bioinnovel Chapter 18: Back to Reality, A Bountiful Harvest
Chapter 18: Back to Reality, A Bountiful Harvest
Hearing the constant notification sounds in his mind, Lin Hanzhou awoke in reality.
He opened his heavy eyelids, and what came into view was no longer the ornate roof of the palace, nor the simple thatched hut in the deep mountains.
It was the ceiling of his own room, which he knew so well.
He slowly sat up from the soft bed and looked around.
A tidy desk, a bookshelf against the wall, and that martial arts academy poster on the wall that he was already tired of looking at...
Everything was so familiar, yet so strange.
"I'm back..."
He murmured softly, his voice carrying a hoarseness and world-weariness that didn't belong to an eighteen-year-old.
It felt like a different world.
No, it's not just "as if".
He truly lived 151 years in another world.
He didn't check the system rewards immediately; he just sat there quietly.
Let those memories from over a hundred years ago, like old film reels, play back frame by frame in my mind.
He recalled his first meeting with his father, Lin Batian, whose eyes were sharp as an eagle's and who regarded the entire world as a chessboard.
He was a ruthless monarch and a heartless father.
However, he was also a great pioneer who devoted his last breath to the future of the empire.
He thought of his gentle and refined seventh brother, Lin Yuan.
From the pure care shown at their first meeting to the gratified and proud smile on his sickbed eighty years later.
At the end of his life, he wasn't lamenting his mediocre life, but rather feeling proud to have such a younger brother...
There was also his personally promoted Crown Prince Lin Qi, that respectful and capable son.
The grandson of the emperor, Lin Mu, whom he saw before his death, had eyes full of awe.
And the millions of ordinary people who lived in peace and prosperity under his rule, and who revered him as a god...
All of this feels too real.
"system."
"Was the Sui Dynasty I experienced... real? Or was it merely an illusion you created for me?"
Lin Hanzhou asked in his mind with an unprecedentedly solemn tone.
[To the host: The worlds you experience in your dream journeys are all real.]
The system's voice, as cold as ever, answered his biggest question.
The myriad realms and universes are countless, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
[Based on a combination of factors, including its energy level, the completeness of its laws, and the stability of its space.]
[Broadly speaking, it can be divided into: lower worlds, middle worlds, higher worlds, and the supreme Great Thousand Worlds.]
The "Sui Dynasty" that the host first transmigrated to was a low-level world.
Moreover, they are among the lowest-level, least energy-rich, and least governed by laws within the lower worlds.
Its world's origins are weak, and spiritual energy is extremely scarce, resulting in an extremely primitive and incomplete cultivation system.
Hearing the system's reply, Lin Hanzhou let out a long sigh of relief.
Does it really exist...? That's good.
He couldn't help but empathize, and could even say he was deeply moved.
As for the system's claim about a lack of spiritual energy, he felt the same way.
He knew better than anyone how scarce the spiritual energy was in that world.
There, as an emperor, he exhausted the entire power of his dynasty and could barely gather a few pitiful first-tier spiritual herbs.
To break through to the second tier, he searched arduously in the deep mountains and forests for thirteen years before finally finding a second-tier spiritual herb by sheer luck.
The feeling was like a person dying of thirst, struggling with all their might, only to squeeze out a few drops of murky water from a dried-up riverbed.
And now...
Lin Hanzhou closed his eyes, and with a thought, began to sense the environment of the real Earth.
In an instant, he felt as if he had fallen from a barren desert into a vast ocean.
The surrounding spiritual energy was so dense that it was almost tangible.
In just a few breaths, he felt refreshed and more energetic than ever before.
"Is this...this is the concentration of spiritual energy on Earth?"
Lin Hanzhou was deeply shocked.
In the past, when he was in it, he didn't feel that it was anything special.
After experiencing over a hundred years of "hardship and simplicity" in the Great Sui world, he returned here and realized just how superior his own Blue Star world was.
Cultivating here is like entering a fairyland.
It's hard to imagine just how miserable his 151 years in that inferior world must have been.
After calming his excitement, Lin Hanzhou finally turned his attention to his biggest gain this time.
"System, check the rewards."
[Reward Distribution:]
【Part 1: Dream World Cultivation Feedback (Can be claimed at any time).】
[Second: 1000 points (already credited to your system account).]
【Part Three: System Shop (Unlocked)】
[Part Four: Dream Talent Function (Unlocked)]
"Receive cultivation feedback!" Lin Hanzhou said without hesitation.
[Instructions received, currently providing feedback on cultivation progress...]
As soon as he finished speaking, an incredibly pure torrent of energy appeared out of thin air within his body.
This energy was a perfect reflection of his cultivation at the first level of the second-tier Qi Gathering Realm in his dream world.
"Snap!"
The bottleneck within his body, which was at the peak of the first-order Qi Opening Realm, shattered instantly under the onslaught of this torrent of energy.
A large amount of spiritual energy began to gather, compress, and liquefy within his body, forming a small vortex.
A surge of power returned to his limbs and bones.
Second stage, Qi Gathering Realm, Level 1.
The familiar power has finally returned!
It was even stronger and more refined than he was in his dream.
Lin Hanzhou clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
He turned his gaze to the next reward.
"Open the system store."
A translucent, deep blue light screen, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes.
On the light screen, a dazzling array of goods are displayed like stars.
Lin Hanzhou's gaze swept over them quickly.
【Product Name: Tier 1 Low-Grade Meridian Opening Pill】
[Effect: Assists a first-tier martial artist in cultivation, slightly increasing spiritual power.]
Price: 100 points/piece
【Product Name: Tier 3 Mid-Grade - Green Wood Longevity Technique】
[Effect: A wood-attribute cultivation technique; upon mastery, it can open the Qi Sea and extend lifespan by three hundred years.]
Price: 5000 points
【Product Name: Tier 7 Superior Grade - True Dragon Blood】
[Effect: Contains the power of a true dragon, capable of transforming the body and greatly enhancing physical strength and innate talents.]
Price: 10 million points
【Product Name: Immortal Rank? · ? ? ?】
【Effect:???】
Price: ? ? ? ? ?
……
From first-tier elixirs and cultivation techniques to mysterious treasures marked as "immortal-grade" above the ninth tier, everything is available.
Lin Hanzhou was dazzled by the sight and his heart was burning with excitement.
He glanced at the "1000" points balance in his account and couldn't help but smile wryly.
These points may seem like a lot, but in this all-encompassing online store, they're really nothing.
They can only buy first and second-tier items; they can't afford anything slightly better.
However, he was not discouraged.
Since there was a first time, there will be a second time.
As long as you keep traversing, you'll eventually accumulate points.
He didn't rush to buy anything, but instead looked at the last item, which was also the reward he was most looking forward to.
"Activate the Dream Talent feature."
The light screen shifted, and a huge blue wheel appeared before him.
The roulette wheel is divided into countless squares, each of which flashes with a different color of light.
[The Dream Talent feature is now available.]
[Function Description: Before each dream journey, the host can consume a small amount of points to draw a talent.]
Talent levels (from lowest to highest): Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red.
[Talent Effect: The talent drawn is only effective in the current dream world.]
[After the dream ends, the host can choose to permanently discard it, or consume points to solidify it as one of their talents.]
[Note: The number of slots for solidifying talents is limited, but the host can spend points to expand it. This feature will be unlocked after the host solidifies three talents.]
[The current host's cultivation level is at the second tier, and the highest talent that can be drawn is "blue".]
[Increasing your cultivation level will unlock access to higher-level talents.]