The Ancient Gods' Whisper

On the rooftop of the teaching building in Peak City's Second High School, a grocery store had mysteriously appeared at some point.

The old man still lay on the chair, his breathing long and deep, as if inhaling and exhaling the essence of the heavens and earth, achieving harmony with nature.

Gu Jianlin, once again affected by the side effects of time-space travel, felt the world spinning around him. His vision was pitch black with faint, hallucinatory specks of light flickering around. He could only clutch his chest and retch uncontrollably, his stomach churning violently.

But as he began to breathe in sync with that mystical rhythm, he gradually fell into the same pattern.

His consciousness became clearer, as if the stifling frustration within his chest had been expelled.

His mind reached an unprecedented state of tranquility.

"Good, take your time, remember this rhythm. The Breathing Technique was a unique secret technique created during the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought by the Taoists. It is a treasure solely belonging to humanity and was later refined and popularized by the Emperor. The true essence of the Breathing Technique is achieving harmony with nature, the integration of man and the natural world, entering a state of ethereal, selfless tranquility."

Jing Ci sipped from the bottle of Bourbon Whiskey and explained, "Once you enter a meditative state, you can use meditation to accumulate spirituality. Your progression will be much faster than others. The Breathing Technique can even assist you in combat, allowing you to recover spirituality during battle and gain unimaginable, enormous advantages. Its benefits go far beyond just these."

He emphasized, "This secret technique is about choice of environment rather than pathways. It is nature's gift to humanity. On Earth, humans are the true primates of all creatures. No matter how powerful the Ancient Gods are, they are merely invasive species."

Hearing this, Gu Jianlin fell into silent contemplation, "The Ancient Gods—are they really unable to use the Breathing Technique?"

"Yes. Despite the Ancient Gods' high level of life forms, mastering such abilities should theoretically be easy for them. Yet, due to their inherent rejection and the restrictions of natural laws, they are incapable of such breathing harmonization."

Jing Ci smiled and said, "As I've mentioned before, humans on Earth are the true primates of all beings, blessed by nature's spirituality. Even if you've mastered the Ancient God Transformation, you still remain human. Out of one hundred thousand Ascenders, only about five or six individuals are capable of mastering the Breathing Technique. Your aptitude is frankly quite exceptional."

Gu Jianlin was somewhat surprised, "That few?"

"Indeed. The vast majority of people simply cannot perceive the profound significance of this breathing rhythm. Now that you've started to sense the rhythm, take some time to explore and understand it further."

Jing Ci added, "Even without meditating, it can make you feel more comfortable."

That was certainly true.

Gu Jianlin only needed to breathe along with the rhythm to feel as though the impurities inside his body were being expelled.

It was as if his body had become much lighter, and his consciousness crystal clear like water.

"Remember, the Breathing Technique is a supplementary skill. It doesn't require you to split your focus but instead integrates into your instincts. If you pursue it forcefully, your results may be suboptimal. Now, shift your attention here."

Jing Ci set the bottle of whiskey on the rooftop's wall and smiled, pointing to a footprint on the concrete ground, "This is a footprint I specifically preserved using an Alchemy Weapon; otherwise, it would've been erased by the wind."

Gu Jianlin crouched down and took a closer look, "The shoe style is different, but it should be from the same person."

The dust scattered over the concrete ground revealed a faint outline.

The footprint was small, indicating the person was lightweight and not tall—a woman.

It matched the one found under the overpass, belonging to the same person.

Standing where the footprint was, Gu Jianlin began his profiling process, imagining himself as a petite, delicate woman. He slightly squatted to adjust his height, and found his vision just barely blocked by the concrete wall surrounding the rooftop.

Hmm, at that time, she must have been standing on tiptoe.

As his bent knees straightened just a little, his sightline lifted above the wall—revealing the previously destroyed cafeteria!

The previous battle had resulted in the cafeteria being blown apart. It was now under reconstruction.

Reportedly, the students of the Second High School had cheered loudly, expressing their delight at finally having a legitimate excuse to leave campus.

Some even joked about how the school itself hadn't been blown up along with it.

"This must be the third person you mentioned—the one secretly protecting me."

Gu Jianlin said softly, "The traces left behind are few. Apart from the footprint…"

He gazed intently at the opposing wall and noticed two smudged patches of dust scraped off.

This position aligned perfectly with his chest.

However, standing in Gu Jianlin's current position, his chest would never come into contact with the wall.

Gu Jianlin carefully examined the shape of the two smudges and again fell into thought, "A woman, no taller than 162 centimeters, and weighing no more than 85 pounds. Though she attempted to conceal her tracks, her actions weren't entirely cautious. She didn't appear overly concerned about her traces being discovered."

He cleared his throat, "Her bosom is quite full—at least a D-cup. She has an excellent figure."

Finally, he scanned the area thoroughly and found a strand of long hair on the ground.

"Long hair."

He toyed with the strand of hair, carefully feeling it, "Good texture."

Jing Ci was momentarily taken aback, "You can tell even that?"

Gu Jianlin maintained his composure and said, "As long as there are clues and characteristics, it becomes much easier—even for someone you've just encountered or never met before. However, when there are no clues, it becomes challenging."

Take the five individuals from the Ancient Tomb, for instance. Determining their specific personalities and backgrounds can only be done by analyzing their dialogue and needs.

As for physical traits—they've wrapped themselves up so thoroughly, even their voices are deliberately masked.

Situations like that are particularly frustrating.