51: Those who carry firewood for others

Night.

Xu Le began editing photos to create a video.

A text message arrived.

[Xu Le, you dog thief, you're too arrogant. Come to the ramen shop across from the school gate for a battle—to determine who is superior, and who lives or dies. —Anonymous]

"Is he crazy?"

"There aren't even any credits involved. Who would bother coming over to kill you?"

Xu Le ignored it and continued making the video.

Another text message arrived.

[Do you dare, or do you not? If you're a man, give me a straight answer. —Anonymous]

Xu Le thought for a moment and replied: [I don't dare.]

Ghost Executioner, waiting outside, was completely stunned.

He looked at the even more stunned Intelligence Analysis Team beside him.

"My Lord, based on our intelligence analysis, he really is an arrogant and rude person. If we just provoke him a bit, he'll definitely come out."

"Oh?" Ghost Executioner's expression was indifferent.

I'm dead!

Everyone in the analysis team broke into a cold sweat. One of them said, "How about we try deleting the 'lives or dies' part?"

The others breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, a team needed fresh blood; at critical moments, they could sacrifice the individual for the greater good.

"You have one minute!" Ghost Executioner said calmly.

That person didn't have hacking skills, so he could only use his own phone to compose another message.

[Cowardly rat, come out and fight to let me vent my anger. Otherwise, I'll kill you tomorrow!]

[Okay, see you tomorrow. —Xu Le]

See you tomorrow? It'd be a miracle if I could see you tomorrow.

The man was almost in tears and hurriedly raised his hand. "My Lord, I have another way. Tomorrow we'll sneak into the school and directly..."

Halfway through his sentence, his entire body was already torn apart, and a swarm of little spiders immediately rushed over.

They quickly devoured everything.

Demon Slaying Academy—actually, any first-rate or top-tier university—who would dare sneak in? Do they think the Formations at the gate are just for show? Do they think the principal and teachers inside don't exist?

Ghost Executioner looked at the Intelligence Analysis Team leader.

The leader wanted to cry but had no tears. This newcomer was such an idiot to say something so ridiculous.

Suddenly, he raised his hand. "My Lord, Xu Le's behavior is completely inconsistent with our intelligence."

"Blocking his ex-girlfriend last night was already a bit off, and just now being both tough and cowardly is even weirder."

"Do you think... there might be a mole who leaked the intelligence?"

"Otherwise, how could an eighteen-year-old freshman stay in school all the time without going out?"

"He's like a completely different person compared to when he used to hang around the Ninth City every day."

It was like a thunderbolt hitting Ghost Executioner.

If Xu Le knew, he would have died laughing. His Divine Souls from two lives had merged, giving him an incredible memory.

He had mastered all the school's knowledge, so why not have some fun?

Right now, he was working hard to level up and earn points.

The rest of the analysis team almost knelt on the spot, cursing in their hearts, "Brother, what are you saying? You're going to get us all killed!"

But no one dared to kneel; kneeling now would be an admission of guilt.

The leader continued, "Everyone here is one of ours; we've worked together for at least ten years. There can't be a problem. The issue must be with the Tang Family."

Ghost Executioner frowned, barely convinced... Shen Jian sat in front of his computer, his mind replaying the day's events, wishing he could slap his own face swollen.

A red dot popped up.

Someone he followed had posted a message.

He quickly clicked it, only to find it was Xu Le's Microblog account.

[The devil may be a foot tall, but the Dao is ten feet high. Some criminals disguised themselves and sneaked into our school, and I defeated them one by one. @Blue Star University @Huazhou University @Shenjing University]

This time, all the people who came to challenge him were students from the three top universities, so he only tagged those three.

"Cruel and heart-wrenching!"

Shen Jian was so angry his eyes turned red; he wished he could drag Xu Le out and give him a sound thrashing.

But he also felt lucky. Fortunately, the other party only recorded names and schools without listing a specific roster; otherwise, he would truly suffer social death.

"Wait, a list!"

