Hearing the system's prompts ring out in his mind, Lin Hanzhou awoke in the real world.
He opened his heavy eyelids. What greeted him was no longer the palace roof adorned with intricate beams and painted rafters, nor the crude thatched hut deep in the mountains.
It was the ceiling of his own room, a sight he knew by heart.
He slowly sat up in the soft bed and looked around.
The tidy desk, the bookshelf against the wall, and the martial arts academy poster he'd long since grown tired of...
Everything was so familiar, yet so strange.
"I'm back..."
He murmured, his voice carrying a rasp and weariness that didn't belong to an eighteen-year-old.
It was as if a lifetime had passed.
No, not as if.
He had truly spent a hundred and fifty-one years of his life in another world.
He didn't check his rewards right away. He simply sat in silence.
He let the memories of more than a century play back through his mind, frame by frame, like an old film reel.
He remembered meeting his father, Lin Batian, whose eyes were sharp as an eagle's and who saw the entire world as a chessboard.
He was a ruthless ruler and a heartless father.
But he was also a great pioneer who had poured out every last drop of his strength for the empire's future.
Then he remembered his seventh brother, Lin Yuan, warm and refined.
From the unfeigned care he'd shown at their first meeting to the proud, relieved smile on his face eighty years later, as he lay on his deathbed.
At the end of his life, he hadn't lamented his own mediocrity. He'd taken pride in having a younger brother like him...
There was also Lin Qi, the Crown Prince he had personally promoted, a capable and dutiful son.
And his grandson, Lin Mu, whose eyes had been full of reverence when he saw him in his final moments.
And the countless ordinary people who had lived in peace and prosperity under his rule, and revered him as if he were a god...
It had all been far too real.
"System."
"Was the Great Sui Dynasty I experienced... real? Or was it just an illusion you created for me?"
Lin Hanzhou asked in his mind, his tone more solemn than ever before.
[Answering the host: the worlds experienced during dream transmigration are all real.]
The system's voice was as cold as ever, but its answer resolved the greatest doubt in his heart.
[The myriad worlds are infinite, as countless as the grains of sand in the Ganges.]
[Based on factors such as energy level, completeness of laws, and spatial stability,]
[they can broadly be divided into low-level worlds, mid-level worlds, high-level worlds, and the supreme Great Thousand Worlds.]
[The "Great Sui Dynasty" the host traveled to for the first time was a low-level world.]
[Moreover, it was among the lowest-energy and least complete in its laws of all low-level worlds.]
[Its world origin was weak, and spiritual energy was extremely scarce. As a result, its cultivation system was primitive and incomplete.]
Hearing the system's answer, Lin Hanzhou let out a long breath.
It was real... Good.
He couldn't help but relate to that, deeply.
And as for the system's comment about how scarce the spiritual energy was, he could relate to that too.
He knew better than anyone just how scarce the spiritual energy in that world had been.
There, even as emperor, he had mobilized the strength of his entire dynasty and barely managed to gather a few pitiful first-tier spirit herbs.
To break through to the second tier, he had searched the remote mountains and forests for thirteen years before he was lucky enough to find a single second-tier spirit herb.
It had been like a man on the verge of dying of thirst, giving everything he had just to squeeze a few drops of murky water from a dried-up riverbed.
But now...
Lin Hanzhou closed his eyes and focused his thoughts, sensing the environment of the real Blue Star.
In an instant, it felt as if he'd gone from a barren desert straight into a vast ocean.
The spiritual energy around him was so dense it seemed almost tangible.
After only a few breaths, he already felt refreshed, his mind clearer and more invigorated than ever.
"This... is this the spiritual energy density of Blue Star?"
Lin Hanzhou was stunned.
Before, surrounded by it, he hadn't thought it was anything special.
But after more than a hundred years of "hardship and frugality" in the Great Sui world, only now that he'd returned did he realize just how privileged the world of Blue Star was.
Cultivating here was practically like being in a celestial paradise.
It was hard to imagine how miserable his hundred and fifty-one years in that low-level world had been.
After calming his excitement, Lin Hanzhou finally turned his attention to his greatest reward this time.
"System, show me my rewards."
[Rewards issued:]
[One: Cultivation feedback from the Dream World (may be claimed at any time).]
[Two: One thousand points (credited to the system account).]
[Three: System Shop (unlocked).]
[Four: Dream Talent function (unlocked).]
"Claim cultivation feedback!" Lin Hanzhou said without hesitation.
[Command received. Processing cultivation feedback...]
As soon as the words sounded, an incredibly pure torrent of energy appeared inside him out of nowhere.
This energy was the perfect feedback of his first-level Qi Gathering Realm cultivation from the Dream World.
"Crack!"
The bottleneck of his first-level Pulse Opening Realm peak shattered at once beneath the torrent of energy.
Vast amounts of spiritual energy began gathering inside him, compressing, liquefying, and forming a small vortex.
A surging sense of power returned to his limbs and bones.
Second tier, first level of the Qi Gathering Realm.
His familiar strength had finally returned!
It was even stronger and more refined than it had been in the Dream World.
Lin Hanzhou clenched his fist, felt the power coursing through him, and smiled for the first time in a long while.
He turned his attention to the next reward.
"Open the system shop."
A translucent, azure-blue screen appeared before him, visible only to him.
Its countless wares were displayed like stars.
Lin Hanzhou's gaze swept across them.
[Item: First-Tier, Low-Grade Pulse Opening Pill]
[Effect: Assists first-tier martial artists in cultivation and slightly increases spiritual power.]
[Price: 100 points/pill]
[Item: Third-Tier, Mid-Grade Azure Wood Longevity Technique]
[Effect: A wood-attribute technique. When cultivated to mastery, it can open a sea of qi and extend one's lifespan by three hundred years.]
[Price: 5,000 points]
[Item: Seventh-Tier, High-Grade True Dragon Blood]
[Effect: Contains the power of a true dragon. It can transform the body, greatly enhancing physical strength and innate talent.]
[Price: 10 million points]
[Item: Immortal Tier??·???]
[Effect: ???]
[Price: ?????]
From first-tier pills and techniques to mysterious treasures above the ninth tier labeled "Immortal Tier," the shop had everything.
The array of choices dazzled Lin Hanzhou and set his heart racing.
He glanced at the "1,000" points in his account and couldn't help giving a wry smile.
It seemed like a lot, but in this all-encompassing shop, it was nothing.
He could only afford a few first- or second-tier items. Anything a little better was out of reach.
Still, he wasn't discouraged.
If there was a first time, there would be a second.
As long as he kept traveling between worlds, he would earn more points.
He didn't rush to buy anything. Instead, he looked at the final reward, the one he was most eager to see.
"Open the Dream Talent function."
The screen shifted, and a huge blue wheel appeared before him.
It was divided into countless slots, each shimmering with a different color.
[Dream Talent function activated.]
[Function details: Before each dream transmigration, the host may spend a small number of points to draw a talent.]
[Talent levels, from lowest to highest: green, blue, purple, gold, red.]
[Talent effects: The talent drawn will only take effect in that Dream World.]
[After the dream ends, the host may choose to discard it permanently or spend points to make it one of their innate talents.]
[Note: The number of innate talents that can be made permanent is limited, but the host may spend points to expand the limit. This function unlocks after the host makes three talents permanent.]
[The host's current cultivation is at the second tier. The highest talent level available to draw is "blue."]
[Increase your cultivation to unlock the ability to draw higher-level talents.]
Before you continue