Chapter 155: Chasing a Dream
Countdown 44:00:00.
Forbidden Land No. 002.
On top of a mountain a thousand meters away from the Great Cliff of Qingshan.
"I really miss those days," Li Shutong sighed into the dark night, "The last time I climbed the Great Cliff of Qingshan was more than thirty years ago. At that time, my senior brother and I were competing with each other, wanting to see who could go on further before taking a break."
It was a tradition of the Knights — upon challenging the Great Cliff of Qingshan, they would carve their names at the first stop they made after running out of the energy to climb.
His senior brother rested at a height of 212 meters while Li Shutong held on until the 367th meter.
After finishing the stage, he cockily showed off the win to his senior brother, but ended up getting a round of beating as a result.
At that time, he was not yet a demigod, and nor had he become the highly revered leader of the Knights. He was merely a fledgling young man who had just learned how to shave his facial hair.
At that time, he still had the drive to relentlessly move forward, as well as the courage to go on without regrets.
Li Shutong didn't tell Qing Chen about the Knights' tradition because he wanted to see where his student would choose to put down his name.
But what took him by surprise was that instead of doing it at a higher place, Qing Chen engraved his name at a height of only over a hundred meters.
However, Li Shutong thought that the boy's choice to do it at this moment was even more meaningful.
"The student I've found is really good, isn't he?" Li Shutong flaunted to the side, "He shows no fear in the face of arrows, and even used the action of carving out his name to sneer at his enemy. If I could go back in time, I'd love to do the same thing as he did. Just thinking about it makes me feel excited."
Beside him, a six-meter tall Qingshan Falcon quietly perched.
The gigantic feathers on its body were like layers of swords. Its strong and robust talons were clasping on the top of a huge rock; with just a little force, even that rock would crumble to pieces as if it were but a block of tofu.
But at this time, the magnificent Qingshan Falcon was side-eyeing Li Shutong. The look in its eyes was as expressive as a human's, full of apparent disdain for the man tooting his own horns. 'It's your student who's good, not you.'
Li Shutong laughed, "Why are you looking at me like that? This proves that I have a good eye for picking out students! I rarely accept any because my principle is quality over quantity! It's my responsibility as a leader of the Knights!"
The Qingshan Falcon rolled its eyes at him, 'This is not the time to make me chase you all over the mountain again.'
"A true hero doesn't boast about their past glories," Li Shutong said, "Do you want to try having a go at me now? I'll pluck you bald!"
The Qingshan Falcon shifted his majestic figure, 'I won't waste my time arguing with you.'
Li Shutong merrily turned back his gaze to Qing Chen and saw that the boy was climbing up like a gecko. The more he climbed, the more proficient and steadfast his movements became.
Ever since the Knights was founded, their most important criteria for recruiting new members was not ability, but character.
And Qing Chen's character, in Li Shutong's opinion, would rank within the top three no matter how you looked at it.
"Can you see it, Teacher? I've truly found an excellent successor for the Knights," Li Shutong emotionally said.
He then got up and walked towards the small path behind him, going to descend the mountain.
The Qingshan Falcon chirped, 'Aren't you going to watch? He's only climbed halfway.'
Li Shutong smiled and waved his hands without looking back, "There's an old saying among the Knights; in a journey of a thousand miles, I will only accompany him for part of the way. From then onwards, whether it's a snowstorm or a sunny day, I will no longer be a part."
...
Qing Chen's clothes flapped harshly as a gust of mountain wind blew over the cliff.
The boy firmly clung onto the rock seams with his fingers and glanced back at the scenery behind him, the Forbidden Land reflected in his eyes.
The pitch black sky had now turned dusky. In the distance stood a giant tree, painting a spectacular sight with its crown spanning a few kilometres wide. Seeing this view gave off the illusion that the opening verse of a legendary myth was currently being narrated.
Qing Chen continued to climb up as the magical white fruit from the Forbidden Land replenished his strength.
267 meters, Jiang Feifei rested.
312 meters, Li Linghong rested.
321 meters, Yang Dawa rested.
