Chapter 1998 The Truth Behind the Truth?

　　Red Viper, Black Spear, and Flash Point—the three Immortal Cultivator players—travelled among the clouds like three fast and agile flying swords, as if the dense storm of bullets around them did not exist. Their every dive among the clouds would cause spluttering blood and everlasting screams before a few guards of Liberty City fell from an altitude of hundreds of meters and crashed together with their armor.

　　However, the ‘allies’ next to them were exploding and falling in the storm of blades and bullets, too, as if another elite team that was on par with them was lurking in the middle of clouds.

　　Suddenly, two new Exos appeared in the clouds opposite them. The two parties fought for a few rounds, but neither of them killed the enemy easily.

　　The three Immortal Cultivators smelled a familiar scent, like wolves encountering wolves and snakes running into snakes. The players had met other players.

　　Floating in midair, Black Spear coldly asked, “Are you here for the trial?”

　　“Exactly. However, we were unfortunate enough to be randomly distributed to the leader of Liberty City’s side.” The Exos on his opposite side smiled. “How lucky. We’ve never been fond of defense. We only like to… attack.”

　　“Don’t be so arrogant.” Black Spear licked his lips. “There are only two of you, but we have three on our side.”

　　“But this is the airspace of Liberty City. We can receive support anytime.” The enemy was not moved at all. Playing with his chainsword, he asked, “Do you want to have a go?”

　　“Hehe…” Black Spear narrowed his eyes with brutality beaming out.

　　“Black Spear, Flash Point, are they the rivals in your families?” Red Viper suddenly asked.

　　Black Spear and Flash Point both shook their heads.

　　“Then, it seems unnecessary for us to burst into a conflict right now,” Red Viper said. “The final battle is about to begin. This is a great opportunity for us to earn more points. Since we do not have any fundamental contradictions, we do not have to fight and both get injured here. Don’t you agree?”

　　The two strangers nodded slowly. “Well said. There will be plenty of chances for us to fight in the future. Why the rush?”

　　The two of them blinked and disappeared into the smoke before they left a final remark with a smile. “Since you appear to be rational enough, here’s a word of advice. If you are going to retreat, do not return through the way you came. Take a detour in the southeast. A few crazy streamers are lurking right on your path of retreat. We all know that those lunatics do not care if you are a player or not. They will do anything to improve their viewership.”

　　“Hehe. What about them?” Black Spear clenched his fists. “Even if we run into crazy streamers, so what? I’ll simply punch them into pieces in front of their whole audience!”

　　“Quiet!” Red Viper pondered for a moment. “You know how crazy those people are. They are all perverts who have come to this place to look for stimulation. They are different from us, who are here for a mission. It is unnecessary to mess with them.

　　“All in all, our reconnaissance mission has been completed. With the credits and reputation we earned in the last half month, it is enough for us to meet the Fist King himself. Let’s fall back.

　　“However, those two guys are not to be absolutely trusted. We will not take our original path or detour in the southeast. Instead, we’ll charge forward and get out from the west!”

　　Under the cover of many other scouting squads, the three players finally got out of the range of the flak weapons of Liberty City.

　　As it turned out, before they returned to the Fist King’s camp, they had already received the news that almost all the scouting squads other than themselves had been annihilated.

　　“The two guys did not lie to us. Some crazy streamers are indeed out there!” Flash Point observed, not entirely recovered from his shock. “Thankfully, we were not harassed by them, or it would’ve been difficult to accomplish the main quest!”

　　“Our ‘servant soldiers’ are there. Let’s land!” Black Spear said. “The few servant soldiers are clever enough. I thought that they would be killed by the enemy during the first operation and did not expect that they could survive so many quests without getting killed. They are truly sturdy. Also, although the puppet that they carry does not have a high combat ability, it is indeed skilled at maintaining all kinds of magical equipment. I’m already reluctant to kill them.”

　　“Of course,” Red Viper said. “This is the first time that the two of you have participated in a trial of extreme survival in the Land of Sins. Naturally, you will have more privileges. The few useful servant soldiers that have been distributed to you are perhaps a favor for the newbies.

　　“As for killing them, I don’t think it is necessary. There’s no way that they can survive the gory battle in the city and the street fighting that will be ten times gorier.”

　　The seven-star quest ‘The Eagle Plan’ had basically been accomplished. The three Immortal Cultivator players landed and walked toward Han Te and Liu Li with a smile.

　　Little did they know that their conversation had been recorded by a soundwave collector installed in the most inconspicuous part of their crystal suits and would be read by Li Yao during the maintenance later.

　　While the three players were enjoying the game where living people were chess pieces and props, Li Yao was analyzing the game of the Immortal Cultivators carefully.

　　The more he analyzed, the more he felt that the truth of the Martial Meritocrats Sector might not be as simple as he imagined.

