The president of America was attacked on a school campus during his visit to Huaxia and narrowly escaped death.
The news quickly spread across the world, drawing everyone's attention. What kind of suicidal organization would dare harbor malicious intentions toward two superpowers at once? Were they truly confident they could escape the combined pursuit of Huaxia and America?
No one knew how the incident would be handled. Most people merely assumed that after something so serious, the casualties must have been horrific.
Yet the reports that followed left everyone stunned. Aside from all the attackers being killed and several traitorous bodyguards being shot dead, only a few dozen Huaxian soldiers had suffered injuries of varying severity. They were currently hospitalized and awaiting treatment.
Not a single student had been harmed. Most had merely suffered a severe fright, though repeated explosions had destroyed parts of the school. They would probably be sent home for an early vacation.
According to reports, the students had emerged unscathed partly because the Huaxian soldiers had risked their lives to shield them, but even more because cultivators hidden among the crowd had intervened to save everyone.
Information about these mysterious cultivators had gradually begun emerging half a month earlier. The public had accepted their existence, but remained deeply wary of their superhuman abilities and had little desire to live alongside them.
This time, however, the news reports focused entirely on the cultivators' positive actions. They had used their own bodies to block bullets and their abilities to protect the students. Even under threat from the criminals, they had never once considered their own safety.
Even though people knew this was a publicity campaign and that the accounts had likely been exaggerated, they enjoyed this kind of uplifting story. As a result, their rejection of cultivators diminished considerably.
This was especially true at Sudi High School, where children from prestigious families made up half the student body. Many came from families involved in business or politics, while others held immense influence in cultural circles.
The vast majority had never encountered cultivators before, nor did they know anything about the cultivation world, the ordinary world, or the Otherside.
Yet there was no question that these cultivators had saved their children. That alone was enough for those influential families to quietly push the narrative forward and further emphasize the cultivators' positive image.
The attack might have been dangerous, but from another perspective, it was not necessarily a bad thing. It accelerated public acceptance of cultivators and other beings who had previously been forced to remain hidden in the shadows.
However, once videos of the attack were released one after another, people were astonished to discover that one stage had remained untouched from beginning to end.
It seemed to be protected by something. Neither missiles nor bullets could approach it, much less inflict any damage.
It was like a temple of the gods, shrouded in divine power.
This astonishing discovery made everyone even more curious about what had been filmed from the front of the stage. They wanted to know who had created such a miraculous scene.
Unfortunately, the authorities classified that portion of the footage. Even related information appearing online was erased.
Their attitude made it obvious that they did not intend to reveal the girls' identities anytime soon. Or perhaps the video concealed some immensely important information.
The more mysterious something was, the more curiosity it inspired. As long as the authorities refused to release the footage, discussion of the incident only continued to intensify. Eventually, a theory known as the "Descent of the Gods" emerged.
The so-called "Descent of the Gods" theory held that only a god could have created such a miracle.
Although the public already knew cultivators existed, they had no idea what level the truly powerful among them had reached.
Since ancient times, gods had been synonymous with omnipotence. If cultivators existed, why could gods not exist as well?
Although the explanation was extremely far-fetched, many people still supported it. The theory not only triggered fierce arguments online, but also caused numerous conflicts between theists and atheists in the real world.
Yet even as the debate grew increasingly heated, the authorities maintained their silence, as though the video had never existed.
Their attitude seemed both like tacit permission for the public to continue arguing and like preparation for the perfect moment to release it.
"Have you found the mastermind behind this?" Chu Xiao sat in his chair, drew deeply on his cigarette, and questioned the person who had entered behind him.
"Not yet. However, a great deal of evidence currently points toward a newly emerged organization called Endless Abyss Judgement. But the organization is far too mysterious. Not only Huaxia, but even America and Europa have no concrete information about them whatsoever."
"That makes things difficult." Shaking his head, he formed a more direct assessment of just how troublesome this enemy was.
Thinking back, had he not listened to Li Mingxue and secretly stationed more than a dozen experts ranging from the Earth Rank to the Heaven Rank around Chu Lian and the others, matters might have become far worse.
It was precisely because of that arrangement that the attack on Sudi High School had not resulted in greater casualties. Although their responsibility had been to protect Chu Lian and the others, their identities meant they could not stand aside when students or civilians were in danger.
For various reasons, none of them could reveal their identities. Even when saving people, they had been forced to act at seemingly coincidental moments, sometimes even disguising their rescues by pretending to be injured. Still, they had ultimately proven useful and prevented the situation from developing beyond Chu Xiao's ability to resolve.
