novelraw Chapter 228
Chapter 228
The swimming pool in the gym was spacious.
Sunlight streamed in through the glass curtain wall, golden beams scattering across the surface of the water.
Dressed in a white T-shirt, Su Wangchuan floated quietly in the pool, only his head above the surface, everything below his neck submerged.
After adjusting to the water temperature, the strange and horrifying images in his mind no longer resurfaced. His state of mind gradually steadied. Calm and composed, he began circulating the 《Xuanwu Art》 step by step.
Silently, he guided the internal breath within his dantian, moving it little by little along fixed meridians and acupoints.
After quite a while…
Su Wangchuan opened his eyes in surprise.
His brows drew together slightly, as though he had encountered an unexpected problem.
He muttered to himself, “Is it just my imagination?”
“Why does it feel like my body is breathing in the water…”Lowering his head, he saw that beneath his T-shirt, countless tiny bubbles were indeed forming. With the slightest movement, they drifted slowly upward to the surface.
“《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》?”
He pondered briefly, then murmured, “The major circulation of the 《Xuanwu Art》 does indeed pass through the minor circulation route of the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》. Could it be that while cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》, it also triggers the effects of the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》?”
The thought ignited an urge to test it.
SPLASH!
He quickly stripped off his soaked clothes and flung them onto the floor. After drawing in a deep breath, he submerged his entire body into the pool.
His toes touched the bottom.
He slowly sat down at the bottom of the pool.
Holding his breath, Su Wangchuan began circulating the 《Xuanwu Art》.
Although the direction felt somewhat bizarre, he truly wanted to see whether cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》 could simultaneously cultivate the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》.
The cultivation cycle of the 《Xuanwu Art》 was far too long.
If he could conveniently raise the level of the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》 and gain a few attribute points along the way, that would be an unexpected delight.
Very quickly, he discovered—
While circulating the 《Xuanwu Art》, the effect of the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》 did indeed manifest. He was able to draw a faint trace of oxygen from the water, helping him extend the time he could remain underwater.
The discovery filled him with astonishment and joy.
He steadied his mind and continued cultivating.
The duration of the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》 was tied to the strength of one’s Stamina attribute.
At his previous peak condition, Su Wangchuan could remain underwater for half an hour. Now, after activating the 《Xuanwu Art》, his Stamina cap temporarily increased by 3 points, bringing it to 47. He could now remain underwater for nearly forty minutes.
Thus, he sat at the bottom of the pool for a full forty minutes.
As his blood oxygen dropped steadily and he was on the verge of being unable to endure it, he finally surfaced to breathe.
“Ha… ha…”
Gasping in great breaths, his eyes were filled with shock.
His heart could not calm for a long time.
Just now—
While at the bottom of the pool, he had continuously circulated the 《Xuanwu Art》. Though submerged in water, where time felt strangely distorted and difficult to gauge—
He could clearly sense that he had successfully completed five major circulations!
The 《Xuanwu Art》—
Five major circulations!
One major circulation normally required fifteen minutes.
And yet underwater, he had completed five consecutively!
Unbelievable.
His face was filled with disbelief as he muttered, “What is going on?”
“Does the 《Xuanwu Art》 take longer than the 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》? Is there some hidden attribute? Or… does cultivating underwater increase the speed of internal energy circulation?”
He could not determine the exact cause.
But testing it was not difficult.
He took out his phone and checked the time.
3:10 p.m.
Drawing a deep breath, he submerged again and began circulating the 《Xuanwu Art》 at the bottom of the pool.
Time ticked by…
He soon completed the first major circulation smoothly.
Opening his eyes—
The phone displayed: 3:17 p.m.
Only seven minutes had passed.
Excitement surged within him.
Cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》 underwater halved the required time. In other words, his cultivation speed had doubled!
Could it be that internal cultivation methods were not without shortcuts—only that the shortcut was far more concealed?
Had he, by sheer accident, stumbled upon the shortcut to cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》?
Excited though he was—
To truly confirm that this method was valid, it had to be recognized by 《spirit realm》.
Climbing out of the pool, he wrung out his clothes and returned to his apartment wearing them soaked.
There was a bathtub in the apartment—usually unused. Now, it would serve a purpose.
He filled it with water and sat inside.
After several rounds of verification, Su Wangchuan confirmed that circulating thirty major circulations in the bathtub likewise received recognition from 《spirit realm》—and the experience value of the 《Xuanwu Art》 increased by 1 point.
This discovery instantly transformed the gloom brought on by the appearance of the Third-Rank assassin into blazing enthusiasm.
“My cultivation speed has doubled!”
“Hahahaha…”
“Excellent!”
“I have finally found the shortcut to cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》.”
“This means that I only need to spend half the time to achieve the same results as an ordinary person cultivating the 《Xuanwu Art》!”
Clenching his fists, eyes gleaming, he felt his blood practically boiling with excitement.
“Three and a half hours to accumulate 1 experience point.”
“Very good!”
Based on twenty-one hours of cultivation per day, he could gain 6 experience points in a single day. With just half a month of secluded cultivation, he could break through to Minor Mastery!
After giving instructions to Wang Yuehui, Chen Ergou, and Zhao Heiniu, and telling Bai Yuhui and Hong Kaibao to contact him by phone if anything arose, Su Wangchuan began an ascetic period of closed-door cultivation.
Perfect timing.
It would be half a month before Captain Bai and Land-Clearing Team One departed from the Sanjiang Branch Helm.
With Captain Bai and her team present at the branch helm to protect him, nothing would go wrong.
He only needed to appear briefly at the branch helm each day. The rest of the time could be devoted entirely to cultivation. By the day he was formally established as Helm Leader of the branch helm, he would have fully mastered the 《Xuanwu Art》 and wielded its internal force with greater control, raising his strength by another tier.
Once he made up his mind, he acted without hesitation.
In the following days, Su Wangchuan became elusive—appearing and disappearing unpredictably.
Aside from making a brief appearance at the branch helm around noon, he was almost nowhere to be seen for the rest of the day.
The branch helm’s affairs were completely handed over to Chen Ergou and Wang Yuehui.
Zhao Heiniu led the Caobang elites and branch helm probationary disciples who had no assignments to train in the front hall.
Behind the scenes, Old Qiu, Old Yuan, and the others from Land-Clearing Team One could not help whispering—
Had Su Wangchuan been frightened by the Third-Rank assassin, and now moved his cultivation offline?
The branch helm disciples, having learned of the assassination incident and heard about Helm Leader Yan Jiang’s death, also believed that their Helm Leader must now be extremely wary.
After some time, they simply grew accustomed to it.
About seven or eight days later—
Zhang Cha’er returned, injured, and came to pay a visit.