Chapter 98

Wild winds howled, whipping up a blizzard; visibility had plummeted unnoticed, and the temperature, which had just risen, plunged again to minus thirty degrees—each breath froze Qin Yun's nasal passages.

This time, Qin Yun truly felt how excellent the equipment sponsored by Huan Teng Sports truly was.

Whether the thermal insulation of the base layer or the durability of the outer shell, both played an unparalleled role in this climb; had the gear been even slightly inferior, had its warmth failed to meet requirements, the cold alone would have driven him back.

Now, the only thing he needed to consider was protecting his own safety under such brutal conditions.

After all, he used no safety ropes—every step relied solely on ice axe and crampons, leaving no room for even the slightest mistake; though this final stretch was only six hundred meters, on flat ground it would take less than ten minutes to cover.

But under these conditions, he estimated it would take him at least three hours to complete.

Most importantly, his backpack held little food left—if he couldn't proceed as planned, even he would have no choice but to abandon this checkpoint mission.

Looking up, his vision revealed not a simple ice wall ahead, but an extremely narrow ice ridge.

The ridge, like a blade's edge, dropped into abysses on both sides, less than half a meter wide—barely enough for one foot to stand on, covered in smooth ice and snow, with fragile overhanging snow ledges beneath; one misstep meant instant death.

This was the final death gate on this route up the North Face of Yao Mei Peak.

Though no longer requiring dry climbing, this ridge posed a greater challenge than the previous rock face.

For ordinary climbers, rock climbing could be done free-climbing with protection—so long as they were professional, they stood a chance of surviving this stretch.

But this ridge was not something an ordinary climber could handle.

Qin Yun stood at the ridge's start, glancing down at the abyss below; wind and snow blurred his vision, revealing only darkness.

"Current altitude: 5700 meters. Ice ridge section, total length two hundred meters, average width thirty centimeters, vertical drop on both sides exceeding one thousand meters."

He did not look at the camera; the drone had stabilized, its voice clear in the livestream, "Snow overhangs are fragile—do not step heavily, only tap with your toes, move quickly through."

Without hesitation, he bent low, lowered his center of gravity, nearly lying flat on the ridge, anchoring his body with ice axes, toes inching forward one by one.

On either side of his body stretched endless darkness and abyss; the gale howled as if trying to blow him straight off.

His movements were slow and cautious, each step as light as a feather, daring not to exert any force, fearing he might shatter the fragile snow overhangs and trigger a slide.

The drone's battery drained rapidly.

Under these harsh conditions, maintaining stability required excessive power expenditure.

At this moment, the livestream showed the suffocatingly narrow ridge—viewers' scalps prickled, legs turned weak.

"Damn, this is way too narrow."

"My feet are over an abyss—I'm dizzy just looking."

"If it were me, I'd die right here."

"Qin Ye's balls are made of steel."

"How the hell did past climbers cross this? Even Qin Ye's struggling so much?"

"You guys forget what Qin Ye's challenging? No protection! Did any other climbers go without protection? If you tried going like Qin Ye, who among you could've made it through the dry climb before? Who'd dare?"

"Exactly—Qin Ye's no protection is the key. Those who crossed the ridge had protection—they didn't have their heads dangling at their waist like Qin Ye."

Qin Yun had no time to interact with livestream viewers now; even his master-level skills had reached their limit—any slip could mean death, and this was no joke.

Yet even so, his heartbeat remained steady, his gaze focused.

His attention settled on the ridge beneath his feet—he could clearly sense the thickness and hardness of the snow layer, precisely distinguishing solid ice from fragile snow overhangs.

He moved like a lone wolf walking a blade—calm, cautious, precise.

Suddenly, the wind surged violently, slamming into him; Qin Yun's body lurched sideways, nearly blown off the ridge.

"!!!!!!"

"That scared the hell out of me—I'm sweating in my palms."

"Qin Ye, hold on, hold on tight!"

"Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me."

At the last possible moment, Qin Yun drove both ice axes deep into the center of the ridge, exploded force through his arms, locking himself in place, pressing his body flat against the ice, as if nailed to the spot.

The gale roared past him, violently shaking his clothes, yet could not budge him an inch.

Ten seconds later, the wind eased slightly.

Qin Yun slowly unclenched his arms, withdrew his ice axes, and continued inching forward; his calm voice echoed in the livestream.

"Mountain weather changes rapidly—that was a gust, very common."

As if he'd merely had his hair ruffled by wind, he appeared utterly composed.

"Damn, got schooled again."

"Will Qin Ye die if he doesn't flex?"

"666"

"I don't even know what words to use anymore."

"That mental fortitude? Unbeatable."

The two-hundred-meter ridge took Qin Yun over an hour. When he finally crossed it and reached the traverse ice cliff section, he felt his body's surface sweat had frozen—he was now a living ice statue.

He exhaled faintly, pulled the drone closer, and for the first time looked into the camera.

"Brothers, the ridge is behind us. Next is the traverse ice cliff—a suspended ice wall requiring lateral climbing. Though only fifty meters long, with a thousand-meter drop below and no protection or footholds, I have zero margin for error. Wish me success."

