Bei Bei's Martial Soul was a mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
It had inherited the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's formidable attack power.
It had also fused with the Radiant Sacred Dragon bloodline passed down through Mu En's branch, giving it extraordinary potential.
By rights, with such talent, he should have shone brilliantly in the original story.
Unfortunately, after a childhood upheaval, he had grown withdrawn for a time, until Zhang Lexuan appeared.
Zhang Lexuan was a genius of the Inner Court, gentle and kind.
Her arrival was like a ray of sunlight shining into Bei Bei's closed-off world.
In the original story, Bei Bei had become deeply dependent on her, his feelings a tangle of familial affection and hazy fondness.
Those feelings had become the greatest comfort of his childhood, but they had also diverted much of his energy from cultivation.
Later, his meeting with Tang Ya and his obsession with the make-believe game of "rebuilding the Tang Sect" had slowed his progress even further.
However, in this timeline,
the sudden emergence of Lin Ciyan had brought about a subtle change.
Bei Bei had met Lin Ciyan earlier, and the two of them had both possessed Innate Full Soul Power.
Yet Lin Ciyan had left him far behind with an attitude that was almost "slack-off and let things be."
This had given Bei Bei's competitive spirit a tremendous jolt.
He devoted more time to cultivation, and naturally had less contact with Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan, on the other hand, often visited Sea God Island to see Mu En, and took the opportunity to check in on the two little ones.
After several encounters, Zhang Lexuan began to notice something.
Lin Ciyan was always languid, as if he couldn't care less about anything, yet there was something unusual about him.
Unlike Bei Bei, he didn't wear his determination to catch up on his face. His easy composure, and the "crooked logic" he occasionally spouted—his Slacking Philosophy—
along with his face, which grew ever more handsome and radiant with age, made Zhang Lexuan think...
He was interesting. Sometimes, when the boy was quiet, she even thought his profile looked rather handsome.
That day, Lin Ciyan had just finished a round of "meditative visualization" (in reality, he'd spent three hours lying half-asleep with the Slacker Health Brain-Wave Headset on).
The tempering of his spiritual power had left him with a deep-seated exhaustion,
and he was sprawled on a large blue-gray boulder at the edge of Sea God Island, sunning himself.
His whole body radiated an unmistakable "do not disturb" aura.
"Lin Ciyan!"
A loud, hearty shout shattered the silence.
Bei Bei ran over, his face alight with confidence and fighting spirit.
Two Soul Rings rose beneath his feet—one yellow, one purple!
He had also obtained a thousand-year Second Soul Ring! His Soul Power fluctuations were steady at around twenty-two levels.
"I successfully absorbed a thousand-year Second Soul Ring! My Soul Power has also broken through to level twenty-two!"
Bei Bei stared intently at Lin Ciyan, who was sprawled out in a big X. "Come on, let's fight! I won't lose to you so easily this time!"
Lin Ciyan couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes all the way. He yawned lazily. "Bei Bei... can't you see I'm 'recovering my spiritual power'?"
"You're disturbing my beauty sleep. That's immoral."
"Cut the nonsense! Get up!" Bei Bei's fighting spirit soared.
"I accepted it when your Soul Power was higher. But now we're both Soul Grandmasters, and our Soul Ring configurations are the same."
"Today, we're settling this once and for all!"
Lin Ciyan sighed and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Fine, fine. Since you're so eager to get beaten up, I'll magnanimously grant your wish."
Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet, just as astonishingly yellow and purple as Bei Bei's—only his purple ring looked deeper and more restrained.
"Watch out!" Bei Bei barked, and his First Soul Ring lit up.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Blue-purple dragon scales covered his right hand, wrapped in crackling arcs of electricity.
He lunged straight at Lin Ciyan with a fierce, imposing momentum.
Faced with the swift attack, Lin Ciyan still seemed only half-awake.
Only when the dragon claw was about to strike did he shift his footwork like a sleepwalker.
His body slid sideways at an almost impossibly slight angle, narrowly evading the razor-sharp claw.
At the same time, he casually flicked his right hand, and a thin yet solid layer of Holy Radiance Soul Power instantly covered his arm.
"Crackle!" The Thunder Dragon Claw collided with the Holy Radiance Soul Power, producing a harsh screech. Sparks flew, but the attack failed to break through his defense.
"Decent speed, but a little lacking in power."
Lin Ciyan even had time to offer a comment, his voice still languid with sleep.
Bei Bei's first strike missed, but he wasn't discouraged. His Second Soul Ring lit up right after.
"Second Soul Skill: Ten Thousand Thunderbolts!"
Soul Power transformed into countless electric snakes that slowly grew larger, gathering into lightning bolts that flashed through the air. They formed a dense Thunder Web to cover the enemy, restrain their movements, and inflict damage. The lightning could also be concentrated in both palms.
He released his lightning Soul Power, which transformed into countless electric snakes that slowly grew larger.
They spread into a dense Thunder Web, attempting to ensnare Lin Ciyan.
This attack covered a wider area and moved faster!
Lin Ciyan's eyes shifted. This time, he neither met the attack head-on nor dodged it completely.
His Second Soul Ring—the disguised purple light—flashed and vanished.
