It's All Jiang Feiguang's Fault

Many people were familiar with Zheng Xun's face, having often seen it in livestreams.

But when he appeared in person, the spectators at the venue still erupted.

Was that really Zheng Xun himself?

It really was God Zheng??

Holy crap, the expert who had beaten back more than thirty players and successfully defended the arena was Erchui??

The spectators were astonished and delighted, scarcely able to believe it. Among them were a few people with very different expressions.

Jiang Feiguang, the instigator, had only wanted to get a good look at his opponent's face so he could prepare to wipe away the humiliation next time.

His opponent had covered his head and face and acted all mysterious, which irritated him.

So he came up with a plan: he would expose the man's true face.

He had assumed it was one of Zheng Xun's fans who had been hiding his abilities, but Jiang Feiguang had never imagined that the person he had spent so long fighting in the arena was the very man who haunted his thoughts like a nightmare.

He clenched his back teeth, thinking this was bad. Most people online already thought Zheng Xun was stronger than him; the two had simply never had a direct chance to compete.

And now look at him, handing the man a free kill.

As a fellow newcomer who had only recently debuted, he refused to accept being trampled under Zheng Xun's feet like this.

So Jiang Feiguang quietly slipped away from the noisy crowd and went outside to call his team.

Shen Guanyu saw what happened too.

He had just been about to leave through the side door when a thunderous cheer erupted behind him. A small group of spectators, probably casual fans of Zheng Xun, were chanting his name in rhythm.

Drawn by the sound, Shen Guanyu turned around and caught sight of the figure standing in the spotlight.

The man was tall and lean, with black hair that looked remarkably soft falling wildly out of place. His clothes were ugly and messy, a stark contrast to the star players who spent lavishly on stylists and took meticulous care of their appearances.

Having his identity revealed in public seemed to trouble him. Amid the crowd's cheers, he casually rested a hand on the back of his neck and raised his dark eyes. The overhead LED lights struck them, making them sparkle brilliantly.

He was destined to stand at the center of the stage, surrounded by applause and praise.

The stage at the Blue Tower was too small to hold him.

Shen Guanyu had grown up in the guild alongside his father. The guild needed to scout new talent. He had seen their skills firsthand and heard the professional evaluations his father and the coaches gave, so he had a fairly discerning eye for people.

He knew that even without a single day of professional training, a genius was as far above an ordinary person as heaven was above earth.

His father had once said that he, too, was a rarely gifted player. His reactions were quick, he grasped things readily, and he was decisive in dungeons.

But he wished even more that his father could stand beside him now and see what a true, one-of-a-kind genius looked like.

Uninhibited and flamboyant, bound by nothing, he outshone even the brightest lights.

A helpless, bitter smile touched Shen Guanyu's lips, as though mocking himself. He turned his back on the light and gradually walked into the shadows until they swallowed him.

If anyone besides Jiang Feiguang had truly been hurt by the exposure of Zheng Xun's identity,

It had to be Cheng Jie.

Upholding the admirable principle of "better a fellow Daoist die than me," Cheng Jie pretended the signal was bad, hung up on Xiao Jun, then clutched his phone and ran.

As if! Zheng Xun could end up on the trending list tomorrow for all he cared, but he didn't want his own name appearing alongside him.

Unfortunately, Zheng Xun, standing in the middle of the arena, had sharp eyes and immediately locked onto the sneaky figure fleeing the scene.

He moved quickly and knew it would be hard to escape once the spectators and fans surrounded him. While everyone was still too shocked to react, he decisively followed Cheng Jie's escape route and slipped away.

Cheng Jie, who was doing everything he could to conceal his identity as he fled, felt someone slap him hard on the shoulder. He turned around, and cold sweat ran from his forehead down his back.

"Why did you follow me?!"

"You ran off without me. That's pretty cold."

"Bring you?! We're in this mess thanks to you! Hurry, this way. There are fewer people."

"You can't blame it all on me. My plan was to get out without a scratch... It's all Jiang Feiguang's fault."

