The gentle energy flowed along the meridians of his arm.
It carried a hint of calm but rhythmic undulation.
Where it passed, it seemed to mark an energy pathway within him.
It made his whole body feel mildly warm, and to a certain degree, he became a keen "sensor."
Suddenly, it was as if he was detached from himself.
He saw his own body.
"Inner vision" became exceptionally clear.
Not just the familiar traces of dragon blood beneath the golden ocean, but also more energy points twinkling like stars.
The body contained those powers: muscle strength, endurance, special stomach, ancient ghost tribe bloodline...
Is this what Adelle referred to as the manifestation of life energy and physical strength?
"Do you feel it?" Adelle’s gentle voice came.
"Yes." Gauss briefly described his feelings.
"Good, sink your breath here." She extended her finger, quickly pointing between his chest and abdomen.
"Too tight."
"Relax a bit."
Gauss quickly adjusted.
"Yes, just like that." Adelle keenly sensed the changes in his breathing and body.
"Now, continue this process, feeling the changes in your body with each breath, whether it’s the sense of expansion or the gentle inward contraction."
"Then continue to adjust your breathing..."
"Throughout the entire process, do not pursue speed, but rather ’smoothness.’"
"..."
Time unknowingly slipped away during Adelle’s guidance.
In the blink of an eye, dusk fell outside the window.
"Let’s stop here for today."
When Adelle announced the end, Gauss realized it was already late.
Did it really take him an entire day to barely grasp the complementary breathing method of the White Falcon Sword Skill taught by Adelle?
"Is my progress too slow?"
Gauss asked uncertainly.
He truly wasn’t sure if his progress was considered fast or slow.
Of course, he already knew that his talent for learning magic was quite extraordinary, but now, in terms of swordsmanship, the talents were completely different and unrelated.
"Huh?" As she was about to head out, Adelle, who was putting on her work clothes over her fitted soft armor, raised her head and tilted it, giving a look as if to say, "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Uh... why do you have such an idea?"
She paused, asking with a complex expression.
"After all, it’s just learning a breathing technique. Isn’t it a bit late to see results after a whole day?"
"Just that, huh..." Adelle chuckled, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
She was somewhat amused.
"If other swordsmen heard you say that, they would probably feel like beating you up."
"..."
Gauss blinked.
Adelle was left speechless.
In fact, throughout the teaching process, she felt surprised no less than ten times.
Breathing sounds simple, but in reality, it’s very difficult to adjust.
Because before this, everyone has already breathed innumerable times, making it perhaps the most frequent conscious behavior one performs in a lifetime.
This behavior, carved into the bloodline and already turned instinctual, is the hardest to correct.
It’s even harder than learning magic.
Because magic starts from zero, and most normal people can’t use magic from the womb, so just learning suffices.
But the breathing technique is different. On top of learning, it requires overcoming that strong inertia.
During the teaching process, she constantly felt both envy and regret.
She felt envy because she was originally proud of her own talent, but after personally instructing Gauss, she felt her talent pale in comparison.
If Gauss is a talent type, then at most, she can only be considered an effort type.
If Gauss had encountered swordsmanship instead of magic early on, his achievements in this field might have been very profound by now.
"Your progress is frighteningly fast." Adelle commented.
She did not depreciate or intentionally lower her evaluation out of envy for Gauss’s talent, instead speaking honestly about the facts.
"How long does it typically take others to reach my stage?" Gauss asked curiously.
"Hmm..." Adelle pondered for a moment. "I can only speak of the speed at which I mastered it."
"When I learned the breathing method for this sword skill, it took me five days to reach your current stage."
"Moreover, my talent in this aspect is already stronger than most ordinary people."
"Also, unlike you, I was not completely without foundation; my profession level was already level 3 when I learned this technique."
Adelle sighed.
She considered herself exceptionally talented, but in front of Gauss, she had to acknowledge a swordsman genius.
"Do you have time tomorrow?" The person speaking was Adelle.
"I should have time." Gauss thought for a moment.
Recently, he didn’t have any particularly urgent matters.
As for the two 3rd-level spells he had just acquired,
he could practice them every night in his spare time.
In fact, he had already tried last night.
It was difficult.
But not entirely impossible.
It just required some time to polish.
So he wasn’t too anxious about that.
Instead, for the swordsmanship learning in front of him, he needed to strike while the iron was hot. What he learned today needed constant reinforcement and to continue the momentum.