Zhao Huatai was impressed by Zhang Hongyu’s layered trap, imagining himself from Xiang Ning’s perspective if he had fallen into the trap…. First, there would be negative posts online from the entire Marsh City. Not just insults, but they would shun him. Xiang Ning would have to hide out for a while.
Since he had neither power nor influence, the only thing he possessed was strength. Capable individuals could further their studies after high school in Martial University, then obtain a high-salaried job upon graduation. That was a common route that common martial artists dreamed of.
Some people even chose to form their own teams to hunt beasts in the wilderness, strengthening themselves as well as earning money from their bounty.
However, both of those routes required good personal values. Would the university take in a strong individual that refused to help someone in need and always thirsted for revenge? Would companies hire a man who did not possess basic human values? Would a team of martial artists trust to recruit a teammate with such poor behavior? It was obvious that anyone with decent logic would choose from the rest of the pools instead of this ticking time bomb!
Of course, there were rotten apples that slipped through these routes, maybe even those who were more evil and perverted, but they knew how to hide it. If they could hide it well, people would leave them alone. If they revealed themselves, they would become notorious overnight, and their futures would be ruined. Xiang Ning’s fate was worse, since there were people orchestrating it in the dark.
That was true murder.
Zhao Huatai didn’t know how Xiang Ning would crawl out of this. If he didn’t do anything, the online discourse would only worsen and perpetuate the negative posts. But if he stepped forward to explain himself, what could he even say? It would only make people think he was giving excuses.
“That’s incredible, I’m very impressed. He’ll be dead no matter what he does,” chuckled Zhao Huatai.
“No, there is one thing he can do.” Zhang Hongyu smiled and stood up, looking in the direction of Qiling Academy with a patronizing glare.
“Uh… I can’t figure it out, please enlighten me.” Zhao Huatai couldn’t imagine how Xiang Ning could redeem himself.
“Simple, when he’s at rock bottom, I’ll appear before him and brutally destroy his self-esteem so he has to kneel and kiss my feet. Then, I’ll give him a ‘decent’ job. That’s the way he can continue living, right?” Zhang Hongyu gave an evil grin.
That wasn’t even a solution, it was just utter humiliation! Just the thought of it made Zhao Huatai shiver with excitement. He wanted to string Xiang Ning up and give him a taste of what he had suffered that night! Both of them looked at each other and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
“What are you laughing about? Get the hell home!” The security guard on patrol knocked his baton on the door, glaring at them.
“Yes, yes, we’re heading home now.”
…...
On the other side, Xiang Xiaoyu and Xiang Ning had already arrived home. As usual, she went to take a shower while he started cooking. At the dinner table, she kept putting more vegetables on his plate so he could eat more. He had lost so much blood, he needed the nutrients.
Xiang Ning tried to explain that he had already received excellent treatment in the recovery capsule, but she remained stubborn so he merely ate the pile of food in his bowl with a grin.
It had been a long time since the siblings had watched television together.
“Brother, is a beast horde really coming?” Xiang Xiaoyu worriedly watched the screen. When her brother was gone, she had spent her nights either cultivating her Mental Power or watching television to catch up on current events. Most of the recent news covered the beast horde at Tranquil City. The attack had been going on for more than a month now, with a total of thirty thousand martial artists drafted for battle.
“Don’t worry, Tranquil City is far from here, and we even have a defensive fortress between us.” Xiang Ning stroked her hair.
“Brother, if the beast horde really comes, will you protect me?” She blinked, asking a very silly but heartache-inducing question.
“Silly girl, if the beasts come, I’ll kill them all myself, then exchange them for money to buy you something good to eat. Didn’t you want to go to Planet Azura? When I have enough money, let’s visit there,” he said as he pinched her face.
“Xiang Ning~” Xiaoyu lovingly nuzzled her face into his chest. It was just a passing remark she made after she had watched a piece of news related to Planet Azura when they’d just gotten the crystal television. She couldn’t believe he remembered.
But that would be far into the future.
After watching the news, Xiang Xiaoyu went to the backyard to cultivate her Mental Power while her brother received a call from Dong Qianyi. He informed Xiaoyu he was going out, then left the house. Upon arriving at the road, a car stopped in front of him. He opened the door, greeted Dong Qianyi, and entered.
Dong Qianyi glanced at the house outside and said, “What an obscure place! Why don’t you move into the city?”
“Thank you, Master, but I still prefer living in my own little place,” chuckled Xiang Ning. He had lived here with his sister for a few years now. Although it was small, it was everything they needed; it was their home.
“Fine, this is close to the research facility anyway. This time, I came here to take you there so you can familiarize yourself with the place.” Dong Qianyi grinned. He was confident in his ability to train this disciple well.
Very soon, the car stopped in front of a tunnel at the foot of a mountain near his house.
“In the future, if you’re bored at night, you can come here on your own. This is an ID card, there’s a surprise waiting for you inside.”
Xiang Ning took the card. It looked like a regular ID. Then slits suddenly appeared on the perfectly flat ground and their car slowly descended into the ground. Xiang Ning could barely see below the car, though he was shocked to see empty space hundreds of meters below. All kinds of machines whirled around them, igniting his curiosity.
“Master.” Xiang Ning looked at Dong Qianyi with shining eyes.
Dong Qianyi gave him a smile, then pushed open a door on the wall of the tunnel. Xiang Ning followed him into an ordinary machinery room. Dong Qianyi tapped his card on the wall, then rays of light shot out from his card. Very quickly, the rays of light turned into a doorway that Dong Qianyi walked through. Xiang Ning followed him, once more feeling like he had stepped into another world.
