86: Chapter 86 Playing with public opinion? I can do that too!

"Referee, he is maliciously attacking!"

The lead teacher of the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team pointed angrily at Mu Qingci and said.

His face had turned the color of a pig's liver due to extreme rage.

"His meridians are shattered, and his Spirit is broken! Just how heartless must you be to do something like this?! Is this how inhumane you people of the Sun Moon Empire are?!"

When the lead teacher of the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team revealed the condition of the Haoyang captain, the spectator stands instantly erupted.

Discussions rose one after another.

How could the audience have imagined that this Child of Light and Darkness, Mu Qingci, who appeared as graceful as an immortal, could actually commit such a cold-blooded act.

Listening to the audience's discussions, the corner of the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team's lead teacher's mouth curled into a subtle arc. If Mu Qingci could not provide a reasonable explanation at this moment, he would surely be drowned in an ocean of public opinion and ruined forever.

Facing the audience's skepticism and the accusations from the Haoyang team's lead teacher, Mu Qingci remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

"You say I am inhumane? I only remember that I released a 100,000-year Spirit Ability within my Domain. As for whether he could block it, that was not within my scope of consideration."

With one sentence, Mu Qingci quietly turned an act of malicious attack into unintentional harm, while also shifting part of the responsibility onto the referee.

After all, there was a precedent where Mu Qingci had released a 100,000-year Spirit Ability; the referee at that time had risked serious injury to intervene immediately, successfully protecting the opponent's life.

The meaning of Mu Qingci's words was very clear: he had assumed the referee would intervene to save the person as before. Who could have expected that the referee would not act? How could that be blamed on him, Mu Qingci?

But merely shirking responsibility was not enough. Mu Qingci sneered inwardly: "You like playing with public opinion pressure, don't you? Then I will play with you until you've had enough!"

Mu Qingci raised his hand and signaled to the still-dazed referee: "Referee, I request to view the holographic playback of the previous match."

A tournament of this level would naturally have playbacks, used to record exciting matches for others to study combat techniques, or, as in this case, to prevent disputes.

The previous match was, of course, the one where the Haoyang captain faced Ye Guyi.

At the end of that match, the Haoyang captain clearly intended to cripple Ye Guyi; Mu Qingci remembered this clearly. If this scene were presented on the holographic projection, it would only be even more glaring.

The referee nodded, agreeing to play the recording.

If anyone was the most panicked at this moment, it was the Haoyang captain, who was critically injured, on the verge of death, and unable to speak.

He knew perfectly well in his heart that he had wanted to cripple Ye Guyi at the end.

But he had been beaten into a 'folded screen' and truly couldn't speak, so he could only watch helplessly as the referee released the holographic projection playback.

Soon, the referee controlled the specialized device and played the holographic projection of the match between Ye Guyi and the Haoyang captain.

Seeing the Haoyang captain's playful smile again, along with the clearly malicious harm, many in the audience began to waver.

From the bottom of their hearts, they began to understand Mu Qingci's actions; after all, anyone would be angry to see their partner humiliated like that.

But this alone was clearly not enough to turn the tide of public opinion. After all, from the current perspective, the Haoyang captain could at most be considered as having maliciously harmed his opponent, leading to excessive blood loss.

But what about Mu Qingci? He had truly and completely crippled the Haoyang captain.

Not to mention continuing to be an aloof Spirit Master, even living as an ordinary person was no longer possible.

With his current injuries, unless he had precious medicinal herbs for treatment, he would inevitably be left with permanent complications.

However, who would spend a high price on precious medicinal herbs for a cripple? Therefore, the Haoyang captain's fate seemed already sealed.

Just as the final scene of the projection was played, those in the audience who had pitied the Haoyang captain instantly turned sides, beginning to understand and support Mu Qingci's actions.

In the footage, after continuous attacks, Ye Guyi was already weak and about to lose consciousness.

Just as she collapsed into unconsciousness, the Haoyang captain actually still charged forward with his spear.

And the tip of the spear was aimed directly at Ye Guyi's dantian.

If that spear strike had landed, Ye Guyi would be just like the current Haoyang captain: her Spirit broken and she would become a cripple.

If, before watching the playback, the audience's view of Mu Qingci's actions was that it was an overly severe retaliation, then after watching the holographic playback, their thoughts changed completely.

This wasn't malicious retaliation at all; this was giving him a taste of his own medicine.

If that was the case, almost everyone in the audience was willing to stand on Mu Qingci's side.

The pressure of public opinion began to shift direction.

Mu Qingci looked at the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team's lead teacher with a righteous expression and said sternly: "Now it seems, you are simply the thief crying 'stop thief'! Your captain intended to cripple my team member first, and furthermore, every word I said is true!"

Mu Qingci's argument held water.

After all, that was a 100,000-year Spirit Ability, and it wasn't the first time Mu Qingci had used it.

The first time Mu Qingci used a 100,000-year Spirit Ability, even a defensive-type Spirit Douluo couldn't block it after activating their Martial Soul True Body.

Now, the Haoyang captain, who was merely a Spirit King, had survived under Mu Qingci's 100,000-year Spirit Ability; it could already be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Moreover, even if the audience knew that Mu Qingci had done it on purpose, how many people would stand on the Haoyang captain's side?

The lead teacher of the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team was speechless at this moment. The ironclad proof Mu Qingci had produced was too fatal, and his reason for escaping culpability was also very reasonable; after all, the referee really hadn't noticed and hadn't intervened.

Just like that, the Haoyang Academy Team not only lost the match but also lost face, and even lost a talented captain.

And the tournament organizers' handling of this matter was very simple.

They revoked that referee's qualification and fined Mu Qingci 5,000 gold coins as compensation for the Haoyang captain.

Yes, they only asked for 5,000.

This 5,000 wasn't even enough to buy medicinal herbs; giving it over was purely an insult to the Haoyang High-Level Soul Master Academy Team.

After readily paying the fine, Mu Qingci returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy Team's lounge.

Ye Guyi had already woken up, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, looking just like a mummy.

The look in Ye Guyi's eyes as she gazed at Mu Qingci was filled with gratitude and affection.

Yes, it was an undisguised affection.

Ye Guyi had long since secretly fallen for Mu Qingci. Now, with him standing up for her and even crippling the person who had bullied her, this act of overwhelming boyfriend-power made Ye Guyi's affection for Mu Qingci even deeper.

"Boss, you were just too cool today!" Mi Jia's eyes were filled with adoration.

Watching Mu Qingci single-handedly turn the tide of public opinion today and ruin the Haoyang captain's reputation, it couldn't be more satisfying.