Chapter 175. Belonging, For, and By the Choi Family (5)

Chi-Woo was caught in a trance, and he forgot everything except for his breathing. He didn’t just breathe through his nose and ears. He was inhaling with each and every cell in his body. It was cooling, and every time he took in a great volume of fresh oxygen, he felt like his whole body was covered in peppermint. And when he exhaled, he felt cleansed. He was letting go of bad energy while only conserving the good, and he made the natural energy flowing in the air his own.

It created a scary momentum, the energy flowing out of him overwhelmingly greater than the amount flowing in. The thin stream of energy current soon expanded in size and became a giant river. Then several rivers converged to form an ocean, and the divine energy that had been hiding deep inside him responded to it, overflowing like a spring that would never dry. An enormous amount of energy that Chi-Woo didn’t know existed fell under his control bit by bit.

And in this dazed state, Chi-Woo realized what his brother had meant by ‘digesting’. After an unknown period of time, his brother’s hand left his back. Then spending some time meditating, Chi-Woo felt that he had perfectly digested this swirling flow of energy and slowly opened his eyes again.

Flash! A bright light surged from his body and disappeared. Once Chi-Woo completely regained his sight, he saw that his surroundings were dark. He had missed the passage of time because he was so focused.

“Haaa....” He let out a long, pleased sigh. He couldn’t feel any better. It was as if he had taken a hot bath and sweated it out in the sauna before dipping himself in cold water. His pain was considerably lessened, and all his fatigue was wiped away, leaving him refreshed. After relishing in these senses, Chii-Woo looked up and saw that there were several messages hovering in the air.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

[User Chi-Woo’s inherent ability, Divine Inspiration’ changes to basic ability, ‘Purification Breathing’.]

[With this change, the ability in question will be deleted from the Fostering List.]

[User Chi-Woo’s exorcism mana increases from D -> C]

[User Chi-Woo’s innate ability ‘Halo’ increases from F -> E]

Chi-Woo’s mouth gaped open. He had only changed his way of breathing, and yet the exorcism mana he had desperately wished to improve already leveled up. There were also other messages detailing his progress.

“Did you get the messages?” Chi-Hyun asked. Chi-Woo nodded and read each one to his brother. Chi-Hyun nodded when he heard that Chi-Woo’s ability ‘Divine Inspiration’ had changed, and that he had acquired a new ability from a different category.

“It seems you’ve succeeded in moving at least one of the skewed pillars for now. That’s good enough for today.”

“Is that good?” Chi-Woo asked and looked excited as he thought this new ability must be superior to his past one. “It was no joke getting it after doing exactly what you told me to do. And what’s ‘Purification’? Is it something amazing?”

Chi-Hyun smirked as Chi-Woo’s eyes sparkled. While he knew what his brother was expecting, he told him the truth.

“No. It’s just a really common breathing skill.”

“...What?”

“It’s just a breathing technique that you can get in any martial arts world.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, haven’t you ever heard the saying from the Chinese philosopher, Zhuang Zhou? The secret to longevity and maintaining youth is doing breathing exercises that let out old and bad energy and inhaling the good ones,” Chi-Hyun said teasingly, and Chi-Woo looked taken aback. However, the effects were amazing for something that simple. Like his brother had said, data didn’t lie, and currently, it said his exorcism mana had increased tremendously.

After giving a snarky response, Chi-Hyun cleared his throat and continued, “What you should focus on now is to first decrease the uselessly great number of inherent abilities you have.”

“Huh?”

“Having an innate ability doesn’t automatically mean it’s good. Likewise, divine inspiration from a master doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best.”

“...”

“The most important part is whether or not an ability fits you.” Chi-Hyun had also thought like Chi-Woo in the beginning, but his mindset slowly changed after going through several worlds for his hero activities—especially after encountering someone who had become a god of martial arts with only three sword techniques and breathing exercises alone; it completely changed his way of thinking.

“Carve this into your head. Among all the abilities in your user information, only Core of Balance is your crown.”

“The crown... What about the others?”

“They are decorations to make the crown look like a proper crown.”

No one ever saw what a singer had to go through before performing on stage: finding a good song and a good stage, as well as putting up the right hairdo, makeup, and outfit to draw their audience in. Only after going through these processes would they be able to perform as the brilliant singer the audience was familiar with. Similarly, Chi-Woo’s core ability could only do its job with the support of a solid foundation.

After listening to his brother, Chi-Woo looked at his user information again.

3. [Purification Breathing F]— Expels the old and bad and inhales the good and new. Although the pace at which it collects energy is very slow, it takes the user’s energy level to another stage.

“Do you understand everything I told you?”

Chi-Woo nodded.

