Chapter 404: Public Opinion Storm, Chu Sheng Caught Stealing Corpses?

The moment this anonymous exposé was posted, the Jing University forum exploded.

"The Human Race’s first god? Holy crap, that’s insane!"

"With the Divine Realm, humanity finally has a hope of completely driving out the Alien Race!"

"Then Gu Yuexi isn’t the Future Empress anymore, she’s a future goddess!"

"Gu Yuexi was always my goddess."

"But I heard that Gu Yuexi’s Divine Son slot was taken away."

"On what grounds?! They only won the Martial Dao Tournament because of Gu Yuexi and the Divine Mosquito! If the slot isn’t hers, whose is it? Mine?"

"You? You’re nobody. I heard... it seems the Ten Great Clans snatched it. They’re so shameless!"

"Have you got a death wish? How dare you speak ill of the Ten Great Clans!"

"Like hell I’m scared! We Jingda Students are no pushovers!"

The students of Jing University were in an uproar, almost unanimously supporting Gu Yuexi.

After all, Gu Yuexi was their alumna, the hero who had brought glory back to them.

However, when this wave of public opinion spread across the entire internet, the tide began to turn.

Clearly, an unseen hand was frantically stirring up trouble from behind the scenes.

Initially, public opinion was split fifty-fifty.

Some supported Gu Yuexi, believing that since she had won it, it should belong to her.

But many so-called "rational and objective" people also jumped out to analyze the situation:

"You can’t put it like that. The Divine Son slot concerns the fate of all humanity. It’s a top-tier national strategic resource, so it certainly can’t be given away casually, right?"

"Indeed. Gu Yuexi won the championship, and she can be given other rewards. But the Divine Son slot must be handled with extreme caution!"

"A matter of this magnitude must be coordinated at the national level to select the most perfect and reliable candidate in all aspects."

If these views could be considered even remotely rational, what came next was a far more vicious offensive.

Large swarms of paid trolls entered the fray, and all sorts of "dirt" on Gu Yuexi began to fly everywhere.

"Exclusive exposé! Gu Yuexi is actually extremely withdrawn and violent. She often bullies classmates at school and doesn’t even respect her professors!"

"It’s confirmed! Gu Yuexi once used a fake identity to commit fraud on Hong Kong Island, swindling a large amount of Cultivation Resources!"

"Exactly! Gu Yuexi might be talented, but her character is flawed. How can someone like that be worthy of becoming the Human Race’s first god?"

"That mosquito with Gu Yuexi is actually an Outer Realm Fierce Beast! How else could it be so strong? A mosquito from Blue Star couldn’t possibly be that powerful. That mosquito must be a disguised member of the Alien Race!"

"Gu Yuexi might even be a spy sent by the Alien Race!"

Although these rumors were absurd, with certain people fanning the flames, they sounded vivid and convincing.

The "Hong Kong Island fraud" story, in particular, was sensationalized, even accompanied by a few blurry photos.

Even though many students from Hong Kong University, and even some of its professors, spontaneously posted to clarify the situation and defend Gu Yuexi.

But in the face of an overwhelming flood of paid trolls, their voices were instantly drowned out, failing to make even the slightest ripple.

This is the power of capital.

These are the methods of the Ten Great Clans.

Oh no, this is just the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg, the most insignificant of their methods!

They didn’t need to actually prove Gu Yuexi was a bad person. They just needed to muddy the waters and stain her with an indelible mark.

How could a person burdened with a "moral stain" be worthy of carrying the hopes of the Human Race?

「In just a few short days.」

The internet’s opinion of Gu Yuexi shifted from initial praise to doubt, and finally to condemnation.

Her approval rating plummeted from a fifty-fifty split to a ninety-ten split against her!

...

Regarding this overwhelming cyberbullying from the outside world...

Gu Yuexi wasn’t unaware of it.

She just... couldn’t be bothered to deal with it.

As the reincarnated Empress, her state of mind was already as solid as a rock.

’Just a mindless mob manipulated by public opinion.’

In her past life, there was a time when she bore far more infamy than this, even becoming an enemy to the entire world. Did she ever even frown?

She just sat quietly in her dorm room, refining the Soul-Corroding Spike in her hand over and over, feeling her control over it grow stronger bit by bit.

’Only strength is an eternal truth.’

’Once I reach that level, all these so-called rumors can be shattered with a single sword strike.’

As for Chu Sheng...

That guy was so busy he barely had time to breathe.

’All that crap online?’

’Sorry, Lord Mosquito has no time for that!’

’Rather than waste time arguing with keyboard warriors, I’d be better off heading to the Northern Domain to collect a couple more corpses!’

’What? You say someone’s calling me an Outer Realm Fierce Beast?’

’Heh, just wait until Lord Mosquito brings out the Insect Race army. I’ll scare you country bumpkins to death!’

「Several days passed.」

Thanks to Chu Sheng’s high-intensity grind, following his monotonous routine, the stats in the Nether Flame Insect Nest saw a terrifying explosion.

[Current Remaining Life Essence: 9,020,000]

Nine million!

’Is that a lot?’

’Not a lot! Not enough!’

’It’s not nearly enough!’

...

「That night.」

The night was dark and the wind was high. The blizzards in the Northern Domain seemed even more violent than usual.

As usual, Chu Sheng used his Boundless Wings to perform an Instant Teleportation to the Northern Domain battlefield.

He expertly dove into the battlefield, starting his search for Alien Race corpses.

The fact that there were Alien Race corpses here almost every day meant that a battle took place here every day.

Oh, right. When Chu Sheng collected corpses, he never took human ones. These fallen soldiers had earned his respect.

"BUZZ~ (’Today’s haul looks pretty good. Are those several War General Level corpses?’)"

Chu Sheng’s mouth watered as he stared at the massive remains of the Alien Race in the distance, which still emanated a terrifying residual power.

War General Level! That was the equivalent of a Ninth Grade expert in the Human Race!

’Harvesting just one would yield at least tens of thousands, maybe even over a hundred thousand Life Essence!’

’Let’s go, let’s go! Time to get to work!’

With a flash, Chu Sheng was about to pounce.

However, the very instant he drew near the corpses, disaster struck!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several extremely powerful auras erupted from the snow in all directions without any warning!

Furthermore, these auras resonated with one another, instantly forming a tight encirclement that locked Chu Sheng firmly in the center.

"Hmm?!"

Chu Sheng’s heart leaped in shock.

’An ambush?!’

Before he could even react...

SWOOSH—!!!

Several blindingly intense beams of light shot up from behind the surrounding snow dunes, instantly focusing on Chu Sheng.

The light was so bright it nearly turned the night into day, dazzling Chu Sheng’s compound eyes until they saw white.

Immediately after.

VWOOM—

The surrounding Space suddenly froze.

An invisible yet powerful spatial field surged, instantly locking down the Space for several hundred meters around.

’This is... a spatial lockdown?!’

’A technique specifically designed to counter Instant Teleportation?!’

Chu Sheng tried to activate his Boundless Wings but found that the surrounding Space had become incredibly viscous, as if he’d fallen into glue. His Instant Teleportation was actually being interfered with!

’What’s going on?’

A stern shout, filled with authority and killing intent, thundered through the blizzard:

"Don’t move!!"

"The unidentified black creature! Cease all Energy fluctuations immediately!"

"Or we will immediately launch a devastating attack!"