Xiao Ranyu had just finished mentally filing Xiao Yan under "diapered threat" when he refocused his thoughts.
> "System. Open Host Panel again. I want to check something."
> [Opening Host Status...]
---
[Host Panel – Xiao Ranyu]
Age: 5 Days
Cultivation: None
Physique: Eternal Flame Vassal Body
Flame Affinity: A – Excellent (+)
Dou Qi Core: 0.12%
Technique: Flame Mantra (Yellow-tier, Evolvable)
---
> "System," Ranyu said, narrowing his thoughts, "explain the Flame Affinity grade. What comes after 'Excellent'? How do I raise it?"
> [Query Received.]
[Displaying Flame Affinity Grading Chart…]
Grade Name Description System Point Cost (to upgrade to next)
None (F) : No ability to sense or manipulate flame qi. N/A (Cannot upgrade from F)
Weak (E) : Can barely sense or use flame energy; easily injured by even basic fire. Cost= 10 points
Low (D): Can use beginner flame techniques but lacks control. Cost= 20 points
Average (C): Standard affinity; enough for flame cultivation at lower levels. Cost= 40 points
Good (B): Techniques feel natural; moderate Heavenly Flames can be refined with effort. Cost= 80 points
Excellent (A) : Flame qi responds instinctively; ideal for fire-type cultivation. Cost= 160 points
Exceptional (S) : Rare-tier affinity; can tame some Heavenly Flames without aid. Cost= 320 points
Sovereign Flame Body (SS) : Heavenly Flame synchronization, partial resistance to flame backlash. Cost= 640 points
Primordial Flame Soul (SSS): Ancient-level affinity; flames view host as kin. Cultivation speed massively increased. Cost= 1,280 points
Flame Ancestor's Bloodline (EX): Hidden. Locked behind special evolution event. Cost= Unknown
A glowing window materialized in his mind's eye, listing the ranks from Weak to... Primordial Flame Soul.
> "Primordial Flame Soul? Flame Ancestor's Bloodline?"
"Yeah okay. Subtle. Nothing screams 'main character' like 'flames view you as kin.'"
"How many points to go from A to S?"
> [320 Sign-In Points Required.]
He groaned inwardly.
> "I'll need to mug the entire Xiao Clan for their luck to pull that off."
He was about to close the panel when something flickered in the corner of his interface—two golden runes gently pulsing.
> [Notice: Flame Mantra and Eternal Flame Vassal Body show 99% compatibility.]
[Would you like to attempt fusion?]
> "…Wait, what?"
Ranyu leaned in mentally, squinting.
> "Fusion? Like, merge the cultivation technique into my body constitution?"
> [Yes. Warning: Once merged, technique becomes non-transferable and unique to host. Cannot be replaced.]
> [Potential Result: Unknown. High compatibility detected. Risk: Negligible. Outcome: Unprecedented.]
Ranyu hesitated for exactly 0.3 seconds.
> "DO IT."
---
> [Fusion Initiated.]
The golden runes ignited. Streams of light poured from the Flame Mantra script and the core of his body, twining together in a spiral of fire and flame-hardened bone. The heat in his dantian exploded.
> [Fusion Complete.] [New Technique Acquired: Sovereign Flame Scripture – High level Heavenly-Tier (Unique)]
Effect:
Automatically evolves with body refinement.
Allows passive flame qi absorption even during unconsciousness.
All Dou Qi formed through this technique inherits traits of Heavenly Flames.
Training speed extra bonus 100% changed to 200%. (200% faster than the same realm on top of flame mantra which is normally 2 small realm higher than of the same realm)
---
For a moment, Xiao Ranyu felt… transcendent.
Flames danced along his meridians like playful spirits. His bones hummed with ancient heat. He could feel his body drawing qi from the air itself, like he'd become a living forge.
> "This is it," he whispered in awe. "I'm a cultivation cheat code. I'm going to become a living sun."
And then—
> BRRRRRRAAPPPPPPPP.
A loud, wet-sounding flame pop erupted from beneath his baby blanket.
The smell hit a moment later. Not of normal baby trouble—no, it was like burnt egg, roasted wood, and scorched cinnamon had declared war inside a diaper.
