"What did you say?"
Ma Yong thought he was hearing things.
"No need to rush, Teacher Ma. Once class starts in a few minutes, we can begin. There's only four minutes left now."
Ling Feng smiled.
"I'm not in a hurry, not at all."
Ma Yong was so upset he laughed.
Even in the Inner Ring City, no child of a high-ranking official dared waste a single second in his breathing cultivation class.
A student like Ling Feng was a first for him to encounter.
"Ding ding..."
Four minutes later, the class bell rang.
Ma Yong said casually, "First, breathe with me, let me see how many cycles you can complete in one go using the Tidal Breathing Method."
Since Ling Feng didn't take cultivation seriously, Ma Yong naturally wouldn't commit himself fully to Ling Feng, as the loss wasn't his to bear.
If he could just coast along, why not?
Ling Feng complied earnestly.
Under the influence of the all-weather breathing and exhaling ability, the Tidal Breathing Method had already achieved a score of 41/100 at the entry level.
Such a score wasn't enough for Ling Feng to complete many cycles in one go.
Fortunately, the all-weather breathing and exhaling ability could indirectly boost the Tidal Breathing Method. Even without active cultivation, Ling Feng's Tidal Breathing Method score could increase by a few points daily.
Hence, Ma Yong noticed that despite Ling Feng's seemingly lazy and casual demeanor, his breaths during the practice were long and steady, from start to finish, without pauses or struggles.
This surprised him.
He was invited here because Yang Liru had mentioned that Ling Feng had extraordinary talent; just a few pieces of advice from him could lead Ling Feng to make rapid progress.
Judging by Ling Feng's current performance, he did indeed have a certain talent for cultivating the breathing technique.
So he was just about to explain the key points to Ling Feng.
But saw Ling Feng, previously maintaining a state of breathing, suddenly stop and earnestly say, "Teacher Ma, let's take a break!"
Ling Feng felt resigned; this was one-on-one teaching.
Unlike in Yang Liru's classroom, where if he slacked off, she would notice but not bother him.
Now, facing Ma Yong alone, stopping suddenly without notifying him seemed disrespectful.
Coasting along wasn't about being rude.
So he maintained a very good attitude.
He even got up to pour Ma Yong a cup of water.
"Is this your usual attitude towards cultivation?"
Ma Yong questioned.
"Teacher Ma, you might not know. I once fainted from over-cultivation. Ever since, I've kept a restraint on my cultivation, and I hope Teacher Ma can understand."
Ling Feng explained.
There was no other way; in the private cultivation room, it was just him and Ma Yong, so he couldn't just ignore him.
"Ha ha, that's the first time I've heard an excuse like that. You should know the survival threats humanity faces. If everyone were like you, who would fight the alien race, who would eradicate extraterrestrial beings in the future?"
Ma Yong said angrily.
Although teaching was meant to improve life quality, Ma Yong couldn't comprehend someone avoiding effort in the current environment.
Especially under his personal instruction.
"Teacher Ma, please don't be upset, I have unavoidable reasons for acting like this."
Ling Feng vowed not to take private lessons next time, no matter if the school arranged them for free. It was too easy to offend people and be criticized behind the back.
"What unavoidable reasons? Just because you fainted once? I almost died in the Great Radiation Zone, about to be eaten by the Catfish Demon King, you know? Does that mean I won't fight demons next time?"
Ma Yong scoffed.
"Even with your talent, if you continue like this, forget about getting into Divine Martial University, you won't even manage to awaken two strands of qi sensitivity."
Ma Yong, still upset, reminded him.
"Buzz."
A warm current suddenly surged in Ling Feng's abdomen.
The all-weather breathing and exhaling ability allowed Ling Feng to consistently maintain his breathing state.
The first three months of cultivating breathing techniques are the easiest time to awaken qi sensitivity.
Once the first strand is awakened, the second, third, even the fourth and fifth can quickly follow.
Ling Feng's body had always maintained the all-weather breathing and exhaling ability.
It had been two days since he awakened his first strand of qi sensitivity.
At that moment, the second strand of qi sensitivity finally appeared in Ling Feng's abdomen.
"What's wrong? Don't pretend with me."
Ma Yong frowned.
"I... awakened the second strand of qi sensitivity."
Ling Feng said awkwardly.
Just as when facing Yang Liru, Ling Feng knew Ma Yong meant well, so he felt no satisfaction from proving him wrong, only full of apology.
If it weren't for his teacher's childhood teachings on being an honest, good child, Ling Feng wouldn't have spoken up?
"What?"
Ma Yong was stunned.
Ling Feng noticed the break time was over.
So he urged the two strands of qi sensitivity, following the rhythm of the Tidal Breathing Method, and began breathing again.
The two strands of qi sensitivity were like two warm currents, successfully completing a full cycle with each inhalation and exhalation, repeatedly so.
During this breathing process, the qi sensing power was slowly strengthening at an imperceptible rate.
As a teacher with over 35.0 combat power who teaches breathing techniques, Ma Yong instantly saw that Ling Feng had two strands of qi sensitivity inside him.
One had already grown stronger.
One had just been awakened.
"Even if you've awakened two strands of qi sensitivity, you shouldn't waste precious cultivation time. You know very well, to get into the Divine Martial University, you need to awaken six strands of qi sensitivity."
Though still criticizing Ling Feng, his tone couldn't help but soften.
"Yes, thank you, Teacher Ma, I understand."
Ling Feng nodded, but as soon as the break time was up, he would immediately stop cultivating. After several repeats, Ma Yong couldn't help but follow Ling Feng's rhythm, stopping for breaks as soon as the time was up.
"The Tidal Breathing Method is just a basic breathing technique. Once the body awakens more than twenty strands of qi sensitivity, it's time to switch to the Day and Night Breathing Method. This method not only awakens more strands but can also merge the awakened strands to transform quantity into quality, potentially elevating an Elemental Martial Artist to a Skin Phase Martial Artist."
"Now let me tell you some key points and common knowledge about the Day and Night Breathing Method..."
"Ding ding ding..."
"Teacher Ma, sorry, that's the end-of-class bell."
Meeting a genius like Ling Feng was rare, and Ma Yong was eager to give guidance and leave a good impression.
Regarding knowledge of the Day and Night Breathing Method, he wasn't supposed to say much, as per the rules, Ling Feng shouldn't be exposed to it too early.
But just as he was getting into the flow, he was interrupted by the bell and Ling Feng's reminder.
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Ma. I'll remember it well. Goodbye."
Ling Feng stood up and said.
"Oh, it's really over!"
Ma Yong felt a bit taken aback.
In the Inner Ring City, every student who sought private lessons with him hoped each class would last a few extra minutes. Whenever he went overtime, students and parents were deeply grateful.
But not Ling Feng, who not only habitually took breaks during class but also seemed more concerned with the passing time than he was, as if listening even one more second could cause him a loss.