That gray cliff, 48 meters high.
This kind of "kingly" spirit is both infuriating and admirable.
The discussions on the 10-meter cliff side did not affect Chen Zhuoqu and the others. She simply clung to a certain handhold, glanced back, and continued climbing upwards.
Then, he failed and fell again and again.
The safety rope on the 48-meter cliff is even more damaged.
It won't start tightening until you drop 5 meters; if you're not careful, you could end up with a head injury.
...
...
Countdown 68:00:00.
Four o'clock in the morning.
Outside the college's points redemption area, students lined up in long queues, ready to grab the limited-quantity items available in the morning.
Compared to the chaos and disorder of the first day, the queue was now in good order.
At that moment, dozens of students in tattered clothes slowly emerged from the darkness.
They were covered in wounds, and some had blood flowing from their arms to their fingertips.
Their clothes were tattered and worn, and it was unclear where they had been rubbed to shreds.
When this group arrived, the queue outside the points redemption area caused a minor disturbance and discussion.
This is Whale Island, not a battlefield. How did things get like this?
The injured students didn't explain anything; they simply stood silently at the back of the line, waiting to redeem their goods.
Someone asked curiously, "Hey bro, what's going on here?"
The injured students explained, "We went to challenge the academy's cliff and got injured there."
"Then why did you suddenly come here?" someone wondered.
The injured student explained, "Everyone felt that we were still not strong enough, just a little bit short, so we discussed it and decided to use all the points we had left to temporarily try to snatch the fruit from the Eternal Heaven."
Just then, a student who had just woken up ran over from the dormitory area.
An injured student looked at him and said, "Sorry to wake you up, I don't have enough points... Could I borrow your points to grab some fruit? I'll pay you back as soon as I complete the challenge, and if I don't, I'll go run some more points to pay you back."
The student, who had just woken up, laughed and put his arm around his shoulder: "What the hell are you talking about? We've been brothers for so many years. Don't worry, I'll get in line for you right away."
The injured student breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you."
At this moment in the academy, points are equivalent to cultivation resources, and it's not uncommon for brothers to fall out over points.
Some couples even broke up because of points.
These days, anyone willing to come out at 4 a.m. to borrow points is basically a true fan.
Someone asked them curiously, "How long have you been training? It's 4 a.m. now. Have you been training non-stop without a break?"
“It’s too late, there are only 4 hours left,” one student explained. “Although I’m very tired… it’s not time to give up yet.”
This statement stunned the people in front of them in line. Some of them were students who had failed the challenge, while others were students who had already redeemed the Pantheon Thunder God.
Standing before them were thirty-two students covered in injuries, and for some reason, everyone felt a sudden pang in their hearts.
Someone asked them again, "Is it worth it? They've gotten themselves into this mess..."
An injured student chewed on chicken blood sprouts, then smeared them on his arm as he said, looking down, “We’re different from you. During the entrance exam, we were assigned to the Basic Academy because we weren’t talented enough. Some of us had to sell fruit to support our families after earning a few points; some tried to accumulate points, but only got two consolation points each time; and two people had their points deducted by the academy because they couldn’t master the breathing technique…”
There are glamorous moments and heartbreaking moments in the points system. Some students participate in football matches but are crushed by the pros, and after playing hard for 90 minutes, they only get 2 consolation points.
Not everyone can become a benchmarking expert like Chen Zhuoqu.
The student looked up at the people in front of him and said, "We didn't consider whether it was worth it or not. We just didn't know how to get ahead. Now that there's hope, we have to give it a shot, right?"
The students at the front of the line fell silent.
At that moment, someone asked the injured student, "Brother, what's your name?"
The injured student smiled and said, "My name is Hu Jingyi."
As he spoke, the bleeding on his arm had just stopped.
The students in the front row broke their silence. Someone suddenly spoke up, "They only have four hours left. I suggest we all make way and let these brothers and sisters exchange for the Eternal Heaven they need first, okay?"
One of the boys chuckled and said, "Sure, why not? We're not going to be any different. Let's all make way and let these brothers and sisters move forward!"
Hu Jing froze on the spot: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
One of the girls said with a smile, "What's good or bad about it? We're all classmates from the same college, and we should help each other in both the real and virtual worlds. We can come to redeem the goods anytime, but you don't have much time left. Don't worry, we're not in a hurry."
Hu Jing was taken aback. How could these people not be anxious? After all, anyone who could line up at 4 a.m. must be incredibly eager to get ahead.
Those who are truly not in a hurry are probably sleeping soundly in their dorm rooms.
However, all the students pretended to be completely indifferent and made way for them.
"Thank you," Hu Jingyi said slowly as he walked through the crowd. For some reason, the loneliness he felt when facing the cliff earlier suddenly disappeared.
A strange sense of warmth.
"Thank you everyone," Hu Jingyi and the others said sincerely.
