Public Opinion

Tianyuan Federation, Taibai Kingdom.

Canglong City, Hanyang University.

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

The force of his punches was unremarkable, seemingly focused on health and cultivation.

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

As expected, the soul fusion has brought about some special changes in me. I can precisely perceive the strengthening of even a single cell and the rise of every wisp of blood-qi. By utilizing these changes, I have formulated a brand-new training regimen, increasing the efficiency of strengthening my blood-qi by 2.4 times compared to before.

2.4 times.

In other words, he would have needed a year to reach his peak, but now he only needed five months.

And this was not even his limit.

If he continued to experiment, he could go even faster.

"Ring-ring!"

At this moment, a ringtone sounded.

The fist technique in Li Pin's hands faltered, but he did not stop.

The phone rang incessantly.

He did not move.

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

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

Anyone would feel uncomfortable suddenly having a strange mother appear in their life.

The ringing was persistent.

After fifty seconds, the sound stopped.

Less than half a minute later, the ringing started again.

Avoidance has never been a way to solve problems.

Li Pin took his phone out of his pocket and answered.

Soon, a voice filled with worry and concern came from the other end: "Son, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Li Pin replied.

"That's good, that's good. Mom... just wanted to check on you..."

"I won't do anything foolish again."

Li Pin gave her a definitive answer first.

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

"No need, I still have some."

"Just take it. You're out there on your own, and you'll soon be looking for an internship. It will be very hard, so you need to eat well."

"Mm, I know."

Li Pin replied.

On the phone, the woman's voice rambled on for several minutes before she finally said, "Your sister wants to talk to you."

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

"Calming Incense?"

Li Pin frowned: "A single portion costs over a hundred thousand. Where did you get the money?"

"Don't worry about that. Your sister has been working for so many years, so I naturally have some savings."

Li Pin was speechless.

Was she trying to fool a child?

A hundred thousand.

Not ten or twenty.

"You've been smart since you were little. You definitely have the aptitude to step into cultivation and make a name for yourself."

The female voice coaxed him softly.

"I've been meditating on the Star God for ten years. If I truly had the 'aptitude,' I would have succeeded long ago. It won't change because of a portion of Calming Incense."

Li Pin said: "Return the item."

"It's already bought and can't be returned. Just consider it a loan from your sister. Once you become a Star Refiner, are you still afraid you won't be able to earn the money for a portion of Calming Incense?"

"Those who possess 'aptitude' are one in ten thousand. I don't believe I am that lucky person."

Li Pin said, then stated decisively: "I should learn to accept my own mediocrity. Sell the Calming Incense; I won't use it. Mm, that's all for now."

After saying this, he hung up the phone.

Looking at the screen as it gradually faded to black, Li Pin felt a twinge of envy.

In a world where the average salary was only one thousand, Calming Incense worth over a hundred thousand was something his "sister" could produce at a moment's notice...

How nice.

But as an outsider, he could not accept it.

Yes, an outsider.

He was not the original Li Pin, but a young man whose soul had come from Blue Star.

On Blue Star, his parents had passed away from illness early on.

Deeply struck by the fragility of life, he had practiced martial arts to strengthen his body since he was a child.

Relying on ten times the sweat and blood of an ordinary person, he finally reached the stage of refining power into transformation before his body began to decline.

However, he came from humble beginnings; he had neither the guidance of a famous master nor top-tier heritage. Although he achieved success in his cultivation, he had also ruined his body. Unless he could Embrace Qi into Dan to slowly recuperate, his days were numbered.

After three years of searching for a solution in vain, he decided to Embrace Dan.

The result...

The Embrace Dan failed, and his consciousness dissipated.

When he opened his eyes again, he was choking on lake water.

He had been reborn into the body of "Li Pin," a junior student who had jumped into a lake to commit suicide due to the public pressure of "molesting the goddess An Wanyi."

No illness in this body, a mother who loves you, a sister who cares for you, and a younger sister who views you as a role model, yet you jumped into a lake because of public opinion? Was your brain filled with water?

There is nothing in life more significant than death.

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

Twenty-two years old.

Healthy, young.

It represented infinite possibilities.

How fortunate this was.

After a moment, Li Pin, having calmed the breath within his body, looked up at the familiar yet strange sky.

Transmigrated, but not with the orphan configuration; single-parent, with a sister and a younger sister...

For the past half-month, his mother had tried every way to show her concern, his sister Li Yunyan had exhausted all her efforts to support him, and his younger sister Li Yunyao had racked her brains to find excuses to invite him out to relax and keep him company...

Healthy, young, and quite handsome too...

Yet, he did not know how to cherish such a life.

He stood up and brushed the grass clippings off his trousers.

"From this day forward, I am Li Pin. I believe I will do better than you."

"Director, over here!"

A shout came from the path winding through the woods.

Immediately after, two young men who had previously been hiding behind the trees quickly hurried toward a man in a suit and a portly middle-aged man.

"Director, he is the Li Pin who molested junior student An Wanyi and corrupted the school spirit of our Hanyang University."

One of the youths pointed at Li Pin and said to the portly middle-aged man, "Being in the same school as a person like this, I feel like the status of Hanyang University is being lowered! Is the school going to expel him?"

"I'm afraid they can't expel him. Otherwise, if he commits suicide again and dies at the school, the school will be held responsible."

