Chapter 3: Great Dream Academy

The Grand Ancestor asked his ministers: "I wish to enlighten the whole realm, so that every person may be like a dragon. What good plan do you gentlemen have?"

Duke Bi said: "One may build divine temples, enshrine the spirit soldiers and divine generals, reward the good and punish the evil, and thus govern the nineteen provinces."

The Grand Ancestor's brow furrowed slightly.

Duke Zhao said: "One may compile great classics, gather ten thousand good laws, and spread them throughout the realm."

The Grand Ancestor's expression softened somewhat.

Zhou Gong said: "The common folk have many hardships, working from sunrise and resting at sunset; one cannot simply add to their burdens. Building divine temples and compiling great classics should be required of the officials, not the people. The ancient heretical sect Mengyan Sect had a method called 'Great Dream of Spring and Autumn' and a treasure called 'One Dream Heaven and Earth,' which could allow its disciples to kill people within dreams."

"Methods are neither good nor evil in themselves; the minister may change their use. All subjects of our Zhou dynasty may be enlightened within dreams, without harm to their bodies."

The Grand Ancestor clapped his hands and laughed heartily: "Excellent!"

He then ordered Zhou Gong to interpret the dream and spread it throughout the realm.

The above historical anecdote is, of course, fictional.

Zhao Xing clearly remembered that the Yunmeng Academy had absolutely nothing to do with the Grand Ancestor or the founding hero Zhou Gong Dan.

The ancient sect Mengyan Sect was also no heretical cult at all, but rather the state religion of the Great Li dynasty, another dynasty of destiny that preceded Zhou.

The method 'Great Dream of Spring and Autumn' and the treasure 'One Dream Heaven and Earth' did indeed exist.

The predecessor of Yunmeng Academy was called 'Great Dream Academy.'

It was used by the Great Li dynasty for 'elite education' to absorb geniuses, and could indeed be used to kill people within dreams.

After the fall of Great Li, several more dynasties passed, and the treasure was eventually obtained by Great Zhou.

The Son of Heaven of Zhou wished to crack it and put it to his own use, but utterly failed to do so.

It was not until the reign of Wu Di that the treasure One Dream Heaven and Earth was finally cracked, and in Wu Di's hands it became 'Yunmeng Academy.'

At the same time, this anecdote came into being along with it.

Then why did Wu Di attribute the credit to the Grand Ancestor?

Because the treasure was not actually 'cracked' in his hands; rather, a certain minister happened to discover the method of entry from ancient texts.

Namely, with the simplest 【Soul-Calming Talisman】 and 【Guidance Talisman】, combined with a single phrase, one could enter.

And its functions had already been largely developed by Great Li; one could simply modify it slightly and use it.

After obtaining the treasure and failing to crack it for many years, he finally found the method—only to discover it was outrageously simple!

Furthermore, the ancient emperors had already done everything he wanted to do; all that remained was the step of large-scale promotion and simplification.

The proud Wu Di felt it was shameful. He seemed to see the emperors of Great Li mocking his incompetence, and he certainly could not claim for himself what the world saw as a 'great merit' and 'great virtue.'

Attributing it to the preceding few dynasties was also inappropriate, so he simply pushed it all the way back and placed the deed upon the Grand Ancestor.

The Soul-Calming Talisman and Guidance Talisman glowed faintly, a thick wave of drowsiness swept over him, Zhao Xing immediately felt his eyelids grow heavy, and before long a light snoring gradually arose.

Within the dream, Zhao Xing suddenly sat up and raised his head.

Endless clouds enveloped the surroundings, so thick one could not see clearly.

Only a gate-tower reaching several tens of zhang high appeared before his eyes.

Carved upon it in ancient script were four characters: Great Dream Academy

"I really got in?"

Zhao Xing's first instinct was to check his panel, but found he could not view it at all; thus he had truly entered.

His second thought was:

"I'm rich!"

"It's an early-version Yunmeng Academy instance—no, wait, it's still called Great Dream Academy right now! A completely undeveloped gold mine!"

