Lis emerged from Stran Ward's dreamworld and looked around, cautious and observant.
The Dream World was as serene and peaceful as before, with countless mysterious and dreamy stars floating before his eyes, and a light purple stream slowly flowing in his vision, blurring the lines between space and time.
This time, that terrifying dream of the Legendary Strongman didn't appear again.
Lis sighed in relief and slowly drifted towards where he could return to reality.
Indeed, Legendary Strongmen hardly needed sleep to replenish their energy, so the previous occurrence must have been a rare event.
With this in mind, Lis meandered through the countless Dream Spaces.
Possibly because he hadn't encountered the Legendary Strongman, Lis felt somewhat more relaxed and, as his eyes scanned a nearby dream, he realized this particular Dream Space was replicating the huge fireworks display from Galsa Warehouse the night before.
Those gold pillars of light that reached the skies, that massive vibration that spread throughout Ice Peak City!
Lis suddenly remembered something and began to closely examine the surrounding Dream Spaces.
As expected, about one-tenth of the Dream Spaces were showing the same or similar scenes from last night's "fireworks" display.
"Is this the phenomenon of reality reflecting in the Dream Space mentioned in the Sphinx Dream Building Skill?"
Lis murmured to himself. He hadn't been mastering the Dream Building Skill for long, and the Dream World was still quite foreign to him, even with the legacy of a legend.
The Dream World isn't an independent existence; it is intricately connected to the real world, constructed by the dreams and the spiritual power of all living beings.
Dreams reflect the instinctual subconsciousness of every creature, thus best representing a person's thought patterns and psychological state.
A distressed person will find their dreams are dark and deep, oppressive and uncomfortable.
A happy person's dreams will be flooded with sunlight, lively and vivid.
Similarly, if an event in reality left an indelible impression, it could be reflected in their dreams.
This is the reflection of reality in dreams described in the art of dream building, also mirroring the saying from Lis's past life, "Daytime thoughts become nighttime dreams."
However, that's not the crux of the matter. A more important description follows, which is "Dreams influencing reality"!
And the most representative phenomenon of this theory is the existence of the Dream-eating Rhinoceros.
Unlike the Main World or the elemental realms, the Dream World isn't based on the world's origin but is entirely comprised of the dreams of beings.
Thus, the Dream World should be different from other worlds, devoid of native creatures.
But nightmares are an exceptionally unique existence. They are extremely rare, wandering the Dream World, feeding on nightmares, leaving behind pleasant dreams.
After studying a Dream-eating Rhinoceros, the Legendary Arcanist Sphinx believed that they didn't originally exist in the Dream World. Instead, people's yearning for good dreams reflected into the Dream World and consequently brought the Dream-eating Rhinoceros into being.
In special circumstances, the Dream-eating Rhinoceros could appear in the real world and exercise magical abilities.
Beyond the Dream-eating Rhinoceros, there are entities like the Illusory Dream Realm and the Sea of Dreams, which are manifestations of the Dream World's power influencing the real world.
Sphinx had delved deeply into the studies of dreams, even creating many techniques that utilized the Power of Dreams in the real world, but those were rather advanced for Lis at the moment.
But now, Lis noticed the dreams affected by Galsa Warehouse's explosion and suddenly had a concept.
It was a maneuver recorded in the art of dream building.
If a region in the Dream World has converging dreams, showcasing a consistent scene, then the Power of Dreams in that area would manifest similarly.
For instance, after an earthquake, most survivors' dreams would be immersed in the pain and sorrow it brought, hence, the Power of Dreams would also carry the manifested strength of an "earthquake."
Generally, unless the manifested characteristic of the Power of Dreams is extremely intense, monopolizing all the dreams in that area, it is unlikely to affect the real world.
Sphinx noticed this phenomenon and thus created the Skill "Dream Refraction."
By leveraging the manifestation phenomenon unique to the Dream World, it bridges the gap between the Dream World and the real world, ushering the power of the Dream World into reality.
Because the Dream World accumulates the spiritual and mental power of all beings in that area, even a small portion of that power, accumulated over time, can be terrifying—reaching beyond the might of Gold.
As the technique mainly relies on the power of the Dream World, the requirement for the user isn't too stringent, at least compared to other top-tier skills.
"Ten percent, eh... I wonder how many people will dream of Ice Peak City's 'fireworks' after tomorrow?"
Lis's lips curved slightly upward, the thrill of venturing into fantastic domains was irresistible, and at the same time, it gave him a new plan for the final battle.
"The Sphinx Dream Building Skill is so practical!"
As he floated through the Dream World, Lis remarked with some sentimentality.
Perhaps, this is the most precious legacy I've received, alongside the Ascension Technique!
"I'm curious, what would be 'Judgement Flame' teacher's most treasured creation?"
Lis knew well that 'Judgement Flame' was a Legendary Arcanist no less distinguished than Sphinx, the creator of the Ascension Technique.