The one who responded was the other youth.

"I'm impressed, he actually managed to come up with the method of jumping into a lake to threaten the school. Why didn't a person like this just drown?"

"Since ancient times, it's said that the good don't live long while the wicked live for a thousand years. This Li Pin is a tumor that everyone in school hates, and he will definitely be scum that harms society once he enters the real world."

The two spoke back and forth, showing no mercy at all.

"Alright, there's nothing more to say. Can words kill a person? For a person like this, just make sure he can no longer survive at Hanyang University; out of sight, out of mind."

At this moment, the man in the suit spoke up.

Li Pin's gaze fell upon them.

The man in the suit was Jing Yunshan.

The vice president of the student council.

An admirer of An Wanyi.

The portly middle-aged man was Wang Gang, the director of the Academic Affairs Office.

"You didn't witness the process yourself, yet you're spreading rumors everywhere? Especially you—you were the one who had people post that thread on the forum, weren't you, Jing Yunshan? Aren't you afraid of slapping your own face when the truth comes out later?"

Li Pin looked at him calmly.

"Who told you the school's investigation wasn't out? The higher-ups originally decided to expel you directly, but they showed you mercy and gave you a disciplinary probation out of consideration for your poor mental state!" Jing Yunshan sneered.

"The results are out?"

Disciplinary probation?

Perhaps due to the lingering resentment before death, Li Pin had a very clear memory of this segment.

He and An Wanyi were considered classmates.

At the time, An Wanyi was being pestered by a wealthy young man and intended to use him as a shield by pretending to be her boyfriend. Fearing trouble, he had refused without hesitation.

He did not know what happened afterward.

However, the next day, news of him "molesting An Wanyi" caused an uproar throughout the school. The original owner was treated like a pariah by everyone and eventually, unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion, jumped into a lake and died.

The school gave him a disciplinary probation—did this confirm the charge that he had molested An Wanyi?

"Is this the school's final investigation result?" Li Pin looked toward the stout, middle-aged man.

"Li Pin, have you ever thought about how much negative impact this situation will have on the school, given how it has developed into such a massive public opinion crisis because of you?" Wang Gang said unhurriedly.

"The public opinion is being stirred up by people behind the scenes spreading rumors and fanning the flames. You should be dealing with those people."

"The most important thing now is to solve the problem."

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

"Setting aside the facts, can you guarantee that you are truly without any fault in this matter? If you had apologized to An Wanyi at the time, how could things have escalated to this point?"

"Apologize?"

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

But since the other party had already set aside the facts, there was nothing left to say.

"Li Pin, you should be thankful that you jumped into the lake; otherwise, it wouldn't be as simple as a disciplinary probation." Jing Yunshan sneered, "But it doesn't matter. Once this wind blows over, don't even think about staying at Hanyang University for another day."

"Because of your grandfather, the school board member?" Li Pin asked.

Jing Yunshan curled his lips, quite proud of his status. "Heh, young man, I'm just teaching you early what social reality is."

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

"Remember to prepare a three-thousand-word letter of repentance and go accept a public reprimand." Wang Gang said with a serious expression.

The higher-ups demanded that the matter of Li Pin molesting An Wanyi be quelled as soon as possible.

Of two evils, choose the lesser.

Compared to the future star An Wanyi, who was destined to shine, dealing with the mediocre Li Pin was the best choice to calm the storm.

"A letter of repentance?" Li Pin scoffed. "Is your brain filled with water? You are all openly targeting me, yet you still want me to grovel and write a letter of repentance?"

"You... what kind of attitude is that!?" Wang Gang's eyes widened.

"Not happy? Then expel me."

After saying this, Li Pin couldn't be bothered to waste more breath and turned to leave.

"You..." Wang Gang's face flushed red instantly.

He was a dignified Dean of Academic Affairs, a social elite with an annual salary of one hundred thousand, yet he had been humiliated by a poor student who hadn't even stepped out of school yet!?

But if he expelled him now...

If the boy couldn't think straight again and jumped into the lake to die on campus, the responsibility would be too great.

"He won't be smug for long. Once the wind blows over, I'll find an excuse to expel him directly. He's a junior; it'll be too late for him to study anywhere else. Without even a university diploma, he's destined to spend his life at the bottom of society, working as a manual laborer." Jing Yunshan's face was filled with contempt.

With his status, dealing with an ordinary student with no power or backing was as easy as pinching an ant.

On the way back to the dormitory, people pointed at Li Pin from time to time.

An Wanyi's sister, An Youran, was a hot star at Star Hall Entertainment Company. Although An Wanyi hadn't debuted yet, she also enjoyed great popularity at Hanyang University.

The persona of a talented woman.

She was the embodiment of both wisdom and beauty.

The incident of Li Pin profaning An Wanyi had been causing quite a stir for the past half-month.

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

Condemned by all, he would be crushed by the weight of public opinion.

When it came to the violence of public sentiment, those with weak wills truly might not be able to withstand it.

They've decided that a commoner like me can't stir up any waves.

Li Pin walked quickly toward his dormitory.

In theory, that was indeed the case.

Faced with the connections and influence of an entire university, an ordinary person would be easily trampled into the dust, left with no power to resist.

"Li Pin" was an ordinary person.

But he was not.