Gao Wu: A centenarian old man, many children and good fortune! Chapter 064

Soon, Chen Yuyao’s second child, and Xiao Yan’s seventh child, finally arrived. As a “veteran” with one birthing experience, Chen Yuyao appeared much calmer. Her physique was that of a quasi-warrior, and her recovery ability was extremely strong.

This birthing process was a textbook example of smoothness. Accompanied by a loud cry, Xiao Yan’s third daughter was born.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host, your offspring (Chen Yuyao’s second daughter) has been born. Potential evaluation: [Excellent]. Triggering [Two Hundredfold Bloodline Feedback · Amplification]!”

This was the last time this year, and the third time, that the two hundredfold amplification from “Excellent” potential had been triggered!

As this powerful energy, as fierce as a volcanic eruption yet filled with the joy of new life, completely integrated into Xiao Yan’s body, he clearly felt that the already incomparably vast Emperor-level True Essence within him, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, finally broke through an invisible barrier!

Power! An unprecedented sense of power filled his limbs and bones!

He even had the illusion that, if he wished, a single punch could shake mountains and tear apart the sky!

He suppressed the urge to immediately test his power, held his newly born, extraordinarily significant little daughter, and went to Chen Yuyao’s side.

Chen Yuyao looked at the child in her husband’s arms and felt the even more unfathomable and powerful aura emanating from her husband, as if subtly resonating with heaven and earth. A look of immense happiness and adoration appeared on her face. She stretched out her hand and tightly clasped Xiao Yan’s, a thousand words unspoken.

…

After that thrilling operation, Xiao Yan entered a relatively stable period.

Due to their previous outstanding achievements and strategic adjustments after the “Scorched Earth” operation, the Special Operations Brigade temporarily received no new high-risk out-of-city missions. Their main focus was on routine training, equipment maintenance, and regular patrols of the already cleared areas surrounding the city. As the brigade commander and concurrent deputy chief of staff, Xiao Yan still had to handle some daily administrative duties and participate in divisional meetings, but compared to the tense state of impending war, he was undoubtedly much more at ease.

He devoted most of his energy to consolidating and improving his own strength. During the day at the camp, he would use his authority to access more information about transcendent realms, cultivation techniques, and combat skills, or enter his personal training room to try and integrate the scattered insights fed back by his children, refine the True Essence circulation of the Emperor-level Tai Chi Art, and deduce the subsequent variations of Nine Thunderous Waves.

Returning home at night was his most relaxing and “fruitful” time. Watching his six babbling, tottering children (Lin Xueqing, Wang Ruolan, Su Wan’er, Zhang Jingyao, Liu Feiyan each had one child, and Chen Yuyao had her second), like six tireless “cultivation little motors,” they continuously provided him with faint but persistent insights into power control, body coordination, and blood circulation during their playful frolics.

Xiao Yan was pleasantly surprised to discover that as the children gradually grew older, capable of imitating more actions and with their comprehension abilities beginning to sprout, the types and quality of “insights” fed back by the system were also slowly improving!

For example, his eldest daughter, Xiao Xiuyun, under Xiao Yan’s deliberate guidance, could already perform the first three stances of the Emperor-level Tai Chi Art quite impressively. Although they had no power whatsoever, the smooth and continuous “force” was subtly taking shape. The feedback the system gave Xiao Yan also began to involve deeper Tai Chi principles such as “center of gravity shifting” and “empty-solid changes,” rather than just simple “force application techniques.”

Li Xiuying’s son, Xiao Xiufeng, seemed naturally more interested in strength and enjoyed imitating Xiao Yan’s movements of punching the ground. Xiao Yan then taught him some of the most basic “horse stance punches.” Although the little guy couldn’t stand steadily or punch straight, each time he exerted himself, he instinctively learned how to mobilize his entire body’s strength. The feedback to Xiao Yan was subtle insights into “power transmission” and “instantaneous burst.”

Chen Yuyao’s eldest daughter, Xiao Chenlong, seemed more sensitive to breathing techniques and enjoyed imitating adult breathing sounds. Xiao Yan then taught her some simple abdominal breathing methods, integrated into games like blowing bubbles and imitating bird calls. The feedback to Xiao Yan was a slight improvement in “blood circulation” and “energy absorption efficiency.”

The other younger children, though still in the stage of懵懂模仿, each clumsy attempt contributed the most basic and valuable “body instinct control” experience to Xiao Yan!

Thus, with the continuous “assistance” of his eight children, Xiao Yan’s control over his vast power rapidly improved at a speed far exceeding conventional cultivation! He felt like an explorer holding a treasure map, gradually unlocking the mysteries of his own massive treasure trove!

The Emperor-level Tai Chi Art operated with increasing fluidity and ease, and the refinement of his True Essence steadily improved.

Nine Thunderous Waves progressed even more rapidly! With a significant increase in power control, he could not only stably execute the first three waves but also managed to barely unleash the “breaking waves” momentum of the fourth wave! Although it was still unstable and its power was far from expected, this was already a huge breakthrough! Once he could fully master the fourth wave, his instantaneous burst power would rise another level!

…

However, just as Xiao Yan was immersed in the joy of his steadily improving strength and warm family life, an imperceptible undercurrent was quietly stirring beneath the city’s calm surface.

