I Might Be A Fake Cultivator

Mo Hai slung his arm across An Lin’s shoulder with a wide grin on his face as he watched Ji Yongfang depart. “Mr. An Lin, you really are a badass, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone bash someone else with so much poise!”

An Lin shook his head with a modest expression. “Mr. Mo Hai, you’re far too kind, I’m just a janitor cleaning up all the filth for the sect.”

Mo Hai’s admiration for An Lin only grew as they conversed.

A male disciple with warm, handsome features made his way over to An Lin and joined his hands in salute. “I am Lu Jiazhi of the Vermilion Bird Sect, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. An Lin.”

“Ah, Mr. Lu Jiazhi, the pleasure is all mine!”

An Lin also joined his hands in salute like an elegant prince.

Mo Hai had the urge to laugh again. The contrast between An Lin’s different personas was simply far too great.

“Brother Lu Jiazhi is a prodigy of the sect, second only to me. He reached Soul Formation Stage at twenty-six years of age and Soul Formation Intermediate Stage at thirty-two, so he’s no slouch.” Mo Hai introduced to An Lin.

Lu Jiazhi’s lips twitched slightly. He couldn’t stand people like Mo Hai, who had to sneak in snide compliments for themselves when they praised others.

An Lin nodded excitedly. “That really is quite a fearsome aptitude, I only reached Soul Formation Stage at twenty years of age, so I’ll be in your care from now on.”

Mo Hai: “…”

Lu Jiazhi: “…”

“Oh right, I remember when I met you last time, you were still only Half-Step Soul Formation Stage, Mr. Mo Hai. At what age did you progress to Soul Formation Stage?” An Lin asked with a curious expression.

Mo Hai rolled his eyes. “Mr. An Lin, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“He was twenty-three when he reached Soul Formation Stage,” Lu Jiazhi cleared his throat and replied in Mo Hai’s stead with a spiteful smile.

Hehe, that’s what you get for flexing, have a taste of your own medicine!

“Sigh… Ms. Xu Xiaolan truly is the number one prodigy in the Heavenly Court. Only someone like you is suitable for Sister Xu Xiaolan.” Mo Hai shook his head and sighed with emotion.

“Oh right, Xu Xiaolan told me she had already manifested the power of the holy flame within her sea of vital energy. If the Vermilion Bird Trials are a quinquennial event, doesn’t that mean she has already entered the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds five years ago? Why are you guys so late to the party?” An Lin asked with a puzzled expression.

Mr. An Lin rolled his eyes at An Lin. “Mr. An Lin, do you have an addiction for striking people down? ”

An Lin blinked with incomprehension. He really wasn’t doing it on purpose this time.

Lu Jiazhi explained with a smile, “Sister Xu Xiaolan has a Divine Phoenix Bloodline of extremely high purity. She didn’t even need to enter the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds as the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing sought her out of its own accord. The trial presented no danger to her as all she had to do was to enter the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds and stand on the same spot while waiting for the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing to come to her.”

“F*ck, really? That’s like using hacks!” An Lin exclaimed with wide eyes.

Lu Jiazhi glanced toward Mo Hai with a mysterious smile before continuing, “Brother Mo Hai’s bloodline is actually not inferior to Sister Xu Xiaolan’s Divine Phoenix Bloodline; it’s just that his bloodline’s typing doesn’t really match the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing.”

“However, ever since Sister Xu Xiaolan received the inheritance of Shen Yin and awakened her True Dragon bloodline before merging the two bloodlines into one, her bloodline is now slightly superior to Brother Mo Hai’s. Perhaps she would take his place as the number one young prodigy of the sect in a few years…”

Mo Hai had no words of retaliation in the face of Lu Jiazhi’s words. In the end, he could only sigh and concede. “Brother Lu Jiazhi, please don’t go on. I promise I won’t mention the fact that you’re second to me next time I introduce you, alright?”

An Lin interjected with a question, “You two are so strong, where does Ji Yongfang rank in comparison?”

“Him…” A scornful expression surfaced on Lu Jiazhi’s face as he continued, “He probably barely breaks into the top ten among the young generation. His father is an elder, but his attitude is nothing special. He reached Soul Formation Initial Stage at thirty-two years of age but he’s forty now and he’s nowhere near Soul Formation Intermediate Stage.”

