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Sophia, tracing the trajectory of Zephyr’s Revolving Wheel, descends with a meteor shower of causality reversal. In a state where the power of spells is amplified thousands of times through multiple parallel incantations, she unleashes a dual annihilation wave cannon, drawing complex trajectories through numerous spatial gates. Countless spells and reverse incantations intertwine, creating a massive chain of spells. Just as she was sweating to counter this, a sudden movement caught her attention.

“……!”

In an instant, the spears scattered like snakes climbing tree branches, their blades precisely striking the vital points of three giant soldiers without a single wasted motion. The movements, while fundamentally basic, displayed a refined elegance honed to perfection. The seamless coordination of thrusts, parries, and retrievals, the essence of spear techniques, created an optimal flow of causality that anyone would admire as a complete art form.

Yet, even amidst such movements, Conra never paused. His wide eyes constantly scanned his surroundings, seeking the best path forward and deciding on every advance and retreat. A single misstep in his stance or movement could plunge him into an inescapable quagmire, endangering his destiny.

Struggling within a hostile swarm, Conra’s every move was a delicate balance of strength, skill, courage, tactics, and luck. It was like walking a tightrope over an unseen abyss, where even a slight misstep could spell disaster.

The path Conra was on was fraught with peril. Amidst the sharp blades and towering giants that made even his tall frame seem childlike, Conra moved like a salmon swimming upstream. His steps, unhindered as if walking through a rainstorm with a spear as an umbrella, seemed unstoppable to any onlooker. But in reality, it was the opposite.

It wasn’t that no one could stop him; rather, he had no choice but to keep moving. Any hesitation or faltering would mean certain death. Conra knew this all too well.

“Kuh!”

Conserving his strength, Conra swallowed his cries and stepped forward with even greater determination. His goal wasn’t just to defeat another giant soldier but to advance closer to the obnoxious tower that continued to scatter sword energy.

Suppressing his instinct to flee, Conra pushed further into the path of certain death.

{……!}

{……!}

Even the spirit and battle spirits refrained from idle chatter, focusing solely on supporting Conra’s senses and movements. The Druid’s senses, the Alchemist’s senses, and the spearman’s senses were all concentrated into a single point, now used solely to navigate the deadly path.

But the situation was only worsening.

‘These guys, their movements are getting more precise!’

Initially, the giants’ movements were somewhat scattered, making them less of a threat despite their size. But now, their coordination was improving, and Conra’s advantage was slipping away.

“Chak, chak, chak!”

“Hum!”

With synchronized breaths, Conra parried the incoming spear strikes with his own, frowning as the tower’s sword energy disrupted his Qi Sense. It was becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Originally, one hand couldn’t handle ten. But now, those ten hands were starting to work together, making it harder to control the situation. Conra had to further refine his movements, but his consciousness and actions were already at their limit.

Moreover, the tower’s sword energy continued to disrupt his Qi Sense, making it harder to respond to threats. For a warrior, a disturbed Qi Sense was like being blind and deaf. The wasted mental energy to control it was no small matter.

“Kahak, kuh, tuh!”

Spitting out blood, Conra spun and thrust his spear at a giant soldier, only to realize the weapon in the giant’s hand was a trident. A tricky weapon for a spearman like Conra.

“Damn it, a trident!”

Just as his spear was about to get caught in the trident’s prongs, Conra stomped the ground and pulled back, narrowly avoiding disaster. But the fluidity of his movements was disrupted.

At that moment, the tower’s sword energy swept through again, causing Conra’s Qi Sense to react reflexively. Though his iron will quickly restored it, the delay was costly.

“Kuh!”

A thick warhammer struck his side from the blind spot created by the tower’s interference. The brutal blow knocked the wind out of him and shook his organs.

If not for his unusually tough physique, that blow alone could have shattered his bones. Gasping for breath, Conra’s mind began to blur with a sense of impending doom.

