Looking down at his torn sleeve, a rare expression of confusion appeared in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's eyes. But a moment later, a look of understanding dawned on his face.
Though his own face was covered in dust and dirt, Si Shu's was alight with the joy of victory.
"Did you use... the broken piece of your sword just now?" Yoriichi asked, picking up half of the wooden sword from the ground and pointing to a tiny sliver of fabric stuck to its splintered tip.
"Yes," Si Shu admitted, patting the dirt from his clothes as he stood up. "I understood the gap in our strength from the very beginning, so I never intended to win with a head-on approach. Everything I did before," he said softly, "was to distract you as much as possible, Master."
Yoriichi nodded, finally understanding what had happened. During his retreat, Si Shu must have kicked the broken sword tip. At that moment, Yoriichi, believing the match was decided and deceived by Si Shu's battered state, had subconsciously overlooked it.
In this combat test, Si Shu had pushed his wisdom and fighting ability to their absolute limits.
He had passed.
Looking at Si Shu, who was now clutching the swollen welts on his wrists and wincing in pain, Yoriichi suddenly laughed. It was the first time he had ever lost his composure like this, but he felt a genuine joy that came from the bottom of his heart.
Perhaps, the successor to the Sun Breathing that I've been waiting for... is my own disciple.
With this thought, Yoriichi took a small, thin booklet from within his robes. He tossed the booklet to Si Shu, then turned to the rack and picked up his own sheathed sword.
Si Shu caught the booklet and saw the large characters written on its cover: Sun Breathing.
Flipping through it carefully, Si Shu discovered that it not only contained the twelve forms of the Sun Breathing style, but more importantly, it detailed the most fundamental breathing techniques and the advanced version: Total Concentration Breathing.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's entire life's work in swordsmanship and breathing techniques was condensed into this single volume. It was a book that humans and demons alike would go mad to possess.
"Have you finished reading?" Yoriichi's voice, now returned to its usual calm, asked quietly. "If you have, I will now demonstrate the twelve sword forms for you."
A personal demonstration of Sun Breathing from Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself.
Si Shu felt his own breath quicken and his blood begin to race. He nodded eagerly.
The next second, Yoriichi drew his blade.
Shing—
The sharp edge of the blade reflected the sunlight, giving off a cold, deadly feeling of slaughter. The blade itself was a stark black and crimson, like the sun's corona, with the character for "Destroy" (滅) engraved at its base.
It was as if the world lost its color. An indescribable aura erupted from Yoriichi.
Ignoring the sweat beading on his forehead, Si Shu stared intently at his master, afraid to miss a single detail.
Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance. Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky. ... Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance. Sun Breathing, Twelfth Form: Flame Dance.
Except for the still-incomplete Thirteenth Form, Yoriichi perfectly demonstrated all the others. He performed them again and again, tirelessly displaying the forms of Sun Breathing. He began when the sun was high in the sky and didn't stop until it set, from the time of morning dew to the last embers of dusk.
When Si Shu finally came to his senses, Yoriichi was gone. Only the countless slashes and footprints carved into the earth proved he had ever been there.
"Sun Breathing... it truly is a technique of the gods."
With the divine sword techniques replaying over and over in his mind, Si Shu left the training ground, his heart filled with reverence.
After dinner, illuminated by the light of a lamp, he opened the booklet again. Although he had memorized Yoriichi's movements, he couldn't use them perfectly without mastering the breathing method itself. To become stronger, the breathing style was the ultimate shortcut.
On the first page, the principle of the technique was written out. It was a method to expand the lungs to their utmost capacity, strengthening the heart and lungs to allow the blood to absorb far more oxygen in a short amount of time. Even this short sentence was followed by pages of Yoriichi's own detailed explanations and notes. It was clear how much of his lifeblood had been poured into this volume.
"Alright," Si Shu thought, taking a deep breath. "Let's begin."
He started to follow the methods written in the booklet.
Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out...
As time flowed by, the moon replaced the sun in the sky. The sun rose and set, the moon appeared and vanished. Without him realizing it, a full day had passed. Immersed in his practice, Si Shu had no sense of time. Besides the sound of his slow, rhythmic breathing, the small room was utterly silent.
Immersed in the world of breathing, a series of notifications sounded in Si Shu's mind.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the skill: Basic Sun Breathing (0/1,000).] [Due to the Host's own abilities, the forms of Sun Breathing have been unlocked.] [Obtained Skill: Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance] [Obtained Skill: Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky] [Obtained Skill: Sun Breathing, Third Form: Raging Sun] ... [Obtained Skill: Sun Breathing, Twelfth Form: Flame Dance] [Sun Breathing, Thirteenth Form: Locked.]
[Congratulations, Host, for learning Sun Breathing through your own efforts. Reward: 4,000 points.] [Factoring in Host's existing abilities, Basic Sun Breathing (0/1,000) has been upgraded to Novice Sun Breathing (4,000/10,000).]
Without realizing it, Si Shu had learned Sun Breathing. With the system's reward, he had even skipped the Basic level entirely, landing squarely in the Novice tier.
But that wasn't all. Immersed in the breathing technique, Si Shu was still getting stronger.
Time passed again, and Si Shu's body fell into a deep sleep. Even so, he continued to maintain the breathing technique. Air flowed steadily through his nose as the muscles in his body began to move in a rhythmic pattern. His entire body was like a massive factory, with every part working in unison.
The swollen welts on his wrists and the bruises on his body began to slowly fade. The soreness from the battle started to recede. Even the smallest lingering injuries vanished under the effect of the breathing style.
To be able to maintain a breathing technique even while asleep... this was the next level.
Total Concentration Breathing.
[Due to the Host's own abilities, the breathing method has been upgraded to: Total Concentration Breathing.] [Congratulations, Host, for learning Total Concentration Breathing through your own efforts. Reward: 5,000 points.] [Factoring in Host's existing abilities, Novice Total Concentration Sun Breathing (4,000/10,000) has been upgraded to Novice Total Concentration Sun Breathing (9,000/10,000).]
In just a few short days, Si Shu had not only learned Sun Breathing, but he had also successfully mastered Total Concentration Breathing.
After the starry sky gave way to the morning light, a brilliant sun appeared on the horizon. His eyelids fluttered, and Si Shu slowly opened his eyes.