The entire Qiling Academy population was immersed in excitement. Students of every grade were discussing the duel, completely forgetting about the insulting rumors that had once been spread about Xiang Ning. Everyone greeted each other with excited conversation. This was a grand event on a scale that no one had experienced before! The joy and awe were indescribable.
In the past, they didn’t dare tell anyone that they were Qiling Academy students. Due to Xiang Ning, outsiders had terrible opinions of their school and the students found it embarrassing. However, now everyone was singing praises of Xiang Ning's strength all over the internet. The school shared the limelight with him, the glory of his victory completely covering whatever stain there had been in the past... although he didn’t think there were any stains to begin with. Maybe only when he had stolen Uncle Zhao’s melons from his yard when he was very young, but he’d subsequently paid him back when he had the money.
Xiang Ning now stood solemnly before his sister, admitting his mistakes and apologizing with great shame. “Uh, can’t you save me some face? Junior Chen Zixin’s right there.”
Xiang Xiaoyu’s expression remained stony, pointing at her phone screen with an accusing finger. “Stay where you are! Why’d you continue to fight when you were injured?!” To be honest, she had been terrified when she saw the dagger lodged in his arm. Chen Zixin had wanted to turn the livestream off, but she stubbornly watched on because her brother was there for her!
“You may not believe this, but that was on purpose,” Xiang Ning solemnly said.
But not even Chen Zixin believed him.
Xiang Xiaoyu quietly watched him, looking at him with her intelligent eyes as if she was egging him on to lie.
“Hey, I’m telling the truth. Think about it—if I was so powerful that I could defeat every martial artist my age without so much as a scratch, these people would never even dare to fight me. Although I’d still win that way, but whenever I think about how they bullied you, I’d still want to beat them up.” He really was telling the truth. How could he be satisfied with beating just one or two people? Not even ten was enough.
Chen Zixin’s eyes turned dreamy the moment she heard him, feeling as if he was the most perfect man she had ever met. Look at those loving eyes! She could drown in them. The boys in her class were nothing compared to this man. She took a deep breath, then rested a hand on Xiang Xiaoyu’s shoulder and said, “Xiang Xiaoyu, please consider what I said earlier. You’ll receive double the love.”
“My brother has a girlfriend,” Xiang Xiaoyu said wistfully. She didn’t believe she would receive double the love. Her friend must be trying to take her brother for herself! Hmmph, not on my watch!
Xiang Ning awkwardly stood there. Was he forgiven?
In truth, Xiang Xiaoyu had already formed her own conclusions before this. She did not blame him at all; all she felt was heartache for him. She knew she could never control him, it had been that way since they were young. If they had been bullied, all he wanted was to win their dignity back. Even if he couldn’t win the fight, he must at least injure them.
Xiang Ning’s principle was this: if you remain silent, thinking that it will all pass, the bullies will only mark you as weak and make it worse. Only when you’re more aggressive, bolder than them, will they fear you and never touch you again. Wasn’t Qiling Academy in the same spot now?
The livestream of the Third School incident had been edited and uploaded on the internet, open to many criticisms and dramatizations.
“Hehe, I didn’t know Xiang Ning was a person like that. Why’d he have to escalate such a small conflict? Look at the Third School students in the video, they were all severely injured. He’s going to get his share one day.”
“Oh my god, he was really trying to cripple them! That’s unreasonable, isn’t it?”
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“I think he must have anger management issues. I pity Xiong Yuan, whose hands were punctured by the daggers.”
In an instant, Xiang Ning was a trending topic again. People shared heavily summarized posts about him that only included how he had taunted Third School and the degree of violence he displayed, swaying the world’s impression of him.
On the way home from school, Xiang Xiaoyu read the news forums in disbelief. “How could they say that?! They were the ones who beat Wang Zhe first!”
Xiang Ning couldn't care less and just nudged her head with a light chuckle. “Don’t worry, let them say what they want. It doesn’t concern us at all.”
“But...!” Xiang Xiaoyu was furious. She didn’t understand how so many people could target Xiang Ning like this.
“Alright, alright, I’ll cook something good for you when we get back. Don’t be mad. When I receive our prize, I’ll take you to get a new set of armor,” comforted Xiang Ning, though there was a dangerous glint in his eye.
......
In Hanwu Academy, within a classroom, Zhao Huatai smirked as he read the notifications on his phone. He turned to the person next to him and emotionally said, “Brother Yu, I’ve shared the gossip content. Let’s see if Xiang Ning’s skin is thick enough to remain in Marsh City!”
“Calm down! He’s just an ordinary peasant, silencing him is nothing to us, remember?” Zhang Hongyu coldly smiled as he slowly took a sip from his cup of tea.
“Yeah, you’re right. But to be honest, he really is strong. If he finds out it was us, what happens then?” Zhao Huatai worriedly asked, recalling the time he had been strung up. It sent chills down his back and would traumatize him for the rest of his life.
Zhang Hongyu’s mouth twitched as he waved. “He won’t, but if he does, do you think he would dare come to Hanwu Academy?”
“Why not?” Zhao Huatai asked, puzzled.
“Simple, we were the ones who shared the derogatory posts. Anyone who does their research would know we’re from Hanwu Academy, and if he comes here, it means he’s admitting his guilt. We’ll use that against him to create more content!” Zhang Hongyu grinned.
It was a brutal move on his part. Xiang Ning was strong, yes, but what could he do? Those posts contained the ‘truth’. If you come after me, wouldn’t that mean that you’re guilty? Although Xiang Ning had supporters online, if he came to Hanwu Academy, it would only prove that he was the guy who refused to rescue a student in need. It was a trap that he wouldn’t be able to escape. And when he graduated, would any university take him in? Which industry would want to hire him? Even if he was strong, he would only be able to hunt in the wilderness. The point was that he wouldn’t even be able to form a team, and fighting alone in the wilderness was suicide!
Zhang Hongyu wanted to condemn Xiang Ning to a slow social suicide, with society gradually ostracizing him. When no one believed him or wanted to give him a chance, he would slowly be separated from society! It was an effective method, and Zhang Hongyu had no fear. This was the difference between a commoner and a person of power; people in power didn’t need weapons to kill!