"How could someone who can pass the knight's test of conscience not pass this hurdle?" Qing Chen said with a smile. "A knight's life is not about conquering the world time and time again, but about conquering oneself time and time again. Where is a knight's limit? It lies in the heart of every knight."
The next second, just like Qing Chen had done before, and like all the knights of the past, Hu Jingyi leaped forward and grabbed the edge of the cliff.
The person who had never won in his life finally won.
As the sun rises over Whale Island, a new era begins.
Chapter 704, The Knight and the Messenger!
On the sheer cliffs of the green mountains, 99 successful challengers sat wearily on the precipice, quietly watching the sunrise over the sea.
Only Chen Zhuoqu and Hu Jingyi were exceptionally energetic at this moment. Once their genetic locks were unlocked, their lives would be completely different.
Hu Jingyi honestly explained to everyone: "The boss said that before climbing the mountain, he used breathing techniques to guide everyone into a state of mind, which is a process of questioning one's heart. Everyone will see the most painful things in their hearts. You can't avoid them; you can only overcome that hurdle by facing them directly."
"What did you see in your hearts?" Chen Zhuoqu asked.
Zhang Hubao said sadly, "I saw my grandmother come back to life. She told me that as long as I don't leave, I can continue to live with her. I miss her so much."
The other challengers looked at the two with envy: "So, as long as you pass that test of your heart and climb this mountain, you can advance? Are you superhumans now?"
“Hmm,” Chen Zhuoqu nodded.
Actually, it wasn't surprising that this female paper-reading queen could pass the Heart-Questioning Reality test, after all, this girl had already amazed them countless times.
Hu Jingyi, however, surprised everyone, yet it was also entirely reasonable.
Chen Zhuoqu and Hu Jingyi are two extremes, one born to win and the other always losing, yet they have lived together through thick and thin.
"What about us?" Zhang Hubao scratched his head. "What should we do, those of us who haven't thought about our own hearts? Is there no way for us to cultivate ourselves?"
“You too can become extraordinary beings, but you need to be able to endure loneliness and bear solitude for a longer time,” Qing Chen said, leading Jinguji Maki out slowly from the woods behind the green cliffs. “Congratulations, everyone, on becoming knights.”
Everyone stood up and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Before today, everyone had wondered what lay at the end of this road, but Qingchen had never told them the answer.
And now, this answer is worthy of everyone's hard work over this period of time.
knight.
"I didn't tell you what this path meant before because I wanted to see how far you could go with your willpower," Qing Chen said with a smile. "I hope you won't be disappointed after you know the answer."
“Not disappointed, not at all,” Zhang Hubao’s eyes shone. “For the sake of this legacy, a little more hardship and fatigue is nothing.”
Chen Zhuoqu said, "Boss..."
Qing Chen shook his head: "From today onwards, you can't call me boss anymore. According to the Knights' tradition, I am your master, and Li Shutong is your grandmaster. Next time you see your grandmaster, remember to ask him for the forbidden item together..."
He smiled and continued, "In the Knights' lineage, in your generation, Li Ke of the Li Group is the eldest brother, Hu Xiaoniu of Baizhou is the second eldest brother, Maki of Jinguji is the third eldest sister, Zhang Mengqian is the fourth eldest brother, Chen Zhuoqu is the fifth eldest sister, Hu Jingyi is the sixth eldest brother, and so on. You can arrange yourselves according to the order in which you reached the top."
This is a bit awkward.
Everyone looked at Jinguji Maki. This 9-year-old girl was actually their third senior sister...
Actually, Qingchen was also a little surprised. Xiaozhenji had actually climbed the cliff of Qingshan yesterday!
When Li Tongyun said she would take charge of training Maki, Qingchen didn't take it seriously. But now, seeing the scars on Maki's body, he realized how brutal Li Tongyun's training was. This protector hadn't relaxed at all.
Despite undergoing grueling training for so long, Maki cried the whole time and kept practicing.
The forbidden ACE-119 tissue box came in handy, with Maki and Tongyun constantly pulling it out to wipe their tears.