"Don't be so polite," someone said with a smile. "We wish you success, we're going back to sleep now!"
As Hu Jingyi watched his classmates leave, arms around each other's shoulders, chatting and laughing, he suddenly understood the significance of Kunlun establishing this academy.
In the past, the time travelers fought their own battles and suspected each other, with no basis for trust between them.
But now, it seems that everything is slowly getting better.
Just then, the door to the merchandise exchange counter opened, and the students were taken aback: "Doesn't the merchandise exchange counter only open at 7 a.m.?"
The challenge was scheduled to end at 8 a.m. They planned to redeem the fruit at the merchandise exchange point after it opened at 7 a.m., and then immediately go to complete the challenge. Whether they could finish it or not depended entirely on luck, since time was really limited.
But now, the merchandise redemption area is open.
Little Eagle chuckled and said, "Aren't you all in a hurry? It's no problem to make an exception for you this time. Come on, start lining up to redeem!"
...
...
Hu Jingyi hurriedly ran towards the 10-meter cliff, not wanting to waste a single minute.
He used the 200 points he had left to exchange for two Longevity Fruits and ate them.
However, whenever he returned to the 10-meter cliff, no matter how many times he tried, he would fall from a height of 8 or 9 meters.
In fact, he was one of the two students Hu Jingyi mentioned who had their points refunded by the academy professor because they couldn't master the breathing technique.
It was like a curse; I was a late bloomer in school, and I could never understand math and physics, always barely passing.
Even though he exchanged for the Pantheon Thunder Force after arriving at the academy, his points were returned because he couldn't master the Breathing Technique.
Now, no matter how hard he tries or how diligently he works, it seems he can't get over the sheer cliff in front of him.
He was there when Chen Zhuoqu reached the summit last night. In terms of the effort he put in, Hu Jingyi was no less than anyone else. He also dared to jump from a height of 9 meters, but he could never find the best point of support, so he could only fail again and again.
This seems to really be a curse.
He seemed destined to be a supporting character in someone else's life, a loser.
Hu Jingyi silently looked to the side and saw the figure climbing the 48-meter cliff, which filled him with heartfelt envy.
But envy was useless. He smeared some chicken blood on himself and then stubbornly walked towards his own precipice again, failing time and time again, and starting over time.
Of all the challengers, he climbed the most times, fell the hardest, and was covered in wounds and blood.
Hu Jingyi is not afraid of failure; what he fears is that after a certain failure, this clumsy kid will never be able to get back up.
As the deadline approached, a total of 231 people had completed the challenge under immense pressure overnight.
Hu Jingyi, however, still failed.
It was already daylight.
Xiao Qi glanced at the time; it was 7:59. He then looked at Hu Jingyi's retreating figure as he climbed the rock, hoping for a miracle in this final minute.
Unfortunately, there was no miracle. Hu Jingyi looked at the sentence above his head from 9 meters away. That sentence had inspired him countless times in those last few hours.
"Go for it!" Hu Jingyi roared.
He leaped up with all his might.
Then it failed again.
There was no miracle.
With a thud, the boy fell downwards, only to be pulled back by the safety rope and crashed against the cliff face, eventually hanging motionless in mid-air.
Hu Jingyi was suspended from the cliff by a safety rope and slowly lowered down.
He lay on the ground for a long time without getting up, as if he couldn't stand up.
He seemed to be just one meter away, but that one meter became a permanent distance.
It is the distance between losers and winners.
A total of 234 successful challengers gathered in front of the 10-meter cliff and watched silently.
Xiao Qi didn't wait any longer. He announced loudly, "The challenge is over. Congratulations to all the challengers who have successfully advanced. Now, you still have 48 hours to challenge the 48-meter cliff! Please remember, this path doesn't need flowers and applause, because it's your own path!"
Chen Zhuoqu asked, "We have passed the first hurdle. Now, can you tell us what kind of future awaits us if we complete all the challenges?"
Xiao Qi smiled and shook her head: "There are no promises, and we won't promise anything. You initially came for the rewards, and some even expect an even greater reward at the end of this road. But what I want to say is that there is no certainty about life or rewards on this road. To know what lies ahead, you have to see if you can persevere."
As he spoke, he suddenly pointed to the towering cliff behind him and said, "Let's begin the second challenge. Only when you climb up there will someone be waiting for you."
This is Qingchen's attitude towards successful people. He uses rewards to attract everyone to this path, but from now on, he will use the uncertain future to filter out those who cannot endure loneliness and cannot experience this joy and passion.
This is a process of alchemy repeated over and over again; only pure, sincere gold can ultimately become a knight.
Chen Zhuoqu didn't ask any more questions and led the way to the second checkpoint.
At this moment, Xiao Qi turned to look at Hu Jingyi. He felt sorry for and sympathized with the boy. He worked so hard but did not get any reward. This was the most regrettable thing in the world.
However, when he turned around, he saw that Hu Jingyi had already stood up.