Chapter 24: A Stunning Trial! The Third Innate Baptism!

[Page 1/3]
【You have consumed high-energy food, Blood and Qi +4 points, current Blood and Qi 2011/10000...】
"Good stuff, it worked! It worked!"
"I did it!"
"It was worth these two hundred days of sweating every day, digesting four whole seventh-order crystal beast bones!"
Xu Ran’s heart was filled with wild joy.
Two hundred days of absolute, fanatical self-discipline—for an ordinary person, this would be impossible to sustain.
He had to digest four crystal beast bones every single day! Hard, jagged bones grinding away in his soft stomach—could an ordinary person endure that?
In the beginning, his stomach only possessed [Ordinary Digestion]. Swallowing a crystal beast bone and forcing it to digest... it was nothing short of torture!
His stomach was constantly under heavy load, like a pearl mussel stuffed with sand.
Every so often, he would be drenched in sweat; every single day, his stomach would threaten to go on strike, trying to vomit the bones back up.
It was Xu Ran’s sheer willpower, mobilizing every ounce of his attention and mental focus, that forced his stomach to remain "self-disciplined."
After 100 days of this, he gained [Nutrient Extraction] at the introductory level...
But even with the introductory level of [Nutrient Extraction], digesting four crystal beast bones a day was no easy task.
Discomfort!
Pain!
The urge to give up!
Yet, for the sake of the golden achievement, Xu Ran gritted his teeth, suppressing the pain with willpower, digesting those bones day after day.
It is no exaggeration to say that his dedication was arduous!
If he couldn't double his gains, Xu Ran would surely lose his mind.
Fortunately, his magnificent stomach did not let him down!
It lived up to his sweat!
Advancing from introductory to minor success, it doubled the efficiency, just as he had wished!
This felt incredible!
"Four points per meal, twelve points for three meals, plus the one point from my 'Self-Discipline Baby' trait, that’s thirteen points total."
"There are 608 days left until the deadline, allowing for a total increase of 7904 points of Blood and Qi. Adding the existing 2011 points, that makes 9915 points."
"Although it still looks a bit short, in 100 days, I’ll be able to grind [Nutrient Extraction] to major success!"
By then, the Blood and Qi gains from a meal of rhinoceros beef will see another increase.
"All the effort has received its due reward..."
Xu Ran let out a long breath. His handsome face was filled with joy, and he couldn't help but hum a little tune.
The harvest after suffering is always so refreshing and soul-soothing!
Seeing this, his mother asked in surprise, "Son, I’ve noticed that every so often, you get so happy. What are you giggling about?"
She gave him a playful flick on the forehead.
Xu Ran kept his radiant smile: "I just remembered something happy."
"Mom, remember to help me get a large plate of bones..."
His mother squinted at him: "I know, you have to feed the animals every day! I don't know what kind of habit this is. You've been feeding them for almost a year now, right?"
Xu Ran corrected her: "No, it's been a little over seven months. To be precise, 216 days."
"Oh? You even remember the exact number of days? Worthy of being a genius at the Demigod Kindergarten. Amazing! You really are mommy’s little pride."
His mother was slightly surprised.
Her precious son was indeed remarkable; at only three years and four months old, he was already 1.4 meters tall.
And this was even with his growth slowing down before reaching the proper age...
Although the geniuses at the Demigod Kindergarten grew like bamboo shoots after rain, far surpassing their peers.
But thinking back to three years and four months ago, when her baby was only 4 kilograms and 51 centimeters long—so small, wrinkled, and not even as big as a carp from the market—she couldn't help but sigh.
Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, her son had almost grown to her chest.
His mother was filled with emotion: "In just three years, I can't carry you anymore. I wonder how much longer I can be with you. You're such a genius; perhaps after a while, you’ll have to go to other provinces and cities to train and study."
"In a few more years, maybe you'll be handling disasters, and a few years after that, you might be at space-time nodes or on the interstellar battlefield... leaving Mom all alone... sigh!"
Xu Ran turned to look at his mother: "Don't worry, I'll come back to see you often, Mom."
His mother wiped her slightly wet eyes: "Yes... anyway, hurry up and feed the animals today. At 8:40 AM, we need to be at Director Qin’s research center to test your Blood and Qi values and other cultivation metrics."
Xu Ran’s eyes narrowed slightly.
