89: Chapter 89 Awarding of Medals

Early the next morning, the sky over Rong City was exceptionally gloomy...

Thick clouds hung low over the city like a massive lead-gray curtain, shrouding the entire city until it felt hard to breathe.

The wind weaved through the streets and alleys, carrying a damp chill that made the window frames tremble slightly.

Lu Cheng was awakened by the vibration of his phone.

The phone screen lit up, displaying only a brief notification: "9:00 AM, Hero Plaza in downtown Rong City, Investiture Ceremony, formal attire required."

Lu Cheng stared at the text for a few seconds, his heart sinking for no apparent reason.

The bedroom door was pushed open gently.

Chu Mu stood at the entrance, holding a neatly folded set of clothes, her movements soft as if she were afraid of startling him.

"Are you awake?"

"Yes."

Lu Cheng sat up and looked at the clothes in her arms.

It was an old suit.

The color had faded somewhat, and slight wear could be seen on the cuffs and collar, but it had been washed very clean, without a single visible crease.

It had clearly been specially ironed the night before, and even the loose threads had been carefully trimmed.

Chu Mu said in a low voice, "We don't have any decent clothes in the house. This is what your father left behind. I altered it last night; it should fit."

Lu Cheng's throat moved slightly as he reached out to take it.

As he held the clothes, they carried a faint scent of soap.

"Thank you, Mom."

"Don't, don't be late."

"Okay."

Lu Cheng nodded.

When he finished changing and walked out of the room, Chu Mu was standing in the cramped living room, staring at him blankly for several seconds.

The old suit on him, despite not being made of expensive material, gave him a spirited look because of the boy's increasingly straight shoulders and back.

That face, which originally carried a hint of rebelliousness and youthful edge, seemed unusually restrained against the quiet color of the suit.

It was as if he had truly grown up overnight.

Chu Mu opened her mouth, but in the end, she only managed to squeeze out, "It looks good."

Lu Cheng gave a hum of acknowledgement and lowered his head to fasten his cuffs.

Before leaving, he looked back.

Chu Mu was standing by the door, her gaze fixed on him, as if she wanted to say many things but couldn't utter a single word.

...

The downtown area of Rong City was unusually quiet today.

The main street was completely under martial law, with rows of military vehicles parked along the roadside, alternating between black and dark green, like a silent, icy wall.

The streets were lined with people, yet almost no one was making a sound.

Old people, women, students, ordinary office workers.

Many held flowers in their hands—some white, some yellow.

As the wind blew, the petals trembled gently, like a silent mourning.

Lu Cheng followed the guide forward, a nameless sense of oppression weighing on his heart.

High platforms had been erected around Hero Plaza, and the surroundings were decked out in black and white.

Rows of soldiers stood neatly below the stage, all dressed in formal attire with badges pinned to their chests, staring blankly ahead.

Su Wan had already arrived.

She was wearing a simple, light-colored formal school uniform.

Standing there with a calm expression, she was like a piece of ice submerged in cold water.

When Lu Cheng walked over, she just turned her head to look at him and nodded slightly.

"You're here."

"Yes."

Neither of them said much more.

Because at a time like this, anything said seemed superfluous.

Soon, the ceremony began.

There was no boisterous music, no enthusiastic applause, only a low, solemn tolling that slowly rang out, echoing over the entire plaza.

In that instant, the wind seemed to grow colder.

The person presiding over the ceremony spoke in a low voice, first reading the official report of last night's incident.

The words were restrained, yet they still made many people present tear up.

They did not mention too many details.

But the more this was the case, the more it made people realize that the true face of yesterday's disaster was likely far more terrifying than what was reported in the news.

Some people were still alive yesterday.

Today, only their names remained.

After the brief memorial service concluded, an old soldier with gray hair slowly walked onto the stage.

His figure was somewhat hunched, but his hands were held steady.

He wore several old medals on his chest, which glinted with a dim light under the gloomy sky.

The entire plaza became even quieter.

