Naming Technique of the Night

Below the cliff face.

Cao Wei watched as the youth flipped over the summit and disappeared from sight.

He didn't actually hate Qing Chen at all, even though the latter had planted a landmine that left him seriously injured.

After all, they were enemies, and it was reasonable and appropriate for either party to use any method at their disposal.

Now, he even hated Qing Huai more, because the latter clearly had the chance to provide him with support but suddenly cut off the communication channel.

People who betray their comrades and subordinates are even more despicable.

Moreover, Cao Wei felt that if anyone had witnessed the youth's journey to climb, they would surely feel admiration in their hearts.

Even he, the enemy, could only sigh in respect.

Without lingering on these thoughts any longer, Cao Wei turned and ran into the forest. He didn't plan to meet up with Qing Huai but was prepared to escape from this Taboo Land No. 002 directly.

If he escaped too slowly, he feared that everyone would die together.

Cao Wei knew he could no longer return to the Federation, regardless of whether Qing Huai lived or died, he couldn't go back.

But even living as a wild man in the wilderness was better than being a dead man.

It's just... While on the run, he couldn't help but reflect on the events that had just occurred.

He watched the youth climb into the night, climb into the firmament.

Later, even his vision, enhanced by the Genetic Potion, began to blur.

Cao Wei had been waiting for the other to fall down, but when the first light of sunrise appeared, he saw the scene where the youth hung by one hand from the top of the cliff.

It was at that moment, even though Cao Wei clearly knew that the youth, if he succeeded in his challenge, might still be no match for him, he still lost the courage to fight against him.

It represented the unattainable dream horizon that he himself had never been able to reach, yet someone had achieved it before his very eyes.

At the top of the steep mountain, Qing Chen quietly looked ahead.

He had imagined that the scenery from the top of the mountain must be beautiful and awe-inspiring, but what he didn't expect was that what shook people's hearts the most were the words carved here by others.

Every sentence read "Only belief and the sun and moon are eternal."

And after every sentence, there was a different name appended.

Zhang Qingxi, Li Yingyun, Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojun, Zhao Yongyi, Uncle Li Dong, Chen Jiazhang, Wang Xiaojiu...

Qing Chen counted, there were 81 names on top of this cliff, each a predecessor of his.

However, he had seen 123 names on the sheer cliff.

Does this mean that 42 people had departed this world while challenging this cliff, or were there other predecessors who hadn't had the chance to leave their names and also fell before this life-and-death barrier?

Qing Chen remained silent.

Over a hundred people over a thousand years have come here, one after another, just to pursue a dream and give their lives for it.

Whether it was Qin Sheng, who created the Breathing Technique, or those predecessors who left their chalk 'footprints' on the cliff, they all paved this road to the heavens for their successors.

Qing Chen read each sentence moving forward, but noticed that at the very top of all these words, someone had carved four large characters without adding their name.

"Forever Young."

These four words, unlike the others', had a unique and wondrous magic to them.

Forever young.

Forever sincere.

Always young, always eager to embark on a new journey.

These words conveyed a unique expectation that the successor of each Knight should always maintain a rich and intense life, never looking back.

The life of the youth needed no looking back, only the courage to make irrevocable decisions.

Qing Chen took a deep breath and finally drew the dagger from his waist, carving his own words at the very end of the cliff: "Only belief and the sun and moon are eternal... Qing Chen."

Perhaps it wasn't until this moment that he truly became a member of the Knights.

One cannot become a Knight merely by having combat power; one must walk such a path, find a group of like-minded friends with undying faith and a firm will, to truly be called a Knight.

Qing Chen felt the strength in his body as if reborn, followed by changes in his body, bones, blood, and genes.

Moreover, he suddenly realized something at this moment—after opening the genetic lock this time, even the energy within his body had more than doubled in strength.

The energy that had surged along with his strength was not too noticeable at first, but as the surging power gradually subsided, that energy settled into the muscles of his arms.

In the mountain breeze, fallen leaves from the distant woods were blown towards the cliffs, dozens of leaves passing by Qing Chen in the morning sun.

The young man reached out and caught a leaf from the air, instinctively channeling that energy into the fallen leaf.

The energy flowed from his fingertips, filling every corner of the leaf along its veins.

Suddenly, the irregularly curled leaf straightened out like a blade.

Qing Chen quietly observed the leaf in his hand. Was this what it meant to transcend the ordinary life?

He had finally achieved it.

What should he do now? Qing Chen pondered.

Right, it was time to kill.

If he didn't kill now, the enemy would escape into the distance.

With that thought, the youth turned and walked towards the woods behind the cliff.

...

Countdown 36:00:00.

Within Taboo Land, Cao Wei dashed northward relentlessly.

He strictly followed the route he had in mind, making sure of his direction every ten minutes.

According to Cao Wei's plan, he should have breached the edges of Taboo Land in five hours and returned to the wilderness outside.

But now, more than six hours had gone by, and he still hadn't seen the edge of Taboo Land!

He was trapped here.
Continue your adventure at empire

He was trapped in this place by Taboo Land.

Cao Wei was certain that there was nothing wrong with his method of determining direction, so the problem had to be with Taboo Land itself.

To be precise, it wasn't that Taboo Land had made a mistake, but rather, this living Taboo Land didn't want to let him out.

This terrifying and immense entity wanted to leave him for that young man.

At some point, Cao Wei even suspected the young man was leisurely following him, but no matter how he looked back and listened, he could never spot the other's whereabouts.

Because he had been running forward the whole time, it was also difficult to catch any scent trailing behind him.

Cao Wei suddenly stopped and turned around with a grave expression to survey the area behind him.

There were no footsteps, nor was there any trace of the young man.

But he distinctly felt someone following him. Could it be a ghost?!

At that moment, a familiar scent of blood wafted over on a breeze. Cao Wei's spirit shook, the young man had indeed caught up!

The other was hiding upwind, in some shadow.

The roles of prey and hunter had been reversed.

Cao Wei turned and ran desperately again, but the sensation of being tracked just wouldn't leave him.

He stopped once more.

"Aren't you here to kill me?" Cao Wei panted, "Now that you've become a Knight and gained strength, why are you still so hesitant? Is this the way of a Knight?"

He was eager for a battle.

The explosion of the anti-infantry landmine had already damaged Cao Wei's internal organs. If he could rest in time, his strong physique as a C-Class Expert would naturally recover.

But now, as he had been running for his life, not only would his injuries not heal, but they would also worsen—precisely what the young man had wanted.

Unexpectedly,

It was Cao Wei who had previously employed the tactics of wolf-pack hunting, aiming to wear down the young man.

Yet he hadn't anticipated that after their roles switched, the other party would use tactics Cao Wei himself had once used.

Just as he once said, wolves are cautious animals. They don't wish to get injured for the sake of hunting, nor do they want to give their prey any chance of a desperate counterattack.

...

Chapter Nine, thanks to Penguin Alliance for gifting another ten million starting coins!