Chapter 18: Buying a Life

After practicing the complete breathing technique with Pei Youguang again, Xue Jing had thoroughly memorized all the detailed steps of the breathing skills.

This completion of the breathing skills, just like the first time, was very uncomfortable, but it was slightly better compared to the first attempt, as if he had adapted a little.

At this moment, Pei Youguang, having conducted the breathing skills practice twice in a row, also felt a bit uncomfortable. He touched his head and exclaimed,

"Not only did you successfully complete the cycle on the first attempt at practicing breathing skills, but you also did it twice in a row..."

"If the master at the dojo knew this, he would probably be shocked beyond belief."

As Xue Jing slowly recovered from the strain of the breathing skills, he said, "Youguang, thank you for this time."

Pei Youguang, flattered, quickly replied, "Hey! What's there to thank me for, Jing? It's an honor for me that you allowed me to teach you..."

Though his words carried a hint of flattery, he genuinely felt that way.

Considering Xue Jing's natural talent and substantial potential, it was obvious to anyone that his prospects were boundless. Pei Youguang felt fortunate to have the chance to build a 'teaching bond' with Xue Jing while he was still emerging.

Such basic breathing skills, which were not very valuable, enabled him to establish a relationship with a person of boundless potential, which he considered a huge gain.

Pei Youguang lamented, "Unfortunately, I do not have the dojo's secret medicine here. Breathing skills should be combined with the secret medicine for training to achieve the best effect. I remember the master calling this process 'blood cleansing'..."

"He said that blood is the fundamental source of energy for the body, and the cleaner and finer the blood, the stronger the energy it provides. Each dojo has its unique 'Blood Cleansing Secret Method'. If you join one, maybe you'll have access to them, Jing."

While Xue Jing listened to him speak, he opened his panel to take a look.

[You practiced a breathing technique, Fitness Experience Points +16]

[You practiced a breathing technique, Fitness Experience Points +16]

[Fitness Lv2 (463/500)]

Having performed the breathing skills twice, his fitness experience had increased by over thirty points?

Pei Youguang mentioned that breathing skills could improve physical fitness, but he hadn't expected the effect to be so significant.

"A complete cycle of the breathing technique takes about fifteen minutes, which means over sixty points in an hour."

By focusing solely on physical fitness, one could gain about a hundred points in an hour.

It seemed that breathing skills were less efficient than dedicated physical training, but it wasn't so simple.

Physical training required specific equipment and environment, whereas breathing skills could be practiced anytime, anywhere!

If he could maintain the breathing skills operation for twenty-four hours, then by 'idling' for a day, he could increase his fitness experience by over fourteen hundred points!

This was an incredibly significant increase!

Of course, at the moment this was impossible, as the breathing skills posed a tremendous strain on the body. After performing two complete cycles, he already felt that he could not continue without injuring himself.

Nevertheless, having an additional method to increase fitness experience at any time and place made Xue Jing very satisfied.

About twenty minutes later, Xue Jing felt he had fully recovered.

He stood up, looked around, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he noticed a machine in the corner.

Pei Youguang, noticing his interest, smiled and said, "That's a strength-testing machine, Jing. Would you like to try?"

Xue Jing nodded.

Pei Youguang replied, "Alright, I'll go turn it on for you."

He ran to the back of the strength-testing machine, pressed a button, and the screen on the machine's stand lit up, displaying the previous test score.

[1472N].

"The data unit for this machine is N, which stands for 'Newton'."

Pei Youguang explained,

"1472 Newtons, converted into the more understandable KG, or kilograms, is approximately one hundred and fifty kilograms."

Pei Youguang was a bit proud, "This is the data I punched out the day before yesterday using Channeling Energy, impressive huh?"

Xue Jing smiled, "Yeah, pretty impressive."

He paused, "Let me give it a try."

Seeing this, Pei Youguang immediately gave up his spot.

Xue Jing stepped forward, positioned himself, took a deep breath, aimed at the slightly worn leather pad on the strength-testing machine, and threw a powerful straight punch!

"Bang!!"

A loud explosion, the heavy strength-testing machine shook slightly, and the numbers on the monitor on the stand started jumping before finally stopping.

[1773N].

Pei Youguang's eyes widened slightly.

"What the hell!?"

1773 Newtons, converted into weight, is roughly around 181 kg.

"Jing, you haven't actually trained secretly just to trick me, have you?"

Pei Youguang clicked his tongue in amazement.

"No Channeling Energy, purely brute force, to punch out 1773 Newtons, that's almost 180 kg, that's insane!"

He touched his nose wrapped in bandages, "No wonder you almost blew my nose off at noon..."

Xue Jing laughed heartily, "How about that? Not bad, right?"

Pei Youguang nodded repeatedly, "That's more than good, bro. If you learn to channel energy, you could immediately qualify for a Professional Martial Artist certification."

Xue Jing didn't reply but instead looked curiously at another machine nearby with many buttons, "What's that?"

Pei Youguang smiled, "That's for training reflexes. You see all those buttons, right? It's like playing whack-a-mole. You need to press them as soon as they light up, the faster the better..."

...

Xue Jing stayed at Pei Youguang's home until about eight in the evening, agreed that they would often come over during this period, then he finally bid goodbye and left.

Before leaving, Pei Youguang had asked if he could be spared from the morning reading tomorrow, which Xue Jing denied.

He had initially made him read mostly to tweak the school bully, but now he let him read sincerely for his benefit.

Carrying a reputation as a merciless killer wasn't a joke.

Pei Youguang was too young to understand the consequences, or maybe he vaguely understood but was somewhat resigned due to certain reasons, but Xue Jing did not want him to ruin himself like that.

Although he had done many wrong things before, as long as he hadn't made a fundamentally irreversible mistake, there was still a chance to correct his ways.

Xue Jing walked on the streets, although it was only eight o'clock at night, the street in the South City area was very quiet, with only a few shops still lit up.

The evening breeze blew, swirling the bottles, jars, newspapers, and plastic bags around the quiet street, creating a series of echoes.

Xue Jing carried his school bag on one shoulder, looking natural as he walked towards the nearest bus stop.

Behind him, a few dozen meters away in a narrow alley, several people were lurking, eyeing his back with nefarious intentions.

One of them, a man with a tuft of white dyed hair at the front, chuckled, "It's rare, to find a fat sheep this late outside, wearing a school uniform from Qingcheng University Affiliated Middle School?"

Standing in the middle of the group, a middle-aged man with a long scar on his right cheek deeply inhaled on a cigarette he was clutching and slowly exhaled, dressed in a sleeveless black sweatshirt, his muscly right arm newly tattooed with a dragon over his shoulder.

"Wandering around on our Razor Gang's turf so late at night, we can't let him go without leaving something behind."

"If he can afford the tuition at the Affiliated Middle School, he should be able to afford the ransom too, right?"

...