“Good. Then go to sleep now,” Chi-Hyun conjured two sleeping bags and unfolded the beddings. “You’re going to stay here for a while. Don’t worry about food and water.”

Chi-Hyun then continued while making a bonfire in case Chi-Woo got cold during the night, “I’m also going to stay here as often as I can. I might leave for a bit to get supplies or to do some work, but it won’t take longer than a day or two.”

“Um...does that mean I have to be here alone?”

“What else do you propose?” Chi-Hyun suddenly halted while collecting branches and leaves. “Should we call our friends and make camp? And start a barbecue party while we’re at it?”

“...No.” Chi-Woo pouted at Chi-Hyun’s cold tone. Although his brother’s harsh words made him a little upset, he wasn’t stupid enough to not get what his brother was saying.

“Then, are you going to help with my training from tomorrow on?”

“No.”

“?”

“I’m going to torment you.” Chi-Hyun turned and got back to work again. “It came to my knowledge recently that there’s somebody really out to get me because of you. Hearing that, I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to give you hell.” Chi-Hyun dusted off his hands. “Beware. I’m going to make you scream and cry from tomorrow on.”

“...”

“I’m letting you off easy today only because it’s your first day. Go to sleep now.”

Chi-Woo chuckled. “Ha...You could’ve just said that you were going to help me. Why do you always have to talk like that...?” He mumbled as he crawled into the bedding Chi-Hyun had prepared for him, “I don’t know what your deal is. Being a tsundere went out of trend ages ago...”

“Didn’t I tell you to go to sleep?”

Chi-Woo quickly shut his eyes and obediently went to sleep. Soon, he heard the fire from the bonfire crackle.

* * *

The burning sunlight ate away the darkness and lit up the world. While birds all over the mountains chirped, a man could be heard wailing.

Ahhhhhhh!

The owner of the voice was naturally Chi-Woo. As his brother ordered him to, Chi-Woo was lying over a long wooden bench with his arms crossed behind his back.

“Ah! Kugh! Kurrrrrgh!”

Chi-Hyun pressed his elbow down hard, and every time Chi-Woo’s shoulders got shifted from left to right, Chi-Woo shrieked.

“Waitwaitwaitwait! Ah!”

“Does it hurt?”

“Does it hurt for you too?”

“Of course not.” Chi-Hyun smirked seeing his brother in pain. Chi-Hyun was torturing Chi-Woo using stretching as an excuse. When Chi-Hyun finally released his grip, Chi-Woo rolled over the floor.

“Kuh! Urgggh!” Chi-Woo clutched his shoulders. He thought he was used to most pain now, but it wasn’t so.

It hurt like hell. The joints of his arms and pelvis felt as if they were being torn. It was a new type of pain he had never experienced before.

Chi-Hyun said, “What’s your problem? How can someone with a perfect golden ratio body whine about such little pain?”

“Aghhhhhh....!”

“Do you finally understand why having perfect ratios is not enough?”

“Ugh...!” Chi-Woo frowned and barely managed to lift his head. “Why the heck are we doing this...!”

“What do you mean?” Chi-Hyun raised his thumb. “It’s to train this part of your body.” Chi-Hyun poked the middle part of Chi-Woo’s back and continued, “This is the core muscle that holds the center of the human body. Your shoulders and neck are always slouching because your core is weak.”

Chi-Woo blinked. Now that he thought about it, his body did seem straighter now. When his shoulders were sorted out, his spine followed, and then his neck and waist were naturally aligned. Even though it was only for a moment, his body seemed to have gotten into a perfect posture under the force.

“Only when the core is balanced can the rest of the body stand firm even when shaken up,” Chi-Hyun continued. “Make sure you do this exercise every day. I’ll also teach you how to train by yourself later.”

“Ugh...”

“Stop being a wimp and get up.” Chi-Hyun threw something at Chi-Woo.

Thud! It made a heavy sound as it hit the ground. It was the barbell from yesterday. Chi-Woo stared at it and asked, “...Why did you give me this?”

“The next area to train after core muscles is the lower body.” Chi-Hyun created another barbell, which seemed to suggest he was going to also exercise with Chi-Woo. “It’s simple. What are you using to stand on the ground?”

“My feet.”

“And which part is connected to your feet?”

“...Legs.”

“Yeah. Technically, your whole body is connected, but it is divided into different sections.” The head, torso, and core muscles were all supported by the legs. “The more you can stand firm on the ground, the more balanced your body will be, so you have to train your lower body before you train your upper body.”

“...”

“And squats are a key part of lower body exercises. Lift that.” Chi-Hyun lifted and rested the barbell on the back of his neck. He got into position to show Chi-Woo how it was done, but Chi-Woo didn’t move at all. “What’s your deal?”