That's right, without realizing it, he had been at the Demigod Kindergarten for 200 days.
What value should he show this time?
He certainly couldn't reveal all 2011 points of Blood and Qi.
That would be too shocking!
Once exposed, the super-powerhouses of the three alien stars might unite to kill him at all costs!
"There's no need to do something that stupid. A little weaker than Adam will do."
"Adam's Blood and Qi at four years old was 546 points... I’m three years and four months old, so 400 points will place me among the top-tier geniuses without being so eye-catching that it invites a death warrant."
Xu Ran had a perfect plan.
Against the backdrop of the desperate invasion by the three alien stars, he would absolutely not stick his neck out!
Exposing only one-fiftieth of his strength was enough to be considered a top-tier genius.
After all.
Above the Monument Realm, there is the Hill Realm, the Mountain Realm, and the Peak Realm. As a three-year-old infant, his conversion rate from Blood and Qi to actual power was only 10%...
Even if his movement techniques and damage skills were exceptional, he was still a "high-mana, low-defense" mage. How could he not be cautious?
"Thump—"
Xu Ran picked up the last few bones and tossed them toward the crystal beasts in the yard.
His major-success-level "Little Xu Flying Daggers" allowed him to hit the center of the beasts' brows with precision.
【You are feeding the animals, Advanced Beast Taming progress +100, current progress Advanced Beast Taming (Minor Success): 100/10000...】
Experience gained!
He took off immediately!
"Alright Mom, the animal feeding is done for today, let's go to Director Qin’s."
Xu Ran patted the four bones in his pocket.
He turned and pulled his mother toward Director Qin’s research center.
His mother was stunned: "Wait, you throw so accurately? Son, have you become a master of throwing darts?"
Xu Ran didn't hide it: "Yeah, I started practicing when I was one... combined with high comprehension, having this kind of aim is just a matter of having hands, right?"
His mother raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean 'just a matter of having hands'? This is incredible! Can you hit the target every time?"
"About 98% of the time, I suppose! Not necessarily 100% lock-on."
Xu Ran smiled faintly.
Suddenly, his expression froze.
Lock-on? Hmm? Can I trigger a lock-on skill? That would be a divine skill!
When I have time... I must test it!
But for now, to the research center first!
...
8:20 AM.
His mother and Xu Ran arrived at Director Qin’s research center.
In the spacious first-floor arena, everyone had arrived—the principal, Li Qinghong, Director Qin, the assistant Sister Xiao Liu... as well as guards wearing blue kindergarten uniforms.
In terms of safety, the Demigod Kindergarten was extremely strict; every child was accompanied by a third-order Hill Realm practitioner.
"Everyone here? Let’s take roll call and check in."
"After checking in, the assistant will call out the children's names. When your name is called, come to the front quickly to measure your Blood and Qi growth over the last two hundred days."
"First, Zhu Yuheng."
The beautiful little girl with white hair and white eyebrows walked slowly to Sister Xiao Liu and held out her small hand...
"Zhu Yuheng, four years and five months old, Blood and Qi... Blood and Qi... 950.44...!!"
Assistant Xiao Liu’s voice trembled slightly.
As her voice echoed through the room, silence fell upon Director Qin’s laboratory—you could hear a pin drop.
The value was so high that everyone present was struck dumb!
The guards looked astonished: "..."
The mothers looked at each other: "..."
Li Qinghong’s pupils trembled: "This data..."
Even the principal was so surprised he lost his composure: "Are you sure it’s 950.44?!"
Assistant Xiao Liu nodded: "Principal, this is a brand-new instrument with extremely high precision and accuracy; there shouldn't be any mistakes."
Director Qin couldn't quite believe it: "Change to another instrument and test it again."
"Understood."
Fifty seconds later, Xiao Liu reported the data again: "Zhu Yuheng, Blood and Qi 950.43 points."
The error was only 0.01... meaning the data was completely reliable.
"This..."
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The principal’s eyes lit up with a sharp glint: "Four years and five months old, 950 points of Blood and Qi. At this rate, she will definitely break Adam’s record at age five!"
Director Qin: "Congratulations, Principal, this is a world-class super genius!"
The wrinkles on the principal’s face smoothed out: "Not necessarily the first, because Adam is nine now, and his record was from four years ago... Four years have passed, and new geniuses must have emerged in the capital, Shanghai, and other regions. But regardless, Zhu Yuheng is at the level of the top twenty in the Xia Kingdom!"
