Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Huff.

Huff, huff.

The moon shone bright; the stars were few and scattered. The autumn breeze stirred gently, rustling the leaves in the courtyard. A faint medicinal fragrance drifted through the air. Lin Zheyu sat on the ground, panting against the wall while his legs trembled uncontrollably. He had been training for over two hours, and his feet no longer felt like his own.

The horse stance doesn’t work. It didn’t appear in the skill panel, thought Lin Zheyu.

He glanced at the data in his mind; there was no trace of the horse stance. He wasn’t disappointed, though, as the horse stance wasn’t a complete martial art; it was merely a foundational training method.

The first batch of medicinal decoction had finished brewing. Lin Zheyu rested for a moment before downing it. Warmth spread through his belly as the decoction slid down his throat.

I’ll heat some water for a soak, then resume training tomorrow, he thought.

Lin Zheyu was ready to rest. If he pushed further, he would hit his physical limit and need several days to recover. During that time, he wouldn’t be able to train at all. After soaking in hot water for an hour, he felt much better. Hours of training had left his body tired, so he slept deeply that night.

At dawn, he was once again woken by the hoarse crowing of the rooster.

”Huh?” Lin Zheyu exclaimed in curious surprise as he sat up in bed. Unlike last night when he went to sleep, his legs and lower back barely ached after waking up.

Did that qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing decoction really take effect this fast? Lin Zheyu wondered.

***

The storytelling didn’t begin until the afternoon, so he had no other tasks in the morning. After breakfast, Lin Zheyu resumed his horse stance training. This time, he held on for over ten minutes before reaching his limit.

He rested briefly, then got up to resume the stance. If he couldn’t maintain the horse stance for two hours within a month, Liang Song wouldn’t teach him any martial techniques.

Time flowed by slowly. The inner city was well-ordered, unlike the chaotic Baishan district in the outer city. After moving into the inner city, Lin Zheyu’s life settled into a quiet routine. Days passed one after another. Aside from storytelling, he devoted the rest of his time to practicing the horse stance.

In addition to the horse stance, Lin Zheyu also added push-ups to his routine. The qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing formula given by Liang Song worked wonders. Its high cost came with quality. One batch of herbs could be brewed three times, with one bowl a day wiping away fatigue by the next morning.

***

In the blink of an eye, over twenty days had passed. With intense training and heavy meals for nourishment, Lin Zheyu’s body had grown noticeably stronger. Faint outlines of lean muscle could now be seen beneath his skin.

In his courtyard, with his legs bent low, Lin Zheyu’s body rose and fell like a galloping steed. For more than twenty days, he had trained with relentless diligence, pushing himself until his legs ached and trembled.

Gradually, he became addicted to the horse stance. Whether eating, storytelling, or during any spare moment, he would remain in the horse stance for several minutes or even half an hour. He even integrated elements of the stance while walking, giving his posture a rather odd appearance.

The time he could maintain the stance gradually increased. At first, he was only able to hold it for less than ten minutes, but now he could hold it for an hour. As a matter of fact, he had been maintaining the horse stance in the courtyard for nearly two hours.

As sweat soaked through his clothes, Lin Zheyu exhaled steadily with his chest rising and falling. His legs had begun to tremble uncontrollably, and beads of sweat the size of beans slid down his forehead.

Hold on! The time’s almost up, Lin Zheyu cheered himself on internally.

His eyes stayed fixed on the clepsydra[1] in the courtyard. It was an ancient tool for tracking time, and it showed that less than ten minutes remained before he would complete two hours in the horse stance.

A cold wind swept through, and the weather had turned a bit chilly. As his body rose and fell with his breath, his tremors grew more intense. He was reaching his limit.

”Come on, just a few more minutes! I’ll break through my physical limit and earn another unit of Origin Force,” muttered Lin Zheyu, continuing to encourage himself.

For over twenty days, he had carefully controlled his training, avoiding overexertion or breaching his limits, fearing it would disrupt future progress. But today, seeing he was about to complete two hours, Lin Zheyu gritted his teeth and decided to push through his limit as well.

Time passed slowly. Another twenty minutes slipped by. He had already held the horse stance for two hours, but he did not stop. He truly felt that he was close to surpassing his physical limit. His face had gone pale, his trembling grew worse, and his legs began to shudder violently.

As he gritted his teeth, Lin Zheyu’s face twisted with strain, appearing somewhat savage. He held on for several more minutes. Finally, he felt as though some barrier within his body had shattered. His essence, energy, and spirit surged upward, fusing into a single force.

In his consciousness, his Origin Force increased by one unit.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 2]

[Skills: ]

The moment he broke through his limit, Lin Zheyu let out a long breath and collapsed to the ground. He stared up at the sky, and a satisfied smile bloomed across his face.

”I did it... finally!” he exclaimed, overjoyed. He had succeeded in holding the horse stance for two hours within a month. Now, he could begin learning martial arts from Liang Song.

After resting for over ten minutes, and once the trembling subsided, Lin Zheyu got up and began stretching his muscles and joints. When he finished, he rested for another thirty minutes before sinking into a hot bath that relaxed his entire body.

In the afternoon, he arrived at the teahouse, walking with a shaky gait.

Seeing his odd gait, Manager Wu asked with concern, ”You alright?”

Over the past month, their relationship had grown much closer. Thanks to Lin Zheyu, Jade Pill Teahouse had become increasingly popular, catching up quickly to Overflowing Fragrance Teahouse. At this rate, it would soon surpass it. Overflowing Fragrance Teahouse was the most renowned teahouse in Songyi City, and for Manager Wu, the idea of catching up to it had once felt unimaginable.

”I’m fine. Just overtrained this morning,” Lin Zheyu replied with a smile.

Compared to a month ago, his physique was much more solid and his energy was vibrant. There was no trace of the vagabond he once was.

”Can you hold the horse stance for two hours now?” Manager Wu asked curiously. He knew about it as Lin Zheyu had told him.

”Almost. I just need a few days to finish recovering,” replied Lin Zheyu.

”Then congratulations,” Manager Wu said with a smile, genuinely happy for him.

Before long, it was time for storytelling. Amid the enthusiastic calls of the patrons, Lin Zheyu stepped up.

Pa!

With a sharp slap of the wooden clapper, the storytelling began. He started speaking, ”Last time, we spoke of...”

***

Time passed again and five more days went by. His body had recovered from the tearing pain of pushing past its limits.

Good thing the customers were generous with tips. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to afford everything, Lin Zheyu sighed inwardly.

Over the past month, money had flowed out like water. As his popularity grew, Manager Wu raised his wages to two hundred wen per day. With the daily tips added in, he earned nearly five hundred wen a day. Even so, little was left by the end of the day as most went toward eggs, meat, and qi-tonifying medicinal herbs.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock,

Early in the morning, Lin Zheyu knocked on Liang Song’s door. The courtyard gate opened, and Liang Song looked unsurprised.

”Go stand in the courtyard. Let me see how your training’s coming along,” he said.

”Yes, sir,” replied Lin Zheyu, nodding and walking to the center of the courtyard.

He spread his legs slightly, bent his knees, extended his arms, and gazed straight ahead. His body began to rise and fall gently, like riding a galloping steed. The muscles in his waist and legs tensed and released as his center of gravity shifted with the rhythm.

Liang Song watched for a while, then nodded in satisfaction. Lin Zheyu’s form was spot on. He didn’t continue watching Lin Zheyu’s stance, but instead picked up a watering can and began tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

1. A clepsydra is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount of liquid can then be measured. ☜