Chapter 35: The Iron Toddler
Time: The Next Morning.
Location: The Green Willow Courtyard.
The smell of smoke and burnt flesh from the alleyway had faded, washed away by the morning wind. The city was buzzing with rumors about the "Masked Brewer" who had roasted three mercenaries alive, but inside Luo Feng's courtyard, the atmosphere was quiet and grimly efficient.
Luo Feng was kneeling by the eastern wall of his house, burying a Spirit Stone into the dirt.
He was upgrading the defensive array.
Before, he had used a simple "Alarm Array" that merely alerted him to intruders. Now, with the Alchemy Guild showing their fangs and the Bandits getting involved, an alarm was not enough.
He placed a Formation Flag made of Spirit Iron-Wood into the soil.
"Mist-Lock Array," Luo Feng murmured, injecting Qi into the flag.
Hum.
A faint shimmer covered the courtyard. From the outside, the house looked normal. But if an intruder tried to jump the wall, they would find themselves trapped in a spatial loop, wandering in circles within a dense, blinding fog until Luo Feng decided to kill them.
"It will hold against a Layer 6 cultivator for ten minutes," Luo Feng calculated. "That is enough time for me to wake up and reload."
He dusted off his hands and walked into the house.
The Iron Toddler.
Inside the main room, Luo Xia was preparing breakfast. Or rather, she was trying to.
Luo Tian was sitting in his Cloud-Silk Wood Crib (the gift from Fatty Wang). At two months old, he was already the size of a six-month-old infant. His hair was thick and black, and his eyes were alert, tracking every movement in the room.
He wasn't crying. He was bored.
He gripped the railing of the expensive crib. The wood was durable, meant to withstand a toddler's tantrums.
Creak...
Luo Feng watched as the wood groaned.
Luo Tian's tiny fingers dug into the silk-wood. His knuckles turned white. He wasn't trying to break it; he was just pulling himself up to see better.
CRACK.
A chunk of the railing snapped off in his hand.
Luo Xia turned around, hearing the noise. "Oh no! That was expensive!"
Luo Tian looked at the splintered wood in his hand. He didn't drop it. He squeezed.
Crunch.
The hard wood turned into splinters and dust, falling onto the crib mattress like sawdust.
"Iron Bones," Luo Feng said, walking over and picking up his son. "He doesn't know his own strength yet. To him, wood feels like tofu."
He lifted the boy. Luo Tian felt heavy—dense, solid muscle wrapped in soft skin.
"He needs real food," Luo Feng decided. "Milk isn't enough. His body is consuming energy faster than he can drink it."
The Mush.
Luo Feng went to the small kitchen. He didn't cook mortal food. He treated this meal like Alchemy.
He took out three ingredients from his storage pouch:
Spirit Rice (Grade 1): Rich in pure Qi.
Mutated Vitality Yam (Grade 1): Enhances defense and blood production.
Spirit Goat Milk: From Silver, containing trace amounts of Lightning and Metal elements.
He put the rice and yams into a stone pot and boiled them until they broke down into a thick, fragrant paste. Then he whisked in the rich, creamy milk.
The result was a glowing, golden porridge.
[Item: Iron Toddler Mush]
[Grade: High-Grade Mortal Tonic]
[Effect: Massively increases bone density and physical strength. Lethal to ordinary infants.]
"Is it safe?" Luo Xia asked worriedly as Luo Feng brought the steaming bowl to the table. "That energy... I can feel the heat from here."
"For a normal baby? It would explode their stomach," Luo Feng admitted. "For him? It's just breakfast."
He scooped a spoonful of the golden mush.
Luo Tian's eyes locked onto the spoon. His nostrils flared. He could smell the Qi.
He opened his mouth.
Gulp.
He swallowed the hot mush without hesitation.
Luo Xia held her breath.
Luo Tian blinked. A faint flush of red appeared on his cheeks as the energy hit his stomach. Steam rose from the top of his head.
Then, he opened his mouth again. More.
Luo Feng grinned. "A tiger doesn't eat salad."
He fed the boy the entire bowl. By the end, Luo Tian looked satisfied, his skin glowing with a metallic luster. He belched, a sound that carried a surprising amount of bass, and promptly fell asleep to digest the massive influx of energy.
Peak of Layer 5.
With the baby fed and the wife safe, Luo Feng retreated to the bedroom for his own cultivation.
The confrontation with the thugs had taught him something: Layer 5 Mid-Stage was strong, but not dominant. The Alchemy Guild likely had Layer 6 or even Layer 7 experts on their payroll.
"I need to push."
He sat on the bed. He didn't enter the Farming Space today; he needed to be present in the house in case of another attack.
He took out a flask of Flame Spirit Wine (Batch 2).
He drank half the bottle in one breath.
BOOM.
The fire roared in his gut.
Sun & Moon Refining Technique.
He guided the violent energy. Usually, he would take hours to absorb this much. But his body, tempered by months of farming and fighting, was hungry.
He pushed the Qi into his meridians, ramming it against the blockage of the Mid-Stage.
Crack.
It gave way easier than expected.
His Qi swelled, filling his Dantian to the brim. The mist of spiritual energy inside him thickened, turning almost liquid.
[System Alert]
[Cultivation Breakthrough.]
[Current Rank: Qi Refining Layer 5 (Peak).]
Luo Feng exhaled a breath of turbid air. The air shot out like an arrow, punching a small hole in the paper window screen three meters away.
"Peak of Layer 5," Luo Feng clenched his fist. The air popped inside his palm. "One step away from Layer 6. My Spirit Sense is sharper. My reaction speed has doubled."
He was close. Layer 6 was the bridge to the Late Stages (7-9). Once he crossed that, he would be considered an 'Elder' level figure in a small city like this.
The Drill.
Evening came. The shadows grew long.
Luo Feng gathered Luo Xia in the main room. He placed the Spirit Iron-Wood Saber (the baby's toy) in the crib next to the sleeping Luo Tian.
"Xia," Luo Feng said seriously. "We need to practice."
"Practice what?"
"The Drill."
Luo Feng pointed to the hidden trapdoor under the rug—the entrance to the cellar/tunnel he had dug weeks ago.
"The Alchemy Guild is humiliated. The Bandits are angry. They will not just send thugs next time. They might send a cultivator who can fly over the walls."
He looked her in the eyes.
"If the Alarm Array triggers... if the Mist turns red... you do not look for me. You do not scream."
He grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly.
"You take Luo Tian. You run to the cellar. You lock the iron door from the inside. And you wait."
"What about you?" Luo Xia asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"I will be outside," Luo Feng turned to the window, his eyes cold. "Turning the courtyard into a graveyard."
"We practice now. Go."
Luo Xia hesitated for a second, then nodded. She scooped up the sleeping, heavy baby. She moved the rug. She opened the hatch and descended into the dark cellar.
Clang.
The iron bolt slid shut.
Luo Feng stood alone in the silent room. He listened to the lock click.
"Good," he whispered.
He sat down in the center of the room, facing the front door. He laid his saber across his knees.
He took out a Fire Talisman and a handful of Exploding Chili Seeds.
The "Iron Toddler" was growing. The home was fortified. His cultivation was at the peak.
"Come," Luo Feng said to the darkness outside. "I am ready."
[End of Chapter 35]