Chapter 279: Breathing Technique
Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Breathing Technique
“They are the foundation of all Spirit warrior’s growth,” Veylara said. “To speed up the Essence Saturation, we use ancient breathing methods. But you must realize that the efficiency of these techniques depends entirely on the capacity and the tier of your Core.”
She gestured broadly to the surrounding elders, who were still watching Sol with a mixture of reverence and lingering, primal terror.
“I understand,” Sol stated flatly. “I need to saturate my core. You mentioned breathing techniques to speed this process up. How do they work?”
“They are the foundation of all Vanguard growth,” Veylara said. “But you must realize that the efficiency of these techniques depends entirely on the internal capacity and the inherent tier of your Core. Our ancestors categorized them into five distinct grades.”
She held up a calloused hand, counting them off to give him a clear picture of the world’s hierarchy.
“At the absolute bottom is Grade 5, the Spark Core,” Veylara explained, a hint of pity in her voice. “We call them the ’Duds.’ Roughly one in ten awakened people suffer this misfortune. The internal space of their soul is incredibly cramped… no larger than a small wooden cup. It can barely hold a single, weak Layer 1 spirit, like a swamp rat or a common snake. For them, recovering essence is like trying to breathe through a thin reed, it takes days to refill even a fraction of their energy. They cannot fight long battles. They are fated to be gatherers and village laborers.”
“Next is Grade 4, the Coal Core,” she continued. “This is the average. The common hunter. They make up the vast majority of our Vanguard. The internal space is roughly the size of a small hut. It can comfortably hold the standard limit of one average spirits. Their recovery is steady… they can refill their core fully with one dedicated morning session of the Breath of Dawn. They are reliable warriors, the absolute backbone of the tribe.”
“Then comes Grade 3, the Ember Core,” High Shaman Zephyra croaked from the sidelines, taking a slow drag from her blue-bone pipe. “The Elites. Perhaps a quarter of our people possess this. The internal space expands drastically, to the size of a large cave.
The essence inside burns hotter and is much denser, allowing the host to support larger, highly aggressive beasts… like armored boars or tigers… without the core cracking under the strain. Their recovery is fast. In fact, they absorb ambient essence passively, even while they sleep. These men and women become our Hunt Leaders and our seasoned Veterans. But unfortunately this time we didn’t have any Ember Core.
Warchief Veylara sat up straighter, a fierce, undeniable pride evident in her posture. “Grade 2 is the Flame Core. The realm of true geniuses. Only about one in a generation is born with it. Inside their soul, it is not a cave, but a vast lake of fire. The essence swirls violently. They don’t just simply absorb energy… they actively devour it from their surroundings.
Because of this incredibly rich environment, spirits housed inside a Flame Core heal and evolve twice as fast. We have been incredibly lucky and got 3 in our current generation, including me, Kira and Zeyra. And It is also the requirement to become Tribal Chiefs.
Veylara paused, her voice dropping into a tone of absolute, hushed reverence.
“But above even that… is Grade 1. The Sun Core. A genius among geniuses. A living legend,” Veylara breathed. “The internal space is vast, radiant, and naturally flooded with light. Recovery isn’t just fast, it is super fast when paired with advanced techniques. Spirits housed within a Sun Core evolve rapidly, and the bonds forged between beast and host are unbreakable. It is a mythic foundation.”
Veylara looked at Sol’s chest, right where his solar plexus was, with a look of profound, almost terrified bewilderment.
“As for your core, Sol… honestly, we don’t know what to tell you,” Veylara admitted, shaking her head slowly. “We don’t have any records of a foundation like yours. It defies our history entirely. You will have to explore its depths and its endless endurance yourself. But no matter what it is, we are certain it must be vastly stronger and denser than even a Sun Core.”
“In fact,” Zephyra chimed in, “the reason the Sun Core is so celebrated in our oldest legends is precisely because it possesses the unique, divine heat required to actually mutate a beast spirit into a variant form, completely surpassing its original biological limit.”
Hearing her talking about sun core in such a high regard, Sol smirk slightly. Golden Liquid, he thought to himself. Yeah, it’s definitely a step above Sun.
“I need that breathing technique, Warchief,” Sol said, his voice ringing with absolute determination. “If Prince Gorr is coming tomorrow to dictate terms, and the Zerith are marching with Layer 4 warlords, I cannot afford to waste a single hour. I need to start grinding.”
Veylara smiled faintly, clearly pleased by his relentless drive. She didn’t reach into her robes for a scroll or a bound book. Instead, she raised her right hand, her palm facing a shadowy alcove near the back wall of the High Hall. Her fingertips began to glow with a faint, crackling, bioluminescent blue essence.
To Sol’s absolute, jaw-dropping amazement, a heavy, polished stone tablet resting on a stone pedestal fifty feet away suddenly vibrated.
With a low, resonating hum, the heavy slab of rock lifted smoothly off the pedestal. It floated directly through the air, completely defying gravity, guided entirely by Veylara’s telekinetic manipulation of her internal essence. She elegantly guided it across the vast expanse of the hall and gently floated it down directly into Sol’s waiting hands.
Sol caught the heavy tablet, the cool stone settling into his palms. His eyes were wide with pure, unadulterated wonder. He looked from the stone tablet in his hands to Veylara’s faintly glowing fingertips, a new, vibrant, incredibly dangerous fire igniting in his silver-crimson eyes.
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