Martial arts ascend to the gods

Chapter 553 Turbulence
On the very day the news broke, the entire capital was enveloped in an indescribable atmosphere.

Some self-proclaimed righteous students, without any evidence, began to attack Zhou Leng and clamor to eliminate such a scoundrel.

Because the crime of rape is so serious, many people are unsure how to deal with it.

The school immediately sent someone to find Xu Qingjin, do ideological work with her, and protect her.

Xu Qingjin's classmates also tacitly avoided discussing the matter to prevent her from being affected.

After the great battle ended, public opinion exploded.

Countless self-proclaimed righteous people flooded the accounts related to Ruda, launching sarcastic and cynical attacks.

The next day, local internet celebrities and social media personalities in Rucheng sprang into action.

Countless people, armed with cell phones, flocked to Ruda to launch a search for the rapist, sparking a frenzy of activity.

If the situation becomes unbearable, the school may be closed to isolate external personnel.

On the third day, internet celebrities and self-media personnel from other places arrived, and the entire city suddenly became lively.

As a result, even the Chengwu Academy began to feel immense pressure.

On the fourth day, an unexpected event occurred.

A train carrying many students returning home for winter break passed through Rucheng. Whether by coincidence or by someone deliberately stirring things up, the passengers got off the train, filled with righteous indignation.

Hundreds of students left the train station and arrived at the main gate.

A video of "students from a certain school collectively condemning a major criminal" quickly went viral on the internet.

Such videos would normally be secretly banned, because the authorities would never allow such things to happen.

But this time, instead of being banned, it was spread even more widely.

As for Da, he has remained silent.

Two days later, Rucheng and Ruda were in crisis.

Many people were holding banners and chanting slogans at the main entrance.

"Please severely punish the perpetrator!"

"As long as martial arts endure, justice will never die!"

"Please, Your Excellency, do not protect criminals!"

Public opinion was completely ignited.

The total number of views across the internet has exceeded one billion and is rising rapidly.

Finally, some people who had dealings with Zhou Leng began to speak out online.

“I was Zhou Leng’s classmate in high school. I’m not taking sides, I’m just stating the evidence. I saw the news. I remember the time clearly. At that time, Zhou Leng was a senior in high school and in the hospital. It was impossible for him to go back to school and force himself on her. If he really wanted to force himself on her, given his condition at the time, he would probably have been beaten to death.”

“I was saved by Zhou Leng in the Water Island Demon City and during the Heavenly Rank Joint Examination. I can’t prove whether he is a rapist or not, but I can only say that he doesn’t seem like it.”

"A bunch of idiots! They're infuriating! They have no evidence whatsoever, yet they believe everything they're told. Are they idiots? And what about these 400 media outlets? They've been lying to us for so many years, so many times, and now we're starting to believe them?"

These people soon discovered that their online accounts had been blocked, and they were unable to speak on public networks.

One of the accounts that was banned belonged to Lü Yuanhao, the temporary senior student of Heyin Martial Arts University in the 18-school joint entrance examination.

On that day, Zhou Leng led a large group of examinees to break through the encirclement, but they were stopped by the monsters. Outnumbered, they were surrounded.

Without saying a word, Lü Yuanhao rallied many classmates to support Zhou Leng's team.

He was always straightforward, but because the crime of rape was too sensitive, he had no evidence and couldn't say anything. He just neutrally recounted some of Zhou Leng's righteous deeds during the Heavenly Rank Joint Examination.

Then the account was blocked.

This burly man, whose temples had been throbbing all night, finally couldn't take it anymore.

He contacted many of his friends from the same school and posted messages in various school groups.

"I am Lü Yuanhao, a Heavenly Rank Joint Examination Candidate from Heyin Martial Arts University. If you're human, come with me to Ruda. I'm going to tell those bastards to their faces that Zhou Leng and I aren't criminals, but heroes who joined forces to slay demons!"

Now, Lü Yuanhao is a senior at Heyin Martial Arts University and the strongest contender for the next student council president.

Instead, he called and contacted another student council president competitor.

"I won't compete with you for the student council president position next year, but I have one condition: help me voice my support for Zhou Leng this time."

Lu Yuanhao was quite influential at Heyin Martial Arts University, and Zhou Leng was highly respected by all the students in the Heavenly Rank Alliance that year, so he could command a large following.

After the joint entrance examination of Tianjie School, the candidates from the 18 schools formed many large groups.

As time passed, those large groups gradually cooled down.

In the past few days, some people have started to speak, but most remain silent.

It wasn't until Lü Yuanhao rallied everyone to go and loudly support Zhou Leng that the various groups slowly began to awaken.

Soon, some people posted screenshots online, and a large amount of evidence proved that Zhou Leng did not have time to commit the crime at all.

In fact, even after Zhou Leng's incident, some joint exam takers, based on their years of experience, felt that something was amiss.

Because in recent years, too many similar incidents have occurred, and the results have often backfired.

Therefore, some truly conscientious joint entrance exam takers began to collect various pieces of evidence and wait patiently.

As soon as Lü Yuanhao called for action, they posted evidence in various groups.

First, there is a large amount of evidence proving that Zhou Leng was ill at the time and had no opportunity to commit the crime.