367 meters, Li Shutong rested.
Qing Chen followed the white 'footprints' left by his predecessors on the cliff.
Each with their own greeting, they sent their regards and accompanied him along the way.
The higher he went, however, the fewer names there were.
As he reached this point, Qing Chen could already feel the warm flow from the fruit gradually subsiding.
His energy was rapidly diminishing, and the heavy burden of exhaustion was constantly chipping at his will.
But in the next moment, he saw another name.
411 meters, Qin Sheng rested.
Qing Chen remembered that this person was the leader of an older generation of the Knights, the one who pioneered the breathing technique.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.
All these predecessor Knights wrote down their names before setting off to face the most dangerous phase.
In the middle of the climb, they would take a break, and then engrave their names on the cliff.
When the juniors who climbed later on felt like they couldn't go on anymore, those names would become the voice of encouragement that pushed them to move forward.
Qing Chen pursed his lips and continued to climb.
489 meters, Yang Xiaojin rested.
Qing Chen glanced at those meaningful letters, then gritted his teeth and advanced once more.
His muscles were trembling in protest, and his willpower was desperately struggling to hold on.
He nearly broke his teeth from how hard he was clenching them, yet he never stopped pacing upward.
Just when he thought there would be no other names appearing.
599 meters, Ren Xiaosu rested.
...
Qing Chen raised his head and looked up above — the edge of the cliff was right over there.
But he was instantly stunned by what he saw, because this turned out to be an overhanging cliff.
He had nowhere to grip on.
The prior 599 meters was a vertical precipice, but the edge was an overhanging one.
Li Shutong had never told him about this before.
In order to scale this cliff, you had to leap at the top.
There was no longer a set path, no more 'footprints' in sight.
The warm flow from the white fruit had also completely dissipated.
The predecessors had accompanied him for 599 meters, but for the last meter, Qing Chen had to walk on his own path.
Countdown 42:20:00.
5:40 in the morning.
A golden light spilled over from the clouds behind him, rapidly rolling like waves in the deep blue sea.
He was grasping onto the rocks below the edge, his fingers starting to tremble because he had been hesitating for too long.
He recalled the moment when the countdown first appeared on his arm.
He recalled the solitude he experienced in the dark confinement room, and recalled the way he lugged the stone and threw it with all his might at Laojun Mountain.
At this moment, Qing Chen saw another line of words engraved at the spot beside Ren Xiaosu's name:
Live like a candle that keeps on shining brightly as it burns from the beginning to the end.
The boy closed his eyes.
Yes, even if the end of your life was only one second away, you have to keep on shining brightly!
Opening his eyes, Qing Chen exerted all of his power to take the jump.
The past he had lived.
The future he would live.
Intertwine!
Symphonize!
This was the path he had chosen.
The longest of all the shortcuts in the world.
Since he had already chosen to take it, then never look back!
All the way forward!
For the rest of his life!
The boy leaped into the air as though he was learning to fly for the first time.
He resolutely stretched his body, reaching into the sky, and in the next moment, his palms vigorously caught the protruding edge of the cliff!
Qing Chen smiled, a smile free from inhibitions.
He heard a snap coming from within his own body; his bones began to crackle, his energy was swiftly recovering, and a power he had never felt before was surging like the tide of the ocean.
The boy was awashed in an entirely different strength, an entirely different world, and an entirely different life!
Hanging on the edge of the cliff with one hand, he gazed back at the sun rising behind him.
The vermilion ray of sunlight fell upon that majestic giant tree, seemingly welcoming the birth of a new life.
Qing Chen silently watched it all unfold. When he was inside the forest of the Forbidden Land, he could only see the dense canopy of trees covering the sky.
But as he viewed it from up here, that same canopy now looked like an expanse of vast plains.
Qing Chen glanced down below at Cao Wei who was still observing him.
Separated by a distance of more than 600 meters, Cao Wei's sturdy figure suddenly seemed to appear very small. The boy sedately gave him another throat-slitting gesture, then turned over and jumped on top of the cliff.
Translator: Zee