Another morning dawned.

Xiao Lin, who had slept late due to the mysterious mark on his right hand, woke up later than usual. As he opened the door, he saw Ning Yunmiao sitting absentmindedly on a stone bench in the courtyard.

"Am I still dreaming?"

With this thought, Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes vigorously, opening and closing them repeatedly.

The result was clear: Xiao Lin hadn't "woken up."

"Could something have happened?" Xiao Lin considered another possibility, and in a flash, he was in front of Ning Yunmiao, leaning on the table with both hands. "Fourth Junior Sister, what's going on? Where's Master? Is the Flowing Cloud Sect about to be annihilated?"

"Huh? Senior Brother, what are you talking about?" Ning Yunmiao snapped out of her thoughts, stunned by Xiao Lin's words.

[Is Senior Brother still half-asleep?]

"Nothing happened. Why are you up so early?"

Xiao Lin looked serious.

Although he woke up late today, it was just past the hour of the rabbit, which was unusually early for Ning Yunmiao. Normally, she wouldn't wake up for at least another two hours, so Xiao Lin couldn't help but be concerned.

"Uh... actually, I had a bit of insomnia last night..."

Ning Yunmiao scratched her head.

[Even though I eventually fell asleep, I was startled awake by that dream about the creepy guy... I can't believe it, is this dream a series? How can it continue like that?]

Creepy guy? Dream? What on earth...

Xiao Lin blinked, pondering for a moment, then asked, "So, Fourth Junior Sister, you had insomnia?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to go to Fragrant Pill Peak and see Uncle-Master He?"

"Senior Brother, there's nothing wrong with my body, I don't need to..."

Ning Yunmiao said with a face full of grievance.

[Is it such a big deal to wake up early once? Does everyone have to ask if there's something wrong with me physically? What kind of image do I have in your minds?]

An image of a lazy pig who does nothing but eat and sleep...

Xiao Lin answered internally.

"Then why the insomnia?" Xiao Lin sat across from Ning Yunmiao, looking at her.

"Not really, I just had two consecutive nightmares that startled me awake," Ning Yunmiao admitted honestly.

[Maybe it's also because of that new task that's been bothering me...]

New task? It seems Fourth Junior Sister went through a lot last night...

Xiao Lin's mouth twitched slightly. "What exactly were the nightmares about?"

Hearing Ning Yunmiao's inner thoughts, he became very interested in the content of her dreams.

If it really was a continuous dream that resumed after being interrupted, it might not be an ordinary dream... After all, dreams and the nature of dreams can't be generalized. In the cultivation world, dreams can extend into many things—like the tales of "an immortal touching my head in a dream," "a hidden treasure in a dream cave," "a master imparting skills in a dream," or "a fairy forming a bond in a dream." These stories are widely circulated in the cultivation world.

Although no one can verify the truth of these stories, given their number and prevalence, they are clearly not baseless. In fact, there is currently a cultivator in the cultivation world who can use dreams as a combat method—the sect leader of one of the six major sects, the Crossing Immortal Holy Land, Cao Mengde, is said to have a powerful divine ability that allows him to kill in dreams.

"Well, I dreamt of someone saying they wanted to pursue me and then getting handsy," Ning Yunmiao answered every question, though she refrained from using the term "creepy guy" to describe the jerk in her dream.

"Hmm..."

Xiao Lin placed his hand on the stone table, his long fingers tapping lightly on the surface.

He really couldn't see any hidden meaning or omen in such a dream.

Could it be that Fourth Junior Sister is about to have a romantic encounter? But according to Fourth Junior Sister's inner thoughts, the man in the dream doesn't seem like a suitor who would make her heart flutter...

"Oh, Senior Brother, don't worry, I'm really fine," Ning Yunmiao waved her hand quickly when she saw Xiao Lin deep in thought. "It's just a bit of insomnia and a nightmare, no big deal."

"In any case, Fourth Junior Sister, you should still be cautious. If anything happens, be sure to let us know," Xiao Lin advised, realizing he couldn't figure it out on his own.

Nightmares and insomnia... I'll report this to Master later...

"Have Qingyan and the others gone to cultivate?"

Having made up his mind, Xiao Lin asked.

"Yes, they left at the hour of the rabbit," Ning Yunmiao nodded.

[I really admire them. Forget about waking up at six, even waking up at eight would be the death of me... Early rising is such a human hardship...]

"So what are you planning to do now, Fourth Junior Sister?" Xiao Lin asked again.

"I... uh, actually, I have something to ask Senior Brother," Ning Yunmiao hesitated for a moment before responding, her eyes slightly evasive.

[Hmm, is it inappropriate to ask directly like this? But if I don't ask directly, I really don't know how to complete this task... Failing the task would mean losing my sense of taste, such a cruel punishment, I must complete this task!]

Failing the task and losing her sense of taste, wow, that is indeed a terrifying punishment for Fourth Junior Sister...

Xiao Lin suddenly understood why Ning Yunmiao was waiting for him so early in the morning.

But what exactly is the task?

Xiao Lin perked up his ears and looked at Ning Yunmiao, smiling, "If you have something to ask, just ask."

"Uh, actually... it's just... um..." Ning Yunmiao raised her hand to gently scratch her cheek, her eyes darting around as she clearly struggled to find the right words.

[Activating Senior Brother's new ability in his right arm... What does that even mean? Does Senior Brother have a new ability? Can his right arm suddenly shoot webs? Or can he destroy the world with a snap of his right fingers?]

Why would you think of shooting webs and snapping fingers... But a new ability in the right arm...

Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze casually drifting to his right forearm, hidden beneath his sleeve.

Just last night, a mark resembling a bull's head had appeared there.

It seems that the new ability Fourth Junior Sister mentioned is probably this mark... So Fourth Junior Sister received a task to help me master this mark? Tsk, Fourth Junior Sister's system is quite something...

"It's like this, Senior Brother..." Ning Yunmiao finally seemed to have thought of a way to phrase it, looking at Xiao Lin as she spoke, "I just wanted to ask if you've had any new insights recently, or developed any new combat techniques? Because I feel like I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and was hoping to find some inspiration from you."

[Phew, this reason should be acceptable, right? Reasonable and logical... I'll have to ask like this for now, I really don't know how to phrase it specifically about the right arm, I can't just ask if Senior Brother's right hand has evolved, can I?]

Evolved, really? And as for reasonable and logical... Your sudden interest in cultivation matters is already quite unreasonable...

Xiao Lin thought expressionlessly, pondering for a moment before nodding, "Actually, just yesterday, there was a slight change in my right arm."