Public Opinion

Tianyuan Federation, Taibai Kingdom.

Hanyang University, Canglong City.

In a clearing within a sparse grove, Li Pin, wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt, was practicing a set of boxing techniques.

The force behind his punches was unremarkable, seeming intended primarily to nurture the body.

A moment later, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Just as I thought, the fusion of souls has caused some unusual changes in me. I can precisely sense the enhancement of even a single cell, the increase of a wisp of vitality and blood. Based on these changes, I've devised an entirely new training plan. Its efficiency in strengthening vitality and blood is 2.4 times greater than before."

2.4 times.

In other words, what would originally have taken him a year to reach his peak could now be done in only five months.

And that was not even the limit.

If he kept experimenting, he could become even faster.

"Ring-ring-ring!"

At that moment, a ringing sound came from nearby.

Li Pin's boxing paused, but he did not stop.

His phone kept ringing without pause.

He made no move to answer it.

On one hand, he had not yet finished the set of punches.

On the other, he did not know how to respond.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable over suddenly gaining a strange mother out of nowhere.

The ringing persisted relentlessly.

After fifty seconds, it stopped.

Less than half a minute later, it rang again.

"Running away has never been a way to solve a problem."

Li Pin took his phone from his pocket and answered it.

A worried yet caring voice soon came through. "Son, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Li Pin replied.

"That's good, that's good. Mom... Mom was just checking on you..."

"I won't do anything foolish again."

Li Pin gave her a firm answer first.

"Good, good. Mom believes you. Do you still have money to use? If not, Mom will transfer some more to you."

"No need. I still have some."

"Take it. You're out there alone, and you'll soon be looking for work and internships. It'll be hard. You need to eat better."

"Mm, I know."

Li Pin replied.

The woman on the phone nagged for several more minutes before finally saying, "Your sister wants to talk to you."

Very soon, a soft, sweet female voice came through. "Little Pin, I bought you some Calming Incense. When are you coming back to try visualizing with it?"

"Calming Incense?"

Li Pin frowned. "One portion costs over a hundred thousand. Where did you get that kind of money?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Your sister has worked for so many years, so naturally I have some savings."

Li Pin was speechless.

Was she trying to fool a child?

Over a hundred thousand.

Not a few dozen dollars.

"You've been smart since childhood. You definitely have the aptitude to step onto the path of cultivation and rise above the crowd."

The female voice gently tried to persuade him.

"I've visualized Star Gods for ten years. If I truly had 'aptitude,' I would have succeeded long ago. A portion of Calming Incense won't change that."

Li Pin said, "Return it."

"I've already bought it, so it can't be returned. Just consider it a loan from your sister. Once you become a Star Refiner, will you still be afraid of not earning enough for a portion of Calming Incense?"

"Those with 'aptitude' are one in ten thousand. I don't think I'm that lucky one."

As Li Pin spoke, he decisively said, "I need to learn to accept my own ordinariness. Sell the Calming Incense. I won't use it. Mm, that's all for now."

With that, he hung up.

Looking at the phone screen as it gradually went dark, Li Pin felt a little envious.

When the average salary was only one thousand, his "sister" could casually produce Calming Incense worth over a hundred thousand...

How wonderful.

But as an outsider, he could not accept it.

Yes, an outsider.

He was not the original Li Pin. He was a young man whose soul came from Blue Star.

On Blue Star, his parents had passed away from illness at an early age.

Deeply aware of how fragile life was, he had trained in martial arts since childhood to strengthen his body.

With sweat and blood ten times that of ordinary people, he had finally mastered force before his body began declining.

But he came from an ordinary background. He had neither a famous master's guidance nor a top-tier inheritance. Though he had achieved something in martial arts, he had also trained his body into ruin. Unless he could Embrace Qi into Dan and slowly restore himself, his days would be numbered.

After seeking a solution for three years without success, he had resolved to Embrace Dan.

The result...

His attempt at Embrace Dan failed, and his consciousness scattered.

When he opened his eyes again, he was waking from being choked by lake water.

He had been reborn in the body of "Li Pin," a third-year university student who had jumped into a lake to commit suicide under the pressure of public opinion after "molesting goddess An Wanyi."

"No illness or pain in your body, a mother who loves you, a sister who cares about you, a younger sister who sees you as her role model—and you jumped into a lake over public opinion? Did water get into your brain?"

In life, nothing outweighed death itself.

Li Pin looked at his fair hands and felt the vigorous vitality within his body.

Twenty-two years old.

Healthy, young.

It represented limitless possibilities.

What astonishing fortune.

A moment later, Li Pin calmed the breath within him, raised his head, and gazed into this familiar yet unfamiliar sky.

"I've crossed over, but I didn't get the orphanage setup. A single parent, an older sister and a younger sister..."

Over the past half month, his mother had tried every possible way to care for him, his elder sister Li Yunyan had supported him with all her strength, and his younger sister Li Yunyao had racked her brains for reasons to invite him out, keep him company, and help him relax...

"Healthy, young, and rather handsome..."

Yet he had not known to cherish such a life.

He stood up and patted the grass clippings from his trousers.

"From today onward, I am Li Pin. I believe I'll do better than you did."

"Director, over here!"

A shout came from the path running through the woods.

Immediately afterward, two young men who had previously been hiding behind trees quickly went to greet a man in a suit and a portly middle-aged man.

"Director, he's Li Pin, the one who molested junior An Wanyi and ruined Hanyang University's school spirit."

One of the young men pointed at Li Pin and said to the portly middle-aged man, "Being at the same school as someone like him makes me feel that Hanyang University's standing has been dragged down! Is the school going to expel him?"

