Shortly after Xiao Ning turned twenty, a great catastrophe fell upon the Central Continent, leading the three great empires and the two kingdoms to ruin.

  In less than a year, the entire continent was destroyed. The Golden Empire itself took only six days to be wiped off the map. Its existence was turned to dust.

  According to Xiao Ning’s knowledge, he was the only one from the entire continent to survive this catastrophe.

  And what was this great disaster? Well, to explain everything, we would have to go back millions of years in time. But, in short, it was when the God of Desolation broke the seal that kept him imprisoned and, years later, once his soldiers were ready, commanded demons in a war that ravaged the entire world.

  Hundreds of continents were destroyed. Thousands of empires and kingdoms fell. And Xiao Ning himself was killed in the middle of the war by one of the demon followers of the God of Desolation... and it wasn't even one of the strongest ones; it was one of those whose name you wouldn't even remember.

  Well, anyway...

  Although the entire Xiao Family was destroyed by the God of Desolation and his followers during the War of Extinction, and he himself came to perish, Xiao Ning wasn't interested in revenge.

  To him, a man who spends his life chasing revenge is a man without a life.

  Furthermore, there was the fact that even relying on the experience of his past life, he had no idea how to defeat the God of Desolation. The bastard was just too powerful.

  What he was really thinking about at this moment was whether he should help increase the Family's chances of survival when the great disaster began, or just leave for the next continent.

  To be honest, Xiao Ning had no reason to help the Xiaos. Aside from a single person, there was no one else for whom he held any regard. Even if he searched the entire Central Continent, he wouldn't find anyone he truly cared about.

  Therefore, if he chose to stay, it would be nothing more than a mere whim. After all, for someone like him, who lived selfishly, guided by his own pleasures, the best thing would be to leave for the next land, so he would have more time to visit his favorite places before they were destroyed.

  Night began to fall, and Xiao Ning, undecided on what to do, resolved to leave the decision for tomorrow. Thus, he descended the slope and went straight into the bowels of the Family estate.

  On the way, he met some people—some young cultivators—but they all acted as if he didn't exist. However, he didn't care about that and kept walking, since there was a chance they genuinely didn't know each other. Xiao Ning passed by some luxurious courtyards that possessed their own gardens, as well as simpler houses with room for only a few people.

  However, even after skirting the entire property, the place where he lived was still distant.

  Xiao Ning kept walking for a long time. And then, near an old grove, far from any sign of life, there was a small shack made of wood battered by time.

  At first glance, the shack seemed abandoned. Grass grew freely around it, as if there were no one to pull it up or trample it down. In the cracks of the walls, clumps of spiderwebs could be seen, with small spiders strolling unconcerned. And if one looked closely, I'm sure many other insects could be found. Cockroaches? There were plenty.

  That abandoned shack, forgotten by everyone, was none other than Xiao Ning's house.

  "This place is as small as I remembered!" he jeered amusedly, without appearing disappointed or frustrated.

  Inside, there was nothing more than a piece of cloth on the wooden floor and a hole in the center, opening down to the ground, containing ash remains. And yes, that was basically all that existed there.

  A single room, with a bed made of rags and a makeshift fire pit, which, most likely, had been made on a night too cold to bear. Apart from that, the only other things there were some old pots and leftover food inside a jar.

  Xiao Ning opened the jar, which seemed to contain some kind of dried meat, and took a sniff:

  "Ugh! Did I really eat this junk?" he exclaimed, pushing the smelly thing away from his nose.

  After that, he grabbed some twigs that were propped up in a corner and threw them into the charred hole in the floor. Then, he looked from side to side.

  "How did I light the fire again?" Murmuring these words, he closed his eyes and tried to search his memory for the method he used to ignite the campfire. But after a lost daydream and several shakes of his head, nothing came to mind. "Ah! Whatever, I'll just use a technique."

  He sat on the ground and thought deeply. It didn't take long for him to open his eyes and murmur, looking at the twigs: "I think this one will do."

  Saying this, he closed his eyes again and concentrated. From the shadowy depths of his mind, a distant glow, orange in color, emerged. The glow, initially weak, gained strength, turning the stillness of the darkness into a hot place, with faint crackles spreading through the air.

  Suddenly, from the palms of Xiao Ning's hands, a weak orange glimmer flickered. And along with it, an almost nonexistent heat emerged, losing its vigor as it spread through the tiny shack.

