86: Chapter 86 Gender Differences

After finishing the explanation of the Basic Realm, Chen Mo paused for a moment, then continued.

"Next is the preparatory stage of the Rhythm Realm: Mental Perception."

He wrote two words on the light screen: Mental Power and patience.

"Currently, there are no shortcuts to increasing Mental Energy. However, there are some directions you can try."

The audience quieted down.

"First, endure tempering. At the peak moments of high-intensity training, when you feel your body has reached its limit, your consciousness begins to blur, and instinct tells you to stop, that is precisely the moment when your Mental Power is most active.

That is your Mental Power being forced to grow.

Do not run; feel it, adapt to it.

Every time you achieve a Breakthrough of your limits, your Mental Energy will have a tiny increase. This growth is slow, but it is also the most solid."

"Second, perceive nature. There is a certain Rhythm in the natural world; the formation of mountains, the winding of rivers, the alternation of day and night—these are not static backgrounds, but a slow expression of dynamic Rhythm.

Go watch the sea, watch the tides, watch the direction of the monsoon, and at the same time, broaden your horizons.

These might not directly increase your Mental Energy, but they will calm your mind.

Once your mind is calm, your perception of nature will improve."

"Third, read ancient texts."

Chen Mo's voice was steady, "Not those pretentious secret manuals, but true classics.

The words refined by predecessors using Mental Power in an era without Spiritual Qi contain Mental Energy itself.

When reading, do not just look at the literal meaning; try to feel the state of mind behind the words.

Especially those written in desperate situations—hardship, loneliness, unyieldingness, hope—these emotions contain the trajectory of Mental Power.

To what extent you can read into them depends on your own fortune."

Someone below whispered, "The trajectory of Mental Power," while their colleague beside them had already filled half a page in their notebook.

"Next is the perception of Rhythm." Chen Mo changed the subject, his tone becoming a bit more solid than before.

"What is Rhythm?

Rhythm is the vibration frequency naturally produced by your body at every moment. Your heartbeat is part of the Rhythm, your breathing is part of the Rhythm, and the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers also produce Rhythm.

When these Rhythms overlap and reach the same frequency, it is each person's unique life Rhythm."

He raised his hand, and a superimposed waveform appeared on the light screen, with multiple layers of sine waves stacked together, forming a complex curve that looked both orderly and chaotic.

"The way to find this Rhythm is through perception." He lowered his hand.

"Calm down.

Do not be too eager.

The vibrations inside your body have always been there; you just never noticed them before.

Your heart is always beating; you can feel its existence when you are quiet.

The same goes for breathing; you usually don't pay attention to the Rhythm of your own breathing, but once you calm down and turn your attention inward, it is right there."

A few people in the audience unconsciously began to adjust their breathing, inhaling deeper and exhaling slower.

Chen Mo did not interrupt them.

"Perception of Rhythm does not have high requirements for Mental Energy.

As long as your mind is calm, everyone can slowly perceive it."

"After finding the Rhythm, the next step is control." Chen Mo switched the light screen; next to the waveform, an outline of a human figure appeared, with the activation status of different areas marked inside.

"Controlling Rhythm is not about using Mental Power to memorize it. It is about muscle memory." He traced a line on the human figure with his finger, starting from the center of the body and extending outward to the limbs.

"You must let your muscles experience the Rhythm, feel the Rhythm, and memorize the Rhythm.

It is not memory at the Mental Power level; that is superficial and easily lost.

When your muscle fibers automatically contract and relax according to the frequency of the Rhythm with every breath, and when you no longer need to consciously 'think' to maintain this frequency, that is when it is truly engraved.

This is called muscle memory.

Before you master it, you will find it difficult because you always want to use Mental Power to control it.

But true control is letting the body learn to operate on its own."

He paused for a moment to give the audience time to digest.

"After stepping into the Rhythm Realm, your progress will begin to diverge." Chen Mo's tone became very flat, as if stating a fact that did not need emphasis.

"The content of the Rhythm Realm is constant adjustment.

Adjust the Rhythm of your breathing, adjust the changes in muscle tension, and feel their impact on the Rhythm.

Every micro-adjustment will change the efficiency of absorbing Spiritual Qi.

Find the optimal solution and expand the coverage of the Rhythm.

Starting from the torso, to the limbs, to the extremities—the larger the coverage, the faster the absorption speed."

"The span of the Rhythm Realm is very large.

When you first step in, your basic strength may only be one to two tons.

When you reach the limit of the Rhythm Realm, your basic strength can exceed 100 tons, or even more."

