Mr. Ruan Zhishen was completely focused, observing the new progress Ah Kun and Mouse Treasure had made with their Breathing Techniques.

Compared to a few days ago, the Divine Charm the two Pet Beasts displayed was utterly unique. The only one who could compete was the prodigy from Forest Valley High School.

On this day, Gu Ming and the others were making the final modifications to the Cultivation Technique, doing their best to optimize the Breathing Technique’s energy conversion efficiency.

「The fifth day arrived.」

The previous night, Lu You had kept watch while Gu Ming took a short rest. In his dream, he had the two Pet Beasts practice their Breathing Techniques for a full seven days.

The previously Uninitiated Breathing Technique finally reached the Entry Level thanks to the practice last night.

In the real world, this manifested as a flash of insight—a sudden epiphany that brought about immense progress.

In the dream, Ah Kun had used a Memorization Array to commit the "underwater suffocation" Divine Charm to memory, practicing until it became second nature.

When it breathed, the Spiritual Qi flowing past it would ripple like water, with one wave following the next.

If it ramped up its power and operated at full capacity, it could rapidly draw all the Spiritual Qi within a ten-meter radius toward itself.

In about three seconds, it could drain all the Spiritual Qi from a ten-meter radius, plunging the area into a pseudo-vacuum devoid of Spiritual Qi.

Once the Breathing Technique reached this level of proficiency, Gu Ming was certain it was complete. It was now polished enough to be written into a thesis, connect with the Celestial Dao, and earn the recognition of the Hall of the Great Dao.

However, Gu Ming held back, not quite ready to call it completely finished.

The reason was simple: Ah Kun’s Breathing Technique still lacked the ability to absorb Fire Spiritual Qi, a final feature the system required.

The system rated Ah Kun’s Breathing Technique extremely highly, considering it ninety-nine percent complete.

That final one percent required the ability to absorb Fire Spiritual Qi for warmth; otherwise, it would be impossible to traverse the Ice and Snow Mountain Forbidden Area safely.

At first, Gu Ming hadn’t paid much mind to adding this feature.

’It seemed optional, something I could take or leave.’

But this was already the fifth day of the competition.

’Never mind the Array-Breaking. My progress on the system’s Cultivation Technique task has ground to a halt, and I’m stuck here in the real world, too. This won’t do.’

’I have to at least solve the Cultivation Technique problem and secure those guaranteed points.’

As Gu Ming mulled it over, he decided to follow the system’s guidance and said:

"Let’s head back down to that sweltering, steamy layer. We’ll modify the Breathing Technique slightly to incorporate Fire Spiritual Qi into the cycle."

Lu You, standing nearby, was filled with doubt.

Previously, whenever Gu Ming made a decision, she never questioned it. She would simply follow him, no questions asked.

But now, Ah Kun had already had an epiphany with its Breathing Technique. Its Divine Charm had reached Great Success. Just watching it breathe was enough to make one feel an oppressive, suffocating sensation.

’A technique with such a perfect rhythm... does it really need to be changed?’

’Are we sure this change won’t ruin it?’

Based on Lu You’s knowledge of Cultivation Techniques, Gu Ming’s plan made no sense. She simply couldn’t understand his reasoning.

She couldn’t help but voice her confusion in a small voice.

"Does my Pet Beast also need to absorb Fire Spiritual Qi?"

When Gu Ming nodded, she added cautiously:

"Mouse Treasure is an Earth Element Pet Beast. It has no use for Fire Spiritual Qi."

But Gu Ming had his own plan. "I have an idea I want to test out," he said.

"I’ll have Ah Kun try the modification first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just drop it."

Gu Ming’s explanation sounded weak. To her, it just sounded like he was messing around for no good reason.

If it had been Jiang Jinling from Forest Valley, she would have refused without a moment’s hesitation.

But Lu You merely frowned. Deep down, she still trusted Gu Ming. Even if he was being reckless, she would let him be.

Mouse Treasure burst from the ground, taking deep breaths. The soil beneath its paws churned like quicksand, pulling it forward.

At first glance, it didn’t look like much. But Gu Ming’s Divine Sense was focused on Mouse Treasure, allowing him to perceive that its Breathing Technique had now improved to a self-sustaining, self-circulating state.

As it emerged from the earth, its internal Spiritual Qi, Mana, and the energy consumed from exertion were all in perfect balance, moving like a swimming dragon.

If it looked any different, one might truly mistake it for an Earth Dragon hatchling emerging from the ground.

The most important part was the energy cost of its Earth Escape Technique.

With the new Breathing Technique in effect, the energy cost of the Earth Escape Technique was significantly reduced.

At the Two-star Realm, Mouse Treasure could use Earth Escape underground for eight to nine minutes.

After switching to the new Breathing Technique, the cost of Earth Escape was reduced by thirty percent. It could now likely last for up to twelve minutes.

And keep in mind, it had just learned this Breathing Technique—it was still Uninitiated!

Once it reached Entry Level, the cost of its Earth Escape Technique would only continue to decrease.

Perhaps in the future, it could even use Earth Escape constantly.

This was something Cyan Treasure couldn’t do at its current stage. While it could also use Earth Escape, it had to rely on converting Life Energy, an extremely costly process. It couldn’t perform the technique as easily or as naturally as Mouse Treasure.

Onlookers could immediately sense the Earth-Swimming Dragon Divine Charm naturally emanating from Mouse Treasure, which completely transformed its presence.

Outsiders had no idea where the Divine Charms of these two Breathing Techniques originated, as no such unique charms existed on this mountain.

Anyone discerning enough to compare them would sense the uniqueness of these two Divine Charms, far surpassing even those of Jiang Jinling from Forest Valley High School. However, few students possessed such insight, so most just chalked it up to Gu Ming’s usual impressive performance.

He was, after all, the creator of the Green Treasure Breathing Technique. It was only natural for him to be capable of such innovative improvements.

Jiang Jinling overheard her teammates’ hushed discussion and turned her head to look in the direction Gu Ming had gone.

She saw Gu Ming and his companion heading down the mountain.

The students below parted to let them pass, clearing a path down the mountain.

The empty space they left was quickly filled by other students, keeping the area at the four-hundred-meter mark on the mountainside constantly occupied.

This made Jiang Jinling wonder. ’Did Gu Ming discover something? Is the Array-Breaking Method at the foot of the mountain?’

Her teammate, a girl named Lou Meng, asked quietly, "Should I go follow them?"

"We’ve all been stuck on this mountainside for five days now," she continued. "Anyone would be getting desperate."

In terms of Cultivation Techniques, the students from Forest Valley were far ahead of everyone—everyone except Gu Ming. Jiang Jinling herself was even leading the effort to compose a thesis on their technique.