I Might Be A Fake Cultivator

There was a white spell altar at the very center of the plaza.

All those seeking the approval of the holy flame had to stand in the center of the spell altar and present their projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing. The power of the Holy Vermilion Flame would then descend if the disciple received its approval.

This meant that even if a disciple had a projection of the Vermilion Flame Wing, they would still be unable to obtain the power of the holy flame if they didn’t obtain the approval of the holy flame. According to prior statistics, even among the top disciples of the sect, there was only a probability of just over seventy percent of obtaining the power of the holy flame.

“First up is Yang Yuan, please step onto the spell altar!” Great Elder Chen Xinran announced.

Yang Yuan turned to look at An Lin before casting his gaze on the holy flame in the sky and making his way toward the white spell altar with a calm expression.

“Brother Yang Yuan would be able to break through to Return to Void Stage once he obtains the power of the holy flame, I’m so envious…” Mo Hai sighed as he stared after Yang Yuan.

An Lin offered some words of consolation. “Don’t stress over something like this, I’m sure you’ll be able to break through to Return to Void Stage within a hundred years; you’re the top disciple of your generation after all.”

“Alright, then I’ll take your word for it. Your aptitude is greater than mine, An Lin, I’m sure you’ll be able to reach Return to Void Stage in a hundred years too!” Mo Hai replied with a smile.

An Lin chuckled coldly. “Hehe, are you looking down on me?”

Mo Hai: “???”

“I’ll be at Return to Void Stage in ten years at most!” An Lin vowed with a serious expression.

Mo Hai: “…”

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Mo Hai’s chest was starting to constrict.

Right at this moment, Yang Yuan released his projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, which hovered in the sky.

The projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing burned with golden flames, thereby demonstrating the fact that it was a high-grade projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing.

The Holy Vermilion Flame seemed to be able to detect the projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, and the flame wing began to fly toward the Holy Vermilion Flame before two flames merged as one.

The holy flame quivered lightly, and a white streak of light began to descend upon Yang Yuan. The white light contained the purest flame power, and it slowly merged into Yang Yuan’s body.

All the disciples erupted in raucous cheers after witnessing this.

This meant that Yang Yuan had earned the approval of the Holy Vermilion Flame and had been granted its power.

They were cheering for the rise of another mighty figure in their sect as there was a good chance of Yang Yuan reaching Return to Void Stage in a short time after manifesting the power of the holy flame within his sea of vital energy.

A white veil of light enveloped Yang Yuan’s body, and an extremely rich stream of flame power was injected into his body for three whole minutes before the veil of light slowly disappeared.

A flash of excitement appeared on Yang Yuan’s normally aloof and indifferent face. He bowed deeply to the elders and cheering disciples before stepping down from the spell altar.

After Yang Yuan, it was Lu Jiazhi’s turn.

Lu Jiazhi released a crimson projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, which was a medial-grade projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing.

He was trapped in a mystic realm for several days in search of a high-grade projection of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, but he was unfortunately only able to obtain a medial-grade projection in the end.

The power of the holy flame descended once again, but the veil of light which surrounded his body was a lot more insubstantial than Yang Yuan’s, and it dissipated after only around a minute.

Lu Jiazhi heaved a light sigh of relief. At least he had earned the approval of the holy flame and wasn’t going home emptyhanded.

He was just happy that he was able to manifest the power of the holy flame within his sea of vital energy, so he certainly wasn’t going to complain.

“Next up is An Lin, please step onto the spell altar,” Great Elder Chen Xinran announced.

Everyone on the plaza began to get excited as they collectively turned their gazes upon the legendary An Lin.

An Lin was used to big events like this, so he was quite composed when he made his way onto the spell altar before looking up at the holy flame in the sky with a curious expression.

The holy flame was of a pristine white color, and it appeared particularly pure and beautiful under the light of the stars. The white flame was eternal, and it provided all the disciples of the Vermilion Bird Sect with perpetual warmth as if its existence alone were enough to soothe their hearts while it protected the Vermilion Bird Sect for the rest of eternity.

For some reason, An Lin felt like he somehow had a close bond with the holy flame.

He released his Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, which also burned with golden flames, thereby indicating it was a high-grade Vermillion Bird Flame Wing.

An indignant expression appeared on Ji Yongfang’s face when he caught sight of An Lin’s high-grade Vermillion Bird Flame Wing. He had worked so hard but only obtained a medial-grade Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, whereas An Lin was just an outsider who had only recently obtained a Vermillion Bird Flame Wing, but he had a high-grade one…

The Vermillion Bird Flame Wing floated in the air, and everyone stared at the Holy Vermilion Flame silently.

