High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

The morning sunlight filters through the ginkgo leaves, casting dappled shadows on the stone path.

Song Chen stood in the courtyard of the garrison commander's mansion, holding an old wooden broom, sweeping the ginkgo leaves scattered on the ground into a pile.

No one asked him to do this; the government had assigned dedicated support staff, but he did it anyway.

The aroma of scallion pancakes wafted from the kitchen. Li Xiuying, wearing an apron, was busy working in the kitchen, while a group of professional chefs provided by the parliament were sent outside to watch the show.

Song Zhengye assisted him from the side. The father and son could see each other through the kitchen window, but neither of them spoke.

This quietness made Song Chen feel very comfortable. There were no battle reports, no coordinates of the Beast King, and no need to activate the Void Shuttle immediately.

Only ginkgo leaves, scallion pancakes, and the rustling sound of brooms scraping across the stone slabs could be heard.

He decided to stop thinking about anything and rest quietly.

On the first day, he accompanied Lin Qingxue to the old street in Anning City.

The street is still the same as I remember it. The sycamore tree at the corner is even thicker than last year, and there are several stalls selling roasted chestnuts under its shade.

Lin Qingxue linked arms with him and walked very slowly.

Today she wore a light blue dress, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, looking completely different from the high school girl who wore her school uniform and ponytail every day a year ago.

People on the street recognized him. The old man selling roasted chestnuts was stunned for several seconds before he realized what was happening, and then he refused to accept the money no matter what.

Song Chen put the banknotes under the weight on the scale, and the old man chased after him for half a block. In the end, Lin Qingxue persuaded him to go back by saying, "Grandpa, if you keep chasing him, he'll be too embarrassed to come back."

The next day, they went to the Third Martial Arts High School in Anning City.

Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, was reading a newspaper in the guardhouse when he looked up and saw Song Chen walk into the school gate. He almost fell off his chair.

Song Chen nodded to Old Zhang, who immediately stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the playground, "Song Chen is back!"

The entire teaching building instantly erupted in chaos, with the corridors packed with students peering out.

The principal led all the teachers out of the office building at a brisk pace. The principal shook his hand and said a lot of things. Song Chen listened patiently and then asked if he could go and see the old classrooms.

Their classroom was still in the same location, the desks had been replaced with new ones, but the seating arrangement remained the same.

Song Chen walked to the last row and stood by the window for a while. Lin Qingxue sat down in her usual seat in the row in front of her, turned around and leaned on the back of her chair to look at him.

Several senior high school students mustered up their courage and peeked in through the door, their eyes filled with admiration.

A boy stammered and asked him, "Councilor Song, did you really sit in this classroom back then?"

Song Chen said he sat in the last row by the window.

The boy took out a pen and a book from his bag. The cover was a textbook from the Martial Arts Department of Tianhai University. He wanted Song Chen to sign it.

Song Chen took the pen and wrote her name on the title page.

After he signed this book, he handed over a dozen more.

Another girl squeezed to the front, her face flushed, and asked if she could take a picture with someone.

Song Chen stood up, and the girl stood next to him, so nervous that she couldn't even find the camera.

Lin Qingxue smiled and took the phone: "I'll take the picture."

When they left the school, Lin Qingxue linked arms with him and laughed all the way.

"The way that girl looked at you was like she was looking at a god."

"It's not that bad."

"Of course you wouldn't go that far. You're just used to it. Didn't you notice the way they looked at me? 'Who's that woman standing next to Councilor Song?' If looks could kill, I would have been killed hundreds of times over today."

Song Chen glanced at her: "You care?"

Lin Qingxue rested her head on his shoulder: "I don't care. I'm proud."

During these three days, Song Chen couldn't help but watch the news about the global recovery.

The holographic screen in the living room displays war reports from various countries every day.