"They probably can't expel him. Otherwise, if he kills himself again and dies on campus, the school will have to bear responsibility too."

The other young man answered him.

"I really can't believe he thought of using suicide by jumping into a lake to threaten the school. Why wasn't someone like him simply drowned?"

"Since ancient times, good people never lived long while disasters lingered for a thousand years. This Li Pin is a malignant tumor everyone hates at school. Once he enters society, he'll definitely be scum that harms society."

The two took turns speaking, showing not the slightest mercy.

"All right, there's nothing more to say. Can words alone kill someone? For a person like this, just make sure he can no longer stay at Hanyang University. Out of sight, out of mind."

At that moment, the suited man spoke.

Li Pin's gaze fell on the group.

The suited man was Jing Yunshan.

The vice president of the student council.

An admirer of An Wanyi.

The portly middle-aged man was Wang Gang, director of academic affairs.

"You're spreading rumors everywhere without personally witnessing what happened? Especially you—the forum post was made at your instruction, wasn't it, Jing Yunshan? Aren't you afraid you'll be slapped in the face when the truth turns around?"

Li Pin looked calmly at him.

"Who told you the school's investigation isn't out? The higher-ups originally decided to expel you outright, but they showed mercy because of your unstable mental state and put you on probation instead!"

Jing Yunshan sneered.

"The results are out?"

And it was still probation?

Perhaps because of the resentment before death, Li Pin remembered this part very clearly.

He and An Wanyi could be considered classmates.

At the time, An Wanyi had been harassed by a wealthy young man. She had wanted to use him as a shield and pretend he was her boyfriend, but fearing trouble, he had refused without hesitation.

He did not know what happened afterward.

But the next day, news that he had "molested An Wanyi" swept through the entire campus like a raging storm. The original Li Pin had become a target of universal condemnation and, unable to bear the pressure of public opinion, had eventually jumped into the lake and died.

The school had given him probation as punishment. Was that confirming his crime of molesting An Wanyi?

"Is this the school's final investigation result?"

Li Pin looked toward the portly middle-aged man.

"Li Pin, have you considered how much negative impact this huge public outcry, caused by you, will bring to the school?"

Wang Gang said at an unhurried pace.

"The public outcry comes from someone spreading rumors behind the scenes and fanning the flames. You should deal with those people."

"The most important thing right now is solving the problem."

"So your way of solving the problem is to deal with me?"

"Putting the facts aside, can you guarantee that you truly bear no fault whatsoever in this matter? If you had apologized to An Wanyi back then, how could things have escalated to this point?"

"Apologize?"

Li Pin had wanted to say that he had done nothing wrong, so why should he apologize?

But the other party had already put the facts aside. What was left to say?

"Li Pin, you should be glad you jumped into the lake. Otherwise, probation would not have been the end of it."

Jing Yunshan sneered. "But it doesn't matter. Once this storm passes, don't dream of staying at Hanyang University for even one more day."

"Relying on that school-board-member grandfather of yours?"

Li Pin said.

Jing Yunshan's lips curled upward, clearly proud of his identity. "Heh, young man, I'm simply teaching you in advance what social reality means."

Li Pin did not argue with him further, instead turning his gaze to Wang Gang.

"Remember to prepare a three-thousand-word self-criticism and receive a public reprimand."

Wang Gang said with a stern expression.

The higher-ups had demanded that the matter of Li Pin desecrating An Wanyi be settled quickly.

When choosing between two harms, one chose the lesser.

Compared to the An Wanyi who was certain to shine brilliantly in the future, dealing with the utterly ordinary Li Pin was the best choice for calming the storm.

"A self-criticism?"

Li Pin gave a scornful laugh. "Did water get into your brain? You're openly targeting me, and you still expect me to grovel and write a self-criticism?"

"You... What kind of attitude is that!?"

Wang Gang's eyes widened.

"Not happy? Expel me, then."

After saying that, Li Pin could not be bothered with more nonsense and turned to leave.

"You..."

Wang Gang's face immediately flushed red.

He was the dignified director of academic affairs, a social elite earning an annual salary of one hundred thousand, yet he had been humiliated by a poor student who had not even stepped beyond the school gates!?

But expelling him now...

What if he lost his mind again, jumped into the lake, and died at the school? The responsibility would be enormous.

"He won't be pleased for long. Once the commotion dies down, we'll find some excuse to expel him directly. He's already in his third year. Even if he studies again, it'll be too late. Without even a university diploma, he's destined to muddle through society's bottom rung for the rest of his life, working as a mud-legged laborer."

Jing Yunshan's face was full of contempt.

What was his status? Dealing with an ordinary student with neither power nor influence would be as easy as kneading and squeezing him at will.

On his way back to the dormitory, people occasionally pointed at Li Pin and whispered.

An Wanyi's elder sister, An Youran, was a blazing-hot star of Star Hall Entertainment Company. Though An Wanyi had yet to debut, she was already extremely popular at Hanyang University.

A talented-woman persona.

She possessed intelligence, wisdom, and beauty all in one.

Over the past half month, the matter of Li Pin violating An Wanyi had caused an enormous uproar.

Once the school announced its punishment, he would find it impossible to turn things around.

Pointed at by a thousand fingers, he would die without illness.

The violence of public opinion was not something a person with an unsteady will could necessarily withstand.

They had me pegged as an ordinary person who couldn't stir up any waves.

Li Pin hurried back to the dormitory.

In theory, that was indeed the case.

When an ordinary person faced the network of connections and influence of an entire university, they would only be effortlessly beaten into the dust, never able to resist again.

"Li Pin" was an ordinary person.

But he was not.