Chapter 1: This Sleep Leads to a Future
Blue Star, Great Xia Kingdom, Jianghai City Third Martial Arts Middle School.
A suffocating, dry heat permeated the air, mixed with the unique scent of hormones and sweat from forty-five young boys and girls.
The harsh afternoon sun pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows, as if mocking this group of ants who were about to face the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination.
On the podium, a breathtaking black silhouette stood against this backdrop, radiating a low-pressure atmosphere colder than an air conditioner's chill.
Mu Qingxue, Jianghai Third Middle School's recognized "Ice Mountain Witch."
Her black professional attire tightly wrapped around her S-shaped curves, enough to make any adolescent boy's nose bleed, especially those long legs encased in high-denier black stockings that showed a hint of fleshiness, flickering behind the podium and forming the only scenery in the classroom.
However, at this moment, no one dared to admire this scenery; only a few well-informed students in the front row kept their heads down, exchanging terrified gossip with their eyes.
"Have you heard? It seems Teacher Mu retired from the 'Great Wall' defense line..."
"I heard that too. Apparently, she suffered extremely severe internal injuries, even damaging her Foundation, and was forced to come to a small place like ours to teach."
"Shh! Shut up if you don't want to die; her hearing is Grandmaster level!"
Slap!
The pointer in Mu Qingxue's hand struck the blackboard hard, letting out a crisp crack that felt like a lash against everyone's hearts.
"In the path of martial arts, if you do not fight, you die!"
Mu Qingxue's voice was cold and clear, like ice beads falling on a plate. "There are only 90 days left until the college entrance exam! If your Vitality hasn't broken through 0.8 yet, I suggest you go learn to operate an excavator! At least when Demonic Beasts besiege the city, you'll be able to bury yourselves a bit faster!"
The whole class was as silent as cicadas in winter.
Everyone was frantically recording the circulation route of the "Basic Body Tempering Art" in their notebooks, the rustling of pen tips on paper sounding like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.
Except for the very last row by the window—the "Hometown of Kings."
A figure was sprawled unceremoniously across the desk, even thinking the school uniform jacket wasn't soft enough and specifically folding it twice to cushion his chin.
Jiang Chen felt like his brain matter was boiling, as if someone had poured a hundred pounds of molten iron into the crown of his head.
Countless memory fragments flashed wildly like a barrage of free comments.
Catacombs Demonic Beasts... Martial Arts Grandmaster... Vitality...
Parents missing in a beast tide... dirt poor... and a tag-along younger sister named Jiang Xiaoyu...
Working part-time to earn tuition, and finally dying of exhaustion in class...
"This start... is it planning to have me play a tragic drama?"
Jiang Chen's lips twitched slightly, feeling a faint pain in his kidney area. This body was too weak; long-term malnutrition plus overwork meant his current Vitality was a miserable 0.6, not even as good as the auntie serving food in the school cafeteria.
Just then, the neighboring desk was kicked hard.
"Hey, Trash, pull your legs back. You're blocking my view of Teacher Mu's legs."
The speaker was Zhao Feng's lackey, Wang Mazi.
He looked at Jiang Chen playfully, intentionally making a lot of noise, wanting to make Jiang Chen look like a fool right under Mu Qingxue's nose.
Jiang Chen frowned, but he didn't even have the strength to argue.
An irresistible wave of sleepiness was drowning his consciousness like a tide. His eyelids felt like they had two lead weights hanging from them; every blink was a challenge to human limits.
"No... I'm going to die..."
Just as Jiang Chen was about to completely black out, a mechanical voice with the crackle of electricity abruptly exploded deep in his mind.
[Ding! Detected that the host's Soul Fusion is complete, matching the 'Extreme Laziness' trait.]
[System is binding... Binding my foot, activating directly!]
[Congratulations to the host for Awakening the 'Supreme Nightmare System'!]
[This System's tenet: As long as you don't sleep yourself to death, sleep like your life depends on it.]
System? Golden Finger?
As an old bookworm who had read countless novels in his past life, Jiang Chen's originally clouded eyes cleared for a moment, only to be shrouded by an even deeper sleepiness.
"System... stop the nonsense, get to the point," he complained weakly in his heart.
[The function is simple: AFK while sleeping. When the host sleeps, the System automatically takes over body cultivation, with an efficiency starting at 10 times your current talent.]
[Detected host's current status: Mental Energy depleted, physical body on the verge of collapse.]
[Suggestion: Immediately, right now, pass away on the spot... oh no, go to sleep.]
