Literacy, Focused Observation!

Literacy, Focused Observation! Spring departed and autumn arrived, time slipping away like sand through fingers.

For a growing infant, the changes over a hundred days were nothing short of monumental.

The most intuitive manifestation was his appearance.

At a year and a half old, Chen Yan had long since shed his initial baby fat; his frame had lengthened, and his features had blossomed.

Though his face still retained the roundness of a child, the contours of his brow already hinted at a handsome profile, and his pair of dark eyes were spirited and sharp.

In his glances, there was even a touch of a little adult's heroic spirit; anyone who saw him couldn't help but praise, "What a bright and handsome child."

Reaching this stage, his mom and dad began using colorful flashcards, patiently teaching him to recognize characters.

"Xiao Yan, come, read after me."

"I, am, a, fool."

Chen Yan blinked his eyes: "You, fool."

"Hey, you little brat, how come you didn't fall for it?"

Du Qionghua: "Alright, alright, stop making trouble, go away."

After shooing Chen Kefa away, Du Qionghua pulled Chen Yan into her arms, teaching him character by character.

Chen Yan deliberately refrained from showing his full strength, instead insisting that Du Qionghua hold his tiny finger and guide him through each character several times.

Only then would he blink his large eyes, as if he had just committed them to memory, and accurately identify the characters.

This display of "clumsy" effort made Du Qionghua's heart bloom with joy, convinced that her son was both clever and adorable.

Suddenly.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for triggering a new skill--Literacy!]

[Diligent training can increase the progress of Literacy. Once progress reaches its maximum value, you may advance to the next sequence.]

[Sequence Advancement: Literacy → Photographic Memory → Wide Learning →...]

[Literacy]: Preliminary mastery of the ability to recognize and understand basic characters; reading efficiency is slightly increased.

[Photographic Memory]: Construct a memory palace in your mind; you can actively recall everything you have ever known!

[Wide Learning]: Your comprehension is significantly increased...

"Comprehension? That's a term I rarely see..."

"Is it possible that comprehension affects the speed of proficiency gains?"

After "mastering" this skill, Chen Yan felt the groundwork was sufficient.

He didn't want to keep playing the mute, babbling away; it was time to give his parents a heads-up.

Thus, after dinner one day, while Chen Kefa and Du Qionghua were chatting about the recent public security situation in Jiang City.

Chen Yan suddenly raised his head and, in a clear, childish voice, blurted out: "Daddy is a fool."

The couple froze instantly, turning their heads in unison to stare at their son in disbelief.

Chen Yan pointed at a spoon that Chen Kefa had accidentally knocked off the table, looking "disdainful": "Spoon fell."

A few seconds later, Du Qionghua was the first to react, letting out a shriek of surprise as she pulled Chen Yan into her embrace:

"My god! Husband, did you hear that! Xiao Yan can talk! And he can speak in sentences! My precious son is a genius!"

Chen Kefa also recovered from his shock, looking at his son's feigned innocent little face, feeling both amused and proud. He couldn't help but reach out and ruffle his hair: "Good lad! You actually called your old man a fool again!"

[Luck +2]

Chen Yan chuckled inwardly; it seemed the heads-up had been delivered.

It was also on this very night, as Chen Yan conducted his usual pre-sleep "cultivation," that the surging blood energy and vast mental power within his body finally broke through a certain limit simultaneously!

[Notification: Host's blood energy value has reached 10,000 points! Mental power has reached 10,000 points!]

[Detected that the Host has met the conditions to break through the second blood energy barrier (Amateur Tenth Grade). Do you wish to break through immediately?]

Chen Yan was stunned.

"The second blood energy barrier? Doesn't the amateur rank only go up to nine grades? And... I have to reach ten thousand points in both mental and blood energy to break through? What is this situation?"

He immediately sent his query to the system.

[The conventional martial arts system of this universe limits amateur martial artists to the ninth grade, with the highest recorded blood energy value being 9,999 points.]

