Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 568 - 551: Surging Tides

Early on the day the news broke, the entire Ruda was enveloped in an indescribable atmosphere.

Some students at Ruda who proclaimed themselves just began to attack Zhou Leng without any evidence, clamoring to eliminate Ruda’s scum.

Because the accusation was so severe, many people didn’t know how to handle it at first.

The school immediately sent people to find Xu Qingjin to work on her thoughts and provide protection.

Xu Qingjin’s classmates also tacitly avoided discussing the matter to prevent her from being impacted.

After the Great Battlefield ended, public opinion completely exploded.

Countless self-proclaimed just individuals rushed to Ruda’s related accounts online, starting to mock and ridicule.

The next day, local influencers and independent media personnel in Rucheng sprang into action.

Numerous people holding their phones headed to Ruda to start searching for the perpetrator, sparking a wave of sensation.

Ruda, overwhelmed, announced a lockdown, isolating itself from outsiders.

On the third day, outside influencers and independent media personnel arrived, causing Rucheng to suddenly bustle with activity.

Even the Martial Mansion of Rucheng began to feel immense pressure.

On the fourth day, an unexpected event occurred.

A train carrying many students returning home for the winter holiday passed by Rucheng, and whether by coincidence or intentional incitement, the matter was brought up, leaving everyone furious as they disembarked.

Over a hundred students left the train station and gathered at Ruda’s gates.

The video titled "Students from various schools united to denounce Ruda’s perpetrator" went viral on the internet instantly.

Under normal circumstances, such videos would be covertly banned because the authorities would never allow such things to happen.

But this time, not only was it not forbidden, the dissemination was intensified.

Ruda remained silent throughout.

Two days later, both Rucheng and Ruda fell into crisis.

Numerous people waved banners at Ruda’s gates, chanting slogans.

"Demand Ruda to punish the perpetrator!"

"Martial Arts endure, justice never dies!"

"Urging Ruda not to shelter the criminal!"

Public opinion, completely ignited.

The web pageviews exceeded a billion and rapidly continued to climb.

Finally, some individuals connected to Zhou Leng began speaking online.

"I was Zhou Leng’s classmate in high school, not stating a position, just stating evidence. Having read the news, I clearly remember at that point Zhou Leng was in his senior year, and in the hospital, making it impossible for him to return to school for the crime. If he had committed it, given his health at the time, he would’ve likely been dead."

"During the joint exam at Shuizhou Demon City, Celestial Ladder, I was saved by Zhou Leng. I can’t prove whether he’s a perpetrator, but I can only say, he doesn’t seem like it."

"A bunch of fools, angers me to no end, no evidence at all, believe whatever people say, are you all idiots? Forty hundred media outlets, they’ve been lying for so many years, so many times, and now you start believing them?"

Quickly, these people found their online accounts were banned, unable to speak on public networks.

Among those whose accounts were blocked was Lv Yuanhao, the temporary senior brother at He Yin Martial Arts Academy during the Celestial Ladder joint exam.

That day Zhou Leng led many examinees through a breakout, blocked by Demons, outnumbered, deeply encircled.

Without hesitation, Lv Yuanhao rallied many classmates to support Zhou Leng’s team.

He was naturally straightforward, but because the accusation was too sensitive, he had no evidence and couldn’t say much, merely neutrally recounting Zhou Leng’s righteous acts during the Celestial Ladder exam.

Then his account was sealed.

This burly man with a big frame had his temples throb all night, unable to bear it anymore.

He reached out to many friends from the same school to publish messages in various groups.

"I am Lv Yuanhao, a Celestial Ladder examinee at He Yin Martial Arts Academy. If you’re human, join me at Ruda, I want to tell those bastards face to face, Zhou Leng and I are not perpetrators, but good men who joined forces to slay Demons!"

Currently, Lv Yuanhao is already a senior brother in his second year at He Yin Martial Arts Academy, the strongest contender for student council president in the next term.

Yet he called another contender for the student council presidency.

"Next year, I won’t compete with you for presidency, but I have a condition, this time help me to support Zhou Leng."

Lv Yuanhao has considerable influence at He Yin Martial Arts Academy, coupled with all those Celestial Ladder examinees respecting Zhou Leng, therefore, his call echoed widely.

After the Celestial Ladder exam, the joint examinees from eighteen schools established many large groups.

As time passed, those large groups gradually cooled down.

In recent days, sporadic voices arose, but most remained silent.

Until Lv Yuanhao called people to Ruda to support Zhou Leng, the various groups slowly awakened.

Soon, some started uploading online screenshots, revealing ample evidence proving Zhou Leng had no time to commit the crime then.

Actually, as soon as Zhou Leng encountered trouble, some examinees, from years of experience, sensed something fishy.

Because in recent years, too many similar events occurred, often ending in failure.

So, some truly conscientious examinees began gathering all sorts of evidence, patiently waiting.

Once Lv Yuanhao called for action, they published evidence in the groups.

First, it was copious evidence proving Zhou Leng was bedridden at the time, with absolutely no time to commit the crime.

