Chapter 20: Intimidating the King. One Strike for Seven. The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix!
Yes, Xu Ran would rather believe that the super geniuses in the academy were a bunch of weaklings... than accept that the high-grade crystal beast meat provided by the academy could only increase his vitality by 0.4 points per day...
If it truly only increased by 0.4 points daily, then the third precious golden achievement—the Clean Spirit Body—would be forever out of Xu Ran’s reach...
[Clean Spirit Body (Golden)]: Fortune +30 points; after toxins, pollution, or ghostly substances invade your body, your flesh will gradually purify them.
How wonderful is that effect!
Fortune +30 points!
Your physical body can also cleanse toxins, pollution, and ghostly matter...
But you must reach 10,000 vitality points before age five to complete the third innate baptism!
It’s extremely difficult!
You must increase your vitality by 12 points every day to finish the third baptism before turning five.
If eating crystal beast meat wildly can’t boost vitality rapidly...
Then Xu Ran might be facing his first failure in life.
He let out a deep sigh.
Following closely behind the director, he arrived at the cafeteria window.
“The one responsible for cooking is Uncle Zhao…”
“Uncle Zhao, five portions of seventh-tier fat snow rhino meat, please.”
Inside the window, Uncle Zhao’s eyes were deep: “Please wait a moment.”
Ten minutes later.
Five fresh chunks of rhino meat were served on a plate, placed on the windowsill.
The director pointed at the rhino meat: “This is our academy’s basic food—seventh-tier crystal beasts.
Ideal for young children’s absorption; one portion weighs 350 grams. Eating one pound a day is enough to reach the upper limit of a genius’s improvement.”
Seventh-tier crystal beasts, for eating...
Xu Ran’s mother and Tiger Girl’s mother twitched their eyelids uncontrollably.
Raising seventh-tier fat snow rhinos is a luxury only the upper class can afford, costing 100,000 yuan per pound.
In other words, each child needs to consume at least 100,000 yuan worth daily?
At least 36 million a year?
Both mothers gasped sharply.
Such an expensive cultivation cost would take them a lifetime to save up.
The two mothers looked uneasy: “Thank you, director!”
“We won’t eat; it’s all for the children.”
So, at the dining table.
In front of Xu Ran, two plates of seventh-tier fat snow rhino meat.
In front of Jiang Liuli, two plates of the same meat.
Two and a half centimeters thick, the rhino meat was pan-fried to a golden crisp, tender and juicy, sizzling with hot oil. No need for spices—the natural aroma alone made one’s mouth water.
The director waved his hand: “Parents, eat your own portions. No need to save it all for your children.”
Xu Ran pushed a plate toward his mother: “Mom, you eat.”
Then he picked up a fork, speared a chunk, and bit down hard on the tender rhino meat.
Crispy, soft, fresh, tender, and fragrant—it melted in his mouth, transforming into a rich, warm stream of aroma flowing deep into his belly.
Then the warmth spread throughout his body, bringing endless joy.
It felt like success!
Xu Ran’s heart soared with joy as he quickly devoured all the fat snow rhino meat.
[You have consumed high-energy food; vitality +0.5 points; current vitality 1002.5 points...]
“Ah?”
“Only this much?”
Xu Ran felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him; his heart plummeted into despair.
One meal gives +0.5, three meals a day total 1.5, plus the disciplined baby’s +1, making a daily increase of 2.5 vitality points.
At this rate.
By his fifth birthday, he’d only reach 3062.5 vitality points—far from the 10,000 needed.
It was over!
Xu Ran’s small face showed great worry.
Though Adam had only 1130 vitality points at age five,
What was Adam, really?
If Xu Ran, the Burning Heavenly Emperor, was on the same level as Adam, wouldn’t that be a disgrace to his grandmother?
Xu Ran exhaled and habitually watched Tiger Girl devour her food, then fell into deep thought.
---
Tiger Girl ate noisily, her bright eyes squinting into crescent moons.
She was extremely happy: “Brother Ran~ so delicious, so delicious~”
Mother: “Ran, why do you eat so fast?”
Director: “……”
He noticed that Xu Ran had been full of hope at first but frowned after tasting the meat.
“Not tasty? It’s quite delicious.”
“It’s delicious.”
“Then why aren’t you happy?”
Xu Ran forced a faint smile.
With only +1.5 increase from eating daily... how could he be happy!
He needed to gain 12 vitality points daily!
Should he try eating more forcibly?
That day, Xu Ran tried eating two extra pieces of beef, but the effect was disappointing.
[You have consumed high-energy food; vitality +1.5, disciplined baby +1; current vitality 1004.5...]
Even eating more only raised his vitality by 1.5 points.
No less, no more!
