Unexpectedly, three hours had passed without me even realizing it. I need to pick up the pace and reach Yingzui Ao (Eagle's Beak Ridge) before dawn.

Ma Xiaoyao quickened his steps. Xue Ji, following behind him, noticed a hint of surprise in her eyes. She clearly felt that Ma Xiaoyao's steps had become lighter than before, although Ma Xiaoyao himself didn't seem to realize it.

Ma Xiaoyao's only feeling was that after practicing the Wuqinxi (Five Animal Frolics) for half a day, he no longer felt cold, which made his journey much easier.

Winter nights are both cold and long. At 6:30 in the morning, the sky was still pitch black. By this time, Ma Xiaoyao had finally arrived at Yingzui Ao.

Ma Xiaoyao checked the time and felt satisfied. He was more than an hour ahead of schedule. He had originally thought it would take him until eight o'clock to get here.

The bottom of the cliff was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. Ma Xiaoyao found a flat spot near the edge of the cliff, leaned against a large tree, and sat down heavily.

After a night of hard work, Ma Xiaoyao was tired and sleepy. He needed to rest for a while and wait for the sun to rise and shed its light and warmth on the world.

Unconsciously, Ma Xiaoyao fell asleep. If someone happened to pass by him at this time, they would definitely wake him up, because sleeping in this kind of cold weather is a very dangerous thing. You could easily fall asleep forever.

However, if this person was careful enough and professional enough, they would find that Ma Xiaoyao, in his sleep, not only had steady breathing, but also had very strong qi and blood in his body. Even snowflakes falling near him would automatically melt and then evaporate.

The morning sun shone diagonally on Ma Xiaoyao's face. His long eyelashes fluttered first, and then he opened his eyes.

"Haa..."

Ma Xiaoyao stretched and yawned.

The wind and snow had stopped. The ground was a vast expanse, and the accumulated snow reflected the sunlight, making Ma Xiaoyao feel dazed and dazzled. He quickly raised his hand to shield his eyes.

Xue Ji had been by Ma Xiaoyao's side all along. Seeing him wake up, she immediately said obediently, "Good morning, Master."

Ma Xiaoyao smiled warmly and replied, "Morning, Xue Ji."

Then he picked up his phone and shined it around, found Lao Jiugui (Old Wine Ghost), and said politely, "Good morning, Old Sir!"

Ever since Ma Xiaoyao learned the Wuqinxi, his attitude towards Lao Jiugui had become much better, or perhaps it could be said to be respect. After all, the fact was just as Lao Jiugui had said, the Wuqinxi was indeed a treasure.

Lao Jiugui was listlessly holding his wine gourd. When he saw Ma Xiaoyao wake up, he immediately perked up.

"Aiya, kid, you're finally awake. Hurry up and fulfill your promise! I can feel it, the Yingzui Guo (Eagle Beak Fruit) is down there!" Lao Jiugui pointed to the bottom of the cliff and said.

"Okay, I'll go down now." Ma Xiaoyao responded. He was a man of his word.

But when he walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down, he immediately transformed into a master of retreat.

His heart was shouting: This is too damn high, too damn scary, can't I just quit?

Thinking about something is always much easier than doing it. So when Ma Xiaoyao was thinking about how to climb on the cliff face, then come to the eagle's nest, and finally pick the Yingzui Guo, he thought it was very simple.

But when he saw with his own eyes how high and steep this cliff was, all his thoughts were instantly thrown to the four winds.

A cliff several hundred meters high. If someone were standing at the bottom, they would look like an ant from above.

And below the cliff was a large river. At this time, the river water had frozen, turning into a thick and hard layer of ice. If he fell, his brains would definitely be splattered out.

Too dangerous. Ma Xiaoyao gasped and took several steps back, his little heart pounding in his chest.

Ma Xiaoyao raised his phone, but before he could speak, Lao Jiugui preemptively said, "What's wrong? Scared already?"

"I..." Ma Xiaoyao's first reaction was to retort, but Lao Jiugui was right, and he had no way to refute.

"Hehe." Lao Jiugui showed a look of contempt. "If you're scared, just give up. If you only have this much courage, you're not worthy of commanding the hundred ghosts. Give up early and be an ordinary person."

Ma Xiaoyao's face turned red, and even his breathing began to become rough. This was a feeling of shame that his incompetence had been ruthlessly exposed by others.

And at this time, Ma Xiaoyao had no other choice but to become angry out of humiliation.

For some reason, at this time, Ma Xiaoyao suddenly heard the voices of his classmates mocking him, so real and harsh.

"Master..." Xue Ji hesitated, but Ma Xiaoyao clearly felt her disappointment in him.

"I..." Ma Xiaoyao lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly.

Just be an ordinary person? Live an ordinary life like this, watching other people's faces, and living under their thumb?

"No!" Ma Xiaoyao roared. This was not the life he wanted.

Since this was not the life he wanted, and now heaven had given him another chance to change himself, what reason did he have to give up?

After figuring all of this out, Ma Xiaoyao suddenly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not afraid, you wait, I'll go pick the Yingzui Guo for you right now!"

After saying that, Ma Xiaoyao returned to the edge of the cliff, took a deep breath, and looked down.

Fear still existed, and had not diminished in the slightest, but at this time, the burning desire in Ma Xiaoyao's heart was far higher than the fear in his heart.

What exactly was this desire? The sixteen-year-old Ma Xiaoyao couldn't give a perfect explanation, he only knew that he didn't want to be ordinary and humble for the rest of his life.

Many long vines that Ma Xiaoyao couldn't name grew on the cliff. Although it was already deep winter, the long vines had not completely withered. Some places could still see green, indicating their vigorous and unceasing vitality.

Ma Xiaoyao's idea was to climb down little by little along the long vines. These long vines were tough enough, and they grew out of the cracks in the rocks on the cliff face, so bearing Ma Xiaoyao's one hundred and twenty-odd jin weight was completely no problem.

Ma Xiaoyao chose a long vine, squatted down and pulled it hard, then nodded. This was the one.

"Master!" At this time, Xue Ji's delicate voice came from behind Ma Xiaoyao.

Ma Xiaoyao looked up and saw Xue Ji raising her clenched little fist, and Ma Xiaoyao knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"En, add oil (add fuel/go for it)!"

The two said in unison.