　　He had thought that the entire Martial Meritocrats Sector was the most important laboratory and test base for new magical equipment and techniques in the Imperium of True Human Beings.

　　However, the arrival of the three players who were Immortal Cultivators informed him that the ‘test base’ had a deeper meaning. It was not just magical equipment and techniques that were tested but also Immortal Cultivators themselves.

　　By collecting the conversations among the three players every day, and through the prudent investigation of his own soul, Li Yao discovered that the ‘war game’ seemed to have a third meaning that was even more subtle.

　　With his keen senses in the Divinity Transformation Stage, Li Yao noticed hundreds of players, but not all the players were the same.

　　For example, Red Viper, Black Spear, and Flash Point, the three players that he followed, were obviously there with certain quests, including ‘secondary quests’ and ‘main quests’.

　　The ‘secondary quests’ were what they had been doing in the last half month to accumulate wealth, fame, and the Fist King’s trust. As for exactly what their ‘main quests’ were, Li Yao had not learned it yet, but he did vaguely feel that it was not as simple as ‘conquer Liberty City’.

　　Of course, all of them also had a ‘hidden quest’, which was to kill their competitors in their respective families so that they would win more resources and fondness in the future.

　　Other than the players who were devoted to their quests, there were also what the Immortal Cultivators called ‘crazy streamers’. Li Yao did not know what they were exactly yet, because Red Viper, Black Spear, and Flash Point were very wary of the lunatics and unwilling to have a head-on clash with them. They had chosen to retreat whenever they smelled the scent of the lunatics.

　　Besides ‘quest players’ and ‘crazy streamers’, there seemed to be a third type of Immortal Cultivator. But they were even more mysterious and independent from the battlefield, almost completely buried in the darkness. Even Li Yao had only perceived one of them by accident and almost been caught by the guy.

　　Li Yao speculated that the Immortal Cultivators in darkness were perhaps the manipulators of the entire game and the defenders of the rules. They were responsible for directing the war game to develop in the course that they desired.

　　The unique rules in the Land of Sins created the most favorable conditions for the Immortal Cultivators to blend into the sinners.

　　This was a cruel world with abrupt changes every moment.

　　A previously dominating, unparalleled expert might die due to their cultivation going berserk because of fatal shortcomings in the arts that they practiced.

　　A nobody half a year ago, with the assistance of an ‘old grandpa’ and his amazing arts or even the strengthening kits from the sky, would be able to modify themself into a half-human and half-mechanical monster with unimaginable strength in the blink of an eye.

　　Although such an endeavor would likely rid them of their training potential for the decades to come, who cared about what would happen tomorrow if their strength could be improved by almost twenty times?

　　Therefore, other than the city leaders that dominated the Elysian Worlds, few experts and forces could thrive for a long time without decaying in the Land of Sins.

　　On the other hand, it was often the case that many anonymous fellows would rise as fast as lightning with the most uncanny, bizarre abilities. They would want to distinguish themselves on the most fabulous stage.

　　On the sides of both the Fist King and the leader of Liberty City, there were countless rising experts who were bizarre-shaped, temperamental, disobedient, and of unknown backgrounds.

　　When the Immortal Cultivators were mixed among them, they were like a few spindrift in an ocean. Nobody would be suspicious of them at all.

　　Besides, everybody was focused on the war between the Fist King and the leader of Liberty City. Who cared if the war was manipulated by the ‘angels’ other than Li Yao?

　　Had life in the Land of Sins not always been repeated like this for the last hundreds of years?

　　Those who might not survive the next second were incapable of envisaging the future or exploring the truth.

　　Li Yao, however, intended to completely dig out the truths behind the Land of Sins, or the Martial Meritocrats Sector.

　　He wanted to capture an Immortal Cultivator player for interrogation.

　　It was certainly very risky, and it would not be an easy task.

　　The Immortal Cultivators must be monitoring the battlefield in various ways. Every player should have a clandestine communication system. Countless Immortal Cultivators were hiding in the darkness to maintain the order of the ‘war game’.

　　Therefore, over the past half month, Li Yao had been observing calmly and camouflaging himself instead of taking any action in a hurry.

　　He was waiting for the best opportunity, which was perhaps when the Fist King’s army attacked the city.

　　At that time, the whole battlefield would be brimming with violent, chaotic spiritual waves. Both parties would launch attacks and interference on the enemy’s local area network. Even the wireless network among the Immortal Cultivator players would probably be jammed and cut off—even if only briefly.

　　Also, the sky would be blocked by smoke and dark clouds. Even the mystic rays from the City in the Sky would not necessarily be able to illuminate every corner of the battlefield.

　　Did Red Viper not mention that the death rate of the ‘trial of extreme survival’ was very high? Therefore, as long as Li Yao could seize the opportunity…