Shen Jian's hands trembled as he began typing keywords to search.

A Microblog post was rapidly going viral, with a dark red "Hot" tag behind it.

[Kill Xu Dog! The three top universities have met their Waterloo. Is there still hope for humanity? Link]

Shen Jian's hand trembled as he clicked the link.

The video began to play, and majestic, blood-pumping music reached his ears.

A grand procession entered the Training Room.

One by one, righteous-looking youths stood before Xu Le.

"Shen Jian, a freshman from the War God Department of Blue Star University. Please!"

"Zhao Qi, a freshman from the War God Department of Blue Star University. Please!"

"I am a freshman from Huazhou University..."

"Shenjing University..."

The footage played, and 130 students finished their introductions.

With the 131st person, the screen began to darken.

The footage of Li Ziming trying to run away was edited in, followed by his obvious excuses.

The next second, the screen turned completely black and white, and the background music became sorrowful.

Shen Jian's helplessness and frustration while being stepped on, Zhao Qi's despair when threatened into surrendering by five dog Clones... scene after scene of terror and helplessness was played.

"Bastard!"

"What a Bastard!"

Shen Jian slammed the table, tears streaming down his face.

If there were a knife nearby, he would have picked it up and rushed over to hack Xu Le to death, and hack the person who made the video to death.

At the end of the video, three lines of blood-red text popped up.

[Those who carry firewood for the masses must not be allowed to freeze to death in the wind and snow.]

[You may choose to live in apathy, but please do not mock the warriors who stand up.]

[Xu Dog is powerful. Where is the hope for humanity?]

The screen turned completely dark for three seconds, as if all of humanity had been dragged into the darkness.

Shen Jian was completely moved to tears, but it was no longer out of fear or unease, but a sense of being understood.

The one who carries firewood for the masses.

He was a warrior who dared to stand up.

Honorable even in defeat!

He hurriedly contacted the video uploader, who was a newcomer without real-name verification.

"Sigh, Xu Dog is indeed powerful. True warriors can only hide in the shadows."

He followed them and sent a private message.

[Good brother, I am Shen Jian. Thank you for your understanding and support.]

Then he began reading the comments below the video.

[Moved to tears, crying my eyes out. Is there still a tomorrow for humanity?]

[They are all heroes. As long as they are here, hope for humanity exists.]

[No. 1 Shen Jian is so handsome. Honorable in defeat. Is he that handsome in person too?]

[I love the little brother No. 68 the most. His Spells are so cool.]

[Uh, does no one think Xu Dog is handsome? He took down 131 Geniuses from top universities all at once.]

"There are actually people like this? I want to see how the people below are scolding him!"

Shen Jian clicked on the replies.

There were very few scolding him; most were in agreement.

[Yeah, his looks are amazing, and he's so strong.]

[I want to have his babies! No one try to take him from me!]

"Shameless! Shameless Brainless Fans!"

Shen Jian slammed the table in anger and continued reading; there were more and more positive comments.

[Big brother is really so handsome, gentle, and kind. He never struck them hard; they probably all went back with full health.]

"This..." Shen Jian realized that although he was in a sorry state, he really wasn't injured.

It was likely the same for the others.

The only exception... sure enough, someone replied: [Bullshit! Didn't you see someone was beaten to low health? He bled so much! Are you a Brainless Fan? He only had a sliver of health left and almost died. Do you know how terrified he was then?]

God-tier reply: [You must be Li Ziming, who failed to escape, right?] 98,153 upvotes.

Xu Le, looking at his alt account, saw more and more comments praising him and thought: "Oh no, did I outsmart myself? Will no one challenge me tomorrow?"

He hurriedly deleted positive comments while writing an inflammatory new comment.

[A battle for dignity: Can the three top universities not even defeat Xu Dog?]

PS: Staying up late plus waking up early for an extra update. Happy National Day, everyone!

I'm not Xu Dog; I don't delete good reviews. Please give a five-star review and request updates. Thanks!