The Academy's Response
As well-wishers spread the story far and wide, the tale of Copper Coconut being oppressed, rising up in anger, assassinating Grand Scholar Divine Mechanism, and defecting from Titan Academy was embellished in all sorts of ways. Gradually, it became the prevailing public narrative, transforming Copper Coconut into a figure of unprecedented stature, a protagonist straight out of legend.
Titan City-state split into two camps.
One camp supported the authorities, naturally denouncing Copper Coconut as a traitor. Even if he had suffered some injustice, couldn't he have resolved the matter through more peaceful means as an academy scholar? Did he really have to resort to such extreme measures?
Where there were supporters of the authorities, there were naturally voices opposing authority. These voices came from the people, fueled by various forces behind the scenes. They portrayed Copper Coconut as a hero who had resisted oppression and fought back without yielding, praising and celebrating him lavishly.
For Titan City-state, both camps represented a tremendous failure. Both were a scathing indictment of Titan Academy and an irreparable loss of face.
After this incident, Titan Academy's authority was bound to suffer an unprecedented decline, and its reputation was bound to face an unprecedented crisis.
If Titan Academy treated its own people with such cruelty and tyranny, what compassion or warmth could anyone else expect from it?
In the eyes of many, Titan Academy was the guardian deity of the Titan Race, even a guardian deity of one corner of the subterranean world. It was heaven and earth, father and mother, the pillar of support for ordinary folk.
And yet, in the end, this was what the academy was really like?
The authorities would naturally do everything they could to defend the academy's authority. But among the people, its image was undoubtedly