I Might Be A Fake Cultivator

Li Tong arrived before a vast expanse of crimson land. Bizarre blood-colored plants dotted this land, and some of them were even burning with raging flames.

“Huh? Where is this?” a crisp female voice asked.

“It might be the rumored Small Phoenix World of the Four Nine Immortal Sect!” a rough male voice answered.

Li Tong turned around and found two familiar-looking people standing next to him. They seemed to be cultivators who were participating in this trial as well. He sensed their cultivation base and found that like him, they were also of the Spirit Nurturing Initial Stage.

At this moment, Bai Ling’s voice traveled down from the sky, and she said, “In order to pass this trial, you need to find a black-colored lake in this small world.”

Li Tong instantly knew what this trial was about upon hearing this announcement.

Searching-style trial?

If that was the case, then it was clear that the cultivators next to him were put there on purpose by Bai Ling. They weren’t his competitors; rather, they were his teammates!

“Hi, fellow cultivators. I’m Li Tong. Will you guys search for the black lake with me?” Li Tong greeted his teammates in a friendly manner.

The pretty female cultivator was momentarily dazed. Then she chuckled and said, “Hi, Li Tong. My dao title is Ding Xiang. I look forward to searching for the black lake with you.”

The brawny male nodded in greeting. “Hi, Li Tong. I’m Cheng Yingxiong. I recognize you. Your performance in the previous trial was exceptional. I also look forward to working with you.”

“You flatter me, I was just lucky,” Li Tong replied modestly. His mind was dancing with joy.

It appeared as though he had made quite a good impression with his performance in the previous trial!

Would you look! That lilac-like¹ girl was gazing at him with a look of reverence and trust. Why was that? It was because of his personal charm!

Just like that, the three cultivators happily formed a team and started searching for the black lake.

This trial clearly wouldn’t be as simple as just searching for the black lake. There were definitely other hidden dangers. Otherwise, how would the other trial-takers be eliminated?

This was indeed the case. On their journey of searching for the black lake, they encountered fire-breathing plants, violent flame beasts, and flaming bird beasts.

All three of them were of the Spirit Nurturing Initial Stage, so they had no problems disposing of these enemies. They were given surprises, but they were never in any real danger.

Two days passed, yet they still hadn’t found the black lake. However, they had already become very well coordinated.

On the third day, they flew over some crimson ravine and discovered a lake at the end of it.

“Look over there! There’s a lake!” Ding Xiang exclaimed in excitement.

A look of joy lit up on Li Tong and Cheng Yingxiong’s faces, and they made their swords fly even faster.

They became excited every time they saw a lake. Regardless of whether it was the black lake that Bai Ling spoke of, they would always fly over to try their luck out.

Cheng Yingxiong was the first to arrive at the lake. “Although the lake water is murky and has hints of red, it’s clearly not the black lake.” He frowned.

Disappointment flashed across Li Tong and Ding Xiang’s faces as they looked at the lake.

Right at this moment, a huge explosion of water erupted from the surface of the lake.

Boom!

A huge flood dragon, which was over one hundred feet long, leaped out and bit at Cheng Yingxiong!

Cheng Yingxiong’s expression changed drastically, and he instantly activated a protective spell technique. Meanwhile, the gigantic flood dragon’s bloody jaw had already enveloped his body. He immediately raised his sword above his head and prevented the gigantic flood dragon from snapping its jaws shut.

“Ah… Save me!” Cheng Yingxiong was struggling to keep the flood dragon’s jaw open, and it was clear that he couldn’t hold on for much longer.

Boom…

Two more gigantic flood dragons swam to the surface of the lake. A dangerous glint sparkled in their crimson eyes.

“Cheng Yingxiong!”

Upon seeing this, Li Tong was just about to charge over. Right at this moment, however, Ding Xiang pulled him back.

“Li Tong, don’t be rash!” Ding Xiang yelled. “The three gigantic flood dragons are all of the Spirit Nurturing Intermediate Stage. They’re clearly waiting for us to charge over. We’re only of the Spirit Nurturing Initial Stage, and if we charge over, it’s very likely that we’ll all die here!”

“But… there’s still hope!” Li Tong said through gritted teeth.

“Are you stupid?” Ding Xiang screamed. “Don’t forget what our objective is! It’s to find the black lake and pass this trial! It’s not to die for our teammates!”

Boom…

The two flood dragons, which had just appeared, spread their wings and pounced toward Li Tong and Ding Xiang. Their speed was incredibly quick, and it was clear that they had decided to launch into action.

“Run!” Ding Xiang yelled. Then, she turned around and ran.

