Chapter 013: Hand It Over, [Perfect Little Cub]!

With a clear goal in mind, Xu Ran was full of drive, his "self-discipline" running like a machine. Of course, he wasn't just charging ahead blindly; he was focused.

Among his ten magical skills, the Gecko Wall-Climbing Technique could wait; it had already reached the minor achievement stage and was sufficient for now. As for the Lightness Skill "Grass-Skipping" and the "Lost Trace" Footwork... he prioritized the latter. After all, for a child of 507 days, evasion was more critical. The "Little Xu Flying Dagger" and "Paper-Cutting Spirit Summoning"—his two super-lethal skills—had to be practiced diligently every day! The rest—"Reading Ten Thousand Volumes," "Animal Feeding," "High Jumping," "Attentive Observation," and "Infant Intimidation"—were all in the first tier and required extra effort to grind to the second tier.

Self-discipline! Self-discipline! I love self-discipline! Xu Ran wished he could stay indoors every day, grinding to become the "Ten-Mile Slope Sword God" of the Xia Kingdom. Unfortunately, his mother wouldn't allow it. Other children wouldn't play with him, and he rarely spoke, leaving his mother worried that he was becoming autistic. Thus, during the day, she would take him out to play with Tiger Girl.

It must be said, Xu Ran and Tiger Girl were truly a pair of oddities. Tiger Girl possessed unnatural strength, often leaving other children rolling on the ground in tears. Which mother would dare let their child play with her? Consequently, Tiger Girl had no friends. As for Xu Ran, he would repeatedly scare other children to grind his "Infant Intimidation" progress, so other mothers forbade their children from playing with him either. Consequently, Xu Ran also became a child with no playmates.

Fortunately, when the two oddities were together, they were surprisingly harmonious. Xu Ran could spar with Tiger Girl, and Tiger Girl could withstand Xu Ran's intimidation—faced with his sudden scares, she would often react slowly, shake her little head, and immediately burst into laughter. In one sentence: she was a little startled, but not much, and would forget it in a heartbeat.

From then on, Xu Ran treated Tiger Girl as a tool. He used her to grind both his "Infant Intimidation" and "Attentive Observation" progress. After countless observations, he noticed that the center of Tiger Girl's chest had brightened twice—from the initial gold to a faint reddish-gold, suggesting the quality was improving...

"Could it be that Tiger Girl possesses a perfect reddish-gold constitution?" Xu Ran’s expression turned somber. Being suppressed by Tiger Girl was absolutely unacceptable! He shivered, his resolve becoming incredibly firm. "I must not only obtain the golden achievement 'Ten-Perfect Toddler,' but also boost my good fortune to over 300 to draw a reddish-gold constitution. In short, I want perfection!"

Self-discipline! Self-discipline! I love self-discipline! Muttering to himself, Xu Ran embarked on a life of day-and-night self-discipline.

In the blink of an eye, 100 days passed. It was the 607th day of Xu Ran’s life! A series of notifications rang in his mind.

【Current High Jumping progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Ladder Cloud Ascendance (Entry level)...】
【Ladder Cloud Ascendance (Entry): 0/10,000...】
...
【Current Attentive Observation progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Piercing Flaws (Entry level)...】
【Piercing Flaws (Entry): 0/10,000...】
...
【Current Lost Trace Footwork (Entry) progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Lost Trace Footwork (Minor Achievement)...】
【Current Little Xu Flying Dagger (Entry) progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Little Xu Flying Dagger (Minor Achievement)...】
【Current Paper-Cutting Spirit Summoning (Entry): 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Paper-Cutting Spirit Summoning (Minor Achievement)...】
【Current Gecko Wall-Climbing Technique (Minor Achievement): 250/10,000...】
【Current Reading Ten Thousand Volumes progress: 20/10,000...】
【Current Animal Feeding progress: 50/10,000...】
【Current Infant Intimidation progress: 2,000/10,000...】
【Current Qi-Blood Value: 509/1,000...】

One hundred days. Xu Ran’s strength had undergone a sea change. Not only had his Qi-Blood increased by a full 100 points, but two magical skills had advanced to the second tier: the movement skill "Ladder Cloud Ascendance" and the combat technique "Piercing Flaws." Meanwhile, his footwork, flying daggers, and spirit summoning had reached the minor achievement stage, increasing his lethality tenfold.

