At this moment, Matthew was surrounded by a thick mist, far more abundant than it had ever been before.
The mist was no longer just thin white vapor. Like slender white snakes, it swam and coiled slowly around his body, swaying in harmony with his breathing.
About twenty minutes later.
A wave of exhaustion washed over Matthew's body and mind. As he opened his eyes, the thin mist slowly dispersed.
Although he had only practiced deep internal focus for about ten minutes, the mental concentration required was considerable, as was the physical toll.
It felt as though he had just completed an intense workout.
With a thought, his attribute panel quietly emerged.
【White Snake Breathing Technique: Mastered (6/100)】
“Huh? It went up by five points?” Matthew was slightly taken aback, a flash of joy immediately crossing his eyes.
This progress was a bit faster than he had anticipated.
It seemed that this meticulous method of mobilizing his entire body, though seemingly gentle and slow, was by no means lacking when it came to gaining proficiency. In fact, because it better aligned with the goal of solidifying his foundation, it might even be more efficient.
He rested for a bit longer.
Giving Instructor Calm a slight nod, he turned and left the training ground.
The morning sun was already growing hot. Matthew walked briskly along the familiar village path toward the edge of the forest.
He hadn't forgotten that he still had traps to check.
While practicing the breathing technique brought noticeable improvements, the food provided by his traps remained an indispensable resource.
Especially now, he realized more than ever that both the energy consumed by the breathing technique and the hefty cost of purchasing a good bow in the future required a steady stream of income and food.
“Maybe I need to find another way to make money?”
His boots stepped onto the soft forest earth, producing a quiet rustling sound.
As Matthew walked, he subconsciously adjusted his breathing, attempting to integrate the “three long and two short” rhythm into his stride.
Focusing his mind downward, he felt his core naturally engage with the rise and fall of his steps, subtly aligning with his breath.
Attempting to integrate the rhythm of the breathing technique into his daily walks felt forced at first, even slightly disrupting his usually brisk and steady pace.
But Matthew did not give up. He slowed his pace slightly, patiently continuing to coordinate his breathing with his stride and the natural movement of his body.
After a dozen or so attempts, he gradually began to get the hang of it.
When his inhalation perfectly matched the moment he stepped forward and shifted his center of gravity, and his exhalation aligned with his foot planting firmly on the ground as his core engaged, a peculiar sense of coordination washed over him.
Walking itself seemed to transform into a low-intensity, continuous form of stance training. Instead of draining his stamina, the optimized depth and rhythm of his breathing made his breath feel deeper, his footsteps firmer, and his control over his body subtly stronger.
“It seems the breathing technique is useful for far more than just sitting in meditation,” Matthew thought to himself. “Integrating it into my daily movements might be an excellent way to subtly but surely solidify my foundation.”
“Maybe I can even apply the breathing technique to Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Archery?”
Keeping this thought in mind, he maintained his state and continued toward the edge of the forest.
A moment later,
He arrived at the area where he had set his traps.
Scanning the area, he saw that the first trap was intact and untriggered. The second was likewise empty.
Matthew wasn't discouraged. Hunting always involved an element of luck.
He carefully inspected the mechanisms and camouflage of the traps to ensure they were still functional.
After checking a few more, Matthew finally found success at the fifth trap.
A vine was wrapped tightly around a gray-furred wild rabbit, which was still twitching weakly. Its struggles had long since faded; it had clearly been caught for some time.
Matthew stepped forward practicedly and ended its suffering with his shortsword. Untying the vine, he hefted the rabbit. It was quite heavy.
“Not a wasted trip.” With a slight smile, he stuffed the rabbit into his leather pouch.
Both the pelt and the meat could be sold for money. Now that his breathing technique had increased his appetite, it was always a good idea to stock up on meat.
He continued checking the rest of his traps.
Perhaps luck was on his side today, because near the eighth trap, he found a pheasant caught by its leg. Though it wasn't particularly large, its bright feathers meant it would still fetch a decent price.
He placed the pheasant into his bag as well.
Having checked all the traps, his total harvest was one wild rabbit and one pheasant.
For a single morning, this was a bountiful harvest. Anyone else would have likely come back empty-handed.
After all, not everyone understood trap placement as thoroughly as he did.
Slinging the heavy leather pouch over his shoulder, Matthew set off back to the village in high spirits.
He maintained his rhythmic walking, synchronizing his breathing with his steps. It was starting to feel increasingly natural.
He even tried to exert finer control over the warm core in his abdomen as he walked, attempting to use it like a pump that synced with his strides, sending a faint, almost imperceptible surge of energy to aid his limbs with every movement.
However, whenever he attempted this, a stiff resistance would hold him back.
“Is my proficiency still too low?”
“Or is my physical conditioning not there yet?”
“Whatever the reason, it proves that the breathing technique can indeed be integrated into my everyday movements!” Matthew realized.
He stopped trying to force quick results. Maintaining this mindful state of walking, he focused solely on the rhythm of his breath, his steps, and the natural flow of warmth within him.
Though that surge of energy remained elusive and difficult to trigger at will, he could feel his bodily coordination slowly improving under this constant, low-intensity training.
However, walking this way also drained more of his stamina.
Before he knew it, he had reached his home.
As his familiar house came into view, Matthew slowly normalized his breathing, stepping out of his deeply mindful state.
Raising a hand, he wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Both the proficiency threshold and physical adaptation require time,” Matthew thought, feeling even more certain of his path. Integrating his breathing technique into daily life was definitely feasible, but it couldn't be rushed.
It was a long-term, subtle process of gradual transformation.
...
Over ten days passed in this manner.
Matthew's life settled into a new routine: every morning, he would demonstrate his breathing technique to Instructor Calm.
Over those ten days, Instructor Calm's reaction to his progress had gradually shifted from initial astonishment to deep anticipation.
As Matthew steadily progressed, his proficiency with the breathing technique quietly climbed to (86/100). Thanks to this, his overall attributes also saw an increase of (+0.3).
Even he was astonished by this speed, ultimately attributing it to his practice of integrating the breathing technique into his daily life.
After his morning demonstrations, he would rush to the wheat fields to practice his archery. With the help of the Filthy Bone Chain, his training speed remained incredibly fast.
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