The world federation's General Li Pu had arrived, quelling the clan heads' unrest with just a single question. Li Pu was the commander of the Martian forces, strong in his own right, and with absolute control of the soldiers in the area. No one would dare provoke him then and there.

"General Li! Wh-what are you doing here?" Clan Head Gu stammered in a rather unwilling tone.

Li Pu slowly walked forward, his eyes piercing. "If I hadn't come, you would all have caused a major diplomatic incident that would have led to your clans' downfall. Clan Head Gu, stop trying to wheedle for information and leave immediately!"

Li Pu's words shocked Gu Jiancheng and the other clan heads. An incident that would lead to their clans' downfall? Surely not, but there was no reason for General Li to lie to them either.

"General Li, could you expla—"

"You have no right to ask. Leave now! From now on, Yang Ze's under the protection of the Martian military. Anyone who dares to threaten his safety will be killed."

Gu Jiancheng blanched as he backed off, as did the other clan heads.

On the other hand, Clan Head Yang remained where he was. "General Li, I can't thank you enough for coming to protect my son."

"It's no matter," Li Pu replied brusquely, though he seemed far less threatening to Yang Feng than with the other clan heads.

"Yang Feng, you old man, are you so shameless? Who wants to be your son? From the day you chased me out of the clan and caused my mother's death, I swore to have nothing to do with you! I apologize, General Li, for causing this mess. Please, send him out as well!"

Yang Feng was so shameless that Yang Ze had no choice but to stand up for himself and publicly denounce his father.

Li Pu stared at Yang Ze curiously. Although he had heard rumors that the relationship between father and son had soured, he didn't realize it had deteriorated to this extent. Indeed, it seemed as though Clan Head Yang had come to threaten his own son with the other clan heads, rather than to protect him.

Li Pu glared at Yang Feng. "Clan Head Yang, please leave!"

Within moments, the only two people remaining in the room were Li Pu and Yang Ze.

"General Li, no matter who it was that sent you here, I owe you a tremendous favor," Yang Ze thanked him gratefully. 

"Haha, there's no need to worry. If there's anyone to thank, it's your master. My orders came from the highest authorities of the world federation, and I was tasked to protect you no matter the cost."

Yang Ze was shocked by the revelation. "Is the situation that serious?

"You don't know what happened during Earth's Void Cup, do you? Other countries tried to pressure China into giving up its secrets, but they all failed. Of the members of Team Zenith, you're the only one who's not under China's protection!" Li Pu explained, causing Yang Ze to treat this situation with far more urgency than he had done before.

"I understand. In that case, I'd better not trouble you for too long, General Li. Would you be able to escort me to a teleportation array? I'll head to Odinstadt and meet up with my master," Yang Ze replied.

He would only feel secure once he was with the others.

"Very good." Li Pu agreed with Yang Ze's proposal almost immediately.

Yang Ze reached out to Zhang Lie, whereas General Li began to arrange for safety precautions as he escorted Yang Ze out.

"What's going on, Captain? Why is there such a huge fuss?" Yang Ze asked as soon as the call connected.

"Are you alright? The response was more shocking than I anticipated, but we've gotten everything in control now. Are you safe over there?"

"Thankfully, General Li came to my assistance in time, or I might have suffered a little."

"Good, good. Are you going to be coming back now, or will you leave after the prize ceremony?"

"Immediately, if possible. My presence here is likely a liability for General Li, and I wouldn't want to detract him from his work."

"In that case, we're prepared to receive you—we just returned ourselves."

Indeed, they would all be safer together in China. Countless factions all over the world were coveting the strength they had displayed, and they had eyes on Zhang Lie, on Team Zenith, and even on the Chu and Yun clans.

After receiving Zhang Lie's approval, Yang Ze immediately began to pack. Surrounded by Martian soldiers, he safely stepped into a teleportation array that would lead him back into China.

By the central teleportation array that connected to the capital, Yang Ze was surrounded by a number of soldiers the moment he stepped out of the array, only to find a few familiar figures gathered nearby.

"Yang Ze, you're finally back!" Zhang Lie called out in welcome, and the other members of Team Zenith rushed forward to greet him.

"I told you to transfer citizenship to Earth, didn't I? Thank goodness you're safe!"

"You were lucky that the captain mentioned that you probably needed special attention!"

Yang Ze couldn't help but contrast these warm words with what his father had to say to him.