Chapter 358: The Day Has Finally Come

Su Yuncao realized that the public trial had been doomed to become a farce from the very beginning.

He turned to Xie Renyu and asked, "Those trolls in today’s public trial, were they your doing?"

Xie Renyu's smile held unmistakable mockery as he replied, "No."

"You expect me to believe that?" Su Yuncao sneered, "Betraying your own allies and going back on your word. You’ve done well, my dear nephew from the Xie family."

Xie Renyu shrugged as he replied, "You probably will never understand what the people of Liuhe Base City have been through over these last few years. While you sit in your lofty position, making decisions that affect countless lives with a single thought and basking in the spotlight along with the applause of your so-called peers, the people here have been barely surviving through hunger, cold, beast attacks, and chaos. The gruel you would never even glance at is, for many here, the only hope they had for survival."

"So what?" Su Yuncao said coldly.

Xie Renyu continued, "That’s why you’ll never understand why the people of Liuhe Base City are so unwavering in their support of Li Xiaofei. In less than a year, this young man has given everything for this city and its people. He was the first to rush to the city walls to support the garrison during the star beast attacks. He was the first to discover purified water, and instead of hoarding it, he donated it to the city. He led a group of poor children and declared their intention to compete for the championship. He ended the bloodshed in the slums and stopped the gang wars that plagued the city. He stood up and killed the Bull Demon, breaking the spine of the beast tide. He donated all his wealth to his alma mater. Despite being the top player in the league, he only endorses local products."

These were lines Xie Renyu had prepared, but as he said them aloud, he found himself unexpectedly moved. His blood surged with emotion, and he suddenly realized just how much Li Xiaofei had done for Liuhe Base City, almost without anyone noticing. Moreover, Xie Renyu knew of other contributions Li Xiaofei had made, ones that couldn’t be spoken about in such a public setting.

He knew of the battle where Li Xiaofei had killed the advance forces of the Jiepeng people, the fight where he took down four Golden Body Realm experts of the Yiggs Union, and the efforts he made to protect Ye Liuying.

"Enough," Su Yuncao cut off Xie Renyu mid-sentence.

He knew that if the city leader kept speaking, today’s public trial would indeed turn into an award ceremony for Li Xiaofei. But Xie Renyu had no intention of stopping.

He raised his voice, "Do you still think those comments and those live interviews were a show filled with paid trolls? No! That was the genuine response from the people of this city, a heartfelt outpouring of gratitude toward Li Xiaofei."

Xie Renyu was practically unstoppable at the moment.

He laughed loudly, "You're so used to manipulating public opinion for your own ends, aren't you, Su Yuncao? Isn’t it strange how your carefully arranged trolls couldn’t control the narrative this time? They had been drowned in the overwhelming support from the people for Li Xiaofei! Su Yuncao, do you even understand what it means to have the people's backing?"

Su Yuncao’s face turned as dark as coal. Suddenly, a powerful oppressive force erupted from him. In an instant, people nearby were thrown back by the sheer force of his aura.

Xie Renyu gritted his teeth but didn’t move an inch in the face of this oppressive pressure. He didn’t say another word and simply smirked, staring directly at Su Yuncao.

The oppressive pressure vanished just as suddenly as it appeared. Su Yuncao let out a cold snort and turned to leave. He had lost today’s battle. No matter how furious or humiliated he felt, there was no point in lashing out. If he resorted to using his cultivation, the situation would only worsen.

As Su Yuncao stormed out in rage, Mai Zixiong and Wu Fohai exchanged glances before they, too, turned to leave. Each was quietly contemplating how the aftermath of this event would affect them.

Xie Renyu, however, turned to Li Xiaofei and said, "Li Xiaofei, I now declare you acquitted of all charges. You are free to go home."

Applause erupted from the audience and the jury. If one looked closely, they would see Du Longshan and his son clapping the hardest, their enthusiasm uncontainable.

Meanwhile, across Liuhe Base City, in all the venues watching the live broadcast of the public trial, a wave of cheers erupted, reaching the skies. In the Little White Dragon in the Waves live stream, the assistant screamed excitedly. Shen Yan, however, remained silent. Though he seemed outwardly calm, his eyes had welled up with tears.

The words from City Leader Xie Renyu had hit him deeply. Looking back, he realized how much this young man, Li Xiaofei, had already done for Liuhe Base City.

