Chapter 18 Hunter Breathing Technique

The xeno-blood potion had a high mortality rate, so even knowing it was a transcendent path, not everyone had the courage for it.

Hearing that Zhou Jing was willing, Barron was overjoyed, laughing heartily. His thick, bushy beard trembled, and his mouth almost stretched to the back of his ears.

"Hahaha... Then starting tomorrow, I'll personally train you and pass on all my experience! The training may be tough, but I know you'll be fine!"

Barron waved his hand, very boldly.

"Okay," Zhou Jing nodded steadily.

Having a guide would definitely be more convenient than groping around on his own.

...

After agreeing to meet at the village training ground tomorrow, Zhou Jing said goodbye to Barron and took a stroll around the village with Griff.

Although Frostwood Village was small, it had everything: a small tavern, a blacksmith shop, a leather armor shop, a mill, and so on.

According to Griff, the Black-Shirt Forest was vast, stretching down from the Snowbert Mountains. Only a portion of the forest area crossed the imperial border; the rest was outside the borders, unknown territory. The Terra Empire had never planned to develop it, so it was very desolate.

Frostwood Village was located in the northern part of the Terra Empire, and because it bordered the Black-Shirt Forest, it was very remote. Generally, there were no passing merchants or travelers, only some beast hunters planning to enter the Black-Shirt Forest who occasionally passed through the village.

Further south was a rather prosperous town. Frostwood Village was one of the villages under the jurisdiction of the lord of that town.

Zhou Jing took a stroll but didn't see any facilities like clinics or pharmacies, so he couldn't help but ask:

"Why don't I see the village witch doctor?"

"He doesn't live in the village. We built him a house outside the village, some distance away," Griff explained.

Zhou Jing was a little puzzled, "Why does he live outside the village? Wouldn't it be inconvenient if a doctor was urgently needed?"

"Indeed... but he says he needs a quiet environment to concoct potions, otherwise it's easy to make mistakes."

As Griff spoke, he couldn't help but complain:

"But even so, he always fails to make potions. Our hunter team often collects herbs for him, but he hasn't made many potions. If it wasn't for the lack of potions, Will might have survived..."

Zhou Jing thought of the images from [Death Playback], his eyes narrowed, pretending not to know as he probed, "He didn't give Will medicine?"

"Alas, he said he ran out of potions and could only simply treat the wound and pray for luck," Griff shook his head.

Something felt wrong...

Zhou Jing suppressed his doubts and thought for a moment, curiously asking, "You don't chase away a potion maker like that?"

Griff shook his head, "He's still good at treating some minor illnesses and often treats injuries for the hunters. He's been in the village for several years, and everyone is familiar with him. Before him, our village didn't even have a proper potion maker, so this is all we can do."

"I understand," Zhou Jing nodded, keeping it in mind.

It seemed like he should find some time to contact this witch doctor...

But for now, the priority was to develop himself. This matter only needed a little attention.

As an outsider, it wasn't convenient to do anything before fully integrating into the village.

Before long, Griff took Zhou Jing to an empty house, which was the village's accommodation for Zhou Jing.

This house used to be inhabited by a family, who later moved to town, so the house was empty and used to store some sundries. Now it was vacated for Zhou Jing to live in temporarily.

The house had been cleaned, and a basket full of vegetables and rice bags was placed by the door, food supplies sent by the village chief.

The three of them tidied up briefly, and soon it was evening. Griff said goodbye and left, going home to his wife, children, and warm bed.

Zhou Jing closed the door, leaving only him and Ross in the house, staring at each other.

"Can you cook?"

"..."

Ross silently picked up a knife, held it in reverse, and looked at the vegetables in the basket as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Stop! Never mind, I wouldn't dare eat anything you make."

Zhou Jing was helpless.

The way you're holding that knife, anyone would think you're going to kill someone.

The living facilities of this era were relatively primitive, but Zhou Jing wasn't clueless. He had discovered during his last transit that the development stage of the otherworld was similar to the Middle Ages of Earth, so during the transit cooldown, he specifically researched some related lifestyle information and made some preparations.

He wasn't used to the various living tools, but he could still figure out how to use them.

It didn't matter if he didn't recognize the unique vegetables of the otherworld; he would just make a pot of stew. He felt that as long as he could eat it, it was fine.

As Zhou Jing tried to cook, Ross silently stood by and watched, as if learning.

Zhou Jing glanced at him, hoping he really understood.

That way, Ross could at least serve as a chef in the future, becoming a reliable tool... instead of standing next to him like a boss, just waiting to be fed.

"I didn't find a follower; I practically found an infant to take care of..." Zhou Jing felt complicated.

...

That night.

Moonlight poured in through the window, quiet and lonely.

Although the night was not yet deep, the villagers had all returned to their homes. Frostwood Village was peaceful, with only the occasional barking of dogs and intermittent, suppressed moans.

-- In an era lacking entertainment, the long nights were endless, and there was really nothing else to do but make babies.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do..."

Zhou Jing sat at the table, muttering to himself as he observed the celestial phenomena outside the window.

In the night sky hung two moons, one large and one small, one white and one green, and distant stars twinkled with light.

-- Looking at it this way, the so-called Star Realm should also be a complete universe.

"Then maybe the 'Otherworld' I'm in is just one of the planets here?" Zhou Jing's heart stirred.

Lacking information, he didn't analyze blindly, but simply kept this speculation in mind.

