Chapter 44: The Beginning
Since Chen Chuan had experienced quite a lot of things on his first day of university, he decided to go to bed early.
Based on his timetable, he had a public lecture the next morning. Before he got his mentor, he wanted to attend it. So, he took a shower and went to bed.
The next day, after he finished his shower at 6 a.m. and wanted to go out to train, he heard knocking on his door.
Who would visit him so early in the morning?
He opened the door and saw a middle-aged man of average build in a white dress shirt and striped tie. He held his coat on the crook of his arm and had a briefcase tucked under his arm. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes. While his face had taken on a softer, fuller look, he must have been handsome in his youth.
The man was also holding a pair of sunglasses and a name card. He brandished it at Chen Chuan. “Are you Chen Chuan? Hello.”
He smiled. “I’m your mentor, Cheng Zitong. You can call me Mr. Cheng or Lao Cheng. It’s up to you.”
Chen Chuan checked the name card before he said politely, “Good morning, Mr. Cheng.”
There had been no lecturer going by the surname of Cheng in the list of lecturers the dormitory supervisor had given him.
“I know it’s very sudden, but the students aren’t the only ones picking their mentors. The lecturers can also choose their mentees. I checked your resume, and it was to my liking. You’re a diamond in the rough. That’s why I came to see you,” Cheng Zitong said.
Chen Chuan turned to the side. “Please come in.”
“Sure.”
Cheng Zitong went in and sat down on the sofa. He observed the room and lamented, “The dorm room is still the same even after so many years have passed.”
When he saw Chen Chuan pouring him a glass of water, he waved it off. “You don’t have to do that. Come sit here. I need to tell you some things.”
Chen Chuan still put a glass of water for Cheng Zitong on the table. “Sorry, but I only have plain water here.”
“Come now. Why are you being so polite? You sure have good manners.”
Cheng Zitong reached for the cup and waited for Chen Chuan to sit down before he said, “The other lecturers think that you practiced a breathing technique far too early and drained too much of your potential, but I disagree. Still, you need to solve a certain problem you have right now; otherwise, things will be troublesome for you. By the way, let me show you something.”
He picked up his briefcase and took out a stack of papers, which he handed to Chen Chuan. “These are records of some former students of Martial Valor University from when they were seventeen up to when they were thirty-seven years old. You don’t have to read what’s written in front. Check the back. Yes. Just flip to the last page.”
Chen Chuan flipped to the last page and noticed that practically all of these former Martial Valor University students started going through surgery beginning from their twenties or thirties, and they received surgery very frequently. Some of them even started receiving surgery before they were twenty.
“You see it, right?” Cheng Zitong asked.
“Why is that, Mr. Cheng? Did they get injured because they went through excessive training while they were students?”
Cheng Zitong shook his head. “If only that were the case. I’ll have to take my time explaining this to you.”
“Please do,” Chen Chuan said.
“You don’t have to be so polite with me.”
Despite saying that, Cheng Zitong was pleased with Chen Chuan’s attitude. “You’ve already started practicing a breathing technique, so I’m sure you sense the benefits it brings, but you might not understand what is truly hidden under its surface.”
“What is it?” Chen Chuan could not help but ask.
“With the boost from the breathing technique, your body’s resistance, your internal organs’ resilience, your skeleton’s load tolerance, and all aspects of your body have improved drastically. You should have noticed that after learning the breathing technique, you’ve become stronger than those who have not practiced it, and you’ve been improving every day since then.”
Chen Chuan nodded. “That did happen.”
“But something else will happen because of it. Tissues that shouldn’t exist will grow in your body, which we call mutated tissues.”
He pointed at Chen Chuan. “Due to the influence of your breathing technique, your body will start growing some extra fascia tissues. Seasoned martial artists are only able to use that almost superhuman-like refined force because of these tissues.
“When such tissues show up and grow in you, your body starts to itch and heat up. At that time, you will clearly feel that you’re improving rapidly in all aspects of your physical abilities.”
Chen Chuan was shocked. He could not help but remember his body heating up soon after he started practicing his breathing technique. He had even asked Yu Gang about it. Back then, he thought that he was improving because he had been training while maintaining his breathing technique over a long period of time, even though his improvement had not stopped, even now.”
When Cheng Zitong saw his reaction, he said, “Looks like you’ve already gone through it. You don’t have to feel nervous about it. That just means that you have a good physique and are highly suited to learning martial arts. Some people are even born with some mutated tissues. We call these people naturally gifted.
