The Path To The Summit
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Allenwa
Although Xiao Feng Chen had brought him to the bottom of the Godchild Peak, it was evident that he didn’t believe that Ling Chen could climb to the summit. After all, over the past tens of thousands of years, no human had been able to achieve this feat. And this was including the humans who stood at the pinnacle… Mysterious God grade experts.
Ling Chen looked around and understood the situation. There were no monsters on the mountain or at the bottom of the mountain. This meant that he wouldn’t face any obstructions- if he wanted to climb the mountain, the only thing he would be challenging was the mountain itself.
“How many times have you climbed the Godchild Peak? What was the highest point you reached?” Ling Chen asked.
Xiao Feng Chen smirked, saying, “A thousand years ago, I probably climbed it about 14 or 15 times. The highest point I reached was about 9,900 metres high- that time, I used many precious defensive treasures to reach that limit. I was only a step away from 10,000 metres, but that step was simply unbridgeable. You need to understand that over these countless years, the number of people who have reached the 10,000 metre point can be counted on a single hand. All of them possessed at least Mysterious God grade power, but not a single one of them has ever reached the summit!”
Xiao Feng Chen put great emphasis on the last sentence.
No one had ever accomplished that feat… not even Mysterious God grade experts… Ling Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit discouraged as he asked, “So what was the highest point climbed by a human?”
Xiao Feng Chen thought for a moment before replying, “Currently, the record held by a human has lasted for 3,700 years. 3,700 years ago, a Mysterious God grade Shield Bearer called ‘Unmoving Heavenly Tower’, who was acknowledged by the whole world to be the strongest Shield Bearer, reached the 11,000 metre mark. He achieved this through his incredibly strong body, as well as heaven-defying willpower, and apart from him, no one has been able to reach such legendary heights. He knew he couldn’t advance any further, so he struggled to leave using a teleportation item… when he left the Godchild Peak, he only had a single breath left in him. It took him nearly 10 years to fully recover.
“At that moment, he said a phrase… From the 10,000 metre to 11,000 metre point, every step is walking in desperate straits. From 11,000 metres onwards… every step is as difficult as climbing to the sky!”
Ling Chen stayed silent.
Xiao Feng Chen looked at him and said, “Now, are you still determined to go to the summit? Even though there are no monsters on the Godchild Peak, but there are countless corpses and bones buried up there.”
“Apart from humans, are there any other creatures that are capable of going up there?”
Xiao Feng Chen didn’t even think as nodded, “Of course there are! Any Saint Destroyer grade being can go anywhere they like. Even reaching the summit would be a piece of cake for them. Also, powerful Ice-type creatures can also easily make it to the summit. From the 5,500 metre point onwards, the temperature drops with every step you take. The temperature at the 7,000 metre point is the lowest a human’s body can endure, and the 8,000 metre point is enough to freeze a person into a corpse. At the 9,000 metre point, there are countless corpses lying around, and at the 10,000 metre point, it becomes an icy prison. The only people who can reach such a point are those who stood at the apex at the time. However, that height was still the limit even for such humans, and every single step they took caused them to hover between life and death. However, Ice-type creatures are far more resistant.”
Every additional sentence Xiao Feng Chen spoke caused Ling Chen’s head to ache a bit more. Everything that Xiao Feng Chen said indicated one thing… humans wanting to reach the summit? That was completely impossible! Over the countless years, the highest a human had climbed was 11,000 metres, and the final 1000 metres would be hundreds, if not thousands, of times more difficult to climb than the first 11,000 metres.
All of those Mysterious God grade humans possessed incredibly strong lifeforce and willpower, as well as monstrous strength. And yet, not a single one of them had succeeded, let alone a measly player who could not even compare to them.
Compared to the other orbs, the location of this orb was a bit too cruel… in fact, Ling Chen couldn’t even be sure whether Su’Er’s information truly referred to the Godchild Peak or not.
However, the 15 Lunar Scourge Orbs were things he had to obtain, no matter what. No matter how terrifying the Godchild Peak was, or the possibility of his efforts being completely wasted, as long as there was a possibility of an orb being up there, he had to go up!
No one had ever reached the summit? It was impossible for humans to reach the summit?
Ling Chen had never believed in the word ‘impossible’ before! To him, nothing was truly impossible!
He looked up towards the unfathomably tall mountain as he said in a low voice, “I must climb up the Godchild Peak, and I don’t want to wait; I’ll do it now. Just because other people can’t climb to the summit doesn’t mean I can’t! Just like you said before- no one has ever escaped from the Lunar Sky Hell before, including those Heaven’s End grade and Mysterious God grade Ancient Beasts, and yet we escaped from there!”
