Midnight.

"Should I go sleepwalking again tonight?"

Qin Yuzhi yawned as she walked in from outside, but her footsteps suddenly halted at the doorway.

She stared blankly at the two figures on the rooftop.

This... wasn't this the exact scene she'd seen in her dreams?

"Am I dreaming right now? No, I don't feel like I'm dreaming at all..."

"Did someone drag me into a dream? But whose mastery of dream techniques could possibly surpass mine? Unless..."

"Could it be... could it be that I'm still in the Cloud Dream Palace and never actually woke up?"

"Am I still living in a dream?"

Qin Yuzhi stood frozen, clutching her head as she muttered to herself.

Her incessant murmuring successfully froze the two figures on the roof in place.

Ying Bing lifted her head from his neck: "Let's... stop the sealing here for today."

"Mm, sealing isn't something that can be done overnight. We shouldn't rush it."

"?"

"When the seal weakens again..."

Little Li, shamelessly seizing the opportunity, declared that such wicked and terrifying ticklishness would surely break through the seal again!

This called for repeated, long-term sealing measures!

Perhaps struck by the sheer audacity of this calculation, the ice block (Ying Bing) remained silent for a long moment before standing up.

Startled, Little Li quickly gathered the hem of his robe, hunching over to hold it protectively.

Ying Bing's beautiful phoenix eyes refused to look at him - ever since her peripheral vision caught that sight, she'd been reacting as if electrocuted.

Leaving the temporarily indisposed Little Li on the rooftop, she returned to her room alone.

The moment she closed the door, the avoidance system chimed with notifications:

[Congratulations, Host. Punishment task successfully completed.]

[Rewards being distributed...]

[Reward One: Tribulation Body Jade.]

[Reward Two...]

The system continued listing rewards, each a legendary treasure rarely seen in the world.

But the ice block sat on the bed, mechanically making tea while gripping a big-headed doll tightly.

Only after giving the doll several tea baths did she snap out of her daze.

[Tribulation Body Jade]: "After absorbing sufficient natural energy, can unleash heavenly tribulations to temper the physical body, including but not limited to wind tribulation, fire tribulation, thunder tribulation, heart demon tribulation... Usable twice."

The jade took form as a small seal carved with dizzying inscriptions.

The biggest gap between her and Li Mo currently was physical strength.

If only this had come sooner...

[Host, even if you took first place, you'd have ended up doing the punishment task eventually. Why lie to yourself?]

Creak—

The big-headed doll's shiny skull emitted pitiful squeaks as it was crushed in her grip.

The system wisely fell silent.

[Ming Sha Jing Fan Body]: "A superior-grade divine cultivation method for body tempering. Upon mastery, skin becomes jade-like yet soft as precious gauze, with stillness like deep flowing water that absorbs external force impacts and converts them for endless personal use."

"Note: Your appearance and temperament will progressively improve without aging, eliminating the unsightly bulkiness typical of body tempering. Exceptionally effective."

In her previous life, Ying Bing hadn't focused on body cultivation.

The tempering from lunar energies had always kept her ahead in that regard.

Now she was paying the price.

[Divine Sky Heart Sword - Forms 4, 5 & 6]: "These three complete the divine sword technique - replacing heaven's will with one's own heart! Wielding heaven's merciless justice as its agent!"

Ying Bing picked up the golden scripture pages.

She could instantly possess a complete, ultimate sword technique. With her talent, mastery wouldn't take long.

Her index finger lightly touched her crimson lips.

"This method... doesn't suit me."

"Needs modification..."

...

Next morning.

"Let's negotiate."

"I understand how you feel, but how am I supposed to go out like this?"

At dawn, Li Mo stood in his room lecturing downward sternly, hoping the other party would also look down.

Unfortunately, the other party seemed to be going through rebellious phase, remaining defiantly upright.

Left with no choice, Little Li took out paper and drew several episodes of SpongeBob from memory - the yellow square and pink star catching jellyfish - finally managing to calm himself down.

"If this were a dream, how could I dream of things I've never seen?"

Stepping outside, he found Qin Yuzhi sitting on the doorstep hugging her knees, still muttering.

"...What are you going on about?"

Li Mo materialized silently behind her, startling even the mighty Palm Mystic Realm sect leader.

"Something's wrong! Last night I had a dream that didn't feel like a dream!"

Qin Yuzhi spoke like a mystic: "I think... He might be returning..."

"Maybe you've always been dreaming? Maybe even I'm part of your dream?"

"See! You think so too!"

"I was joking! You can't dream of things you've never seen, let alone things that don't exist across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands..."

"Hm?"

Qin Yuzhi looked up, about to test her theory, then suddenly froze before exhaling deeply in relief.

Calm returned:

"It's fine now. I'm sure it wasn't a dream."

"???"

Li Mo rubbed his neck curiously - why did she keep looking there? Mosquito bite again?

But it didn't itch now.

Baffled, Little Li decided to drop the matter and discussed advertising plans with Sect Leader Qin.

"Speaking of which, now that we have chicken bouillon and MSG, advertising both simultaneously might dilute the impact."

"So you suggest picking one?"

"No, I think we should combine them into something better!"

The genius Li had another inspiration.

He felt neither seasoning was convenient or effective enough as standalone products.

"Something even better?"

"Try this first. I'll see if Elder Xue can replicate the flavor."

From his system inventory, Li Mo produced... a packet of instant noodles.

Exactly!

Why not turn it into instant noodle seasoning?

"Slurp... gulp..."

Sect Leader Qin went from skeptical to mesmerized during preparation, her body trembling slightly at first bite.

She immediately volunteered to endorse instant noodles.

Payment: unlimited noodle supply.

...

"What? Mass produce this formula?"

At Dan Ding Peak, Elder Xue's second disciple Qiu Xi looked horrified.

"Listen, I'm destined to become a pill refining grandmaster - crafting precious elixirs for martial sects and nobility alike, making everyone gasp in awe at my prowess!"

"I have dignity to maintain!"