North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 525 - 307: Master-Level Disguise Technique, Old Wang’s Divine Skill!_2
I would marry Niel, and in my spare time, I’d crack cases; maybe I’d even become a great detective in North America...
「...」
He let his thoughts wander. Dean flashed a grin, shook his head, and refocused his attention on the panel.
He had already mastered the Disguise techniques bequeathed by Anbei Liu, including the making of Human Skin Masks and learning to mimic voices, forming corresponding Skills; what he lacked was stronger control over his body. The Anbei Family’s ancestral training methods, similar to the bone-shrinking techniques of some tomb-robbing families in China, were not only extremely difficult but also severely damaging to the body. Crucially, one had to start training from a young age. Therefore, Dean wanted to learn but couldn’t.
Now, it all depended on whether the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique would prove helpful after its enhancement.
At Dean’s thought, Skill Points on the panel changed, and a cool sensation began emanating from the depths of his body, merging into his flesh and bones.
In a daze, Dean seemed to transform into a filthy man from India, sitting and lying on the muddy dirt, eyes closed, breathing like a hibernating python, unmoved by the noise around him or the hunger growling in his belly...
As the memories were implanted, Dean’s body underwent subtle changes. It shed some of its sharpness in favor of a softer nature; even his sharp eyebrows took on a gentler, kinder demeanor, giving anyone who looked at him the unconscious impression that this handsome man had a good temper.
「Time passed.」
By the time Dean opened his eyes again, many lights outside had gone out, and the night had grown deeper. He looked down at his phone and realized that a full three hours had passed.
Previous enhancements took at most a few minutes. The longest one involved raising the Mastery Level of Ancient Muay Thai because it included physical changes, which took a bit longer. This Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique really is miraculous.
Dean continued to check his body. He found that after sitting cross-legged for three hours, his legs did not go numb due to blood pooling, and his heart rate had also significantly decreased.
If I maintain this state for a long time, my metabolism will be much slower than that of an ordinary person. I might be able to maintain good bodily functions and live to around 150 years old.
Dean smiled lightly. But when he stood up, this state was broken. Without consciously adjusting his breathing rhythm, he reverted to how he was before. Moreover, he found that although he could slightly control his internal organs’ movements, he still could not achieve the instinctive ease of his mastered Ancient Muay Thai, where power flowed from intent, as if by instinct.
Clearly, the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique at the L2 level wasn’t that strong yet.
Dean looked at his Skill Points and saw that improving the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique had consumed only one Skill Point, leaving him with three remaining—he breathed a sigh of relief.
This must have been related to my current learning foundation and physical condition, both of which far exceed what they were before. Otherwise, just with the influence of the improved breathing technique on my body, it should have consumed more than one Skill Point.
「...」
After some light stretching, Dean sat down again, ready to continue his enhancement.
Skill Points 3→0.
Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique L2→Mastery!
Similar magical visions appeared as before. A cold flow accompanied them, reforming his body to suit the skill enhancement and affecting Dean’s physical reality...
「Time passed.」
When the morning light shone on his face, Dean’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened, first blank, then gradually regaining clarity. With a thought, he looked at the Skills on the panel.
Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique Mastery: After decades of arduous practice, you have transformed the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique into a bodily instinct, easily controlling your state and activating most of your potential. Your vitality has significantly increased; the functions of your internal organs have significantly improved...
I was wrong! Dean retracted his previous self-assessment as he read the introduction on the panel. Now, in a certain sense, I’ve stepped into the realm of the supernatural. What normal person can control their body as if injected with adrenaline, or go days or even weeks without food or water without their body failing? I can now! Not only that, but I can also speed up my metabolism to promote wound healing or reduce it like hibernation, minimizing bodily needs to prolong functionality during standby. For ordinary people, being able to do this would already be impressive. Furthermore, my body is comparable to some fierce wild beasts. This allows me to maximize the potential of the Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique, achieving a level unmatched by any predecessors or successors. The Ancient Yoga Breathing Technique is more like a key to unlocking life’s potential. If my body were compared to a computer with decent hardware, then the Mastery Level breathing technique would be the top-quality hard drive and operating programs, capable of pushing the car’s performance to the limit.
"Let’s try," Dean muttered, stretching out his hands as a thought crossed his mind.
His originally coordinated hands seemed to swell with a surge of blood, as if concentrating the power to shatter iron and stone; they engorged and expanded. But that was just an illusion. Dean could feel his hands able to exert about 1.5 times their previous strength, roughly enough to smash a person’s skull to pieces. His Ancient Muay Thai teacher, after using an adrenaline-like Secret Medicine, could slightly bend a sub-machine gun. As for Dean, he could probably bend a sub-machine gun directly into a U-shape.
「Besides...」
Dean took a deep breath and started timing with his cellphone. It wasn’t until over twenty minutes had passed that he began to feel a slight suffocation. If he gritted his teeth and pushed himself, Dean suspected he could hold his breath for nearly half an hour—nearly twice as long as before. It wasn’t that his body’s limits had increased, but rather that his metabolism had slowed, thus reducing his oxygen consumption accordingly.
PHEW. As Dean exhaled sharply, the opening at his rear also relaxed, expelling a long stream of air. It took more than a minute for things to quiet down. This was control over the gastrointestinal tract. From now on, constipation was probably no longer a worry for Dean. If needed, he could even use his gut motility to produce sounds like the roaring of tigers and leopards from fiction. In fact, the human body’s natural gut motility produces such sounds; Dean’s actions merely amplified them. This wasn’t some magical state from novels, just the body producing sounds naturally. People who have practiced life-nurturing breathing techniques for years should be able to achieve something similar.
Having indulged in the thrill of controlling his body’s internal functions, Dean finally began to attempt controlling his physical stature.
This time, things were finally different.
As Dean took a deep breath, his muscles writhed. His originally well-proportioned body began to shrink inward, becoming considerably leaner. From a third-person perspective, although he didn’t appear shorter by a few centimeters, the change in form meant anyone not looking at his face would find it hard to believe this was Dean.
However, as Dean exhaled, the muscles that had tightened began to regain their blood flow, expanding back to their original form.
"Inward contraction is a bit difficult, and too much movement makes it easy to lose control," Dean muttered. He frowned, walked into the room, and saw Niel still deep in sleep. He simply stripped off his clothes and walked over to the large, floor-length mirror. With noticeably quickened breathing, his body slowly engorged with blood, becoming even more robust.
This time, the change lasted much longer. Dean examined himself closely. I’ve found that if it involves expanding my body, aside from making it less agile and somewhat clumsy, it’s more suitable for Disguise. I’m bulkier all over, not much taller—only about two centimeters—but wearing boots two sizes bigger wouldn’t look mismatched. With the right clothes and a Human Skin Mask, I can create quite a deceptive effect. Disguising like Anbei Liu, however, is definitely a no-go. Because Dean...
