"Huuu… haaa… huu… haaa…"
Li Ming sat cross-legged inside his tiny hut, puffing like a broken bellows. His face was red, his stomach stuck out, and his chest wheezed.
Sweat dripped down his forehead. His back ached. His butt had gone numb.
"Curse this breathing technique!" he groaned. "How am I supposed to get strong by sucking air in and out? At this rate, I'll die of boredom before I temper my body!"
Outside, the chicken clucked mockingly, as if cheering for his failure.
"Shut up, you feathered demon!" Li Ming yelled, shaking his fist at the door. Then he collapsed back onto his mat, panting like a dog.
After hours of practice, he checked his progress.
He flexed his arm. Still skinny.
He slapped his chest. Still bony.
He tried to stand tall… and almost tripped over his own feet.
Li Ming sighed. "So this is cultivation… No wonder most people give up."
He rolled out of his hut, staring at the night sky. Stars twinkled brightly above, cold and distant. He clenched his fists.
"No! I refuse to stay weak! One day, I'll be strong enough to split mountains! To slap the heavens! To—"
Thunk.
Something smacked him on the head.
"Ow! What the—?!" Li Ming rubbed his scalp and looked around. At his feet lay a small, glowing jade slip. It pulsed faintly, giving off a mysterious aura.
Li Ming blinked. "Wait… did the heavens just throw something at me?"
He picked it up. The jade slip was cracked, but still intact. When he touched it, a surge of energy rushed into his mind. Words formed in his head.
'Secret Technique: Heavenly Breathing Method. Efficiency increased by 10x. Do not lose this, idiot.'
Li Ming's jaw dropped. "Ten times… stronger?!"
He tried the technique instantly. This time, when he inhaled, he felt streams of warm energy flow into his body. His veins tingled, his muscles tightened, his bones vibrated. With every breath, his strength grew noticeably.
"Holy—this really works!" he gasped, eyes wide. "Ten times the speed! At this rate, I'll leave those other cultivators in the dust!"
He practiced furiously. His body heated up like a furnace, his skin glowed faintly, and the ground beneath him cracked slightly.
By dawn, Li Ming staggered out of his hut, covered in sweat, hair messy, but eyes shining like a madman.
"Hahaha! Look at me now!" he shouted, flexing his arms. "Chicken! Come out! Today I'll finally—"
The chicken peeked out from the corner. Li Ming stomped forward, aura blazing. His body radiated energy like never before.
But before he could charge… his stomach growled loudly.
"…Eh." Li Ming froze.
He doubled over. "Arghhh! I used too much energy! I need food!"
The chicken clucked smugly and waddled away, victorious once again.
Li Ming groaned, lying flat on the ground. "So this is the price of power… starvation."
Still, as he stared up at the rising sun, he grinned.
"I don't care if I have to eat ten bowls of rice a day. With this treasure, I'll cultivate ten times faster than anyone else. Watch me, world… I'm destined to climb all nine realms and claim the throne of the Heavenly Emperor!"
And thus, while others spent weeks to feel a tiny bit of progress, Li Ming began soaring ahead—thanks to a jade slip that had literally fallen on his head.
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