In the seemingly endless white space, Riyue sat down on the floor as he looked at the screen in front of him.
[Here is the list of martial arts you could learn.]
* Sun and Moon Breathing Method
‘I do not get how exactly will a Breathing Method be useful for me, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to learn it.’
Riyue then clicked on the Sun and Moon Breathing Method and then on Yes to learn it. Just like before, knowledge of how to do the breathing method, what counts as success, and what its benefits are assaulted Riyue’s head, causing a brief headache.
After organizing the knowledge, Riyue thought that the Breathing Method was much better than he had thought. Riyue immediately sat down in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It was easy to focus inside the training room due to the lack of noise around, and also because he was always in peak condition in this training room.
As he felt around his inner body and eventually arrived at the Qi Core, Riyue could visualize a golden-colored Qi and a purple-colored Qi spinning around in tangent like that of a Yin Yang symbol. Riyue then tried the Breathing Method.
He visualized the Sun Qi flowing to the right side of his body, with the Moon Qi to the left side of his body. He imagined them flowing into his blood, the golden Sun Qi and the purple Moon Qi nourishing the organs, meridians, and blood flow. Then he imagined them flowing back together to the Qi Core, lightly crashing into each other, and converging. Using the bits of chaotic energy created using Convergence, Riyue expelled some of the impurities inside his body.
As Riyue imagined a dark vapor rising from his body and impurities being expelled, he then imagined the absorption of the surrounding Qi. Riyue didn’t realize it at first, but he felt that this pure white Training Room was full of extremely pure Qi, which made it easy for him to absorb and change into the Sun and Moon Qi he had.
After a while of absorbing and focusing, his head started pounding as severe pain brought him out of focus, and eventually, he opened his eyes and gasped for breath, sweat covering his entire body.
“Damn! That was, phew, a lot harder than I thought, but I actually succeeded in one try… Probably because it was just a breathing method instead of martial arts.”
With that said, it still pleased Riyue, and he smiled in satisfaction and took a look at his status screen.
Name: Zhang Riyue
Age: 20
Constitution: Sun and Moon Qi Attribute
Qi Stage: 1
Qi Purity: 73%
Qi Amount: 852/852 (recovery 3/minute), (Qilin’s Horn +300 Qi), (Next Stage requires 2000).
Martial Arts and Mastery Gauge:
* Mountain Tiger Martial Technique 20%
* Sun and Moon Breathing Method 0%
Training Room
‘Whoa, my Qi grew quite a lot. If I simply expend my Qi, I would gain around 4 or 5, but using a breathing method I hadn’t mastered gives me around 20 per session… This is amazing.’
Of course, it was not entirely due to the Sun and Moon Breathing Method. Although the Zhang Family’s Breathing Method is inferior, it is still a top-class method, yet Riyue was still stuck at Stage 1 even after many years. As for how the current Riyue was able to suddenly gain immense talent, it is due to one thing.
‘Body Reformation. Though I was thrown into this world abruptly, at least the Sun and Moon God still have some kind of conscience by giving me talent.’
Riyue smiled and then checked the timer. It was at [07:13:46]. Prior to this, he wanted to check how much time passed in this room compared to the outside world.
‘Ah right, I almost forgot.’
Riyue then took out the sword and made a shallow cut at the back of his forearm. He wanted to test out whether injuries also traveled to his original body. After that was done, Riyue left the Training Room, and a wave of exhaustion, hunger, and thirst immediately hit him.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
After drinking the water he had set aside, Riyue checked the clock in the room. After some calculations, the difference in time between reality and the Training Room is roughly 1:3.
‘Not bad, hehehe, I now have 3x the time to train compared to an average person.’
Riyue then checked his forearm to see that it was completely fine; the shallow cut from the Training Room hadn’t transferred over.
‘So only exhaustion, hunger, and thirst travel.’
Riyue smiled. After figuring out that the Training Room had a time tracker there, he was no longer afraid of dying of hunger without knowing.
‘Now all I have to test out is whether or not the Training Room has some kind of self-preservation feature to it… I can befriend someone later and have them act like they are going to kill me when I am in the Training Room and see whether I am notified or not inside the Training Room.’
