He was no longer a helpless infant wrapped in blankets, bound to silence and weakness. Time had passed quietly, yet it had carved something entirely different within him.
Outside, he was a quiet boy of nine years. Inside, he was someone who had lived two lives, carrying memories and thoughts far beyond his age.
He knew this world now—not just its villages and temples, but its structure, its vastness, and the hidden truths beneath its surface. These were things Liu Yulan and Lin Zheng could not begin to imagine.
And all of this understanding came to him through two sources: the dreams and the letters.
The dreams never stopped. For nine years, they came every single night without fail, as if something was deliberately guiding him.
Some nights, he drifted high above a world so enormous its continents resembled scattered islands in an endless sea. Other nights, he witnessed lights tearing across the heavens or shadowy figures the size of mountains standing beneath nine glowing layers of sky.
At times, he saw strange rivers whose currents flowed not with water, but with light itself. Each dream revealed something new, something more detailed than the last.
They were not random visions. They were fragments—pieces of something far too vast for even adults to comprehend.
Together, they formed a picture of a world far greater than the small domain of Pearlroot Temple.
Lin Yuan learned to memorize every fragment the moment he woke. He never spoke of them to anyone, not even once.
Some knowledge, he understood instinctively, was better kept hidden.
Lin Xingyao's letters helped as well… though in his mind, he had long since labeled her as "ungrateful."
In the first year after she left for the main branch of the Jade Stream Sect, her letters came frequently. Sometimes twice a month, sometimes even three times when she was particularly excited.
Liu Yulan would often smile just from seeing the courier arrive. Those letters carried warmth, laughter, and the voice of someone far away.
But as the years passed, the letters gradually became fewer.
Now, she sent only one each year—and sometimes even that arrived late.
Ungrateful girl indeed.
Yet despite that, her letters were more valuable than she could ever imagine.
Even in her clumsy handwriting, she described cultivation, sect hierarchies, and the structure of the Jade Stream Sect. She wrote about things she overheard from older disciples, about distant lands, and about rumors of vast continents far beyond their region.
Almost everything she learned, she wrote down and sent, never realizing how important those fragments of information truly were.
Lin Yuan read each letter many times, committing every detail to memory. Combined with the visions from his dreams, they slowly revealed the outline of this world.
Nine vast regions encircling a central landmass. A sky divided into layers of radiant light. A structure far beyond anything ordinary people could comprehend.
The dreams showed him the scale.
The letters gave him the names.
Together, they unveiled a truth that the villagers of Pearlroot Temple would never even suspect.
On the final day of the ninth winter, Lin Yuan sat on the wooden steps outside the clinic, as he always did. This place had quietly become his own over the years.
No matter the season, he would end up here—sitting in silence, staring into the sky with distant eyes.
He was not lazy.
He simply preferred quiet.
People often said Lin Yuan had an unusual calmness for a child. Even when others laughed, argued, or played, he remained still—like someone trying to understand something only he could see.
"Lin Yuan, you're still here?"
The voice came from behind him, bright and full of energy.
It was Bi Xinya. She was around his age, but unlike him, she was lively, sharp-tongued, and never seemed to run out of energy.
Standing beside her, Lin Yuan's quiet nature became even more pronounced.
"Where else should I go?" Lin Yuan asked, giving her a puzzled look.
Bi Xinya clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Today is Sun Measuring Day! All children who turned nine must go test their talent."
"Oh… is that today?" Lin Yuan let out a slow yawn before leaning back against the steps. "I'm just an ordinary person. I doubt I have anything worth measuring."
"You—!" Bi Xinya pointed at him angrily, her cheeks puffing up. "How can you say that before even being tested?"
Lin Yuan chuckled lightly. "You should hurry, or you'll be late."
"I'm not going anywhere without you." Bi Xinya stomped her foot, clearly unwilling to budge.
He shook his head helplessly. "It doesn't matter if you go or not. You're the temple's head disciple's granddaughter. They'll test you whenever you want."
Everyone in the temple knew her identity. Bi Xinya was the granddaughter of the High Priest, and her status was anything but ordinary.
Her face flushed bright red at his words. "I—I told him I wanted to do it with the other kids… h-humph."
Lin Yuan nearly laughed at her reaction. "Me joining won't make any difference."
"How so?" she asked, raising an eyebrow with clear skepticism. "Your talent can't be that terrible. Everyone knows about your sister. You can't be much worse, right?"
He shook his head slowly. "You know my body is weak. I can't handle heat or cold… and the testing hall is freezing."
Bi Xinya's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had been waiting for that answer. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bronze pendant engraved with a curling flame.
Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened slightly. "This is…?"
"A spiritual artifact," she declared proudly. "A Bronze Heat Pendant. If you wear it, you won't feel cold or heat."
Before he could respond, she thrust it toward him.
"But this is too valuable… I can't take it." Lin Yuan's expression turned slightly bitter as he looked at the pendant.
"Taking it?" Bi Xinya sneered. "Who said I am giving it to you? I am just lending it."
"Oh?"
A trace of disappointment flickered across Lin Yuan's face. For a brief moment, he had actually hoped she would give it to him.
His weak body was not a small inconvenience—it affected every part of his life. Something like this could change everything.
As that thought passed through his mind, a faint bitterness surfaced within him. Liu Yulan and Lin Zheng had never explained the full truth of his condition, but he was not foolish.
He understood more than they thought.
"Good. If you lend me this pendant for a month, I will go." After a moment of thought, he agreed.
"Eh? One month? Are you out of your mind? At most one week." Bi Xinya rolled her eyes dramatically.
Lin Yuan felt slightly disappointed, but a week was better than nothing. Unlike other children, he rarely left the temple grounds.
He had once dreamed of traveling, exploring distant lands, and climbing mountains. But those dreams remained distant and unreachable.
Staying in the same place every day felt suffocating.
"Good. I agree." He stood up and took the pendant, placing it around his neck.
The moment it touched his skin, warmth spread gently through his body. It was subtle, yet undeniable.
Lin Yuan's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to smile but had forgotten how.
Seeing how quickly his attitude changed, Bi Xinya felt as if she had somehow lost out.
"Alright, let's go. Just try not to slow me down." She laughed and turned, walking ahead confidently.
Lin Yuan nodded and followed quietly behind her.
"So, you don't know, but this girl Su Tiya is also going, and her brother is…"