The principal chuckled. Although he was usually stern, he was genuinely happy at this moment.
"Feng Yan, five years and one month, Blood and Qi 910.66..."
"Bian Yue, five years, Blood and Qi 908.23..."
"Bie Jingqiu, five years, Blood and Qi 905.97..."
"Zhuge Huangjin, four years and nine months, Blood and Qi 900.28..."
The top five super-geniuses all exceeded 900 points!
Good, good, good!
The principal was in high spirits: "This is the strongest batch in the last twenty years! There is hope to restore the glory of Jing Province!"
The Blood and Qi values of the five little ones made the principal feel as if he were floating on clouds...
He took a deep breath: "Continue the tests!"
...
"Xu Ran, three years and four months, Blood and Qi 450.10 points."
When Xu Ran’s data came out, the principal went, "Huh?"
Director Qin: "Huh?"
Li Qinghong: "Huh?"
They hadn't expected Xu Ran’s data to be this high.
He only had 206 points when he enrolled, right? In 200 days, his Blood and Qi grew by more than 1 point per day?
What kind of monster is this!
The principal was shocked: "This... is there a mistake? Test it again!"
Sister Xiao Liu changed to another machine: "Xu Ran, three years and four months, Blood and Qi 450.50 points."
Confirmation received.
The way everyone looked at Xu Ran changed.
This was terrifying!
Even the most talented Zhu Yuheng only saw a daily growth of 1.2 in Blood and Qi!
And Xu Ran had exceeded Zhu Yuheng’s growth rate?
Could it be that Xu Ran was also a super-genius of Zhu Yuheng’s caliber?
Isn't his talent in comprehension and bone structure?
Comprehension and bone structure should manifest in wisdom and insight... how could his Blood and Qi growth be this fierce?!
If this trend continues, wouldn't he be able to compete with the top five super-geniuses?!
Too terrifying, right?
Dozens of burning gazes focused on Xu Ran’s face...
His mother was stunned: "Did I give birth to this? Such a fierce child!"
Other mothers whispered: "Ever since little Ran came in, he scared many of the other children into crying... I knew then that he might be a genius among geniuses."
"And he is especially favored by Mentor Li Qinghong for his evasive footwork. The mentor says his comprehension is extremely high."
"I thought he just had high technical skill; I didn't expect his Blood and Qi to grow this fast too!"
"Even in the Demigod Kindergarten, his talent must rank in the top ten, right?"
"Definitely!"
"It's just that he's a bit young and enrolled late. If he had entered at age one and were five years old now, he might be number one."
The mothers looked at him with burning eyes, full of admiration.
The principal’s eyes also held a strange brilliance: "Child, you are a bit of a surprise."
"I remember you didn't join the Demigod Kindergarten until you were two years and nine months old."
"At that time, I thought you would fall far behind... I thought you would taste nothing but frustration and setbacks; I never expected you to give me such a huge surprise!"
"Child, keep going, I believe in you!"
"Thank you for the praise, Principal!"
Xu Ran smiled faintly, thinking to himself that he had even bigger surprises in store.
Of course, those couldn't be shown!
"Wow, Brother Xiao Ran is so amazing!"
Beside him, Hu Niu clapped her hands so hard they turned red.
Xu Ran rubbed her head: "You are even more amazing than me."
"Really? Then why can I never catch Brother Xiao Ran? And why can't I beat Brother Xiao Ran?"
Xu Ran: "..."
So you've been trying to beat me all along, huh?
No wonder you keep trying to ambush me from behind.
"Heh heh heh!"
Seeing Hu Niu’s strange laugh, Xu Ran flicked her forehead: "Stop giggling and go test your Blood and Qi."
Hu Niu covered her forehead and pouted: "Oh..."
"Jiang Liuli... Jiang Liuli, come test your Blood and Qi."
"Coming!"
Hu Niu dashed out like a leopard, startling his mother, Aunt Chen, and the others nearby.
"She's a real tiger."
Xu Ran couldn't help but laugh.
If a girl wasn't pretty and was so boisterous, she’d be called a tomboy.
But Hu Niu was beautiful and cute; she was just a "super-powered toddler."
As the saying goes: beauty is justice.