Riyue’s stomach then growled, and he smiled as he recalled a memory and a fact.
That is, when he was in an All You Can Eat restaurant, he would never come out as the loser!
With the same determination, Riyue went outside and down to order a lot of food and enjoyed his time in the Purple Lotus Inn.
***
After repeatedly eating, and going to the Training Room to train his martial arts skills, Sun and Moon Breathing Method, as well as sleeping inside the Training Room, Riyue was faking sleep as he waited during midnight. His hair was now white-colored, and the mole under his right eye had disappeared. He had already employed the basic disguise in the meantime, as Rong Yu had given it to him in advance.
Soon enough, Riyue heard knocks on the door. He immediately got up and opened it to see Rong Yu standing with a smile.
“Young Master, oh my, you look quite different.”
“...”
After being ignored by Riyue, Rong Yu just smiled and continued.
“Ahem, it is time for us to go to the smuggling ship, so please prepare… Well, looks like you already did,” Rong Yu said as he peeked inside the room. Riyue had already prepared and organized all his belongings in advance and packed them into a cloth bundle.
“This makes things fast, then let us go now.”
“Alright.”
Riyue and Rong Yu sneakily went out of the inn and walked outside. The purple-colored moon shone through Luo Yen City, lighting it up. The streets were silent, and there was no one other than Riyue and Rong Yu.
As they walked through the dark streets, Rong Yu opened his mouth.
“Young Master, may I ask something?”
“Stop with the Young Master business.”
“Hahaha, I can’t, I am used to this style of speaking when I’m with you, Young Master.”
“Bullshit, I only met you two times in my life.”
Rong Yu smiled.
“Still, Young Master, I didn’t expect you to be such a glutton… It surprised me quite a bit. How is it possible that one man ate four days' worth of food in one day?”
“Be grateful I even ate those greasy foods.”
Although Riyue said that, the food in Purple Lotus was actually quite good despite its greasiness. Not to mention, since he had only ordered the most expensive foods and finest wines, he had quite the fun time. It also made Riyue happier when he thought of draining the Purple Lotus’s finances.
“That’s too much, Young Master. I think the Purple Lotus’s earnings will be in the minus this month.”
Riyue became happier as he heard Rong Yu’s words. However, he still kept on a stoic face as he spoke.
“Stop the chitchat and get straight to the point.”
Rong Yu chuckled before saying,
“Well, I doubt that someone as civilized as you needs a reminder, but I would like to talk about the rules of the smuggling ship.” Rong Yu walked without looking back before putting up a finger, the middle one.
“First, no asking about each other’s identities. Some are like you who will get a new identity, so it’s futile anyway even if you ask. As for the others, well, privacy is a bare minimum right for everyone.”
He then raised his left hand and raised the middle finger.
“Second, no fighting. Elementary, isn’t it? If you cause trouble inside the ship, we will kick you out to the sea… Well, that is only for the extreme ones. Some insults and punching are fine as long as you don’t make trouble for the rest of the passengers. Fight in the corner if you like.”
He then put his left hand down and raised three fingers.
“The third is… There is no third rule, hahaha!”
“...”
“Ahem, well, if I had to say, just don’t cause any trouble, seriously. Just sit tight, enjoy the journey, and you will get what you have paid for.”
After that, neither Riyue nor Rong Yu talked for the entirety of the walk. Soon enough, a red sailing vessel was parked on the edge of the city in an inconspicuous place. Riyue could see some cargo placed above the ship and people standing there. There was also a tall ladder placed by the side of the ship.
“Now then, please climb the ladder, Young Master.” Rong Yu smiled. Riyue climbed the ladder and looked around. As expected of a smuggling ship for items and people, there were cargos placed around the ship with a variety of people standing or sitting on the floor. If there was one common trait for all of them, it would be—
‘All of them look mighty suspicious… Well, not that I’m one to talk.’ Riyue chuckled inside his mind.
“Feel free to stand around or sit somewhere. You can also go down the ship if you want to, but don’t touch any cargo. Ah, right, that could be the third rule. No stealing.”
Riyue ignored Rong Yu as he headed down the ship. He then ignored the gazes of the others as he went to a spot he liked and sat. After some time passed by, the ship sailed.