Chapter 142: Chapter 126: Internal School 2

The man in black spoke again.

“Yes.”

Hearing this, the crowd replied involuntarily.

Just then, the academy gates opened. The man in black led the way inside, and the others followed. The soaking wet candidates trailed closely behind.

“Lin Longde, Wu Yinglong… you few will live in the Outer Courtyard.”

Upon entering the academy, a man in black began to divide the candidates into three groups.

“Yan Chengdu, Yu Jiaxin, you few will live in the Central Courtyard.”

Yan Chengdu heard his name. Not seeing Chu Lingguang in his group, he couldn’t help but glance at the remaining group and saw Chu Lingguang standing with Chen Jin, Qi Shiwei, and the others.

“The rest of you will live in the Inner Courtyard.”

The man in black said to Chu Lingguang’s group.

Chu Lingguang glanced at the people around him. Every one of them had a weapon in hand. He hadn’t expected to be assigned to Chen Jin’s group.

Chen Jin and the others also noticed Chu Lingguang. They were quite surprised that he was standing with them. However, the three of them had all witnessed Chu Lingguang’s performance in Jin City. With Fan Zhibian not present, they all gave Chu Lingguang a slight nod.

Chu Lingguang didn’t dare to be arrogant and nodded back at the three of them.

’How much I can gain from this month-long intensive training will depend on two things: my own ability, and whether I can find a benefactor to help me.’

Chen Jin and his friends had astonishing comprehension. If he could get on good terms with them, he could ask for their guidance on things he didn’t understand. Therefore, Chu Lingguang didn’t want to start any conflict with them.

He had originally thought everyone would get their own room. Who would have known that after entering their respective courtyards, it was like being put out to pasture? Whether it was the Outer, Central, or Inner Courtyard, each had only a single room.

A long bed platform, like a gigantic desk, stretched across the room. Everyone was soaking wet, and in the entire, vast academy, there was nowhere to change their clothes.

The academy’s intensive training seemed to be a trial of both spirit and body.

It was nothing like a normal school where everyone would sit together, listen to an Academy Master’s teachings, and raise their hands to ask questions if they didn’t understand something.

It was more like being thrown into a sheep pen to be toyed with at will.

Chu Lingguang’s Heart Guarding Skill was outstanding. Coupled with his Humble Family background, his own tiled-roof house was nothing compared to this environment. Although it was crowded and noisy, he adapted quickly.

But those Noble Family Descendants, who could endure the hardship of training, couldn’t stand the hardship of their living conditions. Many of them complained endlessly, and some even came to blows, trying to seize a larger area for a good night’s sleep.

After a while, people from the academy delivered two sets of black martial arts uniforms to each person.

Everyone was soaking wet and couldn’t wait to take off their old clothes and put on the new ones.

Chu Lingguang caught a whiff of sweat. The clothes had been worn by others. This was probably done intentionally by the academy to temper their dispositions.

It was the same for the others.

Smelling the stench of someone else’s sweat on the clothes, many frowned deeply, disgustedly flicking the garments hard to try and shake off the smell.

After Chu Lingguang changed his clothes, he saw that everyone was still fighting over spots to rest, so he walked to a corner, sat down, and leaning against the wall, fell into a deep sleep.

「The next morning.」

Chu Lingguang saw that in the Inner Courtyard, with the exception of Chen Jin, Gao Yimu, Qi Shiwei, and a few other candidates with astonishing talent and powerful strength who were sprawled out on the bed platform, occupying a large area and sleeping soundly, the rest were mostly lying on the floor in disarray and had basically slept poorly.

Fortunately, while one needed skill to secure a good sleeping spot, the food provided by the academy was the same for everyone, and it was all precious ingredients that replenished Qi Blood.

After all, this intensive training was meant to improve everyone’s strength, ensuring the Court would have worthy successors.

All the torment was a way to temper their minds and character.

After eating, all the candidates were summoned to a courtyard.

In the courtyard was a white wall. Lines of characters were written on it, and the characters at the very top were large and thick. As Chu Lingguang looked closer, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

It was the training Skill for the Day and Night Breathing Technique.

He instinctively wanted to take out some scratch paper to copy it down.

But he realized his scratch paper and change of clothes, which had fallen into the lake yesterday, were still drying in the Inner Courtyard. Besides, someone from the academy had already instructed that nothing learned here was to be shared outside. Trying to write down the contents to tell Hei Hu when he got back was clearly not an option.

So, he could only start silently reciting it, committing the Skill to memory.

“Your main purpose for coming to the academy is to cultivate a more advanced Breathing Technique. I don’t care what Breathing Technique you cultivated before; now that you’re at the academy, all evaluations will revolve around the Day and Night Breathing Technique.”

“Some of you may have already seen this Breathing Technique, or even practiced it. But no matter how much you’ve learned outside, here at the academy, I’m the one who sets the standards.”

The middle-aged man from yesterday, who was around forty years old, appeared again.

Overnight, Chu Lingguang had learned from a few Noble Family Disciples that the middle-aged man was named Liu Wan. He was one of the Academy Masters, responsible for helping everyone activate the Day and Night Breathing Technique.

The Court had performance metrics for him.

He needed to help over seventy percent of the candidates activate this Breathing Technique within a month. Then, from among those who succeeded, he had to cultivate a few who could injure people with their breath using the Day and Night Breathing Technique.

Chu Lingguang wasn’t aiming to be able to injure people with his breath within a month using this technique. He only hoped to commit it to memory, successfully activate it, and have it recorded in his panel.

Considering his dull aptitude and extremely poor comprehension, Chu Lingguang could only use the most foolish method: practicing day and night, striving to successfully master this Breathing Technique within a month.

So, upon seeing the Breathing Technique, Chu Lingguang immediately entered a state of learning, committing every word Liu Wan said to memory.

“The key to the Day and Night Breathing Technique is ’connection’!”

Liu Wan spoke again.

Feng Junyi had mentioned this point before.

Chu Lingguang couldn’t help but prick up his ears.

“HUUUU!”

Liu Wan didn’t rush to explain. Instead, he first took a sharp breath in.

The crowd saw that as Liu Wan inhaled, a faint whistling of wind seemed to stir in the courtyard. Yet, Liu Wan’s abdomen and chest did not expand; it was as if he had a bottomless pit inside his body.

Chu Lingguang had trained under Guo Wei for two years.

He had once heard Guo Wei say that the path of Martial Arts was divided into inner and outer. Currently, he, Hei Hu, and all the other candidates here were merely Outer Martial Artists.

To become a powerful Martial Artist, one had to go from outer to inner, transitioning from chest breathing to Dantian breathing.

The Dantian is the foundation of an Inner Martial Artist.

But not everyone could open one.

Only a Martial Artist with a Dantian could possess endless Qi Power.

Now, seeing Liu Wan take a single, continuous breath as if he had a bottomless pit in his body, Chu Lingguang instinctively realized that Liu Wan was an Inner Martial Artist who had opened his Dantian and possessed endless Qi Power.

“HAAH!”

At that moment, Liu Wan stopped inhaling and forcefully exhaled.

The qi he had just drawn into his Dantian transformed into a stream of air that shot from his mouth, grazing over the crowd’s heads. Everyone felt their scalps tingle.

It was as if it wasn’t a breath of air but an arrow, shooting past just above their brows.

“THUD!”

Behind the crowd, a winnowing basket hanging on the wall was knocked to the ground.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep