Xiao Feng didn't know how he returned to his room after dinner. He was so tired that he forgot to greet his grandfather and head straight into his room.
An old man with long white beard, looked at Xiao Feng from afar, not disturbing him.
Did the first brother go a little far? Looks like I have to talk to him later.
When Xiao Feng's figure vanished in the darkness, the old man looked at the crescent moon illuminating the night sky.
Xiao Shu, Xiao Hong, your child is become more and more like you. In time, he will definitely be even more dazzling than you.
The old man's body was now hunched despite possessing power to destroy streets and building. Clear tears of sadness and joy fell his cheeks.
The system.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Xiao Feng exhaled deeply and called out in his mind.
[ Yes! ]
"Can you answer my doubts truthfully?"
[ Yes ]
Xiao Feng hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had been weighing on him.
"Who created you? Or… how were you born?"
Silence lingered for a brief second before the system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[ Ding! The system was born from endless chaos, time, and space. Further details cannot be provided due to the host's insufficient strength. ]
Xiao Feng raised an eyebrow. "Born from chaos, time, and space? That sounds words from a Chinese novel,"
I don't know why it choose me though.
Though unsure, he decided to believe it for the time being. As for what if the system was lying? He can't take care of it that much.
At this moment, it is he who needs the system and not the other way around. He believed that when he grows up, he will eventually know the truth behind the system.
"System, explain your functions. Be as detailed as possible."
The system responded, and Xiao Feng listened attentively as a stream of notifications appeared on the blue virtual interface.
[ Ding! Available system functions are as follows: ]
[ Travel Function: The host can travel between dimensions and worlds. Travel can be random or designated, and no points are required for this feature, but you must have coordinates for designated travel.
Sign-In Function: Host can sign in 100 points daily
Task Function: Includes main quests, side quests, and hidden quests. Completing tasks grants points, cultivation methods, items, lottery chances, and more. Hidden quests are triggered randomly and depend on the host's luck.
Strengthening Function: Points can be used to enhance the body, soul, energy, items, and techniques.
Mall Function: Allows the host to purchase items available within the current plane. This function will expand as the system upgrades.
[ Ding! These are the currently unlocked system functions. ]
Xiao Feng's excitement grew as he processed the information. These functions were all very powerful.
"So, I can travel between worlds, gain rare rewards, and strengthen myself? This is… amazing!"
Xiao Feng recalled the novice rewards waiting for him, and his heart could no longer remain calm.
"System," He said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice, "Merge the physique and receive cultivation methods from the novice package."
[ Ding! Confirmation received. Initiating the fusion process. ]
In an instant, countless specks of white light bloomed within the room, drifting through the air like fireflies dancing in the night. They gathered around Xiao Feng, slowly sinking into his body.
A gentle warmth spread from his chest, flowing through his limbs and bones. It was neither painful nor violent; rather, it felt cool and comfortable as though he was speaking in a hot spring.
Energy surged through his veins like a roaring river. His skin grew smoother, his muscles denser and more compact, and even his breathing became deeper and steadier. His mind cleared, as if a veil had been lifted from his consciousness.
At the same time, incomprehensible laws descended.
Streams of ancient information poured into his sea of consciousness like an endless flood. Brilliant runes emerged one after another, covering the once-calm blue sea of consciousness, which he couldn't even perceive before today.
Knowledge...too much knowledge.
As more and more knowledge poured into his sea of consciousness, his head began to ache. The amount was too much; Xiao Feng's previous enjoyment had now turned into pain.
Just when Xiao Feng thought he was going to explode from knowledge.
The runes trembled.
In the next instant, they rapidly converged, folding inward upon themselves. Within the sea of consciousness, two massive outlines took shape.
Two books.
As soon as they formed, the pressure instantly receded. The stabbing pain disappeared as if it had never existed.
Xiao Feng gasped softly, his eyes snapping open.
Within his sea of consciousness, the two ancient books floated quietly, emanating boundless profundity.
As more knowledge continued to pour in, the books grew clearer. One was pitch-black, its cover etched with countless stars and distorted spatial lines.
The other shimmered with golden light, engraved with ancient characters that pulsed with life itself. The expanding runes quickly converged inside his sea of consciousness, forming an outline of two books. It instantly reduced the pressure on his sea of consciousness, and his headache quickly disappeared.
The black one was the Chaos Devouring Technique, while the golden book was the Chaos Body Refining Art.
