The golden light of the Star Dou Core Area filtered through the colossal trees, casting warm halos over the peaceful clearing. From the outside, everything seemed serene. But deep inside a tiny newborn's mind, a war was raging.
### Tang Yan's Secret Battle
Tang Yan floated quietly in his spiritual space, eyes closed and tiny brows furrowed. The reward he had received—the Optimised Energy Breathing Method—was now being reshaped into something greater: a new technique. But it wasn't simple.
Tang Yan quickly realised that refining a new method with his underdeveloped body was like trying to build a castle out of sand in a storm. Every attempt to widen the void connection strained his tiny soul. Every effort to adjust the breathing rhythm caused painful tremors throughout his body. Worse still, the System was utterly useless for moral support.
### System's Meme-Level Trolling
"[Host detected: Struggling like a blind chicken! Progress: 2%! Epic failure imminent!]"
Tang Yan gritted his metaphorical teeth. He concentrated harder, weaving soul power and heavenly energy together, trying to stabilize the fragile threads of connection.
"[New Technique Name Suggestion: 'Wheezing Whale Breathing Arts!' Perfect for those who can't breathe properly!]"
"[Alternative Name: 'Crying Potato Absorption Manual!' Boosts embarrassing aura by +100%!]"
Tang Yan stubbornly ignored the comments. Sweat formed on his real forehead as his tiny body twitched softly. He adjusted the flow rate. He smoothed out the soul energy conversion. Again. Again. A hundred times. Each failure caused slight pain to his meridians, while each success built a tiny bridge toward stability.
"[Host detected: Actual Progress! 5%! Congratulations! Only 1,000 more failures needed to evolve into a 'Functional Human!']"
Tang Yan's baby face scrunched tighter.
### Hard-Fought Victory
Hours—days—blurred together. Until finally, a subtle click echoed in his spiritual space. The once-fragile void thread expanded slightly, becoming a sturdy silver filament. Heavenly energy now flowed smoothly. The conversion efficiency doubled. His body no longer needed to greedily absorb Heaven and Earth energy just to survive. Tang Yan could now breathe like a normal baby while secretly accumulating soul power mixed with pure heavenly essence.
"[DING! SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:]
[Host Successfully Created New Technique: 'Heaven's Thread Breathing Method!']"
The System cheered half-heartedly:
"[Congratulations, Host! You are now slightly less useless! Evolution from 'Crying Potato' to 'Staggering Penguin' complete!]"
Tang Yan wanted to punch something. If only he weren't a literal baby.
"[Reward Unlocked: Heavenly Micro-Weave Constitution Boost! Host's soul-body synchronization improved by 15%!]"
Finally, the System offered something decent. Tang Yan sighed in relief, basking in the success he had fought so hard for.
### The Calm Outside
Outside, the forest remained peaceful. Ah Yin and Tang Hao continued cultivating quietly nearby, their newly formed Soul Cores stabilizing. Bi Ji occasionally hummed lullabies, rocking Tang San and Tang Yan gently. The Snow Emperor smiled coldly as she fed the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm a tiny ice crystal berry, which flailed pathetically, still traumatized from a previous public humiliation. All seemed perfect. Until the System spoke again.
### The Evil Plan Awakens
"[Host... Heheheheh... Now that you're stabilized, it's time to prepare for... THE GRAND EVENT.]"
Tang Yan blinked internally, suspicious.
"[The Event...?]"
The System purred in a devilish voice:
"[Your first birthday! Public baby speech time!]"
Tang Yan immediately panicked.
"[NO! I refuse! I won't speak! I'm a normal baby! NORMAL!]"
The System giggled evilly:
"[Host, resistance is futile. Preparations are already underway. Status: Operation BABY EMBARRASSMENT — 23% Complete.]"
Tang Yan silently screamed into the void. Somewhere above the forest, the stars twinkled mischievously. The world was quietly changing. And the little emperor of chaos was just getting started.
🌑 To be continued...