At 8:00 on August 24, Sea of Stars Year 6588, the 52nd Sea of Stars Dream Maker Livestream Competition officially opened its curtain.
Across countless star regions and all the major star zones, young Dream Makers from different races and different planets joined this competition watched by the whole world.
No matter when or where they came from, or what kind of past they experienced, at this moment, they were all contestants representing the places they belonged to.
The Dream Maker Livestream Competition, held once every hundred years, sent who knew how many talented people throughout the entire sea of stars.
At this very moment, who knew how many viewers throughout the entire sea of stars were watching this scene together, the Sea of Stars Dream Maker Livestream Competition was livestreamed throughout the entire competition on StarNet, but whether it was the Federation or the Empire, the different star regions and star zones naturally had to support their own Dream Makers. Countless subchannels and branch channels were even opened on StarNet for livestreaming and rebroadcasting.
Of course, these channels that were opened mainly invited Dream Makers, Instructors, hosts, and others to provide commentary for the viewers watching the livestream competition.
Human race, Yao-race, insect race… hosts with different faces appeared in the livestream rooms, and the number of real-time online viewers rose at light speed.
“Hello, everyone, this is the commentary livestream room for the 52nd Dream-Making Livestream Competition of the Alafa Star Zone in the Xili Star Region. I am your host… This edition of the Dream Maker Livestream Competition has a total of 320,000 contestants from the Alafa Star Zone. The seeded Dream Maker contestants of this star zone include Oweila, Pipibi…”
“The number of contestants participating in this Dream-Making Livestream Competition from the Federation’s Weiduo Star Region has once again reached a new high. Before the competition begins, let us welcome this channel’s specially invited commentator, Sea of Stars Honorary A-rank Dream Maker, Ms. Naren…”
“Viewers, viewers, ladies and gentlemen, the Sea of Stars Rankings and the regional grand rankings for the star regions and star zones of this Dream Maker Livestream Competition have already been released. These names truly stretch beyond what the eye can see ah. It really makes me happy in my heart. We have so many young Dream Makers; they are all the future of the sea of stars.”
“According to the pre-competition statistics from the Sea of Stars Dream Maker Committee, more than 89% of the contestants in this edition entered the competition-preparation zones and training camps of the various star regions. Let us look forward together to their wonderful dream-making!”
Many viewers who could not enter StarNet with their consciousness simply kept the competition livestream open on their smartbrains. This grand event that occurred only once every hundred years drew the attention of the entire population.
In Luo Zhao’s personal-channel livestream room, many viewers from this star zone were also already waiting.
The previous storm of controversy actually made quite a few netizens throughout the sea of stars remember this Dream Maker from Flying Fish Planet. There were even many netizens who cursed at each other and made bets, waiting until today precisely to see how strong Luo Zhao really was.
This caused the popularity of Luo Zhao’s livestream room to surpass that of quite a few other contestants from the same star zone.
The countdown for the Dream-Making Livestream Competition flashed before every contestant and viewer, and Luo Zhao was currently inside the contestant’s personal space. Although the ten days of courses and physical training she received at the base were brief, they gave her a fuller understanding and comprehension of dream-making and the identity of a Dream Maker.
The competition format of every edition of the Dream Maker Livestream Competition differed from those before it, and even the training camp’s Instructors could not determine what difficult questions the dream-making question committee would set this time.
However, over the past dozens of editions, the common understanding of the Dream-Making Livestream Competition was that no matter how the competition format changed or how the examination questions changed, countless changes never departed from their core.[1]万变不离其宗 (wàn biàn bù lí qí zōng) – “Countless changes never depart from their origin.” An idiom meaning that although outward forms may change, the fundamental principle … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); In the end, it was all dream-making, testing the contestants’ abilities in beast-simulation, object-simulation, scenery creation, and human simulation.
