Lin Tian powerlessly fell to the ground as his wounds caught up to him. His arm was bleeding heavily from the bite wound and his vision swam from the pain of his broken arm. He quickly crawled back away from the giant snake causing piles of books to fall.

"You should probably dress that wound if you don't want to end up dying for real." Remarked the green snake.

He was still rather wary of the giant snake but slowly calmed down after realizing that it wasn't making any moves towards him. Lin Tian noticing his poor condition tore off his shirt to wrap his arm and stop the bleeding. The process was difficult since he could only use one arm, but he managed to pull it off. After pulling the tourniquet tightly with his teeth he finally looked towards the giant snake with the familiar voice.

The giant snake that appeared to be hundreds of meters in length was coiled across the entire room. The stone room itself was impossibly large and filled with an even more impossible number of books. They lay in stacks that reached up towards the ceiling and threatened to topple over at the slightest movement.

The room was also filled with various objects from weapons to ores and plants. The snake seemed to perfectly blend into his surroundings as he appeared to be a natural part of the cluttered room. 

"May I ask if this is senior Alldao that was previously watching me take the tests?" asked Lin Tian weakly.

"Hmm, yes and no. My master is Heavenly Immortal Alldao that created this trial ground. I merely watch over the participants taking the tests. Though in your case, I don't know if you could call it 'taking' rather than 'failing' instead." Ridiculed the giant snake.

Lin Tian could only awkwardly rub his head and say, "Senior, you couldn't have really expected me to have passed tests designed for cultivators could you?"

"No, I never expected you to pass the tests. Nobody has ever perfectly passed all the tests since the conception of this trial ground, but as the first human to come here in the past tens of thousands of years I did have some hope." As he spoke the giant snake only grew quieter as a forlorn look flashed across his face. This only lasted for a short moment as a shocked expression crossed over the snake's face.

"What are you!" Roared the giant snake.

In a flash, the eyes of the snake showed a dangerous glint as his tail whipped out from some corner of the room and tightly squeezed Lin Tian as he brought him over to his face.

"Why can't I sense your presence? Everything about you from your look to smell tells me that you're a human, yet I can't sense anything from you at all. Even a regular mortal would have traces of spiritual energy that I could sense. So I ask again, what are you?" Inquired the snake.

Lin Tian could hardly breathe as the tail constricted him. A small flame arose in his stomach as he felt powerless once again.

"Stupid Snake, I was born without a dantian so it would be stranger if you actually did sense any spiritual energy." Spat out Lin Tian. However, his outrage was only met with an increase in pressure as the tail tightened greatly.

"Snake! Snake! How dare you compare this noble one to such a lowly being such as a snake. Can't you tell that this one has the ancestry of a flood dragon?" Shrieked the 'dragon'. Sure enough, Lin Tian was able to find dragon claws after looking amongst the books, but he still felt like the 'dragon' looked more like a snake.

"Wait, did you say that you were born without a dantian? Impossible."

"I'm telling you the truth. Let me go!" Cried out Lin Tian. The dragon, just as quickly as he grabbed him, let him fall. Lin Tian crashed into a stack of books as a giant cloud of dust rose up into the air.

"Not crippled or removed, but not born with. That is . . . not right. The heavens would not make such a mistake." Mulled over the dragon as he went deep into contemplation. On the other hand, Lin Tian was furious.

"Are you trying to kill me! I barely made it out alive of your stupid tests and you nearly crush me to death."

Unfortunately, the dragon was taken out of his thoughts and turned his dissatisfaction upon Lin Tian. In a rush, the dragon quickly pinned Lin Tian to the floor under his claws and put his face only inches away.

" How dare you mock my master's tests! You know, I'm starting to grow tired of you. You've done nothing but whine since you fell into these grounds. If it wasn't because I was the slightest bit impressed with how you chose to face off against the Silver-maned wolf, then you wouldn't even have your little life to complain with." growled the dragon.

Lin Tian felt a switch flip inside him. He was tired of his life being just a plaything that could be snuffed out on a whim. He felt as if he was going to explode.

"I'm sick of it. Is being able to cultivate so great? Do you think that I want to be at the mercy of others?  All my life I had to hang my head down just to preserve my status at the bottom of my family. I don't even understand why.  Haha, I don't even know who my parents are, nobody knows or will tell me. I've tried to change my destiny. I train my body and try to cultivate every day, but for nothing. Why? So some overgrown snake can kill me."

It was as if a dam burst inside Lin Tian. Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. This was perhaps the true Lin Tian. Just a kid who didn't even understand why.

Ever since he was young, he never had someone he could complain to. Not even Lin Zhou since he didn't want to burden this with one of his few friends. Perhaps it was only this 'dragon' that had no connection to his life as the Lin family reject that he could feel free to let out his grievances to.