There was finally a slight commotion in the audience. 2 tons to 100 tons, a fifty-fold difference, within the same Realm.

"Whether you can go to the end depends on your level of understanding of your own body.

Everyone's Rhythm is unique, so no one can walk this part for you.

I can only tell you the direction; you must walk the path yourselves." He paused for a moment.

"As for the next Realm, the Source Power Realm." The whole room quieted down again.

"I said just now that the limit strength of the Rhythm Realm can exceed 100 tons.

But whether you can achieve a Breakthrough to the Source Power Realm does not depend on the magnitude of strength.

It depends on Mental Power." His voice was steady.

"Source Power is the Fusion of the body, Mental Power, and Spiritual Qi.

The Rhythm Realm connects the body and Spiritual Qi, but there is still a barrier between Mental Power and Spiritual Qi.

Breaking this barrier requires a Breakthrough in Mental Energy.

And the difficulty of this Breakthrough is hundreds or thousands of times that of the Rhythm Realm."

Someone below wrote "Mental Energy Breakthrough" in their notebook, then stopped, not knowing what else to write.

"But I will tell you the truth." Chen Mo's voice remained calm, "The wonders of Mental Power are something I have not fully explored even now.

I do not have a method for efficiently training Mental Power, nor do I have a replicable path for a Breakthrough.

Perhaps there will be some realization in the future—perhaps by me, perhaps by you.

But for now, you are still too far from the Source Power Realm.

First, be down-to-earth and master the body's Rhythm."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the audience.

"On this path, I am merely The Forerunner.

And each of you may become a successor."

After the lecture ended, Chen Mo closed the light screen and said, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

A young man in the audience raised his hand. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a well-proportioned figure and skin a shade darker than those around him, as if he had trained in the scorching sun for a long time.

Chen Mo nodded: "Go ahead."

He stood up, his voice slightly tense, but he tried to remain steady.

"Teacher Chen, my name is Zhang Hua, and I have a question I would like to ask you.

My power output has reached 1.6 times, but I have been unable to feel the Rhythm you mentioned.

Several comrades in our team whose power output just reached 1.5 times have already perceived it, and I am very anxious.

I want to know, did I do something wrong?"

Chen Mo looked at him and replied, "The more anxious you are to feel the Rhythm, the less likely it will appear."

Zhang Hua opened his mouth but didn't speak.

"Your power output has reached 1.6 times, which means your physical foundation is qualified." Chen Mo said, "But you have been 'looking' for the Rhythm without 'listening'.

The perception of Rhythm does not have high requirements for Mental Energy; as long as the mind is calm, everyone can perceive it.

Your current state is too eager; you want the result too much.

This eagerness will disrupt your breathing Rhythm and cause you to focus your attention on the expectation of the result, rather than the subtle changes happening inside your body."

Zhang Hua was silent for a while, then slowly nodded: "Thank you, Teacher Chen. I will... try to calm down and then feel it again." Zhang Hua sat down.

Chen Mo's gaze continued to sweep across the audience. A girl with short hair raised her hand. She looked younger than Zhang Hua, and her figure appeared petite among the group of soldiers around her, but her sitting posture was upright. Chen Mo nodded.

"Teacher Chen, my name is Wang Yue. I would like to ask—are females naturally slower to improve in training than males?"

The few female students in the audience became focused.

"This question should be answered starting from the laws of Spiritual Qi absorption." Chen Mo said, "The speed at which the human body absorbs Spiritual Qi is related to training intensity.

The higher the intensity, the faster the absorption.

And due to body structure, females are indeed restricted in terms of absolute training intensity." He paused for a moment.

"But that is not the whole answer." Wang Yue's gaze did not shift.

"The advantage of females lies in their attentiveness and the precision of their perception." Chen Mo said, "In the Rhythm perception stage, this fine ability to perceive is often more important than brute force."

The female officers in the audience looked at each other.

"So my advice to females is: do not compare absolute strength with males.

You might have a temporary lag in the early stages in the Basic Realm, but a temporary lag does not equal the final result.

Focus more on improving Mental Power and practicing 'calmness of mind'; this is your strength.

The Human Breathing Method is a long-distance run, not a short-distance sprint.

The further you go, the greater the proportion of Mental Power.

If anyone wants to achieve a Breakthrough to the Source Power Realm in the future, it will be a great test of Mental Power." He looked at her.

"And I believe that females will not be inferior to males at that stage."

Wang Yue's lips tightened for less than a second, then she nodded.

"Thank you, Teacher Chen.

I will train twice as hard. Since the improvement speed is slow, I will put in more effort."