North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 523 - 306_2

Dean looked at Nico, who was no shorter than him, and nodded. "Yes, I feel pretty clumsy and hope to become more flexible."

"Then you’ve found the right person!" Nico flexed his meager chest muscles and grinned. "My yoga is the Ancient Yoga Technique I learned from ascetics in India. If you practice with me, not only will you become more flexible, but you can also strengthen your back and kidneys, control the self-discipline of your ’little brother,’ and even delay organ aging..."

Seeing Nico’s increasingly outrageous claims, Dean quickly interrupted, "I’m rather short on time. Can we start the instruction right away?"

"Of course." Nico nodded, glanced at Dean, and grinned again. "First lesson: I’ll take you to change into a suitable yoga outfit. A good yoga outfit can greatly improve your learning efficiency and prevent muscle injuries."

"No need!" Dean clenched his fist. "Please, just start the instruction!"

"Alright then." Nico reluctantly led Dean into a relatively small room and began teaching.

***

Yoga isn’t a vigorous sport, and the introductory poses aren’t difficult. However, to avoid potential problems, you still need some warm-up exercises to get your muscles and bones moving.

Nico began by leading Dean through a rather silly dance.

A few minutes later, although Dean didn’t feel tired, he noticed his muscles and joints warming up.

This was a pleasant surprise. This guy actually knows his stuff!

After the warm-up, Nico wiped his large hands and gestured for Dean to lie down. "Face down, arms and legs spread out!"

Dean, who had just mentally complimented Nico, was taken aback. What now...?

Seeing the confusion on Dean’s face, Nico said sternly, "I need to check your body’s flexibility to tailor the instruction more effectively to you."

"Assume it’s the worst!" Dean suppressed the urge to kick Nico’s testicles into oblivion, grabbed a complimentary bottle of mineral water, and squeezed it hard.

POP! Water spurted out. The cap of the unopened mineral water bottle exploded from the pressure, startling Nico, who had been hoping to take advantage of the situation.

He stared in horror at the crushed mineral water bottle in Dean’s hand. Forget flesh and blood; even steel balls couldn’t withstand such a terrifying grip!

Nico, that master of stratagems, finally sobered up and began teaching Dean in earnest, maintaining a safe distance. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Yoga, simply put, comprises various poses. These poses can exercise all the body’s joints and ligaments, making one’s physique more upright and coordinated.

The yoga poses Nico taught, however, were slightly different. Beyond a few standard introductory moves, his instruction included a coordinated breathing technique.

With Dean’s Master-level Ancient Muay Thai and a Spirit attribute as high as fifteen, his learning speed was terrifyingly fast. In less than an hour, he had learned all thirty-two introductory poses Nico taught.

The sounds he made, however, were somewhat alarming. His skin, though seemingly fair, was in fact as tough as cowhide. The density of his flesh was comparable to that of some wild beasts, and combined with his steel-like skeleton, his broad movements often produced loud popping sounds, similar to cracking knuckles.

The sound was somewhat like the pop from suddenly twisting a stiff neck, only Dean’s were exceptionally loud.

Although Nico was intimidated by Dean’s brute strength, his sense of responsibility compelled him to have Dean demonstrate the poses before the class ended.

In his experience, introductory poses were relatively gentle and rarely produced such sounds. Only those with stiff bodies who performed the movements recklessly would make them. That was an easy way to get injured.

The result was... after watching Dean demonstrate the sequence once, Nico stared at him as if he were a monster. "You’re clearly so strong! How can your body be this flexible?"

He had watched Dean’s demonstration and found that despite Dean’s robust physique, his execution was smoother than his own. The introductory moves weren’t just flawless; they looked effortlessly natural, utterly devoid of stiffness.

As for the sound that resembled cracking bones, it was even more bizarre—it was actually emanating from Dean’s chest cavity as he transitioned between movements!

Since when were breathing techniques this ridiculous?

Dean finished his set, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. He wiped it, looked calmly at the stunned Nico, and said, "Continue teaching!"

"But..." Nico wanted to say more. However, meeting Dean’s gaze, he felt an uncontrollable unease in his heart and subconsciously obeyed, beginning the advanced instruction.

To put it in perspective, even students with a foundation in Ancient Yoga often needed to practice the initial movements for over a year before they could properly integrate breathing techniques with the actions. This was true for both the students Nico had taught and the ascetics he knew in India.

But this student before him defied Nico’s understanding. He even suspected Dean already knew Ancient Yoga. Otherwise, even if Dean’s learning ability was outstanding, the flexibility of his body and the coordination of his breathing technique and movements couldn’t possibly be so harmonious!

And that breathing technique! That was the most absurd part!

Nico had never seen a normal human being produce a sound like cracking bones mixed with a cat’s purr! Is this guy really human?

***

Dean didn’t let the exhausted Nico leave until the fitness center closed, then returned to his rented room.

「Back at his rented room.」

Niel was already there. Seeing Dean, she hurried over. "Dean, how did your lesson go today?"

Dean nodded. "It was very productive!"

"That’s good!" Niel said. Then, with mischievous hands, she pushed and pulled Dean into the bathroom. Although she didn’t believe Dean was gay, it was still wise to check thoroughly.

In response, Niel spent most of that night being "disciplined" by Dean until she begged for mercy, her throat hoarse. Eventually, she fell asleep, tears still glistening at the corners of her eyes.

After dealing with Niel, the silly girl who had thoughts of rebellion, Dean took another shower. He then eagerly headed to the living room to practice the Ancient Yoga Technique he had learned that day.

With his Speed attribute at a high 16 points, his body’s flexibility wasn’t actually bad, aligning with his reaction speed. However, due to the influence of Ancient Muay Thai, his joints habitually tensed up.

Therefore, the movements Nico taught weren’t too challenging for Dean. After adapting to them slightly, he could easily bend into a backbend, placing his head beneath his Fasting, like a boneless snake.

However, this level of flexibility wasn’t enough for Dean to complete the bone transformation practice.

The key reason Dean felt he had gained so much was that particular breathing technique. He was astonished to discover that this breathing method could actually enhance his control over his body—a subtle, yet definitively core, skill of Ancient Yoga.