The old man's voice was not loud, even carrying a hint of hoarseness, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Among them, some were twenty, some were thirty; some already had children, while others hadn't even had the chance to start a family."

"But last night, they all stood at the very front."

"Some came back, and some did not."

Speaking to this point, the old man paused for a long time, as if suppressing something.

The wind blew across the high platform, fluttering his clothes.

Then, he slowly raised his head and spoke, word by word:

"Awarding all the heroic martyrs... the First-Class Red Moon Medal and the First-Class Martyr's Glory Medal!"

The moment his voice fell, the entire plaza was deathly silent.

There was no applause.

Only the sound of the wind and the uncontrollable sobbing in the distance.

Lu Cheng stood there, his chest feeling as if it were being heavily weighed down by something.

These medals were not the glory itself.

They were merely a way to keep those who could no longer speak in the eyes of the world one last time.

The subsequent investiture remained solemn and slow.

First came the fallen soldiers, then the martial artists who had participated in the battle, and finally those who had been injured last night but persisted until the very end.

Every time a name was called, someone below the stage would have a flicker in their eyes, some would bow their heads in silence, and others would have reddened eyes.

Lu Cheng and Su Wan were arranged in the back.

Finally, the host's voice rang out again.

"Lu Cheng, Su Wan."

The two stepped forward and walked out.

At that moment, almost everyone's gaze fell upon them.

An uncontrollable stir arose in the student ranks—there was shock, envy, and complex whispers.

"Awarding—the Third-Class Red Sun Medal!"

On the high platform, the luster of the medals remained bright under the gloomy sky.

The two raised their hands in a salute, their movements clean and sharp.

When the medal landed on his chest, Lu Cheng could clearly feel that bit of cold weight.

It wasn't heavy, yet it felt incredibly burdensome.

He looked up and saw Patriarch Xia Renyi on the high platform looking at him.

The old man did not have his usual casual and hearty demeanor today; his expression was exceptionally solemn, yet the look in his eyes as he gazed at Lu Cheng still revealed a hint of undisguised appreciation.

As he stepped down from the platform, he heard the sound of shutters behind him.

The reporters seemed to have finally waited for the most important image of the day, and their lenses were almost all aimed at him and Su Wan.

The sense of unease that Lu Cheng had just suppressed in his heart surfaced once again.

...

After the ceremony ended, reporters quickly swarmed them.

Questions came one after another, microphones almost shoved into their faces.

"Student Lu, how do you feel right now?"

"What exactly was your role in last night's incident?"

"As a high school student receiving the Third-Class Red Sun Medal, do you feel you have surpassed your peers?"

Lu Cheng felt a headache coming on from the questions and could only maintain a facade of calmness, trying to answer as briefly as possible.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before military personnel separated the reporters.

By the time he truly escaped from that commotion, it was already past noon.

The school had given two days off.

Lu Cheng didn't go home immediately, nor did he think about what to do next; he just walked slowly along the street alone.

There were many people on the street, but the sunlight still couldn't pierce through the clouds.

The city seemed to have returned to normal, yet it also seemed not to have fully recovered.

Lu Cheng just walked like that, his mind in a bit of a mess.

As he walked, he looked up and realized that, without knowing when, he had arrived at the entrance of the Bailian Martial Arts Hall.

The black-gray building stood quietly, seemingly no different from the past few days.

"Yo, our big hero, aren't you going to come in and sit for a while?"

A voice with a hint of lazy amusement came from behind him.

Lu Cheng turned around.

Qian Shuying was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling at him.

She was still wearing that sharp training outfit, her hair tied up high.

Lu Cheng smiled.

"You're quite well-informed."

"No kidding, the whole city is about to know about you today."

Qian Shuying raised an eyebrow and turned to walk inside.

"Come on, go in and spar with me."

There weren't many people in the training hall.

The ring was empty.

Lu Cheng didn't refuse and stepped up.

Qian Shuying stood opposite him, loosening her shoulders, her eyes filled with eager fighting spirit.

"Don't hold back."

"Alright."

The next second, both of them moved simultaneously.

