Night’s Nomenclature

At this moment.

Zheng Yuandong and Lu Yuan, with nothing better to do, came to watch the cliff challenge.

Even at 1 a.m., the area in front of the 10-meter cliff was still crowded, with people having to queue up in pairs.

Everyone was at the Academy.

Zheng Yuandong curiously asked, "Why are there still so many students? Many people left last night, didn't they?

He knew some would still be striving, but he didn't expect so many.

Lu Yuan said quietly beside him, "Qing Chen, in order to increase the range of candidates for Knights, has gone to any lengths, it's infuriating."

At 2 p.m., several accounts began to tout the benefits of Purple Orchid Star, Jingshan Tea, and Eternal Heaven Fruit.

At 4 p.m., several other accounts began shouting slogans like, "Those who don't challenge are not Chinese!"

Moreover, at the challenge site, some people suddenly became the 66th, 7th, 88th, 166th, 179th, and 188th lucky challengers and were given double the rewards.

The students present were bewildered. Was this some kind of consumer appreciation event? Why were they randomly drawing a lucky audience member?

Are you guys running a promotion or something?

And the lucky numbers like 66th and 88th are understandable, but how come the 7th and 179th can also be lucky challengers?

Let's just say, isn't the method used by your challenge supervisory group to determine the lucky challengers a bit too hasty?!

However, the challenge supervisory group has the final say, and all students hope to become that lucky person.

After the news spread, everyone went even crazier.

Students began returning to the cliff challenge one by one. There was no way; the atmosphere had been hyped up to this point.

However, the decision to return means paying the price in sweat and effort. The only thing that remains unchanged here seems to be the number of Chicken Blood Buds on the ground. As soon as some are used, Little Seven and the others replenish them.

Only 7 hours remain until the challenge ends, and everyone is racing against time.

So far, 189 people have completed the first stage of the challenge.

Looking from a distance in the night, one would find that more than 100 successful challengers, led by Chen Zhuoqu, had already begun the second stage of the challenge.

That 48-meter gray cliff.

The spirit of these top performers is both infuriating and admirable.

Strictly speaking, Chen Zhuoqu and the others are not actually top performers.

The meaning of involution is excessive competition among individuals, leading to a decline in individual returns.

In other words, when the cake is only so big, top performers will make it so that what everyone used to get with 100 units of effort now requires 1000 units of effort.

The size of the cake hasn't changed, but the effort required has increased exponentially.

But the term "top performer" used in this challenge is different because no one knows how big the Agricultural Academy's cake is.

It's not like someone trying harder than you means you'll get less.

In this case, the word "strive" might be more appropriate for them.

Of course, this doesn't stop everyone from calling them top performers.

The discussions by the 10-meter cliff did not affect Chen Zhuoqu and the others. She simply clung to a handhold, glanced back, and continued climbing upwards.

Then she failed and fell down again and again.

The safety ropes on the 48-meter cliff were even more worn out.

They only tighten after a 5-meter fall, and one could easily hit their head and bleed.

Countdown: 68:00:00.

4 a.m.

Outside the Academy's points exchange, students lined up in a long queue, preparing to grab the limited-edition goods in the morning.

Compared to the chaotic disorder of the first day, the queue was now orderly.

At this time, dozens of ragged students slowly emerged from the darkness.

They were covered in wounds, with some bleeding from their arms.

Their clothes were torn and worn, it was unclear where they had been.

When this group arrived, the queue outside the points exchange caused a slight commotion and discussion.

This is Whale Island, not a battlefield. How could everyone be in such a state?

These injured students didn't explain anything. They simply silently lined up behind the queue, waiting to exchange goods.

Someone curiously asked, "Brothers, what's wrong with you?"

The group of injured students explained, "We went to challenge the Academy's cliffs and were injured there."

"Then why did you suddenly run here?" someone wondered.

The injured students explained, "We all felt our strength was still insufficient, just a little bit short, so we discussed it and decided to use the remaining points we have to temporarily grab some Eternal Heaven Fruit."

At this time, a student who had just woken up ran over from the dormitory area.

One of the injured students looked at him and said, "Sorry to wake you, I don't have enough points, can I borrow some points from you to grab some fruit? If I complete the challenge, I'll return them immediately; if not, I'll earn points to repay you."

The student who had just woken up smiled and put his arm around him, "What are you talking about? We've been brothers for so many years. Don't worry, I'll queue up and exchange them for you."

The injured student breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

At 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.

Now, at 4 a.m., those who are willing to run out to borrow points are basically true friends.

Someone curiously asked them, "How long have you been training? It's 4 a.m. now; haven't you rested at all?"

