Chapter 4: Rewards Received

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

"Master..."

The beauty in the bathtub pressed close to him, making him forget everything. His eyes were filled with this delicate, charming, and utterly captivating peerless beauty, leaving only wild, primal desires in control. Only when his strength was depleted did he lie down on the bed with the beauty's help and fall into a deep sleep.

***

When Zhao Xing woke up again, the yellow paper on his forehead had dried and floated to the side. The guiding talisman on his abdomen was soaked with sweat.

"Hmm, what a comfortable dream..."

Zhao Xing sat up, holding his head, and remained still for a long time before realizing what had happened.

"What? It failed?"

He was shocked. However, the lingering effects of the dream were still present, and the system panel displayed several records:

You entered the secret realm 'Grand Dream Academy'.You entered the 'Heart-Searching Platform' trial.Heart-searching failed. You gained nothing from this attempt.

Zhao Xing closed the panel and muttered:

"It must be that this body is too young, at the peak of its energy, or perhaps the old version of the Heart-Searching Platform is too powerful... That's why I returned empty-handed from a treasure mountain.""No matter, I'll try again next time, and I'll definitely succeed in one go!"

After comforting himself, Zhao Xing saw that dawn was breaking, so he immediately got dressed and went out to begin his day's work and cultivation.

***

The second night.Grand Dream Academy.

"Hmm, what a comfortable dream... Huh? It failed again?"

***

The third night.Grand Dream Academy.

"Such immense power, it's impossible not to be drawn into it. I'll definitely pass next time!"

***

This cycle continued for half a month, with Zhao Xing repeatedly getting stuck at the Heart-Searching trial. Even Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong found it strange:

"Why does brother always look so dispirited lately?""Could it be that he's secretly gone out to have fun without us?""Ziyu, how can you think that of brother? He must be training day and night, which is why he looks so tired.""...You two, stop talking."

Zhao Xing felt a bit melancholy. The old version of the 'Heart-Searching Platform' was simply too powerful, and with his youthful body in a period of strong desires, he found it difficult to pass for a while. After reflecting on his failures, Zhao Xing re-examined his inner self. The Grand Dream Academy was a supreme treasure used by the Great Li Dynasty to test its elites. Without careful consideration, it would indeed be hard to pass the old version of the Heart-Searching Platform.

He began to fully immerse himself in cultivation, clearing all distracting thoughts daily. Aside from eating and sleeping, he focused solely on practicing spells and gathering origin energy. With insane self-discipline, he strengthened his resolve. Sometimes, he even disciplined himself while eating. He would deliberately place a bowl of delicious food in front of himself when he was very hungry, but force himself not to touch it until the designated time had passed. He didn't want to eliminate desires entirely, but rather to train his body to achieve a goal: delayed gratification of desires.

***

Finally, on a certain night.Grand Dream Academy, Heart-Searching Platform.

"Master..."

The woman by the bathtub turned around, her posture incredibly charming as she nestled into Zhao Xing's embrace. But Zhao Xing made no move.

"Master~ Is the herbal bath your servant prepared comfortable?" the beauty whispered softly in his ear, like a murmur.

Zhao Xing remained clear-headed this time. Remembering his previous failures, he sincerely praised, "Indeed, it is comfortable."

"Then why is Master so unmoved? Is there something your servant didn't do well enough?" The beauty looked up, her eyes welling with tears, appearing utterly pathetic.

"I still have desires," Zhao Xing shrugged, then gently pushed the woman away. "But my aspirations are high.""If I'm going to indulge, I'll indulge in the best, and the carnal desires of this trial don't count as the best."

The illusion shattered amidst the beauty's surprised expression.

***

Next, Zhao Xing ascended 10 steps in one go. All sorts of beauties appeared before him, doing their utmost to entice him. But Zhao Xing quickly freed himself from their influence. After undergoing self-discipline and confrontation, he finally rediscovered the feeling of being a 'pro gamer' passing the Heart-Searching trial from his previous life, no longer affected by this body. These fake illusions were only worth a taste; how could one truly become addicted?

"Student Zhao Xing, you have successfully passed the Heart-Searching trial of carnal desires.""By passing the first Heart-Searching trial at the early stage of Gathering Origin, with a firm Dao Heart, you are rewarded with a 'Dao Embryo Pill'."

A voice rang in his ear, and Zhao Xing saw an ancient box floating in the mist.

"A Dao Embryo Pill? Such a treasure for the first trial?"

Zhao Xing's calm expression immediately broke the moment he heard about the reward. This led him to actively wake up without even attempting the eleventh step.

***

Startled, Zhao Xing suddenly sat up and immediately lowered his head. He saw that his left hand was holding the ancient box, exactly as it had been in the dream.

"A Dao Embryo Pill! Before the revival version, this was the absolute top-tier cleansing pill one could obtain! There was no equal!" Zhao Xing was ecstatic. He had never consumed this item in his previous life; acquiring it himself was too expensive. Buying it from others was also unaffordable, simply too expensive! By the time he could afford it or obtain it, he no longer needed it.

"Is this real?"

Zhao Xing still couldn't quite believe it, thinking he was still dreaming. So he quickly rubbed his eyes, only confirming it after checking the system panel records.

You entered the secret realm 'Grand Dream Academy'.You entered the 'Heart-Searching Platform' trial.Heart-searching successful. You obtained a 'Dao Embryo Pill' from this attempt.Dao Embryo Pill: A treasure of the ancient Great Li imperial family, capable of helping one shed their mortal body and reshape their Dao foundation.

"The Heart-Searching Platform actually rewarded such an exaggerated treasure?"

Zhao Xing quickly deduced a reason: "Is it because my cultivation realm is too low, yet I was able to pass ten stages of Heart-Searching, leading to a significant increase in the reward level?" The rewards in the Grand Dream Academy's trials were not entirely fixed but determined by individual performance. For Zhao Xing to pass ten stages of Heart-Searching at the Gathering Origin Realm (Li Dynasty cultivation system) was extremely rare. This had nothing to do with the time spent; even if someone at Gathering Origin Stage Two took 100 years to pass, it would still be impressive. That's why the Heart-Searching Platform granted such a generous reward.

"I'll eat it!"

Zhao Xing impatiently opened the box and swallowed the pale red pill inside in one gulp. An incredibly intense heat instantly surged through his entire body, making Zhao Xing tremble involuntarily. But the next second, this sensation abruptly vanished. The anomaly came quickly and left just as fast. The wonder of the 'Dao Embryo Pill' lay precisely in this: apart from the initial anomaly, it caused no discomfort to the user and did not directly boost their cultivation realm. Instead, it would gradually and subtly alter their foundation.

However, the changes the Dao Embryo Pill brought to Zhao Xing were still significant! This was evident from his system panel.

Name: Zhao XingRealm: UnrankedLuck: Derivation TwoSpells: Basic Cultivation (Max Level)Robust Growth: Novice (201/9999)Flowing Cloud: Novice (352/9999)Gathering Origin: Stage Two (142/1000)Body Transformation, Dao Foundation Reshaped: Special Status (Ongoing). This status cannot be detected by anyone below Rank One.

"An extra special status, truly worthy of being the strongest cleansing treasure.""Gathering Origin went from Stage One (71 points) to Stage Two (142 points), directly doubling. There's no helping it; even just a slight initial effect is enough for a significant improvement at this stage. Fortunately, this kind of improvement isn't too noticeable during the lower realms.""Wait, why has my luck level also become Derivation Two? I've never heard of consuming a Dao Embryo Pill increasing one's luck level."