This Illusion Realm Was a Little Too Ordinary

Zhong Yi entered the Illusion Realm at once.

"Plants vs. Zombies? What the hell?"

He stared at the strangely artistic lettering that had appeared in the air, utterly baffled.

He had found it strange back when he played Demonic Path Escape.

None of the Spirit Cloud Sect's Illusion Realm Trials had ever been like Lu Ze's, with a special name for every new creation.

And that name always had to flash across the screen at the start.

"Another Illusion Realm whose name tells you nothing about what's inside..."

Zhong Yi sighed.

The lettering vanished, and a huge tombstone appeared before him.

There were four squares on the tombstone.

The first read: Adventure Mode.

The other three were gray question marks.

The ground behind the tombstone stretched hundreds of meters into the distance. Beyond it, he could see a farmhouse and a field.

"Is this... the home page?"

Zhong Yi rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.

After their first taste of Demonic Path Escape, the Spirit Cloud Sect disciples had become fairly quick to accept strange terms.

Zhong Yi was clever. He soon discovered he could select the squares on the tombstone with his Spiritual Sense.

He selected Adventure Mode, ready to enter.

Suddenly, a green, rotting hand thrust out of the earth before the tombstone, followed by a comical, guttural roar.

"...Junior Brother Lu has a twisted sense of humor."

Zhong Yi shook his head with a smile and entered the game.

The scene shifted.

His body appeared in midair.

Zhong Yi twisted around and found he could move quite freely, flying wherever he liked.

Below him lay a barren, untilled field.

Not far beyond it, a group of green, rotting Zombies shuffled about, waving their claws and baring their teeth.

"These Zombies look so strange. Why do they seem a little dim-witted...?"

Zhong Yi could not help commenting.

People in this world naturally knew nothing of cartoon styles or realistic styles.

He just found the Zombies inexplicably funny.

"Don't tell me this Trial is about flying around and cutting down the Zombies below with a sword? That's far too easy..."

Zhong Yi muttered to himself.

Just then, several lines of large text slowly appeared in the sky:

You are an ordinary person with some skill in Swordsmanship, born into a family of farmers.

Recently, you discovered that the fields at your home, nourished by Spiritual Energy, were gradually becoming a Spirit Field.

All kinds of fruit and plants will continually fall from the sky. If they land on the Spirit Field, they will damage it.

To protect the Spirit Field, you must use the sword in your hand to clear the fruit and plants from the sky.

The introduction had barely ended when fruit began flying across the sky without pause.

Zhong Yi's Sword Dao was nothing exceptional, but that was only by comparison.

A challenge of this difficulty was effortless for him.

His sword swept through the air. Apples, watermelons, and bananas burst into pulp with crisp pops.

"This Illusion Realm... seems a little too ordinary."

Zhong Yi frowned slightly, feeling a pang of regret.

Cutting fruit with a sword was hardly rare. Plenty of Illusion Realm Trials offered similar training.

And fruit was nothing.

He had even seen Trials where people cut tofu and strands of hair.

The only distinctive things here were the crisp sounds and the sight of fruit bursting apart beneath his blade. They were rather satisfying.

But that was nowhere near enough to convince Zhong Yi that Lu Ze's new Illusion Realm was any good.

His brows drew together.

"Looks like Brother Lu is in dire straits this time..."

In the square.

Almost every disciple's consciousness had entered the Illusion Realm. Only a few Elders remained seated.

They had access to the Illusion Tower's controls and could check on the disciples' training inside at any time.

Scenes from within were being projected into the air by a disc-shaped Terminal.

The disciples had only just entered the Illusion Realm.

Some stared blankly at the large text in the sky. Others swung their swords with all their might to cut fruit.

The Elders' expressions turned odd.

"Elder Liu, you lead Sword Inquiry Peak. No one here knows the Sword Dao better than you."

"In your judgment, how does this Illusion Realm measure up?"

As the one overseeing the event, Ding Mingcang was the first to speak.

"Poorly."

Liu Qingmei gave her verdict without hesitation. Her tone was displeased; she clearly had little faith in Lu Ze's Illusion Realm.

"Poorly? It's child's play! Since when does chopping fruit count as training?"

Lin Qingxuan, the Third Elder of Danqing Peak, had a fiery temper and cursed on the spot.

"How could this and Demonic Path Escape possibly be the work of the same person? It's a complete waste of our disciples' time!"

With that, Lin Qingxuan rose to his feet. "I have other matters to attend to. Excuse me."

The other Elders shook their heads and sighed. Clearly, they thought little of Lu Ze's Illusion Realm too.

They had looked forward to it, only to be bitterly disappointed.

One after another, the Elders found excuses and left.

Only Chao Wendao, the Grand Elder, remained, staring thoughtfully at the scene from one disciple's Illusion Realm.

Ding Mingcang was in excellent spirits.

"I thought this brat had something to back up his confidence. And this is what he made in a month?"

"Disciples of the great Spirit Cloud Sect enter an Illusion Realm Trial just to chop fruit?"

"We'd be a laughingstock if word got out!"

He looked at Lu Ze with a sneer.

Ding Mingcang was certain he had won this time.

Judging by what he had seen, Lu Ze was like a donkey whose only trick had been exposed. He had nothing left to offer!

And he had dared bring a fruit-cutting game before them?

Forget the Spirit Cloud Sect.

Even ordinary martial arts schools out on the streets trained their swordsmen with more variety than this!

Ding Mingcang sneered at Lu Ze.

"Let's see who can protect you this time!"