Chapter 45

The illusion of burning, boiling blood, and a heart pounding like thunder.

Qingchen felt as if the world was roaring, and his life was burning along with it.

However, the burning sensation soon began to subside. With each breath, the flames on his and Uncle Li's cheeks remained, but the air he inhaled turned into a refreshing breeze, no longer accompanied by pain!

Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly reminded him, "Guard your consciousness. The pain you once forgot will soon flood your mind. All the pain, remember, all the pain. At that moment, you will start to collapse. If you can't get through this, no one can help you."

Qingchen's mind was suddenly alert, as the pain Lin Xiaoxiao mentioned instantly flooded his mind:

The first time he lived alone, he tried to cook and cut his finger. The moment the knife sliced through his skin, the sensation of each fingerprint being cut was vividly recalled.

During waterboarding, the icy water flowing through his lungs felt like poisonous seedlings, their cold roots piercing his lungs.

In the dark room, the dehydration and the pain from the previous waterboarding collided.

And the sunset on the day his mother left.

And the silhouette dragging a suitcase under the sunset.

All of this surged like a tide, as if it were about to shatter the cliff by the sea.

The dark waves, sharp as knives, emitted hollow howls.

Qingchen seemed to be back in the waterboarding, closing his eyes.

He fell into a void of darkness again.

A gentle voice called from the depths: "Come with Mom."

Qingchen replied, "I've walked such a long way on my own. I'll walk the rest of the way on my own."

It felt like only a moment had passed before he opened his eyes again.

No wonder Uncle Li said that if he couldn't get through this, he couldn't follow his path.

It was all for this moment.

Qingchen's breathing was like a raging fire.

That fire seemed to burn away all the past, and from then on, he understood his choice. He no longer needed to blame himself or look back.

The rest of his life was all about the future.

Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao's expressions also changed. They straightened up and exchanged glances, seemingly surprised that Qingchen was still conscious.

They had also experienced this pain. When the pain came all at once, they knew exactly what it felt like for their hearts to start collapsing.

Only those who had faced each pain could cross the chasm of 'self-reflection,' leaving their past behind and moving forward.

Lin Xiaoxiao murmured, "Perhaps Qingchen has a photographic memory, so he never forgot any of the pain..."

The human brain has a protective mechanism, making you forget certain things to help you live better.

However, the extraordinary talent of hyperthymesia also brought Qingchen endless pain.

He had long been accustomed to the recurring pain.

Qingchen was never a pampered child. Long ago, he had become a believer in pain.

And he had already crossed that chasm.

Uncle Li slowly released his hand and sighed, "This was smoother than I expected."

For some reason, when he realized what was happening, he began to feel a bit sorry for the young man in front of him.

No one knew what the other's life was like, what they carried while enjoying their talent.

The flames on Qingchen's cheeks began to fade, and he asked, "What is the purpose of this breathing technique?"

He asked because he hadn't felt any significant changes in his body.

He only felt a surge of energy and lightness, and the weakness from four days of fasting quickly dissipated.

"It's just an auxiliary method," Uncle Li said. "The breathing technique is about different breathing frequencies. You can't use it alone yet. After I guide you a few more times, you'll remember its rhythm."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Li saw the flames on Qingchen's face not fading but spreading again!

He smiled wryly for the first time, "I forgot you can enter a hyperthymesia state and directly remember the breathing rhythm."

Uncle Li was truly frustrated now. He had been guided by his teacher over forty times to barely remember the breathing frequency, and even a slight mistake was unacceptable.

But the young man in front of him had done it in one try.

Uncle Li then said, "Since you don't need my guidance for this, I'll tell you about the knight's legacy. We can discuss the purpose of the breathing technique later."

"The knight's organization began when the founder discovered the secret of the genetic lock."

"According to his findings, when humans complete eight life-and-death trials, the genetic lock opens on its own."

Uncle Li continued, "In the early days, you had to complete these eight trials to be considered a qualified knight, and the genetic lock would open, making you extraordinary."

"Back then, there were many knights. They followed humanity through the Great Cataclysm and helped the survivors create a new era of civilization."

"But later, the number of knights decreased, not because there were no suitable candidates, but because one of the trials had to be completed in the sea, which had become a forbidden zone. What was once a one-in-ten chance of survival became a one-in-zero chance."

"Without completing that trial, the genetic lock couldn't open."

"But the new leader of the knights, Qin Sheng, was also exceptionally talented. He created a new breathing technique to assist, and his successors found that using the breathing technique during the trials allowed them to unlock a bit of the genetic lock with each completed trial, without needing to complete all of them."

"Although knights who completed only one trial weren't as powerful as those who completed all eight, when everyone completed the sixth trial, their strength surpassed that of the older generation of knights."

"If we use the levels of the inner world, that would be A, B, C, D, E, and F. Completing the sixth trial would make you an A-level knight."

Qingchen was taken aback. He hadn't expected that the world's extraordinary beings had a strength classification system.

He suddenly asked, "What level is the teacher?"

Ye Wan said from the side, "The boss is S-level."

Because Uncle Li had completed the seventh trial, only the last one remained.

"But what is so special about this breathing technique that it can help open the genetic lock?" Qingchen asked.

He was excited because he had touched the door to a new world, but he was still puzzled.

"You should know about endorphins," Uncle Li said.

Qingchen, with his photographic memory, had never really paid attention to this before, so he relied on his memory to say, "Like dopamine, it's a substance that gives people pleasure, but there are differences: dopamine is released during activities like gaming, winning the lottery, or gambling, while the satisfaction and relaxation after exercise come from endorphins."

Uncle Li shook his head, "Self-help books say that, but dopamine doesn't directly make you happy. It's a neurotransmitter responsible for delivering serotonin, which makes you happy. In simple terms, dopamine giving happiness isn't wrong, but it's important to understand that it gives you the craving for addiction, not happiness."

"What about endorphins?" Qingchen asked.

"Endorphins are a substance that brings sweetness after bitterness. They bind to the body's opioid receptors, providing pain relief, but that's just their basic function," Uncle Li said. "Qin Sheng conducted rigorous tests and found that when knights completed a trial, their bodies secreted large amounts of endorphins."

"So he believed that dopamine was a poison that led to addiction, while endorphins were the key to unlocking the genetic lock."

"So the knights added a new creed: A life that has experienced pain is more noble."