Zhou Jing already had a plan for this Star Realm Apostle mission--mainly to develop himself, first find a way to obtain xeno-blood enhancement, then live longer, and collect enough Star Realm Points. When he grew to a certain level, he would try to clear the level.

Because the death settlement would provide a capability inheritance slot, so that even after death, the results of training could be passed on to the next apostle, the benefits of cultivation were high, and the strength of hard work would not be wasted, accumulating for the future.

Although the goal was to clear the level within two months in the main world, Zhou Jing knew that he couldn't get fat in one bite.

So, he needed a "newbie village" to provide a stable environment for development... and the conditions in Frostwood Village were obviously very suitable.

"The first night in Frostwood Village, I've initially integrated. Everything is going more smoothly than I expected... the influence left by the last apostle is really helpful for my start. Will's sacrifice was meaningful."

Zhou Jing breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relaxed and happy.

-- Freshly arrived, it was better to play it safe tonight.

He got into bed and pulled up the covers, suddenly thinking of something, and said to Ross, who was standing in the corner facing the wall in self-reflection:

"By the way, go sleep on the other bed. Don't just stand there like an idiot... Remember to wake me up in the morning."

Hearing this, Ross strode towards the other bed, lay down directly, folded his hands on his chest, but his head was facing Zhou Jing, staring straight at him.

The corner of Zhou Jing's mouth twitched.

"Don't stare at me, and don't hide your pupils in your eye sockets anymore..."

Ross understood, withdrew his gaze, and stared blankly at the ceiling, lying stiffly like a corpse.

"Close your eyes! Cover yourself with the quilt!"

Ross quickly pulled up the quilt and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

But he left a slit in his eyes, secretly peeking at Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing took a deep breath, feeling his nerves twitch.

He couldn't bear it any longer, without saying a word... he turned over, facing the inside.

If I can't see it, I'll pretend it doesn't exist!

...

The next morning.

Zhou Jing was shaken awake by the humanoid self-propelled alarm clock Ross. Shrouded in the morning light, he arrived at the training ground and found Barron waiting there early.

Seeing Zhou Jing, Barron didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point:

"Starting today, I will teach you how to become a beast hunter... Do you know the history of beast hunters?"

"I know roughly," Zhou Jing nodded. He had inquired about it during his last transit.

"That's good. In short, beast hunters were born in the barbaric era, with a long history. It's an ancient and glorious profession that protects humans from the threat of alien beasts."

A layer of pride appeared on Barron's face.

He paused and continued, "And the prerequisite for becoming a beast hunter is to use the xeno-blood potion to obtain extraordinary power... But the xeno-blood potion is fatal, and rash use may lead to sudden death. Through generations of exploration, people have found rules to reduce the risk."

"What are the rules?" Zhou Jing asked curiously.

"A body that has been tempered and is close to the limits of the human body is less likely to fail when using the potion... In other words, the stronger the body is trained before using the potion, the easier it is to survive the xeno-blood enhancement, and the better the enhancement effect."

Zhou Jing's eyes lit up.

The higher the basic physique attribute, the greater the enhancement bonus... This was too beneficial for him.

Starting with 10 points of physique was already a level that many people struggled to reach through training. Barron's physique was probably not as high as his when he used the potion.

At this time, Barron suddenly took off his shirt, revealing a strong body full of scars. Under Zhou Jing's astonished gaze, he said in a deep voice:

"Your physical talent is amazing, but there is still room for improvement, so the training goal I have arranged for you is to temper your body and try to become stronger.

And conventional training methods are estimated to have limited effect on you, so I will teach you a technique that is only circulated in hunter circles."

As he spoke, Barron's eyes bulged, and he took a deep breath.

"Hunter Breathing Forging!"

His breathing suddenly switched to a strange frequency, and the distinct muscles on his upper body rippled like water.

Barron picked up a stone disk from the ground and quickly curled it with one hand, but the muscle activity was somewhat different from ordinary exercise. The muscle groups used were trembling at a high frequency.

Zhou Jing watched for a while, clueless about the principle, but he roughly understood the effect.

This seemed to... improve fitness results?

Barron lifted it dozens of times and threw the stone disk away.

With his physique, this should have been a very easy exercise, and he could have easily lifted it hundreds more times, but at this moment, he was sweating all over, breathing heavily, as if he had engaged in intense activity.

He wiped off his sweat, calmed his breathing, and explained:

"Huff, this technique can greatly improve the effect of exercise... but it consumes a lot of physical strength. Generally, only xeno-blood warriors can use it. Ordinary people would collapse after a few times, but your physical strength far exceeds ordinary people, so this is a good way to quickly squeeze your physical energy."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing was a little curious.

"Did you invent this technique?"

"No, I learned it from my teacher."

Barron paused, seeming to recall some not-so-good memories from the past, and he was slightly distracted.

But he quickly gathered his expression, looked at Zhou Jing, and said seriously:

"In the past, beast hunters gradually developed a secret technique called 'Hunter Breathing Technique' in the battles with alien beasts, and it has been passed down and improved by generations of beast hunters, giving rise to more types with different uses...

Unfortunately, some breathing techniques have been passed down, while others have been lost as hunters died in battle. My teacher only knew two types, so I only know two types.

One is what I just demonstrated, which is usually used to exercise the body, and I will teach it to you. The other is to increase strength in battle, used to grapple with alien beasts. Your physique is not enough to learn it yet, so don't consider it for now."

Listening to Barron's introduction, Zhou Jing's eyes flickered slightly.

Hunter Breathing Technique?

This sounded like a transcendent skill -- at least more reliable than weightlifting.