It was finally over. The sudden invasion by the foreign race had ended completely just two hours after it began. Only two or three hundred people had been injured or killed throughout the whole ordeal.
That was already an excellent result.
When Xu Ziming woke up, he was still at the Pengcheng Martial Arts Training Base. The reason was simple: to make sure there were no stragglers, the residents in the area were still staying there for the time being.
Meanwhile, Sun Wenbin was leading the police in a continuous search outside. By daybreak, everyone would probably be able to go home.
"Has it been taken care of?"
Xu Ziming struggled to his feet. The first person he saw was, unexpectedly, that pretty young waitress.
Strangely, why was she looking at him in shock?
"Could it be..."
As if he'd thought of something, Xu Ziming looked down. Aside from his underwear, he wasn't wearing a thing.
The only garment draped over him had fallen to the floor when he'd just stood up.
"Let me explain!"
"It's okay... We all know what you did. Officer Sun just told us that you killed a foreigner all by yourself. Your family went out a moment ago, so I stayed here to look after you."
Unlike the way she'd looked at him when she thought he was a pervert, the waitress was still smiling brightly, even after seeing Xu Ziming half-naked.
"A-Ming, you're awake?"
Mother Xu approached from a distance, holding clothes she'd just gotten from the Martial Arts Training Base. When she saw that Xu Ziming was awake, tears welled up in her eyes.
No mother could help worrying about her child, especially when Xu Ziming had faced a foreigner far stronger than himself all alone to protect her.
"Bro, you've really made a name for yourself this time. Almost everyone in the city knows there's a high school student who killed a humanoid foreigner all by himself."
"It was just luck. It was already injured." Xu Ziming scratched his head. He absolutely couldn't let anyone find out about the Qilin Blood. Although Ma Mingyu had seen it, he wouldn't tell anyone.
For now, he had to keep a low profile, lest he arouse other people's suspicions.
"Putting everything else aside, you're definitely going to get a spot in the next Pengcheng High School Martial Arts Tournament."
Xu Zhiyao looked at her brother expectantly, as if she couldn't wait to see him on TV, beating the stuffing out of everyone else.
"When my classmates heard that the high school student who beat the foreigner was my brother, they were so jealous." As she said this, admiration filled Xu Zhiyao's face.
Looking at Xu Zhiyao, Xu Ziming felt a surge of pride.
Every big brother knew that having his little sister look up to him was a truly wonderful feeling.
It also strengthened Xu Ziming's longing to reach the pinnacle of the Martial Way. He had to keep training until no one ever had to worry about him again.
He had to train until everyone felt safe because he was there, just like Sun Yuan, the strongest human alive.
"All foreigners have been eliminated. Residents may leave at their own discretion."
At that moment, an announcement rang out through the rooms of the Martial Arts Base, declaring that the foreigners had all been eliminated.
"I wonder how Master is doing." Xu Ziming suddenly remembered that, before he'd passed out, Ma Mingyu had been the only one facing so many foreigners. He couldn't help worrying.
"Is Xu Ziming here?"
A familiar voice came from the entrance to the Martial Arts Base.
It was Sun Wenbin.
Hearing his name, Xu Ziming hurriedly pulled on the clothes his mother had just brought him, then immediately stood up.
"I didn't expect we'd meet again in less than a week."
Sun Wenbin was even warmer toward him this time than the last. Back then, Xu Ziming had merely shown that he could barely beat an ordinary Martial Artist who was already injured.
But now, Xu Ziming had genuinely defeated a foreigner at full strength.
And he was only eighteen. Twenty years from now, when he was Sun Wenbin's age, he might even surpass him.
A genius of this caliber naturally had to be drawn into their fold. Who knew? If another disaster struck Pengcheng in the future, this young man standing before him might be the one to resolve it.
"Hahaha, you must be Xu Ziming. I'm Fang Xingyun, the owner of Nebula Martial Hall. I sent you a contract from our martial hall a couple of days ago. I wonder if you remember."
Before Xu Ziming and Sun Wenbin could even exchange a few words, Fang Xingyun appeared behind Sun Wenbin and greeted him with a kindly smile.
"Thank you both for your concern about my injuries, seniors. How is Teacher Ma doing?" Xu Ziming bowed to them, but didn't forget to ask about Ma Mingyu.
"Old Ma? Don't worry. His old injury flared up and he couldn't keep it under control, but he didn't suffer any new injuries. He'll soon be back to normal. It's just a shame..."
Fang Xingyun trailed off, but there was genuine regret in his voice.
"A shame about what?" Xu Ziming was clearly anxious to hear this.
"Don't listen to him. Your teacher's old injuries are simply too severe. There's nothing anyone in all of Pengcheng can do to treat them. I suppose that's why a genius like him ended up staying in Pengcheng to be a teacher."
Sun Wenbin sighed. He clearly knew something about Ma Mingyu's past, and felt both sympathy and regret for him.
"Gentlemen, thank you for saving my A-Ming. If you have time later, please come to our house for a meal." Mother Xu stepped out from behind Xu Ziming with a kind smile and looked at the two men.
"That won't be necessary. We both have things to take care of. Would you mind coming with us, Xu Ziming?"
"Of course. I trust Chief Sun."
Xu Ziming left with Fang Xingyun and Sun Wenbin.
For the first time, Xu Ziming boarded the fabled Flying Boat. He had to admit that riding in one was nothing like riding in a car.
Soft clouds drifted past the windows. Looking down, he could take in all of Pengcheng at a glance.
The inside of the Flying Boat was like a beautifully furnished little house. No one needed to pilot it; just enter a destination and it would move on its own.
It didn't jolt at all, either, making the ride extremely comfortable.
The Flying Boat was also very fast. It could cross half of Pengcheng in just half an hour.
It was thanks to this technology that Fang Xingyun and Sun Wenbin had managed to reach the scene just half an hour after the foreigners' life signs were detected.
The two men had invited Xu Ziming along mainly so they could take him to see Ma Mingyu.
Although they'd told him Ma Mingyu was fine, hearing it from someone could never be as reassuring as seeing it with his own eyes.
Of course, there were other reasons as well.
"Xu Ziming, by defeating that foreigner this time, you bought us time to rescue the crowd. We haven't settled on your reward yet. We'll notify you in a few days."
"Thank you, Officer Sun. As a Martial Artist, protecting the public is my duty."
He laughed but didn't turn down the reward. He'd nearly died. If he kept refusing, wouldn't he look like an idiot?
Before long, the Flying Boat came to a stop. They had arrived at the hospital where Ma Mingyu was recovering.
Ma Mingyu's room was clearly the hospital's highest-grade ward. There were no other rooms nearby, keeping the area extremely quiet.
"A-Ming, you're here."