The Power of Rumors

News of the first Admission Notice quickly spread through the Martial Hall, then passed from mouth to mouth among the trainees until it reached the entire District 7 Slums.

In just a few days, all the neighbors had learned about Qin Heng. They were happy for him and came to congratulate him.

But...

The power of rumors could not be underestimated either.

All Qin Heng heard were words of congratulations, but he knew that many people were secretly pointing fingers at him, saying he was pretending to be a genius and had cheated his way into a high-paying position.

Online and on television, skeptical voices were everywhere.

One television station had even created a special program, hiring experts to analyze whether "reaching 928 kilograms of punching force after two days of cultivation" was even possible.

After much discussion, the experts concluded that it was absolutely impossible. Even Chen Yao, the genius cultivator who had set the record for "fastest to reach the Grandmaster realm," had not been that outrageous back then.

Some even brought up the Goddess of War, Jie, for comparison, saying Qin Heng's performance was more absurd than Jie's and absolutely could not be real.

Qin Heng had clearly been a genuine genius, yet these baseless rumors had torn him apart until not a shred remained.

There was no doubt that Wang Peng's shadow lay behind all this. Wang Peng was pushing these things, trying to ruin Qin Heng through them.

If it had been someone mentally fragile, facing such nationwide doubt and the violence of public opinion would likely have affected them deeply. They might have become depressed, irritable, lost their edge, or even been driven mad with rage.

Fortunately, Qin Heng's mind was steadfast.

No matter how the outside world cursed or questioned him, he continued doing as he pleased, going to the Martial Hall to train on schedule every day and returning home on time.

He did not care if others believed the rumors. As long as Fang Lingxue believed him, and his parents believed him, that was enough.

However...

That mindset quietly changed after one small incident.

June 26th.

That evening, after finishing his training, Qin Heng went to the Frost Snow City milk tea shop.

A transfer notice had been posted outside the little shop. It only had a few final days of business left.

Perhaps because it was about to close and they would no longer be able to drink fresh fruit tea, there had been far more customers than usual lately.

When Qin Heng arrived, Fang Lingxue and Yu Lingling were rushing about without a moment's rest.

"Lingxue, two orange drinks. One for each of us." He came to the counter and paid one yuan.

The moment Fang Lingxue saw him, she broke into an innocent, radiant smile. "You're covered in sweat and didn't even wipe it off. I'll make yours without ice. You can't have cold drinks right after training."

"Alright, I'll listen to you." Qin Heng readily agreed and found a seat.

Watching his girlfriend skillfully prepare the fruit tea, he felt utterly peaceful inside.

Then, Qin Heng heard some voices.

At the neighboring table, several people were speaking in hushed tones.

"That's Qin Heng, the one who ranked first in the city in this year's Quasi-Martial Warrior assessment."

"He looks pretty honest. How could he go around deceiving people?"

"What do you know? That's a salary of 120,000 a month! Enough money to buy beef and beat you to death with it! No matter how honest someone is, they'll change when faced with that kind of thing."

"That's true... Damn it, 120,000. How long would we have to work to earn that?"

Though they had tried their best to lower their voices, Qin Heng still heard every word clearly.

He had heard plenty of such comments every day recently and had not taken them to heart. His eyes held only Fang Lingxue.

But then, those people changed the subject.

"That kid seems to be the fruit tea girl's boyfriend."

"Isn't he? I heard he even lives off the fruit tea girl. As a man, that's shameless enough already."

"Holy crap, really? Living off a woman while running a scam—how disgusting does a person have to be..."

"I'm telling you, the more shameless people are, the better they tend to live. We're just too honest. Otherwise, what makes us worse than that kid?"

"Sigh, such a pretty, sweet girl as the fruit tea girl. What a pity..."

Hearing those words, Qin Heng felt somewhat uncomfortable.

If they had only been talking about him, he would not have cared no matter what they said. After all, his conscience was clear.

But once Fang Lingxue was involved, once she had to suffer cold stares for no reason, he could no longer turn a deaf ear.

Qin Heng turned and glanced at those people, his eyes carrying a hint of warning.

That sharp gaze immediately silenced them.

