Chapter 4: Reward in Hand

Before Zhao Xing could react, he unknowingly entered an illusion.

"Master..." The beauty in the bath approached him, making him forget everything. His eyes were filled with this enchanting beauty, capable of giving and taking away, leaving only the primal, frenzied desires to guide him. Exhausted, he finally fell into a deep sleep on the bed with the beauty's support.

When Zhao Xing awoke again, the yellow paper on his forehead had already dried, drifting to the side. The guiding talisman on his abdomen was soaked through with sweat.

"Ah, what a comfortable dream..." Zhao Xing rubbed his temples and sat up, remaining still for a long time before realizing what had happened.

"What? Failed?"

"!!"

However, the remnants of the dream lingered, and there were still a few notes on the panel reminding him:

[You have entered the secret realm 'Great Dream Academy']

[You have entered the 'Heart Inquiry Platform' for examination.]

[Heart inquiry failed, no gains from this trial.]

Zhao Xing closed the panel and muttered, "It must be because this body is too young, full of energy, or perhaps the old version of the Heart Inquiry Platform is too powerful... that's why I returned empty-handed from Treasure Mountain."

"No problem, I'll fight again next time, and I'll definitely succeed!"

After comforting himself, Zhao Xing noticed the sky was already light. He quickly dressed and went out to start his day's work and cultivation.

The second night.

Great Dream Academy.

"Ah, what a comfortable dream... huh? Failed again?"

The third night.

Great Dream Academy.

"Such a strong allure, it makes one involuntarily sink. Next time, I will definitely pass!"

This cycle repeated for half a month, with Zhao Xing constantly stuck at the heart inquiry stage. Even Chen Ziyu and Qian Winter found it strange:

"Why has brother been looking so dispirited lately?"

"Could it be he's sneaking out behind our backs?"

"Ziyu, how can you think that of brother? He's probably just exercising late at night, which is why he seems a bit tired."

"...You guys, stop talking."

Zhao Xing felt a bit helpless. The old version of the 'Heart Inquiry Platform' was too strong, and coupled with the youthful body's intense desires, he found it difficult to pass.

Determined to overcome this, Zhao Xing re-examined his inner self. Great Dream Academy was the supreme treasure for testing the elite of the Great Li Dynasty. Without focusing his mind, it was indeed hard to pass the old version of the Heart Inquiry Platform.

He began to devote himself entirely to cultivation, discarding all distractions. Apart from eating and sleeping, he focused solely on practicing Magic Arts and Gathering Essence. With a disciplined approach, he strengthened his resolve, sometimes even testing his self-control by placing a bowl of delicious food in front of himself when he was very hungry, resisting the urge to eat until the set time.

He wasn't trying to eliminate desire but to train his body to achieve one goal: to delay gratification.

Finally, on a certain night.

Great Dream Academy, Heart Inquiry Platform.

"Master..." The woman by the bathtub turned around, her posture incomparably alluring, drawing Zhao Xing into her embrace.

But Zhao Xing remained motionless.

"Master~ The flower bath I prepared for you, is it comfortable?" The beauty whispered softly in his ear, as if cooing.

This time, Zhao Xing stayed clear-headed, recalling his previous failures, and praised sincerely, "Indeed comfortable."

"Then why is Master unmoved? Is there something I didn't do well?" The beauty raised her head, her eyes clear and pitiful.

"I still have desires," Zhao Xing shrugged, then gently pushed the woman away, "but my will is firm."

"If I'm going to play, I'll play with the best, and this level of temptation doesn't count as the best."

The illusion shattered with the beauty's somewhat bewildered expression.

Next, Zhao Xing ascended ten steps in one breath.

Various beauties appeared before him, testing his limits to the utmost. But Zhao Xing quickly shook them off. After experiencing self-discipline and resistance, he finally regained the feeling of 'playing high' from his previous life, no longer affected by this life's body's influence.

The illusion, tasting it once is enough, can one truly get lost in it?

"Student Zhao Xing, you have successfully passed the heart inquiry of desire."

"With Gathering Essence at the initial stage, you have passed the first heart inquiry, your Dao heart is firm, rewarded with 'Dao Embryo Pill'."

A voice echoed in his ear, and Zhao Xing saw a mysterious box floating out of the clouds and mist.

"Dao Embryo Pill? The first stage actually rewards such a treasure?" Zhao Xing's calm expression broke the moment he heard the reward.

He didn't even bother to climb the eleventh step, directly choosing to awaken.

Suddenly sitting up, Zhao Xing immediately looked down.

He saw his left hand holding the mysterious box, just like in the dream.

"Dao Embryo Pill, this is the top-tier cleansing pill from the previous version, unmatched!" Zhao Xing was ecstatic.

He had never consumed this treasure in his previous life, it was too expensive. Even if he wanted to buy it from others, he couldn't afford it, it was too expensive!

By the time he could afford it, he no longer needed it.

"Is this real?" Zhao Xing was still a bit incredulous, thinking he might still be dreaming, so he rubbed his eyes until he checked the panel records to confirm.

[You have entered the secret realm 'Great Dream Academy']

[You have entered the 'Heart Inquiry Platform' for examination.]

[Heart inquiry succeeded, this trial rewarded with 'Dao Embryo Pill'.]

[Dao Embryo Pill: A treasure of the ancient Great Li royal court, can help one shed the mortal coil and reshape the Dao foundation.]

"The Heart Inquiry Platform actually rewards such an extravagant treasure?" Zhao Xing quickly deduced a reason: "Is it because my realm is too low, yet I managed to pass the ten levels of heart inquiry, so the reward level was greatly increased?"

The assessments of Great Dream Academy are not entirely fixed but are determined based on individual performance.

Zhao Xing, with his Gathering Essence stage (Li Dynasty cultivation system), passing the ten levels of heart inquiry, was extremely rare. This had nothing to do with the time spent; even if someone at the second stage of Gathering Essence took 100 years to pass, it would still be impressive, hence the high-level reward from the Heart Inquiry Platform.

"I'll eat it!" Zhao Xing couldn't wait to open the box and swallowed the pale red pill inside.

A surge of intense heat washed over his body, causing Zhao Xing to shiver slightly.

But in the next second, this feeling vanished abruptly.

It came quickly and went quickly.

The magic of the 'Dao Embryo Pill' lies in this; apart from the initial anomaly, it doesn't cause any discomfort to the user, nor does it directly elevate one's realm. Instead, it gradually and subtly alters the foundation.

However, the changes the Dao Embryo Pill brought to Zhao Xing were significant!

This could be seen from the panel.

[Name: Zhao Xing]

[Realm: Unranked]

[Qi Luck: Yan Er]

[Magic Arts: Basic Cultivation (Max Level)]

[Robust Growth: Initial Stage (201/9999)]

[Movement Cloud: Initial Stage (352/9999)]

[Gathering Essence: Second Stage (142/1000)]

[Shedding Mortal Coil, Reshaping Dao Foundation: Special State (In Progress), this state cannot be detected by anything below the first rank.]

"A special state added, truly worthy of being the strongest cleansing treasure."

"Gathering Essence went from 71 points at the first stage to 142 points at the second stage, directly doubling. No choice, even if it's just the initial display of effects, it's enough to provide a great boost at this stage, fortunately, this kind of boost isn't too conspicuous at the lower stages."

"Wait, why did my Qi Luck level also change to Yan Er? I've never heard of Dao Embryo Pill increasing Qi Luck level."

(End of Chapter)