Li Tong trembled with indecisiveness.

Cheng Yingxiong was about to succumb and be swallowed by the gigantic flood dragon. It wasn’t completely impossible to rescue him from the gigantic flood dragon… However… the danger was too great!

“I’m sorry, Cheng Yingxiong! My dream is to pursue the Paramount Dao. I can’t lose my life here!” Li Tong shouted at the top of his lungs as if trying to rid himself of the strong sense of guilt that gripped at his heart. Then, he turned around and fled!

“Li Tong, save me!”

Cheng Yingxiong’s anguished shouts sounded from behind him.

Li Tong shut his eyes. He gritted his teeth and kept fleeing into the distance.

The angry roars of the pursuing flood dragons and the sound of Cheng Yingxiong’s flesh being ripped apart grated on Li Tong’s ears.

Li Tong fled like crazy. Then, heaven and earth became pitch-black.

He was momentarily dazed. Then, he descended into unconsciousness.

This was an abyss of infinite darkness.

He slowly regained consciousness.

Li Tong struggled to open his bleary eyes.

“This is… I… Why am I here?”

An ominous feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

He glanced toward the hundreds of other cultivators who had also appeared here. All of them were ashen-faced. There was a look of sympathy and pity in some of the cultivators’ eyes as they looked over at him.

“You’ve failed.” Bai Ling looked up at the dozens of screens in the void, and she spoke without glancing back at him.

“I… How have I failed?” Li Tong yelled. “I clearly didn’t die! I didn’t find the black lake either! The trial hasn’t ended yet!

“Could it be… Could it be that there was a time constraint?”

He suddenly thought of a possibility and blurted it out.

Bai Ling smiled indifferently. “Find the black lake? No, there is no black lake in that small world.”

Boom!

Li Tong felt like he had been struck by divine lightning. He suddenly thought of another possibility.

The objective of finding the black lake was all a lie!

It was like the stair-climbing trial, where the existence of a finish line was also a lie!

“So I…”

Bai Ling nodded. “That’s right. You failed because you abandoned your teammate even though you had the opportunity to save him.”

Li Tong’s breathing became erratic. Discontent, refusal to accept this reality…

“Why? I would be placing myself in grave danger if I tried to rescue him!” he reasoned loudly. “Isn’t it normal to make this kind of decision in order to survive?!”

Bai Xian chuckled. “I didn’t say that you were wrong to do that. Under those circumstances, anything you chose to do would have been understandable. However, Four Nine Immortal Sect prefers those who are willing to risk their lives to save their teammates. It’s my freedom to choose as I please. Why would your thoughts matter to me?”

Li Tong opened his mouth dazedly.

Right at this moment, there was some movement beside him. A brawny male sat up.

“Huh? Li Tong? What’s going on? How come I arrived here after rescuing you from the giant flood dragon’s jaws?”

Li Tong stared at the male beside him in shock. It was as if he had seen a ghost. “C-Cheng Yingxiong? You’re still alive?”

Cheng Yingxiong punched Li Tong’s chest lightly. “Oi, you haven’t been scared silly, have you?” He laughed and said, “I did almost die, but I rescued you and we fled together, didn’t we?”

“Huh… Where’s this?” another familiar voice sounded.

“Ah! Li Tong! I’m so glad that you’re still alive!” The female sobbed, “I rushed over to save you, but you were eaten by the giant flood dragon. I felt so powerless at that time…” The female started sobbing in joy upon seeing that Li Tong was safe and sound.

Li Tong had a dazed expression on his face. It felt like there was something stuck in his chest.

Fake… It’s all fake… The scenes from before were all illusions, weren’t they?

That was so stimulating, and… I’m so f*cked!

“Congratulations, Cheng Yingxiong, Ding Xiang! You two have passed the trial!” Bai Ling grinned at the two cultivators.

After a momentary pause, Cheng Yingxiong and Ding Xiang started whooping with joy.

Although they didn’t know why they had passed the trial, Bai Ling had personally told them this. So, they had definitely passed!

“That’s right. Li Tong, you woke up before us. Did you also pass the trial?!” Ding Xiang asked cheerfully.

Li Tong shook his head solemnly. “I-I failed,” he said bitterly.

“Hah? How come?” Cheng Yingxiong exclaimed in surprise.

Li Tong couldn’t bring himself to speak as he looked at the energetic Cheng Yingxiong. Tears threatened to pour out of his eyes.

What was with this awkward, strange, and sad atmosphere?

After all, he couldn’t say that he had failed because he had left Cheng Yingxiong to die, could he…