Seeing how determined Ling Chen was, Xiao Feng Chen didn’t try to convince him anymore, as he knew his efforts would be futile. He sighed and took 2 steps forward as he said, “I know I can’t stop you, mmm, and I don’t want to stop you either. Challenging the Godchild Peak is something that a man should do. However, take this word of warning from me: when you reach a high altitude and feel that you don’t have the power to continue, just stop. Don’t grit your teeth and continue to struggle up… over the years, many people reached their limits like this, but didn’t have the strength to go back, and were buried in the snow forever. Even though you players don’t fear death, you still have to pay a price if you die.”
Ling Chen nodded, his eyes looking extremely calm.
“Oh, I’ll give you this.” Xiao Feng Chen gave him a hard look as a few green things appeared in his hand, which he casually threw to Ling Chen.
[Azure Dragon Scales]: The scales from the Sovereign of Water, the Azure Dragon. After using, releases a layer of icy aura to cover a single target. Allows the target to become immune to the loss of HP from a cold environment for 3 days. Single use only.
Xiao Feng Chen had given him Azure Dragon Scales! Are there were a whole 10 of them!
Xiao Feng Chen calmly spoke, “The extremely coldness from the Godchild Peak causes one’s energy to drain from their body. People who like me who have strong vitality can withstand it, but you players’ lifeforce is simply too weak and won’t be able to endure it. These scales aren’t very useful to me, so I might as well give them to you. The effects of these 10 scales will last for 30 days. This means that when you reach an altitude where you can’t bear the coldness and are forced to use the Azure Dragon Scales, you’ll only have 30 days to reach the summit. Otherwise, you’ll have lost your chance. These are Azure Dragon Scales, The Azure Dragon!!”
Of course, Ling Chen knew just how precious these Azure Dragon Scales were. He didn’t refuse and quickly put them away as he replied, “Thank you.”
“Ai, just remember that the most terrifying thing when it becomes cold to a certain degree isn’t the loss of energy from your body. Instead, it’s your body being frozen and the possibility of your mind being destroyed. Boy, your mental energy is incredibly strong, so I’m sure that you have extremely strong willpower as well. How much you can endure will depend on you. If you can reach at least 9000 metres, I’ll consider that those 10 Azure Dragon Scales weren’t a waste.
“If you’re ready, you can go up now.” Xiao Feng Chen tugged at his beard. He secretly felt a bit hopeful… Perhaps this boy could create some sort of miracle. With his extremely strong mental energy, perhaps his willpower was just as strong. Who knew what heights he could reach with such willpower.
“Big brother Xiao, you’re not coming as well?” Ling Chen asked as he looked up.
“Cheh, not interested. I’m going now.”
After leaving those 6 words, Xiao Feng Chen turned and rushed off like a wild gale in the next second. He had left so decisively and hadn’t even given Ling Chen an opportunity to say anything else.
“So free and unconstrained, as well as so heartless.” Ling Chen, who still had some questions, could only grumble to himself. He turned around and lifted his right foot as he took his first step onto the Godchild Peak. His eyes were still and calm as water, and didn’t look worried or hesitant at all.
Even Mysterious God grade experts were unable to reach the summit; what qualifications did he, a LV41 player, possess to challenge the Godchild Peak? However, he was determined to try, and had even sworn that he would not leave before succeeding… Of course, this wasn’t because he had gone crazy, or had done so out of hotbloodedness. It was because he possessed an incredibly powerful cheat item…
Spatial Orbs!!
When he reached his limit, he could immediately return to safety. To other people, once they left, they would have to start again from the bottom. However, with the Spatial Orbs, he could recover to his optimal condition and return to the point he had been previously! By repeating this cycle and advancing step by step, he would only climb higher and higher and would never have to go backwards. As long as he had enough Spatial Orbs, he had hope that he could reach the summit.
With such circumstances, what reason did he have not to give it his all?
The foot of the Godchild Peak wasn’t very steep, and there were many trees, grass, birds and insects. However, just like the area around the Godchild Peak, there were not any aggressive beasts. Countless experts had attempted to climb the Godchild Peak over the ages, and there were countless trails formed by their footsteps. Ling Chen held his map and confirmed his position every 10 minutes or so. With Xiao Hui leading the way and scouting out the best paths, they proceeded not too quickly nor too slowly towards higher ground.
Ling Chen spent the entire day climbing the Godchild Peak, and by the time it was dark, he reached the 2000 metre mark. The entire process had gone incredibly smoothly, and let alone monsters, there weren’t even any natural obstacles in his way.
Reaching 2000 metres in 1 day wasn’t too fast, but it wasn’t too slow either. After all, it was 1/6 of the entire Godchild Peak. However, Ling Chen knew that this couldn’t even be called the beginning. After all, even normal people could reach this point with some effort.
The 6000 metre mark was the real starting point! From there onwards, each step would become more and more difficult to take.