“This is a bit troublesome!” Xu Ran furrowed his brows.
The night passed quietly.
The next day!
The 1003rd day since birth.
Many parents came with their children to make friends upon hearing about a new member at the kindergarten.
But after only a short interaction with the little kids, Xu Ran couldn’t resist itching to speed up his progress—implementing baby intimidation.
Although baby intimidation hadn’t yet evolved to the second tier—Terrifying Whispers,
To four- and five-year-olds, it was definitely terrifying whispers.
A few ghost stories were enough to make the children’s pupils quake.
Progress +1...
Progress +1...
Progress +1...
[Current Baby Intimidation Progress: 3666 / 10000 points...]
“Waaahhhh…”
“Wuuu wuuu wuuu… Mommy.”
“Awooo—awoo—”
The little kids screamed and ran into their mothers’ arms, crying loudly.
At that moment,
The mothers’ gazes toward Xu Ran changed...
Was that child... a little strange? Whispering ghost stories close to their ears?
Guard: “……”
Mother: “……”
She hurriedly took Xu Ran away: “Hahaha, sorry, we have to go.”
“Baby, shall we go swimming? Let’s go swimming!”
Xu Ran was dragged to the swimming pool.
Swimming was fine.
What progress couldn’t be made?
Though he wanted to immediately unlock [Terrifying Whispers]...
The difficulty was indeed a bit high!
[Current Water Avoidance Technique Progress (Beginner): 10 / 10000...]
Only ten minutes had passed.
Tiger Girl’s mother carried her toward the pool.
“Little—Ran—brother—”
From afar, Tiger Girl waved her tiny hands vigorously, shouting proudly.
She looked like a victorious little tiger, full of spirit and volume.
Lin Qian: “Liuli’s mom... what’s going on? You look like Liuli caused trouble?”
Tiger Girl’s mom: “Sigh, don’t say it. My Liuli beat up more than a dozen kids until they were crying.”
“Ah?”
Tiger Girl’s mom looked flushed: “Liuli was pinning down three-year-olds with over 400 vitality points, beating them mercilessly. What’s worse, she did this to seven kids at once and moved with agility…”
“The director finds it strange too, saying this is completely unscientific! Her vitality is only 91 points!”
Lin Qian was slightly stunned: “...”
Though she knew Liuli was fierce since childhood, she hadn’t expected her to be this strong at the demigod kindergarten.
A genius with over 400 vitality points, seven months older than her, was beaten by Liuli?
This was similar in effect to Xu Ran scaring a group of kids to tears just now.
One was terrifying intimidation; the other was brutal dominance.
Truly a pair of hidden dragons and crouching phoenixes.
Lin Qian laughed heartily: “Looks like only our two families can play together at demigod kindergarten.
My little Ran seems a bit strange too—he likes to scare other kids.”
Hmm...
Tiger Girl’s mom was silent, but her expression said more than words.
“Ran is even more formidable. I see him completely control Liuli from a young age. Liuli often cries in frustration and can’t beat him.”
“Liuli, do you want to learn to swim? See how well Brother Ran swims.”
“Yes!”
The guard came over as swimming instructor.
After a long lesson,
Tiger Girl complained and climbed out.
“It tastes bad; I’m not learning anymore!”
She sat aside in a huff.
As for Xu Ran, he was happily grinding progress.
[Current Water Avoidance Technique Progress (Beginner): 25 / 10000...]
After only half an hour of intense practice, his mother called him out to accompany Tiger Girl on a mountain climb.
Helplessly,
Xu Ran could only use Tiger Girl to grind baby intimidation again.
Progress +1...
[Current Baby Intimidation Progress: 3667 / 10000 points...]
Life at demigod kindergarten.
Aside from food being thousands of times better and the safety zones for exercise being far more abundant,
Everything else was the same.
The same discipline.
The same vitality improvement.
[You have consumed high-energy food ×10 days; vitality +15 points; current vitality 1027 points...]
After ten days of trying,
Xu Ran found that eating seventh-tier crystal beast meat daily only increased vitality by 1.5 points!
Compared to other geniuses’ mere 0.4 increase,
His +1.5 was truly four times stronger!
But Xu Ran wanted even more.
“What? The third golden achievement is this difficult?”
“It seems utterly unattainable!”
Xu Ran took a deep breath.
He felt a headache coming on.
“The golden achievement—I must obtain it!”
“Calm down, think carefully, think again. Nothing in the world is difficult for the willing.”
“Remember, the first golden achievement was also cracked in the last five days.”
“There are still 793 days left; I will definitely come up with the perfect plan!”
Murmuring to himself,
Suddenly,
Xu Ran’s brow lifted; a bold idea surfaced in his heart.
“Maybe, possibly, it might... work?”