The improvement was substantial. Xu Ran smiled contentedly. He estimated that by the age of two years and nine months, he could complete the second baptism and significantly raise his life limit! By then, the sky would be vast and the sea broad, revealing a whole new vista!

"It was worth it... all that self-discipline from the very first day!"

How terrifying is a life of self-discipline?
Birth day 1: Self-discipline.
Birth day 30: Self-discipline.
Birth day 100: Self-discipline.
Birth day 600: Still self-discipline.

Looking back on the 607 days since birth, every day had been so fulfilling! The rewards were naturally rich and solid! The only drawback was that the progress for "Reading Ten Thousand Volumes" was just too hard to push. "Animal Feeding" required huge sums of money, and he couldn't bear to waste his mother's funds. As for "Infant Intimidation," it was extremely difficult; Xu Ran hadn't grasped the pattern at all.

"I need to trigger three new skills that are easier to grind. I must hurry to secure the golden achievement 'Ten-Perfect Toddler'." Xu Ran shook his head and decided to tackle the easy mode.

That day, while bathing in a tub, a flash of inspiration hit him. He submerged his head and held his breath for a full twenty seconds.

"Oh my, what are you doing?" His mother hurriedly pulled him up. At that moment, a notification rang in his mind.

【You held your breath underwater, triggering a new skill—Underwater Breath-Holding. Practice hard to increase progress; once filled, it can advance to the second tier... (Advancement sequence: Underwater Breath-Holding—Water-Avoidance Mantra—Water God's Blessing—Unknown...)】
【Current Underwater Breath-Holding progress: 0/10,000 points...】
【Water-Avoidance Mantra】: After chanting, you can swim freely underwater, but can only exert half your combat power.
【Water God's Blessing】: You can move freely underwater without chanting, and your combat power is fully utilized.

Seeing the advancement information, Xu Ran smiled brilliantly. "I am truly a genius! I've discovered another new skill. This one will be so easy to grind to the second tier!"

He was extremely satisfied. After his bath, he paced back and forth in the living room, deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he began jumping about, imitating the sounds of cats, dogs, mice, and tigers...

【You imitated animal sounds, triggering a new skill—Sound Mimicry. Practice hard to increase progress; once filled, it can advance to the second tier (Advancement sequence: Sound Mimicry—Beast Language Proficiency—Pressure Simulation—Unknown...)】
【Beast Language Proficiency】: You can understand the language of beasts.
【Pressure Simulation】: You can simulate the aura of monsters and alien creatures. At the completion level, it is so realistic it becomes indistinguishable from the truth!

"Yes! That’s the second easy skill to grind to the second tier. Only one more to go for 'Ten-Perfect Toddler'!" Xu Ran pondered again. Suddenly, he saw a dart. "Could I try this?"

As he spoke, he picked up the dart, made a shallow cut on his arm, and used all his mental focus to imagine he was mobilizing his terrifying 509 points of Qi-Blood to heal it rapidly. Whether it was a hallucination or not, or perhaps his Qi-Blood was simply sufficient, the wound actually healed in just five or six minutes! It crusted over and fell off. Simultaneously, a notification rang in his mind.

【Under your mental control, your wound healed itself, triggering a new skill—Minor Wound Healing. Practice hard to increase progress. (Advancement sequence: Minor Wound Healing—Rapid Recovery—Limb Regeneration—Rebirth from a Drop of Blood—Unknown...)】

"Hiss—I accidentally developed a super recovery skill! Great! I really am a genius!!!!" Xu Ran was exhilarated. This recovery skill was perfect! And all three new skills were of the type that were easy to grind!

"It seems the second golden achievement, 'Ten-Perfect Toddler,' will soon be mine!" Xu Ran was ecstatic.

