Teacher Lin Yue gently advised him, as always.
Qin Feng nodded solemnly.
After bidding farewell to Teacher Lin Yue, he went to Wu Shangfeng’s office.
Wu Shangfeng was shirtless, in the middle of strength training.
When he saw Qin Feng, he stopped and tossed him an Energy Drink.
The two of them didn’t sit, just stood there chatting idly.
Qin Feng’s thoughts drifted back to the practical combat class where they had faced the Nagash Followers.
He remembered the Nagash Follower named Kro—a fallen veteran—and his despairing roar before death.
Because of their similar backgrounds, he had thought of his own father. His mind had wavered for a split second, nearly getting his entire squad killed.
He would never forget the post-battle review, when Wu Shangfeng, in front of the entire class, had fixed him with those sharp, hawk-like eyes and delivered a critique so severe it was almost cruel.
"On the battlefield, the slightest wavering is a gross irresponsibility to the lives of the comrades at your back! Qin Feng!"
That harsh wake-up call was etched into his memory.
"Kid, remember this."
Wu Shangfeng’s voice pulled him back to the present. "The Cosmos is far darker than you can imagine. From now on, be decisive when you kill and cautious in your actions."
"Yes, Teacher Wu, I’ll remember."
Qin Feng replied in a deep voice.
Finally, he arrived at Beikai Tower, at the quaint research office belonging to Master Gu Yue.
Master Gu Yue was the same as ever, looking calm and unruffled as he sipped fragrant tea and gazed at the starry sky.
Familiar scenes surfaced in Qin Feng’s mind.
After every monthly exam, regardless of the astonished or envious gazes around them, Master Gu Yue would unhesitatingly give him hours of "special tutoring."
Whether it was guidance on the realm of marksmanship or constructing his Combat System, Master Gu Yue held nothing back in his teachings.
It could be said that every leap he made on the Martial Dao was inseparable from the meticulous guidance of this Grandmaster-level Tutor.
"Finished with your goodbyes?"
Master Gu Yue asked lightly, without turning around.
"Yes, Master."
"Did you add everyone as a friend?"
"...I did."
Qin Feng was a little surprised.
"Good."
Master Gu Yue turned around and smiled. "I still hope that we can be both master and student, as well as friends. In the future, if you ever run into a roadblock on the Martial Dao that you can’t figure out, feel free to message us anytime."
A warmth spread through Qin Feng’s heart, and he nodded heavily.
He and his three tutors had all added each other as friends on the Subspace Network.
"Go on."
Master Gu Yue waved his hand. "Your graduation application has already been personally approved by the principal."
...
By the time Qin Feng walked out of the familiar main gate of Qiming First High School again, the night had grown deep.
He turned his head for one last look at the institution that had changed his life.
The brightly lit campus, under the night sky, resembled a silent Ivory Tower.
What he didn’t know was that at this very moment, on the top floor of the thousand-meter-high Beikai Tower, several figures were standing silently.
The principal, Gu Yue, Wu Shangfeng, Lin Yue... almost all the upper echelons of Qiming First High School were gathered there.
Some were there in person, others had sent projections.
Everyone’s gazes pierced the darkness, settling on the lonely yet upright figure at the school gate, which was growing smaller in the distance.
No one spoke.
Not until the figure had completely disappeared around the street corner.
Only then did the principal slowly speak, his voice as if making a heartfelt wish to the deep, starry sky.
"May your martial fortune flourish."
***
The public maglev train glided smoothly and quietly along its designated urban track.
Qin Feng sat by the window, a sense of peace filling him as he watched the dazzling, Star River-like city nightscape rush by outside.
Leaving Qiming First High School and returning to this bustling city, filled with the energy of everyday life, gave him the feeling of having lived a whole other life.
One year and four months. It wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short, either.
But for him, it was nothing less than a complete Rebirth.
"Now arriving at Silver Seagull Community Station."
Accompanied by a pleasant chime, the maglev train slowly came to a stop.
Qin Feng disembarked, setting foot on familiar ground.
He didn’t hurry home. Instead, he walked at a leisurely pace down the familiar streets.
All around him were the familiar residential buildings, the familiar convenience stores, the familiar laughter of children. Nothing much had changed since he left.
Soon, a brightly lit building appeared in his line of sight.
The Extreme Martial Arts Hall.
The starting point that had changed his destiny.
It was late at night, but the Martial Arts Hall was still bustling with people, brilliantly illuminated.
Through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he could clearly see many Martial Artists inside, training and sweating profusely. It looked quite lively.
Qin Feng’s steps came to an involuntary halt.
He remembered that life-changing afternoon, the eyes of the Sun Chan Hall Master that seemed to see through everything, and the miraculous "Ten-Complete Hand."
Without Master Sun, he wouldn’t be who he was today.
He would never forget this debt of gratitude.
’I’ll be home for a month, but I can’t let my training slide during that time,’ Qin Feng thought to himself. ’The training environment at home is a bit lacking, after all. Maybe I should... get a monthly pass at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. It would be a good chance to check up on the hall, too.’
When Master Sun had left, he had said he was going to take care of something important, and there had been no news from him since.
Qin Feng had been worried about him.
Thinking of this, he turned and strode toward the brightly lit Extreme Martial Arts Hall.
...
「A few minutes earlier, inside the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.」