"Enough! You understand nothing. Your sin was never not being able to cultivate but being weak. Can you truly say that you've explored every path? That you've pushed yourself to the very limit? If you have the luxury to pity yourself then you have the time to improve. You haven't even tasted true despair yet. You tried? Foolish! Just the cries of the weak. I'm done with you, leave." spoke the dragon as he slowly picked up his claw.

Several meters away an array on the ground started to glow. The space around the area started to shift and twist upon itself as it sparked to life with energy. The dragon shifted back into its original position and laid its head down. It closed its eyes as if it no longer cared to look at Lin Tian.

The flames inside Lin Tian slowly started to die down after seeing this. Maybe he said too much. He looked over this cluttered filled room once more. There was a thick layer of dust settled over everything. The paper of the books and scrolls were dyed yellow with age and looked brittle. Not even the weapons escaped this fate. Lin Tian picked up a nearby sword and lightly tapped the end. The tip of the sword broke off and fell to the ground. It must have been a long time since someone has been here.

"How long has it been since your master was here?" Softly asked Lin Tian.

The dragon didn't even stir from the question. However, Lin Tian chose to wait. It was only after a long while that the dragon chose to respond.

"I don't remember how long, but it has been a long time."

"Is he dead?"

"I have and will only recognize one master in my life. He said that he will return for me. In my mind, my master will never die."

"So you've spent all your time alone in this cave?"

"I am afraid of what I'll find out if I leave. I will stay here till I die."

This caused Lin Tian to pause. Perhaps he didn't have such a terrible life. At least he didn't have to lock himself away for endless years to hide from the truth. That was true despair. He was also ashamed of himself. Most of what the dragon said was true. It was time to start over.

"Oh, what were those words about 'If you have the luxury to pity yourself'? If my words are the cries of the weak, then are your words the cry of the strong?" Teased Lin Tian.

The dragon finally reopened his eyes with that question and raised his head again. He snarled towards Lin Tian and said, "Watch your mouth. You don't have the qualifications to pass judgment on me."

"You're right, both about that and more. I am weak. I haven't explored every path, nor have I pushed myself to the limit. The real reason that I train is so that I can say that I tried. Ha, that's just an excuse to pity myself. I realize that now." Mocked Lin Tian to himself.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I'm willing to live my life, are you?"

"What?"

"I'm starting over. The path that I was following was wrong, but so is yours. I'm willing to change, but you haven't in thousands of years. I refuse to just accept my life as it is. I won't let myself or anyone else get in my way. If the heavens block my path, then they will have to be the ones to move not me!" Pledged Lin Tian as his voice reached a crescendo.

However, after that final burst, Lin Tian fell to the ground in a slump. He was at his absolute limit. The blood has long ago soaked into his shirt and his life was truly in danger now. It was surprising that he was even able to hold on for this long. The dragon for the first time truly looked at Lin Tian. It was this young boy that actually dared to admonish him and tell him that his way of doing things was wrong.

"What a foolish boy." Thought the dragon. "However, I don't mind foolish people. I was just slightly moved by those words that sounded similar to my master's all those years ago. Fine, I will give you a small hand on your path. I would truly like to see if you can live up to those words."

With a flick of his tail, the dragon shut down the array formation on the ground. He used two claws to slowly lift up the unconscious Lin Tian and proceeded to move him to another part of the room. This was probably the most that the dragon has moved in the past thousand years. He set Lin Tian down on a stone bed before inspecting his wounds. The dragon only spent a short time tending to Lin Tian before he was satisfied and left him to move amongst the vast labyrinth of books.

"Spending all this time and effort on a mortal boy. Ha, maybe I am just a foolish snake." Thought the 'snake'.

It was only till the next morning that Lin Tian woke up. He sat up and discovered himself once again in the sea of books on a stone table. He gently stretched himself out to relieve the tension in his body for sleeping in such an uncomfortable place before realizing there was no pain.

"Haha, my arm is fully healed!" Yelled out Lin Tian. The tourniquet that he tied was removed, but there were no visible signs of his arm being harmed. If it wasn't for the blood, Lin Tian would suspect that he wasn't ever hurt in the first place. Just as Lin Tian was celebrating, the dragon returned.

"You seem to be having fun." Said the dragon as he settled down in front of Lin Tian.

"Thank you Senior Dragon. I'll remember your kindness." Thanked Lin Tian with his hands clasped.

"Yes, yes. Name?"

"Huh?"

"What is your name?" Growled the dragon.

"Lin Tian, yours?"

"You may call this honorable one, Jiao Lu." Said the dragon as he dropped a new-looking scroll in front of Lin Tian. "You said that you were looking for a new path, correct? If the heavens didn't give you a dantian, then why don't you just create one?"

This would be the first meeting between a foolish boy and a foolish snake.

NexusRex

I know that this is a cultivation novel, but I really want to take the time to flesh out my characters. Anyway, looks like we're finally heading in that direction. Like always, thanks for reading!