Chapter 54 Clarification and Revitalization of the Cultivation World: 54% Progress
Jiang Yun's words caught in his throat, and he looked at his friend with a strange expression.
Is she trying to hack into the university's internal network?
Although he only stayed in Su Xiaoyao's original world for a very short time, he still managed to get a rough sense of the peaceful atmosphere there.
At least in the fantasy world, the high school students abide by the law, and no one has ever tried to hack into the network.
The ability to switch between states so easily and the incredible capacity to adapt are truly astonishing.
But this won't do. What if using irregular methods to crack the address on the territory of Tianyan Academy offends the Dao Ancestor?
In the brief moment he was stunned, before he could stop Su Xiaoyao, she made a series of operations on the communication stone, then raised her chin and said with a clear mind, "Done."
The whole process took only a few breaths.
Not only him, but everyone else's anger was replaced by astonishment.
"What did you do?" Shen Suqi leaned over, and after seeing the coordinates behind each nickname on the projection, she was so shocked that her jaw dropped. "This...this...the university's intranet has been hacked?"
Su Xiaoyao tilted her head: "Yes."
Jiang Yun's voice unconsciously rose: "Xiao Yao!"
He wasn't worried when he was slandered and defamed, but now he is.
"What if the Dao Ancestor is displeased? You can't risk your future for such a trivial matter!"
Su Xiaoyao smiled easily: "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of fool who gets easily blinded. I know what I'm doing."
She switched pages, pointed to the projector, and said, "Look."
Jiang Yun looked in the direction she was pointing and saw the source of her arrogance.
It was her chat window with Jun Laiye.
[Xiaoyao: Xiaoye, could you grant me access to check addresses? My friend got into this mess for no reason.]
A screenshot of the anonymous person's foul language was then posted.
The other party replied instantly:
[Junlaiye: Open]
Su Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow smugly: "Your sister Xiaoyao has connections; it's a matter that can be resolved with just a word."
Her free-spirited nature is so deeply ingrained in people's minds that their subconscious reaction is that she's up to no good.
Jiang Yun closed his eyes and exhaled, his anger dissipating after the emotional turmoil.
Su Xiaoyao smiled but remained silent.
It's true that her moral bottom line is flexible, but she won't do anything pointless if there's a more convenient way.
Laziness and aversion to work are her new attitude towards life.
"You scared me!" Jiang Yun couldn't help but ruffle her hair.
He himself was not afraid, but he was afraid of implicating his friends.
“Actually, you don’t need to do anything for me. I’ve already roughly guessed who it is,” he said calmly.
Three years later, there was only one cultivator who recognized him and formed a grudge against him.
—The traitor who killed his entire family of 120 people, Wang Yikun, the former county magistrate's chief clerk.
He later became a disciple of the Holy Prayer Palace and an inner disciple. One of the main reasons he recently traveled across continents to the Lingzhou Grand Gathering was to seek revenge on him.
He wanted to expose the filthy soul beneath his glamorous exterior, to sever the path to immortality he had painstakingly built and seized, and to slap the instigator, the Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace, hard in front of everyone.
Unfortunately, a small hiccup occurred, and the plan fell through.
Later, persuaded by 444, he came to a realization that it wasn't too late to wait. Revenge and self-improvement were not mutually exclusive. He couldn't give up the opportunity to study at Tianyan Academy for the sake of his enemy. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to improve his strength and at most kill a lowly pawn like Wang Yikun. In the end, he would be no match for the powerful Palace Master of Shengqi Palace.
He had considered the possibility of encountering enemies here, but he was unsure which disciples the Holy Prayer Palace would send to study here.
Unexpectedly, he actually encountered it. When he first showed his talent, the other party couldn't wait to jump out and hurl insults at him, trying to kill him.
Wang Yikun was truly afraid of him turning the tables and couldn't wait a moment longer. Just like three years ago when he was determined to eliminate him completely, his actions were always swift.
“Wang Yikun, Dormitory 42, North District.” Su Xiaoyao remembered her friend’s affairs very clearly. “There aren’t many people who have a grudge against you, and even fewer who have a grudge against you and know about your past. This guy surnamed Wang is the one who climbed over your family’s corpses to enter the Holy Prayer Palace?”
“It’s him.” Jiang Yun wasn’t surprised to hear the name; he simply confirmed it.
The simple conversation contained a huge amount of information, leaving onlookers wide-eyed.
