Naming Technique of the Night

The elder spoke from the side, "Are you formally taking him as your disciple now? Li Ke, kowtow to your master."

Li Ke was stunned for a moment before he knelt down with a 'thud' and sincerely kowtowed three times. His head thudded against the floor, a sound that was painful to hear.

Qing Chen looked at the elder, "Knights do not observe the ritual of kowtowing."

"No matter, he has already kowtowed to you. If he gets into any trouble in the future, you'll definitely have to help him," the elder replied.

Qing Chen: "..."

However, upon hearing this conversation, Li Ke suddenly looked up, "Knight?"

In his heart, a turbulent wave surged. It seemed that for the descendants of the Li Family, the title of 'Knight' held a unique allure!

Li Ke looked at his grandfather and then at Qing Chen.

Before this, the elder had only mentioned that he should acknowledge a master, but had never explicitly stated that Qing Chen was a Knight!

All of this was too surprising for Li Ke!

"Master, what relationship do you have with my seventh uncle?" Li Ke asked curiously.

Qing Chen looked at Li Ke and patiently explained, "Your seventh uncle, Uncle Li Dong, is my master. Starting from today, your seventh uncle will be your 'grandmaster'..."

Listening from the side, the elder raised an eyebrow. What was this mess? How had Uncle Li Dong suddenly become of the same generation as himself?!

Qing Chen said to the elder, "This is the grandson you chose; the disrupted seniority has nothing to do with me. Strictly speaking, you should have chosen a great-grandson."

The elder replied irately, "Just get started."

After speaking, Qing Chen grasped Li Ke's pulse.

The young Li Ke watched as Qing Chen suddenly exhaled sharply, and then he was plunged into excruciating pain.

The elder held his breath, witnessing this scene he hadn't seen for decades—not since Uncle Li Dong was taken as an apprentice by his old friend.

The next moment, the Fire Rune pattern burst forth on both sides of Li Ke's cheeks, his brow furrowed into a character that looked like '川'.

Qing Chen silently watched, worried that Li Ke might not withstand the ordeal of Inner Reflection.

If Hu Xiaoniu failed to endure, he could take another path, waiting until after completing all eight life-and-death trials to advance to A-Class, but if Li Ke couldn't endure it, the path of a Knight would be cut off for him.

Amidst Inner Reflection, Li Ke felt as if he had returned to his childhood.

At 6, he entered Li's School, becoming its best student.

At 18, he was admitted to Tinder Military Academy, again emerging as its top student.

At 22, he joined the Federation's military as a junior officer.

By 26, he had risen to the rank of Major.

After that, he was called back by the Clan to the Mid-Hill Manor, to work in the Directorate of Secrets.

The Clan arranged a political marriage for him. The girl was beautiful, but there was no affection between them.

He tried to build a relationship, and she was very accommodating toward him.

But just when he thought everything was developing in a positive direction, his wife uttered another man's name in her sleep.

Li Ke had the intelligence department check it out—it was her first love.

At 34, he became a Director in the Directorate of Secrets, beginning to truly participate in the Clan's major affairs, and external media started calling him the Crown Prince of the Li Family.

But his life was reduced to document after document, and in his eyes, only the fearful gazes of others remained.

Li Ke sat in his office at midnight, tirelessly signing documents, then engaging in official-speak with various people, which he had only recently mastered.

When the office emptied, he suddenly felt...

Perhaps the remaining decades of his life would be spent in such tedium.

At 48, he took over the reins of power as the Family Head from his father.

From that moment on, he rarely left Mid-Hill Manor, and wherever he went, he could not find a single person who spoke truth to him.

At 60, Li Ke began to feel that his body was no longer his own, but belonged to illness and pain. The injuries from his military years started to torment both his body and soul.

At 80, he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

The children in the house suddenly presented a birthday cake and asked him to make a wish.

But at that moment, Li Ke pondered for a long time, realizing he had forgotten his lifelong, unfulfilled wish.

Ah, it seemed to be becoming a Knight.

It was a wish he made every year, yet it remained unfulfilled.

At that moment, Li Ke's spirit suddenly drooped as if someone had drained all his strength. Everything seemed lackluster, and life lost its meaning.

At 90, he lay on the sickbed, sensing his impending death.

At one point, Li Ke suddenly realized that once he closed his eyes again, he might truly die.

By the bedside, his grandson softly asked, "Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Li Ke thought to himself that, in fact, he had never fulfilled his wishes. Throughout his life, he had only been the 'person others expected him to be', never truly being himself.

Such a long life was indeed hard to endure.

But then, a youth walked into the sickroom from outside, standing before him bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window.

That voice belonging to Qing Chen suddenly asked him, would you trade everything you once had for a chance to become a Knight?

Would you let go of power to climb a mountain, to see the snow, to chase a dream?

With tears streaming down his face, Li Ke said he was willing.

It was only at this moment that he remembered his time within Inner Reflection, having entered it decades ago, forgetting everything outside of it.

It took nearly a century for Li Ke to finally discover the deepest wish in his heart.