The king has returned, and the whole stadium is cheering!

Dragon Xia Kingdom, Tianshu Base.

A massive floating ship tore through the thick cloud layers like a giant beast returning to its nest, slowly descending onto the base's central plaza.

The hatch had not yet opened.

The plaza was already packed with people, forming a sea of excitement.

All the soldiers, researchers, and logistics personnel remaining at the base had gathered here spontaneously, waiting with bated breath.

Their faces were filled with excitement, admiration, and fanaticism.

At the very front of the crowd stood the base's supreme Commander, Shi Potian, with a straight posture. Behind him were all the high-level officials of Tianshu Base.

Although his face still maintained the dignity and composure of a superior, his slightly narrowed eyes flickered with uncontrollable excitement and relief.

"Click—"

Accompanied by a faint sound of mechanical operation, the heavy alloy hatch of the floating ship slowly rose upward.

A slender and somewhat lazy figure was the first to appear in everyone's sight.

He yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes as if he had just woken up from a sweet dream, showing no interest whatsoever in this grand welcoming scene.

It was Lin Yuan.

"I'm back..."

Lin Yuan squinted his eyes, looked up at the familiar sunlight that had become exceptionally soft after being filtered by the energy shield, and took a comfortable, long stretch.

The air at the base still smelled the best.

The moment he appeared, the entire plaza instantly erupted into a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like cheer!

"They're back! The heroes are back!"

"Consultant Lin! Long live Consultant Lin!"

"Welcome home!"

The waves of sound rose higher and higher, almost threatening to flip the entire base's dome!

Everyone's gaze focused fanatically on Lin Yuan.

It was him!

It was this man who, with his own strength, led the expedition to the Oulu Continent, destroyed the conspiracy the Divine Court had operated for years, and achieved immortal merit for the entire human faction!

Such achievements were enough to be recorded in history!

Facing the deafening cheers, Lin Yuan frowned impatiently and even picked at his ear.

Too noisy.

It ruined his mood for going back to catch up on sleep.

Following closely, Su Li led the Longxia soldiers out of the hatch with orderly steps.

When they saw the grand welcoming scene before them, their eyes welled up with tears of excitement, and they stood with chests out, enjoying the supreme glory belonging to heroes!

Shi Potian strode forward to meet them. He first heavily patted the shoulders of several squad leaders and spoke a few words of encouragement.

Then, he walked up to Lin Yuan, a heartfelt and incredibly bright smile appearing on his face.

He gave Lin Yuan a solemn military salute.

"Lord Lin! Welcome home!"

Shi Potian's voice, broadcast through the amplification equipment, spread throughout the entire plaza, full of power.

"You have worked hard!"

"This time, you once again leveled the Divine Court's nest on the Oulu Continent with thunderous momentum, completely crushing their conspiracy, and achieved immense merit for our Longxia and for all of humanity!"

"Headquarters has already sent the highest instructions!" Shi Potian raised his volume, his face slightly flushed as he announced excitedly, "To commend your world-shaking achievements, headquarters has decided to hold the highest-specification celebration banquet for you! At that time, all high-level officials of the Dragon Summer Alliance will personally attend to confer your honors!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere of the entire venue was instantly pushed to its peak!

The highest-specification celebration banquet!

All high-level officials personally attending!

What an honor!

All the soldiers looked at Lin Yuan with gazes that almost revered him as a god, waiting for his response.

Even Su Li had a look of sincere joy on her face.

This was an honor Consultant Lin deserved.

However, Lin Yuan, the focus of everyone's attention, only waved his hand lazily, a hint of disdain appearing on his face.

"Celebration banquet?"

He curled his lip, his tone as flat as if he were talking about something that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"No need, it's too much trouble."

The entire plaza instantly fell into a dead silence.

Everyone's cheers were cut short, as if an invisible hand had suddenly grabbed their throats.

The expressions on their faces froze.

Wh... what's going on?

The highest-specification celebration banquet... Consultant Lin... he actually said it was trouble?

Shi Potian's smile also froze on his face. He opened his mouth, for a moment not knowing what to say.

He even doubted if he had misheard.

Lin Yuan ignored everyone's expressions as if they had seen a ghost. He walked past the petrified Shi Potian and headed straight out of the crowd.

As he walked, he said,

"I just want to go back to the lawn and lie down for a few days to catch up on sleep."

"Don't come and disturb me."

After speaking, under the gaze of countless dazed eyes, he put his hands in his pockets and leisurely strolled toward his exclusive lawn.

He left only a cool yet punchable back view.

The entire plaza remained silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

After a long time.

"Pfft..."

Someone couldn't help it and was the first to laugh out loud.