"He heard us..."

"Go, hurry up and leave."

"Can't afford to provoke him, can't afford to provoke him. Go!"

They were all ordinary common folk. Faced with a Quasi-Martial Warrior like Qin Heng, they knew their place and immediately got up and fled.

Fang Lingxue brought over the orange drinks. Seeing that half the customers had left and that Qin Heng's expression was off, she asked, "What's wrong? Did someone say bad things about you?"

Qin Heng said, "Looks like you've heard quite a lot too."

Fang Lingxue said, "Mm... But I know those are all rumors. It's fine, let them talk. It won't change the fact that Heavenly Dao Martial Hall accepted you."

"That may be true, but..."

Qin Heng sighed softly.

"Stop overthinking. Drink your orange drink. I'll be off work soon too, and tonight I'll go to your house for dinner." Fang Lingxue smiled gently.

The girl's pure smile was infectious, and Qin Heng's mood immediately improved considerably.

After staying in the shop for a while, the customers gradually dwindled.

Fang Lingxue packed up after work and went home with Qin Heng.

On the way home, Qin Heng heard more unpleasant words.

And this time, they were right outside his door.

He and Fang Lingxue climbed the stairwell. When they were nearly home, they heard voices coming from inside.

Their neighbor, Uncle Shao, was earnestly telling his parents, "Ziming, you need to persuade your Xiao Heng. If he really took some miracle drug, he should confess to Heavenly Dao Martial Hall. Their Martial Hall is wealthy and powerful; they'll forgive him. Besides, taking a miracle drug isn't anything shameful. People can only dream of getting one. At the very least, the strength it gave him is real."

His father, Qin Ziming, replied in a tone that clearly said he did not want to deal with him, "Got it, got it. I'll talk to the boy when he comes back. Uncle Shao, are you hungry? Would you like to stay for dinner? Xiao Heng should be back soon."

Uncle Shao immediately said, "No, no. I need to go home and cook for my eldest grandson too. I'll come visit another day."

"Then take care, we won't see you out."

Then came the sound of a door opening.

Uncle Shao headed upstairs.

Qin Heng and Fang Lingxue came up from below. The old man had barely left when the two of them arrived home.

"Dad, Mom." Qin Heng looked at his parents and saw that neither of them looked well.

"Xiao Heng, you heard that?" Seeing his son return, Qin Ziming hurriedly said, "Uncle Shao has watched so much television that it's made him stupid. He was talking nonsense. Don't pay him any mind."

Sheng Yuhan added, "Exactly. These people just can't stand seeing our child excel. The moment they saw someone spreading rumors to slander you, they eagerly believed it. In truth, they all know you really are outstanding. They just can't accept it."

"Mm." Qin Heng said nothing more and merely looked at his parents.

He suddenly realized something.

He went out to train every day and returned home at night. He could meet many people, do many things, regulate his emotions, and maintain his confidence.

But his parents were different.

They could not go out. They could only stay home and watch television.

Now, the television was full of information unfavorable to him, and when nearby neighbors occasionally came to visit, they said such unpleasant things.

For his parents, this was undoubtedly an extremely painful experience.

At first, they had been thrilled that their son had been accepted by Heavenly Dao Martial Hall with such high pay.

But in only a few days, the smiles on their faces had gradually disappeared, replaced by worry.

Human words were frightening. Even knowing those words were false, hearing them too often would still hurt.

Qin Heng went into the kitchen to cook.

Soon, a lavish dinner was ready.

"Meat again today? We eat so well every day that your mother and I have both gained weight," Qin Ziming said with a smile.

Fang Lingxue explained on Qin Heng's behalf, "Now that he's earning money, of course we have to improve our lives. We'll eat even better in the future."

"You old man, you really don't know how to appreciate things. Being able to gain weight is a blessing. Your son and daughter-in-law are so filial, and that still isn't enough to make you happy? If you won't eat, I will!"

"Hey, I never said I wouldn't eat! Save me a piece!"

"Hahaha~"

The parents-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted and laughed, their home filled with harmony and joy.

Only Qin Heng did not say a single word throughout the meal.