"I can get stronger just by sleeping? You should've said so earlier!"
The heavy stone in Jiang Chen's heart instantly dropped.
This wasn't just a Golden Finger; this was a gospel custom-made for a late-stage lazy person like him who would 'never sit if he could lie down'!
Others practiced martial arts in the heat of summer and the cold of winter, but he could achieve godhood in his blankets?
Then why the hell should I listen to the lecture!
Jiang Chen completely ignored Wang Mazi's provocation, adjusted himself into a position where his muscles were most relaxed with a clear conscience, and even smacked his lips comfortably before burying his face deep in his arms.
[host has entered light sleep.]
[System taking over body control.]
[AFK Environment: A classroom filled with the resentment of academic failures.]
[Cultivation Bonus: 10x!]
[Vitality +0.1/sec... Mental Energy +0.1/sec...]
An indescribable warm current instantly rose from his Dantian, like taking a sip of hot mutton soup in winter, instantly flowing through his entire body.
His originally withered Meridians greedily sucked in this energy, letting out joyful tremors.
This felt too good.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but let out an extremely comfortable hum from his nose—
"Hoo... zzz..."
The sound wasn't loud, but in the classroom where one could hear a pin drop, it was like playing 'Good Luck' at a funeral—piercing and full of provocation.
Wang Mazi was stunned. He originally wanted to see Jiang Chen made a fool of, but he didn't expect this guy to actually dare to sleep, and even snore?
On the podium, Mu Qingxue's voice stopped abruptly.
Her exquisite willow-leaf brows instantly twisted into a murderous 'river' shape, and the chalk in her hand turned to powder under her immense grip, scattering down. A chill belonging to the Peak of the Qi and Blood Realm instantly swept through the class; a few physically weak boys in the front row even felt a chill in their lower halves.
Forty-four pairs of eyes turned back in unison, focusing on the figure whose drool was about to flow out while sleeping.
"Jiang Chen!!"
These two words seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth like crushed ice.
As the ace instructor of Third Middle School, Mu Qingxue's classroom had always been a sacred and inviolable Forbidden Ground. But today, someone actually dared to sleep openly under her nose and even snored with a rhythm! This was an insult to her beauty and even more a desecration of martial arts!
"Rotten wood that cannot be carved!"
Mu Qingxue's chest heaved violently, the buttons of her professional attire letting out a groan as they were strained to their limit. She casually grabbed half a piece of chalk and flicked her wrist sharply.
Swish!
This wasn't just a throw; it was a hidden weapon infused with Vitality power!
The chalk head tore through the air, letting out a sharp sonic boom as it accurately locked onto the space between Jiang Chen's brows. If this hit landed, it would at least cause a lump the size of an egg; even a student with a Vitality of 0.8 might not be able to dodge it.
"It's over, Jiang Chen is done for."
"The Witch is getting serious; this hit is enough to send him to the infirmary for half a day."
Some surrounding classmates were gloating, while others covered their eyes, not daring to look. Wang Mazi's lips curled up even more, waiting to see the show.
However, at the critical moment when that white 'bullet' was about to hit his head...
Jiang Chen, who was lying motionless on the table with his breathing rhythm not faltering at all, moved his left hand as if shooing away a fly, extremely perfunctorily and casually sweeping through the air, leaving an afterimage.
Snap.
A slight crisp sound that was almost inaudible.
Time seemed to stand still.
That chalk head, which had been carrying a fierce wind, was now steadily caught between two slender fingers, only 0.01 centimeters away from Jiang Chen's forehead.
Silence. A deathly silence. One could even hear the sound of the fat kid in the back row swallowing his saliva.
Mu Qingxue's beautiful eyes widened, her pupils shrinking violently. Although she only used thirty percent of her strength in that move, the speed was as fast as lightning; it was definitely not something a Trash with 0.6 Vitality could react to! Moreover... that guy hadn't even opened his eyes!
[Ding! Physical attack detected.]
[Nightmare automatic defense mechanism triggered.]
[Consumed 10 Mental Energy points, block successful.]
[Warning: host's current Mental Energy is only 2 times that of an ordinary person; excessive overdrawing will lead to forced deep sleep.]
Jiang Chen only felt a sharp pain in his temple, as if he had been pricked by a needle. He lifted his head dizzily, still holding that piece of chalk in his hand, looking toward the podium with sleepy eyes.
"Who is it... throwing hidden weapons in broad daylight..."