"There's no time left, only 4 hours," a student explained. "Although we're tired, we haven't reached the point of giving up yet."

This sentence stunned those queuing ahead. Some were students who had failed the challenge, and some had already exchanged for the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique.

But these thirty-two injured students stood there, and for some reason, everyone's hearts were suddenly struck.

Someone asked them again, "Is it worth it? You've all made yourselves like this."

A wounded student chewed on a Chicken Blood Bud, then applied some to his arm, and said with his head down, "We're different from you. When we took the entrance exam, we were assigned to the Basic Academy because our talents weren't good enough. Some people have to sell their fruit to supplement their families; some go to earn points, but they only get consolation points each time; and two students were too stupid to master the breathing rhythm of the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique, and the Academy professors returned their points."

Earning points has its glamorous moments and its bitter moments. Some students participate in football matches but are crushed by those with exceptional talent, working hard for 90 minutes only to get a few consolation points.

Not everyone can be like Chen Zhuoqu and become a points-earning master, otherwise, Kunlun and Nine Provinces wouldn't both be paying attention to her.

The student looked up at the people in front and said, "We didn't consider whether it's worth it or not. We just don't know how to stand out. Now that there's hope, we have to fight for it, right?"

The students in the front queue fell silent.

The Academy has a total of over 60,000 students. Initially, there were 45,000 in the Basic Academy and over 17,000 in the Technology and Supernatural Academies.

Later, when the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique became available for exchange, the number of students in the Supernatural Academy increased dramatically, while the remaining students in the Basic Academy were like children left behind, waiting to save enough points to exchange for the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique.

But now, there seems to be a path specifically for ordinary people, and how could those unwilling to give up miss it? They had to fight for it, no matter the cost.

Some of these ordinary students only have over 100 points. The best choice is to exchange them for Eternal Heaven Fruit and then continue to challenge the cliff.

At this time, someone asked the injured student, "Brother, what's your name?"

The injured student smiled, "My name is Hu Jingyi."

As he spoke, the bleeding on his arm had just stopped.

The students in the front row were no longer silent. Someone suddenly shouted loudly, "Today, let's not rush to exchange, and we don't need to worry about one day, but they only have four hours left. I suggest we make way for these brothers and sisters to exchange the Eternal Heaven Fruit they need, okay?"

A male student chuckled, "Okay, why not? We're not in a hurry, let's all make way for these brothers and sisters!"

Hu Jingyi stood there stunned, "This isn't good."

A girl smiled, "What's not good? We're all classmates in the same Academy; we should help each other in the Inner World. We can come and exchange goods anytime, but the time left for you is limited. Don't worry, we're not in a hurry."

Hu Jingyi was stunned. How could these people not be in a hurry? After all, those who come to queue up at 4 a.m. all have the attributes of top performers, right?

The ones who are truly not in a hurry are all asleep in the dormitories.

However, these students all pretended to be completely unconcerned and made way for them.

"Thank you," Hu Jingyi slowly walked through the crowd. For some reason, the loneliness he had felt when facing the cliff suddenly disappeared.

An inexplicable warmth.

"Thank you all," Hu Jingyi and the others expressed their sincere gratitude.

"Don't be so polite," someone smiled, "Wish you success, we're going back to sleep!"

Hu Jingyi watched these students leave, arm in arm, chatting and laughing, and suddenly understood the meaning of Kunlun establishing this Academy.

In the past, Time Travelers were each fighting their own battles and were suspicious of each other, lacking a foundation of trust.

But now, everything seems to be slowly changing for the better.

At this time, the door to the goods exchange also opened. The students were stunned, "Doesn't the goods exchange open at 7 a.m.?"

Their plan was that the challenge would end at 8 a.m. They would exchange the fruit after the goods exchange opened at 7 a.m. and then immediately go to the challenge. Success or failure would depend on fate, as there really wasn't much time left.

But now, the goods exchange had opened.

Little Eagle chuckled, "Aren't you short on time? Making an exception for you once is fine. Come on, start queuing up to exchange!"

Hu Jingyi hurried towards the 10-meter cliff, not wanting to waste a minute.

He used his remaining 100 points to exchange for two Eternal Heaven Fruits and ate them.

However, when he returned to the 10-meter cliff, no matter how many times he challenged, he would fall at 8 or 9 meters.

In fact, Hu Jingyi was one of the two students who couldn't master the Breathing Technique and had their points returned by the Academy professors.

It felt like a curse. He was slow to grasp things in school, unable to understand math and physics, and could only barely pass each time.

Even after exchanging for the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique at the Academy, he couldn't master the Breathing Technique and had his points returned.