What kind of treasure have I become a fan of?

Shen Yan was moved beyond words. The live stream had more than 600,000 viewers, and the number only continued to grow. More and more people were flooding into what had become the official fan base of Li Xiaofei. Why? Simply to be part of it. People wanted to be there and show their support.

The trolls who had previously been active in the chat were long gone, their accounts deactivated as they vanished. Many of them had likely deleted their accounts in fear that Li Xiaofei's passionate fans would track them down in real life and expose them to harassment.

Liuhe Base City seemed to be swept up in celebration, as if it were the Lunar New Year all over again. City Leader Xie Renyu personally escorted Li Xiaofei back to the Cloudy Sky Gang. Almost at the same time, those who had been arrested earlier, including Yang Cheng and Chu Yuntian, were also released on bail.

They gathered in the guest hall to talk about the sequence of events.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Haha, brother, this time you can’t blame me," Xie Renyu said, lifting his teacup with a grin. "Everything was arranged by Principal Chen. He specifically told me not to inform you."

"How did Old Chen suddenly become an active-duty soldier?" Li Xiaofei asked, still confused.

Xie Renyu replied, "He had always kept his military status. Apparently, the Special Operations Academy has been asking him to return for more than a decade, but for various reasons, he kept refusing. This time, for some unknown reason, he finally accepted... You'll have to ask him yourself when you get the chance to find out the full story."

Li Xiaofei recalled how Tan Zhenwei had previously addressed Old Chen as Instructor Chen. Now, thinking about it, certain things seemed to have been foreshadowed long ago.

Originally, Li Xiaofei had planned to take advantage of the recess during the public trial. He had intended to use his ability, Spatial Point Theft, to silently slip into Su Yuncao's study, poison him with the Seven-Star Begonia, and wait for the right moment to assassinate him.

As long as Su Yuncao died, everything would come to a halt. Li Xiaofei would then have an ironclad alibi to escape the consequences. Though it was a simple and brutal approach, it had seemed like the only chance at victory. Even if it triggered a series of unfortunate events, he had been prepared to deal with them as they came. However, Chen Fei had made the first move before Li Xiaofei could act.

With the military’s backing, Su Yuncao had been nailed to the wall. Combined with Xie Renyu's betrayal, the downfall of this influential figure in Xiajing’s education system was all but certain. Su Yuncao was on the verge of total disgrace, and one wrong move could see him utterly ruined.

Yet, the thought of letting that old dog walk away from Liuhe Base City without any repercussions left Li Xiaofei feeling deeply unsatisfied. On a personal level, he couldn’t let the grudge go unavenged. On a broader scale, someone as corrupt as Su Yuncao was a cancer within the education system. He posed a grave threat to Great Xia's future if left unchecked. Such people needed to be eradicated completely.

This kind of behavior couldn’t be allowed to grow unchecked. But now, Li Xiaofei knew he couldn’t just sneak into Su Yuncao's residence and poison him as easily as he had planned.

What if Su Yuncao was standing right there waiting for him once he stepped out of the portal? He had to be sure the old dog wasn’t at home before making his move.

"By the way," Li Xiaofei suddenly remembered something else. "Isn’t Su Yuncao an ally of your Xie family? I doubt your family will let you off easily by openly betraying him like this."

Xie Renyu smiled, unfazed as he replied, "I have my ways."

As they were speaking, the Cloudy Sky Gang instructor Xiao Bidao, and the principal of the school, Hu Yuer, arrived to join them.

"Boss, I heard you were in trouble. I was so worried my beard turned white," Xiao Bidao said as he rubbed his smooth, clean-shaven chin. "I was about to break you out of jail, but then you came back. My prayers must have worked."

Hu Yuer looked at Li Xiaofei with concern, her gaze lingering a bit longer on his nethers. After confirming that nothing had been cut off, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Junjie, visibly excited, said, "Boss, the welcome-back feast is all set. Tonight, we don’t leave until we’re drunk and washed away all this bad luck."

Li Xiaofei, not wanting to refuse the well-meaning gesture from this dog, nodded. "Alright."

Thus, the banquet began, with even Xie Renyu and others joining in the celebration. At the same time, in Guang'an neighborhood. Little Aunt gazed at the familiar surroundings of their house and sighed softly.

All good things must come to an end. The day has finally come. It is time to leave.