145: The Top 100 Tournament! Thirteen days to go, star fragments, the Flame Demon Clan hidden underground!

The Top 100 Competition is approaching!

Countdown to activation: thirteen days!

Two pieces of news, like bombs, spread throughout the Great Xia Federation, capturing everyone's attention!

Many contestants preparing for the competition,

without exception,

began to prepare anxiously, even at the cost of overdrawing their future potential. This was solely because the reward this time was too generous: a genuine world stone!

It was worth anyone fighting for their life!

At the same time,

following the spread of this news, just three days later, another piece of news that shocked the world came from the Immortal Great Wall in the starry sky!

Military Department Prodigy 'Square' openly declared war on Su Bai and released alleged evidence of Su Bai colluding with the enemy!

He declared an unending feud with Su Bai!

A top scholar of great xia, actually colluding with the Abyss?

This was huge news,

and it immediately flooded the internet. Almost everyone was following this news, and during this time, Square continuously released information, using Su Bai's previous insectoids as strong evidence of his involvement with the Abyss!

"Su Bai is actually an Abyss spy? Truly, you can know a person's face but not their heart. I trusted him so much, and he actually..."

"Hey, what slander are you spreading? Do you have any evidence? This is clearly just Square's one-sided story. Since when did his words become authoritative???"

"The person upstairs shouldn't quibble. Even if you're eloquent, you can't hide Su Bai's suspicion. The biggest flaw is the insectoids!"

"Those are insectoids, a unique creature from the Abyss, and they are humanity's mortal enemies. No Creator has ever been able to tame them. How could Su Bai do it? How could he tame insectoids?"

...At this moment,

on the Creation Guild's Creator forum, the topic of Su Bai had already topped the hot list!

Square, leveraging his identity as a Military Department Prodigy,

almost overwhelmingly, gained the support of the vast majority of Creators. Everyone firmly believed that Su Bai must be connected to the Abyss!

Even during this period,

Square never released any real evidence. He simply relied on his words and an article comparable to a certain social media post to successfully tarnish Su Bai's reputation!

While Square's slanders were certainly a reason,

to a greater extent, it was because Su Bai's early fame had provoked too many Creators.

Now,

as soon as he encountered trouble, they immediately ganged up on him!

"With the insectoids as evidence, whether Su Bai colluded or not, he is definitely connected to the Abyss. I request that the Great Xia Federation's legal court apprehend Su Bai and prevent him from participating in any competitions until the truth is exposed!"

Some people even took the opportunity to kick him while he was down, attempting to eliminate Su Bai, a strong competitor.

His comment received a lot of support,

but at the same time,

a small number of Creators remained clear-headed, trying to persuade, "No, Square hasn't released any evidence. How can you determine Su Bai is guilty?"

"Exactly. If Su Bai is forced to withdraw from the competition because of some groundless rumors, how will other countries view our Great Xia Federation in the future?"

These few rational voices were quickly drowned out by the crowd's anger.

As ordinary people,

they never cared about the truth; they were simply happy to see those who were usually high and mighty fall from grace and be trampled into the abyss.

As for the truth?

Perhaps it was important, perhaps not. For them, it was merely an outlet for their frustrations... Imperial Capital, Imperial Capital Academy, lakeside cabin.

Xia Qi, seeing the online public opinion, rushed to this place anxiously, but was astonished to see Su Bai, acting as if nothing was wrong, lying in a wicker chair sunbathing,

looking completely relaxed and at ease.

This sight made Xia Qi laugh in exasperation. He immediately shook Su Bai awake and told him the latest news.

He had expected to see a panicked expression.

Who knew,

Su Bai's expression remained calm from beginning to end.

He seemed to have anticipated this.

"You already knew?"

Xia Qi frowned. Su Bai nodded slightly, "More or less. From the time I was ambushed in the starry sky, I guessed that Square definitely wouldn't let it go."

He knew that Square was colluding with the Abyss,

and to prevent his identity from being exposed, Square would definitely not let him off. He just didn't expect him to play the trick of a thief crying 'stop thief'.

