Ten days later, Old Grimm led Green away from the castle and back to a secret cellar in the warehouse. Old Grimm was teaching Green the breathing technique. Except for the ventilation shaft, the entire cellar was completely sealed off, and the only light coming from the dim glow of an oil lamp. This room had been dug by Old Grimm long ago, located inside the warehouse, and only Old Grimm knew of this place.
"Green, breathing techniques are a way to condense life force. Through special movements and breathing, you can condense your life force into a seed. Once you can successfully condense the life seed, your life force will undergo a qualitative change, and you will possess power far beyond that of ordinary people."
"The condensation of the Life Seed for a Knight Apprentice must be done in one go. If you fail, the difficulty of condensing the Life Seed a second time will increase significantly. Therefore, you must do it in the best condition. Now, adjust your condition first, and I will tell you the method in a moment," Old Green solemnly instructed Green.
Hearing his father's words, Green's expression turned serious. He immediately sat down cross-legged and began to calm himself. Green closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths.
[Truth, thoroughly examine my physical condition and fluctuations in mental will.]
[Results are as follows: Current physical condition is good; adrenaline reserves have reached maximum levels through hypnotic suggestion. Mental and willpower fluctuations are stable, emotional influence is low, and mental and willpower are in a normal state.]
Green knew that old Green wouldn't lie to him, meaning that the condensation of the seed of life had to be done in one go.
[View personal attributes]
[Green]
[Strength: 1.3]
[Speed: 1.4]
[Constitution: 1.3]
After this period of training, Green's physical attributes have improved again. Looking at his superhuman physical qualities, Green felt more confident. In the end, condensing the life seed still depends on the strength of the physique. With a physique far exceeding that of ordinary people, Green's success rate is extremely high.
After meditating cross-legged for more than ten minutes, Green was certain that he had reached his physical peak. He opened his eyes, looked intently at Old Green, and nodded solemnly.
Old Green looked at Green's resolute eyes, and seemed to want to say something, but in the end he didn't say it. Instead, he slowly took out a book from his chest.
Green glanced at the book; its cover was yellowed and stained with black marks, clearly indicating its long history. The book wasn't very thick, containing only a dozen or so pages.
"Green, remember the actions in this book, follow the instructions, and remember, absolutely no mistakes are allowed." Old Green handed over the book and instructed Green.
Green took the book from Old Green and looked at its contents.
The cover of the book, "Storm Breathing," displays the name of this breathing technique.
After reading the entire book word for word, Green roughly understood the effects of this breathing method.
According to the book, different breathing techniques have different effects; some focus on vitality, some on bursts of energy, and some on endurance. Storm Breathing is a very special breathing technique.
According to the book, Storm Breathing does not have a specific focus, but rather aims for a higher level of breakthrough. The original intention of Storm Breathing was to produce an effect similar to a tornado. As users of Storm Breathing break through their levels, their ability to convert external energy will continuously improve, giving them power far exceeding that of their peers.
This breathing technique is incredibly powerful, but it also has significant flaws. Just as a tornado has an eye, the Storm Breathing technique also has major weaknesses. Each breakthrough for a user of the Storm Breathing technique is akin to a butterfly emerging from its cocoon—a do-or-die situation.
After carefully reading the entire book, Green couldn't help but look up at Old Green. Old Green looked into Green's eyes and gave a bitter smile. "Back then, my injuries were too severe, and I wasted a lot of my life force to save my life. My life seed suffered irreversible damage. It wasn't caused by forcibly breaking through."
"Grin, the Storm Breathing Technique is very powerful, but it also has huge flaws. Every breakthrough is a gamble with your life. Other breathing techniques are much more peaceful. Except for the condensation of the seed in the Knight Apprentice, other breathing techniques will not endanger your life even if you fail. At most, you will be permanently stuck at the current level."
"If you are unwilling to use the Storm Breathing Technique, I can go to the Baron and exchange the Storm Breathing Technique for the Baron's family's breathing technique," Old Green said to Green with a worried expression. Old Green was also unwilling for Green to practice the highly risky Storm Breathing Technique.
"No need, I'll just learn Storm Breathing." Green stopped Old Green from doing so.
Looking at the Storm Breathing technique in his hand, Green revealed a maniacal smile. In his previous life, in order to surpass humanity, Green dared to undergo chip implantation surgery with an unknown success rate, let alone this breathing technique with a possibility of success.
Without saying much, Green immediately made his first move.
Seeing Green's decisive action, Old Green carefully retreated to the edge. He couldn't afford to disturb him now, as doing so could very likely cause the life seed to fail to condense.
As Green began to assume the pose and started to control his breathing using breathing techniques, he could clearly feel a strange resonance being generated within his body with each breath, and the energy in his body began to converge towards his heart.
[Check overall health]
[An abnormal flow of energy in the body has been detected. Should intervention be initiated?]
The signal emitted by the chip filled Green with elation. If the chip could interfere with the breakthrough process, the success rate would be much higher.
[Immediately establish an energy flow model and activate auxiliary functions to facilitate energy flow.]
Although Green had his eyes closed, he could still see the blue interface on the nerves where the chip was directly acting.
A human body model and energy flow pathways quickly formed on the blue interface. Green carefully examined the model derived from the chip analysis.
