The car came to a smooth stop in front of a two-story villa with its own courtyard.
This was Chen Yan's new home.
After getting out of the car, Du Qionghua held him in her arms, her face beaming with the joy of coming home.
Once inside, Du Qionghua carried him to a fully furnished nursery on the second floor.
The room was spacious and bright, with walls painted a warm beige.
A soft carpet covered the floor, and the crib, toys, and wardrobe were all in place.
Du Qionghua gently laid him in the crib, tucked in the blanket, and kissed him on the forehead.
"Be a good boy and go to sleep, baby. Mommy's right next door."
After Du Qionghua hummed a little tune as she left the room and gently closed the door, Chen Yan immediately opened his eyes.
He listened carefully, making sure his mother's footsteps had faded away.
Only then did he flip off the thin blanket and try a kip-up... and fail.
He wobbled into a sitting position.
After a month of growing, especially with the boost from his two achievements, his qi and blood and mental strength had far surpassed those of an ordinary baby. He could now just barely control his body.
He still couldn't crawl, but sitting up was no problem.
He sat cross-legged in the crib, took a deep breath, and assumed the starting posture for the Four National Health Exercises of the East Continent.
[The Four National Health Exercises of the East Continent, current progress: 300/1000]
Back at the hospital, to avoid revealing that anything was unusual, he'd had to let his mother carry him and do ten repetitions a day.
But now, he was in control!
Watch me grind out a hundred reps!
One, two, three...
He performed each movement meticulously. His motions were awkward and stiff at first, but grew smoother and smoother.
As he moved, the qi and blood inside him circulated faster. Traces of warmth coursed through his limbs and body before gathering in his dantian.
When he reached the eleventh repetition, the sensation of qi and blood rising from his dantian and circulating through his body abruptly vanished.
"Hm?" Chen Yan opened his eyes in confusion and instinctively moved his hands and feet.
He wasn't drained or tired. The strange sensation of energy flowing through him had simply disappeared.
"Could it be that these exercises... have a daily limit?" he wondered.
It seemed the Four National Health Exercises of the East Continent really weren't as simple as they appeared!
Perhaps they held a deeper purpose, far beyond ordinary exercise.
In that case...
He still had 700 proficiency points to go. It would take another seventy days to master these basic exercises and advance to the second sequence!
Chen Yan was filled with anticipation.
The intense workout had left him ravenous.
By mealtime, Chen Yan's stomach was growling.
He had an astonishing appetite, far beyond that of an ordinary baby.
Every day, besides his mother's breast milk, he also needed three large bags of special formula made with Beast Milk just to feel full.
This worried Du Qionghua.
That evening, Chen Kefa came home for once.
He had barely taken off his dusty coat when Du Qionghua, holding a bag of formula, hurried over to him, her face full of worry.
"Kefa, come take a look at Xiao Yan. He's been eating so much lately—look how much he eats in a day."
"I'm worried something might be wrong with him."
Chen Kefa took the formula and glanced at it. It was Big Milk Can, a pricey brand on the market for boosting young children's qi and blood.
After the spiritual energy revival, many ordinary livestock had mutated.
Big Milk Can was made by breeding a first-tier bovine fierce beast with a dairy cow. It was nutritious and tasted good, too!
He entered the nursery. Chen Yan was lying in his crib, sucking on his finger and pretending to sleep.
Chen Kefa bent down and examined him carefully.
Then he pressed a large, rough, warm hand against Chen Yan's belly and sent a trace of qi and blood through him.
After a while, he withdrew his hand, a strange expression on his face.
"Nothing seems wrong. It's just... his qi and blood are a little too vigorous."
Chen Kefa scratched his head, looking puzzled as well.
"He's rosy-cheeked and breathing steadily. He's healthier than any baby I've ever seen."
"Then why does he eat so much?" Du Qionghua still wasn't reassured.
"...Let's talk outside."
The couple left the nursery and went into the bedroom next door.
Chen Kefa fell silent for a moment, as though recalling something.
"Mm... when I attended Shangwu University, I took a class taught by Professor Wang Anguo, the old man who created the first, second, third, and fourth sets of National Health Exercises."
"He once proposed a theory: as the world's spiritual energy continued to recover, there was an extremely small chance that some human newborns would be born with 'special constitutions,' similar to those of powerful young fierce beasts."
"His exercises were said to awaken the hidden potential inside everyone. The outward manifestation of that potential was a 'special constitution.'"
Du Qionghua's breath caught. "What? What kind of special constitution? Is it good or bad?"
"Of course it's good!" A glint flashed in Chen Kefa's eyes.
"He said the young of some top-tier fierce beasts were born with physical strength comparable to that of martial artists below amateur sixth-dan."
"People with this kind of constitution can start formal martial arts training at six. They'll have a much higher starting point than ordinary people, progress faster, and achieve more in the future!"
Hearing this, Du Qionghua's face paled.
She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, her voice tinged with a plea.
"Honestly, I'd rather Xiao Yan didn't have any special constitution. I want him to be ordinary, just like me, and live a peaceful, steady life."
Her voice fell, carrying a hint of reproach.
"Becoming a martial artist means danger. Whenever you go on a mission and don't come home, I worry all night and can't sleep..."
Du Qionghua's words pricked Chen Kefa in the softest place in his heart.
Looking at his wife's reddened eyes, he was overcome with guilt and heartache.
As the captain of Jiang City's Special Investigation Team, he protected countless families, yet he had neglected his own.
But he held an important position, and there were too many things he had to do.
"Honey... I..."
He reached out and pulled his wife into his arms, all the words he wanted to say reduced to a sigh.
In the room next door, Chen Yan heard every word. Something seemed to gently strike his heart.
He'd always thought that, in this high-martial world, becoming strong was an obvious goal.
He'd never considered that, in Du Qionghua's eyes, strength meant danger, while an ordinary life meant happiness.
He listened to the conversation next door gradually quieting, followed by a few faint, indescribable sounds, and felt his little face turn red.
Looks like he'd have a little brother or sister soon?
His mother's words didn't shake his resolve. If anything, they made his desire to grow stronger even firmer.
Danger was everywhere. That was all the more reason to become strong enough to protect himself—and his family!
Simple. He'd just grind harder!
He didn't want to see his mother stay up all night worrying about his father, and he didn't want her to fear for his safety one day, either.
I have to get stronger as soon as possible!
With the system on his side, he had his biggest advantage!
Chen Yan's eyes shone brighter than ever.
He flipped over and sat up, his young, handsome face filled with a determination far beyond his years.
Now! Right now! Immediately!
Martial Dao God-Ascension System, give me all the points you've got!
Oh... right. He couldn't grind the exercises after all.
Before you continue