Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 172: Secret Technique

Due to Chen Chuan’s decision, the three of them didn’t stay at the research center any longer. They got into the SUV and returned to the area outside the barbed wire.

Chen Chuan got out and decided to increase the intensity of his training.

In order to increase the difficulty, he didn’t choose any of the pits he had entered before. Instead, he went to an unfamiliar place.

He also asked He Xiaoxing for pits that were more dangerous than the ones he had dived into during the second part of his training. After all, they couldn’t possibly be more dangerous than the underwater region in the research center.

Once Chen Chuan composed himself, he entered the water, but he wasn’t in a hurry to swim. Instead, he sat at the bottom of the shaft for two hours.

If he just sat there with his mutated tissue supporting him, he could last for most of the day without a problem. All he needed to do was withstand the stress of being in an enclosed space.

This exercise wasn’t just about sitting around. He wanted to let his emotions run free before reining them in again. He had picked this place to train to not just increase the difficulty, but also to increase his control over himself.

He only began swimming once he was ready.

Chen Chuan insisted on swimming for only an hour. Instead, he increased the length of time he was underwater by sitting until he felt like he was almost at his limit. Only then did he start swimming and leave.

After taking in some food on the surface and resting for a short ten minutes, Chen Chuan plunged right back into the water.

Chang Ba had been reading a picture book by the side and hadn’t even registered that Chen Chuan had come out before going back in.

Chen Chuan kept repeating the process throughout the day. This method served to stimulate his mutated tissue.

The decrease in resting time and training for an entire day made the intensity of his training much higher than that of the second part of his training. During the first few days, Chen Chuan felt exhausted. Every day, after he went back to his hostel, he just took a quick shower before falling face first on his bed to sleep. Then, at the crack of dawn the next day, he got up and repeated the entire process.

Perhaps it was because Chen Chuan had a goal in mind, but his mutated tissue understood his demands this time and responded fervently. It worked together with him, and in just a short six days, he got used to this rhythm.

It was already the middle of July at this point, and all the blurred out parts on his second self from the Hill Demon had disappeared. This meant that Chen Chuan had to start using the medicine he brought.

Not that he had ever planned on taking any of the medicine back. He intended to use it all before going back. After a rough estimation, he found that, with his current condition, he should have no problems making the medicine last for around half a month.

On the tenth day of his training, Chen Chuan could sense that he had improved, so he asked He Xiaoxing to let him try diving in the research center again. Hence, they went there a second time.

Chang Ba watched expectantly. He wanted to see whether Chen Chuan would succeed this time.

Chen Chuan observed the pits nearby. Just like always, he chose a different one to go in. There was no knowing what sort of dangers he would face inside.

But that wasn’t important. All he knew was that he would chase after the goal he had set for himself. If he failed once more, he would just increase the intensity of his training and try again later.

He stretched before diving in, his movements so elegant and natural that any perceptive observer could tell he was far more confident than before.

Chang Ba propped his hands on his knees and stared at the pits. Since most of the ropes attached to the signs were chewed off, he couldn’t tell whether Chen Chuan touched the signs via the shaking of the ropes. All he could do was wait for Chen Chuan to tell them the numbers on the signs he found after he came up. Then, they would know how many he had found.

Just then, he remembered something. Chen Chuan had dived in without eating any roasted fish before, so he wouldn’t be able to use the toxins to avoid the fish. This would make the difficulty of the dive much harder.

But after a short while, Chang Ba picked up a picture book and started reading to kill time. Soon after that, he noticed He Xiaoxing walking quickly around the pits. Once in a while, he would throw a sign in.

He perked up at that, because if Chen Chuan was in a spot where he couldn’t touch the signs, He Xiaoxing would have no need to throw them down.

The requirement to pass this stage was twelve signs within one hour. On average, that meant that Chen Chuan had to find one every five minutes, but the complexity of the terrain and the dangerous environment restricted his movements. It was also impossible for Chen Chuan to be able to tell time accurately. He also needed to set aside some time to come up before the one-hour time limit was up. That meant that the time he could use to find the signs was even shorter.

Could he really do it, then?

Time passed. Chang Ba checked his watch and found that it had been fifty-six minutes. If Chen Chuan didn’t come up, then even if he managed to find a sufficient number of signs, he would have gone past the time limit and be considered to have failed.

Another two minutes passed. When the hour was almost up, there was a loud splash, and a few big fish suddenly flew out of a pit. They splattered on the floor and flapped around. Then, Chen Chuan broke out of the water and placed his hands on the edge of the pit to push himself out.

Chang Ba stood up and went to him. He asked, “How was it, Chen Chuan?”

Chen Chuan adjusted his breathing and named the numbers of the signs he had touched. As Chang Ba ran a mental tally, he found that Chen Chuan had found twelve signs, no more, no less.

His eyes widened, and he turned to He Xiaoxing.

“If you’ve set a goal of finding twelve signs for yourself, then you’ve passed,” He Xiaoxing said slowly.

