Naming Technique of the Night

Qing Huai lay quietly on the ground, staring up at the sky.

He covered his neck with his hand to slow the speed of his blood spraying.

It was as if by doing so, he could delay the time of his death and take his life back into his own hands.

The dark clouds had already dispersed, and the plants no longer paid attention to him.

After hours of fleeing, Qing Huai surprisingly felt a sense of ease at this moment.

He had simply been too tired before.

From a distance, the sound of footsteps approached, the soft sound of stepping on decayed leaves, sounding like a lullaby, Qing Huai felt himself growing sleepy.

Qing Huai turned his head to try to get a clear look at the young man.

But the young man did not come closer; instead, he crouched down far away, quietly waiting for him to die completely.

"Even at a time like this, he remains so cautious?" Qing Huai thought to himself.

His eyeballs turned blood red due to congestion, and he finally got a clear look at the young man's features.

At the moment of his death, Qing Huai remembered many things.

He also figured out many things...

This young man was a newly promoted Knight.

But wasn't it said that the lineage of the Knights was about to be severed, with no one able to pass that threshold?

No one knew what the threshold really was, only that it was very difficult.

It was said that Li Dongze from Heng Society had once almost become the inheritor of the Knight, but he had ultimately failed, which was one of the regrets of his life.

So, whose disciple was this young man? Chen Jiazhang? Wang Xiaojiu? Uncle Li Dong?

No, Qing Huai, recalling his own encounter with the young man, suddenly remembered a problem: the other party was just an ordinary person the day before yesterday, but today he could keep up with him at a very fast speed.

Even though he was injured and hindered by the Taboo Land, the other party had already transcended the realm of ordinary people!

"This young man has achieved a breakthrough within this day; he has just been promoted to a Knight!" Qing Huai thought with a surge of emotion.

Many people still didn't know that Uncle Li Dong had secretly left Prison No. 18 because they hadn't found any trace of Uncle Li Dong, so the consortium suppressed the news.

After all, the consortium wanted Uncle Li Dong to stay in the prison, but the fact that he had been in and out briefly twice within a short period was extremely detrimental to the consortium's credibility if it got out.

But Qing Huai knew about it.

Before this, everyone had been guessing where Uncle Li Dong had gone until this moment when Qing Huai realized that he was very likely in Taboo Land number 002.

And Qing Huai also guessed what he was doing there: leading a new inheritor to climb the cliffs of Qing Mountain!

"When did Uncle Li Dong find a student? Why does that young man look so familiar? How could he evoke the Autumn Leaf Knife just after being promoted?"

A series of questions churned in his mind like they were about to turn his brain into mush.

But he found a consolation for himself: Uncle Li Dong must be nearby, even if the young man couldn't kill him, Uncle Li Dong would.

Thinking this, Qing Huai felt much more balanced.

Wait a minute!

Qing Huai finally remembered where he had seen the other person before, at a birthday party a year ago for Qing Xi, a direct descendant of the consortium, where he sat in a corner.

Qing Xi had gone to say a few words to this young man, but he seemed very shy.

At that time, he had asked others who the young man was and how Qing Xi knew him, but no one knew him or from which family's side branch he came.

It wasn't until recently that he learned that the person he saw back then was named Qing Chen, one of the candidates in the Shadow competition.

When Qing Huai found out, he had already gradually forgotten what Qing Chen looked like, and didn't pay much attention to him.

Now, Qing Chen, who should have been in Prison No. 18, appeared here, coupled with the disappearance of Uncle Li Dong.

Even if Qing Huai was as dumb as a pig, he should understand the truth now: the other party had never angered Uncle Li Dong from the beginning but had become Uncle Li Dong's student!

As for the rumors that he had been confined by Uncle Li Dong, that was probably just for show to others.

Confusion arose in Qing Huai's eyes; it turned out he had been dismissing the right answer from the start!

The least noticeable, seemingly most useless peripheral figure had already hidden in the shadows to become the most terrifying Shadow Candidate.

The Knights and Heng Society, famously protective of their own, would surely go all out in aiding their own members involved in the strife of shadows!

