Naming Technique of the Night

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"With these circumstances, knights undergoing the trial of life and death must be extremely dangerous. If someone deliberately obstructs them, the already slim chance of survival in the life-death threshold turns into certain death," Qing Chen asked.

"That's why knights must keep the trial of life and death a secret," Uncle Li Dong said.

"Is there really no way to forcibly reopen the genetic lock?" Qing Chen wondered: "Surely one is not simply at the mercy of others."

"There is, but I hope you'll never have to use it," Uncle Li Dong said: "After performing the Reverse Breathing Technique, if you forcefully employ the regular Breathing Technique, you can reopen the shackles, but the cost is that you'll have to remain at your current realm for the rest of your life."

Qing Chen fell silent for a moment: "Surely some predecessor paid the price for this."

"Of course," Uncle Li Dong said with a sigh: "Your master, Chen Jiazhang's realm was stalled because of this. He was ambushed while he was manifesting his power, and at that time, he had no other choice but to remain at A-Class forever."

It turned out that the dangers knights faced during the life-death threshold came not only from nature but also from the sinister human heart.

At that moment, Qing Chen felt the strength of becoming an ordinary person again, which was much greater than when he had climbed the sheer cliffs: "Teacher, I found a friend in the Outer World who can control force fields to create a Gravity Chamber for my cultivation. I feel like after matching the Gravity Chamber with the Breathing Technique, my progress has accelerated several times over."

"Control force fields?" Uncle Li Dong thought for a moment: "It's been a long time since the Inner World has seen an Awakener who can control force fields, are you sure it's force fields and not air?"

"Sure," Qing Chen nodded: "What does that mean?"

"Awakeners who can control the four fundamental forces are born to shine," Uncle Li Dong said: "They have a high ceiling, and their combat abilities are very strong. Throughout the history of the new era of civilization, almost every one of these Awakeners has had a pivotal role."

Qing Chen was taken aback; he hadn't expected Yan Yan's abilities to be so formidable.

At this time, Uncle Li Dong asked: "Is this friend of yours a boy or a girl? Since she can help you create a Gravity Chamber for cultivation, the relationship must be quite good."

"A girl," Qing Chen answered truthfully.

Uncle Li Dong fell into deep thought.

"What's wrong, master?" Qing Chen asked.

"Do you know where she is in the Inner World, does she have any family?" Uncle Li Dong looked at Qing Chen: "Do you need your master to ask for her hand on your behalf?"

Qing Chen: "... Master, there's nothing romantic between that girl and me, and I'm very certain now that if she appeared suddenly, it was because she had her own goals, so don't overthink it."

"Alright," Uncle Li Dong said.

"Master, where are we going next, back to Prison No. 18?" Qing Chen asked.

"We definitely need to go back, but before going back there's something we need to do in City No. 18," Uncle Li Dong explained with a smile: "How long is your countdown this time?"

"7 days."

"It'll take us four days to get back to City No. 18, with the remaining three days... that should be enough!" Uncle Li Dong asserted confidently.

Qing Chen was puzzled; what did his master have in mind for him?

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Countdown 72:00:00.

In the Sixth District of City No. 18, during the night.

A silver-haired girl with white headphones listened to the gentle flow of music like a bubbling brook as she walked into the glass elevator in Luo Shen Building.

She lifted her slender wrist to press the button for the 132nd floor, then turned around to prepare to enjoy the night view of the city through the transparent glass as the elevator ascended.

The girl carried a slanted shoulder bag that contained her reader and personal belongings.

The bag was a bit worn; her friends always advised her to get a new one, but she always said she was fond of the little bear pattern on the bag, so she didn't want to replace it.

In fact, after graduating from junior high, the girl hadn't received a single cent from her family. She had to work part-time jobs to earn the hefty tuition fees for the tutoring classes, only then would she have a chance to get into a better university.

Moreover, attending university was just a new beginning. Unless she got into Tinder Military Academy or Northwestern Military Academy, she would have to bear even higher college tuition fees.

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Every university has scholarships, but the problem is she didn't have an impressive enough resume to support her getting a scholarship.

Thinking about it, the girl also felt a bit perplexed, not knowing where the road of her life was leading.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand stopped them.

From the reflection in the glass, the girl saw a middle-aged man and a youth walk into the elevator. Both were dressed in pristine white sportswear and were wearing brand new black caps.

The caps were pulled down low, so the silver-haired girl couldn't see the faces of the two men clearly.

After entering, the two didn't press any buttons on the elevator. Instead, they quietly stood behind the girl, also looking out of the elevator's glass window.

She remembered rumors that a resident on the 89th floor had been robbed, and she began to grip the strap of her shoulder bag tightly; her clean fingernails left marks on the leather strap.

However, as she sized up the two men in the reflection, she felt that they didn't seem like the lawless types that made up those gangs.

At the very least, she had never seen gang members dressed so cleanly.

Right, the girl's first impression of the two men was actually that they were clean.

The elevator rapidly ascended, and the girl's eardrums felt uncomfortable, a consequence of the high speed and altitude, much like the sensation of an airplane taking off.

By now, the elevator had reached the 91st floor; outside the window, a complex web of overpasses crisscrossed the sky, covering the entire city, linking the high-rise buildings to plazas in the clouds.

When the streetlights came on, the overpasses looked like a nebula winding through the city.

The youth behind her looked out the window and said, "With such complex urban traffic, couldn't you get lost?"

"I don't know," the middle-aged man replied, "the teacher used to have a driver whenever he went out."

The girl pursed her lips. Nowadays, it was the era of autonomous driving; who would needlessly have a driver?

And although the overpasses were complex, when driving, you only needed to tell the AI the destination anyhow.

With a 'ding', the elevator reached the 132nd floor.

The silver-haired girl was too nervous to move, but the middle-aged man and the youth stepped out of the elevator ahead of her and headed straight down the corridor.

Only after they left the elevator did she slowly turn around and saw that they were entering a door across from hers by keying in a password; with a click, the lock opened.

Only then did the silver-haired girl dare to breathe a sigh of relief. They turned out to be neighbors, and they lived right across from her!

She had been somewhat terrified when the two men entered the elevator without pressing any buttons.

Now, the silver-haired girl was a bit curious; the apartment across from hers had been unoccupied for a long time. It had been recently renovated but still hadn't welcomed a new owner. Why would someone be visiting so late at night all of a sudden?

Strange.

On the other side, after entering the apartment, Qing Chen took off his cap, "That girl seemed really scared just now. Seems like the security in City 18 is too poor. In the Outer World, that's not an issue, girls can walk the streets late at night without much worry... at least in the big cities, it's like that."

Uncle Li Dong said, "It's a historic problem. The Federation once cut one-third of the police force because of an incident, which led to a frequent increase in crime rates." Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

"Cut the police force?" Qing Chen found it hard to imagine.

"Not just slashing police numbers, you would find it hard to believe, but except for the Upper Three Districts, the traffic cameras in other districts are mostly outdated and out of repair," Li Dong stated calmly, "Don't worry, living here will allow you to experience first-hand what a pathological country this is."

"Master, is what you want to do... to change it?" Qing Chen asked.

Li Dong smiled, "Don't ask so much now, first take a look at your new apartment."

Qing Chen looked around; the 80 or so square meters one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom, one-kitchen apartment felt spacious due to there being only one bedroom.

At the end of the living room was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, beyond which lay the panorama of the Sixth District of the city.

The living room was furnished with a sofa and home appliances, everything looked brand new.