An Lin nodded with satisfaction. Someone like him posed essentially zero threat to him.

He then cast his gaze toward the two disciples standing guard on either side of the spatial gate before pointing to a woman with a tall, slender, and sexy body who was wearing a white dress and a cold expression on her face. “Who’s that?”

Mo Hai seemed to be quite interested in her himself and he made an introduction for her in a low voice, “Her name is Shangguan Yi, and she has some fearsome aptitude as well. She reached Soul Formation Stage at twenty-two years of age and Soul Formation Intermediate Stage at thirty-five years of age. She’s one of the most powerful cultivators among the young generation, but she’s quite a strange person too!”

An Lin’s interest was piqued by his words. “Oh? Why do you say that?”

“Everyone in the sect plays with fire, but she plays with ice instead!” Mo Hai replied with a peculiar expression.

An Lin: “… Well, at least she’s quite unique, like a breath of fresh air! But my question is… Who taught her how to play with ice?”

Lu Jiazhi replied with a mysterious expression, “No one taught her, she taught herself! From what she told us, she was basically looking at us playing with fire, and she suddenly attained enlightenment in the true intent of ice!”

An Lin swallowed with shock. If that was true, then she was truly a monster!

“There’s nothing bad about that though. If you accidentally start a fire while playing with fire, she could act as the on-site fire brigade!” An Lin suggested with a grin.

Lu Jiazhi: “…”

Mo Hai: “…”

An Lin then turned his gaze on the final man in the room.

The man appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years of age. His eyes were lifeless and shallow, and he stared blankly up at the sky as if nothing around him was worthy of his interest.

Mo Hai took the initiative this time and made an introduction without being questioned by An Lin. “That man is named Yang Yuan. He was the number one prodigy of the previous generation in our sect, and he’s currently over two hundred years old.”

An Lin was quite surprised to hear this. “The number one prodigy of the previous generation? He’s over two hundred years of age already, why did he only think about obtaining the holy flame now?!”

“Well…” A complex expression appeared on Mo Hai’s face as he said, “He initially looked down on the power of the holy flame and wanted to invent a unique true flame for himself. He’s now at the Soul Formation Pinnacle Stage, and he suddenly realized he was missing a flame when he tried to break through to Return to Void Stage, so he came here to participate in the Vermilion Bird Trials… He should be one of the sect elders in about half a month.”

An Lin’s eyes widened in shock. There truly were freaks everywhere in this world!

A man who looks down on the power of the Holy Vermilion Flame, can you believe that?! A woman who insists on playing with ice when everyone around her plays with fire, can you believe that?! A piece of sh*t punching above his weight and lusting for Xu Xiaolan, can you believe that?!

An Lin felt like he couldn’t be complacent. There were so many nutjob seniors here he could learn from!

Boom!

Right at this moment, the crimson spatial gate suddenly began to tremor violently.

“The Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds are about to open!” Mo Hai exclaimed excitedly.

At the same moment, An Lin, Ji Yongfang, Lu Jiazhi, Shangguan Yi, and Yang Yuan all cast their gazes toward the spatial gate.

Red ripples began to flow out from the spatial gate, appearing transparent yet extremely vibrant.

Ji Yongfang glared at An Lin coldly before leading the way into the spatial tunnel.

Shangguan Yi and Yang Yuan followed along after him.

“Let’s go.” Mo Hai smiled.

“Mr. An Lin, the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds are an extremely perilous place, so remember to prioritize your safety above all else. Make sure you don’t venture into any unfamiliar perilous terrain, otherwise, not even the teleportation badge will be able to save you.” Lu Jiazhi cautioned.

An Lin nodded with a solemn expression.

The Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds were an alternate space where the vermilion bird had once been sealed. After escaping from the seal, the vermilion bird turned the world into an infinite expanse of flames and there were still occasionally projections of the Vermillion Bird Flame Wing that would appear in the space from the time it had broken free from the seal.

There was a powerful restriction which barred any mighty figures of Return to Void Stage or above from entry. Thus, it became the ideal trial grounds for Soul Formation Stage cultivators with boundless violent flame energy and ancient mutant beasts, as well as mysterious treasures…

An Lin looked up at the crimson spatial gate with a determined expression and stepped forward to begin his Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds adventure.