On the Great Xia side, Qi Shanhe led the Northern Army to advance 2,000 kilometers outward from the Mongolian Plateau, and within a week, they recovered a large area of ​​southern Siberia, clearing out more than 80 fifth-tier beast kings along the way, not to mention countless fourth-tier and lower beast kings.

Qin Zhen commanded the Northwest Military Region to advance westward along the Tianshan Corridor, where they met up with the Xiong Kingdom's army in Central Asia, reopening a land route that had been interrupted for fifty years.

The United States announced the lifting of the highest level of combat readiness in all its base cities across North America, and that the recapture of the Great Plains was more than 30 percent complete.

The European Union headquarters announced that all abandoned towns along the Mediterranean coast have been included in the reconstruction plan, and the first batch of immigrants will move in next month.

All sixth-tier warriors from around the world have been mobilized. Ten of the twelve official members of parliament from the Great Xia Dynasty are on the front lines. All six sixth-tier marshals from the Bear Kingdom have been engaged in the recapture operation. The four sixth-tier generals from the Eagle Kingdom are advancing separately. The eight sixth-tier commanders from the European Union are simultaneously launching operations along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.

The military reserves accumulated during fifty years of defensive warfare were fully activated, and more and more ordinary people received conscription orders.

Factories began producing farm tools and building materials, schools added post-war reconstruction courses, and even long lines formed at recruitment points in Anning City.

Song Chen subconsciously opened the system panel several times.

Large areas of the ocean are still marked in red on the global map. The dense signals of the Beast King in the depths of the Pacific Ocean have not yet been processed, and there are also escaped Tier 6 monsters fleeing in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

He almost activated the Void Travel ability several times, but he resisted.

On the third night, moonlight shone on the ginkgo leaves in the courtyard of the garrison commander's mansion.

Song Chen sat on a stone bench under a ginkgo tree, with Lin Qingxue leaning against him.

The shadows of the bamboo grove swayed gently in the moonlight, while the outline of Anning City's walls lay quietly on the horizon in the distance.

Everything that was going to happen in those three days happened; the thin veil that had been between them since their senior year of high school was finally torn down.

It's as natural as ginkgo leaves falling from a tree; what's meant to fall will fall in time.

Lin Qingxue leaned against him, her eyes closed, her eyelashes casting soft shadows in the moonlight.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"Pacific Ocean."

Lin Qingxue didn't press further; she knew he would leave sooner or later. She simply buried her face even deeper: "When are you leaving?"

"tonight."

Lin Qingxue raised her head and gently kissed his lips.

"Don't wake Mom and Dad when you leave. I'll go and tell them."

Song Chen looked down at her, the moonlight illuminating the fine hairs on her face clearly.

He reached out and used his thumb to wipe away the moisture seeping from the corner of her eyes.

He knew she wasn't unwilling to stay; she simply understood better than anyone that he still had a long way to go.

"I'll see you to the door." Lin Qingxue stood up.

Song Chen stood up from the stone bench, took the Tianjun Blade out of his storage space, and hung it diagonally at his waist.

He didn't bring any luggage; his storage space contained compressed biscuits and fresh water, and he didn't need anything else.

The two walked side by side through the courtyard covered with ginkgo leaves.

As Song Chen reached the door, he glanced back at the window of the main building. The lights in Li Xiuying and Song Zhengye's room were already off.

My mother went to bed early tonight, and before she went to sleep she said, "I'll steam some buns for you tomorrow morning."

Lin Qingxue stood at the door, wrapped in a thin blanket. The moonlight shone on her face, and she smiled—a forced smile.

"Go ahead, and come back soon."

Song Chen looked at her, bent down and gently touched her forehead.

Then he turned around, activated the Void Travel, and space folded up in front of him.

He disappeared into the shadow of the two ginkgo trees.

Lin Qingxue stood at the doorway, staring at the empty entrance for a long time.

Ginkgo leaves fell from the tree, swirling past her.

She took a deep breath, turned around and walked back into the yard, gently closing the gate.