  There was no mistake; from Xiao Ning's hands, flames the thickness of a thumb sprouted.

  "With my current Spiritual Energy, is this the maximum power I can use of the Flaming Palms?" he said, with a clear tone of disappointment. He was never a great cultivator, but this was already shameful.

  Cultivators increase their levels by absorbing something called "Spiritual Energy." This type of energy is found naturally around the world. It is like the air one breathes or the heat of the sun.

  Once the Spiritual Energy is inside the cultivator, it can be used to strengthen the body, extend life, well... various things. But, the most common use is in Combat Techniques.

  Combat Techniques are basically a means of transforming Spiritual Energy into something else, like fire, for example.

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  And the Flaming Palms, used by Xiao Ning, was one of these techniques. It consisted, simply put, of concentrating Spiritual Energy in the palm of the hand and thus transforming it into flames.

  Just as cultivators possess levels, techniques do too, and the Flaming Palms, without a shadow of a doubt, was among the most mediocre in existence.

  For this reason, Xiao Ning was so disappointed. Producing such weak flames was too humiliating for someone like him. If it were water or stone, it would be fine. But fire...

  "Maybe I'd better increase my Spiritual Energy level a bit. I don't want to have to go through all those troubles again." While thinking aloud, Xiao Ning placed the palm of his hand over the twigs.

  It didn't take long for the fire to come to life. A few more branches were thrown into the pit, and the fire grew even larger.

  By this point, the sun had set completely, and a moon, not shining so brightly due to being obscured by clouds, appeared. in that isolated part of the Xiao Family property, the only light to be seen was a flickering orange glow coming through the small window of the haunted wooden cabin.

  Inside the shack, Xiao Ning was sitting cross-legged on the old rags that made up his bed. A little earlier, he had eaten the meat found inside the jar—which, by the way, was horrible—so he was no longer hungry. Now, he needed to concentrate on something else.

  To be considered a cultivator, one must know how to use Spiritual Energy. But the problem is how to do it. How to absorb the Energy?

  Well, for that, one must use Spiritual Cultivation Techniques.

  Spiritual Cultivation Techniques are similar to Combat Techniques, only instead of transforming Spiritual Energy into something, it is absorbed.

  But doing this is not as simple as it seems. When one is a beginner, first, the cultivator must be able to sense internal Spiritual Energy, and this can take days, even months. Only after concluding this first part would it be possible to start practicing Spiritual Cultivation Techniques. And only then would someone come to be known as a cultivator.

  Of course, not everyone agrees on this last part. Some argue that to be a true cultivator, it is necessary to pass from the Mundane Realm to the Awakening Realm. Only then could the person be regarded as such.

  But others say that to be a cultivator, one only needs to practice a Cultivation Technique.

  Luckily, Xiao Ning was no longer a complete beginner. After all, he was at the 2nd Layer of the Mundane Realm—or at least, so he thought. All he needed to do was practice to be able to raise his level.

  However, there are various types of Spiritual Cultivation Techniques, and the one the present Xiao Ning was practicing was weak, able to absorb only a small part of Energy at a time.

  But, he was someone who had lived for thousands of years in a past life; therefore, the number of techniques he had knowledge of was too large to count, and among them were those that could be considered divine. Perhaps not even the most powerful cultivator on this continent would know about them or have even heard of them.

  And Xiao Ning knew exactly which of the high-level Spiritual Cultivation Techniques he was going to practice. In fact, it was the same one he practiced in his past life.

  To him, this technique was his greatest treasure, second only to the Divine Treasure: Hero's Return. And this wasn't due to the fact that it was very powerful, able to absorb a large amount of Spiritual Energy at once—which, by the way, it could do.

  No... What really made Xiao Ning like this technique so much was the fact that it allowed him to do one of the things he liked most in this world while simultaneously getting stronger. And that was sleeping.

  The Spiritual Cultivation Technique called Eternal Sleeper was a skill he obtained by coincidence while exploring the ruins of an ancient kingdom.

  Back then, Xiao Ning was still a slacker when it came to cultivating. Although he was already over four thousand years old, his level was still low. Even holding a series of monstrous, top-tier skills in his hands, he continued to procrastinate, focusing all his time and effort on other things he found more amusing.