Then, the suppressed laughter spread through the crowd like a contagion.

Finally, it turned into a collective, good-natured roar of laughter from the whole crowd.

"Hahaha! As expected of Consultant Lin! Still the same familiar style!"

"So cool! Giving up the highest honor just like that! This is the true style of a big shot!"

"I guessed it long ago. A celebration banquet or whatever could never move a great deity like Consultant Lin."

Shi Potian also finally snapped out of his petrified state. Looking at Lin Yuan's receding back, a helpless and amused expression appeared on his face.

He shook his head and muttered to himself with a bitter smile.

"This kid..."

"He really hasn't changed a bit."

Su Li stood in place, looking in that familiar direction at that familiar figure. Her cold phoenix eyes were already filled with a gentle smile.

This was the Lin Yuan she knew.

Powerful, mysterious, yet cutely lazy.

"Instructor Su, we..."

A squad leader walked to Su Li's side and asked, somewhat at a loss.

Su Li withdrew her gaze, the smile on her face vanishing as she instantly returned to her iron-blooded instructor persona.

"Everyone, attention!"

"Dismissed! Return to the dorms to rest and reorganize!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers responded with a roar and then dispersed in an orderly fashion under the leadership of their respective captains.

A grand welcoming ceremony thus ended abruptly in a way no one had expected.

As for the culprit, he had already returned to his beloved lawn, found the most comfortable position, and lay down spread-eagled.

The sun was just right, and the breeze was not dry.

"Ah—"

Lin Yuan let out an incredibly pleasant groan.

"Lying down is still the most comfortable..."

He closed his eyes, and soon the sound of even breathing could be heard... On Lin Yuan's first day back at Tianshu Base, he slept like a log.

When he was woken up by his growling stomach at noon the next day, he found a thin blanket over him.

The blanket still carried a faint, elegant fragrance.

He sat up and stretched, his bones making a series of cracking sounds, feeling refreshed.

Not far away, on the base's training ground, things were still in full swing.

Soldiers were sweating as they performed daily combat and energy control training, their slogans echoing loudly.

Lin Yuan yawned and was about to stroll to the cafeteria to find food when his gaze was inadvertently drawn to a beautiful figure on the training ground.

It was Su Li.

She wasn't wearing that cold, tight combat suit today, but had changed into a relatively loose and comfortable white training uniform.

Her long hair was tied into a crisp ponytail, which traced graceful arcs in the air with her movements.

At the moment, she was standing behind a recruit, patiently correcting his combat stance errors.

"Raise your elbow a bit more, right... use your waist for power, don't just use your arm strength. Learn to mobilize the power of your whole body and twist it into a single rope."

Her voice was clear and pleasant.

It carried an unprecedented gentleness and patience.

The recruit, being guided by her personally, was so nervous his face was beet red and his movements were somewhat stiff.

The other soldiers training nearby saw this scene and all looked like they had seen a ghost, their eyes nearly popping out.

"I... am I seeing things? Is that... Instructor Su?"

"She... she's actually smiling? And she's so patient?"

"Holy crap! Before, if anyone's movement was even slightly wrong, wouldn't Instructor Su's whip come flying? Is the sun rising from the west today?"

The soldiers whispered to each other, their faces full of disbelief.

One must know that the former Su Li on the training ground was an out-and-out devil!

Cold, strict, and heartless!

If anyone dared to slack off or make a mistake during training, they'd get a harsh scolding at best, or at worst, a direct lashing of 'love' that would make them question their life.

But now... that iceberg witch had actually turned into a gentle and patient girl-next-door?

This change in style was too fast!

Just as everyone was in shock, an accident occurred.

A soldier made a mistake while performing energy blast training.

An out-of-control energy ball grazed his own arm and flew out, instantly leaving a scorched wound on his arm!

"Ah!"

The soldier let out a cry of pain and crouched down clutching his arm, blood constantly flowing out from between his fingers.

The hearts of the surrounding soldiers tightened.

It's over!

Getting injured right under Instructor Su's nose, he's definitely going to be scolded to death!

However, the expected thunderous rage did not descend.

Su Li only frowned slightly, and in a flash, she appeared beside the injured soldier.

She didn't say a single word of blame, only knelt down and asked softly, "How is it? Is the injury serious?"

The soldier grimaced in pain, and seeing Su Li, he was even more terrified, his face turning pale as he stammered, "In... Instructor Su... I... I didn't mean to..."

"Don't talk."

Su Li interrupted him, took a first aid kit from her pocket, and skillfully opened it.

She first used cleaning solution to carefully clean the soldier's wound, then evenly applied medicinal powder to stop the bleeding and promote healing.