Chang Ba turned back.

Chen Chuan grinned. “You have to aim high, so even if you fail, you’d still have achieved somewhat average results. I was hoping to find fifteen signs, so I haven’t reached my goal.”

This time, he was able to find the signs so quickly because he had used different methods to deal with the fish, thus saving up a lot of time.

For example, once he figured out the movement patterns of the black carp, he could avoid them without trouble. As for the aquatic plants that loved wrapping themselves around living creatures, the moment he noticed them, he used the water flow or yielding force to push them away.

There were also the clams that hid in corners. They were the toughest to fend against, but since he was aware of their existence and was on guard against them, dealing with them became much easier. Now, the moment he noticed them, he would block off one side of their mouths before they snapped them shut. Then, in an instant, he would let out all of his strength in one explosive force and shatter the other side with his fists and legs.

As long as he wasn’t facing a school of a thousand fish, they could not stop him.

Chen Chuan had managed to find twelve signs, but he wasn’t satisfied with this, because he felt like he had room to improve and could do better.

But Chang Ba could no longer contain his excitement. He exclaimed, “It’s enough! You found twelve signs! Did you know that no one at the Second Limit has ever been able to do what you did?”

He thumped his chest hard. “I’m a man of my word. From now on, you get to stay and eat for free at my family’s hotels!”

“Don’t mind if I take up the offer, then,” Chen Chuan said with a grin.

Just then, He Xiaoxing said sternly, “Come with me, Chen Chuan.”

He walked in another direction.

Chen Chuan’s expression changed. It seemed like He Xiaoxing had something to say to him. He excused himself and followed after him.

They walked for a little over five hundred meters until they reached a place with a higher terrain. There was no one around them, but for strong gusts of wind blowing across the wilderness. Chen Chuan could see a long mountain range at the end of the horizon, while behind them were the Cinnabar Lakes scattered around the land like blood drops.

Xiaoxing stared at the mountain range for a while before he said, “I told you before that you don’t need to care too much about technique at your stage. Strength and speed are the most important things for you.”

“Yes. That’s what I thought too, Mr. He,” Chen Chuan answered.

He Xiaoxing then turned around and said grimly, “Your strength and speed rely on your body’s foundation. The stronger your body is, the more strength and speed you can display. Today, I’m going to teach you the Furnace Breathing Technique. We of the purity faction came up with it after years of research. It’s one of the secret breathing techniques we use to fight against the other factions.

“This breathing technique allows you to more thoroughly tap into the power of your mutated tissue and store your extra energy inside it. Then, when necessary, you can release that energy, and it will come forth with the ferocity of burning wood. This will provide you with even more fighting power.

“The Furnace Breathing Technique requires strong physical qualities. If an average martial artist tried to practice it, they would only hurt themselves. Since you’ve already reached my requirements, it means you’re capable of practicing this breathing technique.”

Chen Chuan had sensed that while he had reached the final stage of the training, He Xiaoxing seemed to have something he wanted to teach him, but was holding back. That wasn’t because he wanted to keep the technique to himself, but simply because Chen Chuan had not reached the requirements to learn it.

After what He Xiaoxing said, Chen Chuan guessed that finding twelve signs in the underwater region in the research center was actually some form of baseline.

He Xiaoxing placed a hand on Chen Chuan’s shoulder and said, “Sense my breathing and remember the rhythm. I’m only going to teach you once.”

Chen Chuan immediately focused and nodded.

Then, he suddenly felt a wave of heat coming out of He Xiaoxing. It was as if he had turned into a burning furnace, and Chen Chuan’s mutated tissue seemed to resonate with the heat. It became active and started following a rhythm. He also started breathing along with that rhythm.

This was a secret breathing technique that used both external and internal breathing.

Chen Chuan didn’t dare to lose his concentration. He memorized the breathing rhythm and focused all of his attention to the point where he forgot everything around him.

A long while passed before He Xiaoxing let go of him, and the heat faded away.

Chen Chuan took a moment to familiarize himself with what he had learned. The breathing technique was much more complicated than all the others he had come across in the past. Most of it happened in the mutated tissue within him. Mobilizing them was an exceptionally complicated process.

But after the training he went through, his mutated tissue had already memorized certain things. So, after just one demonstration, he managed to grasp it. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“After you go back, I’ll give you a notebook. It will contain what you need to pay attention to. But remember this: no matter what you’ve learned, it’s just surface level knowledge. If you want to turn it into real fighting strength, you need to participate in battles and fight people to digest the information,” He Xiaoxing said.

Chen Chuan laughed. His eyes were clear, as if there was a spark in them. “I believe that after I go back, I won’t be lacking in opponents.”

He Xiaoxing watched him for a while before he said slowly, “This is the end of my training, Chen Chuan. You can go back now, but if you want to stay, you can.”

Chen Chuan thought about it before meeting his gaze. “I’d like to try challenging the underwater area here again before I leave, Mr. He.”

“Alright,” He Xiaoxing said with a nod after observing him briefly.