I Can't Tell the Difference

Heaven-Gazing Cliff, Fourth High School of Tianyuan City.

Lu Ziqi, a second-year student, slowly opened his eyes as the rosy clouds before him gradually dimmed.

Letting out a breath of stale air, he felt the mana within him improve somewhat. The morning glow lingering in his vision continuously guided spiritual energy into his limbs, filling his whole body with warmth.

He had wanted to take in a few more breaths, but someone behind him kindly reminded him, "Junior, the time you paid for is up."

As soon as the words fell, the morning glow before him finally dispersed, leaving him with a sense of loss.

Turning around, Lu Ziqi looked at the third-year senior behind him and scratched his head. "Sorry, Senior. I'll leave right away."

The other party nodded slightly, offered a few encouraging words, then said to the person behind him, "You're up. Twenty yuan for half an hour. Pay first, enjoy later. A one-time top-up of one thousand gets you a five percent discount."

Lu Ziqi reluctantly left, casting one lingering glance at Heaven-Gazing Cliff.

Tianyuan City had five high schools in total, each with a different educational philosophy. Third High School followed the Visualization Path, so it was also known as Visualization High School or Art High School.

No matter which high school one attended, spiritual energy was the foundation of mana, and mana was the key to cultivation.

Cultivators needed to continuously absorb and exhale spiritual energy, transform it into mana within their bodies, then use that mana to strengthen their blood and qi or cultivate techniques.

The Visualization Path involved visualizing objects suitable for cultivation, thereby improving the efficiency of spiritual energy conversion and raising one's cultivation.

The place where he had just cultivated was called Heaven-Gazing Cliff. The former principal had broken through here and advanced to the Golden Core realm. He had used techniques to turn the overflowing mana into an everlasting stretch of morning glow. It eventually became Third High School's sacred ground for visualization, increasing cultivation efficiency by thirty percent and greatly improving conversion efficiency as well.

But twenty yuan for half an hour was truly a little expensive.

High school cultivators in Heaven Origin only received a monthly subsidy of five hundred yuan. After deducting food and necessary school supplies, there was barely any money left.

His family circumstances were not good. His parents' combined income was less than two thousand yuan, so they could not offer him much support in this regard.

Therefore, he could only come here for a last-minute boost before exams. He simply could not be like those rich guys, soaking here every day until his body reached its absorption limit, then heading down the mountain in a blissful haze to attend class.

He had heard that this stretch of rosy clouds used to be free. Everyone could come visualize them every day and leave after three hours.

But after the previous principal was transferred away, the place was outsourced, and the price gradually rose until it became twenty yuan per half hour.

With a long sigh, he slowly walked down the mountain and began worrying about next year's National College Entrance Examination.

His total score was only three hundred and thirty, placing him below ten thousandth in the city.

And his looks were ordinary, so the Acacia Sect would not take him either.

When the time came, he might only be diverted elsewhere, becoming a junior college student at some minor sect and then working himself to the bone for the rest of his life.

He immediately shook his head and suppressed those feelings, then hurried down the mountain, preparing to attend morning self-study.

After sitting down and taking out his phone, Lu Ziqi was just about to find his textbook when he noticed an extra push notification on his phone.

"The Dreamer? The ultimate feel-good drama? Free?"

Lu Ziqi had always disdained this sort of notification.

His Dao Heart was firm. He never paid attention to outside temptations, devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Dao, and never retreated.

He had intended to delete it, but recalling what had just happened, he paused.

His worries about the National College Entrance Examination had left his mind in turmoil. Studying recklessly now might instead breed a Heart Demon, so he might as well rest first.

Seeing that there was still a quarter of an hour before morning class, he ultimately could not resist the temptation of a feel-good drama and decided to sample it first.

After setting a timer and activating the Dreamscape, Lu Ziqi yawned, then fell into the Dreamscape and sank into the world of A Daoist Oddity's Dreamer.

When he opened his eyes again, the world had completely changed.

Looking around, Lu Ziqi discovered that although free assets had been used here, the production quality was extremely high.

The creator had a solid aesthetic sense. The scenes were vividly constructed and deliberately aged, displaying remarkable skill in environmental design.

He had once been interested in the profession of Dream Maker and studied it for a while, but he soon gave up.

This profession required considerable talent, exceptional vision, and exquisite technical feel. If one could not excel in every aspect, then the result would only be garbage.

But some people's talent was like an awl in a pocket. With the slightest movement, it would pierce through, impossible to hide.

"This quality is free? Are Dream Makers this competitive now? Damn it, people more talented than you can also outwork you. This world really gives people no way to live."

Muttering to himself, Lu Ziqi heard someone beside him ask with concern, "How are you feeling today?"

Turning his head, Lu Ziqi saw a rosy-cheeked doctor standing beside him, holding his medical record.

The doctor's white coat was spotless, and his smile was as warm as spring. He kept looking into Lu Ziqi's eyes as he spoke, the concern in his gaze naturally inspiring goodwill.

Lowering his head, Lu Ziqi found himself dressed in blue-and-white hospital clothes. Embroidered on the left side of his chest was a line of words: Tianyuan Psychiatric Hospital.

I'm a psychiatric patient?

Besides him, there was another patient tied to a bed nearby, staring fixedly at the ceiling without moving.

Leaning over, Lu Ziqi looked at the other man's name tag: Sun Huowang.

After observing the surrounding environment, he was just about to speak when the doctor said, "Are you still having nightmares easily? Your condition is troublesome. We haven't found a suitable treatment for now, so we can only treat it conservatively. I'll prescribe you some sedatives later. It may be related to your lack of sleep."

Lying down in confusion, Lu Ziqi asked himself, What's so satisfying about this Dreamscape?

He had entered to find an inexplicable scene, could not speak, and there was not a single satisfying element around him. What was interesting about this place?

Yet for some reason, this grim atmosphere gave him the urge to keep watching. The doctor had seemed friendly, but there was also something off about him, leaving Lu Ziqi faintly uneasy.

A monster would have been fine; he could at least think of a way to take it down. But this barely perceptible wrongness was like a sword hanging over his head, making it impossible to settle down.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a roar beside him. Sun Huowang, who was tied to the bed, suddenly began struggling.

It was as though he could not feel the restraints on his body. He thrashed on the bed like a normal person, yet his expression was quite cold, and his vacant eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.

Before Lu Ziqi could figure out what was wrong with him, Sun Huowang's neck twisted directly toward him.

His vacant eyes found a focus at that moment, and his cold expression turned to shock.

He looked at Lu Ziqi with difficulty and roared, "You're not from here. Who are you? Why did you appear here?! Open your eyes! Open your eyes and look at me!"

"No, close your eyes first! Then open them with all your strength! Hurry, or it'll be too late!"

The male nurses nearby immediately rushed over, tied the roaring Sun Huowang down again, and took him into the next room.

Yet even after the door closed, Lu Ziqi could still feel the other man staring at him.

Shuddering violently, Lu Ziqi nodded. "Interesting."

Following the man's instructions, Lu Ziqi closed his eyes and then forced them open. He found that his surroundings were still the same.

But immediately afterward, he realized that this was no longer a hospital.