"Second Soul Skill: Light Domain: Holy Radiance Sky Curtain!"
A gentle, sacred curtain of light abruptly unfurled around him, enveloping them both in an instant.
Bei Bei's lightning Soul Power roared into the Light Domain, but its speed visibly slowed by a fraction.
The Soul Power within it even seemed to be gradually assimilated and absorbed by the Light Domain!
"What?!" Bei Bei cried in shock, feeling his Soul Skill's power weaken.
Just as his old strength had faded and his new strength had yet to rise, Lin Ciyan moved!
His movements could hardly be called lightning-fast, but they carried a strange rhythm and precision.
The moment the light of his First Soul Skill, Dawn Break Fist, began to shine on his fist,
he skillfully drew upon the gathered light elements within the still-active Light Domain: Holy Radiance Sky Curtain!
He didn't fuse with them completely; he simply borrowed their momentum!
The active light elements in the domain responded as if guided.
They flowed of their own accord into the radiance of his fist, making it instantly more concentrated and dazzling!
"Thud!"
With a muffled impact, Lin Ciyan's seemingly casual punch—
which in truth carried the domain's enhancement—
struck before Bei Bei could react.
It landed precisely on the arm Bei Bei had hastily raised to block.
"Ugh!" Bei Bei felt a mighty, pure force of light pierce into his body,
bringing with it a powerful penetrating and vibrating effect.
His defenses were instantly shattered, and his body flew backward beyond his control.
Bei Bei's blood and energy churned. His vision went black, and he fainted on the spot.
From the start of the battle to its end, barely ten seconds had passed.
Lin Ciyan dispelled his Soul Skill and domain, then walked over to check on Bei Bei.
After confirming that Bei Bei had only been knocked unconscious and was otherwise unharmed,
he shook his head helplessly. "I told you I was resting. You just had to test your luck."
"Heh. Quite the spar for someone who was 'resting.'"
An old voice rang out, tinged with amusement.
Lin Ciyan looked up.
Mu En was standing beneath a tree not far away, though Lin Ciyan had no idea when he'd arrived.
He was watching them with a smile.
"Teacher." Lin Ciyan bowed.
Mu En came over, glanced at the unconscious Bei Bei, then looked at Lin Ciyan, his eyes full of approval. "Your control over Soul Power has grown increasingly precise."
"You're also beginning to grasp how to use a domain. You know how to borrow its momentum instead of relying on brute force."
"Ciyan, it seems your 'relaxed' approach to cultivation does have its own merits."
Lin Ciyan scratched his head and chuckled. "That's mostly because you're such a good teacher. The Meditation Cushion and Visualization Technique help, too."
"Lying down... I mean, visualizing while lying down can make you stronger. It suits me pretty well."
Mu En laughed and pointed at Bei Bei. "Take him back."
"With you as a whetstone, that boy's fighting spirit has certainly been roused. It's a good thing."
"Though you're a rather sharp 'blade' yourself."
Lin Ciyan hoisted Bei Bei over his shoulder and muttered, "That's what he gets for coming after me while I was 'taking a nap'..."
After Lin Ciyan carried Bei Bei away, at the corner of a nearby covered walkway,
a graceful figure stood quietly. It was Zhang Lexuan.
She had witnessed the entire brief but brilliant battle, and her beautiful eyes sparkled.
She had heard that Bei Bei had obtained his Second Soul Ring and come to encourage him, only to see this scene instead.
"Lin Ciyan... he looks so lazy and laid-back, but when he fights, he's so... powerful."
Zhang Lexuan murmured softly to herself. The boy's languid yet confident smile rose unbidden in her mind,
along with his effortless composure in battle. Her cheeks warmed slightly.
After dropping Bei Bei off at his residence,
Lin Ciyan returned to his room.
He continued "slacking-style" spiritual-power nourishment.
He recalled another genius Mu En occasionally mentioned: Ma Xiaotao.
She had a Phoenix Martial Soul, mutated Evil Fire, and peerless talent.
In the original story, she had become a Soul Emperor before turning twenty, a once-in-a-century prodigy at Shrek Academy.
Unfortunately, the Evil Fire plagued her like a bone-deep parasite, and it sometimes made her temper flare.
"Evil Fire Phoenix... impurities in Ultimate Fire?"
Lin Ciyan rubbed his chin, feeling the pure, sacred power of the Holy Radiance Qilin within him.
"In theory, the sacred attribute of my Ultimate Light should be the natural bane of that Evil Fire."
"Purifying it would probably work even better than Ultimate Ice."
But then he promptly reclined again and put on the Brain Wave Pad.
"What's it got to do with me? If the sky falls, someone taller can hold it up."
"My main task right now is to lie flat."
"Ah, no—to cultivate my spiritual power and prepare to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring."
"As for Ma Xiaotao... as long as she doesn't bother me while I'm cultivating, she can burn whoever she wants."
With that thought, Lin Ciyan once again entered that wondrous state, neither fully asleep nor fully awake.
Amid the slow growth of his spiritual power and the system's faint notifications, he continued along his carefree path.
As for the storms of the outside world, they seemed to have nothing to do with him, this "slacker."