A month slipped by amid the serenity of Sea God Island and Lin Ciyan's increasingly refined Slacker Cultivation.
At last, the important day of his and Bei Bei's Martial Soul Awakenings arrived.
Since the two were about the same age, their awakening ceremonies had been scheduled for the same day.
Bei Bei went first, with Mu En presiding in person.
As the light of the ritual faded, a clear, resonant dragon's roar rang out.
Above Bei Bei's palm, the shadow of a blue dragon coiled with flecks of golden lightning raised its head and roared. Its powerful dragon might filled the air.
"Good! Good! Good!" Mu En said three times in succession, unable to hide his delight. "Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Innate Full Soul Power!"
"Bei Bei, with the Academy's training, if you can awaken the Radiant Sacred Dragon bloodline within you, your minimum achievement will be Super Douluo. You may even reach the Limit Realm!"
The elders nearby nodded one after another, their faces bright with satisfaction.
As Bei Bei felt the surging power within him, the last traces of childishness gave way to a genius's confidence and pride.
He looked at Lin Ciyan, a hard-to-describe sense of superiority in his eyes.
"Brother Lin, you're up. Believe in yourself. I'm sure you'll awaken a powerful Martial Soul!" Bei Bei said with a smile, though his encouragement carried a hint of condescension.
Lin Ciyan curled his lip inwardly. Well, well. The kid awakened a top-tier Martial Soul and now thinks he can fly to the heavens? That tone sounds just like a boss dangling pie in the sky.
But his face remained as languid as ever. He nodded. "I'll take your word for it."
He wasn't surprised by Bei Bei's change in attitude. In the original story, this future Tang Sect eldest brother had always been a bit of a schemer and rather proud.
He merely grumbled to himself about a certain theoretical master among the first-generation Shrek Seven Devils. Unlike a certain "Grandmaster," whose own Martial Soul Mutation left him useless, so he cooked up a bunch of half-baked theories to fool everyone. And the only ones he could fool were clueless greenhorns cut off from information and a few "chosen ones."
It was Lin Ciyan's turn. Led by his grandfather, the elder Lin Qingmo, he stepped into the center of the Martial Soul Awakening formation.
"Ci Yan, relax your mind and body. Carefully sense the power hidden within you and guide it out," Lin Qingmo instructed gently, anticipation and a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
"I understand, Grandpa." Lin Ciyan took a deep breath. On the surface, he looked utterly relaxed, almost as if he wanted to yawn, but inside, his heart was pounding.
The Light Dragon should be a sure thing, right? Elder Mu said my light attribute was absurdly abundant. Surely it can't be worse than Grandpa's?
Whatever. Fate decides life and death; fortune lies with Heaven. Bring it on!
As Lin Qingmo poured his pure Soul Power into the formation, the six Awakening Stones blazed with light, transforming into countless warm golden motes. As if drawn to him, they streamed into Lin Ciyan's body.
The anticipated impact and pain never came. Instead, an indescribable sense of comfort flowed through every limb and bone.
He felt as if he were immersed in the fountainhead of life, or soaring through the highest heavens. Every cell in his body leaped with joy, greedily absorbing the pure energy.
This feels so good? Looks like I've built a solid foundation. My Martial Soul shouldn't be bad! Lin Ciyan's heart lifted, and he relaxed even more as he savored the sensation.
Just then, he seemed to hear an ancient, majestic cry—not a dragon's roar, nor a tiger's growl.
His bones hummed faintly, his muscle fibers rearranged themselves into an optimal form, his blood surged like mighty rivers, and the Soul Power core within him roared to life at an unprecedented speed!
He instinctively looked down and saw fine, exquisite scale patterns appear across his skin. Golden light shimmered at his fingertips, as if his hands had become claws.
A sacred and peaceful, yet incomparably majestic aura spread uncontrollably from his body.
Is this... a dragon? Or a tiger? Lin Ciyan wondered. This form seemed unlike any top-tier Beast Martial Soul he knew.
Power continued to pour forth. The awakening was far from over!
"Roar—!"
A soul-shaking roar finally burst from Lin Ciyan's mouth. It was not savage; instead, it carried the grand authority of Heaven, sweeping away evil and striking awe into all living things!
Golden light erupted, illuminating the entire Awakening Hall as if it had become a divine kingdom! When the radiance dimmed, Lin Ciyan's figure reappeared.