"You also have a grudge against the Holy Prayer Palace?" Shen Suqi stared at Jiang Yun, feeling a sense of excitement as if she had found a like-minded friend.
Su Xiaoyao nodded and answered for him, "Yes, we have a grudge."
"Even rats have skin!" Shen Suqi said, standing up for them. "These guys are a bunch of shameless snakes and rats. I'll wipe them all out sooner or later and clear the name of our Fu cultivators."
Su Xiaoyao took her hand, her eyes filled with affection: "I believe in you! When the time comes, I'll kick the Xuan Tian Sword Sect Master, and you'll punch the Holy Prayer Palace Master. Our combined strength will be unparalleled!"
"Good!" Shen Suqi exclaimed with overwhelming confidence.
The others were used to this kind of scene; wherever Su Xiaoyao was, the atmosphere always inexplicably heated up.
"Speaking of which," Su Xiaoyao quickly found a blind spot, "why don't Wang Yikun, the Palace Master of Shengqi Palace, or the Sect Master of Xuantian Sword Sect have inner demons?"
“Yes.” Shen Suqi also remembered, “This Wang Yikun is still on the island, which means he broke through the illusion realm a long time ago. What makes him so special?”
That's a good question.
Logically speaking, someone burdened by karmic obstacles should not be easily freed from such a powerful illusion, if not controlled by inner demons.
Jiang Yun endured hardships and saw through everything thanks to his unwavering faith. What did Wang Yikun rely on?
"Has anyone noticed his illusions?" Su Xiaoyao asked, frowning.
“We didn’t know this person and didn’t pay attention to him beforehand,” Xu Lingyou said.
Su Xiaoyao looked at Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun simply shook his head: "Before this, I wasn't sure if he had come to the island. I didn't pay attention to anyone else during the illusion trial."
Su Xiaoyao thought about it and realized that it made sense. She could hardly distinguish between illusion and reality, so Jiang Yun's attention was naturally all on her and wouldn't spare any attention for anyone else.
All right.
She said unhappily, "I wonder if he'll be haunted by nightmares in the middle of the night, carrying the weight of 120 lives on his shoulders."
Many young people felt indignant for Jiang Yun after learning about his past experiences, and couldn't understand what qualifications this person had to break through the first barrier.
The written test and the physical combat were one thing, but the first challenge was an illusion that tested one's character.
Ultimately, Helian Yi answered this question.
He crossed his arms and sneered disdainfully, "You're oversimplifying things. In the cultivation world, there's no absolute right or wrong. If only the upright and righteous were qualified to ascend to immortality, the cultivation world wouldn't have fallen into such a state."
“That’s true. If right and wrong were used to control the fate of cultivators, then the high-level cultivators in the cultivation world, led by the sect leader of the Xuantian Sword Sect, would have been devoured by their inner demons long ago.” Shen Suqi pouted.
Helian Yi continued to explain: "Right and wrong are defined by bystanders; they themselves may not think they are wrong."
He came from the Helian family, and his knowledge in this area was much greater than that of other self-taught monks.
Su Xiaoyao rested her chin on her hand and pondered: "So as long as they believe they are not wrong, their inner demons cannot harm them."
“That’s how it is.” Helian Yi raised his chin at Jiang Yun: “For example, if you think that your family’s massacre was caused by you, then after you reach the Golden Core stage, your inner demons will repeatedly brainwash you day and night, amplifying your thoughts and ideas until you break down. But because you don’t have this thought, your inner demons have no way to enter.”
He seemed used to this situation: "Wang Yikun is like this, and so is the sect leader of the Xuantian Sword Sect. They have always firmly believed that they have a clear conscience, so the illusion that tests their character can naturally not do anything to them."
"There's actually such a claim." Huangfu Mian already had a deep-seated aversion to this kind of person, and this feeling intensified. "So what should we do now? We can't let him slander Jiang Yun."
“That’s right.” Shui Fan was an impatient person to begin with. “Jiang Yun, don’t get involved. He’s a man of few words and doesn’t know how to choose his words. We’ll handle the response.”
He said "reply" but actually rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to get to work.
Shen Suqi said suspiciously, "You deep-sea creatures probably don't have as rich a vocabulary as we do."
"Who said that? Don't look down on sharks!" Shui Fan retorted. "When I'm fighting with orcas for food, I can yell at them for three hundred rounds without even taking a breath!"