  But, one day, he got his hands on this wonderful skill, the Eternal Sleeper Technique.

  Despite the somewhat innocent name, it was terrifying. Someone who practiced it could absorb Spiritual Energy just by sleeping. But that wasn't all.

  Practicing a technique, whatever it may be, is much more than just knowing how to use it; one needs to understand the truths behind it, study the mysteries that make it what it is, and understand its origin. And as the enigmas are deciphered and the mysteries understood, the more potential it will demonstrate.

  And the technique, Eternal Sleeper, possessed incredible latent potential. At its apex, it would be possible to sleep for years while cultivating, or stay awake without being affected by sleepiness, and the most surprising thing is that the user's lifespan would increase in an unreal way. Being eternally young is not a dream when one cultivates the Eternal Sleeper.

  While sitting with his eyes closed, Xiao Ning, in his mind, saw a vortex forming, sucking in all the surrounding energy. Two distinct glows, one slightly pale, the other strong and robust, were swallowed by the spiral, which became larger and more furious.

  The distinct energies seemed incapable of coexisting. They crashed against one another, trying to expel the invader. Sparks flew along with violent collisions. Rancor and contempt grew within them.

  The vortex transformed into a furious and uncontrollable hurricane, growing as the dense energy collided against the fine one. It was as if the mutual hatred between the two was becoming deeper and irreconcilable.

  In the cabin, the air vibrated with a growing sense of oppression. The old woods that made up the shack's walls began to crack in a worrying manner, as if the internal paths created by termites were finally collapsing. Soon after, a sharp, ghostly creak echoed from the floorboards, and the vibrant flame of the campfire flickered, coming within a hair's breadth of going out.

  But suddenly, the conflicting energies seemed to calm down and began to mix. Little by little, they lost their force, leaving the grudge behind, and as if they were old inseparable friends, they became, in essence, one. Like a river flowing along a natural course, they merged and spun around each other, peacefully and eternally. Their glows, almost indistinguishable.

  Xiao Ning opened his eyes, and from them, a weak light with a pale hue projected out and vanished in an instant. At this moment, he felt invigorated. Sleeping was no longer necessary. Even if he stayed awake for one or two weeks, there would be no problems. The Spiritual Cultivation Technique: Eternal Sleeper had already been activated. Now all he needed to do was sleep to be able to cultivate.

  A major disadvantage of the Eternal Sleeper is the fact that one needs to be sleeping to cultivate it. And since it gives you great energy, allowing you to stay awake for days, in the beginning, sleeping became an arduous and torturous task, which could hinder cultivation.

  Initially, if the practitioner didn't possess unshakable determination and imperturbable concentration, then practicing the Eternal Sleeper was something that bordered on self-flagellation. It would be necessary to stay awake for weeks, or spend all energy, until finally having some sleepiness. And when one slept, it would be only for a few short hours. Repeating this cycle could drive someone to madness.

  Of course, being an extremely powerful technique, it would possess its difficulties.

  However, Xiao Ning held a great advantage in this regard. He didn't have the determination or concentration to practice the Eternal Sleeper, but he possessed something much better, more compatible. Laziness!

  No matter the time or place, as long as there was a corner to rest his head, for Xiao Ning, sleeping would be as natural as breathing.

  When he found this technique for the first time, he felt it was destiny—I mean, is there anything in this world more compatible with someone like him?

  Laziness and drowsiness were his natural states. And no matter how great his remaining vigor, as long as he closed his eyes, without a shadow of a doubt, a good nap would await him.

  After activating the Eternal Sleeper technique and feeling his body fill with energy, Xiao Ning thought about going out to discover exactly what day it was and how much time remained until the great catastrophe, as well as the beginning of the bloody War of Extinction.

  But, although his physique was in full vigor, he felt mentally tired, as he had just resurrected. For this reason, he threw a few more twigs onto the fire and lay down on the bed of rags.

  It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. And the moment his mind plunged into the stillness of slumber, a weak blue light enveloped his body. The light of the campfire was overshadowed, and the cabin filled with a comforting air, glowing with a safe and tender sensation.

  The Spiritual Energy, wandering freely through the air, began to be sucked in madly, as if Xiao Ning's body were a great whirlpool.

  This was the terrifying power of the Spiritual Cultivation Technique: Eternal Sleeper.