Chapter 857: Star Heaven Martial Arts Ceremony (20)

"「This…)」 Those people's aura obviously diminished a lot, pointing at Lu Ka beside her and saying, "It's him who wants to reason, not us—what are you shouting at us for?""

Shuo Jin saw the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, and also stepped back: "Er, um… everyone, just disperse! Let's forget about today's matter, after all I'm also a responsible martial artist—I can't get tangled with petty riffraff."

The crowd dispersed in an uproar, and Xing again brought Lu Ka to the Dan Ding Si.

"Xing and Lu Ka, you're here again~ Lu Ka, does my dream tapir help you?"

"Thank you very much, that dream tapir has been very helpful to me, my sleep quality has improved a lot these days…" Lu Ka held his forehead, "But today… I've been having strong hallucinations again…"

Xing briefly described Lu Ka's previous predicament; Lu Ka said that after reading those reports, whenever he walked down the street he could always hear people talking about him… not only unknowingly falling into a hallucination, but also getting into fights with the people in that hallucination…

Ling Sha softly comforted: "Don't worry, this is just neurasthenia caused by mental pressure, which further worsens your hallucinations."

"It's really hard… I feel like everyone misunderstands me; I want to explain, but they won't listen…"

"What's there to explain? Those who originally believed you don't need to hear your explanation, and those who've made up their minds not to believe you won't listen either." Ling Sha smiled slightly, "Public opinion is like smoke in an incense burner—it just drifts with the wind. The wind direction will always change; not every wind will blow toward you."

"You think the people around you are gossiping about you because you're near the arena of the Jingfeng warship? But take a look at the whole Luofu—most people don't even know an external martial artist participating in the martial arts demonstration ceremony."

——

DC Universe.

"Miss Ling Sha is very insightful."

In the Planet Daily office, Lois pulled over her chair and sat down beside Clark, "She's not only highly skilled in medicine, I didn't expect her to have so much experience dealing with this kind of public opinion storm—could she have gone through something like this before?"

People like them, who oversee an entire department, are probably always at the center of the public opinion vortex, after all countless eyes are constantly watching them." Clark turned his head and met Lois's bright brown eyes.

Since becoming a reporter for the Planet Daily, he and Lois have frequently encountered similar public opinion crises; even when he first revealed his Superman identity in public, the torrent of public skepticism drowned him just the same—those sharp questions about his origin, motives, and even whether he counts as "human" were like knives—even though his body is impervious to blades, those words sharper than weapons still pierced him all over in an instant.

He well understood Lu Ka's current state of mind—that frantic urge to explain, the anxiety of wanting to be understood—he himself had been exactly the same at first.

But thereafter, as he intervened more and more often in crises, those similar voices began to fade away—by now he can no longer hear the confusing remarks that once baffled him.

The wind direction indeed changes. In Clark's view, as long as Lu Ka trains earnestly in boxing and does his job well, the public opinion surrounding him will soon be replaced by the next hotspot event. As a practitioner of the news industry, he knows full well that sports newspapers cannot forever print Lu Ka's negative reports on the front page; otherwise, readers chasing hotness and freshness would not buy them, and editors and reporters would desperately dig for the next public opinion flashpoint, swiftly sweeping away the "has-been" Lu Ka.

"At this point, the more Lu Ka tries to explain something, the more people think he's trying to cover up and desperately conceal."

"So you think he should do nothing at all?" Lois turned her head to look at him.

"I think it's enough for him to just box well; these public opinions will die down on their own." Clark said frankly.

"No." Lois picked up her half‑cold coffee on the desk, took a sip, slightly furrowed her brows and said: "Clark, your choice is undoubtedly choosing to yield to Shuo Jin. No matter who chooses to harm others, afterward that person must pay the price—if you do nothing, it means the other side can spread rumors and do evil without any cost. Do you really think Lu Ka will stop spreading rumors after defeating Shuo Jin?"

Clark staggered for a moment—this was something he hadn't anticipated.

"Shuo Jin must be punished—not on the stage, but off it! On stage he was beaten by Lu Ka because his martial arts skill is lacking; off stage he should be disciplined for his despicable tactics! He must learn that harming others comes with a cost!"

——

"Because of some past matters, I too was plagued by rumors inside the Luofu Dan Ding Si, forcing me to follow my master and go abroad…" Ling Sha shifted the conversation, a hint of pride appearing on her face: "…but by now those have all dissipated like smoke. And I have returned to Luofu to become the steward of the Dan Ding Si."

"So you mean, fight well in this invitation match and prove yourself with strength?"

Ling Sha nodded: "I think this is the best way for you to deal with rumors right now, concretely and effectively."

After Ling Sha's words of reassurance, Lu Ka's mood cleared from gloom to cheer, the worry on his face swept away, and he finally returned to his usual optimistic and open‑minded self.

Returning to the athletes' lounge, Lu Ka was surprised to find Tuo Pa proactively approaching him to discuss the public‑relations uproar caused by Shuo Jin's rumors, saying she could help him resolve the matter.

"This is a disaster we brought upon ourselves, or should we just avoid causing trouble for the company?" After some thought Lu Ka still decided to refuse: "If I accept Miss Tuo Pa's help, I'll owe you a favor. Later, when you bring up business cooperation, I'll find it hard to say no."

"Don't say that. I'm not only doing this for your reputation, but also for the company's reputation~" Tuo Pa explained, "If it were just rumors about you, I really wouldn't want to intervene, but this uproar shouldn't drag the company into it. My intervention now is also justified."

Lu Ka still maintained a polite refusal: "Thank you, Miss Tuo Pa, I appreciate your intention. But I have my own principles—I must repay any debt of favor. As someone just told me, public opinion is like smoke in an incense burner, drifting only with the wind. Once the wind shifts, all the rumors will fade away."