Shrek Academy, Inner Court, Sea God Island.
In a room filled with a gentle aura of life and the faint scent of books, a baby opened his eyes, still groggy.
All he could make out was a blur of light, with the outline of the ceiling barely visible.
A few gentle female voices chatted beside him in an unfamiliar language.
Lin Ciyan—or rather, the soul that had once been Lin Ciyan—was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Seriously... bro, you're gonna sucker-punch me like that?"
His last memory was of walking through a crowded street, watching the final match of the League of Legends S25 World Championship on his phone screen.
The comments were going wild with "This is the LPL's year!"
His team was under immense pressure, preparing for the miracle team fight that would decide who took the championship.
He held his breath, his fingers trembling with excitement. His teammates had just landed a brilliant engage, and their ADC was about to clean up...
Then pain struck the back of his head, and everything went black.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had become a high-definition remaster—of a pixelated mess.
"Damn it! Couldn't you at least wait until I'd seen that team fight? Just let me find out whether we won or lost!"
He screamed inwardly, but all that came out was a faint, "Waa, waa."
[ Ding! The host's intense regret at being "born at the wrong time" and slacker mentality of "just wanting to see the ending" meet the binding conditions... Slacker System initializing... Binding complete! ]
[ Slacking Value is the system's sole currency. When the host achieves a state of slacking, the system quantifies and rewards it as a boost to comprehension and energy crystals. ]
A cold, mechanical voice rang directly in the depths of his mind.
Lin Ciyan was dumbfounded.
A system? The standard golden finger for transmigrators?
A Slacker System? That sounded wildly unreliable.
He tried moving his arms and legs, but his entire body felt limp. He couldn't muster the slightest strength.
Well, now he was truly slacking—literally.
Fine. Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. At least this sounded friendlier than some "Grindset System."
And so, through a baby's eyes, he began his life of "observation" on Sea God Island.
About two months passed. His eyesight gradually sharpened, and he began to understand bits and pieces of the language spoken in this world.
From the chatter of the maids caring for him and the muttered remarks of an old man who often came to visit—his aura gentle yet powerful—he pieced together some crucial information.
This was Shrek Academy, Inner Court, Sea God Island.
The era was the Peerless Tang Sect period.
The old man who often came to see him had kind eyes, with a trace of fatigue that was difficult to discern.
He was Lin Ciyan's paternal grandfather, Sea God Pavilion Elder Lin Qingmo.
"Shrek... Inner Court... grandson of an elder..."
As those words clicked together in his little head, immense joy and relief flooded Lin Ciyan's heart.
"My spawn point's at the fountain, and I'm in a VIP suite in the deepest part of the safe zone! This one's in the bag!"
Tang San, Huo Gua—those were problems for the future.
With his connections at the top of Shrek Academy, as long as he didn't go looking for trouble, he probably couldn't exactly run wild across the Douluo Continent.
But living in comfort until he died of old age? That shouldn't be a problem.
And the system had said it would take a million Slacking Value to return to the real world.
A million Slacking Value to get home? He could take his time. He had food and lodging here, plus a top-tier powerhouse to back him up.
What a perfect start!
[ Ding! The host has achieved the "Peacefully Being a Parasite" mindset. Slacking Value +10! ]
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, two and a half years had passed.
By Sea God Lake, a delicate little boy was clumsily poking the pebbles on the shore with a small twig.
He looked about three years old, with refined features and fair skin.
Most striking were his big, lively eyes, which held a laziness at odds with his age.
He was Lin Ciyan.
"Ci Yan, how are you feeling today?" asked a gentle, aged voice from behind him.
Lin Ciyan knew who it was without turning around. He slowly turned to face the old man seated in a wooden wheelchair, pushed over by a middle-aged man.
The old man's hair and beard were white, and wrinkles covered his face. Yet his eyes were warm and clear, as if they held endless wisdom and the weight of the years.
He was the foremost figure at Shrek Academy, the Sea God Pavilion Master, Dragon God Douluo Mu En.
The one pushing his wheelchair was his eldest disciple, Yan Shaozhe.