"Compared to the later version, after Wu Di emptied out the treasures and it degenerated into a daily-play instance, the two simply cannot be compared!"

Zhao Xing was somewhat excited.

In his previous life he had not caught the good times, but now things were different.

Composing his thoughts and recalling certain matters to note, Zhao Xing stepped forward into the cloud-shrouded gateway.

With a single step, the scene changed abruptly.

Before his eyes appeared palace after palace, wrapped in hemispherical barriers of light, resplendent and magnificent.

【Reincarnation Hall】, 【Questioning Heart Platform】, 【Martial God Tower】, 【Arts and Methods Secret Treasury】, 【Heavenly Secrets Pavilion】, 【Sacred Beast Palace】, 【Destiny Palace】…

Pavilions, terraces, towers and halls, palace complexes, winding corridors and sky bridges, scattered in picturesque disorder, layer upon layer of peaks, wreathed in mist, as if one stood amidst a fairyland.

Zhao Xing's eyes were immediately dazzled, and he drooled uncontrollably.

In the "background story" summarized by players in his previous life, it was precisely by obtaining the treasury accumulated by Great Li that Wu Di had sufficient confidence to forcibly conscript from the eight wildernesses.

Now these treasures appeared before Zhao Xing one by one, but before he could examine them closely, the vast majority of these palaces receded into the clouds and vanished.

Only a few small towers remained.

"Hm? What's happening?" Zhao Xing was stunned. "Why did they disappear?"

He quickly chased toward the direction where a palace had vanished, but after walking only a few dozen meters, he was blocked by a gentle pushing force; walking became extremely difficult, until he could advance no further.

After trying several times with the same result, Zhao Xing stood in place, frowning in thought for a long while, before finally reacting.

This was Great Dream Academy, not Yunmeng Academy.

"Great Li's Great Dream Academy was specifically for cultivating geniuses, while Great Zhou's 'Yunmeng Academy' teaches without discrimination, regardless of aptitude."

"The former not only allows one to learn advanced secret methods, but also to bring back physical rewards from within, each and every one a precious treasure. However, it has an entry threshold and difficult trials."

"The latter focuses mainly on mid- and low-level secret manuals, with very few physical rewards. But it has no threshold; even young children can walk throughout the academy, and there are no trials."

After thinking it through, Zhao Xing could only helplessly watch as treasure after treasure receded into the clouds.

Now he did not need to search for them himself.

Because the moment he moved, he triggered the mechanism; what remained in the end was precisely the places where he could attempt to obtain rewards.

"Let's see what's left; no need to rush. It's still at least several hundred years before Wu Di empties out the treasury." Zhao Xing's mindset immediately relaxed; he had plenty of time to slowly empty this place out.

After waiting a moment, the countless palaces and towers all vanished, leaving only a single high platform floating in the sky.

Clouds and mist churned as a spiral staircase extended from the high platform down to Zhao Xing's feet.

"Heart-Questioning Platform?"

"Looks like my realm is too low—I'm not qualified to touch anything else. Only this 'Heart-Questioning Platform,' which has nothing to do with cultivation realm, gives me any hope of clearing the trial and grabbing a reward."

The Heart-Questioning Platform's trials are basically the seven emotions and six desires, and it customizes the scenario according to the individual.

It also has a pattern: it creates whatever one most desires or fears at present.

Looking at that Heart-Questioning Platform, Zhao Xing seemed to recall some unpleasant memory.

"It won't be something terrifying and unbearable right off the bat, will it…"

He drew a deep breath and cautiously stepped onto the first stair.

"Hum~"

The surrounding scene abruptly changed, and Zhao Xing suddenly caught a heart-penetrating fragrance.

Rippling water, flower petals drifting on the surface, steam rising—a beauty was leaning against the edge of a tub.

A half-concealed, half-revealed rounded bottom, bare back, fragrant shoulders, flowing hair…

"What? A trial of desire?"

"Heart-Questioning Platform, have you got it wrong? How could what this old man most desires right now be such lowbrow taste?!"