Just to go to Governing Peak to collect his competition rewards, he had been ambushed and bagged eight times along the way.
Qin Xiaosheng limped into his study, one hand clutching his dark, swollen cheek.
A manual lay open on the desk, filled with dense writing.
Supporting himself against the desk, Qin Xiaosheng slowly sat on the meditation mat. He closed the manual and lightly traced the handwritten words on the cover with his fingers—Xiaosheng Intel Tower Creation Plan.
The five words were written neatly and seriously.
Through the writing, one could almost see the solemn and firm determination of the person who wrote them.
Looking at his own handwriting and recalling the conviction that had sustained him while climbing the Path to Immortality during the entrance exam, Qin Xiaosheng's heart gradually calmed.
He took out his identity jade token and sent his divine sense into the Xiaoyao Forum section, pondering how to restore his reputation and make everyone trust his information again.
At this moment on the Xiaoyao Forum, one piece of news had held the top spot on the Xiaoyao Grievance Rankings for three days.
“Analysis: The Most Deceptive Lie of the New Disciple Competition—Who is the Culprit Behind the Scenes?”
This forum post analyzed Gu Ningyun and Ruiyu Pavilion's journey to the championship in detail. After peeling back layers of mystery, it reached the final truth.
“In summary, the fundamental reason why the groups in the team competition lost so tragically and miserably was a misunderstanding of Ruiyu Pavilion and Gu Ningyun's strength. And the original source of this misunderstanding was Qin Xiaosheng's intel—‘nothing to fear.’”
The comments below had accumulated to tens of thousands. When Qin Xiaosheng clicked on them, his name was everywhere.
“Qin Xiaosheng, your 《New Disciple Xiaosheng's Remarks》 is toxic! If it weren't for your misleading info, we would have steered clear of Senior Sister Gu. Why would we have formed a team to rob her?!”
“Qin Xiaosheng, didn't you say you were the most reliable?!”
“The years of trust betrayed by Qin Xiaosheng...”
“The fellow disciples pitted by Qin Xiaosheng over the years...”
“The hearts broken by Qin Xiaosheng over the years...”
“The years of being... by Qin Xiaosheng...”
Qin Xiaosheng: “...”
He took a deep breath and continued scrolling down. Amidst the dense accusations and complaints, he finally found one that was slightly different.
“Um, I feel like the one who’s actually toxic is Senior Sister Gu... I’ve bought info from Qin Xiaosheng a few times before, and there were never any problems. When he sold this edition of 《New Disciple Xiaosheng's Remarks》, he did say that some disciples might have trump cards he hadn't detected, and told us to use it as a reference rather than believing it blindly. I was actually wary of Ruiyu Pavilion and Senior Sister Gu at first, but they had one trap after another, and I just got caught in the end.”
After reading this comment, Qin Xiaosheng was moved to tears. His hand holding the identity jade token trembled as he quickly replied to the comment, “Speak for me! Speak for me!!”
Someone immediately noticed Qin Xiaosheng's reply and followed up below, “But if we're talking about the root cause, it’s the fault of your jade slip.”
“Yes, I agree!”
“I don't know whose fault it is, but I know Qin Xiaosheng definitely has something to do with it!”
Qin Xiaosheng abruptly withdrew his divine sense and stuffed the identity jade token into his storage bag.
“Hiss—”
He moved too forcefully and pulled the injury on his shoulder.
He didn't know what kind of pill those people had fed him, but the self-healing effect of his body refining wasn't working, and even a Return-to-Spring Pill couldn't cure it.
Could it be that he really had to suffer for seven days before it would get better, just as that alchemist who fed him the pill had said?
Qin Xiaosheng waited for the wave of pain to pass, then flipped open the manual on the desk and wrote on a blank page—
Xiaosheng Intel Tower Rules:
Article 1: Information must be classified according to reliability: Precise, General, and Vague.
Article 2: Precise-level information must be repeatedly verified and absolutely error-free. If an error occurs, the compiler of the information must personally compensate the customer's loss and accept punishment according to the Intel Tower's disciplinary regulations.
Article 3: When selling information, the content must only be a statement of known facts. It is forbidden to add any analysis or speculation.
Article 4: ...
Time flew by as Qin Xiaosheng refined his Xiaosheng Intel Tower Creation Plan and Gu Ningyun remained in seclusion.
A month later, Gu Ningyun pivoted. With a gust of clear wind, she moved from the west side of the courtyard to the east.
She had attained the Entry stage of 《Wind Walk》.
She left her Cloud Residence, activating her movement technique. Before long, she saw Wen Xuan on the Ruiyu Pavilion plaza.
With a light push off the ground, she arrived beside Wen Xuan and patted her shoulder.
“Eek!”
Wen Xuan scrambled several steps back to the right, her mace already in hand.
Once she saw that the person who patted her was Gu Ningyun, Wen Xuan's pupils shrank. “Ningyun? How did you suddenly appear beside me? You scared me.”
“You practiced a movement technique.” Mu Chenze, on the other hand, noticed the signs and fanned himself with his folding fan. “I’m afraid it will be impossible to catch up to your speed in the future.”
Gu Ningyun hadn't expected to startle her and quickly gave Wen Xuan an apologetic smile.
“I’ve just reached the Entry stage; I still need to practice.”
Jiang Yao popped out from behind Mu Chenze. “Do you guys know about the juicy drama from a while back?”
“What drama?” Gu Ningyun blinked. She had just been practicing her movement technique; had she missed some interesting news?
“It's about Qin Xiaosheng.”
“And our Ruiyu Pavilion.”
Gu Ningyun looked at the identical expressions of Mu Chenze and Jiang Yao, who both seemed to be enjoying the show, and felt speechless. “Are you two performing a play? One starts a line, and the other finishes it.”
Mu Chenze chuckled and briefly explained the forum post that had topped the rankings, as well as the news of Qin Xiaosheng being ambushed eight times and hiding in his Cloud Residence.
Finally, Jiang Yao summed it up. “Ningyun, Qin Xiaosheng is in a bad way.”
Hearing about the eight ambushes, Gu Ningyun's lips twitched, unsure whether to laugh or feel sympathy.
She thought about it carefully and shook her head. “No, he’s famous now.”
Jiang Yao and Mu Chenze dropped their expressions of sentimentality and said in unison, “What?”
“Negative fame is still fame.” Gu Ningyun rubbed her chin, her tone slow and deliberate.
Wen Xuan leaned in. “What does negative fame mean?”
Gu Ningyun’s fingers paused. She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before explaining simply, “It means everyone now knows Qin Xiaosheng is in the business of buying and selling information. He’s become a household name.”
Wen Xuan: “...” Do I look like I believe that?
Jun Luo, who had been listening quietly the whole time, nodded. “Indeed, he is famous.”
Mu Chenze added, “He probably didn't want to be famous this way.”
Jiang Yao said, “To be precise, he didn't want to become famous through this specific method.”
“Fair point,” Mu Chenze agreed.
“As a businessman—one who deals in information—if you want to expand and strengthen your business, you must learn to seize every opportunity.”
The sunlight filtered through the clouds, illuminating the cunning in Gu Ningyun's eyes with perfect clarity.
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