Outside the door, a maid gasped and screamed, "IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! HE'S SELF-COMBUSTING!"
Another voice yelled, "NO! THAT'S NOT FIRE! THAT'S… THAT'S SOMETHING WORSE!"
The door burst open. A servant rushed in with a bucket, while another charged in with incense and held it like a sacred weapon.
Ranyu lay there, mortified, glowing faintly red under the blanket. If he could die of shame, he would have.
> "System," he muttered.
"Tell no one of this moment."
> [Recording saved permanently to Host Memory Log.]
> "You traitorous toaster..."
---
The Xiao Clan courtyard was lively with the sounds of training. Grunts, shouts, and the occasional thud echoed across the sparring grounds. Amid it all, five-day-old Xiao Ranyu lay swaddled in silk, perched like a small emperor on a padded mat under a parasol.
Around him, chaos danced in harmony.
"Falling Rock Palm!" Xiao Diao, the eldest brother, shouted, slamming his palm down onto a boulder with unnecessary drama. It cracked—not quite split, but enough to earn a proud smirk from the ten-year-old.
Beside him, Xiao Li scoffed. "You've been on that same rock for three weeks."
"I'm perfecting the angle," Diao sniffed.
"Right. And I'm secretly the reincarnation of a Dou Zun," Li muttered.
Xiao Yan, barely more than one years old, ran in circles with his tiny fists raised, shouting, "I'm gonna beat you all! Watch out! I have invisible Dou Qi!"
He promptly tripped over a root and face-planted. Again.
Ranyu, observing from his shaded baby throne, mentally filed Xiao Yan under "hyperactive potato" and returned to his real task—cultivating.
The moment the fusion completed days ago, his body had become a living flame magnet. Even now, faint threads of qi curled toward him like smoke to a bonfire. He could feel it pooling in his dantian, slowly, steadily.
> "System. Status check."
> [Host Status – Xiao Ranyu]
Age: 5 Days
Cultivation: None (0.18%)
Body: Eternal Flame Vassal Body
Technique: Sovereign Flame Scripture (Auto-cultivating)
Affiliation: Xiao Clan (Unaware of host's demonic diaper potential)
> "Flame absorption's getting faster," Ranyu thought. "At this rate, I'll form my core before I'm weaned."
"Zhan, look at him! He's glowing again!" Gu Wenxin called cheerfully from her garden seat, sipping tea while admiring her youngest son. Her eyes were tired, but soft with joy.
Xiao Zhan, patriarch of the clan and alleged peak Da Dou Shi powerhouse, peeked over a scroll and squinted. "...He is. Is that normal?"
"No idea," she replied serenely. "But he looks happy."
A breeze lifted the curtain around Ranyu's crib, revealing a faint ember-glow in his belly as qi trickled in. It would have looked divine—if not for the sudden rumble that followed.
> BLARP.
"Oh no," a maid whispered.
"Oh yes," said another, already running for the incense.
"HE'S OVERLOADING AGAIN!" someone screamed.
The family scattered like frightened ducks. Xiao Yan dove behind a training dummy. Xiao Diao threw his cloak over his face. Xiao Zhan, the heroic clan leader, calmly got behind his wife.
Gu Wenxin simply sighed and reached for the lavender-scented incense.
In the center of it all, Xiao Ranyu smoldered faintly under his blanket, resigned to fate.
> "I'm cultivating," he thought. "I'm literally absorbing the essence of heaven and earth."
> "Why must it always smell like roasted cabbage when I break through?"
---
Later that evening, the courtyard quieted. The brothers were still mock-fighting, Zhan was in a meeting with elders, and Wenxin sat under the moonlight, cradling Ranyu close.
"You're a quiet one," she murmured. "Different from your brothers."
Ranyu, warm and sleepy in her arms, felt her heartbeat against his cheek. It was strong… for now.
He frowned slightly.
> "I have eight years before she dies,"
he thought. "Not this time."
The moonlight turned silver-white as clouds drifted past.
> [Auto-cultivation in progress… Energy gathered: 0.21%]
> "I'll get stronger. Quietly, for now. But I will change fate."