Deep Sleep

Every year on Lin Chan's birthday, he received gifts from his mother and sisters at home.

This year's gifts were a pair of Tiger Head Shoes, a Tiger Head Hat, a full set of Floral Cotton Jacket, and Cotton Pants.

His mother and sisters had rushed to embroider every piece by hand, and they fit him perfectly.

Dressed in them, Lin Chan looked like a little tiger cub brimming with vigor.

After spending a wonderful day, Lin Chan returned to his room and looked at the subtitles before him.

[You have successfully survived for three years in the immortal cultivation world. You may choose one talent from the following.]

[Merge Light: Merge the light of the sun, strengthen yang and generate vitality, dispel yin and drive away cold, replenish deficiencies.]

[Absorb Moon: Absorb moonlight, temper the soul, cleanse the flesh, and elevate spiritual awareness.]

[Deep Sleep: Efficient sleep. While asleep, you can grow through cultivation, recover from injuries, and extend your lifespan.]

Each of the three talents sounded more impressive than the last, leaving Lin Chan deeply torn.

Even now, he could not decide between them.

These talents sound intimidating, but their actual effects might not be as good as I imagine.

With that thought, Lin Chan ultimately chose the third one.

After all, Deep Sleep possessed the heaven-defying effect of extending one's lifespan.

For every additional year Lin Chan lived, he could choose one more talent. The longer he lived, the stronger he would become.

Even if it could only extend his life by a single year, allowing him to choose one extra talent was still a guaranteed profit.

After selecting the talent, another rune appeared in the sea of Lin Chan's consciousness—a little figure sleeping.

It was getting late. Under his wet nurse's care, Lin Chan removed his heavy clothes, burrowed into his blankets, and fell fast asleep.

The next day, Lin Chan woke from a deep sleep feeling refreshed from head to toe, brimming with energy. Even the qi and blood throughout his body seemed fuller.

Children were naturally sleepy, and Lin Chan's body was that of a three-year-old child. Ordinarily, he needed to sleep a full six shichen each day.

Though he had risen at his usual time today, he was in excellent condition. He probably would not need a midday nap.

He could cut down an hour of sleep.

As for the lifespan-extending effect, Lin Chan sensed it. One shichen... no, it should have been only a quarter of an hour.

After sleeping for five shichen, he had gained roughly a quarter of an hour of lifespan.

There were about a hundred such quarters in a day. In other words, Lin Chan would need one hundred days to gain a single extra day of life.

If he could live to be one hundred and three, he would gain an additional year of lifespan.

Of course, it was not entirely like that. The lifespan extension effect was tied to Lin Chan's sleeping time.

At present, sleeping five shichen every day gave him a quarter of an hour. If he slept ten shichen, he would gain two quarters of an hour.

But Lin Chan was so energetic now that he simply could not fall asleep.

Besides, if he slept day and night, what would be the point even if he gained two extra years? Time spent sleeping still counted against his natural lifespan.

"I'm so hungry! Forget it, I'll eat first."

After thinking for a while, Lin Chan decided to stop agonizing over it and get something to eat first.

Heaven and earth were vast, but filling his stomach was the greatest matter.

"Aunt Wang, I'm hungry."

Lin Chan spoke to the wet nurse caring for him at his side.

Upon hearing him, the wet nurse immediately sent someone to the kitchen.

With the Lin Family's masters and servants combined, there were several hundred people. The kitchen fires never went out.

Before long, Lin Chan was eating a bowl of steaming meat porridge.

Lin Chan did not know why he was so hungry today. Could Deep Sleep have consumed the nutrients in his body?

It really did seem to be the case. Though Lin Chan had been asleep, his stomach and intestines had continued working efficiently, constantly supplying him with nutrients so that he could grow even in his dreams.

Looking at it this way, this talent was no worse than the first two.

Still, Lin Chan could not help yearning for the first two talents.

Merge Light and Absorb Moon—even if their effects were weak—were both outstanding talents.

He wondered whether he would encounter them again in the future.

So far, he had not seen any talents reappear.

Deep Sleep also gave Lin Chan an extra shichen of waking time every day, which was perfect for spending in the study reading.