Now, no matter how hard he tried, how diligently he worked, he couldn't seem to overcome the cliff in front of him.

This really seemed like a curse.

He seemed destined to be a supporting character in others' fates, a failure.

Hu Jingyi silently looked to the side, at the figures climbing the 48-meter cliff, arousing envy from the bottom of his heart.

But envy was useless. He applied some Chicken Blood Bud to himself and stubbornly walked towards his own cliff, failing and trying again and again.

Of all the challengers, he had climbed the most times, fallen the hardest, covered in bruises and blood.

Hu Jingyi wasn't afraid of failure; he was afraid that after a failure, this clumsy child would never be able to stand up again.

Time was running out. Overnight, a total of 1 person had completed the challenge under tremendous pressure.

And Hu Jingyi still hadn't succeeded.

Daybreak.

Little Seven glanced at the time: 7:59 a.m. He looked again at Hu Jingyi's figure climbing upward, hoping for a miracle in this last minute.

But there was no miracle. Hu Jingyi looked at the words at the top, words that had encouraged him countless times during the last few hours.

"Come on!" Hu Jingyi roared.

He jumped with all his might and then failed again.

With a thud, the young man fell, was pulled up by the safety rope, hit the cliff again, and finally hung motionless in mid-air.

Hu Jingyi was suspended on the cliff by the safety rope and slowly lowered.

He lay on the ground for a long time without getting up, as if unable to stand.

He seemed to be only one meter away, but that one meter was an insurmountable distance.

It was the distance between a failure and a success.

Four successful challengers gathered in front of the 10-meter cliff and watched silently.

Little Seven no longer waited. He announced loudly, "The challenge is over. Congratulations to all successful challengers for successfully advancing. Next, you still have 48 hours to challenge the 48-meter cliff! Remember, this path doesn't need flowers and applause, because this is your own path!"

Chen Zhuoqu asked, "We've passed the first stage. Can you now tell us what kind of future awaits us if we complete all the challenges?"

Little Seven smiled and shook his head, "No promises. We won't promise anything. You initially came for the rewards; some even hoped for even greater rewards at the end of this path. But I must say, there's no certain life on this path, no certain rewards. If you want to know what's ahead, you have to see if you can persevere."

He suddenly pointed to the Qingshan Cliff behind him and said, "Begin the second stage of the challenge. Only when you climb to the top will someone be waiting for you there."

This is Qing Chen's attitude towards the successful. He used rewards to attract everyone to this path, but from now on, he will present them with an uncertain future, filtering out those who cannot bear the loneliness and cannot understand this joy and excitement.

This is a process of repeated refinement; only pure gold can finally become a Knight.

Chen Zhuoqu didn't ask any more questions. She led the way towards the second stage.

At this time, Little Seven looked back at Hu Jingyi. He felt pity and sympathy for this young man. He worked so hard but received nothing in return—this is the most regrettable thing in the world.

However, when he looked back, he saw Hu Jingyi had already stood up.

The young man slowly brushed off the dust from his body, untied the safety rope, and walked towards the 48-meter cliff of the second stage.

Little Seven was stunned and curiously asked, "What are you doing?"

Hu Jingyi turned to Little Seven and smiled with difficulty, "The challenge rule should be that everyone has 48 hours to challenge the first stage. If they don't complete it within 48 hours, they can only skip the first stage and challenge the second stage. So I still have the qualification to challenge the second stage directly, right?"

Little Seven stood there for a long time. The rule was indeed like that, but he didn't expect anyone to actually do this, "Why?"

Hu Jingyi grabbed a handful of Chicken Blood Bud from the bamboo basket and put it in his pocket. He suddenly looked up at Little Seven and said, "Actually, there's no reason. I don't know what I'll get if I complete the challenge, I'm just a little unconvinced."

Hu Jingyi slowly said, "Actually, I've worked hard too. I also want to be like Chen Zhuoqu, someone who has always been top of the class and excelling at everything since school. When I was a child, I was so happy when I heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. Later, I realized that not all rabbits will stop to sleep and wait for the tortoise; fairy tales are just fairy tales. But I'm still unconvinced. I didn't want to be the first, I just wanted to succeed once in my life."

Isn't life just like that? Even if you fail, you have to get up and keep moving forward.

Saying this, Hu Jingyi walked towards the 48-meter cliff, his posture firm and proud.

Little Seven suddenly saw six students who were originally about to leave because they had failed the challenge slowly stop after hearing Hu Jingyi's words.

Little Seven saw them struggling and hesitating.

Finally, Little Seven saw them turn around and follow Hu Jingyi's figure toward the second stage.

Little Seven laughed loudly, "Life is just beginning! Those who don't die, keep moving forward! Come on!"