Chapter 32: The Cry of the Crane

Since materials could be possessed in multiples, Zhou Yan inevitably found himself envisioning a future where he might achieve “multiple fusions.” Yet he maintained some measure of self-restraint, quickly calming his thoughts before picking up his clothes and leaving the small room.

After all, before entering the Calamity Realm, he had just finished a round of intense training, his body still weary and sore. Moreover, he was drenched in sweat and in urgent need of cleansing.

Stepping outside, his gaze immediately fell upon Luo Xuan, still practicing martial arts in the training hall.

She was currently standing gracefully on one leg.

As Zhou Yan exited, the girl sensed his presence; her previously half-closed eyes gently opened, glanced at him, and then softly closed again.

Luo Xuan held her pose for a moment, then began to shift her stance, assuming movements Zhou Yan recognized well.

It was one of the two stances of the Southern Bright Sword—Crane Dance.

Unlike the static Owl Stand, Crane Dance was a dynamic posture, simulating the unique movements of cranes.

According to Luo Xuan, practicing Owl Stand strengthened one’s foundation and enabled swift, forceful attacks, while Crane Dance improved flexibility and balance, allowing smoother and more graceful transitions when executing Southern Bright Sword techniques.

The stance itself was elegant and flowing, but in Luo Xuan’s hands—the cool, exquisite beauty—it seemed less a martial exercise and more a dance.

How beautiful…

Zhou Yan’s heart stirred, and he could not help but pause to watch.

Luo Xuan danced alone like a true celestial crane.

Despite wearing weights exceeding a hundred kilograms, she remained light and nimble.

After ten minutes, she completed the sequence and arrived at the final still pose.

Her arms crossed behind her back, moving in a subtle rhythm.

Her legs were taut, emphasizing their long, shapely form.

Her chest was lifted, head held high, neck slender and fair.

She seemed altogether like an elegant, ethereal crane.

Just as Zhou Yan thought she would conclude, Luo Xuan maintained her posture, her chest and abdomen rising and falling rapidly in a certain rhythm, the swift airflow passing her vocal cords producing high-frequency vibrations.

Her rose-colored lips parted, and clear, rhythmic calls echoed through the training hall.

The clarity of those calls brought a familiar idiom to Zhou Yan’s mind—“the wind whispers and cranes cry.”

Could this be the legendary Crane Cry Breathing Technique?

Zhou Yan instinctively yearned to understand this breathing method he had long admired.

Yet, relying solely on his own intuition, he could not discern the hidden subtleties of Luo Xuan’s breathing.

Unable to resist, he activated his spiritual burning.

In an instant, he entered a state of absolute focus and clarity, all distracting thoughts falling away.

His attention fixed entirely on Luo Xuan.

The amplitude, frequency, and force of her chest and abdomen’s movement…

The extent of her neck’s extension, the angle of her face’s lift…

The speed at which the skin over her vocal cords vibrated…

The bodily movements accompanying the breathing, reminiscent of Crane Dance’s final pose, yet with subtle differences…

The rhythm and volume of the clear crane-like calls…

Unconsciously, Zhou Yan set aside his clothes and began to imitate Luo Xuan’s posture.

In this state, his learning ability was extraordinary, and he soon perfectly replicated her external movements.

Naturally, he began to mimic her breathing.

By deliberately expanding and contracting his chest and abdomen, he altered the normal respiratory exchange into another mode.

Then came constant adjustments.

Modifying his movements, his breath, the minute details…

Luo Xuan, absorbed in her practice, opened her eyes slightly and glanced at Zhou Yan, who was earnestly copying her.

Her expression remained calm as she silently closed her eyes once more.

A student practicing in the presence of the sword hall’s master was nothing out of the ordinary.

As for whether it would lead to the “breathing technique” being leaked—

A core secret technique that could be learned by mere observation and imitation wouldn’t be worthy of the name.

Conversely, if someone could master a “secret technique” purely by watching, it would prove their peerless talent. Faced with such genius, any teacher would only welcome it, never reject their learning.

Thinking thus, Luo Xuan returned to her focused cultivation of the breathing method.

A long time passed…

“Chirp… chirp…”

The prodigious girl practicing suddenly opened her eyes wide.

She turned in surprise to look at Zhou Yan, standing in the corner of the training hall.

At that moment, Zhou Yan was holding a posture almost identical to hers, standing like a celestial crane calling to the heavens.

His chest and abdomen contracted and expanded in a peculiar manner, his body moving in subtle, rhythmic motions.

Air exchanged rapidly with his body in this special breathing pattern.

As it swept past his vocal cords, it naturally produced a wondrous vibration.

From his mouth came sounds like the calls of small birds.

Upon confirming Zhou Yan’s state, the girl’s gaze grew even more astonished.

This—is it…the Chirping Bird Stage?

She repeatedly checked Zhou Yan’s breathing and posture in disbelief.

Finally, she had to admit that although the chirping sounds he produced were faint and soft, Zhou Yan had truly reached the threshold of the breathing technique!

The so-called Crane Cry Breathing Technique was not something that could immediately produce crane-like cries through mere practice.

It comprised several stages.

At the entry level, the practitioner’s breath was not yet refined, and their body unable to withstand the intense resonance, so the sound produced was the “chirp, chirp” of small birds.

At the standard stage, as the practitioner’s control improved and their body, tempered by the method, could handle stronger vibrations, the sound became a chorus—“hundred birds singing.”

Only at the proficient and masterful levels could one, like Luo Xuan, produce the clear, penetrating sound of a crane’s cry.

As for the higher-level secret arts, only those recognized as “core elites” by Vermilion Bird Palace could apply to learn them from the sword hall’s superior institution, the Fire Pavilion.

Even the sword hall’s masters had to be among the very best to study them.

Though Luo Xuan, thanks to her father, understood these advanced techniques, her body was not yet strong enough to use them in daily practice…

Those matters were best set aside for now.

Luo Xuan refocused her attention on Zhou Yan.

His talent was astonishing—merely by observing and imitating, he had grasped some of the breathing method’s mysteries.

If she truly taught him the secrets of the breathing technique…how quickly could he master them?

Such a prodigy—should she report him to the Fire Pavilion of Wing City, which governed her sword hall?

Luo Xuan’s gaze flickered, and she could not help but recall her father’s fate.

For a moment, she fell silent.

***