Zhao Huatai was impressed by Zhang Hongyu’s layered trap, imagining himself from Xiang Ning’s perspective if he had fallen into the trap…. First, there would be negative posts online from the entire Marsh City. Not just insults, but they would shun him. Xiang Ning would have to hide out for a while.
Since he had neither power nor influence, the only thing he possessed was strength. Capable individuals could further their studies after high school in Martial University, then obtain a high-salaried job upon graduation. That was a common route that common martial artists dreamed of.
Some people even chose to form their own teams to hunt beasts in the wilderness, strengthening themselves as well as earning money from their bounty.
However, both of those routes required good personal values. Would the university take in a strong individual that refused to help someone in need and always thirsted for revenge? Would companies hire a man who did not possess basic human values? Would a team of martial artists trust to recruit a teammate with such poor behavior? It was obvious that anyone with decent logic would choose from the rest of the pools instead of this ticking time bomb!
Of course, there were rotten apples that slipped through these routes, maybe even those who were more evil and perverted, but they knew how to hide it. If they could hide it well, people would leave them alone. If they revealed themselves, they would become notorious overnight, and their futures would be ruined. Xiang Ning’s fate was worse, since there were people orchestrating it in the dark.
That was true murder.
Zhao Huatai didn’t know how Xiang Ning would crawl out of this. If he didn’t do anything, the online discourse would only worsen and perpetuate the negative posts. But if he stepped forward to explain himself, what could he even say? It would only make people think he was giving excuses.
“That’s incredible, I’m very impressed. He’ll be dead no matter what he does,” chuckled Zhao Huatai.
“No, there is one thing he can do.” Zhang Hongyu smiled and stood up, looking in the direction of Qiling Academy with a patronizing glare.
“Uh… I can’t figure it out, please enlighten me.” Zhao Huatai couldn’t imagine how Xiang Ning could redeem himself.
“Simple, when he’s at rock bottom, I’ll appear before him and brutally destroy his self-esteem so he has to kneel and kiss my feet. Then, I’ll give him a ‘decent’ job. That’s the way he can continue living, right?” Zhang Hongyu gave an evil grin.
That wasn’t even a solution, it was just utter humiliation! Just the thought of it made Zhao Huatai shiver with excitement. He wanted to string Xiang Ning up and give him a taste of what he had suffered that night! Both of them looked at each other and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
“What are you laughing about? Get the hell home!” The security guard on patrol knocked his baton on the door, glaring at them.
“Yes, yes, we’re heading home now.”
…...
On the other side, Xiang Xiaoyu and Xiang Ning had already arrived home. As usual, she went to take a shower while he started cooking. At the dinner table, she kept putting more vegetables on his plate so he could eat more. He had lost so much blood, he needed the nutrients.
Xiang Ning tried to explain that he had already received excellent treatment in the recovery capsule, but she remained stubborn so he merely ate the pile of food in his bowl with a grin.
It had been a long time since the siblings had watched television together.
“Brother, is a beast horde really coming?” Xiang Xiaoyu worriedly watched the screen. When her brother was gone, she had spent her nights either cultivating her Mental Power or watching television to catch up on current events. Most of the recent news covered the beast horde at Tranquil City. The attack had been going on for more than a month now, with a total of thirty thousand martial artists drafted for battle.
“Don’t worry, Tranquil City is far from here, and we even have a defensive fortress between us.” Xiang Ning stroked her hair.
“Brother, if the beast horde really comes, will you protect me?” She blinked, asking a very silly but heartache-inducing question.
“Silly girl, if the beasts come, I’ll kill them all myself, then exchange them for money to buy you something good to eat. Didn’t you want to go to Planet Azura? When I have enough money, let’s visit there,” he said as he pinched her face.
“Xiang Ning~” Xiaoyu lovingly nuzzled her face into his chest. It was just a passing remark she made after she had watched a piece of news related to Planet Azura when they’d just gotten the crystal television. She couldn’t believe he remembered.
But that would be far into the future.
After watching the news, Xiang Xiaoyu went to the backyard to cultivate her Mental Power while her brother received a call from Dong Qianyi. He informed Xiaoyu he was going out, then left the house. Upon arriving at the road, a car stopped in front of him. He opened the door, greeted Dong Qianyi, and entered.
Dong Qianyi glanced at the house outside and said, “What an obscure place! Why don’t you move into the city?”
“Thank you, Master, but I still prefer living in my own little place,” chuckled Xiang Ning. He had lived here with his sister for a few years now. Although it was small, it was everything they needed; it was their home.
“Fine, this is close to the research facility anyway. This time, I came here to take you there so you can familiarize yourself with the place.” Dong Qianyi grinned. He was confident in his ability to train this disciple well.
Very soon, the car stopped in front of a tunnel at the foot of a mountain near his house.
“In the future, if you’re bored at night, you can come here on your own. This is an ID card, there’s a surprise waiting for you inside.”
Xiang Ning took the card. It looked like a regular ID. Then slits suddenly appeared on the perfectly flat ground and their car slowly descended into the ground. Xiang Ning could barely see below the car, though he was shocked to see empty space hundreds of meters below. All kinds of machines whirled around them, igniting his curiosity.
“Master.” Xiang Ning looked at Dong Qianyi with shining eyes.
Dong Qianyi gave him a smile, then pushed open a door on the wall of the tunnel. Xiang Ning followed him into an ordinary machinery room. Dong Qianyi tapped his card on the wall, then rays of light shot out from his card. Very quickly, the rays of light turned into a doorway that Dong Qianyi walked through. Xiang Ning followed him, once more feeling like he had stepped into another world.
