Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

It wasn't until the second week that everyone finally refined about eighty to ninety percent of the Foundation Establishment Pill's formidable medicinal power.

At the same time, the rumors outside had already spiraled out of control, with a growing tendency to seal Yan Yu's reputation once and for all.

They were comparing the gender ratio of other teams with the Zhenhai Team, alleging that Yan someone was "establishing his harem under the name of the team" and claimed he had "barely managed to maintain his integrity and had a lapse in personal morals."

Far from getting angry, Yan Yu actually found it somewhat amusing upon finding out.

"Cough, don't take this to heart." In the principal's office, Li Weiguo tried to calm his emotions, "You're very popular right now, so it's normal to be talked about strangely online, after all, as the saying goes, 'Mediocrity is safe from envy.' Look at Chen Tianming, with his status, there are still keyboard warriors online calling him the 'Jiang Hai gang leader,' and he hasn't made a fuss about it, has he?"

"Were those who criticized him banned?" Yan Yu asked curiously.

"Uh." Li Weiguo thought to himself why he was fixated on that, "They were banned, but these kinds of things are endless, so…"

"It's all good, Old Li." Yan Yu waved his hand carefreely, "No need to explain, I won't fuss over it."

"Why are you calling me Old Li?" Li Weiguo burst into laughter and glared, saying, "No respect for your elders!"

"Ah, I thought you were comforting my emotions in the capacity of a senior." Yan Yu explained with a laugh, "So, I couldn't be too distant, right?"

"Still, don't call me Old Li." Li Weiguo said with a smile, "Or like Chen Lingyun does, call me Grandpa Li?"

"Sure," Yan Yu nodded, then asked, "So what about the slanderous rumors about me outside, Grandpa Li, are you going to deal with those?"

"Sigh, rest assured, I'll have someone handle it," Li Weiguo said seriously, putting away his smile.

Although he said, "I'll have someone handle it," everyone knew that sigh wasn't for no reason, and Yan Yu, having lived two lifetimes, could clearly understand its implication. He got up with a smile and said,

"Alright then, I'm off to prepare for the battle."

Humming a lively tune, he left the principal's office and saw Chen Lingyun waiting for him outside.

"What did he say?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"No dice," Yan Yu replied, "Your old man really knows how to make trouble. According to the hints from Old Li, those people see me as 'the son-in-law of the Jiang Hai gang leader,' which is why they're playing this 'pure stream' criticism game."

What is "pure stream" criticism? Referencing Lu Country's ancient traditions, it involves constantly attacking someone's "lack of personal morals" until eventually achieving "complete denial of the target"—one could look to the Ming dynasty's factional struggles for specifics.

Even in the "enlightened" modern era, many common folk still judge public figures on a black and white moral scale. Drive economic growth but keep a mistress, corrupt official! Increase average income but accept illegal bribes, corrupt official! Lazy and unproductive but no misconduct found… Okay, that's mediocre at best, nothing much to criticize.

"At most, they will only lower your social evaluation," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Don't worry, my dad won't let anything happen to you."

Worried? How could Yan Yu possibly be worried? Laughable, really.

You see, as the Spiritual Energy Resurgence intensified, the influence of social evaluation on cultivators was actually diminishing. It was only because Lu Country still maintained its original order that people attempted to undermine cultivators' reputations... targeting those willing to play within this framework.

If genuinely pushed to the limit, I'd smash this framework to pieces. Then let's see you badmouth me—can my Flying Sword not sever the necks of your whole family?

Even if Chen Tianming didn't intend to intervene, Yan Yu didn't believe these rumors would have much impact, and he certainly didn't trust Chen Tianming to protect him with all his might.

Gauging Old Taishan's nature, he would likely only ensure that Yan Yu's courtly status remained unaffected, while his public reputation, the worse the better.

After all, the more vicious the criticism, the more resentful Yan Yu would become toward those people, and the more inclined he would be to oppose them—to stand with Old Taishan.

You keep harping on about protecting mortals, don't you? Now they have started to slander you. How does it feel to be betrayed? Come, stand with the Chen Family, welcome the new era for cultivators!

Chen Lingyun carefully scrutinized Yan Yu's face, seeing no change in his expression, she knew he must have seen through everything again, inevitably starting to feel a sense of listlessness.