Believe it or not, she actually drew a prophecy: You will see someone get beaten up in 7 hours.
Sure enough, seven hours later, Xiao Tongyun got a spanking from Jiang Xue.
Maki becomes more courageous with each setback, while Tongyun becomes more courageous with each beating; even Jiang Xue cannot stop their adventurous behavior.
However, the most awkward thing is that everyone has to call a nine-year-old girl "Third Senior Sister".
What's even more awkward is that back in Qin Sheng's era, the knights' rankings went up to the twelfth junior brother. Now it's different. Everyone ranks themselves up, with the ninety-sixth junior sister, the ninety-eighth senior brother, and the one hundred and second junior brother all the time. It sounds as bizarre and fierce as it can be.
Qing Chen thought that when all one hundred-plus knights had grown up and went to the southwestern snow mountains, they would give the Fire Pit Elder a fright...
Li Ke, Chen Zhuoqu, Hu Jingyi, Jinguji Maki, and Zhang Mengqian have all passed the Heart-Questioning stage and have the potential to become demigods, while the remaining 97 have the potential to be A-level.
Therefore, the best outcome would be that, with Qing Chen and Li Shutong, the seven demigods of the Knights and 97 A-level individuals would sweep across the world, along with hundreds of B-level, thousands of C-level, and tens of thousands of D-level superhumans from the Parents' Association, Daylight, Freemasonry, and Shadow Force.
At that time, not only will Kamishiro and Kashima be destroyed, but even the western coast of Keishin will be flattened.
Even if you want to keep a low profile, it's impossible.
The capability doesn't allow it.
At this moment, Chen Zhuoqu asked, "Master, those losers... are they dead?"
Qing Chen did not answer directly: "Everyone, remember, every challenge on this road is a matter of life and death, and there is no room for leniency."
A sense of desolation washed over everyone. They had trained, eaten, laughed, and joked together in front of the precipice. Now, 112 challengers had died overnight, demonstrating just how cruel this path was.
Someone began to cry quietly.
Even the ruthless Chen Zhuoqu turned her face away and secretly wiped away her tears.
Qing Chen did not try to stop him. In his view, crying for the death of a comrade was not a sign of weakness.
“Alright, you’re about to leave Whale Island, and your peaceful academy life will be a thing of the past,” Qingchen said.
Chen Zhuoqu asked, "Where are we going?"
"Your second senior brother Hu Xiaoniu's Hu Group has arrived at Whale Island. They will pick you up for training," Qing Chen said. "They have prepared the most professional coaching team, the most professional training facilities, the most professional nutritionists, the most professional sports rehabilitation therapists, the most professional medical team, as well as four private jets and a world-class yacht, all on standby for you 24 hours a day. Next, you will embark on a brutal and mysterious journey until graduation."
Qing Chen continued, "You will not only be trained in the Knights' Life and Death Challenge, but also in elective courses such as foreign languages, etiquette, assassination, infiltration, poison preparation, jujitsu, intelligence analysis, and teamwork. All of these will be trained by the world's top talents. Your second senior brother will also take you around the world to broaden your horizons and teach you to be familiar with all kinds of firearms. It will be a long time, but fortunately, you won't be too lonely if you are together."
Everyone was stunned; they hadn't expected the Knights to be so extravagant in the real world!
Moreover, this is clearly a training exercise to treat them like 007!
As the knights listened to Qing Chen's description, they felt as if a brand new life was unfolding before them: yachts, private jets, combat skills—it all sounded so novel.
Only Chen Zhuoqu asked, "Master, how long is the training cycle?"
Qing Chen replied, "One year."
Chen Zhuoqu thought to herself, "With so many subjects to train in such a short time, it seems that everyone is about to face some grueling training. How exciting!"
The King of Rolls must be happy.
As for whether others are happy or not, she has no idea.
At this moment, Qingchen saw Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen walking towards him with smiles below the cliff, waving vigorously.