As the fusion ended, fatigue surged up in Xiao Feng's mind. He didn't even bother trying to feel the new changes in his body. After signing in, he fell asleep directly.
In his dreams, the image of cultivation appeared, along with a wonderful journey of seeing the different mountains and rivers, and living a free life.
...
The next day,
Xiao Feng awoke feeling refreshed and light, as though his entire body had been reborn overnight. He stretched his languid body and yawned.
After washing up, he walked out of the courtyard, only to run straight into Xiao Yu.
"Xiao Feng!" She exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could react. "I was just about to look for you. Hurry, let's go! Grandfather is waiting for you at the training ground. Don't be late!"
Xiao Feng blinked, then smiled faintly. "Alright, Sister Xiao Yu."
In truth, he had been waiting for this moment.
Although he already possessed the Chaos Devouring Art, learning the Xiao Family's techniques would serve as the perfect disguise for his future progress.
The three soon arrived at the training ground.
Xiao Ning, Xiao Mei, and a few others were already there.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere was far from pleasant.
"Ning'er!" The Grand Elder roared, his voice shaking the air. mountain, shaking the training ground to its core.
"How can you be this slow? I have explained it again and again. Are these ears of yours only for decoration? Why can you not grasp even the most basic principles?!"
Xiao Ning's face burned crimson. He hurriedly adjusted his posture, his small body trembling as he tried to sense the elusive Dou Qi. Yet the more anxious he became, the farther it slipped from his grasp. His breathing grew uneven, his movements stiff and awkward.
Each failure only caused the Grand Elder's brows to knit tighter, the air around him growing heavier by the second.
The nearby Xiao Mei and others look at him with sympathy and glowing eyes. It was hard to have such a grandfather. He was so strict that it made one breathless.
Fortunately, their training hasn't started yet. This was just Grand Elder giving his grandson a few extra lessons before others arrived.
Soon, light footsteps echoed from afar.
When Xiao Feng and Xiao Yu entered the training ground, the Grand Elder's roaring could still be heard reverberating through the air. The two exchanged glances, wearing expressions similar to Xiao Mei's.
"Grandpa…" Xiao Yu called out softly, stepping forward. Xiao Feng followed closely behind her.
She cast a glance toward Xiao Ning, pity flashing across her face. Being scolded so harshly at such a young age was truly pitiful.
The Grand Elder turned his head. Upon seeing Xiao Feng, the anger on his face visibly eased, like storm clouds parting to reveal clear skies. He responded to their greetings with a nod and motioned for them to join the others in the training ground.
The moment Xiao Feng appeared, Xiao Mei's chubby face lit up. She waved enthusiastically at him, her eyes crescent-shaped with mischief. Several other children followed suit, greeting him eagerly.
Xiao Feng nodded in response, then calmly found an empty spot and stood there.
Once everyone had gathered, the Grand Elder swept his gaze across the group and spoke in a solemn tone:
"Before we begin today, remember this well. On the Dou Qi Continent, only the strong are respected. The weak have no voice, no dignity, and no right to choose their fate."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Xiao Feng and Xiao Ning answered in unison.
"Good."
"For the past year, you have trained your bodies. Today, you will begin learning meditation. Only through meditation can you absorb Dou Qi and truly step onto the path of cultivation."
The Grand Elder began explaining the fundamentals, his voice steady and authoritative.
"Our first lesson today is to sense the Dou Qi floating in the Heaven and Earth."
"You have all learned the basic breathing technique of the family. Next, I will teach the standard posture and special seals. You must follow them and use the breathing technique to guide the Heaven and Earth Qi into your body."
"When the Heaven and Earth Qi enters your body, you must calm your mind, remain focused, and try to sense this absorbed Heaven and Earth Qi. It's precisely Dou Qi. Once you have sensed it, you can begin practicing meditation and cultivation."
"Meditation isn't hard. You merely need to sit cross-legged, calm your mind, and absorb the Dou Qi from Heaven and Earth again. The previous step has built your foundation. Meditation will be harder than it but this foundation will help you enter meditation quickly."
"However, Dou Qi is violent if mishandled; it can damage your meridians. I will monitor you closely. If anyone slacks off, you'll have to run around the training ground 10 times." The Grand Elder said sternly.
Xiao Ning, Xiao Mei, and others' faces instantly fell. The Grand Elder was truly cruel.
