Chapter 744: Chapter 287: Two Moves (One Big Chapter Combined)

This was Rein’s first encounter with a breathing technique of excellent quality.

The Giant Bear Breathing Technique he practiced previously was merely of an ordinary level, and even with the Inner Breathing Technique he learned from Master Ganther, and the subsequent improvements from combining the two.

However, when ranked by level or quality, it was only considered as fine quality.

It was a whole tier away from being considered excellent.

On the other hand, Rein was slowly realizing that his current King Bear Breathing Technique somewhat limited his body’s potential development in various aspects.

This wasn’t apparent before he stepped into the Great Knight level.

It was because he had leveled up the King Bear Breathing Technique to a high level, so it felt quite substantial in boosting various physical attributes.

But after Rein reached Great Knight status, especially as a senior Great Knight, the weaknesses of the breathing technique became progressively apparent.

Otherwise, Rein wouldn’t have taken the initiative to inquire about breathing techniques from instructors at the Sword Bearers Branch.

Though Cleya expressed apologies the night before, indicating she didn’t expect Rein to be so gifted and apologizing for not teaching him a better breathing technique from the start.

However, Rein didn’t mind, for when he was still a squire, having Cleya teach him the ordinary Giant Bear Breathing Technique was already a boon.

How could he blame her for not providing a breathing technique of higher quality?

Moreover, Cleya’s judgment wasn’t wrong.

The problem laid with himself; he had cheats, not outstanding natural talent.

Admittedly, now his talent was indeed extraordinary, but that was after cheating.

Additionally, Rein’s current body development relied mostly on leveling up and taking potions, so the progress was extremely rapid and not much affected by the breathing technique.

But, if he could gain some insight and experience from this excellent-quality breathing technique, that naturally would be a great benefit, which Rein would surely not forgo.

“Huh?”

“Are there really twenty-one different postures?”

As he laid out the ‘Fire Gekko Breathing Technique’ scroll on the table, Rein was struck by the discovery that the parchment actually depicted a total of twenty-one different training postures.

“This… is three times the number of postures of the Giant Bear Breathing Technique!” Rein couldn’t help but exclaim.

Just by the number of postures alone, Rein felt that the difference between the two was even greater than he had imagined.

This made Rein’s expression serious, and he started to scrutinize it.

Although Cleya had suggested he use it as a reference, after some thought, Rein decided to actually give it a try.

After all, the initial movements appeared to be foundational, and practicing them shouldn’t cause any issues.

Additionally, given his status as a senior Great Knight, if he sensed anything odd in his body during training, he could always stop.

The first move of the Fire Gekko Breathing Technique was quite challenging, akin to a reverse head-to-knee pose in Rein’s previous life’s yoga, demanding high flexibility.

Of course, this was in comparison to the Giant Bear Breathing Technique and for beginners.

For the level of physical conditioning Rein had as a Great Knight, this pose was naturally effortless.

A few seconds later, Rein executed the reverse head-to-knee pose and began to inhale and exhale slowly, following the rhythm required.

Suddenly, the system notification chimed:

[You have practiced the Fire Gekko Breathing Technique, comprehension improved!]

[You have learned a new skill — Fire Gekko Breathing Technique]

[Your skill Fire Gekko Breathing Technique has been enhanced, experience +1]

[Detecting the integration with another breathing technique, the King Bear Breathing Technique…]

[Integration failed! Fire Gekko Breathing Technique does not meet the minimum requirements for integration.]

“What is this…”

After reading through the series of notifications several times, Rein gradually became elated.

Based on the final word from the system, clearly, the excellent-quality Fire Gekko Breathing Technique could be integrated with the fine-quality King Bear Breathing Technique.

It was just that certain conditions had to be met for the integration.

Rein immediately thought of the process he underwent when he learned the Inner Breathing Technique from Master Ganther, which was similar.

It wasn’t that he could integrate and enhance the Giant Bear Breathing Technique as soon as he learned the Inner Breathing Technique.

It only happened after he met certain conditions.

“I remember at that time, the Inner Breathing Technique had to reach the lv3 level, right?”

“Or was it based on that feeling at the time? The subtle mutual interaction between the Inner Breathing Technique and the Giant Bear Breathing Technique.” Rein mused.

After some thought, Rein decided to practice all twenty-one movements of the ‘Fire Gekko Breathing Technique’ first before anything else.

For all he knew, this could also be a prerequisite for the integration.

Thus, Rein immediately began practicing the second movement.

Similarly, he mastered it in less than half a minute.

Next came the third movement….

…

Half an hour later, Rein had practiced up to the seventeenth movement.

Starting from the eighth movement, he began to feel slight discomfort in his body.

Now, after completing the seventeenth movement, the sensation was quite noticeable.

It seemed as though some hidden small muscle groups and fasciae were stretched repeatedly, a sensation that wasn’t present in his former practice of the King Bear Breathing Technique.

Furthermore, certain muscle groups that were strengthened by the King Bear Breathing Technique seemed to be at odds with the movements of the Fire Gekko Breathing Technique.