Next, screenshots of the messages the whistleblower posted online during that period were uploaded. It was discovered that on the day she was raped, she posted a selfie showing off her newly bought dress, showing no signs of sadness or depression. Instead, she went online to defend her idol, praise the devil, commend foreign warriors, and insult Chinese warriors, without mentioning the incident at all.

Animals don't rely on evidence, but humans do.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, the students of Tianjie United University were enraged. As a result, more and more students from the eighteen universities booked train and plane tickets and headed to Ruda.

Within two days, a scene that shocked both China and the world unfolded outside the university.

Like a senior student, stay at school obediently.

Outside the school, two groups of students engaged in a battle of wits over Zhou Leng.

One side defended Zhou Leng, presenting various pieces of evidence and arguing their case rationally.

One side accused Zhou Leng and demanded severe punishment for the perpetrator, but instead resorted to insults without providing any evidence, constantly citing news and media.

Soon, the latter resorted to underhanded tactics, starting to dox and launch cyberattacks against those who defended Zhou Leng, spreading information about Lu Yuanhao and others across the internet in a frenzied attack.

At the same time, major media outlets once again took sides, accusing those who defended Zhou Leng of taking things out of context, excerpting videos, and framing him.

The schools at the eighteen schools received a constant stream of complaints and were forced to contact the students and even send teachers to ask them to return to school.

With pressure mounting, more and more of Zhou Leng's supporters were forced to leave Ruda.

The situation escalated, but more and more people of sound mind realized that something was wrong.

Because all the content disseminated by major media outlets either lacks evidence or is riddled with errors and omissions.

Just as the other side was about to win, a group of people arrived silently. It was like a drop of cold water falling into boiling water, yet it created huge ripples.

Those people were all adults.

They dressed simply, some even in only black and white.

Some of them carried portraits of their deceased children, while others carried old newspapers. They didn't make a fuss, didn't display banners, and simply gathered together.

In memory of their children.

Soon, their words spread online.

"We do not defend Zhou Leng; we are only here to commemorate the children who died on the battlefield."

“We haven’t seen any evidence of Zhou Lengqiang, but we have evidence of his fighting demon.”

“Back then, when he was seriously injured, all we could do was order takeout for him and send him some local specialties. Now, we’ve come to the school together to thank him.”

"No matter what you do, he saved my daughter."

"My child was also saved by him."

"We don't believe that someone who is clearly in the hospital can teleport to the school and steal people."

The adult parents showed great restraint.

But it was this restraint that stirred everyone's compassion and made many who criticized Zhou Leng slowly regain their rationality.

Some people put aside their emotions and used logic to deduce the truth, only to find that the entire whistleblowing process was utterly absurd and full of contradictions.

What puzzled them most was that the principal of No. 8 Middle School actually gave Zhou Leng his full support and even hung a banner at the entrance.

"Zhou Leng is the eternal pride of No. 8 Middle School, and we will not allow anyone to smear him."

This behavior is outrageous.

But it happened nonetheless.

What's even more deliberate is that, under normal circumstances, a university would distance itself from the situation, declare a thorough investigation, and even issue a disciplinary notice with severe punishment to protect the school's reputation.

Because most of the time, schools don't distinguish right from wrong; they just want to appease the situation, force the victims to shut up, and let the perpetrators go free.

However, Ru Da remained silent from beginning to end.

Only one seemingly righteous person used a school social media account to publish a statement attacking Zhou Leng. Then, that account was deleted, and the teacher who posted the message was dismissed.

However, in the eyes of the public, it is ultimately a major case, and ultimately an ordinary matter for ordinary people.

The hype quickly died down, but it still generated considerable discussion in the comment sections and forums of various videos.

After the trial participants of the Great Battlefield left, they reported the events to their superiors.

The reports from various participants drew serious attention from higher authorities to Zhou Leng.

Therefore, the Demon City Army dispatched Chen Shouhu to the Dragon World to handle the matter in full.

Finally, after promising to treat Zhou Leng well, the Crimson-Eyed Queen released him.

The Demon City Army took the unconscious Zhou Leng to the best Demon City Army First Hospital in Xiongjing for treatment.

Like the city, a barbecue stall.

Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao drank and ate barbecue.

After a long pause, Hu Yi asked, "What do you think of this matter?"

Feng Wenhao remained silent for a while before saying, "At first, I thought it was just an accident, or even a misunderstanding."

"But when I discovered that 400 major media outlets had started to frame and slander me, and that I was attacked by all the self-media on the internet, I realized something was wrong. Especially after my account was banned."

"You've been banned too?" Hu Yi asked.

"Half of the students in my class, no, our graduating class, have been blocked. We can't send messages on the public internet, or even look at them. We can only chat in small groups."

“A huge hand…” Hu Yi sighed.

Feng Wenhao said, "At first, we also thought that Zhou Leng had offended someone. But gradually, we felt that something was wrong. No matter what Zhou Leng did, he couldn't have offended so many people, because these people were too ruthless."

“Our whole class would get together to discuss it whenever we had a spare moment, and eventually I realized it was related to Zhou Leng’s uncle.”

(End of this chapter)