body..."
She was truly the master's top disciple. Her explanation was clear and direct, and she also demonstrated it herself.
When she inhaled, her chest expanded, and the whole sparring hall seemed to fall silent. When she exhaled, a faint sound of wind and thunder could be heard, shaking people's hearts.
Elena explained, "The Thunderclap Breathing Method starts with energy touching your bones, making a small, weak thunder sound.
If you reach the Low Rank, the energy will flow through your whole body, and the small thunder sounds will keep going.
Once you reach the High Rank, each breath will reach every part of your body. Just a single exhale can make a loud thunder sound..."
Bruno listened, then combined the breathing method with the Meditation Technique. In an instant, The Ten Thousand Hells unfolded. When he controlled his body from the "Ghost King" perspective, everything changed instantly!