“I mean...” Chi-Woo timidly opened his mouth. “I get what you’re saying, but don’t you have a different training?”

“What kind of training? We have to do what’s most suitable for you.”

“But it’s a little, how do I say this—too normal.” Since he’d gained a huge benefit after getting beaten up like crazy yesterday, Chi-Woo was hoping for another special training. Chi-Woo continued, “You know, things like a special training method passed down through generations. Or slicing leaves falling from a tree in the mountains.”

Chi-Hyun listened to his immature brother and said, “Crazy bastard.” He made his thoughts clear as he continued, “Where did you hear such a thing...” There were training like the ones Chi-Woo mentioned, and they certainly had their own uses. However, those training were only meaningful for people who had reached an advanced stage. Even Chi-Hyun didn’t skip out on basic training every day. How dare this punk complain!? Chi-Hyun replied coldly, “Do you think you can even do that?”

—Pfff!

They heard someone suppressing laughter; Philip hurriedly closed his mouth when the two brothers turned around at the same time. Chi-Hyun looked at his younger brother as if he was pathetic and snarled, “Stop talking nonsense and get ready!”

“Okay, okay.” Chi-Woo grumbled and picked up the barbell, resting it on the back of his neck.

“First of all, the posture.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve done it a~lot when I was working out.”

“...Fine, do it on your own.”

Chi-Woo squatted with a sour face. “Ugh!” He let out a shrill cry at the weight of the barbell. It had been light when he lifted it, but as soon as he lowered his hip, its weight changed. ‘What, what the? How does this make sense?’ Chi-Woo’s strength was at rank D. He could split a rock into two with pure muscle strength. Why would he feel the barbell weighing his whole body down so keenly? It felt as if hundreds of kilograms worth of discs had been added to each side of the barbell.

‘No, I-I can’t do this!’ Shaking, Chi-Woo unconsciously brought forth his exorcism mana, and his mouth widened in shock as soon as he did it. “Hickkkkkkkk!?” It was hard to believe, but as soon as he used his exorcism mana, the barbell became even heavier. He quickly reeled in his mana, and the barbell returned to its original weight. Chi-Woo realized he couldn’t use any tricks to make it weigh any less.

Chi-Hyun said, “By the way, I’m not doing anything now.”

“Oh, really?” Chi-Woo gritted his teeth at Chi-Hyun’s nonchalant tone. “Then we can do this separately, right? Let’s stand on the opposite side.”

“Yeah, of course. We can do that.” Then Chi-Hyun said, “In the first place, I’ve set the space to adjust to the limits of the individual.” Thus, no matter where Chi-Woo went, the barbell would measure his condition and change its weight accordingly.

“So don’t worry about resolving the problem of Schrodinger’s cat.”

Chi-Woo became speechless. In short, it was impossible for him to use trickery or a special method to make the barbells lighter in this space.

“Why, it’s just a squat. You can’t do it?”

Chi-Woo scowled. Then he pushed himself up. “That was one down... Two...!” What really made him angry was his brother’s words. The barbell was definitely heavy, but he could get up if he tried with all his might.

“Ugh...!” After doing ten squats, Chi-Woo had to now dig deep into the bottom of his well of strength. It felt as if the blood vessels in his thighs would burst at any moment. His entire body trembled, but he pushed himself like this six more times. “Seventeen...” And after he got up from his seventeenth squat, the weight on his neck suddenly disappeared. This space judged that Chi-Woo was really at his limit.

Clang! Chi-Woo threw down the barbell and collapsed onto the ground, massaging his thighs like crazy.

“Take a 30-second break and do two more sets.”

Chi-Woo quickly turned towards Chi-Woo. He tried to shoot back an insult, but closed his mouth when he saw his brother. He hadn’t realized it, but his brother was also doing the same workout.

“If it’s too hard, you can stop.”

Chi-Woo’s eyes opened wide. He looked at Chi-Hyun for confirmation.

“Because I promised,” Chi-Hyun spoke calmly and slowly rose to his feet. Chi-Woo watched his brother work out. It hadn’t even been long since he started watching, but Chi-Hyun’s hair was already soaked with sweat. Above all, his brother’s barbell looked incomparably heavier than his.

“If you don’t want to do it, don’t. I’m not forcing you.” Chi-Hyun slowly talked while exhaling and inhaling. “But.” His voice suddenly became firm. “If you’re going to do it, do it properly.”

Chi-Woo watched as his brother stood up with great effort. “Who says I won’t do it?” It might be reverse psychology, but Chi-Woo wanted to start training again after getting told to not train. Before he knew it, thirty seconds had passed. Chi-Woo grabbed the barbell and got up in anger. Clenching his teeth, he lifted it to the nape of his neck again.

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