97: Chapter 97 We are confirming identities

Zhou Yun's throat moved.

It was so close...

Just a little more, and the Qi would have choked his throat.

But he managed to suppress it.

He originally had so much he wanted to say.

He wanted to say that these seven days were the most fulfilling seven days of his life.

He wanted to say that he remembered every single person in Flower City.

He wanted to say, "Rest assured, I will definitely return. Definitely."

But he knew that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop.

So he took a deep breath, then bowed deeply, suppressing all the words he had prepared in his heart, and only said one sentence—

"Before I return, I leave everything in Flower City to... everyone!"

As soon as his voice fell, the tears the citizens had been holding back burst forth.

"Ah!!!"

"City Lord!"

"Wuu..."

Zhou Yun did not respond, simply turning resolutely and striding toward the Teleportation Array within the City Lord Manor.

He walked quickly.

He did not look back.

He understood what the citizens were worried about.

And precisely because of that, he could not say more, nor could he look back.

After all... this was not a final farewell.

Behind him, Wan'er's voice came.

Choked with sobs, yet high-pitched and powerful—

"Farewell! City Lord!"

All officials bowed.

The citizens knelt in unison.

The voices of two hundred thousand people converged into a torrent, surging into the sky—

"Farewell, City Lord!!!"

Jianghai City, Jianghai Square.

At seven in the morning, the square was already packed with people.

Today was the eighth day of the City Lord World novice period.

All City Lords worldwide who completed the seven-day trial would return to Blue Star through their respective cities' golden portals.

Each city's portal corresponded only to its own City Lords, and the first person to walk out would be the one with the highest comprehensive score in that city.

And after the data from all cities worldwide was aggregated, a global ranking would be produced.

This event was being broadcast live nationwide.

In the center of Jianghai Square, a golden arch stood in the sunlight, its surface shimmering with fine patterns, not yet activated.

Warning lines were drawn on both sides of the arch, broadcasting equipment was set up around the square, and drones hovered at low altitudes.

On the large screen, the host was doing pre-game warm-ups.

"...Jianghai City has a total of 32,000 students who received City allocations this year, including two S-level City Lords and eleven A-level City Lords. According to various predictions, the most likely person to walk out of the portal first is S-level Lord Lin Rui—the top scorer in the college entrance examination from Jianghai No. 1 High School, and ranked first in the city for City Lord capability assessment..."

"Another popular candidate is A-level Lord Zhao Haoran, a top student from Jianghai No. 2 High School, who reportedly broke the city record in the military command section of the simulation assessment..."

The commentator continued, but most people in the square weren't listening carefully.

City Lords who died during the novice period had already returned—dying in the City Lord World meant failure, and losers were directly teleported back to the starting point of Blue Star.

So those waiting in the square right now were not the families of the losers.

The losers had already gone home, some having returned days ago.

Those walking out of the portal today were all winners.

The only difference was the ranking.

The parents weren't concerned with "whether my child can return alive," but rather "what rank is my child."

In literature, there is no first; in martial arts, there is no second.

The outcome is not yet decided, so what are you telling me about popular candidates for first place?

What kind of trash media is this!

Are leaders born into greatness?!

Zhou Tianhao stood in the front row of the crowd.

He had come very early, but not the earliest.

There were still a few well-dressed parents in front of him, clearly the parents of those S-level and A-level City Lords, looking composed, chatting and laughing, carrying an air of confidence that victory was in their grasp.

Zhou Tianhao squeezed in behind them, wearing a jacket washed to the point of fading, his hair combed neatly, and on his feet were the leather shoes he only wore during the Lunar New Year.

He didn't think Zhou Yun would rank near the front.

An F-level small city, with the lowest comprehensive strength.

Being able to survive the seven-day novice period was already a stroke of immense luck.

As for the ranking...

He estimated that Zhou Yun would likely rank very low, perhaps even last.

The portal released people in order of ranking; if the rank was low, he might have to wait until the afternoon or even evening.

But he still came.

And he came very early.

Not to see the ranking, but because—no matter the rank, when his son walked out, he wanted to be there.

It didn't matter if he was last.

He would just stand here and wait.

Waiting a whole day was fine too.

A parent next to him glanced at him and casually asked: "What level is your child's city?"

"F-level."

The other person froze for a moment, a subtle expression flashing across their face—not quite mockery, but that sense of distance within the politeness was something Zhou Tianhao was all too familiar with.

"Oh... then I guess you'll have to wait a while."

"Hmm." Zhou Tianhao smiled, "It's fine, no rush."

He put his hands into his jacket pockets and touched the things inside—a plastic bag containing two apples.

He had picked them from the shop this morning, choosing the two biggest and reddest ones.

Xiao Yun loved apples.

Eight o'clock sharp.

The portal lit up.

Golden patterns spread upward from the bottom of the arch, filling the entire arch within a few seconds.

A low humming sound rang out, and all the noise in the square quieted down simultaneously.

On the large screen, the host lowered their voice: "The portal has been activated... Jianghai City's first place is about to be revealed... Let's see, is it S-level Lord Lin Rui—"

The golden light flared brilliantly.

A figure appeared in the center of the arch.

Against the light, their face was unclear.

But everyone could see—the figure was neither tall nor short, wearing a cyan-grey robe, their pace neither hurried nor slow, as they walked out of the light.

It was not S-level Lord Lin Rui.

S-level Lord Lin Rui was one meter eighty-five, with a sturdy build, recognizable at a glance.

It was not A-level Lord Zhao Haoran.

A-level Lord Zhao Haoran had a rigid face with sharp angles.

The square was filled with confusion.

The sound of the host flipping through documents came through the microphone, and there was a flurry of activity in the control room.

"This person is..." The host's voice hitched, "We are currently confirming their identity..."

The well-dressed parents in the front row looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.

If it wasn't S-level Lord Lin Rui or A-level Lord Zhao Haoran, then who was it?

There were only a few S-level and A-level City Lords in Jianghai City this year, and none of them looked like this.

Zhou Tianhao stood behind them, not paying much attention at first.

He knew that Xiao Yun couldn't be the first, so when the portal lit up, he just glanced at it instinctively—

Then his breathing stopped.

The young man walked out of the backlit area, and the sunlight shone onto his face.

He squinted slightly, not yet adapted to the brightness, and subconsciously raised his hand to block it.

Zhou Tianhao recognized that movement.

Xiao Yun was afraid of bright light.

He had been afraid since he was a child, needing to use his hand to block his eyes every morning when opening the curtains, blinking twice after blocking it before opening them.

He recognized that walking posture.

Neither hurried nor slow, his left shoulder slightly lower than his right; he had tried to correct it for over a decade since he was a child, but it never changed.

He recognized that face.

So he froze.