Most of what he read were stories, through which he learned about this world's customs and landscapes.

But Lin Chan still knew too few characters. Though he knew enough for everyday conversation and even writing letters, when reading miscellaneous essays he constantly came across characters he did not recognize and had to ask Lin Fangzheng about them.

Lin Fangzheng knew some of them, while others were beyond him.

This showed the value of a good teacher. Lin Chan could only write those characters down on paper and ask his teacher about them later.

Not many days after the New Year, Lin Fangzheng found Lin Chan a teacher.

It was Li Xingxiao, a pure Confucian devoted to scholarship and self-cultivation. He had earned the Juren degree more than ten years ago and was said to have cultivated Vast Righteous Qi.

Vast Righteous Qi was the entryway to Confucian cultivation, originating from the Second Sage's words: "I am skilled at nurturing my Vast Righteous Qi."

However, the Vast Righteous Qi of the Qi Nurturing Realm was not especially useful. It could merely ward off evil and misfortune while strengthening the body from within.

Vast Righteous Qi was the foundation of Confucian cultivation.

Now, martial arts flourished among mortals, while Immortal Cultivation stood in transcendent prosperity.

By comparison, Confucian cultivation lacked competitiveness. Thus, the Confucian path had declined to this day, and no great Confucian scholars or sages had appeared in the world again.

Of course, Lin Chan had learned all this from miscellaneous writings and casual discussions. He did not know the actual details.

He had not even figured out what Immortal Cultivation truly was.

The only thing he had come into contact with was martial arts.

Lin Chan was still young. He had plenty of time and opportunities ahead to slowly learn about such things.

For now, what he relied on most was still his once-a-year talent selection.

Choosing an auspicious time, Lin Fangzheng brought Lin Chan and a Tuition Gift—the gift for formally taking a teacher—to the Private School Li Xingxiao had opened, intending to have him become a disciple.

At the time, Li Xingxiao had not yet begun classes, and only a few scattered people were in the schoolhouse.

"Mr. Li, this is my Chan'er."

Lin Fangzheng pulled Lin Chan before Li Xingxiao.

Li Xingxiao wore plain clothes, without gold, silver, or jade ornaments on his person. Even his hairpin was wooden. He was also quite old and looked deeply aged.

"Teacher!"

Lin Chan greeted him obediently.

"Good child!"

Li Xingxiao examined Lin Chan, then nodded in satisfaction.

Lin Fangzheng held a high position in Yulin City, so Li Xingxiao had no reason to refuse.

As for Lin Chan being too young, it would be fine as long as he did not cause trouble.

There were no complicated rites for taking a teacher. Once the Private School began classes in a few days, Lin Chan could enroll.

After returning home, Lin Yuemian heard that Lin Chan had gone to the Private School and begged Lin Fangzheng to let her study there as well.

Li Xingxiao was a pure Confucian, pedantic to the extreme. He insisted on distinctions between men and women and was unwilling even to teach young children, much less accept a little girl as a disciple.

Lin Fangzheng did not bother asking. Instead, he went to the City Lord's Mansion. The City Lord's Wife possessed far deeper refinement than Madam Zhang, so he intended to place Lin Yuemian in City Lord Luo's household and have the City Lord's Wife properly raise and educate her.

Lin Yuemian happily thought she would be going to the Private School with Lin Chan. She never expected to be sent to the City Lord's home instead, and only realized her mistake after arriving.

By then, it was too late for regrets. She could only study and play alongside the City Lord's Wife's daughters.

After some time, she gradually got used to it.

Meanwhile, Uncle Liu escorted Lin Chan to and from school every day.

On his first day at the Private School, Lin Chan received much attention, and the brothers got along very harmoniously.

Lin Chan was the youngest, and his senior brothers all took excellent care of him.

And with Uncle Liu escorting him every day, his fierce, menacing face on display, no one dared bully Lin Chan.

From his senior brothers' idle chatter, Lin Chan learned some things about Yulin City.

Yulin City had three Innate Grandmasters in total: Lin Fangzheng, City Lord Luo Jingxing, and Xiao Ming.