Back at the venue.
The news of the two Liu family men’s death was soon reported by those two middle-aged men but they didn’t alert the media.
At the moment, the primary match was still in full swing and that was the sole topic for everyone in the base city. Some media might have learned about the deaths through the grapevine and published the news but they weren’t able to stir up much of a reaction.
The deceased were nobodies in the Liu family and they had never been famous. No one would be interested in finding out the causes of their deaths. Only the words “Liu family” could catch the attention of some gossip lovers.
At the Liu family estate.
Since they had eyes and ears everywhere, this piece of news had reached the Liu family in no time.
They had not only learned about the deaths but also which branch the three deceased were from, the causes of their deaths, and the entire conflict.
The higher-ups in the Liu family were furious when they found out that it was the Pixie Pet Store behind all of it.
The three deceased were not significant family members. However, Su Ping’s deed was a slap on the entire Liu family!
Liu Tianzong flew into a rage the moment he received the news. He summoned most of the leaders in the Liu family and convened a family meeting to discuss this matter.
Usually, the deaths of three unimportant members would not alert all of those leaders of the immediate family but things were different this time. The Liu family’s authority had been challenged. At the same time, they could not afford to underestimate their opponent.
At the very least, the Liu family had yet to figure out the true background of the store since it acted so arrogantly, and flaunted an Inferno Dragon.
They had to tread lightly before they could see all of their opponent’s cards on the table. That was why they didn’t choose to directly retaliate with violence.
The meeting ended. The matters discussed at the meeting were kept a secret. But, not long after the meeting finished, much information about the would-be champion suddenly emerged online.
Apart from her name and age, there was information about the academy she was studying in and her picture.
Besides, there were tons of negative news about the girl and those sources were some public opinion leaders who had many fans.
Examples of such news would be that the campus belle had sold her body to gain status, and drank with some coal bosses.
People say that pictures do not lie. The internet was awash with gossip. Some videos were poorly shot and unclear. Yet, many people bought it.
Su Ping took Su Lingyue home.
After three hours of traffic, Su Ping finally got back home.
First thing first. He went to tell their mom about their safe return.
Liu Qingru was relieved to have them back safe and sound. She was overjoyed to learn that Su Lingyue had passed the first match and claimed that she would cook some extra dishes for her that night!
Su Ping left Su Lingyue with their mom and drove back to his store. He parked the car and went inside.
Su Ping found Joanna; she was cultivating in one of the nursing pens. Her cultivation was a bit uncommon. Some traces of golden light surrounded her and runes that resembled Sanskrit lingered around her body. It was a mysterious scene.
Few people were walking on the street. Most of the public surely were somewhere watching the Elite League. Since no customers were coming, Su Ping decided not to disturb Joanna and let her continue cultivating.
While no energy points could be made when there was no business, Su Ping was glad that he could take some time to relax. He got Tang Ruyan out of the scroll and told her to keep an eye on the store in case anyone did show up.
In the meantime, he went to the test room and summoned the Dark Dragon Hound to be his sparring partner. He could have the Dark Dragon Hound move some muscles while he would have the perfect punching bag… Erm, training partner.
He didn’t have to go to a cultivation site. The test room was a proper place already. It was like the most advanced battle stadium and the Dark Dragon Hound could try every move without having to worry about tearing the place down.
At least, given the Dark Dragon Hound’s current rank, it was unable to inflict any harm in this test room.
Su Ping didn’t choose the Inferno Dragon to train with because that guy was almost at the ninth rank and hence, he could not defeat it. Unless the Inferno Dragon let him win, but that would leave the training without any meaning.
The Dark Dragon Hound was at the intermediate position of the ninth rank but it was less aggressive.
Speaking of aggressiveness, Su Ping felt a headache. As a pet of the demon family, this dog’s weakness was in combat while it had equipped itself with all the defensive skills it could think of. This dog was basically trying to transform into a turtle. Su Ping found it quite necessary to show the dog how important offensive skills were.
They warmed themselves up and Su Ping threw himself at the Dark Dragon Hound.
With the help of the Star Prism that could increase his rank to almost the ninth, and together with the Solar Bulwark, he could move as fast and strong as an average titled battle pet warrior. As he used the “Fist of Exorcist,” he could make the Dark Dragon Hound’s advanced shield tremble with one punch. If he could exert more strength, he would be able to smash it to pieces directly.
The training went on for hours.
All of a sudden, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Su Ping was tired and was leaning against the Dark Dragon Hound’s belly to have a rest. The Dark Dragon Hound’s tongue stuck out and it was covered in sweat.
Su Ping took a few more breaths and went to open the door.
It was Su Lingyue outside and she looked worried.
“What is it?”
“Take a look at this online…” Seeing Su Ping in front of her calmed Su Lingyue down a bit. She handed Su Ping her phone.
Su Ping saw many pieces of news on Su Lingyue as if she had caught the attention of the public overnight, like a celebrity. With a closer read, he noticed that all of the news articles about her were negative.
Su Ping raised his eyebrows but he wasn’t that surprised. He had predicted that this would come. It just came sooner than he had anticipated. It seemed that the Liu family was well-informed.
“Congratulations. You are famous now,” Su Ping said.
Su Lingyue did not know what to say. Su Ping’s words almost angered her to death.
Famous? Why would she want to become famous this way? She was notorious and she would go down in history as a symbol of infamy!
She, a girl, had been defamed. If it weren’t for the fact that her close friend Jiang Xingyu told her about this, she wouldn’t have known that she already had a tattered reputation on the internet!
She had thought that Su Ping would find her a solution. How could he use those irresponsible and sarcastic remarks!
“They are getting back at me!” Su Lingyue filed her teeth in rage. “Oh. You knew this already? That settles it then,” Su Ping said.
Su Lingyue glared at him. At this moment, she wondered if she were this guy’s younger sister, and if this guy’s kindness toward her had been fake all this time!
Su Ping patted her forehead. “You know that they are getting back at you and you’re mad at them. You are playing into their hands.”
Su Pingyue was still foaming at the mouth. “You’re not the target. Of course, you wouldn’t be angry!”
“Who told you I’m not angry? I’m just not showing it,” Su Ping went on, “Besides, what good can anger do you now? If you have enough strength, I suggest you save it for the match. They are slandering you to discourage you. They let people verbally abuse you. Some foolish people will agree to play along and target you in the matches.
“But, the only thing you need to do is to be powerful enough and defeat all of them, right?”
Su Lingyue stood in a daze for a moment. “You make it sound so easy but it is me who people are targeting, calling me names. I just want to be the quiet, pretty girl that I am. Why did you choose me to be the champion? You only set me up!”
“Since you were set up, then enjoy it.” Su Ping did not try to correct her words, and that was the way he had always been.
Su Lingyue glared at him.
Naturally, she knew that it was for her benefit that Su Ping had planned to make her the champion. If she could win the championship, it would undoubtedly mean she would develop to a high rank.
Without Su Ping’s help, it would take her years or over a decade to reach that goal. Su Ping had shortened that time for her.
To be a talent or remain mediocre was a choice. It went without saying that she would not choose to be the latter. It just never occurred to her that the price to pay to become the former would be so massive!
Besides, she could tell that Su Ping was aware this would happen. He knew it!