After reaching an understanding with the Light Maiden, an indescribable excitement surged through Lin Ciyan.
"By the way, we're partners now, so we ought to have a name for you, right?" Lin Ciyan scratched his head as he looked at the Light Maiden's breathtakingly beautiful face.
"Do you... have a name of your own?"
The Light Maiden gently shook her head, her silver hair flowing like a river of stars. "A name... I don't have one. I am light."
Lin Ciyan rubbed his chin, his eyes darting as an idea came to him. "Since you're coming with me, why not take my surname, Lin?"
"You're so radiant, like the most spirited glimmer of light in the morning dawn... How about Lin Xiyao?"
"Xi means morning light, and Yao means beautiful jade. They suit you perfectly."
"From now on, I'll call you 'Xiyao.' It feels friendlier!"
"Lin... Xiyao..." The Light Maiden—or rather, Lin Xiyao—softly repeated the name. A hint of novelty and faint joy appeared on her lovely face, and she nodded. "It sounds nice... Xiyao. I like it."
With the matter of her name settled, the pressing reality of the situation immediately came flooding back.
Lin Ciyan glanced at his system panel.
[Current Slacking Value: 1534 points]
But that key item in the [Slacker Shop]—the Soul Hyperion—cost a staggering 8888 Slacking Value! It was an astronomical sum!
"Crap, money's never there when you need it!" Lin Ciyan wailed inwardly. "And how am I supposed to explain Xiyao to Grandpa and Mu En...?"
"Should I just say, 'Teacher, I'm not looking for a Soul Ring anymore. I brought home a three-hundred-thousand-year-old big sister'? They'll think I've lost my mind..."
Under immense pressure, he had no choice but to carefully browse the [Slacker Shop] once more, hoping to find a way out.
Before, he had stuck to his guiding principle: "If I can lie down, I absolutely won't stand."
He had kept his distance from items that required taking the initiative to face a challenge and carried risks.
But now, he had no choice but to turn his attention to these "high-risk, high-reward" options.
Before long, an item he had previously overlooked caught his eye.
[Item: Slacker Paradox Simulator (One-Time Trial Version)] [Description: Tired of the same old slacking life? Longing for a little excitement while lying flat?] [This simulator will take you into a challenge world derived from real-world logic. Complete the system-issued "Spread Slacking" missions to earn generous Slacking Value based on your performance!] [Please note: Failure in the challenge may result in a deduction of Slacking Value.] [Effect: Initiates a special consciousness-travel challenge. The host's actions in the challenge world will not affect the real-world timeline.] [Price: 1000 Slacking Value] [Slogan: Sometimes, slacking also requires a little "initiative"!]
"What a rip-off!" Lin Ciyan's mouth twitched.
"Isn't this thing forcing me to 'work hard at slacking'? It's practically psychological manipulation in the slacking world!"
"And they'll even deduct my points if I fail..."
He could complain all he wanted, but with only 1534 Slacking Value and the 8888 he needed still far out of reach, he had no other choice.
"Damn it, risk it and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle! I'm buying it!"
[Ding! 1000 Slacking Value consumed. Successfully purchased "Slacker Paradox Simulator (One-Time Trial Version)." Remaining Slacking Value: 534 points]
After the purchase, he instinctively glanced at his information panel.
[Core System: Slacker Shop (Beginner)] [Passive Skills: Winning-by-Lying-Down Aura, Great Dream Freedom Scripture, Saitama Invisibility Mode] [Items: Causality Item—"Definitely Next Time" Talisman, Slacker Paradox Simulator (New)] [Martial Soul: Holy Radiance Qilin (Ultimate Light · Five Basic Attributes)] [Soul Power: Level 20 Quasi-Soul Grandmaster (Second Soul Ring not yet acquired)] [Soul Skill: First Soul Skill · Dawn Break Fist] [Soul Bone: External Soul Bone · Source of Dawn (Growth-type)]
"I've got plenty of passive abilities, but unfortunately, none of them can help me right now." Lin Ciyan sighed, his gaze resolute.
"Use it! Slacker Paradox Simulator!!!"