Qingchen said to the knights, "Go, start your new lives. Climb a mountain, see a snowfall, chase a dream."
...
...
In the agricultural college, 112 losers stood dejectedly by the vegetable garden.
When Chen Zhuoqu asked Qing Chen whether the losers were really dead, Qing Chen did not answer directly, because none of the losers had died.
They watched as Xiao Qi and the others busily went about their business, and saw vast fields of Purple Orchid Stars and Longevity Fruits. Today was another day of great harvest, with baskets upon baskets of fruits and Purple Orchid Stars being picked.
Not far away, Zard and Xiaoyu, seemingly born strongmen, were each holding a large iron pot in their hands, constantly stirring up the Jingshan tea.
Those four huge iron pots, taller than a person and big enough for an adult to sleep in, were as light as a feather in Xiaoyu and Zard's hands.
The scene inside the war fortress was nothing short of magical.
Zard poured the tea leaves out of the two large black pots, then wiped his sweat and laughed, "Why do you all look so sad? What's wrong? Tell us so we can cheer you up."
Ye Han sighed, "We failed the challenge of the sheer cliffs and became losers."
Zard chuckled and said, "What's there to be sad about? There will be plenty of failures to come."
Suddenly, one of the girls started crying.
Zard looked at Xiaoyu: "Did I say something wrong? What I meant was, there are many setbacks in life, but if you fall down, you just get back up..."
Xiaoyu thought for a moment and said, "Brother Zard, that's not what you meant."
It has to be said that seeking help from Zard when feeling down is no different from lighting a cigarette to calm your nerves when there's a gas leak.
The small gate of the war fortress opened, and Qing Chen slowly walked in.
Ye Han leaned closer and asked, "Boss, can we try again? I fell by accident. Give me another chance, I'm sure I can climb back up."
Qing Chen stood before them and shook his head: "It's no use. Once you fail the challenge without losing your lives, you will no longer have true awe for the Green Mountain Cliff. Even if you succeed in the challenge then, it will be of no use. Although it is regrettable, I will give you another path: Knight Messenger, Pantheon Thunder Master."
These people fell from the cliff and were eventually caught in a large net manifested by Maki Jinguji.
Qingchen had Xiaozhenji create the fog so that the successful ones wouldn't be able to see where the losers would ultimately fall.
The simulated sounds of everyone falling to the ground were also meant to make those still in the challenge believe that the losers were really dead.
Even if the successful person knows that the unsuccessful person didn't die, it doesn't matter. He just hopes that the successful person can carry more burdens and move forward.
Let them know that everything they have is hard-earned.
“Not only are you forbidden from challenging them, but you must also live in anonymity as if you were already dead,” Qing Chen said. “You can no longer contact your former comrades, and you can’t even let them know that you are still alive. They will carry your mission forward, while you will stay in the war fortress to cultivate.”
These people are mentally strong and can be put to great use with a little training. With their cultivation of the Myriad Gods Thunder Division on Zilan Star, they would at least be a B-level and capable of handling things on their own.
Ye Han suddenly asked, "Boss, when will we be able to see them again?"
Qing Chen replied, "When they become true knights, or when you can become their protectors."
As he spoke, he looked at the vegetable garden: "Xiao Qi, you come and help them get familiar with all the farming processes as soon as possible. You are all the same, farming during the day and cultivating here at night!"
All of Qing Chen's forces must enter a period of rapid development; everyone must race against time.
...
...
Countdown 134:00:00.
Xiao San, Xiao Qi, and the others took out their phones and searched for installment loan apps on their phones, trying to find Time Walker one by one.
He stood outside a dormitory door and said in a serious tone, "Time Traveler, you previously took out a loan for four Longevity Fruits and four portions of Realm Mountain Tea, totaling 800 points. Remember, the first installment is due next week, so don't be late! If you are late, you'll be punished by doing hard labor! Also, until you've paid off the installments, your high-end spending within the academy will be restricted. You can't go to private cinemas, eat stir-fries, or drink beer..."
Restricting high-end consumption...