If the Dream-Making Livestream Competitions of the earliest years were still examination-oriented tests, giving fixed topics and requiring contestants to dream-make, with completing the requirements being enough, then now, after several thousand years passed, as Dream Makers continuously progressed and developed, the Dream-Making Livestream Competition also produced endless new tricks, making it impossible to predict.
Countdown 3, 2, 1—
In the blink of an eye, Luo Zhao already arrived in another world.
Before her was an endless expanse of vast white fog, hazy and indistinct, with nothing visible clearly.
This white fog was not thin or faint, but dense and heavy, making it impossible to see through and even causing a trace of unease in one’s heart.
It was as though something was hidden within this fog.
【Damn, what new and strange thing did the question committee come up with this time? Isn’t the first round of the official competition usually a beast-simulation exam?】
【Don’t understand it. Really can’t understand it.】
Luo Zhao wore long sleeves and long pants convenient for movement, and she stood in place without moving.
At this moment, she watched the fog faintly encroach toward her, and the Sea of Stars System’s competition notification finally sounded by her ear.
“Contestant Luo Zhao, you have entered the Sea of Stars Dream-Making Livestream Competition, the first official round: points competition.”
“Contestant personal panel activated. Sea of Stars Rankings activated.”
“Please find your own route to the Beast Arena and carry out beast-simulation battles to obtain points.”
“This competition will last three Sea of Stars days. Reaching 1,000 points counts as passing. Anyone below 1,000 points will be directly eliminated.”
A points competition?
Luo Zhao’s gaze shifted slightly. As the thought flashed through her mind, the personal panel already appeared.
【Contestant Personal Panel】
【Contestant】: Luo Zhao
【Participating Region】: Tana Star Region—Xike Star Zone—Flying Fish Planet
【Current Competition】: Beast Arena
【Current Points】: 0/1000
【Dream-Making Rating】: None Yet
【Sea of Stars Ranking】: None Yet
The viewers in the livestream room could not see the contestant’s personal panel. Luo Zhao’s gaze swept over several options, then she closed the panel.
And the viewers in the livestream room who likewise heard the competition rules the system just announced were already discussing them one after another.
【Beast Arena? With this theme, it really is still a beast-simulation exam ah.】
【The question committee really pulled a fancy trick this time ah. With this natural phenomenon, the contestants still have to find their way to the Beast Arena. What a hassle.】
【But you can’t see anything ah. The contestants will have to create some kind of fog-clearing external manifestation to carry with them, and then they’ll still have to find a way to make some transportation. Otherwise, they can’t see, can’t move very far, and will also consume the energy in their bodies. Isn’t the first official competition this time way too difficult?】
【Of course it’s going to be difficult ah. The rewards for this edition of the livestream competition can be called the greatest in all fifty-two editions. They’re selecting the most talented and outstanding Dream Makers. Those who aren’t qualified can be directly screened out by this route-finding stage now, and everyone left will be elites. Tsk tsk, this is getting more and more worth watching.】
The viewers first discussed the question-setting of this competition for a while. Although they were not Dream Makers, when it came to pointing out the world and passing judgment,[2]指点江山 (zhǐdiǎn jiāngshān) – Originally evokes confidently commenting on great affairs. Here it humorously describes spectators freely giving opinions and acting as though they … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); they understood a little of everything.
Luo Zhao looked at the dense white fog before her. The corners of her lips pressed slightly together, and who knew what she was thinking about. She did not move for quite a while.
At the exact same moment, countless Dream Makers in different competition spaces already began to move.
Some contestants took the lead, directly plunging into the dense white fog to search for a route.
Some contestants began creating directional tools, trying to find the way.
There were also contestants who created isolation protective shields, keeping far away from the white fog.
There were also contestants who planned before acting.[3]谋定而后动 (móu dìng ér hòu dòng) – To plan thoroughly before taking action. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); Instead of going out personally, they first dream-made small beasts to scout the path, sending them into the fog to search for a route.
Luo Zhao did not act rashly. Three Sea of Stars days meant three days to carry out this competition.