After saying that, he released the drone, took a deep breath, pulled cloth straps from his backpack, and bound the two ice axes tightly to his hands. Then, pressing his body against the ice cliff, he gripped the axes and struck alternately, slowly moving sideways.

At this moment, his body hung suspended, touching the ice wall only through his ice axes—any mistake meant certain doom.

But for him, this stretch's only danger lay in whether his ice axes would grip the ice firmly; nothing else posed a real challenge.

Yet the drone's AI understood livestreaming—it kept switching to dangerously thrilling angles, subjecting viewers to relentless shocks within ten minutes.

Gifts flooded the screen nonstop; likes surged past fifty million, reaching an unimaginable level.

Descending the ice wall, ahead lay a relatively flat snow platform—the final rest point before summiting, now at 6100 meters.

Qin Yun rested briefly here, replenishing water and food.

"Friends, oxygen here is extremely thin—look at my breathing, already slightly labored; my physical reserves are at their limit. But when I say 'no protection,' it includes no supplemental oxygen."

Qin Yun's eyes were bright, shining like stars.

"Master Qin really doesn't care about his life."

"Other streamers entertain people; Master Qin streams to kill himself."

"The streamer is too dedicated—I'm a fan now."

"Master Qin is mighty."

"I have to say it again: Master Qin is the one and only true god of Douyin streamers."

Looking at these comments, Qin Yun smiled: "Friends, the current altitude is 6,100 meters; there are still 150 meters left to the summit. Yaomei Peak, I'm coming."

As his words faded, he took another step, launching his final charge toward the peak piercing through the clouds.

In fact, after passing the horizontal ice cliff section, there was no danger left for him—the summit was now impossible to fail.

6,100 meters, 6,150 meters, 6,200 meters.

Each meter gained was difficult, yet extraordinarily determined.

But the wind and snow grew stronger, visibility grew blurrier, as if the entire Yaomei Peak were blocking his advance.

Yet his will was like steel.

Closer, even closer.

Finally, when his foot stepped onto the highest snow platform, every comment in the livestream instantly stopped refreshing.

6,250 meters. Qin Yun ignored the system's alert. He stood atop the summit, arms spread. The gale still howled, yet at this moment, it seemed to become the most beautiful symphony.

Instantly, the previous calm in the livestream erupted into boundless enthusiasm.

A flood of gifts caused the livestream to stutter slightly; endless comments scrolled at breakneck speed.

"Holy shit, Master Qin made it."

"Master Qin is awesome."

"Streamer is mighty, 666."

"Incredible—he summited without any protection! A god has emerged in the mountaineering world."

"Is Master Qin even human? He pulled this off—it's insane."

"Does Master Qin even need oxygen? In such an extreme environment, he didn't use any at all?"

Standing atop the summit, Qin Yun looked down. Below him, clouds churned, snow-capped peaks stretched endlessly, and the other three peaks of Mount Siguniang bowed beneath his feet.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds, bathing him in golden radiance, as if a celestial deity had descended.

He stood atop the Eastern Devil's Wall, atop the ultimate peak behind Shu Mountain, overlooking ten thousand li of land and the vast, boundless heavens.

The drone slowly advanced. Qin Yun looked up at the lens, pulled his mask down, and smiled.

Countless netizens, seeing his smile in the lens, felt themselves infected by it.

"He summited! Master Qin summited!"

"6,250 meters, north face of Yaomei Peak—another conqueror joins the ranks."

"The Eastern Devil's Wall has been conquered. I declare Master Qin the greatest mountaineer in the Dengshan world."

"Master Qin is awesome."

Watching the flood of comments and gifts, the likes had quietly climbed to eighty million—the highest in all of Douyin livestreams.

"Friends, I'm Qin Yun, a temporary mountaineering enthusiast. My goal today was to summit via the north face of Yaomei Peak—and I've succeeded."

"Holy crap, what does Master Qin mean? Is he signing off?"

"No, come on, it's only been a few hours!"

"Master Qin, stream a little longer! Don't cut it so short!"

"Stream a few more hours—you've still got to descend anyway, no rush."

Qin Yun smiled: "As you said, I need to sign off—not because I don't want to continue, but because the drone's battery can't sustain it anymore. The temperature here is causing the drone's power to drop abruptly; barring any surprises, it'll shut down in at most thirty minutes."

"Given that, I think it's time to say goodbye. Let's meet again in my next challenge. Hello, I'm Qin Yun, an outdoor streamer. If you haven't followed yet, please hit follow. Thank you all for your gifts. Goodbye."

With that, Qin Yun clicked to end the stream. The livestream went dark instantly.

Qin Yun glanced at today's livestream earnings and whistled softly—it was already an astonishing figure.

He packed away the drone and turned off his action camera, placing them in his backpack to charge.

Only then did he summon the system's interface.

【Check-in task completed. Reward received: Eight Languages】

【Eight Languages: What makes humans superior to animals is speech—and you can speak even more】