"You had a fucking plan? Forget it, forget it. It's too late to say anything now-this way, this way! The fans are catching up!"

Professional players really were a cut above. Thanks to their excellent stamina and well-honed escape skills, the two finally shook off the crowd after a few twists and turns, then hurriedly opened the car doors and climbed in.

Because of where they were going today, Cheng Jie had driven a car that had been gathering dust in his garage. Now he was immensely grateful for that wise decision.

With a stomp on the accelerator, the two drove away from the scene of trouble and returned to the Singing Sparrow Guild.

On the way, Cheng Jie repeatedly warned Zheng Xun not to go blurting out the unvarnished truth.

"When we see Brother Xiao, just say you wanted to go to the Blue Tower for fun."

Zheng Xun picked at his seat belt with a finger, bored.

"Do you take Xiao Jun for an idiot? He won't believe that."

After all, Erchui's classic line was, "What's XX?"

The existence of the Blue Tower was bound to be beyond his syllabus.

"No matter, no matter. None of that's important. Brother Xiao looks after you, so he definitely won't blame you. If he finds out I was the mastermind, though, you can go look for my skin in the guild hall first thing tomorrow morning. I'll definitely be on display there."

Zheng Xun laughed twice without a shred of conscience.

"Still laughing! Your buddy's tombstone is practically ready to go up, and you're still in the mood to laugh! I'm telling you now, whether I take you out for fun next time depends on how you behave this time."

The trip there had felt long, but somehow the return journey was much quicker.

The closer they got to Songbird, the paler Cheng Jie's face became.

Sure enough, when they arrived, Vice President Xiao had been waiting for quite some time.

Xiao Jun stood at Songbird's entrance to "welcome" them.

"Well, you still remembered how to come back."

He was smiling as he spoke, and Cheng Jie shrank back.

He was done for.

Zheng Xun obediently followed the instructions Cheng Jie had given him in the car and replied to Xiao Jun in a stiff, rehearsed manner.

"Brother Xiao, I was the one who dragged Cheng Jie out for fun."

"Do you think I believe that?"

"..."

Zheng Xun shrugged and gave Cheng Jie a look that said there was nothing he could do.

Cheng Jie's heart had already gone dead. He felt as though he were just a skin standing there talking.

"Brother Xiao, I was wrong."

When in doubt, admit fault first and figure out what you did wrong later.

Xiao Jun nodded.

"There's no rush with you. I'll think about how to deal with you later. Zheng Xun, come with me first."

Great. His death sentence had turned into a suspended one.

Outside dungeons, Zheng Xun usually listened to Xiao Jun. After all, they had a contract to enter dungeons together, so Xiao Jun couldn't harm him.

Xiao Jun took him to his office.

After entering, he turned off all the lights, held a remote control in his hand, and told Zheng Xun to look at the projection on the wall.

The projection showed the White Tower Forum. As expected, Zheng Xun had once again made it into several of the hottest topics.

#Zheng Xun Blue Tower#

#Zheng Xun Little Zheng Xun#

#Zheng Xun Jiang Feiguang#

Xiao Jun specifically opened the last topic, then clicked on "latest."

[Was Zheng Xun deliberately targeting the newcomer Jiang Feiguang?]

[What do you think of Zheng Xun vs. Jiang Feiguang in the Blue Tower arena?]

[They're both newcomers, but isn't the difference between Zheng Xun's and Jiang Feiguang's character way too big?]

"Jiang Feiguang has a team behind him, and they're now spreading smear pieces about you all over the internet." Xiao Jun opened a post at random. It was full of filthy abuse, and unable to bear reading it, he backed out again. "Our guild's PR team has dealt with this a few times without telling you, but this time it's blown up, so we wanted to hear what you think. If you need us to step in again, we can, but we can't do it for free this time."

Zheng Xun rubbed his chin, looking at the forum page filled with his and Jiang Feiguang's names.

"No need. I'll handle it myself."