Every Step Akin To Climbing To The Sky (1)
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Allenwa
Ling Chen continued to climb, and the journey to the 5000 metre mark was quite smooth. Although the Godchild Peak was quite high, it was not very steep- at least, that was the case so far.
When he reached this point, the air was filled with iciness. As he walked, Ling Chen felt as if there was a stone slab weighing down on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. At the 5500 metre mark, there were essentially no trees or grass, and the snow beneath his feet extended as far as the eye could see.
From this point onwards, the temperature fell below 0 degrees Celsius.
As he climbed even higher, the frigid wind would become bone-piercingly cold.
At this moment, he had nearly reached the middle of the mountain. This meant that in terms of height, he had covered half of the Godchild Peak in just 2 days. The true test would start from here.
The snow became thicker and thicker beneath his feet, and his footsteps brought with them ‘puff puff’ sounds as he trod through the snow. Although it was quite cold, the temperature was still within an acceptable range. There was not yet any drain on his HP from the coldness, but what he did notice was that his breathing became heavier and heavier.
-50，-50，-50……
The higher he climbed, the thinner the air became, and the more effort he had to put into breathing. In a virtual game world, players wouldn’t die of asphyxiation, but this didn’t mean the lack of oxygen didn’t affect players at all. Ling Chen’s chest felt significantly heavier, and he occasionally felt a bit dizzy, which caused him to frown. He began to walk faster and did not make any stops.
By the time he reached the 7000 metre mark, the air had become bone-chillingly cold. He was now wearing the fur coat that he had prepared in advance, which covered him from head to toe. Although it was freezing, Ling Chen’s movement was unimpeded. Moreover, the Godchild Peak did not become any steeper either.
“Huff… Huff…”
If an ordinary person reached this altitude, even if they could resist the coldness, the low air pressure and thin air would sap their body’s strength and their mind’s attentiveness, making it hard for them to stay awake. It was likely that they would faint at this point. However, who was Ling Chen? His chest felt considerably weighed down, and his breathing became more ragged. However, his eyes remained just as clear and sharp, and didn’t become unfocused at all. With Xiao Hui leading the way and picking the best routes, his journey had been incredibly steady.
8000 metres…
-50, -50, -50…
The loss of HP appeared simultaneously for both Ling Chen and Xiao Hui. The icy wind was like sharp blades that cut into Ling Chen’s face and the rest of his body.
Beneath his feet was still thick layers of snow, and beneath the snow was even thicker layers of ice. Up until this point, even with Ling Chen’s balance, he had almost slipped over twice.
Xiao Hui’s 4 legs were buried in the deep snow, but he was still able to lightly run ahead of Ling Chen, leaving deep trails behind him.
“Up to now, you’ve covered two thirds of the Godchild Peak,” Qi Yue slowly said, “Many humans were able to reach this point, and it was far more difficult for them to reach this point than for little master.”
Ling Chen nodded, saying, “Indeed… when the toll on my body becomes too great and I feel that I can’t stand it anymore, I can log off or use a Spatial Orb to leave. When I come back, I’ll be exactly where I had left. However, the Forgotten Continent’s residents only have a single chance. They can either advance or retreat. Once they retreat, they’ll have failed, and even if they stop, they won’t be able to rest. This coldness and low pressure is able to quickly steal away anyone’s strength.”
The super Shield Bearer that Xiao Feng Chen had told him about… was simply a monster!!
By the time Ling Chen reached the 8500 metre point, the HP loss had increased to 200 per second, which was 4 times as much as at the 8000 metre mark! Ling Chen couldn’t help but continuously use the most advanced and expensive recovery potions, Azure Potions, to recover his and Xiao Hui’s HP, suppressing the drain to his HP.
It became more and more difficult to walk, and the suffocating feeling in his chest became greater and greater. Ling Chen looked at the time and took out a teleport scroll, which he shattered. He disappeared in a flash of white light, and appeared in the town nearest to the Fairyland Mountain Range.
He entered the Potion Shop and bought large quantities of the Advanced HP Potions, then went to a teahouse to have a few cups of hot tea. After having a short nap, 2 hours later, the fully recovered Ling Chen stretched and took out a Spatial Orb. He chuckled as he said, “My unsuccessful predecessors, watch on in admiration and envy! Big bro’s got cheat items!”
He put on his fur coat and crushed the Spatial Orb. In the next second, he was surrounded by freezing air.
Around half of the Forgotten Continent’s challengers were already half-dead at this point from their struggles in the first 8000 metres. Even the super experts would have used much of their strength to reach this point. However, after Ling Chen had rested and come back, it was as if this was his starting point. He chuckled in glee as he called out Xiao Hui and activated Broken Shadow. He rushed forwards like a crazy gust of wind, causing snow to swirl and cover the sky. When the HP loss reached 300 HP per second, Ling Chen was forced to use the Azure Dragon Scales that Xiao Feng Chen had given him. Apart from the extremely precious Dew of Dawn that he had, none of the other Potions he had could keep up with this HP loss.
“Ding… you have used an Azure Dragon Scale. Within the next 3 days, you will be immune to the HP loss brought by the coldness.”
Ling Chen could only recall Xiao Hui, as the Azure Dragon Scales only protected him. UP until this moment, he had climbed 8700 metres, and he would have to walk the remainder alone… if he could make it, that is.
9000 metres…
Reaching this point, 99% of the challengers would despair.
Here, no matter how thick one’s clothes were, they would be unable to keep out the coldness. The howling cold wind not only stabbed into one’s skin, but also mercilessly dug into the inner regions of their body… the coldness wasn’t one that only came from outside- the pain from one’s organs being twisted due to the cruel coldness would also savagely attack their mind.
Their sanity would also become jumbled up due to the incredibly thin air, and their vision would begin to blur.
Reaching this point was already an impressive feat. If anyone still had any strength or even a bit of consciousness, they would use all of it to try to leave. This was the wisest and most rational choice. Otherwise, after their body and mind were completely sapped, they would be forever buried here, without any chance of leaving.
Evidently, Ling Chen fell within that remaining 1%.
The drain to his HP was stopped by the Azure Dragon Scales, and the bone-chilling cold was something that he could bear. This sort of torment compared to the mental pain he had gone through in the past was like comparing a single strand of hair to all of the hair on a cow’s body. As for his mind, it was like an unshakeable boulder, and had maintained absolute clarity since the very beginning. In this sort of temperature, a normal person’s limbs would start to become numb, and their body would no longer listen to them, making walking incredibly difficult. However, Ling Chen also possessed a superhuman control over his body. His steps were just as even and balanced as he walked step by step towards higher ground.
Of course, most importantly, he had the Spatial Orbs.
10,000 metres…
Ling Chen reached this point on the 4th day since he had started challenging the Godchild Peak.
He had climbed up 5/6 of the Godchild Peak, and there were only 2000 metres left. It seemed that victory was right in front of him.
However, in reality, these last 2000 metres were a truly hellish path.
Every step was akin to walking in desperate straits; every step was akin to climbing to the sky!