Breath exercise

Before Karl Zeal brutally fell to the ground, Sou Long already knew what happened; he smiled faintly. "So you passed the test, huh?" Sou Long asked no one in particular. And whether he was happy or sad was inconceivable—he was stark expressionless. He picked up his small cup that simmered hot with tea and gulped suavely. The Old Man thought of himself as some reputable king. He continued: "Looking at your performance, you used lightning to survive. So you barely pass. However, I must seal off your lightning power again. I thought it wouldn't resurface, but I was wrong."

Zeal finally slammed to the ground like some dead log; he grunted in pain. However, Sou Long moved with lightning speed. In fact, it was only a single spark, and he was already within the gamut of Karl Zeal. He carried him to the corridor; he pulled out all the needles stuck inside Karl Zeal's body with only a wave of his hands.

He sat the dying exhausted Zeal upright and spiritedly dabbed his acupuncture points. His movement was fast and envious. But at the finale, he gently palmed Karl Zeal's back. The severely exhausted child breathed the air of life amidst the morbid abyss of death. He vomited a glob of congealed blood. But as Zeal's body found the bright sun of life solace, a soft palpable aura traveled his entire energy pathway and vessel. This aura appeared trotting against the storm. But that's because they were different energy systems and different people. But before Zeal could understand his situation, that seemingly harmless palpable aura that appeared dominant sealed the child's energy pathway. At this moment, Sou Long took another seemingly insignificant but quick step as he knocked his index finger on Zeal's forehead; he directly infused a round glob of energy between his brows. That energy traveled instantly to his brain and energy systems. The energy system initiated a rapid healing process. Karl Zeal's energy system and pattern rapidly healed and evolved independently. Sou long aimed at fiercely compressing the child's energy system to birth the so-called plan he had for him.

After doing that, Sou Long carried Zeal to the bathroom to recuperate. This time, he sank him a nudge deeper than the last time. Sou Long directly placed Zeal on the second division of the ancient drum. At this moment, intense steam gushed out of the drum as if Zeal was the key to activating it. After twelve hours, Karl Zeal regained conscience. And with a slight lifting of his body, his bones crackled. His long black hair starkly soaked itself on the medicinal bath; the water didn't skimp on his entire banged right hand; it was stark wet. With his eyes finally opened, Zeal reflected on the severity of the training served to him and his umpteenth death experience. Mr. Death had knocked for him so many times, attempting to throw him into the irretrievable limbo. It irked him so dearly.

"What's keeping me alive?" he muttered tiredly. However, no one could answer that question except himself. And perhaps, he had no specific answer to it. He could only claim that he didn't want to die, even when everyone voted for his death. He wanted to disappoint them even more.

After another hour, Zeal came to the veranda where Sou Long sat with his leg crossed and eyes closed in meditation. He looked refreshed as if he hadn't fought fiercely for his life. Seeing Sou Long, Zeal intended to snap on him, but he knew very well his capability was limited. And besides, the Old Man did take care of him after his countless near-death situations. Of course, Zeal believed the Old thing did all that only to send him another death invitation. It was like continuously breaking and remolding something. Karl Zeal didn't know the extent of his survival, but nothing could veil his seethed fury. How could someone heal you only to kill you again? Was the old thing chaffing him? Zeal couldn't believe his eyes, and he portended nothing good about the old evil thing. However, in front of the deplorable Old Man (even though miffed), he must feign respect to live long. Who gave him the nerve to run wild? No one could pacify his situation because he came here of his volition. So he could only yield to survive.

"Thank you, master Sou, for always taking care of me." Zeal veiled his irritation and wrath.

Sou Long gradually opened his eyes. His eyes were deep back, very dark and terrifying. Zeal felt he sacrificed his soul in the irredeemable bottomless abyss of Sou Long's eyes. At the same time, he felt his mind lay bare in front of him. So what if he tore off his veneer mask? Zeal asked no one in particular.

"There is no need to mention it." Sou Long also pretended he didn't see anything; there was no need to haggle with a child. "You decided to follow me and my instruction; all you have to do is pass trials. Then I will not only make you stronger, but I will also recognize you." He concluded.

"Yes, master." Zeal answered and gave a perfunctory nod. 'Make me strong, your ghost. Why don't you say you want my life instead?' Zeal couldn't care if Sou Long could read his mind. At the same time, Sou Long didn't want to exhaust himself on that; he knew the child wouldn't pass a second without cussing him to feel good.

He passed a scrutinizing gaze on Zeal and nodded calmly. "I will reward you with a week of rest. Of course, it's not to loll around. Examine all the trials I gave you; design mental training to hone yourself; make sure you defeat all that needs to be defeated. However, even if I want blithering victory, you should never use the element for it." Sou Long instructed with a meaningful gaze.

"Yes, Master Sou." Zeal answered obediently.

For three days, Zeal built his strength; he meticulously blended different training in his psyche, and he had many of them. He tried to manipulate the experiences into showing their loopholes; he tried to exploit those loopholes to the best of his ability. In fact, he exceeded his tolerance and broke down on a few occasions. It wasn't easy after all. However, on the fourth day of his break came Sou Long.

"Although I said I wouldn't disturb you; however, I don't want you to waste this period without other achievements. After all, we have limited time. So I want to plant the ultimate poison neutralizer. I want to also give you a sutra for cultivating a poison destroyer. However, the most crucial reason would be teaching you how to identify poisons." Sou Long announced. Regardless, he festered Zeal's negative emotions—more and more.

Zeal thought, why couldn't he respect his words. He couldn't understand why he would say one thing and do the other. Was he already bored, now that he hadn't heard his wail? He thought angrily. However, even with his anger, he knew Sou Long had some credence to his words. The faster he could learn, the more advantage he might secure. At the very least, he could leave this place earlier.

Sou Long taught Zeal about poisoning; he tested many of these poisonous gas and liquid on Zeal; he wanted him to understand their effects. Of course, he told him how to detoxify them, but he didn't lift his finger to help. He left Zeal to his fate; Zeal struggled and almost died even in those few days until he learned all Sou Long wanted him to.

Seven days quickly passed like the shooting stars. Karl Zeal was finally ready to continue his death trial. He stood in the middle of the estate; Sou Long sat on crossed legs with a jug of tea in front of him. He poured himself a cup and drank carefully. He savored the taste expressionlessly. However, Zeal only paid attention to his upcoming trial. What's it going to be? He wondered.

I will explain today's training simply: breath exercise. I will erect a black orb as usual, and all the elements of the last trial will be there except shooting black needles. However, there would be new elements: I will saturate the place with poisonous gas. At the same time, the movements of the logs would be more erratic and unpredictable." Sou Long wore a sly smile. "In conclusion, you are dealing with only erratic logs, and there are no shooting needles. So all you have to do is to evade them. Can you handle that?" Sou Long concluded.

"Yes, I can!" Zeal replied without thinking. What choice did he have anyway? No one would spare him; his suffering was only the tip of an iceberg.

Even if you succeeded in using the lightning moon orb, whether double or triple layer (even when the ball completely solidifies), the poison will still seep in; that orb isn't an absolute defense, after all. In fact, right now, you can't even use it." Sou Long forewarned.

Hearing Sou Long's terrible warning, Zeal blanched. However, he gradually recovered his demeanor. He had somehow realized the same thing within the week of rest. But he didn't understand the reason. Now, he knew it was the ghost of the old thing. He wouldn't just give up. How bad does he savor his suffering? Zeal recalled why his deplorable master asked him to train in his psyche without the lightning element. So that's the reason! He cursed the old heartless thing.