Anyway, everyone thought Hu Niu was adorable; except for the fact that she tended to make other people's kids cry, everything else about her was great...
"Jiang Liuli, three years and two months. Blood and Qi... 6... 621.50...???"
Sister Xiao Liu stammered, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She knew the data for every child.
When Jiang Liuli first arrived, she only had 91 points!
But in just 200 days, she surged by 530 points? A daily growth of 2.65...
That's twice as much as Zhu Yuheng?!
This is too terrifying?!
"Hiss—"
"Hiss—"
A series of gasps filled the office.
In front of Jiang Liuli, what even is an Adam?!
The principal remained silent for a long time: "Could something be wrong with this new instrument? Don't let an old man like me get my hopes up for nothing."
His voice trembled.
It was getting scary!
He was terrified that this was all a dream!!
If he woke up and the surprise turned into a nightmare, this old man really wouldn't be able to handle it!
Assistant Xiao Liu: "...Why is everyone always doubting the instruments? Maybe... the instrument really is broken?"
She quickly went upstairs, brought down the old instrument, and took a drop of blood to test.
"Jiang Liuli, three years and two months. Blood and Qi 621 points! No mistake, still 621 points; it’s impossible for three instruments to be wrong, right?"
Now, the principal didn't doubt it anymore.
The wrinkles on his face smoothed out completely.
"Three years and two months, far exceeding Adam’s 546 points! And this is only after 200 days of cultivation in the Demigod Kindergarten! I can't even imagine what heights she will reach in two years!"
"Good, good, good!"
The principal was so happy he paced back and forth, clicking his tongue incessantly.
"Go, Qinghong, take them to class!"
Li Qinghong nodded and led the group of children to class.
Of course, kindergarten classes were no different from a break in Xu Ran’s eyes.
He silently swallowed a bone, grinding his progress while attending class.
During the break after class, he would sometimes go hiking or walking with his mother, Hu Niu, and Hu Niu's mom.
Sometimes he would go spar with the other geniuses.
Mentor Li Qinghong: "Young tigers and bears start increasing their combat experience through fighting games at a certain age. The children are now at the age where they can enter the ring to compete!"
And so, the free combat class began.
Undoubtedly, this was Hu Niu’s favorite part.
It was also the part Xu Ran excelled at most.
Hu Niu had innate super strength; Xu Ran even suspected if her Blood and Qi conversion rate was 500%, otherwise how could she knock Zhu Yuheng down with just a few punches?
More than a dozen geniuses had been bullied into tears by her.
Even Zhu Yuheng always looked aggrieved...
As for Xu Ran... his "comprehension-based" persona remained intact, his technique was maxed out; a single dodge and a trip were enough to take down his opponent, and he did it with complete elegance.
Zhu Yuheng was on the verge of tears.
She was clearly the first to arrive at the kindergarten, and clearly had the highest Blood and Qi; it was supposed to be double the happiness.
But why, ever since these two little brats arrived, had she been constantly failing and frustrated, losing her double happiness?
Why?
Zhu Yuheng’s delicate little face crumpled like a lotus leaf blown by the wind.
She squatted in the corner, holding her little knees, her bright eyes filled with mist.
Li Qinghong sighed slightly.
"These two three-year-old brats are too ferocious. Should I find a counselor for the other geniuses?"
"Xu Ran, you and Jiang Liuli, have a match."
She threw Jiang Liuli and Xu Ran onto the ring.
Xu Ran: "..."
Seeing Xu Ran standing on the opposite side, Hu Niu’s dark eyes lit up: "Heh heh heh heh, Brother Xiao Ran~ I'm going to tackle you!"
Saying that, Hu Niu turned into a whirlwind and rushed toward Xu Ran.
Xu Ran pretended to dodge a few times before being knocked off the ring by a punch.
"I lost, I lost. Little Liuli is really amazing."
"Heh heh heh heh heh heh!"
"I can eat two pieces of meat at once! I am the strongest!"
Hu Niu put her hands on her hips and laughed wildly, her chubby face full of pride.
Seeing this, Xu Ran smiled faintly; it was just children being competitive. No need to worry about it.
"Gurgle, gurgle—"
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the ring—it was quite loud.
Hu Niu quickly covered her little belly: "Mom, I’m hungry, I want to eat meat!"
Hu Niu’s mom: "..."
