Naming Technique of the Night

Countdown: 44:00:00.

Forbidden Zone No. 002.

Atop another peak, over a thousand meters away from the Qing Shan cliffs.

"I really miss it," Uncle Li Dong said in the night, "thinking back to the last time I climbed the Qing Shan cliffs over thirty years ago. Back then, my senior and I were both bursting with energy, trying to see who could carve their name higher."

It's a tradition among knights to climb the Qing Shan cliffs and carve their name at the spot where they first rest from exhaustion.

As a result, the senior carved his name at 212 meters, while Uncle Li Dong did so at 367 meters.

After returning, he bragged to his senior, only to be thoroughly beaten up by Chen Jiazhang, who had already unlocked the second layer of his genetic lock at the time.

Back then, he was neither the demigod of the present nor a figure revered by everyone as the contemporary Knight Leader, but just a green young fellow learning how to shave his beard.

Back then, he still had relentless drive and the courage of making irrevocable choices.

This time, Uncle Li Dong didn't tell Qing Chen about the knight tradition, as he wanted to see where this student would carve his name.

What surprised him though was that Qing Chen's name wasn't very high, only a little over a hundred meters up.

But Uncle Li Dong always felt that carving one's name like this held more meaning.

"My student isn't bad, is he?" Uncle Li Dong boasted to someone nearby, "Facing crossbow arrows without a hint of fear, and expressing silent disdain through the act of carving his name. If time could turn back, I would want to do it like him. Just thinking about it is thrilling."

By his side, a Qing Shan Falcon of over three meters tall stood quietly.

The falcon's feathers, large as knives and its powerful claws gripped the rock. With just a slight effort, it could crumble the rock as if it were tofu.

At that moment, however, the Qing Shan Falcon was giving Uncle Li Dong a look full of human expression, seemingly holding him in contempt for bragging: It's your student who is impressive, not you.

Uncle Li Dong laughed, "Still not convinced? It's my eye for spotting good students! You see, I don't just take any student. I adhere to a principle of quality over quantity, being responsible for the Knight Organization!"

The Qing Shan Falcon rolled its eyes: It's not like the old days when I had to chase you all over the mountains.

"A true man never boasts of his past bravery," Uncle Li Dong said, "how about we fight now? I'll swagger you bald!"

The Qing Shan Falcon shifted its huge body that could hide the sun: I don't stoop to your level.

Uncle Li Dong chuckled and turned his gaze back to Qing Chen, who was climbing upward like a gecko, becoming more skilled and resolute by the minute.

From the very beginning, what the Knight Organization valued most in recruiting new members was not ability, but temperament.

And Qing Chen's temperament, Uncle Li Dong felt, could certainly rank in the top three.

"Look teacher, I really did find a very good successor for our knights," Uncle Li Dong remarked sentimentally.

Having said that, he stood up and started walking down the mountain path behind him, preparing to descend.

The Qing Shan Falcon chirped twice: You're not watching? He's only halfway up.

Uncle Li Dong waved a hand without turning back and laughed, "Knights have an old saying, 'I accompany him only part of the thousand-mile journey, beyond which I ask no questions, whether it storms or the sun shines.'

...

A gust of mountain wind whistled, causing Qing Chen's clothes to flutter loudly.

The young man's fingers were strong and firm in the cracks of the rock. He looked back at the scenery behind him, with the Forbidden Land before his eyes.

The sky had turned from deep black to a murky grey, with a giant tree in the distance standing tall, its sprawling crown spanning several kilometers, spectacular as if someone was softly narrating the opening chapter of a myth.

Qing Chen continued climbing upward, the magical white fruits of the Forbidden Land constantly repairing his body.

267 meters, left by Jiang Feifei.

312 meters, left by Li Linghong.

321 meters, left by Yang Dawei.

367 meters, left by Uncle Li Dong.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Qing Chen followed the white 'footprints' of his predecessors on the cliffs.

One by one, these senior knights with their unique greetings accompanied him to this point.

But the higher he climbed, the fewer the names became.

By the time he reached this point, Qing Chen started to feel the warm flow from the white fruits diminishing.

He felt his strength rapidly draining, and exhaustion continuously assaulting his will.

Yet the next moment.

411 meters, left by Qin Sheng.

Qing Chen remembered, this was the Knight Leader who had pioneered the Breathing Technique.

Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.

The places where these senior knights had left their names were all on the climbing path, right before the most dangerous part of the mountain.

The predecessors would stop here to rest, and then carve their names.

Whenever those who came afterward felt they had exhausted their strength, those previously carved names served as a form of encouragement.

Qing Chen pursed his lips and continued to climb upwards.

489 meters, Yang Xiaojun left a message.

Qing Chen glanced at those meaningful characters and set off again, clenching his teeth.

His muscles trembled with a mournful cry, his will echoing with intense struggle.

He had almost crushed his teeth, yet his pace of climbing upwards never halted.

Just when he thought there would be no more names above.

599 meters, Ren Xiaosu left a message.

...

Qing Chen suddenly looked up towards the top, where the sheer cliff was ending.

But the next moment, Qing Chen froze because at the end of the cliff, there was an outcropping at the edge of the precipice.

There was nothing to leverage.

This was not a vertical cliff, or to put it another way, the previous 599 meters were indeed vertical, but this part was different.

Uncle Li Dong had never mentioned this before.

To reach the top, one had to make a leap from the summit.

There was no path here anymore, no more white "footprints" ahead.

The warmth from the Bairen fruit finally dissipated.

The predecessors had accompanied him for 599 meters, but the last meter was Qing Chen's own journey.

Countdown 42:20:00.

5:40 AM.

Golden light was spreading from behind him through the clouds, which moved swiftly like a vast sea.

Qing Chen gripped the summit's fissure, his fingers starting to tremble slightly due to too much hesitation.

He remembered the instant when the countdown first appeared on his arm.

He thought back to the loneliness in the dark room, and remembered clutching a rock with all his effort atop Laojun Mountain.

At that moment, Qing Chen saw another line of text next to the name Ren Xiaosu: "Life should be like a candle, burning brightly from start to finish."

The young man closed his eyes.

Indeed, even if there was only one second left in life, it should shine brightly!

Qing Chen opened his eyes and forcefully leaped upwards.

The past life.

The future life.

Intertwined!

Sonata!

This was the life path he had chosen for himself.

The longest path among all the shortcuts in the world.

Since it was his choice, he should never look back!

The rest of his life?

It's all ahead!

Like learning to fly for the first time, the young man soared.

He stretched his body mightily in the skies, and the next moment, the young man's powerful palms grasped the edge of the cliff!

Qing Chen laughed heartily.

He heard a crack within his body, his bones snapping crisply, the lost strength returning incessantly, a power he had never had before surged like the sea!

The young man felt an entirely different strength, a different world, a different life!

With one hand on the edge of the cliff, he turned around to look back, just as the sun was rising behind him!

The grand, spectacular tree greeted the rays of red light, as if welcoming a rebirth!

Qing Chen silently watched all this; when he was in the Taboo Land forest, he could only see the canopy blocking the sky.

But from here, the dense and orderly canopy looked like a vast plain.

Qing Chen looked down at Cao Wei still watching from below.

Their distance was over six hundred meters, and suddenly Cao Wei's standing figure appeared somewhat diminutive. The young man calmly made a throat-slitting gesture, then flipped back onto the cliff.

Stay updated through empire

...

Chapter Eight, seeking monthly votes for support.