Back on Sea God Island, Lin Qingmo waved a hand.
He promptly granted Lin Ciyan a week of "paid leave."
They'd spent the previous two months training him to the bone, then, the moment he caught his breath, they'd headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Grandfather and grandson had spent nearly another month roughing it in the wilderness.
Never mind Lin Ciyan, who championed Slacker Cultivation.
Even Lin Qingmo himself felt that his old bones needed some time to recharge.
Lin Qingmo: I've been grinding away for most of my life, and now I'm a Super Douluo. Can't I enjoy myself a little?
So Lin Ciyan quickly returned to his "real" job: fishing and sunbathing.
He lay in his private little room in the Sea God Pavilion, circulating the Great Dream Freedom Scripture.
His days were as regular and relaxed as could be.
One leisurely afternoon, Lin Ciyan looked within himself.
He discovered that after absorbing his First Soul Ring, his Holy Radiance Qilin Martial Soul seemed to have grown more substantial.
A thought stirred, and he summoned the phantom of his Martial Soul.
Golden flames flowed around the jade-like Qilin, shining brighter than ever.
Its sacred, auspicious aura had also grown more intense.
When he activated his Soul Skill, a faint holy light seemed to envelop him.
He had quite the air of a "Son of Light God," a striking contrast to his usual lazy demeanor.
"Relaxation is a form of cultivation, too."
Thinking this in his own slacker fashion, he shifted into an even more comfortable position in the hammock.
Easy days never lasted. During this very vacation, an "challenger" showed up at his door, impatient to test himself.
It was none other than the supremely confident Bei Bei!
He'd obtained his First Soul Ring a month before Lin Ciyan.
His Soul Skill was the family-standard Thunder Dragon Claw, and it packed quite a punch.
He'd been itching to prove the might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
"Brother Lin, let's spar! I want to see your First Soul Skill!"
Bei Bei was raring to go, faint blue lightning flickering around him.
Lin Ciyan yawned and rose lazily from the hammock. "Sure. I'll stretch my legs with you."
The two stood facing each other by Sea God Lake.
Bei Bei gave a low shout. The Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and blue dragon scales instantly covered his right hand.
His fingers curled into a claw, wrapped in crackling blue lightning, as he lunged at Lin Ciyan with ferocious momentum!
"First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Faced with the swift attack, Lin Ciyan remained completely calm.
Only when the lightning-wreathed claw was about to strike did the deep-yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly flare!
He didn't choose to release a ball of light from a distance.
Instead, he instantly gathered the power of Dawn Break into his right fist.
His entire fist seemed to become a miniature sun. He neither dodged nor flinched, meeting the Thunder Dragon Claw head-on!
"Dawn Break Fist!"
"Boom—!"
Light and lightning, two utterly different energies, collided with a thunderous crash!
The stalemate he'd expected never came.
Lin Ciyan's fist, infused with the power of Light Shock,
dispersed the lightning around Bei Bei's claw in an almost crushing instant!
The highly concentrated penetrating force made Bei Bei's entire arm go numb, and his attack crumbled on the spot.
But that wasn't all!
The moment their fists collided, Dawn Break's additional effect activated!
"Hum!"
A burst of intense light erupted from Lin Ciyan's fist.
Bei Bei's vision turned blindingly white in an instant. He couldn't see a thing.
He cried out in shock and stumbled backward, waving his hands wildly in front of him.
"Ah! My eyes!"
Lin Ciyan seized the opening, gliding forward with light steps, as if out for a leisurely stroll.
While Bei Bei's vision was still recovering, he didn't press the attack. He simply reached out and lightly tapped Bei Bei on the forehead.
"You lose, Bei Bei."
Bei Bei's vision slowly returned. He looked at Lin Ciyan, who hadn't even broken a sweat,
still wearing an easygoing expression, and stared at him in disbelief and frustration.
The Thunder Dragon Claw he'd been so proud of had been utterly helpless against his opponent's bizarre and powerful Soul Skill.
It had even failed to make him take a single step!
[ Ding! You effortlessly crushed Bei Bei in a spar, perfectly demonstrating the superiority of facing an opponent with "Relaxation." Slacking Value +78! ]
Not far away, Zhang Lexuan happened to arrive just in time to see it all. She shook her head helplessly.
She knew just how monstrous Lin Ciyan's talent and Martial Soul were. Bei Bei's loss was no disgrace.
But Bei Bei was still young and proud. This blow would likely hit him hard.
Sure enough, after that day, Bei Bei seemed like a different person.
He started training like his life depended on it, trying to close the gap between himself and Lin Ciyan.
Watching his friend grind himself into the ground,
Lin Ciyan felt this went against the true spirit of "slacking."
So he dragged Bei Bei back to Sea God Lake and forced him to "slack off" together.
"Bei Bei, cultivation isn't about suffering through endless toil. Come, try my method. Relax and feel the world around you."
At first, Bei Bei felt stiff and uncomfortable.
But under the influence of Lin Ciyan's Winning-by-Lying-Down Aura and the faint domain radiating from the Great Dream Freedom Scripture,
he was astonished to discover that when he truly relaxed and stopped forcing things,
his Soul Power grew slowly, but it never stopped—and it flowed more smoothly, becoming more refined!
"Th-this is impossible!" Bei Bei was stunned. He looked at Lin Ciyan with wonder and curiosity.
He thought, Could Brother Lin's seemingly lazy way of being really be a higher level of cultivation?
That must be it. His Martial Soul is so special; his method of cultivation must be different from everyone else's!
[ Ding! You successfully led an important companion to tentatively accept the "Relaxation Cultivation Method." The spread of the philosophy has increased. Slacking Value +58! ]
And so, with the dual buffs of "lying down and winning," their cultivation steadily improved.
Bei Bei maintained the elite pace of one level every three months.
Lin Ciyan was faster, gaining a level every two months or so.
The leisurely—and strenuous—days flew by.
More than a year later, both of them had turned eight.
Bei Bei's Soul Power reached level eighteen.
Lin Ciyan, meanwhile, had already broken through to level twenty, becoming a Soul Grandmaster-in-waiting!
He'd even deliberately suppressed his progress for a while to build a solid foundation.
Despite the two-level gap in Soul Power, Bei Bei continued to lose every spar.
But he wasn't discouraged. He remained convinced that once he gained his Second and Third Soul Rings, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon would undergo a qualitative transformation.
Seeing Bei Bei's defiant gaze, Lin Ciyan patted him on the shoulder and spoke with the air of someone who'd been around the block:
"Bei, don't be so impatient. Sometimes, the harder you try to hold on to something, the easier it is to lose it."
"Relax a little. Maybe your Soul Power will go up on its own. Look at me—do I seem like I'm working hard?"
[ Ding! You gave your companion a "humblebrag" lecture, reinforcing your "Relaxation" persona. Slacking Value +66! ]
Bei Bei's mouth twitched as he looked at Lin Ciyan's innocent expression, as if to say, "I barely even train, but my level keeps going up on its own."
A nameless fire nearly flared up in him again.
"Hmph! Just you wait. I'll surpass you with my Second Soul Ring!" Bei Bei said stubbornly, still refusing to take the advice to heart.
After all, he wasn't the easily fooled five-year-old he'd once been.
Lin Ciyan watched him run off, shrugged helplessly, and lay back in his own hammock.
"Alas, these days, no one believes you even when you tell the truth."