Three days was the final deadline, but that did not mean every contestant would remain in this competition for the full three days.
If this dense white fog were a little thinner and lighter, it would actually give off a misty immortal-like feeling.
But at this moment, Luo Zhao keenly sensed that something was hidden within it.
Route-finding, beast-simulation, Beast Arena.
Luo Zhao pondered the system’s competition rules in her heart.
But if she could not see the road, where could she go to search?
The white fog stretched endlessly, and Luo Zhao could not hear even the slightest sound. Everything around her was deathly silent.
There was not even a shepherd boy here, so where was she supposed to find Apricot Blossom Village ah?[4]牧童 / 杏花村 (mùtóng / Xìnghuā Cūn) – An allusion to Du Mu’s famous poem 《清明》, in which the speaker asks a shepherd boy where to find a tavern, and the boy points toward … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
She could not see the road; blame this white fog.
Then first solve this core difficulty.
Luo Zhao slightly lowered her eyes. With a turn of her right hand, a bamboo-handled brush appeared in her palm.
The viewers paying attention to Luo Zhao’s livestream room immediately perked up,
【Here it comes, here it comes. It’s this auxiliary intermediary object again. Contestant Luo Zhao is about to start dream-making!】
【Wonder what she’ll create.】
【I just went to watch other contestants’ livestream rooms! As long as contestants perform beast-simulation in the exam, they’ll get a certain number of points! Wonder how many she can get. The rankings are going up and down right now!】
Her mental power was guided through the brush onto the paper. With the draft already in her heart, Luo Zhao’s strokes flowed like moving clouds and running water, completed in one continuous motion.[5]行云流水，一气呵成 (xíng yún liú shuǐ, yī qì hē chéng) – Describes movements or writing that flow naturally and smoothly, completed seamlessly in one continuous stretch. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
And in the image shown in the livestream room, within the vast white fog, as Luo Zhao’s brush swept freely, an enormous creature appeared beside her.
Fog also surrounded that enormous creature, making it difficult for people to see clearly and causing even more doubt to arise in their hearts.
【Such a huge simulated beast, what exactly is it?】
【What a strange beast-simulation form. Could Luo Zhao be about to create another unknown kind of beast?】
Its outer shell seemed smooth yet frosted in texture, its colors strange and ever-changing.
Its closed shell was sealed tightly, carrying a distinctive curve. It had no eyes and no common beast organs, looking like a strangely shaped rock.
【Uh, it looks a little like shellfish? A sawtooth shell? Or a giant clam?】
【No way ba, what can shellfish even do? She doesn’t think making one giant shellfish will get her a lot of points, right?】
As Luo Zhao’s brush tip laid down the final stroke, the giant clam, closed so tightly it seemed like a dead object, suddenly opened its mouth.
A huge opening appeared before their eyes. At the same time, the vast white fog around it was being absorbed by the giant clam at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The white fog originally was already about to encroach upon Luo Zhao’s body, but in an instant, a large open space already appeared around her. Everywhere her gaze reached, throughout her field of vision, there was no longer any obstruction!
The giant clam continued absorbing the fog without stopping. Who knew how immense its body and capacity were; it absorbed endlessly, as though this giant clam would never become full.
The livestream room erupted into an uproar, what kind of simulated beast was this exactly?!
At the same time, Luo Zhao’s competition ranking was rapidly rising.
The giant clam gathered fog within its shell and condensed a fog cloud for Luo Zhao. She rode upon it, her entire person sitting atop the giant clam’s head.
Luo Zhao was positioned high above, facing the wind as she looked forward. Although there was not a single person in sight, she seemed to speak toward the viewers in the livestream room,
She said:
“This beast is called Shen.[6]蜃 (shèn) – A mythical creature in traditional Chinese lore, often associated with giant clam-like forms and the ability to exhale mist or create mirage-like phenomena. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3691118_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3691118_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); It can swallow clouds and breathe out fog.”
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