"Are there any questions?"
They have many questions but perceived it was not relevant anyway. In the end, Eric gave them many chances to ask but since they did not ask anymore, he stood up.
He folded the Evolution Crystal-Powered Water Purifier blueprint and handed it to Samantha.
He said, "You can work with Leonel. Since he is a fisheries student, he surely has evolved and obtained the similar abilities with you, so he is able to sense the water contamination. I want you to be familiar with the blueprint for the next three days, so for the fourth day, you can work on it with fewer problems."
Samantha's eyes slightly widened and peeked at Leonel. Leonel was surprised, too, staring intently at the Emperor and noted his words on his mind. Since the Emperor already said so, of course, he has to meet his expectations.
Eric swept his gaze to them and tapped the table, saying, "Meeting adjourned."
He turned around and left…
…
A minute later, no one left the table except the Emperor himself. The last noise to echo was the Emperor's words, so it has been silent for a while now. Finally, Axel broke the silence with an enthusiastic tone.
"Did you all notice the muscle of the Emperor? I will tell you, it can not be achieved overnight! However, he said even his sleeping is optional, does that mean he exercises while barely taking any sleep?"
"Normally, it is impossible." Samantha shook her head. "However, since logic is turned upside down after the apocalypse, then it will be possible–for him, at least. If he is willing to work this hard for us, what's more to himself."
"In addition…" Jasper intervened with a lowered head. "He must have felt pressured after defeating the Bulwark Zombie. After all, he might have killed it easily as Axel described, I can not dare to imagine the heavy repercussions. Samantha and Zoe witnessed it themselves, how exhausted he was."
Zoe nodded. "Indeed. Jasper, do you notice the aura of the Emperor? I feel like he indeed has grown stronger… stronger than I could imagine."
Jasper nodded and smiled bitterly. "In fact, his aura before was only sharp and cold. But now? It's oppressive, suffocating, as though telling you not to look directly in his eyes, lest you offended him. I believed in my instinct, so I did not dare to offend him. Everyone knows what happened to Nicholas."
They gulped and nodded in response.
Zoe stood up and said, "We should not keep him waiting. If you all have a spare empty notebook, please give it to me."
They nodded and stood up simultaneously. However, they did not leave yet since Zoe has yet to reiterate their individual task.
"After we gather all the notebook and give it to him, we will have lunch. Michelle, please keep track of our resources. I will also be reminding everyone to please be considerate when consuming our food and water. Even if it would last us for days and our Emperor does not worry, at the very least, everyone should possess a conscience to always think of others' well-being."
They nodded solemnly. In fact, everyone was being considerate. Zoe was only reminding them, and perhaps, did the same to their future member.
Everyone dismissed and Zoe managed to gather all the empty notebooks in five minutes. She politely knocked on Eric's door and, once received his approval, she opened them and entered.
However, what she witnessed was breath-taking. The Emperor was sitting on his sofa, meditating. With opened windows, the sunlight gleamed through. His face was serene and his breathing… was as though he became one with the world.
He seemed not to be inhaling the oxygen, but it was the oxygen who was eager to be converted to carbon dioxide.
When the Emperor opened his eyes, Zoe held her breath. She felt like it was a soul-piercing gaze, peering through every fiber of her being. She felt naked, but, at the same time, not revolted at all.
It was such a strange feeling that caused her cheeks to feel hot.
Flustered, she almost stuttered, "I-I have the empty books. I will leave it on the table and leave."
Eric beamed a smile and nodded.
When Zoe turned around and hastily placed the empty notebooks on the table, he shook his head. I forgot that my breathing technique has reached the apex, even if I reincarnated to be a mortal again. The breathing technique of a Heavenly Sage could influence even the world. The fact she manages to sense its unusuality is really surprising. I guess they all have potential.
Eric tossed the unnecessary thoughts at the back of her mind as his eyes landed on the empty notebooks. There were seven of them. Zoe even placed a cup filled with ballpen and pencils just to be safe.
His lips curved upward and sat in front of the table. The first breathing technique he wrote–drawings and texts for clear instructions–was for Jasper. Jasper awakened the Metal Morph ability, and given by Jasper's qualities, Eric not only tailored a breathing technique perfect for him, he already named it.
He wrote on the front page, "Iron Heart Breathing."
Surprisingly, his writing style was eye-catching and pleasing, curving and elegant.
Eric already understood the shared benefits of the breathing technique and its unique effects tailored for the cultivator.
The shared benefits were increasing the energy absorption efficiency, optimizing evolution progression, enhancing bodily adaptation, and strengthening mind to body synchronization. Hence, breathing technique would be the core of their Empire.
The unique effects would be visualization, body adaptation, and breath control mechanics.
He continued to write, "Iron Heart Breathing technique requires meditation and thus visualization. The cultivator must visualize forging a metal. However, the metal must not be treated like illusory, but rather, accept it as a body, slowly being shaped through your breathing.
The energy controlled by breathing techniques suffice in changing some structures on the cultivator's body, causing the cultivator to experience excruciating pain.
However, that was only in the beginning, because slowly, your body will adapt.
By then, your reinforced body will increase the efficiency of your Metal Morph ability."
After all, another way to increase attribute points of a cultivator was breathing technique…