Xiao Feng didn't think too much. As long as he didn't slack off, the Grand Elder couldn't do anything to him. He listened intently and watched closely as the Grand Elder demonstrated the seals and posture.
After he finished the demonstration, Xiao Feng closed his eyes. The scene of Grand Elder's demonstration replayed in his eyes.
The first step of cultivation in the Chaos Devouring Art was also sensing the energy between Heaven and Earth and absorbing it.
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Feng decided to use Grand Elder's method as the external image, then use the Chaos Devouring Art to sense and absorb the Dou Qi in the air.
I don't know if it's cause of rebirth or Innate Holy Body, but Xiao Feng's comprehension ability had reached an absurd level. He quickly understood everything that Grand Elder had taught.
With the strong physique of the Innate Holy Body, the various postures and seals weren't difficult for Xiao Feng. As he followed the Grand Elder, he sensed the peculiar energy entering his body.
It entered through his nasal cavity and spread throughout his blood vessels and entered his heart, then it was pumped throughout the body, passing through the meridians, being absorbed and refined by the countless cells in his body.
He sensed a small space near his Naval where the energy gathered after being circulated throughout the body.
This should be the dantian.
Xiao Feng thought, then he directly sat cross-legged, entering meditation.
He thought he wouldn't be able to enter a meditation state, or he would take a long time to enter it. After all, he was a modern person who had been exposed to the filth on the internet for a long time, and his mind was very jumpy.
However, contrary to his thoughts, he entered meditation almost instantly. His mind fell into a mysterious state as if he had become the only one in the world, and the Chaos Devouring Art operated.
His breathing became calm and profound, his expression turned serene.
Seeing this scene, the Grand Elder's eyelids twitched.
The moment Xiao Feng formed the perfect posture and the seal, he had already started paying attention to him.
When Xiao Feng sat cross-legged after less than a minute of trying to sense Dou Qi, the Grand Elder wanted to remind him that he shouldn't think of quick success.
But this, what was this...
Who could tell him why a child less than 5 could enter meditation almost instantly?
That wasn't all! He even started absorbing the Dou Qi around him. You know, he didn't even spend a minute sensing Dou Qi before.
Too fast. This was too fast.
The Grand Elder's eyes were about to pop out, but this was merely the beginning.
An hour later.
A faint aura erupted from Xiao Feng's body. He exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly stood up.
The Grand Elder stared, utterly stunned.
What kind of God had reincarnated into his Xiao family? This speed was unheard of. Even among the top geniuses of the Jia Ma Empire, none possessed such terrifying talent. Not even the Sect Master of the Yunlan sect, Yun Yun of the Yun Lan Sect, had progressed this fast.
"If this child grows up…" The Grand Elder's heart pounded. "Dou Huang… Dou Zong… perhaps even more."
Xiao Ning and a few other children noticed the change in Xiao Feng the moment he sat down. Their eyes showed a look of doubting their lives.
They hadn't even been able to keep the standard posture, but Xiao Feng was already meditating.
What kind of absurd talent gap was this?
They had all trained together, so why was he so ahead of them?
The kids felt the unfairness of life for the first time.
When the session ended, the Grand Elder placed a firm hand on Xiao Feng's shoulder.
"Xiao Feng, your talent is extraordinary. Cultivate well. From today onward, the family will provide you with extra monthly resources. If you have any doubts during your cultivation, you can ask your grandpa, the other elders, or me."
Xiao Feng bowed slightly, "Thank you, Second Grandpa. I will not disappoint you."
Once the training was over, the Grand Elder left, and Xiao Mei and others surrounded him.
Looking at the group, Xiao Feng felt a little puzzles but he still waited for them to speak.
"Cousin, how did you do that? How did you learn meditation so quickly?" Xiao Ning was staring at Xiao Feng as if looking at his savior. If he could learn a thing or two from Xiao Feng and understand meditation, then he won't have to listen to his grandpa's nagging anymore.
"Hmm, hmm, how did you do it?" Xiao Mei also nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking on rice, her eyes shining.
Others were similar.
"This,... Haha, it's nothing. Maybe it's talent..." Xiao Feng could only laugh dryly. He really didn't know how to respond. He couldn't possibly say he had a cheat, could he?
Fortunately, the kids were all sensible. They felt disappointed listening to his words, but none of them felt that Xiao Feng was lying to them. They all knew that everyone's talent was different.
The Grand Elder had taught them before that everyone's talent was different. They couldn't force what did not belong to them.