Among those present were comrades he knew, students he had personally mentored, and countless heroes who had fought for their civilization's survival to this day.
Lin Yi raised a hand, and the applause gradually subsided.
"Everyone," Lin Yi said slowly, "it's been more than forty years."
It was a simple sentence, yet it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, instantly drawing everyone's thoughts back to those years interwoven with darkness and bloodshed.
The hall fell so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping.
"We lost the homes we knew and the loved ones we cherished, struggling to survive on the edge of despair."
Lin Yi's tone was steady, yet heavy with emotion. "We once thought that was the end of our civilization. But we never gave up. Every one of us, whether soldiers fighting on the front lines or civilians holding the rear; whether researchers laboring tirelessly or administrators maintaining order—we all used our blood and sweat, our wisdom and courage, to pull our civilization back from the brink, bit by bit."
Then Lin Yi paused briefly. Starry rivers seemed to flow in his eyes as he gazed toward the boundless future. "Today, we stand here not merely to celebrate victory in a war, but to declare that the Blue Star Civilization has been tempered by trials and reborn!"
"We brought one era to an end with our own hands, and opened a new era leading to the Star Sea with those same hands!"
"The hardships and glory of the past will become the foundation on which we advance toward a wider world. As for the future..." Lin Yi's voice suddenly rose. "There will be even greater challenges, and even greater glories, awaiting us beyond the Star Sea—for us to conquer and create!"
Thunderous applause erupted once again.