“But you cannot let this condition go unchecked, especially since these tissues grow at lightning speed after you start training and let your body be exposed to long-term, deliberate external stimulation. You have to guide the growth of these tissues properly instead of letting them do as they wish. Otherwise, if you’re lucky, they might only interfere with or seize the functions of some other tissues, leading to all sorts of sicknesses that will force you to go through surgery, but in the worst case scenario, they can become deformed and kill you.”
Chen Chuan pondered over this. “How long do I have before these problems show up?”
Cheng Zitong tapped the sunglasses against his knee. “It differs from person to person. Everything in the world has its own pros and cons. The more talented a person is, the faster their mutated tissues grow, but the limit of their tolerance is also higher.”
He gestured at the stack of papers with his chin. “Among them, the one who started showing symptoms the earliest had only started practicing martial arts not even a full year ago. You heard me right. They showed up in less than a year. To be more accurate, it was eleven months. Here’s my question: how long has it been since you learned your breathing technique?”
“Three months,” Chen Chuan replied.
“Three months, huh?” Cheng Zitong pondered over this.
Chen Chuan, too, mulled over it and guessed that his second self would be unable to help him solve this problem.
His second self could only absorb direct physical damage. That required a whole, intact self, with all limbs and body parts present. Unfortunately, those tissues were part of him, so he could not get rid of them, just like how he could not transfer his blood and organs out to his second self.
Chen Chuan did not know what changes his second self would go through in the future, but for the time being, he could not take those tissues out of his body.
“What do I need to do in order to avoid this?”
Cheng Zitong gave a casual wave of his hand and said seriously, “Don’t be afraid of it. You should acknowledge it instead. In my eyes, it’s a gift from God. Without these mutated tissues, our bodies would never have been able to break through our limits. If we can make use of them, we can turn them into our stepping stones.
“Martial arts is one such way.
“While martial arts stimulate those tissues, you can guide their growth in an orderly manner, which will turn those cons into pros. Of course, the prerequisite for that is that you guide their growth correctly.”
“What do I need to do to guide them in the correct manner?” Chen Chuan asked earnestly.
“Sit still and don’t move,” Cheng Zitong ordered him.
He stood up and squeezed Chen Chuan’s shoulders, arm and leg joints, neck, and various parts of his spine. Chen Chuan could sense a numbness where his hands touched.
Cheng Zitong frowned. “They grew so fast... Have you really been practicing your breathing technique for only three months? Some people might not have reached your state of growth even after practicing for three years. You must be naturally gifted...”
He sat back down and said sternly, “Looks like I have to speed up your training. Things will be bad for you if we let it continue like this.”
Chen Chuan remained calm. “How long do you think I have before I start showing the symptoms?”
Cheng Zitong hummed. “I can’t really tell. You have half a year, and that’s the best case scenario. If it happens sooner, you’ll have a hard time reigning in your mutated tissues within two months. By then, if you want to retain your health or even your life, you might have to consider using the worst methods to do so.”
Chen Chuan did not ask what those methods were. He could guess them.
“If I’m right, you practiced a basic breathing technique. From tomorrow onwards, I’m going to teach you a more advanced breathing technique, and you have to learn how to use refined force as quickly as possible, even if it’s just subtle force. That way, your mutated fascia won’t be growing on their own but where you need it,” Cheng Zitong said somberly.
“If your body doesn’t ache, go numb, or swell after ten days, it’ll mean that the direction of your training is correct for the time being, and we can continue with it. If it isn’t, we’ll need to make adjustments until you master the complete version of the refined force. Once it’s done, you will have overcome a huge obstacle in your life.
“But that doesn’t mean that it’ll all be over. If your mutated tissues continue growing even after you learn refined force, you’ll need to move on to the next stage of guided growth, and it will last until your first rapid improvement stage slows down. You’ll only be able to slow down and take a breather then.”
Cheng Zitong looked straight into Chen Chuan’s eyes and said solemnly, “Since I’ve decided to become your mentor, no matter how hard it is, I will help you overcome this hardship. But you need to be determined about this. Otherwise, no matter how hard I try, it’ll be useless. How do you feel?”
Chen Chuan took a moment to think about it. “Thank you for telling me this, Mr. Cheng. Did you know that I was happy after hearing what you said?”
“You were?”
Chen Chuan nodded and looked outside with longing shining in his eyes. “That superhuman power is the only way for people to break free of their restraints and reach greater heights so that they can see the sights up there.”
He turned to Cheng Zitong and said earnestly, “Mr. Cheng, I’ll do my best to train. This is what I’ve been aspiring and looking forward to.”