"Has your cultivation of the remaining four breathing styles also been completely finalized?" Kazami stared at Natsunishi, asking slowly.
Natsunishi's eyes lit up. Speaking of this, he was no longer drowsy. With a hint of showing off, he said, "I have mastered all five core breathing styles. Wind, Water, Stone, and Flame are all at level three now."
"As for Thunder Breathing, it's already at level five."
Kazami: ?
What do you mean by level three and level five?
Natsunishi quickly corrected himself: "For those four styles, I can already proficiently use Total Concentration. As for Thunder Breathing, it's Total Concentration: Constant."
The old man suddenly understood, treating the "levels" Natsunishi mentioned as fashionable foreign slang used by the younger generation.
"My boy, your talent is truly exceptional to a degree this old man has never witnessed before." Kazami's hand holding the teacup froze for a moment as he spoke with deep emotion.
Even with his decades of experience, he had never heard of anyone capable of simultaneously cultivating five different breathing styles to the level of Total Concentration or higher. Usually, it was difficult enough for a swordsman to master just one. Those who practiced two concurrently were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and they usually made slow progress due to divided focus.
To be honest, back then, he was the one who had swallowed his pride to write letters of recommendation to the various trainers on Natsunishi's behalf. Yet initially, he actually hadn't harbored much confidence regarding whether Natsunishi could succeed. He had even held the thought that once this child faces setbacks out there, he will naturally settle his mind to specialize in Wind Breathing.
It wasn't until Natsunishi systematically mastered Water and Stone, growing rapidly along the way, that he realized this child might truly possess a talent in this regard that ordinary people could not comprehend.
Now, all four breathing styles were refined enough to freely employ Total Concentration. And Thunder Breathing, which served as his major focus, had actually reached Constant—
Wait a minute? Thunder Breathing?
The old man's face stiffened, and he asked with a tone of uncertainty, "You meant to say Wind Breathing has reached Constant just now, right?"
Natsunishi: "Well, how should I put it? Although the process was a bit roundabout and winding, to summarize, my current major focus is Thunder Breathing—"
"You rebellious disciple!" Kazami's eyebrows shot up, and he made a motion as if to strike Natsunishi's head.
Our Wind Breathing lineage has finally produced a rare genius unseen in a century. How could you turn around and cultivate that wretched Thunder Breathing instead?!
While dodging left and right, Natsunishi hurriedly explained, "Master Kazami, didn't you say that everyone's physical constitution is different? There is no inherent superiority among breathing styles; they simply suit different individuals."
"I am merely a wise bird choosing the best tree to roost in; I am definitely not betraying our sect."
Hearing this, the little old man grew even angrier. His obsession with striking Natsunishi's forehead intensified.
"What do you mean by choosing a tree to roost in? You neglected your own family's homework and still dare to talk back! In what way is my Wind Breathing inferior to Thunder Breathing?"
Natsunishi: "No, no, Wind Breathing is great, it's just that Ms. Nikaido's Thunder Breathing—it indeed has a unique flavor that makes one unable to resist wanting to try it out."
What on earth is this child babbling about all day long?! Wait, Nikaido?
Recalling the exotic features and the bold, uninhibited personality of that mixed-race female swordsman, the old man, who was almost about to circulate his breathing style, suddenly slowed his movements.
Could this child—perhaps have that kind of preference?
"You brat, your wings have truly grown strong—" Kazami took a deep breath, selectively forgetting what Natsunishi had just mentioned. "I don't really understand the preferences of your generation of young people. In short, watch out for yourself."
Natsunishi: ?
No, old man, what is the meaning of that suddenly complex look in your eyes?
"In any case, you brat will eventually choose to develop your own breathing style," Kazami said. "For now, I won't hold the matter of Thunder Breathing against you. From this journey of cultivation, do you have any ideas regarding your own breathing style? The experience from your senior brother Igarashi's side should still be able to offer you some inspiration, right?"
Only then did Natsunishi assume a serious expression and nod. "Yes, it was a bit difficult at the beginning. While ensuring the strength of the breathing style, creating the version that fits myself perfectly is harder than I initially anticipated. However, after mastering all the basic breathing styles and reaching Constant, the direction gradually became clear. Furthermore—"
Natsunishi paused for a moment.
"I have also preliminarily tested a few concepts on quite a few people. I think it should be fine now."
...Tested on many people?
The old man's expression faltered slightly. This kid couldn't have gone around bringing disaster upon the children of other lineages, right—hopefully, he didn't lead them astray.
The old man pondered for a moment. "Then when do you plan to begin developing the new breathing style?"