As he spoke, he took out a communication stone, attempting to prove that what he said was true.
"Wait a minute," Su Xiaoyao called out to stop them.
"What are we waiting for? The comments section under the photos is getting more and more chaotic. Many people are saying that he came out quickly because he's naturally cold-blooded. These people are clearly just jealous of Jiang Yun taking first place and are using this opportunity to attack him." Shui Fan was unhappy.
Su Xiaoyao said meaningfully, "An explanation is necessary, but not too much."
Without a second thought, Shui Fan said, "They won't listen to a word or two of explanation."
“No matter how much we say, they won’t listen.” Su Xiaoyao gave her a reassuring look. “A slanderer only needs to make up one sentence, and we need hundreds of explanations to clarify things. But no matter how many explanations we give, it won’t stop him from continuing to spread rumors as long as he’s alive. We can’t let him lead us astray.”
"So what kind of tricks do you have up your sleeve?" Helian Yi looked at her. "If you need any help, just say so. We might even offer you money to keep quiet."
Su Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow: "You seem particularly unhappy."
Helian Yi coldly said, "They can't stand losing and their words imply they look down on Jiang Yun. I didn't spend much time in the illusion either, so how come I'm also a man-eating demon? Ha, Jiang Yun has such experience and he was able to be the first to walk out of the illusion. Even I am convinced. What right do they have to jump up and down?"
Even when the young master Helian stood up for the wronged, it revealed his ego.
"Well, it turns out there's something we need to mobilize everyone for." Su Xiaoyao beckoned with her finger. "Instead of cleaning up the mess with the others who are spreading rumors, we might as well keep him busy."
Helian Yi understood immediately: "Treat them as they treat you."
Su Xiaoyao snapped her fingers loudly: "That's it."
“Tell me more.” Shui Fan’s eyes brightened. “Although our sea people’s cursing is dirty, you humans are still more cunning. Teach me quickly.”
He had the seriousness of someone seeking knowledge.
Su Xiaoyao directed the operation in an orderly manner.
"Xiao Jiang, just edit one clarification and post it. Don't reply to anything they say. Xiao Mianlingyou, you're in charge of writing down the names of everyone involved. We'll settle accounts with them one by one later."
She holds grudges the most; no one who has ever insulted her friends will escape unscathed.
Two people who were not originally part of the task force were called upon and gladly accepted the task.
Seeing the two people she had specifically chosen, the others were a little confused about what she was up to.
Su Xiaoyao smiled: "You've all fallen for the trap of the system forum's subheadings, haven't you?"
She typed a few things on the projector and then turned around to show them the screen.
[A secret of the illusion known only to one in a hundred!]
[This story about illusions has shocked millions!]
From being plagued by inner demons to achieving inner peace, he only needed three steps!
Everyone fell silent.
These titles sound so familiar; they're all the pitfalls they encountered on the system forum.
Who hasn't been captivated by the news of "The Ascended Immortal's Confession! The Secrets of the Heavenly Dao Ancestor Revealed"?
Clicking on it revealed a two-million-word summary of Daoist Ancestor Tianyan's discourse, making readers both eager to hear the ancestor's insights and wishing they had never read such dry text.
It's really upsetting.
After Su Xiaoyao finished editing one, she showed it to them.
The captivating titles all lead to stories of Wang Moukun from Dormitory 40 in the North District, sharing his "glorious" deeds. They don't name names, but they're just as effective at doing so. The titles vary, but the content is always the same. Yet, the bizarre titles still make people want to click on them.
Su Xiaoyao clicked her tongue in amazement: "Using public opinion to suppress people is like showing off your skills in front of Guan Yu. Come on, let me teach you what it means to suppress trending topics."
Coming from the information explosion era, she has no worries at all.
"It's time to give those who haven't been exposed to the pollution of system forum titles a little bit of a shock to their understanding."
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Author's Note: I've finalized with my editor that I'll be posting more chapters starting from chapter 21 tomorrow (it's a pay-to-play period).
With the holiday approaching, I'm in a great mood and my thoughts are flowing freely. I've started refining the outline for my pre-order book, "The Data Scientist," and I'm also working on the outline for "The Rogue Cultivator," which focuses on Ah Lian's past. I'm not sure which book I'll start next, but my goal for 2024 is to start new books seamlessly (just dreaming for now).
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