As The Most Powerful Mage, I’m Back

Chapter 8: World Outrage, War of Public Opinion

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Not long after, everything that happened in Muguang City spread on the Internet. In just a few hours, the news quickly spread throughout the Federation. Men, women, young, and old were all shocked.

Everything that happened today was too bizarre, shocking, and ridiculous.

A total of two major events happened today, each of which was enough to affect the political landscape and direction of history.

The former hero of glory, Archmage Lin Feng, was jointly convicted by the Mage Guild and the Federation Government of war crimes, crimes against humanity, abuse of power, and many other crimes. He was stripped of all his honorary titles and executed on the spot by the current Mage Guild president, Ren Qiu.

Of course, the official announcement was as such, but almost everyone knew in their hearts that the truth was obviously not as simple as announced.

The first suspicious point was—the golden flash that broke through the Federal Building. Officials said it was the aftermath of the battle, but the impact of it could not have been so great.

The second was—did Ren Qiu have the ability to execute Lin Feng on the spot? The answer was obvious. It was impossible. There was an 11 level difference between the former and the latter, and they were separated by a major rank of Epic and Mythical. Let alone Ren Qiu, they might not be able to defeat Lin Feng even if all the experts of the human race had joined forces.

Even ordinary children knew there was a problem with the above two points. The officials must be well aware of it, but still, they had to give such a simple and ridiculous explanation. The reason behind it could not help but make one’s imagination run wild.

The last suspicious point was also the most puzzling and was the contradiction that caused major debate among the people. Lin Feng, who abhorred evil as his enemy, actually committed so many shocking crimes in private?

Was this a story fabricated by the officials to frame the hero, or was Lin Feng actually a two-faced person? On the surface, he looked righteous, but behind everyone’s back, did he often do shameful and dirty things?

In response to the last suspicious point, the Internet was clearly divided into two sides. One was the official faction, which firmly stood on the Federation’s side.

The other was Lin Feng’s faction, who believed that Lin Feng’s achievements had shocked the Federation, and he was framed and killed by a vile person. The execution of the Archmage incident was similar to the unjustified death of Yue Fei in the Wind Ripple Pavilion incident in China thousands of years ago.

In short, both sides had their own opinions and fought on the Internet, starting the biggest public opinion war in the new era.

[Meng Yuan’s Golden Nest: I’m from the official faction and stand firmly on the side of the Federation. What a bunch of idiots. They don’t believe the official announcement but in conspiracy theories. How stupid!] (130,000 likes)

[I Love Sleeping, Sleeping Makes Me Happy: I agree with Golden Nest! Conspiracy theorists are the stupidest and most paranoid. They clearly have no evidence, but they make up a bunch of seemingly reasonable rumors. Their intentions should be punishable!] (70,000 likes)

[Rice Tea: Hit me all you want, but I support Lin Feng.] (30,000 likes)

[Li Bai Who Loves Grilled Fish: No evidence? Didn’t you think the official story was too ridiculous? As a Level 91 Mythical mage, how could Lin Feng have been so easily executed? I think someone secretly poisoned him to death.] (20,000 likes)

[Farther Distance: He might not have been executed. Maybe he committed suicide because he had done too many bad things and felt guilty.] (50,000 likes)

[Unplugged Creatures: What idiots! The great hero Lin Feng has made so many contributions to humanity. He personally fought against foreign enemies and magical beasts and made outstanding contributions to the arrival of the new era. It’s obvious his achievements shocked officials, and he was framed by someone despicable!] (100,000 likes) (This comment has been reported by too many people and has been deleted.)

[Speechless: Do all these contributions belong to him alone? Lin Feng was clearly nurtured by the resources of humanity. He can’t be a legend. Without us, he couldn’t have been a legend, nor have the status he had today!] (70,000 likes)

[Open a Forest: That’s right. I think he’d been the leader of the Mage Guild for too long. He was used to being in a high position and was gradually corrupted by power. That’s why he betrayed mankind and did such a heinous thing!] (40,000 likes)

…

No matter how netizens argued, as long as they stood on Lin Feng’s side and fiercely questioned the official comments, they would always disappear under a mysterious force, leaving only the words “this comment has been deleted”.

In addition to the deliberate guidance of media organizations of all sizes, negative news about Lin Feng emerged one after another. Digging into some of his past “details” and “actions” hinted that he was not as bright as he appeared on the surface, and his heart was actually quite dark.

