I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

It was the same girl Xue Jing had met at the same place that morning.

Unlike in the morning, when the girl saw Xue Jing, she nodded to him, her waist-length high ponytail swaying gently, and a smile appeared on her clean and beautiful face.

Xue Jing smiled, said nothing, and nodded at her.

He found this kind of silent, nodding acquaintance quite interesting.

Entering the bookshelf area, Xue Jing began searching for clues that might be related to 'divine matter'.

Under the dim light, Xue Jing and the girl were busy with their own things, clearly separated, like two strangers, yet there was also a strange and natural sense of harmony between them.

An hour later, Xue Jing learned a lot of things that ordinary people didn't know, but he still hadn't learned anything about divine matter.

"Let's go to class first."

Shaking his head, Xue Jing put the book back on the shelf and walked out of the library.

The silent seventh floor is left with only the girl, like a lonely, bound spirit imprisoned here. Only the occasional sound of turning pages proves that she is a real person.

……

When Xue Jing entered his classroom, he found that the desks and chairs that Pei Youguang had scratched had been replaced with a new, intact set.

“It was Pei Youguang, the second-year student, who moved in and replaced your desk and chair.”

A classmate who had arrived much earlier explained.

"I see," Xue Jing replied.

He didn't really care; he could sit on the table and chairs whether they were decorated or not. However, the drawers of that decorated table and chair set had been stuffed with dirty things, so it was good to replace them.

Pei Youguang is a sensible person.

Xue Jing thought to himself.

It wasn't in vain that I gave him a heartfelt lecture.

The four afternoon classes passed quickly. Xue Jing said goodbye to Li Ge, saying he had something to take care of and asked him to leave first.

He then packed his textbooks, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and walked out of the third teaching building.

The affiliated high school has three teaching buildings, one for each grade, with twenty classes in each grade.

Xue Jing arrived at the corridor of the second teaching building where he studied in the second year. He leaned against a pillar at the door, took out his phone, and watched some videos explaining martial arts while waiting.

His appearance was quite eye-catching; when second-year students came out of the building, they would more or less linger their gaze on him.

Not long after, a well-off young man, surrounded by a group of underlings, emerged, his nose and eyes bandaged, looking like a mummy.

It was Pei Youguang.

The henchmen next to him also had some injuries, but none as serious as Pei Youguang's.

Upon seeing Xue Jing, Pei Youguang was taken aback at first, then jogged over and said solicitously, "Hey, Brother Jing, were you waiting for me?"

His behavior immediately stunned the second-grade students around him.

"Is this Pei Youguang?"

"Huh? Is this Pei Youguang? He's tied up like a mummy, I didn't recognize him."

"Who is that person? Why does Pei Youguang seem to be... licking him?"

"It's Xue Jing from the third grade! I saw him this morning. Zhou Juncheng called him out at the school gate. I thought he was going to get beaten up by Pei Youguang, but he seems perfectly fine..."

"Idiot, Pei Youguang is in such a state, he must have tried to hit someone but ended up getting hit instead."

"What happened? Isn't Pei Youguang a martial artist? How did he get beaten up like this?"

Whispering conversations drifted from the surrounding area; the students all wore expressions of excitement, as if they had stumbled upon some juicy gossip.

This school bully is usually not well-liked, and everyone seems to be at a disadvantage now that they've seen him. They're all quite happy about it.

"Serves you right! You've been bullying people all this time, now you've finally met your match!"

"Finally, someone can handle him."

“I’m in the same class as Pei Youguang. This morning he was saying he was going to teach Xue Jing a lesson, supposedly because Lin Shiyu likes Xue Jing… Look, Lin Shiyu is coming out.”

Lin Shiyu, a junior student wearing a school uniform skirt whose long, straight legs shimmered in the sunset, saw Xue Jing as soon as she stepped out of the teaching building, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her pretty face.

She had just been rejected after confessing her feelings that morning, and now she was running into the person she was confessing to again, leaving her completely embarrassed.

Fortunately, Xue Jing didn't even look at her, as if he hadn't noticed her at all. Although he seemed a bit heartless, which made her feel disappointed, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin Shiyu quickly grabbed her schoolbag, took her best friend's hand, and ran away.

"Brother Jing, you're here to learn internal strength from me, right? Come on, let's go to my house. My house is quite big, and I have almost all the equipment used in martial arts training at the dojo..."

As Pei Youguang spoke, he gestured to his henchman beside him with his remaining right eye.

The latter immediately understood and stepped forward to say obsequiously:

"Jing-ge, let me help you with your backpack."

"Okay, let's go." Xue Jing smiled, handed his schoolbag to his younger brother, and left the campus with Pei Youguang.

……

Please continue reading, fellow readers! Don't put your books on hold during the new book period, or you'll lose my support!

Chapter 17 Breathing Techniques, Good Innate Talent

(I've made some changes to the main character's family background and other family members, and the pacing of the previous chapter was also problematic, so I've done a major overhaul. Readers who have already read it can reread it, especially chapters 15 and 16. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.)

Qingcheng has four main districts: east, south, west, and north. There is a saying that "the east is rich, the west is poor, the north is noble, and the south is lowly," which roughly describes the division of residents in Qingcheng.

The residents of Dongcheng District are mostly wealthy, and the headquarters of large companies are mostly located here. It can be said that every inch of land is extremely valuable. In contrast, Beicheng District is full of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and the security is extremely high. The issue here is not that every inch of land is extremely valuable, but that even money cannot buy it.