After all, more than half of those students had extraordinary backgrounds. If anything had happened to them, it was easy to imagine how their families would have reacted.
Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps Chu Xiao's luck had simply been extraordinary. Or perhaps Li Mingxue had possessed remarkable foresight. Whatever the reason, the people dispatched to protect Chu Lian had, through a series of coincidences, become one of Chu Xiao's most brilliant moves.
"Accelerate the investigation into the hidden agents inside the school and the officials connected to them. I want them uprooted completely, without a single one left behind. Then contact America's secretary of defense and the chief director of the Europa Union for me. Tell them I have matters to discuss." Chu Xiao waved his hand, signaling for her to handle everything.
"Much as I'd love to get away from a bastard who reeks of cigarette smoke, you should at least tell me what we're doing with the video. Are we really going to let these discussions keep escalating? That could easily lead to even greater problems, couldn't it?" Her words struck directly at the subject Chu Xiao had been avoiding. This time, he could no longer pretend ignorance.
"I'd love to release it, but do you have any idea who appears in that footage? The Liu family's daughter, the Cai family's daughter, the daughter of a British grand duke, the foremost successor of the hidden paths, the Li family's orphaned daughter, and my own two daughters! Do you honestly think I can let you release it?" Chu Xiao extinguished his cigarette. His tone was calm at first, but grew agitated when he mentioned Li Xiu'er, then became utterly resolute when he spoke of his own daughters.
"Fine. You're already beyond saving as a daughter-obsessed father. I won't concern myself with this anymore. Just make sure you keep things under control and don't let certain people get too carried away." Of course, she knew the people he had named at the beginning were merely added to strengthen his argument. The ones he truly cared about were his own two daughters and that little girl from the Li family.
Still, it made sense. If the video were released, the girls would undoubtedly become the focus of the entire world, and trouble would inevitably follow.
Even though they knew truly capable people would have little difficulty identifying the girls regardless of whether the footage was released, keeping it secret would at least delay them for a while.
What Chu Xiao felt most fortunate about was that the live broadcast had been cut off shortly after the attack began.
All later footage had been stored directly in the cameras and the school's database without leaking out. Otherwise, concealing the incident would probably have required far more effort.
"I compared the footage recorded from the livestream with the video itself. Mm, there aren't many points that can be matched. Should I say the school did us a huge favor by designing every stage identically?"
To ensure he had overlooked nothing, Chu Xiao repeatedly reviewed and compared the footage several times before finally relaxing.
"Honestly, what were all of you thinking? You could have simply run when danger appeared, yet you insisted on staging a scene straight out of a story about roses blooming amid artillery fire. Your father loves it, of course, but I was worried sick."
Stroking the girl's cheek in the framed photograph, Chu Xiao's voice carried a trace of complaint, though perhaps it contained even more joy.
Was cleaning up the aftermath and dealing with trouble for his most precious daughter not the perfect way to demonstrate his greatness and importance as a father?
Only after learning how hard her father had worked for her would the girl realize what a wonderful father he was and become even closer to him, right?
Mm, it's been so long since I hugged Little Lian'er. I really miss that soft, delicate little body...
The busyness of the past few days had left his thoughts in complete disarray, but one thing was certain. The man missed home.
Outside, overwhelming waves of reports, speculation, and factional disputes descended into chaos, making it seem as though the world had changed beyond recognition.
Yet none of that had anything to do with Chu Lian and the others. By the time the incident reached this stage, it had already moved beyond anything she could interfere with.
The only thing they could do now was remain on the sidelines, watch others finish handling everything, and then sleep.
After all, the school had been bombed, and the students had suffered varying degrees of shock. Sudi High School had already issued an announcement stating that the vacation would begin early.
Students preparing for the national college and high school entrance examinations could study at home, then travel to their assigned testing sites when the examination dates arrived. As for everyone else, they had nothing to do but enjoy themselves until the next semester began.
[Side Quest—This Lady Is the Strongest: Participate in this event and show yourself off before Mr. President. Whether through dance, music, or anything else, you must tell the entire world that you are the strongest loli. Complete.]
[Although the final video was not released, that was not your fault. You have already generated widespread discussion, and the topic has swept across the globe, compensating for the remaining completion requirements. Therefore, the system has determined that the quest is complete.]
[System rewards distributed. The next Incarnator has been selected...]
[Descent commencing...]