Chapter Thirty-Four: Suddenly, an Entertaining Plan
Linley did not experience the supposed efficiency of the new bedroom, but the sleep was undeniably comfortable. After spending a night nearly sleepless and then burying the skeleton, Linley retreated to his new quarters and slept for three days straight, never leaving his bed.
Three days passed, and the entire castle was abuzz. Winnie checked Linley’s health every day, finding nothing amiss. The injuries from the explosion were healing rapidly, and while everyone puzzled over the cause, Linley’s body soon recovered completely.
On the third day, the principals had planned to host a banquet in the castle to welcome the young prince and inaugurate the Cultivation Academy, but Linley’s continued slumber forced them to cancel the event. Students in Snow City assumed Linley’s wounds from the battle with the skeleton were still severe and prayed for him in the chapel without cease.
Lady White, who was supposed to depart, stayed out of concern for Linley, suspecting Winnie was somehow involved, watching her closely for days on end.
Winnie was far from happy. Not just Lady White, but even the royal mages suspected her—whether openly or secretly. Heaven help her, she had nothing to do with this, but why did these mages refuse to believe her!
“If that child doesn’t wake up soon, they’ll drive me mad!”
On the morning of the fourth day, Winnie, trailed by several royal mages, entered Linley’s bedroom and was delighted to hear sounds from within.
“One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four…”
That familiar voice filled Winnie with joy. She kicked open the door and found Linley performing calisthenics, oblivious to everyone.
“My son, you’re finally awake!” Winnie’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“Mother, please don’t disturb me. Let me finish my exercises,” Linley replied, paying her no mind. Ten minutes passed as he completed his routine. “Eh? Why are there so many people here?”
His bedroom was packed with royal mages. Lin Wen entered, carrying the leopard, who, upon seeing Linley, ran to his feet, crying.
“Master, if you hadn’t woken up, I might never have seen you again!”
The leopard had faced several brushes with death in those three days.
“What happened?” Linley stroked the leopard’s head, puzzled.
Winnie was the first to approach and grabbed Linley’s hand. Healing light flashed through him as she nodded slightly. “No abnormalities.”
“Of course,” Linley said, puffing out his chest. “All my wounds have healed.”
Winnie looked him over. “I can see that.”
Linley had removed all his bandages, his skin soft and pale as a baby’s.
“No… not just surface wounds,” Linley shook his head. “The internal injuries are gone too.”
His greatest wounds weren’t visible; it was the internal damage from fighting the skeleton, caused by true energy. Yet, while practicing calisthenics, Linley had found all those hidden injuries vanished.
“So it’s true…”
At that moment, the earring’s voice sounded, having watched over Linley’s condition for the past three days.
“Linley has undergone Dragon Slumber.”
The earring spoke, and the royal mages were stunned. “Dragon Slumber!”
Dragon Slumber was a special ability of young dragons; they could absorb magical energy through sleep to strengthen their bodies, losing this power only upon adulthood. Dragons had many enemies and were easily wounded as juveniles, so Dragon Slumber ensured their survival. No matter how severe the injury, as long as they had enough sleep, they would recover.
The mages knew Linley had consumed a dragon egg.
“Is it because of that dragon egg?”
“Guardian, didn’t you say the prince only gained color-changing ability?”
“I must have misjudged…” the earring apologized. It had believed Linley gained only one power from the dragon egg, but perhaps there was more.
At least, this instance of Dragon Slumber hinted Linley might possess other dragon abilities.
“This time, the timing was fortuitous. The magical web node here activated Linley’s Dragon Slumber ability,” the earring continued.
Magical energy does not arise from nothing; it circulates through the world in a unique pattern, forming what is known as the Magic Web. The nodes of this web are places where energy converges.
Beneath this bedroom lay a Magic Web node. The botanist had sprinkled potions here, using magical energy to create the bath. When the royal mages transformed the bath into Linley’s bedroom, the magical energy filled the entire room, accidentally activating Linley’s Dragon Slumber.
The mages were green with envy. It seemed they too needed to find a dragon egg; even if the chance of gaining powers was slim, it was worth trying!
The earring’s next words were even more astonishing: “Linley’s Dragon Slumber ability is strong. If he maintains sufficient sleep every day, in twenty or thirty years he might possess physical strength close to a great dragon.”
It withheld part of the truth. That was only pure physical strength. If you included true energy enhancement, thirty years hence, Linley would naturally become the strongest physical being—his body could accommodate terrifying levels of true energy in the future.
The mages were eager; they had to find a dragon egg as soon as they returned.
“Don’t think it’s so simple…” The earring, aware of their thoughts, dampened their enthusiasm. “My assumptions are all based on this Magic Web node.”
In cultivation novels, energy converging at a Magic Web node is undoubtedly a blessed place. If Linley left here, his Dragon Slumber would not function.
Their excitement cooled considerably.
Magic Web nodes were extremely rare, and unclaimed ones like this were almost impossible to find. The ones on the Forest Elf lands were all used for important purposes.
“It seems there’s no hope…”
“The prince’s castle was a real bargain.”
The royal mages were jealous and resentful, but soon found cause for schadenfreude.
“But this Magic Web node will surely be requisitioned soon!”
“I estimate the prince will be able to use it for no more than a month!”
“After all, using it as a bedroom is a waste.”
“What!” Linley, who had just felt he’d struck gold, was shocked. “My property can be taken away?”
“Of course, prince!” they replied. “Did you think the Magic Web node would be yours?”
The royal mages were matter-of-fact. Their modifications had always been intended for Linley’s temporary use. Soon enough, the king would order it reclaimed.
The reason was simple: the Magic Web node’s energy was invaluable—the royal palace’s defenses were powered by a strong node beneath it.
Snow City lacked such defensive magic; the principals would surely petition the king to assign this castle’s node to the city.
“What I bought, no one can take!” Linley was angry. “I’ll sleep here all day, who can take it from me!”
Suddenly, he declared, “If I sleep twenty-four hours a day, I’ll be invincible within ten years!”
Everyone was stunned by his genius idea.
“Damn, he’s right!”
“If he sleeps twenty-four hours a day, ten years from now the prince will be unstoppable!”
“But how could anyone sleep ten years straight?”
“It’s possible!” the earring interjected. “The royal treasury contains a shard of the Moon God’s Scythe. Anyone pierced by it falls into a long sleep; if we use that fragment…”
Lin Wen cut him off. “I disagree, it’s too dangerous!”
The Moon God’s Scythe was an ancient artifact, nicknamed ‘Eternal Dream’. Being struck by it meant far more than sleep—it could send an enemy into endless slumber, even unto death.
“Our mages can protect Linley from falling into the Eternal Dream,” the earring assured Lin Wen, but Winnie was also opposed.
“Dragons can grow up through Dragon Slumber,” she said. “Linley is a child. I don’t want him to wake up one day and find he’s grown.”
“I’m not a child,” Linley thought. He and that sister named Anqi had played inside the scythe’s shard; it was useless to him. But elves could live for centuries; ten years’ sleep was nothing. He’d wake up invincible, and personal cultivation might not even match that efficiency!
His eyes lit up with a mischievous idea.
“Stop arguing, I have an announcement.” Linley coughed twice. “I know how to teach you all to cultivate!”
“What!!”