At that moment, he seemed to have merged with some ancient, sacred being.
His entire body looked as if it had been carved from the finest white jade and crystal, gleaming with a gentle, pure radiance.
Brilliant flames, like liquid gold, encircled his joints, burning silently.
Simply standing there, he shed specks of sacred light that drifted around him, making him seem like a divine child descended to the mortal world.
The enormous Martial Soul phantom took shape behind him—deer antlers, a lion's head, tiger eyes, a moose's body, dragon scales, and an ox's tail!
It stood upon golden auspicious clouds, surrounded by light and life force of the purest kind. An auspicious aura that blessed all things and suppressed evil enveloped the entire hall!
"What... what kind of Martial Soul is this?!" Lin Qingmo's eyes widened, his voice trembling with excitement. He had never seen such a sacred and imposing Beast Martial Soul.
Mu En shot upright in his wheelchair, unprecedented brilliance blazing in his cloudy eyes.
His voice rasped with incredulous joy. "Ultimate Light! This is the aura of Ultimate Light! And it's so sacred, so peaceful! Ancestors of Sea God Pavilion, I, Mu En, beseech you—Shrek is truly favored by Heaven!"
He stared fixedly at the Martial Soul phantom behind Lin Ciyan, his mind racing.
He thought of the unusually abundant light attribute within Lin Ciyan, Lin Qingmo's Light Dragon Martial Soul, and that old incident from years ago...
He suddenly turned to Lin Qingmo. "Qingmo! Do you remember that dying Golden Earth Dragon King you encountered back then? It seemed to contain an extremely faint yet exceptionally high-ranking ancient bloodline! Could it be... that Ci Yan's Martial Soul underwent a positive mutation and traced its ancestry back to its source?!"
Lin Qingmo trembled at the words, then understood in an instant. "Pavilion Master, do you mean... a Qilin?! Is this the legendary auspicious sacred beast, a Qilin?!"
"Holy Radiance Qilin!" Lin Ciyan felt the powerful force coursing endlessly through him, as if it could resonate with Heaven and Earth. The name came to him in a flash of inspiration.
[Ding! You have awakened the divine-grade martial soul, the Holy Radiance Qilin. Your ultimate laid-back path has received an epic upgrade! Special reward: +1,000 Slacking Points!]
Mu En was so excited he could barely contain himself. He carefully sensed the power. "That's right! It comes with the divine and auspicious domains innately! It absolutely suppresses evil and darkness attributes!"
"It can even... even slightly boost the luck and comprehension of its user and those nearby! This... this is practically a humanoid Auspicious Beast! (Though its effects are nowhere near as strong as a real Auspicious Beast, they're already heaven-defying!)"
He probed further, and his expression changed again. "Ci Yan, do you feel that aside from Ultimate Light and its sacred essence, your Martial Soul seems to contain traces of other attributes?"
Lin Ciyan focused inward and nodded. "I think... there are several different powers hidden deep inside. They seem to be the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—but they're blurry, and I can't use them yet."
"An elemental foundation containing every basic attribute! It's practically the perfect Martial Soul embryo!" Mu En said, deeply shaken.
"As your strength grows, you may well be able to master the other attributes! Perfect—absolutely perfect! It surpasses even my Radiant Sacred Dragon!"
As he sensed that faint, threadlike Ultimate Light attribute, which made even a Limit Douluo like him feel his Soul Power leap with joy, he made up his mind.
Mu En looked at Lin Ciyan, his gaze blazing and his tone more solemn than ever. "Ci Yan, from this day on, the Academy will spare no effort in training you!"
"You don't need to feel any pressure. Just grow in whichever way feels most comfortable to you!"
Mu En didn't even realize he was silently adding in his heart: Even if you want to keep slacking off, it must be a form of cultivation that contains the highest truths!
Feeling the powerful strength inside him, then glancing at the system panel's skyrocketing slacker points and Mu En's promise, Lin Ciyan was over the moon. Now I can buy the "Lie-Flat" aura. Hahaha.
As expected, Relaxation Cultivation is the way to go! From now on, I'm an officially licensed slacker with connections! My dream of getting stronger while lying down has finally come true!
He looked at Bei Bei, who had been so shocked that he'd temporarily forgotten his pride and was now staring open-mouthed.
Then Lin Ciyan turned to Bei Bei and gave him a meaningful smile.
"Kid, looks like my Relaxation Cultivation Method is the real answer to this version!"