[Breaking through ten thousand points of blood energy while simultaneously meeting the ten thousand points of mental power requirement is an unprecedented, special condition.]

[The specific impact after the breakthrough cannot be predicted.]

"Unprecedented? Even the system doesn't know what will happen?"

Chen Yan's heart surged with turbulent waves, but more than that, he felt the excitement of challenging the unknown.

"Who cares! Martial arts leads to divinity; the path I walk is one no predecessor has ever trod! Break through for me!"

He hesitated no longer, his will firm as he chose "Yes"!

[Ding! Breakthrough failed!]

[Host's cultivation level has not yet reached Amateur Ninth Grade. Please try again later!]

So the prerequisites haven't been met yet, then why did you even ask me!

Chen Yan glanced at his Qi Nurturing Foundation Art and let out a soft sigh.

I can only wait until the technique is perfected before attempting to break through this second blood-energy barrier!

In the days that followed, Chen Yan's life seemed to have pressed a button for a rhythmic and steady playback.

Every morning, he would wake up, finish the special nutritional paste provided by The Alliance, and then proceed to his unwavering time for Painting.

During the day, he would either tease the increasingly clingy Xiao Qingmeng...

Or he would carry a small stool to the edge of the training ground, appearing to be in a daze while actually intently observing the martial arts students practicing their fist techniques.

This life, which seemed monotonous and leisurely, gave Chen Yan a significant surprise when he least expected it!

On this day, he was observing two students sparring as usual.

One of them was performing the opening stance of the Du Family Yellow Fist; the movements were standard, and the circulation of blood-energy was quite smooth.

To others, every move and stance looked quite professional.

However, in Chen Yan's eyes, it was an entirely different scene.

When he focused his attention, he could clearly see that when the student transitioned between moves, there was an extremely faint stagnation in the blood-energy flow at the shoulder, and the center of gravity in the lower body shifted by a hair's breadth at the moment of exerting force.

There's a flaw!

These infinitesimal imperfections were invisibly magnified in Chen Yan's field of vision, as clear as ink spots on a sheet of white paper!

[Ding! Detected that the host has been engaged in Focused Observation of martial arts moves for an extended period!]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring a new skill--Focused Observation!]

[Train hard to increase the progress of Focused Observation. Once the progress reaches its maximum value, you can advance to the next sequence.]

[Advancement Sequence: Focused Observation → Eye of Void Insight → True Pupil of Myriad Phenomena → Eye of the Great Dao...]

[Focused Observation]: You can discover details easily overlooked by ordinary people and perfectly replicate patterns, runes, and terrain you have seen.

[Eye of Void Insight]: You can look directly at the weaknesses and falsehoods of things.

[True Pupil of Myriad Phenomena]: You can glimpse the true face of the world and its underlying rules.

[Eye of the Great Dao]: You can glimpse a corner of the river of fate and observe the general trajectory of an individual or event (will suffer a massive backlash).

Oh? Chen Yan's heart stirred; he hadn't expected his daily observations to yield such a harvest!

He immediately turned his gaze toward the other student.

Sure enough, under this newly awakened "Focused Observation," the weaknesses in the opponent's fist technique—such as improper exertion of force and unstable breath—were revealed one by one.

Interesting! This is practically like having a weakened version of the 'Sharingan' built-in!

Chen Yan felt a surge of excitement.

Although it is currently only at the most basic level, capable only of seeing through the flaws of those whose strength is far below mine or whose techniques are unrefined...

But as the skill improves in the future, I might truly reach the realm of 'breaking ten thousand techniques with a single glance'!

This unexpected discovery added a new sense of joy and anticipation to his mundane daily routine.

He began to observe with even greater focus, not only watching the students but also carefully studying the movement of techniques when his grandfather, Du Chun, occasionally demonstrated them.

He attempted to extract more nourishment from them to temper this nascent Focused Observation.

Perhaps, in these days that seemed so repetitive, the process of settling and accumulation was, in itself, a form of rapid, unseen growth.