Yu Yun, having made his decision, looked at the scroll again and engraved every movement into his memory. He didn't want to make a single wrong step and die from a misstep.
A few minutes later, he handed the animal hide to the elder, who took it with his free arm.
"Are you sure you want to start?" The old man gave him a questioning look.
"Yes."
Yu Yun smiled faintly and turned toward the stream that flowed endlessly with a constant rush of water.
It was a beautiful scene that he decided to use for practice. Closing his eyes, he began to follow the movements of the bull, which started with soft basic stances.
Yu Yun pressed his feet into the dirt, relaxed his shoulders, slightly opened his chest, and entered the bull stance. He spread his legs about the width of his shoulders and placed his right foot forward.
The next moment, he began to advance through the air with heavy punches.
Boom!
Thunderous sounds echoed through the place. Each punch produced a whistle and small gusts of wind.
As Yu Yun followed the bull's movements, he felt his arms growing heavier, as if gaining weight with each strike. It became hard to remain steady. Stopping his practice, he rested for a moment.
The old man, who had been watching everything with a glint of expectation in his silver eyes, felt disappointed with the initial performance. "Boy, have you given up already?"
Hearing that, Yu Yun frowned.
'That wrinkled old man thinks this is easy? Keeping steady while my body grows heavier every second?'
He wanted to curse, but remembering his broken door and the zero percent chance of victory, he swallowed his frustration and sought help.
"No! I just stopped to rest. It's hard to maintain the bull stance. Each time I advance, it feels like my weight doubles. Do you have any advice on how to stay firm?"
"That happens?" The old man touched his chin. "Makes sense, after all, this isn't a method made for humans."
'You don't say!'
Yu Yun wanted to show him the middle finger. He was starting to get irritated with the elder, who wasn't helping at all. Holding back his anger, he asked, "What should I do in this situation?"
"I don't know. How about taking a Sense-Breaking Pill? If your body has no senses, you'll be able to move easily, right?"
'But isn't that dangerous? If I lose my five senses, won't I basically become an empty shell? What's the chance this will work?'
[60%]
'That's surprisingly high. Maybe it's not such a bad plan. But it's still dangerous. If I overexert myself, I could destroy my body. What's the chance of that happening?'
[100%]
'Damn it, old man! Trying to kill me? Thank god I make calculations.'
Yu Yun, already losing patience with the elder, lowered his opinion of him even further. He began calculating how long he could exert himself and how long the pill's effects would last. Overall, it would last for eight minutes, and the pill's effect would remain for one hour.
After reaching a conclusion, he stopped using the system and looked at the old man, who still had his hand on his chin, pretending to be wise. "Elder, if you have the pill, please lend it to me. I'll repay you later."
Hearing that, the old man's eyes gleamed again. With a wave of his sleeve, a colorless white pill appeared, which he handed to Yu Yun.
Yu Yun took it but didn't swallow it immediately. He first checked for poison and whether it was truly a Sense-Breaking Pill. The result was [5%] and [100%].
'The pill is real, the poison comes from the accumulated impurities. What's the chance this result is correct?'
[100%]
After seeing that, he tossed the pill into his mouth like candy. When it reached his tongue, it had no taste at all.
Feeling disappointed by his first experience, Yu Yun swallowed it. In the next instant, he felt empty. All his senses and emotions vanished. The world, to him, became a blank sheet of paper. He couldn't feel anything.
Even his vision nearly disappeared. For some reason, he could still see the golden characters floating in the void, which he assumed were connected to his soul. Even if all his senses faded, his soul would remain. As long as he lived, it would always be with him. Resolving that mystery, he focused on the present.
'Seven minutes. If I go beyond that, I'm dead… reminds me of those four minutes earlier.'
Recalling his past experiences, Yu Yun wanted to smile but couldn't, being a puppet without emotion.
Without wasting more time, he resumed his practice. This time, there was nothing to distract him. He simply punched aimlessly. It was dull and lifeless.
But he didn't stop. He continued practicing the martial art for the next six minutes and fifty-nine seconds. When the seventh minute came, he stopped and, using the remaining moment, followed the breathing technique written on the scroll.
Yu Yun didn't know how well he was doing, but he felt everything was going smoothly. He calculated everything precisely: his breathing rate rose rapidly and steadily, facing no resistance since he was literally an empty vessel. He had become like a machine running on pure calculation.
'System, what's the current success rate of the body art?'
[50%]
'Huh? Still the same? Why?'
Yu Yun had doubts and sensed things were about to get worse, especially since everything had been too easy until now. Preparing himself mentally, he synchronized completely with the heavens, achieving a perfect breathing rate of [100%].
At that moment, a cloud appeared above his head. From it, drops of colorless rain began to fall, leaving the old man wide-eyed.
"T-that's a Spiritual Power Cloud! This boy… does he have the comprehension of a genius? To reach that state, he must have achieved true harmony with the world! Even with his senses blocked, that's an incredible feat!" the old man exclaimed in shock.
"As expected of someone who opened his pores. It seems this young man is far from ordinary! Hahaha! If he survives the next minute, my True Martial Sect will gain a real prodigy!"
The elder bet everything on Yu Yun at that moment, hoping to witness a miracle.
Yu Yun, completely unaware of this, remained calm. Suddenly, one of his senses returned from within. He couldn't see, but he felt something tearing through his flesh.
'Damn it! My sensitivity came back! What the hell!'