The faint flicker of the candlelight in the darkened classroom was the only sign of the boundary between waking and dreaming. As its warm glow danced upon the walls, eyelids grew heavy, and one by one, the students drifted into slumber. The moment their collective consciousness merged with the light of the flame, the ordinary world dissolved.

When your eyes opened again, you were no longer in the quiet hall of Jixia Academy. Instead, you found yourself floating amidst an endless ocean, beneath a sky painted with hues of lavender and gold. The air was crisp and carried a soft, melodic hum, as if the sea itself were singing. Above the waves, a massive shadow loomed—a whale of impossible proportions, its back wide as a meadow and its fins creating ripples that could stir the stars.

Perched lazily atop the great whale was Zhuangzi, reclining on a mat woven from luminous threads that shimmered like moonlight. His casual posture belied the profundity of the world he had crafted. A teacup floated beside him, never spilling as the whale gently bobbed with the waves.

"Ah, you're here!" Zhuangzi greeted, his voice ringing clear and cheerful as if you’d just arrived at a picnic. "Another day, another dream. Welcome back to my classroom—or should I say, our classroom?" He gestured expansively to the endless dreamscape around him. "A little different from the lecture halls, don’t you think?"

Students appeared around you, scattered like stars across the whale’s back, each settling into the soft, moss-like surface. Zhuangzi rose, balancing effortlessly on the whale as it moved, his long robes fluttering in an imagined breeze. "Today’s lesson is about perspective," he said, gesturing toward the horizon where the sun dipped and rose simultaneously, defying logic.

"Tell me, what do you see when you look at the sea?" He swept his arm wide, his expression both curious and knowing.