"Hello, Grandpa Mu. Hello, Uncle Yan," Lin Ciyan greeted them in a babyish voice, forcing a "well-behaved" smile onto his little face.
Mu En chuckled and gestured for Yan Shaozhe to stop the wheelchair beside Sea God Lake.
Yan Shaozhe bowed respectfully, then quietly withdrew to wait at a distance.
"Little one, daydreaming again?" Mu En asked, his eyes full of affection.
This child was the only descendant of Sea God Pavilion Elder Lin Qingmo, and there seemed to be something unusual about his soul from birth.
At times he was exceptionally clever; at others, he was oblivious and lazy. But his heart was pure, and Mu En was especially fond of him.
"Grandpa Mu, I'm not daydreaming," Lin Ciyan corrected him with a solemn face. "I'm... sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon!"
Well, mostly the sun felt so nice today that he couldn't be bothered to move.
[ Ding! The host has delivered a straight-faced load of nonsense before a Level 99 Limit Douluo. Slacking Value +25! ]
Mu En laughed and shook his head. "You always come up with the strangest excuses. Come, keep your grandpa company and chat with me."
He beckoned to Lin Ciyan, who trotted over to the wheelchair on his short little legs.
He naturally laid his small hand on Mu En's thin but warm hand.
Mu En held his hand as they faced the shimmering Sea God Lake.
"Ci Yan, look at Sea God Lake. When it's calm, it reflects the blue sky and white clouds and nourishes all things."
"When it churns, it can raise towering waves and unleash boundless power."
"A Soul Master's cultivation is the same. Sometimes you need to quiet your mind and contemplate; at other times, you need to press forward with courage."
Lin Ciyan nodded as if he understood, but what he was really thinking was: Churning sounds exhausting. Better to stay calm. Much more conducive to napping.
Mu En seemed to see right through him, but didn't call him out. He only smiled and asked, "Qingmo told me you don't seem very interested in Soul Master cultivation?"
"Other children your age are already clamoring to awaken their Martial Souls."
Lin Ciyan blinked his big eyes and spoke in the most innocent voice he could manage. "Grandpa Mu, I think cultivation's too much of a grind. Look at Uncle Yan and Mystic Ancestor. They're busy from dawn to dusk every day. It must be exhausting."
"I just want to bask in the sun and go fishing every day. That sounds nice."
[ Ding! The host has promoted the doctrine of lying flat before the Sea God Pavilion Master. Slacking Value +50! ]
The wrinkles on Mu En's face spread with his smile. He gently patted Lin Ciyan's little hand. "Everyone has their own ambitions. There's no forcing it."
"But, Ci Yan, remember this."
"Power itself is neither right nor wrong. What matters is what you use it for."
"Sometimes, having power isn't about winning or proving yourself. It's so you can better protect the peaceful life you want."
He paused, gazing into the depths of Sea God Lake, as if he could see through the water to the towering Golden Ancient Tree.
"Just like Sea God Island and Shrek Academy. They can be a sanctuary because they have enough power to keep outsiders from daring to invade."
Lin Ciyan pondered his words. They had sunk in.
Absolute power was the ultimate guarantee of slacking! If he became strong enough to blow up a planet with one punch, he could lie around however he wanted, couldn't he?
Hmm, that was a promising approach.
Seeing the little fellow's eyes drift away, clearly off in his own world again, Mu En smiled helplessly and said nothing more.
He savored this rare moment of quiet, feeling the breeze brush his face and the child's peaceful presence beside him.
Perhaps this pure, unhurried life was what he—and many other guardians of Shrek—yearned for deep down.
Lin Ciyan quietly opened the system panel, visible only to him.
[Host: Lin Ciyan] [Current Slacking Value: 185] [Martial Soul: Not awakened] [Shop: Locked (requires 1000 Slacking Value to unlock)]
"The road ahead is long..." he mused to himself.
"But with a start like this on Sea God Island, and Mu En as my backer, I've won the revival match!"
Now all he had to do was slack off in peace and wait for the moment his Martial Soul awakened.
He was curious. What kind of Martial Soul would his transmigrated soul, carrying a system, awaken in this Douluo Continent?
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