Li Qinghong gave a soft smile: "Go on, take her for a snack. She... well... we'll increase her training when she's older; her innate fighting talent is just too high right now."
Li Qinghong waved her hand helplessly.
Of course, as the most elegantly skilled child in the arena...
Xu Ran, like Hu Niu, was dismissed early.
They didn't even have to attend the afternoon "courage-building" class; free time was fine.
And so, after lunch, Xu Ran practiced the "Lost Track Steps," "Little Xu Flying Daggers," and "Paper Origami Spirit Summoning" in his room...
Progress +1...
Progress +1...
Progress +1...
As long as he invested the time, he could feel significant improvement!
The motivation for self-discipline, of course, grew higher with each passing day.
Amidst the incrementally increasing progress, time flew by.
100 days passed in a flash.
Day 1318 of the early childhood period! Xu Ran’s Blood and Qi value reached 3320 points!
And the progress of [Nutrient Extraction] had also reached major success.
"The major success level of [Nutrient Extraction] allows me to gain 5 points of Blood and Qi from one piece of seventh-order rhinoceros beef! Good stuff, this must be extracting every drop of nutrition from the meat."
Xu Ran smiled contentedly.
The single-day gain reached 16 points! It would only take 418 days to perform the third innate baptism, beating the final deadline by a full 90 days!
"Yes! Grind it out!"
Xu Ran was overjoyed and began to discipline himself fanatically, spending each day in self-discipline and achievement.
Increasing by 1600 points of Blood and Qi in 100 days was equivalent to Adam’s annual growth; who wouldn't be bewildered by that?
Xu Ran wished he could be self-disciplined 24 hours a day.
Of course, his life wasn't just about self-discipline.
In his spare time, Xu Ran tried to trigger the lock-on skill; tried to trigger a "burst" skill...
Tried sitting on Li Qinghong’s back to trigger an "object-riding flight" skill...
And tried many other new things...
But they all failed.
However, fortunately, the daily improvements diluted the impact of the failures, preventing him from becoming pessimistic.
There are no years in self-discipline.
Time is like flowing sand!
In the blink of an eye, 418 days passed, reaching day 1735 of the early childhood period!
At this moment, he was only 90 days away from his fifth birthday...
It was exactly as he had calculated.
Today’s time marker was very special.
From the moment he woke up, Xu Ran was filled with anticipation for the end of the day.
And after finishing a day of self-discipline, Xu Ran checked the progress of his magical skills.
【Advanced Beast Taming (Major Success): 50000/50000... Maxed out, automatically advancing you to [Advanced Beast Taming (Perfect)]...】
【Nutrient Extraction (Major Success): 40000/50000...】
【Beast Language Proficiency (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Water Evasion Technique (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Piercing Flaw (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Ladder Cloud Leap (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Gecko Wall-Climbing Technique (Major Success): 1000/50000...】
【Super Recovery (Major Success): 40000/50000...】
【Body Enveloped in Mystery Cloud (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Lost Track Steps (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Lightness Skill: Walking on Grass (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Little Xu Flying Daggers (Perfect): 1000/50000...】
【Paper Origami Spirit Summoning (Major Success): 1000/50000...】
【Fear Spell (Introductory): 1000/10000...】
【Ten Thousand Books Read: 2500/10000...】
After 400+ days of self-discipline, the progress was rising fast.
However, after reaching "Perfect," the progress increase became a bit harder; he needed to spend more time, and 24 hours was clearly not enough.
"I might need to increase my comprehension. The magical skills have already reached the second tier of perfection. Without enough comprehension, the growth is very slow! It's no longer something I can just grind by spending time."
Xu Ran realized.
He decided to grind out "Higher Comprehension" in the coming period!
However, the most important thing right now was not grinding progress...
It was completing the third innate baptism and securing the third golden achievement.
【You have consumed high-energy food, Blood and Qi +5 points, current Blood and Qi 10000/10000... Reached the limit, need to raise the ceiling to continue increasing.】
【You meet the conditions for the third innate baptism, you can perform the third innate baptism! Perform innate baptism? Yes/No?】
"After waiting so long, it's finally here. I've worked for over 600 days for this! Swallowing crystal beast bones every day..."
"Baptism! And then step into a more expansive realm!"
Xu Ran’s eyes suddenly shone brilliantly!