The award ceremony proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Each group of honorees that took the stage was met with thunderous applause. In the family section, some wept softly while others tightly gripped the hands of those beside them.
Mrs. Xu’s eyes had long since grown moist, and Father Xu took her hand in his.
Finally, the master of ceremonies’ voice turned exceptionally solemn.
"And now, for the presentation of the Federation’s highest honor—the title of ’Federation Hero’—to a total of twenty-four individuals."
The entire venue fell silent in an instant.
It was as if even the wind had ceased to blow.
"The first is a posthumous award." The master of ceremonies’ voice was low. "Grandmaster Han Ce."
Normally, Grandmasters were not among those decorated. Each of them was a member of the Federation’s highest decision-making body, much like how a company’s board of directors wouldn’t award itself a sales champion prize.
There was only one exception: when a Grandmaster fell in battle on the front lines. In that case, the honor was bestowed upon their family.
A white-haired old woman, supported by two military officers, walked onto the awards stage. She was the widow of Grandmaster Han Ce. At eighty years of age, her steps were faltering, but her back was ramrod straight.
Marshal Qin Ling personally descended from the stage and presented the medal box to the old woman with both hands.
"Grandmaster Han shed his last drop of blood for the Federation. The Federation will never forget."
The old woman took the medal box with trembling hands, clutching it tightly to her chest as tears streamed down her face.
Below the stage, countless people silently removed their hats.
"The second, a posthumous award, Grandmaster Yue Lianshan."
"The third, a posthumous award..."
The families of six fallen heroes took the stage one by one.
Each presentation felt like a solemn memorial. The atmosphere in the square was somber and tragic; even the youngest children ceased their playing.
After the posthumous awards were concluded, the master of ceremonies’ voice became clear and bright once more.
"The seventh, Martial Artist Xu Wuyi."
Xu Wuyi stood up.
His parents both squeezed his hand. Mrs. Xu said softly, "Go on."
He walked out of the family section and down the red carpet toward the awards stage.
His steps were steady.
He could feel gazes from every direction—curious, admiring, probing. The media’s cameras followed him, and his youthful face appeared simultaneously on countless screens.
Twenty-one years old, a black formal suit, a calm expression.
As he ascended the steps to the stage, Xu Wuyi saw Zhao Qingwei standing in the audience below. She too was in formal attire, her long hair pinned up, her expression solemn. Their eyes met briefly, and she gave him a slight nod.
Xu Wuyi walked to the center of the stage.
Marshal Qin Ling looked at him, his eyes filled with approval.
"Martial Artist Xu Wuyi." The marshal’s voice boomed through the amplification system.
"In the Battle of Tianshui Star Realm, while at the Innate level, you eliminated over two thousand enemy troops, making a decisive contribution to turning the tide of the battle. Upon review by the Federation Parliament, you are hereby awarded the honorary title of ’Federation Hero’."
With both hands, he lifted a deep blue velvet box and opened it.
Inside, a dark gold insignia rested quietly.
The insignia’s design was simple: a longsword piercing a star at its center, with an olive branch motif winding around the edge. In the morning light, its surface gleamed with a reserved, profound luster.
Xu Wuyi raised his hand in a salute and accepted the medal box.
"The Federation is proud of you," Marshal Qin Ling said solemnly.
"I was only doing my duty," Xu Wuyi replied calmly.
He turned to face the audience.
In that instant, camera flashes went off like a torrential downpour. Cheers and applause surged toward him like a tide, deafening in their intensity.
Xu Wuyi’s gaze swept across the crowd below.
He saw his parents’ proud smiles, saw Qiao Zhiyao waving enthusiastically from the guest section, saw Teacher Han Mo give a slight nod, and saw Minister Feng Zhuohua standing with her arms crossed, a smile playing on her lips.
And there were countless unfamiliar faces, their eyes glinting with the light of hope.
Xu Wuyi raised the medal box, acknowledging the crowd.
Then, he turned and descended from the stage.
Xu Wuyi couldn’t quite recall the details of the rest of the ceremony.
He only remembered names being called, one after another, and heroes taking the stage. Among them were white-haired veterans, powerful experts in their prime, and young Martial Artists like himself.
After all the awards had been presented, the twenty-four heroes and their family representatives returned to the stage for a group photo.
With the photo taken, the ceremony officially concluded. But the crowd in the square did not disperse immediately. People thronged at the foot of the stage, hoping to get a closer look at the heroes.
The military had arranged an escort to guide the honorees out through a dedicated passage.
It was already one in the afternoon by the time Xu Wuyi and his parents returned to the "Heroes’ Home" guest house.
The moment he stepped into the room, his personal terminal began to vibrate.
Congratulations from classmates and teachers, interview requests from the media, and various other invitations from all corners of society flooded in.
Then came a message from Han Mo: "Get some rest. A lot of people will be contacting you over the next couple of days. If it gets to be too much to handle, reach out to the university."
Xu Wuyi replied selectively.
Mrs. Xu sat on the sofa, still holding the medal box, opening and closing it repeatedly.
"Mom, you can put it away now," Xu Wuyi said.
"Let me look at it a little longer," Mrs. Xu said softly. "This medal... you risked your life for it."
Father Xu walked over and patted his wife’s shoulder. "Our son came back safely. The medal is icing on the cake; what’s important is that he’s alright."
...
Although Xu Wuyi had refused all media interviews, he was already a well-known young genius in the Federation, and information about him was not hard to find.
That evening, Xu Wuyi saw reports about himself in the news feed on the StarNet.
The headlines were more sensational than the last:
"The Federation’s Number One Genius! An Innate Martial Artist at Twenty-One!"
"The Federation Hero from Red River City—The Legendary Path of Xu Wuyi"
"Expert Analysis: Xu Wuyi Expected to Break Through to the Grandmaster Realm Before Thirty"
The reports detailed his resume: awakened his Martial Arts talent at seventeen, entered Star Martial University at eighteen, broke through to become a Martial Artist at nineteen, advanced to the next Martial Artist rank at twenty, and reached the Innate realm at twenty-one...
Every stage of his life was magnified, analyzed, and even embellished.
One media outlet interviewed a teacher from Honghe First Middle School, who excitedly recalled how "Xu Wuyi was always very hardworking." Another found one of his classmates at Star Martial University, who remarked, "He was different from the rest even back then." Yet another outlet brought on a Martial Arts expert, who analyzed his cultivation speed, declaring it had "shattered a century-old Federation record."
Even more exaggerated were the media outlets that began to predict his future:
"At this rate of growth, Xu Wuyi will very likely reach the peak of the Innate realm before twenty-five and attempt to break through to the Grandmaster realm before thirty."
"If he succeeds, he will become the youngest Grandmaster in the history of the Federation, breaking the record set by Grandmaster Lü, who broke through at the age of thirty-eight..."
Xu Wuyi turned off the screen.
Outside the window, the nightscape of Xingjing glittered like a river of stars.
He recalled what Feng Zhuohua had said at the airport: "If all goes as expected, you’ll be getting one of these too, kid."
Now he had the insignia, and the storm had arrived with it.
At the same time, Xu Wuyi noticed something: the Lin Family, who were always brought up as a negative example whenever his achievements were reported in the past, were conspicuously absent this time.
Not a single media outlet mentioned the Lin Family, and no one brought up what had happened back then.
It was as if... the Lin Family had completely disappeared.
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