‘Damn it, my breathing…!’

His diaphragm, overwhelmed by the damage, couldn’t respond to his brain’s commands to breathe. As his mind grew hazy, Conra realized he was in serious trouble.

Lying helplessly on the ground, surrounded by giant soldiers, he was practically begging to be killed.

‘This… is really…’

Am I going to die? Conra forced a smile. Thanks to his Ethereal Brain, his thoughts were still clear, but it was only a matter of time.

Both the Ethereal Muscles and Ethereal Brain were ultimately just supplements to his real body. Unless he transcended his physical limits, they were useless without his actual nerves and muscles.

If his breathing didn’t improve, he would surely die a meaningless death. Or worse, be torn apart by the giant soldiers closing in on him.

His revered mentor, Sophia, had expected him to grow through trials, to achieve great feats. But it seemed his abilities fell short of her expectations.

He would die without fulfilling the hopes of his parents or his mentor…

‘No way!’

Suddenly, a surge of energy flowed from his upper and lower Dantians, coursing through his meridians. His mentor’s teachings flashed through his mind.

‘The human body carries out many unseen life activities. When we see a living person, we recognize them as such by sensing these “living energies.” Techniques to suppress these energies and reduce bodily functions are called the Turtle Breathing Technique.’

Like a snake or frog hibernating in winter, or a lungfish surviving drought by entering a state of suspended animation, the Turtle Breathing Technique involved slowing the body’s metabolism to near-death levels to survive.

‘Then, Master, how do you release the Turtle Breathing Technique?’

The problem was, just as there was a way to activate it, there had to be a way to release it. Otherwise, one would remain in a vegetative state.

Sophia had said, ‘Remember, just as the Turtle Breathing Technique uses the subtleties of energy manipulation, releasing it also falls within the realm of energy manipulation. I will now teach you how to do it.‘

As the energy flowed through his meridians, Conra felt his body begin to move.

‘I can move…!’

Though his diaphragm and lungs were still paralyzed, he gained control over his Ethereal Muscles and Ethereal Nerves, allowing him to move his stiffened body indirectly through energy manipulation.

The first thing he did with this newfound control was to roll away from the giant soldiers’ attacks.

Sliding across the ground, Conra dodged the descending axe and, in an almost impossible posture, began to evade the subsequent strikes.

It was like controlling a puppet with strings, using the flow of energy to stimulate his Ethereal Muscles and Nerves to manipulate his body. Though it felt stifling, Conra experienced an unprecedented thrill.

Despite his life hanging by a thread, he felt a strange sense of detachment, as if observing the scene from afar. In this moment, with his body and mind temporarily separated, Conra glimpsed the true essence of energy manipulation and Ethereal Synthesis.

Even his Qi Sense began to change.

Originally, Qi Sense reacted instinctively to external stimuli, but now it was entirely under Conra’s perception and discernment.

‘I can see. I can feel. All the trajectories, the stances, the energies around me, their strengths and weaknesses!’

The reason Qi Sense was hard to control was the gap between the body’s instinctive reactions and rational judgment.

This was natural for both animals and humans. Survival required both instinct and reason to correct each other’s errors. If they always aligned, survival would be difficult.

But now, with his body moving solely through energy manipulation, Conra’s Qi Sense was governed not by instinct or reason, but by the subtleties of energy manipulation, aided by his Ethereal Brain and Muscles.

With his Ethereal Brain thinking and judging in place of his hazy, oxygen-deprived real brain, and his Ethereal Muscles moving in place of his paralyzed body, Conra’s perception became crystal clear.

The fierce fighting spirit and deadly weapons around him, their trajectories aimed at his weak points—what once seemed perilous now felt manageable. With a spear in hand, Conra moved with unexpected ease.

In this state, Conra gradually fell deeper into a trance-like focus, where each action seamlessly led to the next. But unfortunately, this state didn’t last long.

His breathing, which had stopped, began again.

 

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