It was not only that. Many high-ranking figures with high reputations in various fields spoke up one after another, endorsing the government. They used their personal experiences as evidence to denounce Lin Feng’s condescension and arrogance.

As for why they only said it now, that was naturally because Lin Feng’s authority was too great in the past, and they were afraid he would take revenge if they said it out loud. Only after Lin Feng died did they have the courage to stand up and “reveal the truth”.

In any case, Lin Feng was already a dead man. Corpses could not speak. No matter how they tried to slander him, he could not possibly come out and refute them.

All of these factors caused the voices supporting Lin Feng to become smaller and smaller, so much so that the official faction completely gained the upper hand. In the end, the entire case of Lin Feng’s death was concluded.

As for the second major event, it was the most powerful person of the younger generation, the Crimson Angel Xia Xiaoyan. Due to her witnessing the death of her teacher, she attacked the chairman of the Mage Guild, Ren Qiu, in anger. After losing, she was arrested and imprisoned.

For violating Article 12 of the Federation Constitution, the crime of assaulting the upper echelons of humanity, she should have been sentenced to death. However, she reached Level 61 at the age of 24. With consideration of her potential, and coincidentally, after Lin Feng’s death, humans were in urgent need of talents. So, she was spared. Instead, to atone for her crimes, she was sentenced to guard the Buried City for ten years to kill the magical beasts and prevent them from running out and threatening the human race.

Although the impact of this matter was not low, compared to Lin Feng’s death, it did not cause too much of a commotion on the Internet. The vast majority of the people approved of the official’s final decision.

Only a few fans she had accumulated before she became famous were left. They gathered on one of Crimson Angel Xia Xiaoyan’s blog posts and sighed.

[I’m Lord Xia Xiaoyan’s Dog: Sigh… What a pity. Xiaoyan, a seventeen-year-old Epic Swordsman, had a bright future ahead of her, but she was hot-headed and wanted to take revenge for her murdered teacher.]

[Lord Xia Xiaoyan lashes me ruthlessly: I also think it’s a pity! She could have completely ignored this matter. After all, Lin Feng was a great villain who had done many bad things in secret! This bastard was not worth her trouble!]

[Yanyan is my lifelong idol: That’s right. It was not worth being punished for a sinner like Lin Feng! Lady Xiaoyan, look at me!]

[Lin Feng and Xia Xiaoyan’s eternal love: There’s no need for you guys to say that. After all, Lin Feng was Yanyan’s teacher. He even saved her life. Wouldn’t it be normal for her to have feelings for Lin Feng? Besides, there were many abnormalities in Lin Feng’s case. There might be some hidden secrets…]

[User: “Lin Feng and Xia Xiaoyan’s Love for a Hundred Years” has been permanently banned by the host for 100 years and can not continue to interact in the chat.]

[Yanyan Is My Master (Super-host): Hehe. CP fans, get lost. How can you ship our Yanyan with a sinner from the past? It’s so disgusting. They’ve been banned. You guys don’t have any objections, right?”

[I’m Lord Xia Xiaoyan’s dog: I support it!]

[Lord Xia Xiaoyan lashes me ruthlessly: Support!]

[Yanyan is My Lifetime Idol: Same. This kind of person should have a taste of being banned forever.]

…

Unlike Lin Feng’s incident, the Federation’s attitude toward Xia Xiaoyan’s crime was more ambiguous. They only sentenced her to guard the Buried City and did not smear public opinion of her. Therefore, in the hearts of most netizens, she still had a positive image. It was just that she accidentally went astray and could still turn over a new leaf.

As for Lin Feng, it was decided by the officials that it was a vicious incident.

However, no matter what the people thought or what the truth was, no one could deny that these two major events were destined to be engraved in the history of mankind.

Furthermore, this stroke seemed so inopportune at the beginning of a new era for mankind. With the end of the war, mankind could finally rebuild their homeland and welcome the dawn of a new world. This should have been a day of celebration and joy for everyone.

However, under the mysterious writing of Lin Feng’s incident and the bright appearance of the new era, one could vaguely see some imperceptible undercurrents surging and brewing, emitting an unusual aura.

It seemed to indicate that the fate of mankind was destined to be full of ups and downs and would not be peaceful.