The Fairy, whose Boundary had fallen to the mid-phase of the Ninth Grade, was utterly bewildered.
「Ten years ago.」
The Fairy had been at the peak of the Ninth Grade and believed she had a thirty percent chance of stepping into the mysterious Divine Gate Realm. However, after suffering severe injuries in a battle with Otherworlders, not only did her Boundary fall, but she also nearly lost her life, forcing her to seek refuge on a secluded island to recover. Now that her injuries had healed, the Fairy had come out of seclusion. She planned to visit old friends at the East Sea Wushu Association and then return to Chang’an City to contribute to Hua Country once more.
But why were these young Martial Artists speaking so strangely? When did she enter the Divine Gate?
Absurdity! She couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. The younger generation was simply too impolite, daring to fabricate rumors about their seniors’ Boundaries.
The Fairy had barely taken a few steps into the inner building when an elderly man in a Tang suit approached her. It was Gao He.
Gao He had been riding high recently. After all, he was the one who had personally reported that Li Mi was Hua Country’s number one Divine Gate expert, a contribution of immeasurable magnitude. Upon hearing from his subordinates that the Fairy had appeared at the Association, he hurried out to greet her, offering a reverent fist salute.
"Greetings, Predecessor Flower Fairy. I am Gao He, president of the East Sea Wushu Association and an Eighth Grade peak Martial Artist!"
"Where is President Xie?"
The Fairy was stunned. President Xie was a dear friend of many years; they had a bond forged through life-and-death situations.
"To answer Predecessor," Gao He said, his expression somber, "President Xie died in the Exotic Realm three years ago. Her cenotaph is in Chang’an City."
"Oh, she’s dead... I suppose that makes sense. She was only at the early phase of the Ninth Grade. Dying in the Exotic Realm isn’t surprising..." The Fairy was in a daze, a bitter smile on her face. She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms.
"If President Xie knew that you broke through to the Divine Gate and blessed Mount Haitang into a Spirit Vein, she would rest in peace," Gao He remarked with emotion.
"???" The Fairy was completely perplexed. "What are you talking about? I don’t understand a single word. What Divine Gate? What Spirit Vein?"
Gao He was startled. "Ah?"
Recalling what the young Martial Artists had said earlier, the Fairy grew even more puzzled. "What exactly is going on?"
As Gao He, completely confused and bewildered, explained everything, the Fairy learned that she had become a legendary figure in Hua Country during her time in seclusion. Not only had she supposedly become a Divine Gate powerhouse, but she had also blessed a mountain into a Spirit Vein.
Most critically... she had also acquired an illegitimate son!
The Flower Fairy, who had never truly been angry before, turned pale with rage. She stumbled back several steps, and the injury that had taken ten years to stabilize nearly relapsed from the shock.
"Who?!" she seethed, "Who is spreading these rumors?!"
An immense, murderous aura erupted from her. She felt like she was going insane. She had vowed to remain unmarried for life, dedicating herself to the Martial Dao, yet now the entire country believed she had a child. Check latest chapters at novel fire.net
"Predecessor, you really haven’t entered the Divine Gate? And Xu Lai isn’t your son?" Gao He was thoroughly baffled. What in the world was happening?
SWOOSH—
The Flower Fairy’s gaze turned as cold as ice.
Gao He’s scalp tingled under her stare. He quickly waved his hands. "Predecessor, it wasn’t me... It absolutely wasn’t me."
"Don’t let me find out who started this!" The Flower Fairy was incandescent with fury, wishing she could flay the rumormonger alive. It was too much. It was simply too much! She had shed her blood for Hua Country, only for some despicable person to tarnish her reputation while she was in seclusion.
Under the chilling killing intent, Gao He trembled all over, not daring to utter a word.
By the time Predecessor Flower Fairy teleported away, Gao He was gasping for air. He quickly took out his phone to call Tan Chang, needing to understand what was really going on. After all, Tan Chang was Predecessor Flower Fairy’s trusted confidant.
Wait a minute—if he’s really a confidant, he should have known that Predecessor Flower Fairy hadn’t entered the Divine Gate Realm. So why hasn’t he said anything?
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
The call didn’t go through, instead playing a notification that the phone was off. Gao He tried again, but got the same result. He could feel a headache coming on.
What in the world was going on!
After some thought, Gao He hurriedly reported the new information up the chain. He had to clear Predecessor Flower Fairy’s name, didn’t he? He couldn’t let one mistake lead to another!
***
Meanwhile, in an apartment at the foot of Mount Haitang.
Tan Chang had been in the bathroom for a full hour, staring at the cell phone that had fallen into the toilet, trapped in a long, internal struggle. In the end, his mysophobia won out over logic. Using his Spiritual Power, Tan Chang lifted the phone out and tossed it into the trash can.
I’ll just go buy a new one later.
Tan Chang felt a pang of regret. He was already short on money, and a new phone would cost several thousand.
It’s all because of that sneeze!
He was filled with righteous indignation. He had been sitting on the toilet just fine when he’d suddenly sneezed for no reason, and goosebumps had broken out all over his body. A chill had crept up from the depths of his heart. An inexplicable panic had caused his grip to loosen, and his phone had made the ultimate sacrifice.
The Martial Dao World has been so peaceful recently. How boring.
After washing up, Tan Chang sighed and turned on his tablet. He planned to surf the web for a while and check out the latest news in the Martial Dao World. Anyone registered with the Martial Dao Association received an invitation code to an exclusive website and forum for Martial Artists. The "news" about Flower Fairy that Tan Chang had spread had originated from this very forum.
He opened the IE browser.
After loading for five or six seconds, he finally entered the forum and immediately saw a post pinned by the Martial Dao Association:
"Statement! Flower Fairy Is Not of the Divine Gate Realm and Has No Illegitimate Son. Please Stop the Slander!"
Huh?
Tan Chang paused, then scoffed after reading the post.
Absurd. Utterly absurd! This statement is filled with lies and loopholes. For example, the claim that ’the Spirit Vein wasn’t Flower Fairy’s blessing.’ If not her, then who could it be?
Wait, could someone be trying to erase Predecessor Flower Fairy’s accomplishments?!
Tan Chang gasped, his mind instantly racing with countless conspiracy theories.
Damn it! I am Flower Fairy’s strategist! I must protect her reputation and not let these villains succeed!
"Keyboard, come!" Tan Chang roared.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP.
After connecting the keyboard to his tablet, Tan Chang’s ten fingers flew across the keys. He quickly typed out a title:
"Shocking! To Steal Her Credit, the Martial Dao Association is Slandering the Divine Gate Realm Powerhouse Flower Fairy. Is This a Distortion of Human Nature or a Corruption of Morality? Is it..."
Chaos erupted. The once-calm Martial Dao World was now in a complete uproar. The initial statement from the Martial Dao Association’s headquarters had already caused a stir, but another anonymous post questioning the association quickly climbed to the number two spot on the trending list.
The dizzying mix of truth and falsehood left everyone confused. However, most Martial Artists began to suspect the Martial Dao Association of plotting something against the Flower Fairy. The anonymous post’s analysis was just too logical and persuasive.
When the Flower Fairy heard this news, she was so furious that she spat out a mouthful of blood and almost died on the spot from sheer fury.
"Find them! Trace them through the internet! I’m going to kill whoever is spreading these rumors!"
The Flower Fairy was utterly enraged, her body trembling uncontrollably.
A simple statement from the Martial Dao Association should have solved the problem, but now there’s this conspiracy theory... This is clearly aimed at me!