Next, screenshots of messages the accuser posted online during that period were uploaded, revealing she was flaunting her new skirt on the alleged day, showing no trace of distress or depression, followed by countless posts defending idols, praising Demons, lauding foreign Martial Artists, insulting Dragon Country Martial Artists, without a single word about the related incident.

Animals don’t speak of evidence, but humans do.

Seeing veritable evidence placed before them, the Celestial Ladder exam candidates were enraged.

Thus, more and more students from eighteen schools booked tickets and headed to Ruda.

In less than two days, an unprecedented scene unfolded outside Ruda, causing a global sensation.

Students of Ruda kept within the school obediently.

Outside the school, two groups of students launched an offensive and defensive battle over Zhou Leng.

One group defended Zhou Leng, presenting various evidence and arguing logically.

The other accused Zhou Leng, demanding severe punishment for the strong offender, but only resorted to insults, unable to provide any evidence, constantly citing news and media.

Soon, the latter employed insidious tactics, beginning to doxx and conduct online attacks against those defending Zhou Leng, spreading the information of Lv Yuanhao and others as leaders across the internet, attacking furiously.

At the same time, major media once again skewed the narrative, accusing those who defended Zhou Leng of taking quotes out of context, clipping videos, and slandering him.

The faculties of the eighteen schools continuously received complaint letters, forcing them to contact students and even send teachers to demand their return to school.

With mounting pressure, more and more supporters of Zhou Leng were compelled to leave Ruda.

As the situation escalated, increasingly more rational individuals realized something was amiss.

Because all the content spread by major media either lacked evidence or contained numerous errors and omissions.

Just as one side was on the verge of victory, a group of people quietly arrived, seemingly just a drop of cold water in boiling water, yet causing huge ripples.

These people were all adults.

They wore simple attire, some merely in black and white.

Some carried portraits of their deceased children, others brought newspapers from back then, neither causing trouble nor holding banners, only gathering together.

To commemorate their children.

Soon, their words spread across the internet.

"We don’t defend Zhou Leng, we just came to commemorate the sons and daughters who died on the battlefield."

"We haven’t seen evidence of Zhou Leng’s offenses, but we have evidence of his combat against demons."

"When he was badly injured back then, we only booked takeout delivery for him and sent specialties. Now, we come to the school to thank him together."

"No matter what you say, my daughter was saved by him."

"My child was saved by him too."

"We don’t believe someone clearly in the hospital could teleport to the school to commit acts forcefully."

The adult parents displayed significant restraint.

But it was precisely this restraint that tugged at everyone’s heartstrings, causing many who accused Zhou Leng to gradually regain their senses.

Some people set emotions aside and made logical deductions, only to find the entire complaint process immensely absurd, with many details full of contradictions.

What puzzled them the most was that the principal of the Eighth Middle School actually strongly supported Zhou Leng, even hanging a banner at the entrance.

"Zhou Leng is forever the pride of the Eighth Middle School; we, the Eighth Middle, do not allow anyone to smear him."

Such behavior was considered extreme.

Yet it happened.

Typically, at this time, Ruda’s school authorities would clear ties, issue statements for thorough investigation for the school’s reputation, and even swiftly release disciplinary announcements.

Most of the time, schools are indifferent, only wanting to hush up incidents, forcing victims to keep silent, indulging perpetrators.

However, Ruda never voiced any statement.

Only one seemingly righteous person used the school’s self-media account to release a statement attacking Zhou Leng, then that account was canceled, and the teacher who posted the message was dismissed.

However, in the public’s view, it was ultimately an act of force, after all, a common affair of ordinary people.

The heat quickly subsided, but the topic still maintained a degree of discussion in video comment sections and forums.

After leaving the Great Battlefield, the trial takers reported the progress to their superiors.

Reports from various trial takers caused upper management to regard the Zhou Leng incident with high importance.

Thus, the Demon City Army dispatched Chen Shouhu to the Dragon World to handle the matter comprehensively.

Eventually, after ensuring good treatment for Zhou Leng, the Queen of Red Eyes released him.

The Demon City Army carried the unconscious Zhou Leng to the best first hospital of the Demon City Army in Xiongjing for treatment.

Rucheng, barbecue stand.

Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao were drinking and eating barbecue.

After a long while, Hu Yi asked, "What do you think about this matter?"

Feng Wenhao remained silent for a moment, then said, "At first, I thought it was just an accident, maybe even a misunderstanding."

"But when I discovered that exactly four hundred large media outlets started framing and slandering, with self-media launching a full-scale attack, I realized something was wrong. Especially after my web account was banned."

"You got banned too?" Hu Yi asked.

"Our class, no, our entire grade, half the classmates got banned. We can’t post messages on the public network now, barely even view them, only chat in small groups."

"A giant hand at work..." Hu Yi sighed.

Feng Wenhao said, "At first, we also thought Zhou Leng had offended someone. But gradually, it felt wrong; no matter what Zhou Leng did, he couldn’t have offended so many people; their tactics were too vicious."

"All our classmates gather when nothing is happening and discuss. Eventually, I realized it’s related to Zhou Leng’s uncle."