Chapter 150: Public Opinion

Wen Ying worked tirelessly, exposing many ordinary citizens of Mu City to the awakening of magical talents through divine stones within just a few days. Following that, it was Muershi's turn to take over, guiding public opinion online while pretending to be outsiders striking up conversations offline. With Muershi, who thrived on chaos, involved, the online discourse quickly shifted towards demanding the government to publicly teach magic, enabling ordinary people to protect themselves.

Essence and Koroy also fueled the fire with great enthusiasm.

Lan Jiaying encountered some trouble these days. The bond between him and his contracted human began to weaken and fray. According to the contract, he could use the human's body, but in return, he had to help this human achieve first place in an exam. However, now that his identity was exposed, fulfilling this contract was impossible.

Unable to possess a human, Lan Jiaying could only rely on his puppet body to move around. In a few more days, he might not even be able to control the puppet and would have to return to the Realm of Magic.

Originally, Lan Jiaying intended to deal with Yang Guodong, the man who exposed him, and then head back to the Realm of Magic. But Muershi stopped him, suggesting that he wait for the right opportunity to act.

Wen Ying, who had no involvement in their matter, overheard their conversation. His mission was already accomplished – the divine stone was rendered useless by him. Its once lustrous glow now resembled that of an ordinary stone, split evenly in two from the center.

Upon discovering the cracked divine stone, Wen Ying couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt. He placed the halves at the entrance of the church, hoping that the church officials would "bury" it properly.

When the exorcists of the church saw the returned divine stone, they were almost driven to fury, cursing loudly at the entrance.

Subsequently, Muershi and his companions captured several low-level demons, deliberately releasing them to attack humans. They watched from the sidelines, ensuring the safety of the attacked individuals and that they could promptly express their anger online.

Attacks by low-level demons on humans had become so frequent that public opinion had shifted from merely desiring to learn magic to demanding that the government and exorcist institutions make it accessible to all. The promised protection by exorcists for ordinary citizens had proven inadequate due to their scarce numbers, leaving many vulnerable.

"Magic education must be opened up! Otherwise, I won't even know how I'll die when I encounter a demon!"

"It's understandable not to allow offensive magic for safety reasons, but they should at least teach defensive magic!"

"So many people have shown magical aptitude. Why don't the Church and the Association disclose how to use it? Teaching us a protective shield spell wouldn't hurt."

"I encountered a demon again yesterday! My classmate is still in the hospital, unconscious. What is the official response doing? If they taught us how to use magic, my friend might have held on until the patrolling exorcist found us!"

While the complaints of ordinary citizens gave the government headaches, the deaths of those in the privileged class forced the Church's exorcists, who had long resisted the government, to reluctantly agree to teach magic.

The state took care of most common folk, but the Church's upper echelons showed little concern for their well-being, hence their persistent refusal of official envoys, citing a lack of manpower. The Association was also hesitant.

This morning, news broke that He Guodong, a shareholder and chairman of the He Corporation, was found dead in his room. According to the nanny who had fainted the previous night, she had seen a terrifying demon before losing consciousness. The exorcist dispatched to investigate detected abnormal magical aura at the scene.

Upon learning this, pressure mounted on the Church from its upper ranks.

The Church, being a vast organization, required substantial funding. High salaries, mission rewards, and merit exchanges all demanded considerable sums, which were largely sponsored by various corporate conglomerates.

Sponsors collectively protested, forcing the church officials to reluctantly agree to teach magic to the general public.

These cunning individuals didn't merely request that they teach their own people magic but insisted on opening it up to ordinary folk because they noticed that fewer people dared to venture out at night, and even during the day, various industries were witnessing a noticeable decline in revenue. This situation could not persist.

They needed ordinary citizens to have the courage to come out and spend money.

"Bang!"

A middle-aged man with a grim expression and fiery eyes slammed his palm onto the table, the sound echoing loudly in the quiet conference room.

"Are all the subordinates under your command good-for-nothings? They haven't found any traces of those demons yet! Haven't you heard how the Association has been mocking us lately?"

Mu City was mainly under the jurisdiction of the Church, so such matters were handled by the Church. The Association of Exorcists in Mu City only had a few members for show; even after the Black Hole incident, when the Association dispatched many personnel, they did not intervene recklessly.

Not interfering in another's territory was an unspoken rule.

The leader of the Mu City Knights, Lihan Wei, spoke up, "Those demons are peculiar. They're unlike any we've encountered before."

"What's so different?" the councilor demanded sharply.

Faced with the overwhelming pressure, Li Weixin's expression remained composed. He interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table, speaking with a hint of curiosity, "Their actions aren't just far more powerful than that of an average Intermediate Devil on the verge of evolving into a High Devil. Their tracks are also incredibly elusive, like a grain of sand lost among a vast beach. My subordinates followed the leads at the scene, but all attempts ended in failure; the clues always seemed to vanish."

"The demons stole the divine stones and wasted them by bestowing them upon a group of weak, untalented commoners for their awakening. It was their own awakening that attracted the demons, yet they blame us for not teaching them magic," the councilor's eyes darkened with disdain. "Those fools!"

Awakening one's innate talent enhances the vitality, logically increasing the likelihood of attracting demonic attention.

Those with average talents have little use for magic; it's a sheer waste of their time.

Someone exclaimed indignantly, "Demons have been too brazen lately, even killing the Holy Son."

Sitting in the conference room chair, Xiao Le listened to the voices around him, gradually losing focus. He was pondering why those particular people had died.

That day in the neighborhood, the demon that killed Wang Run clearly had the chance to eliminate the exorcists but only knocked them unconscious. Their injuries weren't severe; none of them lost limbs or their vitality.

They killed a group of exorcists while sparing another. Among the recent fatalities, there were both mid-to-high-ranking and low-ranking exorcists. According to reports, the death rate among the higher-ups was significantly higher than that of the lower ranks.

It was quite typical for the enemy to prioritize eliminating those in crucial positions within one's own camp, unless, of course, it wasn't unrelated to the missions he had been carrying out recently.

Recently, their team had discovered traces of the extremist devil in Mu City, only to lose the trail halfway through. These losses were accompanied by the deaths of several high-ranking exorcists within the Church, which filled Xiao Le with deep dread.

"Xiao Le, what are you lost in thought about?"

A displeased authoritative male voice pulled Xiao Le back to reality. He concealed the complexity in his eyes and replied calmly, "I was pondering if the culprit behind these recent incidents is the same group of devils. The ones who attacked the exorcists in Mu City, killed Saint Son Xiao Long, and stole the divine stone – they should all be from the same batch."

"And the same as those who opened the teleportation portals," someone affirmed confidently.

Already suspicious of Xiao Le, he keenly noticed that many people paused briefly before echoing this statement, as if deliberating their words.