When his gaze crossed the air and landed on Mu Qingxue, a line of golden barrage that only he could see suddenly popped up:
[Target: Mu Qingxue (Top-tier human female)]
[Beauty: 98 (These legs could be played with for a year)]
[Strength: Qi and Blood Realm Peak (??? Damaged state)]
[Special Attribute: Extreme Cold Ice Skin Physique (Edge of losing control)]
[System Evaluation: A natural air-conditioning pillow. Sleeping close to her can suppress the Fire Poison in her body while the host gains a large amount of experience. Suggestion: Sleep with her! No... sleep by her side!]
[Tip: If sleeping within a 5-meter radius of this target, AFK gains skyrocket to 50 times! If physical contact occurs... hehehe, gains double!]
The Waking Up Anger in Jiang Chen's eyes instantly changed.
That wasn't the gaze of a student looking at a teacher; it was a hungry wolf seeing a little fat sheep, a pauper seeing an ATM!
50 times?! Then wouldn't sleeping for an hour be equal to others' hard cultivation for two days? And it was mutually beneficial—I get experience, she gets treated. This is simply a perfect Dual Cultivation... no, medical plan!
"Jiang Chen! Stand up!" Mu Qingxue felt uncomfortable under that naked gaze that seemed like it wanted to swallow her whole, a faint blush of anger appearing on her face. "Recite the third layer of the 'Body Tempering Art' Mind-Cultivation Technique! If you can't recite it, go run a hundred laps around the playground!"
Jiang Chen slowly stood up, the System in his mind still frantically making its presence known:
[Vitality +0.2]
[Detected incomplete technique 'Body Tempering Art', calling cloud big data for optimization...]
[Optimization complete! Obtained 'Supreme Body Tempering Art' (Mortal Grade Peak).]
He let out a yawn, his lazy posture making all the boys in the class grit their teeth in hatred. "Teacher, why recite that? That thing is full of loopholes; practicing it too much easily leads to kidney deficiency."
Boom—! The whole class exploded.
"Holy crap? What did he say? Kidney deficiency?"
"This is a standard textbook issued by the Ministry of Education, reviewed and approved by Grandmasters! Is he crazy?"
"To avoid the penalty run, he doesn't even want his face anymore?"
Mu Qingxue laughed from extreme anger. She walked quickly to Jiang Chen in her high heels, the pressure belonging to a strong person washing over him. "Fine! Since you say there are loopholes, then you tell me! If you can't, today I will clear the house on behalf of the school!"
Jiang Chen rubbed his eyes and sighed helplessly. These days, why does no one believe the truth? He just wanted to quietly leech 50 times the experience.
"The third sentence, 'Qi travels to Yongquan, passes through Xiguan, and enters the Dantian.' Is this for dead people to practice?" Jiang Chen's voice was flat, yet it carried a convincing certainty. "The Xiguan point is a death point; forcing Vitality through it will damage the meniscus. It should be changed to 'bypass through Zusanli, rush straight to Huiyin'... oh wait, it's bypass Huiyin and reach the Dantian directly."
Speaking to this point, he paused slightly, his gaze seemingly scanning Mu Qingxue's left knee wrapped in black stockings, adding meaningfully:
"Although only a small change was made, the efficiency increases by 30%. And... it can also incidentally cure the Cold Poison pain in your left knee that feels like maggots in your bones every rainy day, Teacher."
The classroom fell into a dead silence once again.
Everyone looked at Jiang Chen as if they were looking at a fool, except for Mu Qingxue.
She was stunned, the reprimand she had prepared stuck in her throat. Her left leg had suffered a Dao injury, and it indeed hurt terribly every rainy day. This was a top secret that even the principal didn't know; how could this student possibly see it?
As if possessed, she subconsciously mobilized a trace of Vitality in her body and circulated it according to the route Jiang Chen described.
In just an instant.
An unprecedented sense of clarity came from her leg. That cold, stinging pain that had troubled her for years was actually lightened by a warm current!
"How is this possible..."
Mu Qingxue looked at the sleepy-eyed youth before her in shock, her red lips slightly parted, feeling for the first time that she couldn't see through someone.
This was definitely not something a Trash with 0.6 Vitality could do. Could there be a master behind him? Or... has he been playing the pig to eat the tiger all along?
Jiang Chen, however, didn't care about her shock at all. He was staring at the golden [50x Gains] sign above Mu Qingxue's head and asking the System in his heart:
"System, are there any missions that let me sleep while hugging the teacher's thigh? I feel like I can do it."
[System: ...host, although I am quite perverted, I still suggest you wipe your drool first.]