However, a full minute passed, and there was still no reaction from the Holy Vermilion Flame; the silence on the plaza was starting to become a bit deafening.

All the spectating disciples wore wistful expressions. Some heaved forlorn sighs, some shook their head in disappointment, and some felt extremely indignant in An Lin’s stead.

They all knew that An Lin had failed.

An Lin didn’t receive the approval of the Holy Vermilion Flame.

Xu Xiaolan pursed her lips and clenched her fists as she stared up at the man on the spell altar.

An Lin’s expression also faltered slightly. He knew there was a quite a large probability of him being rejected by the Holy Vermilion Flame, but he was nonetheless quite disappointed that it would happen to him.

Ji Yongfang’s expression also faltered slightly before a smile appeared on his face.

So what if An Lin obtained a high-grade Vermillion Bird Flame Wing? He couldn’t earn the approval of the holy flame, so he was still a useless piece of trash!

Ji Yongfang recalled all the things An Lin had said to him, and he was overcome with a twisted sense of joy and superiority.

He feigned a grief-stricken expression before heaving a forlorn sigh. “Sigh… Brother An Lin, don’t just stand there like an idiot, I’m very sad that you didn’t receive the approval of the Holy Vermilion Flame as well! However, some things are just meant to be, so you should stop delaying everyone and get off the altar!”

Ji Yongfang’s voice was very loud, and he enhanced it with his vital energy so all the disciples gathered at the plaza could hear him.

There was nothing inherently wrong with what Ji Yongfang had said, but it made the situation even more awkward for An Lin.

Mo Hai, Lu Jiazhi, Shangguan Yi, and Yang Yuan were all aware of Ji Yongfang’s malicious intentions, and they turned their eyes upon him with thunderous rage etched on their faces.

“Brother Ji, please enlighten me at the holy flame arena next time,” Mo Hai spoke with a cold voice.

“You should be careful with your words.” Yang Yuan also had his eyes on Ji Yongfang.

“Scum.” Shangguan Yi was a lot more direct.

Ji Yongfang looked around with an innocent expression. “What do you all mean? I’m just persuading Brother An Lin to get down from the altar; I’m quite sad that he was unable to receive the approval of the Holy Vermilion Flame as well!”

His voice rang out across the entire plaza and incurred rage from many of the disciples, but they were unable to retaliate.

An Lin was also looking at Ji Yongfang with rage burning in his heart. He didn’t expect Ji Yongfang to pop up at a time like this, and he had to admit, Ji Yongfang really had gotten to him.

Ji Yongfang was just about to continue when he suddenly recalled the divorce between his parents when he was still young, he recalled all those times he had been ignored and shunned by Xu Xiaolan, he recalled his indignation at seeing An Lin and Xu Xiaolan holding hands together, he began to empathize with the autumn leaves that fell to the ground, only to be buried and forgotten…

Boundless grief welled up in his heart, and Ji Yongfang suddenly began to bawl his eyes out.

All the disciples had their attention focused on him anyway, and all of them were shocked to see the tears streaming down Ji Yongfang’s face.

“Mommy… Waah… I’m so sad… Waah…”

The entire plaza fell silent, and everyone stared at Ji Yongfang blankly.

Mo Hai, Lu Jiazhi, Yang Yuan, and Shangguan Yi were also a littel perplexed.

Ji Yongfang was weeping so sadly…

Could it be that he really was sad about An Lin being rejected by the Holy Vermilion Flame?

Had they mistaken his good intentions…

Thus, Ji Yongfang wept as if his life depended on it in front of the tens of thousands of disciples gathered on the plaza.

“Haha, Elder Ji, your son is an interesting character.” Elder Zhu chortled.

Elder Ji was an elderly man with white hair, and he sat silently with a thunderous expression on his face. What a huge fool Ji Yongfang was making out of himself!

To break down in tears like this in front of all these disciples, he would be the butt of jokes among the other elders for an entire century…

He really didn’t know why Ji Yongfang would behave like that. He couldn’t detect any external force that caused him to react this way; could it really be that his son was extremely good friends with this An Lin?

An Lin clasped his hands behind his back and heaved a light sigh. “Brother Ji, there’s no need to be so sad, I’m not even crying, why are you crying in my stead?”

His words reached the ears of all the disciples, and they finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter. What did it look like when tens of thousands of disciples burst out laughing at once? It was absolutely earthshattering!

Another wave of overwhelming grief welled up in Ji Yongfang’s heart when he heard this raucous laughter. His reputation had been swept to the ground, and he couldn’t help but weep even louder at this notion…