"Clatter—clatter—clatter—" His mother walked into the living room with food and turned on the TV to listen to the news. She glanced at Xu Ran strangely. "Baby, what are you so happy about?"

Xu Ran looked up, happily imitating the sounds of cats, dogs, and tigers. His mother laughed heartily. "Oh, you imitate them quite well! Why don't you teach little Liuli tomorrow?"

Xu Ran: "..."

Ignoring his mother, he buried himself in his practice. "Woof woof woof!" "Meow meow meow!" "Roar roar roar!"

【You practiced dog, tiger, and cat sounds, Sound Mimicry progress +100... Current progress: 100/10,000...】

After the mimicry, he found a basin, filled it with water, and buried his face to hold his breath. His mother pulled him up several times. "Baby, do you think this is fun?" Xu Ran stubbornly went back, filled the basin, and buried his face again.

"Xu Ran, don't you dare get soaked. If you catch a cold, I'll definitely ensure you have a 'complete' childhood," his mother scolded. Xu Ran remained unmoved.

【You practiced underwater breath-holding, progress +100... Current progress: 100/10,000...】

Imitating sounds and holding his breath could be done openly, but "Minor Wound Healing" couldn't. If his mother saw, the consequences would be unthinkable. Xu Ran hid in a secluded corner, secretly cutting himself, then slowly imagining it healing. Cutting himself a hundred times a day, the pain left him pale and sweating, but he finally finished the day's progress.

【You repeatedly triggered the healing effect, Minor Wound Healing progress +100... Current progress: 100/10,000...】

"Hiss—damn! This healing grind is too painful. Cutting the wound over and over makes me sweat and my back go cold. Thankfully, there are no scars. It seems my recovery power is very strong. I’ll grit my teeth and grind hard! The Rapid Recovery skill is too useful."

To become strong, to gain the golden achievement, Xu Ran could endure any hardship! A mere hundred cuts, what did that matter? Go!

In his mad self-discipline, time flew by. Another hundred days passed in a flash. Now, Xu Ran was 707 days old. It wasn't a special milestone, so he stayed buried in his training. By 10:00 PM, harvest time had arrived! The notifications in his mind rang one after another.

【You practiced animal sounds, progress +100... Current progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Beast Language Proficiency (Entry)...】
【You practiced underwater breath-holding, progress +100... Current progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Water-Avoidance Mantra (Entry)...】
【You triggered healing, progress +100... Current progress: 10,000/10,000... Reached maximum value, automatically advanced to—Rapid Recovery (Entry)...】

【Congratulations: You have developed thirteen magical skills and advanced ten of them to the second tier, obtaining the golden achievement—Ten-Perfect Toddler!】
【Ten-Perfect Toddler (Golden Achievement): Randomly draw one constitution; Good Fortune +30; (Note: The higher the Good Fortune, the higher the probability of drawing a golden constitution. Current golden constitution draw probability: 10%; with Good Fortune over 300, there is a chance to draw a reddish-gold constitution.)】

"Spanning 411 days, I finally ground out the second golden achievement! It wasn't easy!"

Watching the golden light fill his vision, Xu Ran couldn't suppress his smile. A current of pleasure surged to his cerebral cortex, making him laugh with delight. "So comfortable! I love the sense of accomplishment after such insane self-discipline."

Thinking back on 400 days and nights of hard work, how could he not be happy?

"The only regret is that my Good Fortune is only 53... although that's quite high, it's still a distance from a reddish-gold constitution." Xu Ran shook his head, smiling. "I must find a way to increase my Good Fortune to over 300. Only a reddish-gold, perfect constitution can match my status and standing."

Xu Ran’s eyes narrowed. To have the system and not pursue perfection and the absolute peak? That would be a failure. His bright eyes flashed with ambition and arrogance. His plan was clear and his vision long-term—except for the reddish-gold constitution, he wouldn't accept any other quality.

Five words: Pursue perfection only!!

"However, the difficulty of increasing Good Fortune is quite high. The first golden achievement, 'Heavenly Bearing,' only added 120 points of Good Fortune up to age twenty. The second achievement, 'Ten-Perfect Toddler,' only adds 30..."