Chapter 101: The Limit

Looking at the drumstick, I felt inexplicably nervous… I couldn’t put my finger on it. Was it pressure or something else? I kept thinking of what the master had said. Today might be the turning point of fate. Could it be that it would start when I hit the drum?

But Jenny walked towards me with the drumstick, and instead of handing it to me, she looked at Master and then at everyone and said, “Are you sure that this drum is for the person who will be crossing the barrier? According to the rules, the person who plays the drum is the one who will be crossing the barrier. If they can’t cross the barrier, they will be considered to have played the drum a few times, no matter where they are.”

“Yes, I also know that the prayer drum can only be struck three times at most.” The master’s expression was solemn.

Jenny frowned and said, “What I mean is that before the drumsticks are handed over, the person who plays the drum can still be changed. Chengyi is not the strongest among you. Are you sure you want him to play the drum?”

“Yes,” the master replied very quickly and directly, without any hesitation.

“Jenny, give me the drumstick.” I always believed that my master had his reasons for insisting, and that he would not harm me.

However, Jenny, who was always decisive, did not give me the drumstick, but continued to look at the master and said, “You said that Chengyi is the key, and you know this barrier… in case…” Sure enough, Jenny, who was reluctant to know the reason why the master left, was actually worried about it in her heart. Because I was the key, she paid special attention to me… This is not to say that she lost her impartiality, but that she was concerned and confused.

“Don’t worry, Jenny. I just said that because of Master’s reasons, this prayer drum should be played by Chengyi. It’s you who won’t let me say the reason.” How could Master not understand? He sighed and comforted Jenny.

After all, she is more decisive than many women. After the master said this, Jenny finally made up her mind. She stuffed the drumsticks into my hands and said, “Forget it. Old Li is always right.”

I held the drumstick in my hand. It looked big, but somehow it was as light as a child’s plastic toy. Could such a drumstick make the prayer drum sound?

“Chengyi, the drum does not ring just by hitting it. It is not hit with force, but with heart. Do you understand? As the eldest of the Snow Mountain clan, I can only give you this hint.” After saying this, Jenny stepped back.

I nodded and walked towards the prayer drum in the center, but for some reason, when I got to the drum, I couldn’t bring myself to hit it. My heart started beating faster and faster, and a feeling of nervousness spread throughout my body.

I was baffled. I had experienced countless dangers in my life, and I swore that I had never been so nervous before, nor had my heart ever beaten so fast. It felt as if my heart was about to jump out of my chest and throat the next moment.

At this time, Xiao, who had not spoken much, walked up to me and took out the box of his precious cigars from the waist of his robe. Under my astonished gaze, he carefully lit two cigars, one of which he stuffed in my mouth and the other he held in his own mouth.

Then, he slapped me on the shoulder and said to me like a bandit, “Chen Chengyi, I saw a TV show before, I forgot what it was, but the main character always had to save a glass of wine for himself to celebrate victory. I’ll just say that you and I have lit a cigar of victory. Hurry up and beat the drum, I can’t wait. You’re beating the war drum, there’s no reason why it won’t sound, so beat it! There’s no hesitation in beating the war drum!”

After Xiao Chengqian finished speaking, he took a puff on his cigar, and the thick smoke from his nostrils instantly blurred his handsome face, which was somewhat feminine, but his eyes were exceptionally clear, and the passion burning within was intense.

He suddenly shouted, “Knocking, dying with a buddy who has sworn to die with you, is much more exciting than the life of a rich and elegant young master that I used to have. All I have ever sought in this life is excitement.”

I looked at Xiao Chengqian, and the passion in my heart also exploded. He was right. No matter if it was a prayer drum or a sacred drum, it was our war drum. To sound it was to represent our will, to fight without fear of death, to fight without regard for life or death… for our responsibility, and for our morality.

A smile appeared on my lips, my teeth clenched around the cigar, and without hesitation, with this passion, I raised the drumstick and struck the drum head with all my might.

At the moment the drumstick touched the drumhead, I felt a certain will in my body being transmitted to the drumhead through the drumstick… At the moment of striking, the drumhead was silent for a moment, and then, a deafening ‘dong’ sound suddenly came from the drumhead, and the sound echoed in the mountain gate in the mountainside like a thunderclap.

“Ah, this drum sound…” At the moment the drum sound started, I heard Elder Bai cry out in surprise, but Jenny grabbed him by the collar and dragged him behind her.

After the sound of the drum, I felt as if my will had flowed into the drum. A voice kept questioning me, “Do you still want to continue to achieve what you have in mind?” My blood was still hot, but it was even more boiling. Of course I want to. Why not?

Without hesitation, I raised the drumstick and struck it down again.

Just like the previous time, I felt my own willpower enter the drum, and then a louder sound of ‘dong’ came from the drum, as if explosive power had once again spread throughout the entire Snow Mountain.

I stood on the top of the platform, and I saw a large number of people emerging from the buildings below, as if they had been silent for a long time… The people of the Snow Mountain Range all looked at me at the same time!

At this moment, a voice rang out in my entire soul. Is there a stronger determination?

My vision also blurred. The many hardships of my birth, the lonely practice of my youth, the repeated separations of my adulthood, the adventure of life and death, and the sorrowful footsteps of my master… My heart has been tempered time and time again. The seed of morality that was planted in my heart since childhood, the bloodline of the Li family, I have never forgotten, never disobeyed, and at this moment it finally boils completely.

My soul was screaming, of course there is! My person also almost simultaneously screamed a sentence: “Of course, we should go without regret!”

As I shouted, the drumstick in my hand fell heavily again, and this time the sound was even louder… I felt that the entire gate of the Snow Mountain Sect was trembling with the sound of the drum… This time, not only did a large number of disciples of the Snow Mountain Sect emerge from the buildings.

I saw the deep caves, as if they were already covered in dust, and people in white robes came out of the caves that had locked the door to the outside world…

Is this the end? No… I have just reached the boiling point of my passion, and my soul is burning at this moment. I can feel the heat, so how can I stop? I often wonder how those heroes could have the courage to sacrifice without regret at the last moment, and how they could have such integrity.

At this moment, I finally fully understand their state of mind. I have no regrets!

So, my drumstick fell heavily once again. I saw Elder Bai stamping his feet in a hurry, trying to come over to stop me, but he was firmly held back by Jenny. For the first time, Jenny looked at me with a look of surprise.

But I didn’t care about that. I only wanted to express my feelings and pursue my goal. I was expressing my endless determination.

The sound of the drum beat rang out in the mountain gate again and again, more and more shocking… I felt that the strength of my master, my uncles, and my friends was all converging on me. I roared, and this time the drumstick fell more violently, becoming a continuous drum beat of “dong dong dong”.

The entire mountain gate was shaken by the drumming, which sent out huge sound waves, as if a slight earthquake had occurred, and the primitive and simple mountain gate cave ceiling also “sough” and fell some dust.

At this point, Elder Bai did not stop me… but only sighed… and I seemed to be unaware of my fatigue.

At this moment, I saw that everyone’s eyes were fixed on me, and my master’s face suddenly broke into a smile… full of pride, and an indescribable kind of even more determined firmness.

At this moment, an extremely old and cold voice sounded behind me, and the sound immediately overpowered the drumming.

“Okay, pray that the drum breaks through the limit… opens the underground secret cave… breaks through, and this snow mountain will belong to this little friend who beats the drum from now on.”

What?