Two years later.
The Dawn Banner slowly rose over Star City Heroes Cemetery.
Representatives from every faction stood with Feng Qi before the Heroes Monument, facing it as they recited their oath.
After years of preparation, the moment of the final battle was about to arrive.
Feng Qi's gaze was resolute as he looked at the Heroes Monument, shaped like the hilt of a sword.
He still clearly remembered that Wang Jinsheng had brought him here for the first time.
Back then, he had innocently pointed at the Heroes Monument and asked Old Wang:
"Why does the Heroes Monument look like a sword stabbed into the earth, with the part above ground resembling its hilt..."
Old Wang had smiled, rubbed his head, and said something Feng Qi still remembered vividly:
"If this sword remains sealed in the earth, it represents peace and secure borders. If it is ever drawn, it means national calamity has arrived and heroic souls will rise again."
"The Star City beneath our feet is the scabbard, and a scabbard is a sharp sword's gentlest home!"
At the time, he had only vaguely understood those words.
Yet he had heard the respect and pride in Wang Jinsheng's voice.
As he grew older, he came to deeply understand what Old Wang had meant.
The heroic souls resting here were the sharp swords returned to their scabbards.
Looking toward the Heroes Monument in the distance, his gaze became even firmer.
"May the heroic spirits bless this expedition!"
Feng Qi picked up the wine jug placed on the table before him, walked around it to the monument, and scattered the wine with a sweep of his hand.
When he turned around,
the representatives of the Prajna Battle Squad, Soaring Sky Battle Squad, Star City Military Department, Tiger Soul Research Institute...