The next moment, Qing Huai's eyes widened as he realized he was part of the opponent's plan, with Uncle Li Dong bringing Qing Chen to Taboo Land 002 specifically to hunt him. Experience new stories on empire

Thus, in the first round of the conflict of shadows, room four was directly eliminated!

Using the last of his strength, Qing Huai smiled, curious about the expressions of the other Shadow Candidates when they discovered such an entity.

It couldn't just be him being screwed over.

As his blood pooled into a larger puddle by his side, at these last moments of life, a young boy squatting nearby suddenly said softly, "Cao Wei fought back like a fierce tiger before he died, yet you never thought of risking a desperate fight to save yourself, so I say you're not his equal."

The boy squatted calmly, his tone just as tranquil, as if stating a very ordinary conclusion.

The smile on Qing Huai's face instantly stiffened, and then he lost all signs of life.

Murder, heart-crushing.

But Qing Chen was right. He originally thought Qing Huai would be the toughest enemy in the end, but in fact, when he killed Cao Wei, it became clear that it's these underdogs struggling up from the bottom who are the most terrifying at the final moments of a death fight.

Because no one had a way out.

And no one ever backed down.

Countdown 00:30:00.

About to return.

Qing Chen looked down at the Taboo ACE-019, Puppeteer, on his wrist.

This pursuit of Qing Huai, where the Puppeteer held the greatest credit, also made Qing Chen realize the power of Taboo items.

He first hunted down five Federal Soldiers, sacrificing their souls.

Qing Chen watched as the bodies of the five turned to ash and dust, swept away by the wind.

The horror of this sacrifice far exceeded his imagination: a lively being turned to mere dust in just five seconds.

No wonder his teacher had said that the Puppeteer is seen as a profoundly evil Taboo by everyone.

After the sacrifice, the Puppeteer's originally red strings turned transparent, now wrapped around Qing Chen's wrist, almost invisible unless carefully looked at against the light.

After killing the soldiers, it took Qing Chen thirty minutes to extract the name Wang Qiang.

Then he personally witnessed the terrifying nature of the Puppeteer.

When the thread tethered itself to Wang Qiang's wrist, that live person seemed like merely an extension of Qing Chen's fingers and arms; without explicit commands from the brain, the "puppet" rigorously acted according to the host's will.

With no deviations, no delays, this feeling was truly peculiar.

This battle finally ended, and Qing Chen shouted into the woods, "Master, you must be nearby, right?"

"Cough cough, right here, right here," Uncle Li Dong emerged and said, "Any questions?"

"What rank am I now?" Qing Chen wondered.

"E-Class," Uncle Li Dong replied.

"Didn't you say, after surviving the first life-and-death challenge, I would be F-Class?" Qing Chen questioned again.

"I don't know what happened either. You exhibited all the characteristics of an E-Class, so naturally, you are E-Class," Uncle Li Dong sighed, "Many norms of the Knights are broken by you."

Qing Chen thought, so that's how it is.

Uncle Li Dong, smiling, asked, "How does it feel, having killed Cao Wei then Qing Huai, now managing it more smoothly, with an E-Class killing two C-Class?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Very easy, easier than I imagined. Just like I told you before, Master, Cao Wei was a tiger, and Qing Huai was but a jackal in fancy fur."

"But you must remember," Uncle Li Dong looked at his own student seriously and said, "This time, you had the advantage of time, location, and people on your side. You utilized the home field advantage of Taboo Land 002 extraordinarily well, along with help from the old guys. When you're outside, be very careful with C-Class.

Of course, you've been cautious enough, never giving them a chance for a last stand, I'm just reminding you."

Qing Chen nodded earnestly, his attitude not inflated at all: "I remember, Master."

At some point, Qing Chen's address for Uncle Li Dong had shifted from teacher to Master.

Uncle Li Dong smiled softly and said, "Ah, those old guys must be thrilled to see you killing above your level. Remember, if you ever come to the wilderness again, just stop by Taboo Land 002 and try to swindle all their treasures…"