In the outlying areas of Fourth New Nanjing City, in the old districts and industrial ruins far from the bustling center and where management was relatively lax, scattered reports of missing persons began to appear.

Initially, these reports did not attract much attention from the higher-ups. After all, in such a massive steel metropolis with tens of millions of people, a few missing persons cases occurring daily were not unusual. Most were attributed to ordinary criminal cases, runaways, or accidents, and were handed over to the local security departments.

But as time passed, things seemed to start going awry.

The number of reports showed a slow but continuous upward trend. The range of missing persons also gradually expanded from the initial marginalized groups like homeless people and scavengers to ordinary citizens, and even included some low-level martial artist apprentices studying in martial arts halls or junior academies.

Even more bizarrely, almost all missing person scenes were unusually clean, with no signs of struggle or valuable clues left behind, as if the missing persons had simply vanished into thin air.

This patternized, clean-cut type of disappearance finally caught the attention of the Alliance Security Department’s Fourth New Nanjing branch. They began a secret investigation, but progress was slow, and they remained clueless.

One day, Zhao Meng contacted Xiao Yan via encrypted communication for a routine information update and personal greeting. Although the two now belonged to different systems (Zhao Meng was still in the “Guardian” sequence’s reserve, responsible for some special affairs), they were close friends and often exchanged information that didn’t involve core secrets.

“…Oh, by the way, Old Xiao,” after discussing some military matters and family affairs, Zhao Meng casually mentioned, “The city hasn’t been very peaceful lately. The number of missing persons cases seems to have increased significantly. The people from the Security Department are almost driven crazy, but they haven’t found anything. Although it’s probably just ordinary public order issues, you should still be more careful. Tell your wives and children to avoid those remote places as much as possible and pay attention to safety.”

“Missing persons cases?” Xiao Yan’s heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. He spent most of his time cultivating in the camp or at home and wasn’t very aware of the external security situation.

“Yeah,” Zhao Meng seemed to have just mentioned it casually, not paying too much attention. “They’re all scattered cases, happening in the outlying districts. Probably just some short-sighted petty thieves, or… another one of those shady evil organizations causing trouble. Anyway, the Security Department and the Security Bureau are investigating, so it should be resolved soon.”

“Mmm, I understand, thanks for the reminder.” Xiao Yan responded. Although he felt Zhao Meng’s tone was somewhat relaxed, his keen intuition subtly caught a hint of something unusual.

Vanished into thin air? Clean scenes? Even low-level martial artist apprentices disappearing?

This… didn’t sound like ordinary criminal cases.

However, since the Security Department was already involved, and it hadn’t affected the core areas or the people around him yet, Xiao Yan didn’t pay too much attention. His current status was different, and his energy was limited; he couldn’t personally handle everything. It was better to leave professional matters to professionals.

He kept Zhao Meng’s reminder in mind, instructed his home security forces to heighten their vigilance, and then once again focused his attention on his own cultivation and… the “nurturing” of his children.

…

Another half a year passed.

This year, for Xiao Yan and his Special Operations Brigade, was a peaceful and fulfilling one. There were no high-risk out-of-city missions, only systematic training and routine patrols. Xiao Yan, relying on his accumulated military achievements and powerful personal strength, gained increasing prestige within the brigade, with no one daring to voice dissent. Lin Wei also completely adjusted her mindset, diligently assisting him in handling various affairs. The two cooperated seamlessly, and the brigade’s various training indicators and combat readiness levels steadily improved.

At the year-end evaluation, without suspense, the Special Operations Brigade once again received an “A” rating. This not only provided the brigade with more resource allocation but also added a glorious mark to Xiao Yan’s and Lin Wei’s resumes.

And Xiao Yan’s own strength, under a year of peaceful accumulation and continuous “feedback” from his children, underwent earth-shattering changes.

His control over the Emperor-level True Essence became increasingly fluid and natural, exuding a master’s demeanor in every gesture.

Although the Emperor-level Tai Chi Art still seemed some distance from breaking through to the next realm, his understanding was already extremely profound.

Nine Thunderous Waves progressed even more rapidly! Under the superposition of countless “insight feedbacks,” he not only completely mastered the first three waves but also successfully comprehended the “breaking waves” momentum of the fourth wave! When he now unleashed it, with four waves stacked, its power was more than thirty percent stronger than when he killed the high-level parasite! He had even touched the threshold of the fifth wave, “cracking the shore”!

His foundational strength also steadily increased with the continuous feedback from his eight children (Xiao Xiuyun, Xiao Xiufeng, Xiao Chenlong, and six infants (Lin Xueqing, Wang Ruolan, Su Wan’er, Zhang Jingyao, Liu Feiyan each had one child, and Chen Yuyao had her second)).

On this day, Xiao Yan once again came to the underground training room to perform a strength test.

He casually threw a punch.

“Boom!!!”

On the strength testing device’s screen, the numbers rapidly jumped, finally settling—

48, 500 kilograms!!

He was not far from the 60, 000-kilogram threshold of Transcendent Ninth Grade!

Feeling the vast, surging power within him, and the far greater control he had over this power than ever before, Xiao Yan’s eyes were filled with strong confidence!