Fists blurred, footsteps thundered, and the fierce wind stirred up by their surging Vitality made the flags in the corners sway gently.

But this fight didn't last long.

Qian Shuying was soon defeated.

She fell to the edge of the ring, her bangs wet with sweat, her chest heaving violently.

She looked at Lu Cheng standing in front of her, and after a long while, she gave a bitter smile.

"You really are strong..."

"Like a monster..."

Lu Cheng stood there, silent for two seconds.

"Maybe."

Qian Shuying looked up at the ceiling and suddenly asked:

"What are your plans for the future?"

"I'm being taken to participate in a selection," Lu Cheng said. "I probably won't be staying in Rong City for a while."

Qian Shuying was stunned for a moment.

"Oh... is that so?"

She pushed herself up from the ground, brushed off her clothes, and her expression quickly returned to normal.

"Well, I wish you luck in not getting killed."

Lu Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

"That's a rather unique way to give a blessing."

Qian Shuying waved her hand and turned to walk out without looking back.

But her back looked inexplicably quiet.

Lu Cheng stood there watching her for a while, and just as he was about to step down from the ring, he saw Chen Wu walk in from the other side.

This guy still had injuries; his shoulders and arms were wrapped in bandages, and his complexion wasn't great, but his eyes were still bright.

He walked up to Lu Cheng and gave his shoulder a heavy pat.

"I... will become stronger."

"Until I catch up to you!"

Lu Cheng's shoulder shook from the pat, but he smiled.

"Good luck."

Chen Wu grinned, his smile a bit goofy, yet also quite serious.

...

For the next two days, Lu Cheng almost didn't go out.

Mainly because as soon as he stepped out, he would be besieged by various media and the public.

His life returned to its simplest state.

Cultivating, practicing the Guiding Technique, tempering his Vitality, and adapting to the Eternal Flame Demon Bloodline.

After his bloodline awakened, his cultivation speed was significantly faster than before.

The Vitality in his body felt as if it had been ignited, circulating more domineeringly and fiercely than ever before.

His Vitality value inched closer to the limit.

By the night of the second day, when Lu Cheng collapsed onto his bed, dragging his exhausted body, he felt completely hollowed out, too lazy to even move a finger.

In his drowsy consciousness, he suddenly saw a sea of fire.

It wasn't ordinary fire.

It was a crimson demonic flame that seemed capable of burning the heavens and the earth to ash.

Deep in the sea of fire, a massive and twisted figure slowly stood up.

Its scarlet eyes, like two burning blood moons, stared fixedly at him.

The Eternal Flame Demon.

It opened its mouth; there was no sound, but that malice surged like a tide, carrying madness, brutality, and a greed that eroded everything.

It wanted to devour him.

It wanted to take over this body.

Lu Cheng wanted to retreat almost instinctively, but the next moment, another light suddenly shone from deeper within his body.

It was not fire.

It was a more ancient, deeper, and more indescribable power.

There was no sound, no fluctuation, not even any dazzling phenomenon.

Yet the moment the Flame Demon's aura touched that power, it began to rapidly disintegrate, twist, and be swallowed, just like snow meeting the blazing sun.

For the first time, it showed terror.

Lu Cheng stared blankly at this scene, with only one thought remaining in his mind.

What... is this?

The system did not appear.

There was no prompt tone, no panel.

Only that vague and mysterious power, silently devouring the remaining mental will of the Flame Demon completely.

By the time Lu Cheng woke up with a start, it was already dawn.

Weak morning light filtered in through the window, and the air carried the chill of early morning.

He sat up, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his chest heaving.

The scene just now was so real it didn't feel like a dream.

Lu Cheng was silent for a moment, then immediately checked his own status.

The next second, his eyes widened slightly.

Vitality... 100!

He had reached the Extreme Realm...

He slowly exhaled, looked down at his palms, and slowly curled his fingers.

The power within his body was more than a notch stronger than before.

Blood flowed slowly beneath his skin, as if suppressing some kind of scorching heat about to erupt!