Translator: CinderTL
This technique was fundamentally different from the "breathing techniques" he had mastered, which were widely practiced across the nations.
The Knight's Breathing Technique emphasized "guidance" and "fusion."
It relied on specific, prolonged breathing rhythms to gradually nourish the body, temper the will, and accumulate explosive "qi force."
This method resonated with external energies to enhance one's inner strength. Though arduous, it was considered "gentle," emphasizing harmony between the practitioner and the natural world.
But the technique recorded in this scroll...
Roland's gaze froze on the diagrams depicting bizarre, contorted postures and the "pathways" of some internal energy. A profound sense of unfamiliarity and confusion rose within him.
The core of this technique wasn't about "guiding" external energy, but about "forcing" one's inner potential.
It required practitioners to maintain absolute stillness in excruciatingly painful postures, combined with brief, suffocating periods of inner breath retention.
Rather than drawing from external sources, it forcibly compressed every inch of the body—muscles, bones, even deeper organs and nerves—pushing them to the brink of collapse. In this extreme pain, the body would unleash its most primal strength.
The annotations on the scroll were cold and harsh, explicitly describing this as a form of asceticism aimed at "stripping away weakness" and "crushing limitations." By enduring pain far beyond human comprehension, practitioners forged bodies and control bordering on the inhuman.
The text reeked of an almost masochistic reverence for suffering and a visceral rejection of bodily pleasures.
It sought not harmony with the world, but rather a brutal war against one's own flesh, aiming to refine the body into a pure, resilient weapon utterly subservient to the will through extreme asceticism and self-discipline.
"This is... a complete betrayal of the breathing technique," Roland murmured to himself, his fingertips tracing the parchment illustrations of practitioners enduring excruciating pain, as if sensing the almost religious fervor driving their self-inflicted torment.
While the Knight's Breathing Technique was rigorous, it would never endorse such an extreme approach—one that shunned the external world and bordered on self-torture.
Staring at the scroll's unconventional, contorted postures, Roland paused before attempting to twist his limbs into the first basic pose, following the diagram's instructions.
Despite the astonishing flexibility and joint control granted by the Twin Performance, his first attempt ended in failure.
It wasn't that his body couldn't achieve the pose, but rather the extreme tension that accompanied the posture—a tension that felt like it was tearing his muscles and fascia—combined with the suffocating sensation of his inner breath being locked down, instantly shattered his focus.
He released the pose, gasping for breath as if he had just escaped from underwater.
On his second attempt, he barely managed to hold the position for a few breaths.
The oppressive force, emanating from within, felt tangible, crushing his organs and nerves, forcing them to unleash their most primal strength in resistance.
Yet, just as that strength was about to erupt, his instinctive recoil from the pain once again interrupted the process.
Third attempt, fourth attempt...
With each failure, he gained a clearer understanding of the method's ruthlessness and madness.
It wasn't about guiding strength, but about forcing it to emerge through torturous torment.
Until his fifth attempt.
Roland took a deep breath and twisted his body into that inhuman posture once more.
The searing pain arrived as expected, and the suffocating sensation gripped his throat.
This time, however, Roland didn't try to resist or endure. Instead, he completely immersed his consciousness in the state of Twin Performance.
His body seemed to shed all the constraints of its joints, flowing with fluid precision to match every subtle angle required by the diagram, without the slightest deviation.
The sensations and control of his left and right halves reached perfect synchronization amidst the extreme pain, sharing and mastering the chaotic power surging through his body.
Just as he felt his consciousness about to be drowned by the agony...
Buzz!
A fortified gate was suddenly breached.
The extreme pain abruptly transformed into an explosive torrent of searing heat, erupting from the deepest core of his being and instantly washing over every limb and bone.
This was no longer the gentle nourishment of external energy, but the purest strength forcibly extracted and squeezed from his own life's latent potential.
Though violent and scorching, this power was swiftly tamed under the absolute control of his will and Twin Performance, merging into every inch of his muscles, bones, and even deeper layers of his being.
Roland's eyes snapped open. He exhaled a long, scorching breath and slowly relaxed his posture.
An unprecedented sense of fullness and lightness simultaneously filled his body.
It was as if he had shed invisible, heavy shackles, yet also as if a dormant volcano within him had just stirred.
His senses sharpened to an extraordinary degree. The crackling of the campfire, the distant hooting of night owls, even the movement of dust motes in the air became vividly distinct.
His control over his muscles and bones had also reached an entirely new level.
Roland lowered his gaze to his hands, feeling the dormant strength within him—a power utterly distinct from qi force.
He had succeeded.
This extreme ascetic practice, which would deter ordinary people and could even cause permanent damage, had finally yielded results after numerous failures. Thanks to the absolute control over his body granted by Twin Performance, he had managed to touch the threshold by sheer luck.
Just as Roland was carefully observing the changes within his body, a line of golden text abruptly appeared in his vision:
Skill learned: Ascetic's Proclamation. Current level: Lv. 1
"Ascetic's proclamation?"
Roland's eyebrows arched slightly at the name.
It wasn't that he was being overly sensitive; the term "asceticism" immediately evoked images of an ancient extraordinary profession that had vanished before the Year of the Apocalypse.
"Could it be...?"
Roland's gaze returned to the bizarre diagrams on the scroll, a sudden realization dawning in his mind.
"This body tempering technique called 'ascetic's proclamation' is actually the cultivation tradition of the Martial Monks?"
A wave of elation washed over him as he grasped this truth.
"The Shadow Perception I awakened after consuming that mysterious liquid had already paved the road to becoming an assassin. Then, learning Holy Strike and awakening my self-faith revealed the possibility of becoming a holy knight. Now, with this ascetic's proclamation..."
"To think I've touched upon three completely different transcendent paths in such a short time. This is truly..."
"Wait a minute!"
With this thought, he silently summoned the Job Panel, visible only to him.
Looking up, he saw that the Faith Resonance progress, previously stuck at zero, had now climbed to three percent.
"Just as I suspected... Strengthening my abilities directly advances the Faith Resonance progress. This means that as long as I continue to grow stronger through the Job Panel..."
His train of thought was interrupted by the soft sound of footsteps.
Turning toward the noise, he saw Theresa approaching at a leisurely pace.
She leaned down and whispered, "Mr. Roland, Mr. Reggie has woken up."
"I see. Thank you, Theresa," Roland replied softly, temporarily suppressing his surging thoughts. He rose and walked toward the corner where Reggie was resting, quickly reaching the man's side.
The mentor's current state was rather pitiful.
He was covered in wounds and his breathing was shallow.
Though no longer in mortal danger, his strength had clearly been severely diminished.
Roland briefly inquired about Reggie's condition before summarizing the previous battle and their current situation.
After hearing Roland's account, Reggie fell silent.
He coughed heavily a few times before speaking in a weak voice, "So... Roland, what are your plans now?"
(End of the Chapter)
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