Xicheng District is where most ordinary families live, and it is also where Xue Jing's family lives.

Of course, this statement is not absolute, nor does it mean that people living in the East District are necessarily rich and people living in the West District are necessarily poor. It is just a general division.

However, there is no problem with the term "southern inferior" used in the southern district.

That was a true slum, the final destination of all the evils in the city. It wasn't the law that ruled here, but the gangs. Even the police couldn't control it. Many criminals would disappear as soon as they went in, and they couldn't be found at all. Only the security companies behind the gangs had any influence here.

However, Xue Jing had never been to the South District. From childhood, his parents and other elders had repeatedly warned him not to go near it, so he didn't know the specifics and had only heard about it from others.

He really didn't expect that Pei Youguang, whom his classmates said had a "powerful background," actually lived in the South District.

Although it was only on the outskirts of the southern city, close to the western city, it was still somewhat on the edge of a 'slum'.

"Jing-ge, come in."

In front of a rather large-looking house, Pei Youguang took out his key, opened the door, and said to Xue Jing.

The house is quite old, with a square layout and a rather large front yard. The white brick walls are covered with mottled marks of time, and are severely oxidized and yellowed.

The surrounding environment of the house was also a backward and dilapidated scene, with many places on the street littered with bottles and cans of garbage, which looked like they hadn't been cleaned for a long time.

Xue Jing shook his head and followed Pei Youguang inside.

Surprisingly, contrary to the old exterior of the house, the interior decoration was quite nice, with gray wood-grain flooring, a large plush carpet in the middle of the living room, and all kinds of furniture. At first glance, it was not so much tasteful as it was quite harmonious.

Xue Jing took off his shoes, walked into the living room, hung his schoolbag on a hook by the door, chose a single sofa to sit down, and said:

Do you live alone?

Pei Youguang, who was taking a drink out of the refrigerator, paused and nodded, saying, "Yes."

Xue Jing asked casually, "Why do you live here? Isn't your dad working for a councilor? Even if he can't get into the North District, he should at least be able to live in the East District, right?"

Pei Youguang tossed a bottle of soda to Xue Jing, opened one for himself, took a big gulp, sighed with satisfaction, and then said, "My relationship with my dad isn't very good... This house belongs to my mom. She left it to me after she passed away. I moved here two years ago after I had a fight with my dad."

“There’s a Golden Wind Dojo nearby. It’s said that the owner came from the inner city and is the successor of the ‘Golden Wind White Rainbow Sword’. After I moved here, I went to the Golden Wind Dojo because of its reputation and practiced martial arts with the master there for a few months… Later, some things happened, so I left the dojo.”

Xue Jing nodded: "I see."

It seems that Pei Youguang has had a tough time.

However, everyone has a story to tell when you look closely, and he had no interest in learning about it. So he stood up and said, "Without further ado, let's begin teaching me 'strength'."

That was his only purpose in coming here.

Upon hearing this, Pei Youguang stood up, threw his empty drink bottle into the trash can, and said, "Okay, Brother Jing, come with me, let's go to the training room."

……

This is a large room of about seventy square meters. The room is covered with a thick layer of soft cushions and filled with various fitness equipment, as well as some machines whose purpose Xue Jing does not understand.

In the center of the room were several punching posts and sandbags, made of different materials, all of which looked worn and obviously used frequently.

"The key to developing strength lies in breathing."

In the training room, Pei Youxue began to learn from the old master from his former dojo.

“Power is the kinetic energy generated by the movement of the body’s internal organs. However, we humans have very little control over our bodies. We cannot control the flow of blood, nor can we control our internal organs. Even our muscles can only be 'tightened' or 'relaxed' in a simple way. Therefore, we must first learn how to influence these parts that we cannot control normally. This is where the 'breathing method' comes in.”

"Next, I will teach you a set of 'breathing techniques,' which is a basic breathing technique that every disciple in the dojo knows. Through this breathing technique, you can exert influence on your own body."

After Pei Youguang finished speaking, he sat down cross-legged on the cushion.

"Come on, Jing-ge, do it with me."

Xue Jing did as he was told, and sat down with his legs crossed, just like Pei Youguang.

Pei Youguang then began to explain the specific steps of the breathing method, demonstrating as he did so, and had Xue Jing learn along with him.

The breathing technique is not too complicated, but it is extremely difficult. Some steps involve a very long interval between inhalation and exhalation, requiring a large amount of oxygen to be inhaled in one breath. With such a large amount of oxygen rushing into the lungs, people with insufficient lung capacity are not even qualified to practice it.

Pei Youguang thought that Xue Jing would definitely not be able to keep up with the breathing method on his first try. When he practiced it himself, it took him a full month to barely complete a full breathing method practice.

Therefore, he still held a hint of mockery, wanting to see Jing-ge cough in a sorry state, but after the whole set of breathing techniques, he was shocked.

Xue Jing actually followed along and practiced the whole thing, successfully completing the basic breathing technique on his first try!

"it's over?"

After inhaling a large amount of oxygen, Xue Jing, who was not used to it, felt very dizzy, his heart was beating very fast, he felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, his vision was blurred, and he felt as if his whole body was on fire.

This is because a large amount of oxygen enters the bloodstream through the alveoli, causing the blood to circulate faster and raising the body temperature.