In the model, as Green breathes and changes his movements, one energy node after another forms in Green's body. These energy nodes continuously absorb the energy in the body, which is Green's life force.
This converged life force eventually flowed into Green's heart and continuously merged with it, making Green's heart a circulation center. This energy constantly entered Green's blood, and as the blood continued to flow, in conjunction with the special vibrations generated by the breathing valve, it continuously transformed Green's body.
[The chip immediately disrupts the energy flow to reduce energy loss.]
Through the model constructed by the chip, Green could clearly see that a portion of the energy was not utilized by the resonance of the breathing technique, but instead dissipated out of Green's body. Furthermore, this loss increased as the breathing technique progressed.
[This is probably why the seed condensation failed! Too much energy dissipated, insufficient to complete the comprehensive transformation, ultimately resulting in wasted effort. A significant amount of life force was lost, and the transformation was incomplete, preventing the life seed from taking shape. No wonder they say you have to go all out; losing so many lives, succeeding a second time is basically a pipe dream.]
With the chip's assistance, Green clearly felt that the flow of energy was very smooth, without any obstruction. Centered on Green's heart, the remaining life force after the body was modified began to form a huge storm vortex.
[This is what makes Storm Breathing different from other breathing techniques.]
Green knew the key point was coming, so he directed the chip to devote all its computing power to controlling the formation of the life seed. As the huge storm spiral formed in the heart, Green could clearly feel the storm spiral beginning to absorb energy from the outside world.
Feeling the energy drawn from the outside world seep into his body, his body, which had already been transformed by the Storm Breathing Technique, grew once again, and this external energy was different from his own.
These energies drawn from the outside world come in different forms. Some give Green a burning sensation, while others are cold and gloomy, and still others are heavy. Green's body accepts them all, and through the life force tornado, these energies begin to combine perfectly with Green's body.
Green carefully examined the chip model. The chip had already categorized these external energies into different types. However, since there was no specific energy spectrum, the chip roughly divided these energies into type A, type B, type C, etc., and marked them with different colors.
On the model, the original blue model has become multicolored, and this external energy has filled Green's body.
Under the chip's near-perfect control, the life force tornado in the Storm Breathing Technique, which could only last for 10 minutes, was extended to 30 minutes by the chip.
At this point of near-qualitative change, Green even felt that around the 20th minute, his body was already feeling bloated, unable to hold any more external energy. Even if he did manage to absorb some of that energy, it would slowly leak out.
However, Green wouldn't waste this opportunity. He used the chip to interfere with the flow of energy, allowing external energy to constantly wash over his body. Although, according to the chip's model, the effect of doing so would be very small, Green's body had already reached its current limit, so even a slight improvement would be a huge gain.
Green was immersed in the transformation the breathing technique was bringing to him, while Old Green on the other side was dumbfounded. At the 11-minute mark, Old Green realized something was wrong; normally, Green should have ended the transformation. To Old Green's surprise, Green's transformation lasted for 30 minutes.
"What kind of life force is this that can sustain a life tornado for so long?" Old Green was quite familiar with the Storm Breathing Technique and naturally knew that the essence of forming a life tornado relied on its own life force.
When the time reached 30 minutes, the storm tornado inside Green's body finally disappeared, and Green's life seed had also gathered enough life force. A round seed slowly took shape in Green's heart.
It was a very strange feeling. Even though his heart was inside Green's body, Green could still feel the life seed that existed in his heart.
Green calmed his mind, sensing the seed of life. Like a glass marble, the seed emitted no breath. Is this the seed of life I've condensed?
According to the book, to break through to become a formal knight, one must activate this life seed, allowing it to breathe and connect the energy channels between the inside and outside, thus greatly increasing its destructive power.
However, although Green's life seed has taken shape, it has not yet been fully solidified and he needs to wait for some time. As for the other requirement of reaching the limit of the body, Green has already completed it. Through the enhancement of external energy, Green's body has reached the limit of a knight apprentice.
Now, all that's needed is to wait another two or three months for Green to become a full-fledged Cavalier.
There's also the breakthrough to become a formal knight, which is so similar to the concept of "connecting the two bridges of heaven and earth" in martial arts novels, becoming an innate being.
Green made a comment and then continued looking at the chip's interface.
[Green]
[Strength: 2.5]
[Speed: 2.7]
[Constitution: 3.0]
Green's physical data underwent a dramatic change, especially his physique, which was enhanced far more than the other two. Thanks to the chip's energy control, Green's life force was almost entirely utilized, and the effectiveness of the enhancement far surpassed any other breathing technique.
After confirming that the condensation of the seed of life had been completed, Green opened his eyes.
Old Green saw Green open his eyes and immediately rushed over, touching and feeling Green's body. While touching him, he asked with concern, "Are you alright, Green? Did you successfully condense the Seed of Life?"
The strange phenomena surrounding Green made Old Green worry.
Green took Old Green's hand and said solemnly to him.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I have successfully condensed the Seed of Life and become a knight's apprentice."
Hearing Green's words, old Green breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's good that you succeeded, it's good that you succeeded."
Once Old Green had calmed down, Green led him out of the secret room.
Pushing open the warehouse door and looking at the melting snowflakes, Green knew that spring was coming. However, as he clenched his own hand and felt the powerful force within it, Green knew that he was no longer the same person he used to be.