Chapter Fifty-Seven: From Darkness to Pink [Midnight]

Sangsang was almost chased onto the StarNet by Aslan, and as soon as she logged into her personal space, Little Gold sensed her presence and immediately rushed in to pounce on her.

"Sangsang, Sangsang, you’ve been selected as an inspirational youth by the top ten gossip sites on StarNet! Among the mid- and lower-level civilizations, you're even more famous than interstellar superstars. Half love you, half hate you. Can I start taking action now?"

Although Little Gold in her arms was no longer tiny, he was still just as adorable.

Recently, the situation on StarNet was impossible to decipher. It all began with candidate Saintess Sang Hollyleaf, who, during the Creative Media Exhibition, made the audience experience gestation. Originally, it was merely a childish prank, but some people purposefully escalated it to a disrespect for the propagation of life. The clueless followed suit, convinced they occupied the moral high ground, and for days the temples across StarNet were drowned in overwhelming criticism of Sang Hollyleaf's statements. Some even transformed themselves to look like Sang Hollyleaf, filming short videos of their bellies swelling and shrinking, spreading them everywhere. The impact was so great that even the external mid- and lower-level civilizations heard of it. To the uninformed, it would seem Sang Hollyleaf was a villain of the worst kind—born in the heart of evil and negative energy, a congenital demon spirit, provoking unanimous condemnation. A few clear-headed voices argued that cowardly bullies dare not challenge the temple's system but instead oppress a child, yet these voices were soon drowned in the tide of so-called cowards, barely making a ripple.

The climax of the event came when cheating was discovered at the Creative Media Exhibition. Originally, this could have shifted the crowd’s attention, but whether the masterminds belonged to the jellyfish race with limited brain capacity was unclear—they forcibly pinned the cheating on Sang Hollyleaf, demanding the committee reconsider her qualifications. The election committee refused to single out any candidate, but agreed to hold a live media creation session—participation voluntary, with no impact on the final results.

Thus, the top trending topic shifted from whether Sang Hollyleaf cheated to the demand for her participation in the live media creation. Not signing up was equated with cheating, and the campaign to smear Sang Hollyleaf remained unwavering.

At this point, insiders revealed that the root of the incident was not Sang Hollyleaf’s fault but a power struggle among the temple’s upper echelons. Sang Hollyleaf had become the breach to attack Bishop Anthony simply because he was away on official business in the Chaotic Domain, his Chief Knight absent, and other subordinates either pursuing their own interests or willing to sacrifice Sang Hollyleaf for greater gains, offering almost no resistance while outsiders poured filth on her. Even the Children’s Protection Organization became soft and sluggish, only banning individuals with excessively vile behavior and promising to crack down on those threatening Sang Hollyleaf physically.

Too much negative news about one person becomes tiresome, especially when it endlessly revolves around their background and character, never providing real evidence of wrongdoing. This forced acceptance of others’ views disgusts rational minds, and since StarNet is intertwined with most people’s lives, such trivial negativity dominating the trending list disrupts many normal routines.

Despite the interstellar respect for power, when personal interests are not involved, most people sympathize with the weak—especially when the weak is a child barely a fifth of the way to adulthood. In most species, the young always evoke tenderness.

Just as outsiders grew intolerant and rational voices began to emerge, even the herd mentality types grew bored and prepared to withdraw, the central figure finally spoke out for the first time.

Quietly, several videos authenticated by the God of Truth appeared on Sang Hollyleaf’s StarLight. But these were not her tearfully begging the world for mercy, nor enraged vows to outshine her detractors. Instead, they were snippets of her life in the temple, recorded every ten days.

She neither played the victim nor flaunted her strength—she simply showed what she had done in her less than a year at the temple.

When she first arrived, she was intensely curious about the house seeds in the Forest of Beings, going in and out to experience spatial changes, playing pranks on attendants with her creations, resting on the balcony with the Grand Encyclopedia of the Divine Court in her arms, enduring the pain of purification trials with remarkable tenacity, starting anew after failure, refusing to accept anything less than perfection. The purification process itself was perilous—her flesh melted away, bones unmoved, demonstrating resilience and endurance surpassing many adults raised in safe zones.

Before purification, occasional footage showed her resting; afterward, aside from eating and drinking, sleep was entirely replaced by meditation to consolidate inner energy. She scheduled forty-eight hours of coursework in a fifty-hour day. If she hadn’t willingly embraced it, she could have sued Sena for abuse.

She mastered all foundational techniques of Five Element Body Refinement in a month—a feat most geniuses admitted was beyond them. But witnessing her journey, they could not even summon envy, for her progress relied more on sweat than talent, pushing herself to the edge of self-torture. She trained in the Realm of Ten Thousand Trees, faced relentless pursuit by senior students, fought her way through the vast illusions of StarNet, rising from an unknown newcomer to a celebrated figure in just over a month. Her combat skills improved with each encounter, all laying the groundwork for her second-place ranking in the body technique assessment.

Some qualities are universal virtues, capable of moving hearts regardless of race or civilization level—such as diligence, perseverance, and refusal to give up easily. When such positive energy appears in the young, its impact multiplies.

The fervor around Sang Hollyleaf meant her daily study and life videos spread rapidly. Wherever her videos appeared, critics became neutral, neutrals became fans. Within days, Sang Hollyleaf transformed from the least expected candidate to the most popular, earning a nomination as an Inspirational Figure among the Top Ten People Who Moved the Galaxy.

After listening to Little Gold’s account, Sangsang asked, “Apart from distributing my video footage, has Sena made any other moves?”

Little Gold laughed, “Not Sena—the promotion team is managing this; he simply oversees the direction. Next, they plan to file complaints with the Children’s Protection Organization against those who insulted and trampled on your dignity for abusing a juvenile.”

“Are they finally closing the net?” Sangsang widened her eyes. “Wait, weren’t those trolls originally hired by Sena’s people? The more intense the attacks, the brighter the redemption.”

Sena’s team had initially manipulated the facts, recalculating Sangsang’s age according to civilization standards, claiming she was equivalent to sixty or seventy years old. Sangsang’s near-adult appearance also misled people, and the assistance from the Hundred Flowers Saintess encouraged uninformed bystanders to attack without restraint. In truth, Sangsang’s correct age should be a bone age of twenty-two after purification; she only looked about twelve because the high-energy atmosphere of advanced civilizations increased bone density and slowed growth. Even without further cultivation, her natural lifespan could reach a thousand interstellar years.

PS: Here comes the third update! Sisters, don’t forget to recommend and bookmark after reading~~