In the blink of an eye, Chen Yan had spent a full hundred days in this world.
For him, this day marked a small milestone.
In the nursery, he sat cross-legged on the soft carpet, performing the National Health Exercises with meticulous care.
His movements had become fluid and effortless, carrying a strange rhythm.
The moment he finished the final movement of the last exercise, his little arms and legs slowly drew together.
A long-awaited, heavenly voice rang clearly in his mind.
[You have continued practicing the Four National Health Exercises of the East Continent. Proficiency +10. Current progress: 1000/1000!] [Proficiency has reached its maximum. Skill promotion begins...] [Congratulations! "The Four National Health Exercises of the East Continent" has successfully advanced to "Qi Nurturing Foundation Art (Beginner)"!] [Current progress: Qi Nurturing Foundation Art (Beginner) 0/10000.] [Congratulations, your cultivation has improved! Current cultivation: Amateur Rank One!]
His cultivation had improved at the same time as his art advanced?
Nice, nice!
A toothless grin of pure joy had just spread across Chen Yan's face. Before he could savor the new strength surging through his body...
Suddenly!
A pain so intense it felt like his soul was being torn apart erupted from every corner of his body!
It wasn't muscle soreness or the sensation of bones breaking. It was a tearing apart and reassembling that came from the very depths of life itself!
"Something... something's coming out..."
He was only a hundred-day-old baby. His body could endure only so much.
The horrifying pain lasted only an instant, but it was enough to completely overwhelm his willpower.
"Waaah—!"
A loud, piercing cry shattered the quiet of the room.
Then Chen Yan's vision went black, and he passed out completely.
"Baby, what's wrong?!"
The nursery door flew open almost as soon as his cry rang out.
Du Qionghua rushed in, but the sight before her struck her like a thunderbolt. She froze in place.
Chen Yan's tiny body was floating in midair, defying the laws of physics, curled into a ball.
Countless bright-red, mysterious patterns appeared on his skin, writhing and flowing like living things as they gave off an eerie glow.
The next second, brilliant rays of light poured from the patterns, wrapping around him layer by layer.
The light grew brighter and brighter, eventually gathering into a giant cocoon that glowed with a gentle golden light and hung motionless in the center of the room.
"Xiao Yan!"
Du Qionghua screamed. A chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and her back turned cold.
What was this?
Something strange? The supernatural? Or...
She was drenched in sweat. In a panic, she fumbled for her phone and shakily dialed Chen Kefa's number, yet she didn't dare go near the golden cocoon swirling with light.
But in Chen Yan's perception, the world looked entirely different.
He hadn't truly lost consciousness. Instead, his awareness floated in a warm sea.
The tearing pain had vanished, replaced by a comfort and lightness unlike anything he had felt before.
He felt as if his body had become crystalline and translucent, no longer made of flesh and blood, but pure energy.
Suddenly, an unbearable itch spread across his skin.
He instinctively raised his "hand" to scratch it.
That one scratch seemed to trigger a switch.
His entire "old skin" crumbled away like dried mud.
In its place came the exhilarating sensation of breaking free from a cocoon and being reborn!
In the room, Du Qionghua watched helplessly as the golden cocoon pulsed with light in time with Chen Yan's every unconscious breath. Its walls grew thinner and more transparent.
Meanwhile, in Chen Yan's perception, his body grew lighter and lighter as he drifted upward, higher and higher.
After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to touch an invisible membrane.
"Pop—"
A barely audible sound.
The world suddenly opened up before him!
On the baby bed, Chen Yan's tiny body shuddered and settled back onto the soft mattress.
He slowly woke. His long eyelashes fluttered twice before he opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was his mother's face, filled with terror, worry, and anxiety.
"Xiao Yan! Are you all right? You scared Mommy to death!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Du Qionghua rushed forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. Warm tears fell onto his face.
She examined her son from head to toe, her voice trembling as she checked him over and over, afraid he might have lost even a single hair.
Chen Yan nestled in his mother's warm, soft embrace, breathing in her familiar, comforting milky scent.
A clarity unlike anything he had ever known quietly welled up from deep inside him.
He could feel that the very level of his life had undergone some kind of leap.
He was no longer an ordinary baby.
Chen Yan focused his thoughts and quickly summoned the system panel to check what had changed.
[Host: Chen Yan] [Age: 100 days] [Cultivation: Amateur Rank One] [Qi and blood: 305/1000 (A baby of the same age has a qi and blood value of 1.5)] [Spirit: 103/1000 (A baby of the same age has a spirit value of 1.5)] [Charm: 85/100 (Exceptionally gifted)] [Fortune: 5 (Water never goes down the wrong way)] [Constitution: (Formed. Extract now?)] [Skills: Qi Nurturing Foundation Art (Beginner) (0/10000)] [Achievements: Self-Disciplined Baby Boy (Green), Vigorous as a Dragon and Tiger (Green)] [Achievement Task One]: Eat at least three meals every day. After one year, unlock achievement [Self-Disciplined Baby Boy (Blue) 100/365], qi and blood +50 daily... [Achievement Task Two]: Practice basic cultivation arts. After one year, unlock achievement [Vigorous as a Dragon and Tiger (Blue) 100/365], qi and blood +20, spirit +20 daily...
!!!
A huge improvement!
Chen Yan's heart began to pound.
At some point, he had completed his achievement tasks, and both of his white achievements had advanced to green!
Their daily bonuses had jumped from qi and blood +3 and spirit +1 to qi and blood +5 and spirit +2!
And the transformation he had just undergone had sent his qi and blood and spirit soaring by a huge amount!
More importantly...
His constitution had finally formed!
"Extract!"
Chen Yan shouted in his mind without the slightest hesitation.
[Extracting constitution...] [Congratulations, host. You have obtained the "Unique" constitution—the Innate Dao Body!] [Innate Dao Body: Born close to the Dao, you can master all techniques.]
Reading the description, which sounded so unbelievably powerful, Chen Yan's little mouth formed an "O."
Given the astonishing effects of perfecting the National Health Exercises, along with the strict ban on practicing martial arts before the age of six...
It wasn't hard to deduce that these exercises were far more than a simple way to strengthen the body. They likely held the key to helping latent constitutions take shape!
Ordinary children who practiced diligently could strengthen their foundations and build up their qi and blood...
Those born with special roots and constitutions, meanwhile, could gradually complete their constitutions and awaken their potential through daily practice...
Then, when they turned six and took part in the nationwide assessment, their talents would be revealed for all to see, and they would astonish the world!
And his Martial Dao God-Ascension System had only sped up the process...
It had not only helped his constitution take shape early, but had automatically advanced the exercises into the higher-level Qi Nurturing Foundation Art!
In high spirits, Chen Yan wriggled free of his mother's arms and crawled over to his baby bed.
Tell me...
Whose infancy could possibly be more fulfilling than mine?
Everything I, Chen Yan, had achieved today was thanks to self-discipline!
Before you continue