The so-called advantage of foresight... heh, it truly is like cheating.

The two walked side by side on the school's pathways, silent, yet everything seemed to be communicated without words.

Passing students eyed them with gossip-hungry glances but none approached to mock them like the typical antagonists in novels—after all, even if Yan Yu actually had a harem, he was still Yan Zhanlong! No one dared to provoke him rashly.

"Hang on, need to take a call," Yan Yu said, taking out his ringing phone to see it was a call from Lord Master.

"Hello?"

"Old Yan, I hear you've been bashed pretty badly online recently."

"Old Liu, you dare to bring that up? I remember you were one of the people claiming I had a harem too," Yan Yu retorted.

"Haha, indeed," Liu Longtao replied nonchalantly, "But I really don't see a problem with having a harem. People in my circle have two or three at the same time, it's free love, no marriage, and not illegal—who's going to regulate that?"

"Don't corrupt me with the wrong ideas of the privileged class," Yan Yu stated righteously, "No matter how the outside world slanders me, my principles will absolutely not waver."

"Hold on, don't rush to distance yourself from us," Liu Longtao immediately laughed, "Old Yan, do you really think you are still the ordinary Joe? Do you still need to worry about cyberbullying or social judgment?"

"From the moment you became the first cultivator of the Zhendong Army, you've lost any association with the phrase 'ordinary people'!"

"Old Yan, I won't deny I am from the privileged class, but now you and I are the same, we belong to the same circle," Liu Longtao proclaimed.

"Stop right there!" Yan Yu cut him off, "Why start categorizing species all of a sudden? Old Liu, your method of comforting is quite unique. Alright, message received, no need to say more."

"That's better," Liu Longtao laughed, "Better safe than sorry, just in case you were really affected by those people, it would drag me down as well. This whole ordeal is quite annoying, let me tell you, our family didn't enter the fray. It's the other two families that are after you, and Chen Lingyun knows about it too."

"Whatever," Yan Yu replied indifferently, "Whoever is behind this, in the end, time will tell. We'll just see how it goes."

"Exactly," Liu Longtao agreed, "While I can't get my family to help you, I do know some of their younger generation, and I plan to visit them in the next few days to blow off some steam on your behalf."

"No need, no need, it has nothing to do with you."

"How can it have nothing to do with me? I already said, we're from the same circle," Liu Longtao said, then sneered, "I'm not like that coward Chen Lingyun, who just stands by and enjoys the show when our own is bullied by outsiders. Pah! Embarrassing! We Old Pingjing can't stand the selfishness of Jiang Hai people!"

"That's it, we'll chat next time."

After Liu Longtao hung up, Yan Yu turned to Chen Lingyun with a mocking smile,

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Old Liu even knows to stand up for his brothers, real camaraderie in tough times. Someone here is certainly not even worthy to hold his shoes in this regard."

Chen Lingyun smiled but did not speak. Although the assault this time was against Yan Yu's reputation, the real target was her father, and how could she rashly join in to help? Wasn't that handing a knife to the adversary?
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As an outsider pulling strings from both sides, Liu Longtao could, of course, stir some trouble, cozying up to Yan Yu while taking the opportunity to mock her – a case of speaking without repercussions.

"So I'm selfish and self-serving then," she said after some time, putting away her faint smile, speaking seriously, "but he's not really speaking out of righteousness either."

"The reason those two families have entered the fray is that they don't have any cultivators among their direct descendants; the Liu Family's refusal to get involved, even tacitly allowing Liu Longtao to help you, is because they do have a cultivator in the family. It doesn't mean they side with you."

"Nonsense," Yan Yu dismissed her contemptuously, "How could I not understand such simple reasoning? Each big clan is short-sighted and selfish. Even over the issue of loosening control over cultivation, though they claim it's to avoid 'disturbing the order of the universe,' they surely also fear 'stepping over the bones of the nobility.' So what?"

"Whether it's them or your father, even though their political stances diverge, they fundamentally both represent the arrogance of the old era, believing they can completely control the power of cultivators. Let's just wait and see!

Let's see who the tide of the coming era will swallow: those who sail upon the waves, or those who dare to stand on the shore, pointing fingers without understanding the sea!"