[Ding! Item activated!] [Notice: The host's consciousness is about to be anchored to the space-time coordinates of Nuoding City, at the time of Tang San and Xiao Wu's enrollment.] [Challenge Mission Issued: Within 7 days, spread the "Slacking Cultivation Method" or related ideas as widely as possible in the current world.] [Mission Reward: Slacking Value will be calculated based on the combined assessment of the ideas' reach, influence, and the "slacking shock" they cause.] [Additional Notice: Interacting with certain characters may trigger hidden challenge missions.] [The host's actions in this world will not affect the history of the main world, but will directly affect your Slacking Value earnings.] [We wish you... happy slacking! Teleportation commencing!]
Before he had time to think, Lin Ciyan felt everything around him—
including the Glazed Light Realm, his grandfather, and Xiyao beside him—freeze in an instant, as if someone had pressed pause.
His consciousness sank into darkness along with it.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ciyan abruptly opened his eyes.
The glaring sunlight made him squint. Noisy voices and the clatter of carts and horses reached his ears.
He found himself standing in a narrow, somewhat filthy alley, with hard-packed earth beneath his feet.
"So this is... traveling through time?" He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked around.
Most of the buildings were low wooden-and-stone structures, crude and simple in style. The passersby's clothes also carried a strong "medieval countryfolk" air.
Compared with the Peerless Tang Sect era he came from, when Soul Tools had begun to develop, this place was more than an age behind.
"Good grief, I went straight from 'high tech' back to 'primitive society.'" He couldn't help commenting.
Lin Ciyan began to think about the mission. "Seven days to spread slacking... I need somewhere with a big audience, or... I could make a big splash?"
As he pondered, he walked out of the alley and joined the flow of people on the street.
Street vendors hawking their wares, patrolling guards, and hurried passersby made up a lively picture of a town from another world.
He stopped a peddler selling miscellaneous goods and put on an innocent smile. "Sir, how do I get to Notting Academy?"
The peddler looked him over and pointed. "There. Follow this main street east. You'll see the grandest gate in town."
"Thanks!" Lin Ciyan thanked him and headed in that direction, calculating as he walked. "Today's the day the 'Tang God King' and 'Succubus Rabbit' enroll!"
"No, wait! They should be called 'Little Scumbag' and 'Little Rabbit' right now!"
"This is a goldmine for famous scenes—a secret to attracting attention! It'd be a crime not to cash in."
At the thought, he instinctively sensed his Soul Power, and his expression immediately fell.
"What the hell! System, are you messing with me?" he ranted inwardly.
"I'm a quasi-Soul Grandmaster, a genius who reached level twenty at eight years old. Why does my Soul Power feel like it's only... level eleven or twelve?!"
"My Holy Radiance Qilin Martial Soul is still here, but my Soul Power has been suppressed?!"
[Ding! The host's query has been detected.] [To ensure fairness in the challenge and the purity of the ideas being spread, the host's cultivation has been reasonably adjusted to a level roughly comparable to the current era and target characters.] [Please focus on spreading the "Way of Slacking" itself, rather than relying on force.]
"..." Lin Ciyan was speechless. This system had really gone to great lengths to force him to "use his mouth, not his fists."
"Fine, you win." He sighed and accepted his fate.
"Even if my level's been nerfed, my knowledge and gift of gab haven't. I can use my brains to slack and still thrive!"
He quickened his pace. Soon, the imposing gates of an academy—at least by Nuoding City's standards—came into view in the distance.
The familiar gates and setting stirred memories of the novel he had read.
"Tut, tut. This is the place." A teasing smile curled Lin Ciyan's lips.
The site of the famous "Notting Academy Gatekeeper" incident, and where a certain master had staged his grand disciple-acceptance act.
The stage where a blacksmith's son had shown off his pride in his Innate Full Soul Power.
As if he were the only one with Innate Full Soul Power.
He could almost see the "Little Scumbag," dressed in clothes full of patches.
And Yu Xiaogang, the "theoretical master," who got by on plagiarism and bluster.
"If I run into them, I'd better give them a little 'slacking shock.' Otherwise, this trip through time will have been for nothing!"
Lin Ciyan found an inconspicuous corner with a clear view, leaned against the wall at his leisure, and settled in to watch the show.
Come on, then. Let's see just how "classic" this classic scene really is.