# 1019
Chapter 1020: Free Solo Climbing
Upon hearing these words, Lin Qiye's brow furrowed tightly.
He shook his head and said nothing more.
Below the sheer cliff, Lu Baoyou resolutely grabbed the protruding rock at the very bottom with his bare hands, forcibly dragging his exhausted body, moving bit by bit along the near-vertical surface.
The mournful wind howled past his ears; he gritted his teeth tightly, like an tireless machine, moving slowly but steadily forward.
Soon after, the second figure emerged from the wind and snow, stopping at the base of the sheer cliff.
Fang Mo wore his winter gear, tucking the empty compressed biscuit wrapper back into his pocket, his gaze fixed on the towering cliff before him as he fell into deep contemplation.
He could see, at approximately one-tenth up the cliff, a dark silhouette was making its way upward.
Had he already reached there...
A conflicted look flickered across Fang Mo's face.
After a moment of contemplation, he didn't immediately begin climbing the cliff. Instead, he sat down on the spot and began to rest his mind.
Time passed second by second. When the sun in the sky had moved to its zenith, Fang Mo slowly opened his eyes, a determined glint appearing in his gaze.
He reached out and gripped the cliff's jutting edges, climbing up nimbly and swiftly.
By this point, Lu Baoyou had already scaled halfway up the sheer cliff, leaving him significantly behind.
No sooner had Fang Mo begun his ascent than Su Yuan and Ding Chongfeng, along with other more capable new recruits, filtered through the frozen lake and arrived at the cliff's base.
"So high?"
Ding Chongfeng gazed up at the towering near-vertical cliff and couldn't help but speak up, "Can this really be climbed?"
"...I don't know either." Su Yuan's expression was complicated, "Free solo climbing is one of the most dangerous sports in extreme athletics. I've done free solo climbing a few times before, but neither the height nor the difficulty could compare to this cliff...
This place is on a plateau to begin with, with thin air. Add to that the interference from the wind and snow around us—even climbing with gear would be extremely dangerous, let alone free solo climbing."
"Commander Lin should protect our safety."
"If that's the case, then the chance of failure would actually be higher." Su Yuan said calmly, "Free solo climbing tests not only the climber's strength and endurance, but also willpower.
For free solo climbing of this height, once you start, there's no turning back. Even if you're exhausted, even if you can no longer hold on, you can only press forward with your head down, because even if you want to stop mid-air to rest, your muscle tissue remains tense at all times while also fighting against the wind and snow.
As the climber's stamina gradually reaches its limit during the climb, under the dual torment of fear and exhaustion, one can't help but develop a desire to retreat.
If it were real free solo climbing, at the brink of life and death, people always burst out with potential, forcing them to complete the final stretch. But if you give them an escape route at this point, many people might not even be able to touch their limit before raising the white flag halfway."
"A checkpoint testing willpower, then..." Ding Chongfeng gazed up at the towering cliff and sighed, "Alright then, let's go. We were going to have to face it sooner or later."
"Not yet."
"Hmm?"
"We need to rest." Su Yuan said seriously, "As I said, once free solo climbing begins, there's no going back, and there's no time for rest mid-climb. So before we start, we absolutely must get ourselves into the best possible condition.
This checkpoint tests not only physical strength, endurance, and willpower, but also composure when facing extreme situations.
The biggest禁忌 in free solo climbing is impatience and arrogance—that's what gets people killed."
Ding Chongfeng nodded thoughtfully, "I understand. Sharpening the axe won't delay the chopping. We'll rest until afternoon before we start climbing."
As he finished speaking, Ding Chongfeng raised his head again and looked at those two figures already slowly climbing the cliff, a worried glint appearing in his eyes.
...
Sweat the size of soybeans dripped down Lu Baoyou's cheeks, quickly freezing into frost and scattering in the air.
He gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes fixed on the cliff top that was now barely visible, laboriously moving his hands and feet.
His body was uncontrollably trembling, his perception of his hands and feet nearly numb. Without rest, he had consecutively crossed the snow plain and frozen lake, then climbed nearly four-fifths of the cliff in one breath. His body had been drained to its absolute limit.
He knew he was about to give out.
But he refused to accept it.
He was so close to the top of this cliff—tantalizingly close. For him to admit defeat now was absolutely impossible!
So what if he'd reached his limit? So what if his consciousness was starting to blur?
He refused to concede!
Climb! Forget everything, climb upward!
He absolutely could not lose here.
Relying on terrifying willpower, Lu Baoyou moved his nearly numb limbs, like a cockroach that couldn't be killed, climbing upward inch by inch through the wind and snow...
But no matter how strong his willpower, the human body always has its limits.
Rip—!
Lu Baoyou's right foot had just stepped onto a protruding ledge when it completely gave way. His entire body slid off the cliff face, falling helplessly through the clouds toward the depths below.
Those new recruits who had just begun climbing or were preparing to start, upon seeing Lu Baoyou—on the verge of reaching the top—fall from the sky, all cried out in alarm.
In the middle of the cliff face, upon seeing this scene, Fang Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without a moment's hesitation, his body lightly swayed across the cliff face, moving horizontally to the center of Lu Baoyou's falling trajectory. His right hand formed a claw and fiercely stabbed into the hard cliff surface, gripping tightly.
Then he extended his left hand and grabbed Lu Baoyou's wrist as he fell.
The terrifying kinetic force tugged at Fang Mo's body. He let out a pained grunt but didn't let go. The fingertips of his right hand, embedded in the cliff, seeped blood—already injured.
"What are you doing?" Lu Baoyou hung in the air, swaying in the fierce wind, his voice cold, "Let go of me."
"You climbed so high with such difficulty. If you fall now, you'll have to start from the beginning." Fang Mo frowned.
"Then I'll start from the beginning." Lu Baoyou glanced at the top of the cliff, a complicated glint in his eyes, "This time I was overconfident. I should pay the price."
"But..."
"You don't think that after I fall, I won't be able to climb back up, do you?" Lu Baoyou let out a cold laugh, "Fang Mo, do you really think I'm Lu Baoyou is a good-for-nothing? Do you think I can't handle losing?
Being wrong is being wrong. I don't need your charity to lighten the price I should pay.
Even if I fall and return to the starting line, I will come back... and surpass everyone...
Including you."
As his words fell, Lu Baoyou abruptly shook free from his arm. His figure swiftly descended into the clouds below the cliff.