Xia Qi, having understood the whole story, also came to his senses, his expression a little strange:

"This guy is really bold, daring to do something like this. Isn't he afraid of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice, and instead getting noticed by the authorities?"

Su Bai chuckled,

"He's certainly not afraid. He's a Military Department Prodigy, and this identity grants him a lot of protection. Even if you reveal the truth, he'll just slander it as defamation by someone with ulterior motives, and it won't affect him in the slightest."

"Besides..."

Su Bai's eyes held a hint of amusement, "Didn't a certain someone, the moment he received the news, come looking for me instead of suspecting Square's true intentions?"

Xia Qi looked a little embarrassed, "That's because..."

"It's fine."

Su Bai waved his hand, "It's only human nature. Square took a risky move, implanting this concept in your minds beforehand. As the internet ferments, this concept will naturally become deeply ingrained."

"Except for a few smart people, most people caught in the situation will simply go with the flow, following the voice of the majority."

"You don't need to blame yourself."

"So that's it. That makes me feel much better... Wait, are you secretly calling me stupid, kid?"

Xia Qi, halfway through his sentence, suddenly glared at Su Bai, but Su Bai had already closed his eyes, unmoved by Xia Qi's gaze.

Helpless,

Xia Qi could only leave.

Not long after Xia Qi left, Su Bai opened his eyes. His dark pupils were like bottomless abysses, containing countless emotions, which ultimately... settled into tranquility.

"A desperate situation leading to rebirth?"

Su Bai chuckled, "Interesting. I underestimated you, Square. To climb to the position of Military Department Prodigy as an ordinary person."

"You indeed have some tricks."

"Want to wage a war of public opinion? It doesn't matter. I've never cared about others' opinions. As long as I keep moving forward, all the insults and mockery will gradually fade and even disappear as I grow stronger."

"Whether it's you or others in the future."

"You have never been considered enemies by me. You... are merely scenery on my path to becoming stronger."

Whoosh—

The willows by the lake swayed, a gentle breeze swept through, rippling the lake, peaceful and serene... Su Bai said no more, quietly enjoying the current tranquility... Time flew by like an arrow.

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, only eight hours remained until the Top 100 Competition began!

During this time,

the online public opinion regarding Su Bai's alleged collusion intensified, and even Xia Qi, who knew the truth, came to find Su Bai several times.

In response,

Su Bai also gave an answer.

A very simple sentence:

"Fight!"

The moment it was published, the internet erupted in a huge wave of excitement!

At this point, Su Bai had already finished his business and left, no longer paying attention to the storm online.

Late at night, lakeside cabin—

Whoosh... The gentle breeze blew softly, the bright moon hung in the sky, casting a cool, clear moonlight.

Su Bai closed his eyes, calming his mind. The history of the Origin Realm since the advent of the Great Universe Era unfolded before his eyes:

Terra Year 128, noah's ark set sail! Major civilizations dispatched elites, breaking through the atmospheric barrier for the first time to reach the cosmic starry sky. The universe was vast, deep, and boundless... Those who saw the universe for the first time were almost enchanted by this magnificent sight.

However, they did not forget their mission. Starting from the Origin Realm, they searched within a radius of several thousand kilometers, attempting to find planets rich in resources.

They succeeded.

On their first long voyage, they found a small asteroid belt outside the Origin Realm, approximately seven thousand six hundred kilometers away, and brought it back to the Origin Realm. The Origin Realm's area expanded by three thousand kilometers!

Encouraged, many civilizations immediately launched a second long-voyage plan.

Terra Year 129, following an identical route, but this time they advanced several thousand kilometers further than before.

Until twelve thousand kilometers out, they unexpectedly discovered a desolate fragment of a star!

Star Fragment: A shattered star, a fragment left in the starry sky. It is, in itself, a rare transcendent metal, capable of forging special transcendent weapons!

The excited group arrived on this star. After some searching, they discovered a small pool of magma underground!

Within it, lived a small group of transcendent races, their bodies made of magma, none other than the Blaze Demon Clan!