Shen Long continued to cultivate diligently in the training ground. It was almost 11 o'clock in the evening, so Shen Long decided to call it a day. He missed his bed too much, and he couldn't wait to jump in and just sleep. Even as a cultivator, Shen Long enjoyed sleeping very much. Missing last night's sleep because of Luo Qingben made Shen Long extremely upset and mad already.
After taking a medicinal bath, Shen Long slept immediately. There was a gentle smile appearing on his face as he cuddled his blanket. Time passed quickly as Shen Long fell into deep sleep. Unexpectedly, Shen Long actually started dreaming while he was sleeping. It had been far too long since Shen Long dreamed. Perhaps Shen Long was always exhausted, or he just couldn't recall his dreams.
In Shen Long's dream, he was back in Hanwu Academy. Reuniting with his friends and family, Shen Long was having a wonderful time as he bantered around. Suddenly, this "sweet" dream turned into a nightmare. Shen Long was forcefully dragged out from Earth as time seemed to be frozen. It was almost like a still image, and this image captured Shen Long with his kins.
The image started to shatter, like a broken piece of glass. It became more and more fragmented until Shen Long was the only person in the "picture". He tried to forcefully recall his parents' faces from his memories, only finding out the memory of them were starting to disappear again. Being extremely agitated, Shen Long suddenly spotted Daoist Fireblade in the corner of the void.
Shen Long walked up to him as he quickly explained to his Master of what just happened. Daoist Fireblade didn't respond but instead chuckled evilly. Pointing at Earth, Daoist Fireblade strode towards Earth as he entered Earth effortlessly. Shen Long attempted to follow him, but Earth repelled him away mercilessly.
About to be emotionally broken down, Shen Long started crying. He was now left alone in the empty universe, unable to return Earth. Even his Master, who he had always respected, had abandoned him. Unable to restrain his emotions any longer, Shen Long woke up from this horrifying nightmare.
Looking at the window outside, he felt a sense of relief as he confirmed that he was still in the Cultivator World. Outside was still pitch-black, and it was obvious that it was still midnight. Shen Long's nightmare had reminded him of his family. Thinking back, it had been almost two months now since he had entered the cultivator world.
Just like when he first came, he felt a tinge of loneliness. Although he started making more friends here, he still couldn't feel that sense of belonging here. To him, Earth was always his home, and this would never be changed. Despite he respected and liked his Master very much, his parents' status, in his heart, could never be replaced.
Shen Long was tempted to rush into Daoist Fireblade's residence, to return to Earth for just a short period of time. However, his rationality was restraining him from doing so. It would be too selfish for Shen Long to return home, or to even mention about it. After all, his Master was stuck here for thousands and thousands of years, and he had never complained about not abling to return home, besides that one time.
As a thoughtful person, Shen Long decided to temporarily put away that thought. Plus, Shen Long was truly confident that he could reach Celestial Immortal within 10 years' time. Then, he could return home with his Master without feeling any guilt.
Shen Long, of course, had yet to find out about his Master's lies. He also was being a little over-confident about his cultivation speed. Shen Long could definitely reach Peak-Demigod Realm in a year if he decided to work hard. His innate talents for cultivation was really high. Upgrading his Qi was a fairly simple task, and it proved no problem to Shen Long.
However, ascending to a Celestial Immortal was much more complex than that. Not only that one's comprehension towards a Dao had to be thorough, a cultivator also needed to go through a tribulation. Grasping a full Dao would take years and years, and for most people, they wouldn't even succeed as it was to difficult.
If Shen Long truly willed to walk down the path of the Dao of Balance, he wouldn't even become a Celestial Immortal once he mastered his Dao (and passed the tribulation). Mastering a Heavenly Dao would grant one to become an Emperor immediately. Not only that the comprehension part was difficult, the tribulation also was much harder. However, most cultivators were able to pass the Heavenly tribulation, as they were all monstrous figures with great talents.
Shen Long would probably be heartbroken upon finding out that his Master lied to him. Daoist Fireblade himself was aware of that, so he also prayed to Heaven that he would never request to go home. After all, if a figure who you had always admired was actually a selfish scammer, you would be completely destroyed by the truth.
Lying on his bed, he could no longer sleep. Although he had calmed down slightly, he couldn't help but think about his family. He just wanted to make sure that they were safe on Earth. He just wanted to make sure that their lives were okay, and they were happy. But he couldn't even do that. As a filial son, Shen Long felt slightly dejected. He felt like he didn't take care of his parents, and he didn't fulfil his responsibility as a son.
Shen Long's parents had never stopped Shen Long from becoming a cultivator. Did they miss Shen Long? Definitely. But they knew how much Shen Long liked cultivation. Since young, he had always loved Xianxia light novels, TV series and even movies. They had encouraged him to follow his dream, to leave behind everything. Although they said they wouldn't mind not seeing him, Shen Long could tell that it was obviously not the case.
Even though Shen Long had zero social and communication skills, he could still tell that his parents had truly loved him. Their relationships had always been good. Occasionally, they would joke around and have some small quarrels, but that had never changed their perfect parents-son relationship. Thinking about the chocolate rice incident, Shen Long couldn't help but laugh a little. His laugh, however, slowly turned into tears.
"Dad, Mum, I really miss you. I will return home as soon as possible. Don't worry about me; your son is doing really well here. I've made swift progress on the journey of cultivation, and Master took good care of me. I hope that you two are healthy and happy. I wish you the very best..." Shen Long prayed as he desperately hoped that this message could be heard by his parents.
The reality, however, was harsh. If someone could just beg for something to happen and that it really happened, it wouldn't be the reality. It would either be in Animes, light novels, or in your dreams. Shen Long could do nothing at the moment, before becoming strong enough to bind Earth. Until the very last moment, Shen Long wouldn't ask Daoist Fireblade to send him home. He could still resist the temptation at the moment, so he would try to hold it out as long as possible.
Shen Long continued to think about his family as time passed slowly. As soon as the Sun rose, Shen Long got up as he cleaned his face. He decided to go for a morning run at 5 AM, to try to forget about his family and Earth's matters. Before when he was on Earth, Shen Long would do this as well. Whenever he was feeling stuck or distracted, he would go out for a run, to try to forget everything.
He stepped out of his residence as he started stretching. Breathing in the fresh air, he felt more refreshed instantly. Doing a warm-up lap first, he decided to some brisk walking first. To his surprise, there were actually quite a lot of people running as well. Unlike Earth, there was barely anyone awake at 5 am, doing a morning jog. If they were awake, they probably just hadn't gone to bed yet. The lifestyle here was much healthier.