CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3: EARTH BREATHING TECHNIQUE

"What’s the matter?" Herag opened the door and saw Old Henry, with a young man in heavy armor standing behind him.

Herag recognized him; it was Knight Emil, the Guard Captain of the castle.

This was a big figure in the castle, and it seemed he had some business with him.

"Are you Herag?" Emil looked Herag up and down and asked.

"Yes, Sir Emil," Herag answered honestly.

"Shenlan, check Emil’s body data."

"Emil: Power 2.1, Agility 1.6, Constitution 2.2, Spirit 1.1, containing unknown energy within the body."

For the first time, Herag had a tangible understanding of a knight’s strength.

Although Emil’s stats seemed just a bit higher than his own, in actual combat, it was not just a little, but an all-around enhancement.

An increase in power by one point could translate to an actual combat capability increase of several times, which was an entirely different concept.

Emil also possessed some unknown energy within his body; Herag guessed that this was probably the knight’s power.

If this unknown power was further added, the combat energy would be enhanced by an uncertain amount.

"I heard your archery is good. Show me," Emil said simply and straightforwardly.

Old Henry sent an encouraging look from the side, and Herag didn’t delay, immediately returning to the house to fetch his longbow.

Emil looked around and pointed to a tall pine tree in the distance: "The highest pine cone, can you shoot it down?"

"Yes," Herag said confidently.

"Let’s begin," Emil said.

Herag drew his longbow, activating the auxiliary aiming.

He now had enough strength, and the longbow was drawn to its fullest.

With a whoosh, the pine cone fell to the ground in the distance.

Emil nodded with satisfaction: "It seems you are a born Divine Archer, qualified to join the Guard Team. Follow me to the training ground."

Herag clearly had no right to refuse, and obediently followed Emil, while Old Henry grinned broadly with happiness.

The castle training ground was a wide, flat area, bustling with Guard Team members in training.

As Emil brought Herag over, many people naturally noticed.

However, with Emil present, they dared not ask much; they continued their training with even more effort.

Emil took Herag to an empty space and turned to say, "Herag, do you know why knights are strong?"

Herag did not know, and could only shake his head.

"Because of the breathing techniques," Emil said solemnly.

"Breathing techniques?" Herag heard the term for the first time.

Emil continued, "Yes, breathing techniques allow us to harness and mobilize hidden power within. Through cumulative practice with these techniques, not only can our bodies grow stronger, but we might also awaken a Life Seed. Those who awaken a Life Seed can be called a knight."

"Can I awaken a Life Seed?" Herag asked.

"Not necessarily, only a very few lucky ones have this potential. Most people can never become knights in their lifetime," Emil said.

He looked at Herag and continued, "Your archery talent is impressive, I will teach you the Earth Breathing Technique next. I hope you can grow quickly to relieve Lord Baron’s worries."

"Thank you, Sir Emil, and gratitude to Lord Baron." Herag pounded his right fist on his chest in a standard gesture of allegiance, something he was skilled at.

"Yes! Remember, you must be grateful to Lord Baron for all of this," Emil was satisfied with Herag’s attitude.

"Shenlan, begin recording all of Emil’s movements, especially related to the Earth Breathing Technique," Herag mentally commanded.

"Recording started."

Emil began teaching the Earth Breathing Technique and said in a deep voice, "Breathing is something everyone is born with. The Earth Breathing Technique has a unique rhythm that allows a vital energy to be born within you, circulating through your body along a specific path, slowly strengthening your muscles, bones..."

"Earth Breathing Technique recording completed."

Emil explained the cautions and then said, "Try it once."

The Earth Breathing Technique requires many strange movements, coupled with a unique breathing rhythm for practice, making it difficult for beginners to perform the movements correctly, or grasp the breathing rhythm.

"Shenlan, activate Earth Breathing Technique auxiliary practice."

Shenlan quickly projected every movement in front of Herag, who mimicked them to begin the first movement.

"Move your right hand up by a centimeter, your left hand down by half a centimeter."

After Herag performed the first movement, Shenlan promptly corrected him and provided precise deviation adjustments.

Following the chip’s guidance, he adjusted his movements appropriately.

Emil watched Herag with some surprise and admiration but said nothing.

The Earth Breathing Technique consists of fifteen movements, each challenging.

With the chip’s assistance, Herag painstakingly completed the entire set of movements and was so exhausted afterward that he could hardly stand upright.

"Effective training detected, repeating the set of movements one hundred times can increase Power by 0.2, Agility by 0.5, and Constitution by 0.3."

"A hundred times, it doesn’t seem like much," seeing the chip’s prompt, Herag felt more motivated.

Persistence is not difficult; what’s challenging is to strive without seeing progress. Herag could see the immediate feedback, making the cultivation full of motivation.

Emil remained silent throughout, only speaking once Herag completed a round of the Earth Breathing Technique: "You have great talent! I’ll be keeping an eye on you."

With his busy schedule, he instructed Herag to persist in his cultivation before continuing with his duties.

"Shenlan, how long does it take to complete a hundred times of practice?"

"Based on the current physical state, practicing twice a day is possible. After seven days of practice, body adaptability will enhance, allowing for estimated practice six to seven times daily, and is expected to complete a hundred practices in twenty-three days."

This progress was faster than Herag expected.

After that day, Herag’s status underwent a change.

He was promoted from a lowly servant to a guard of the castle’s Guard Team, receiving a monthly salary of five Silver Coins and being given a set of Armor and a Longsword.

His daily meals improved to two meals per day, with meat every three days, but this wasn’t very important to Herag, who could hunt for meat himself.

Emil took him seriously, and during this period, he was exempt from any tasks, needing only to focus on practicing the Earth Breathing Technique.

Herag hunted in the forest daily and then returned to practice the Earth Breathing Technique, repeating this cycle.

Twenty days later.

"Stage one of the Earth Breathing Technique training completed. Current physical state: Power 1.6, Agility 1.1, Constitution 1.7, Spirit 1.2."

"Stage two of the Earth Breathing Technique can begin; repeating the practice a thousand times can increase Power by 0.4, Agility by 0.5, and Constitution by 0.5."

Seeing the chip’s prompts, Herag couldn’t help but smile, his hard work over the past few weeks wasn’t in vain.

His life had become fulfilling—besides hunting, practicing, and eating, sleep was the only activity—tomorrow he had a new class; Emil was going to teach him Swordsmanship.

Herag currently had robust physical qualities but lacked effective means to counter enemies; archery was only useful for long-range encounters.

In this era of cold weapons, it was more about close combat in melee encounters.

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