Natsunishi: "Within these next two days."
"It's good that you have your own arrangements." The old man nodded and continued, "This old man does not understand the methods of breathing style evolution, so I won't give you random instructions. Today, I will write a letter to the Master to explain the situation. I will request that no corps duties for slaying demons be assigned to you during this period. For this duration of time, you shall quietly cultivate here—"
Seeing the elderly man's solemn expression and how thoroughly he was considering things on his behalf, Natsunishi couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart. Master Kazami is actually quite good to him. For the time being, he would refrain from calling him an old geezer.
The next day.
The crow brought back a reply handwritten by the Master, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
—I have become aware of Natsunishi Kukuruma's ambition. Therefore, his request is granted, and special permission is given for quiet cultivation.
—I look forward to the day when the new sprout breaks through the soil, which will be the time when the hidden leaves flourish.
Looking at the letter, the old man felt a slight sense of puzzlement. Although the current Master was a gentle and benevolent person, he seemed to hold this child, Natsunishi, in exceptionally high regard.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Natsunishi had already commenced his own "Way" within the dojo. The doors of the dojo were shut, and the interior was perfectly quiet.
Creating a breathing style was not something that could be achieved through pure imagination. Rather, it required constant adjustments and modifications during the active operation of the breath. In essence, it was a "gacha draw" that involved testing a massive number of errors across different schemes, along with a bit of gambling luck.
He directly abandoned the simplistic fusion approach from before, which merely rammed two breathing styles together. The first method he attempted was the "Tuning" approach that had been verified on two batches of apprentices previously.
Using his deepest mastered style, the Lv5 [Thunder Breathing], as the "trunk" and rhythmic template serving as the core foundation, he attempted to adjust the breathing rhythm and frequency bit by bit up and down, leaning toward the direction of the other four breathing styles.
When he wanted to strengthen the lungs, he aligned that specific section closer to the same segment of Wind Breathing. When he wanted to strengthen the muscles, he harmonized another part toward the direction of Stone Breathing.
This process was like holding five colors of paint, meticulously smudging them onto a canvas, attempting to fit the rhythm of the other breathing styles inside like strokes of a new color.
Then, the first day's attempt was declared a failure.
Failing to hold the five colors steady, they melted together, turning into a messy, dirty gray. Although it didn't impose any burden during use, the effect of the breathing style used to strengthen the body was also practically negligible.
The system directly gave a [Failure] evaluation.
On the following day, Natsunishi attempted again with even greater caution. At times, he sat quietly in meditation, simulating the flow of breath within his consciousness; at other times, he stood up, either swinging his fists or performing suburi, attempting execution styles laced with different rhythms within Thunder Breathing.
The flow and sense of range from [Wind Breathing].
The intensity and explosiveness from [Flame Breathing].
The continuity and fluidity from [Water Breathing].
The heaviness and stability from [Stone Breathing].
This time, he managed to integrate a portion with great difficulty. And along with his relentless maintenance of the new breathing style prototype, the invisible progress bar on the system interface began to advance slowly.
Once the breathing style stabilized, the potential assessment for it popped up.
There was a new breath that featured outstanding explosive power but a singular rhythm, imposing a massive burden on the heart and lungs.
[Detected a breathing style prototype under revision.]
[Potential: High-Quality]
[Adaptability: 89% (Can be continuously improved subsequently)]
There was a new breath with severe rhythm conflicts, where the breath became stagnant and obstructed, causing the strengthening effect to decrease instead of increase.
[Detected a breathing style prototype under revision.]
[Potential: Inferior]
[Adaptability: 82% (Can be continuously improved subsequently)]
There was also a very balanced but practically mediocre breathing style that possessed no prominent advantages.
[Detected a breathing style prototype under revision.]
[Potential: Ordinary]
[Adaptability: 85% (Can be continuously improved subsequently)]
Several days passed, and he continuously churned out seven or eight prototype schemes. However, most of them hovered between [Failure], [Inferior], and [Ordinary]. Only a single one managed to reach the system evaluation of [High-Quality].
Looking at these schemes, Natsunishi's brows furrowed deeply. Installing transmissions and tires of other models onto a Thunder Breathing engine could run, but it was either prone to blowing the engine or completely lacked distinctive features.
The highest one, [High-Quality], was already close to the standard of Thunder Breathing itself, but Natsunishi was clearly unsatisfied with just this.
It was just like a gacha game. After pulling a bunch of N and R cards, even if one managed to pull an SR card, one would still not be satisfied.
Therefore, he intended to try shifting to a different line of thought.
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