hsntnovel Chapter 85 Before the giant whale surfaces, it needs a grand stage.
Chapter 85 Before the giant whale surfaces, it needs a grand stage.
Chapter 85 Before the giant whale surfaces, it needs a grand stage.
"Director Lu, it seems you can't protect him!"
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Lu Zhenhua's calm voice came through: "Don't move, and don't respond to anything. Wait for my call." Then the call was abruptly ended.
Hu Biao put away his phone. Facing the astonished, curious, or scrutinizing gazes of his three roommates and the surrounding classmates, he shrugged indifferently, picked up his tray, and headed towards the recycling area.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone get staged for an international accident?"
Almost simultaneously with the broadcast of the interview on the cafeteria's television, related video clips, screenshots, and shorthand notes spread like wildfire across major social media platforms, dominating the trending topics.
#Thai boxing champion challenges university students in Wuhan#
Who is Hu Biao, the Eagle Claw King?
#Traditional martial arts dare not accept the challenge?#
The topic was followed by the bright red word "Explosive".
The interview with Charon Silivana has been repeatedly played and analyzed.
His humble demeanor, regretful tone, and mention of "the regrets of the previous generation" successfully created an image of someone who admires Eastern martial arts, harbors regrets, and yearns for exchange.
Although everyone knows that this guy's interview content was ill-intentioned, after all, who would name names like that? But the frustrating thing is that there is no way to criticize him. First, he showed sincerity in communicating, and second, he genuinely expressed regret. Why are your people afraid to come out and communicate?
Therefore, this direct naming instantly opened the floodgates of public opinion.
"College student? Eagle Claw King? That's clickbait, isn't it?"
"Really? A freshman can get this kind of title? How amazing must his mentor be?"
"The point isn't the title, it's that a world champion came to us, specifically asking to exchange ideas!"
"Exchange? That sounds nice, but isn't this just a challenge? The older generation broke the father's leg, and now the son is coming to the door."
"That Muay Thai champion seemed pretty polite; he just wanted a friendly spar, right? And Hu Biao is avoiding us—is he chickening out?"
"Hehe, nonsense, of course I'd chicken out. I'd chicken out too, he's a world freestyle fighting champion!"
"We can't generalize like that, can we? What if they really are in trouble?"
"What's up? A freshman, what could possibly be wrong?!"
Public opinion began to ferment and quickly tilted in a direction unfavorable to Hu Biao.
Zhalun's humble and eager-to-learn attitude contrasted sharply with the rumors of Hu Biao avoiding him, and a view that "Eastern traditional martial arts are afraid of fighting and their successors are incompetent" began to quietly spread.
Then, another statement completely ignited public opinion.
The official account of the "Dongguk Traditional Martial Arts Association" simultaneously released a carefully worded statement on several mainstream platforms:
[Explanation Regarding the Recent Online Circulation of the Title "Eagle Claw King" and Related Discussions]
Recently, online discussions have arisen regarding the alleged relationship between Mr. Hu Biao, the "Eagle Claw King," and Thai martial arts exchange personnel, drawing public attention. Our organization would like to address this matter as follows:
I. Upon investigation, it was found that the skills Mr. Hu Biao inherited came from Zheng Shanhe, a former disciple of the Huainan Eagle Claw School, a registered group member of our association, who was expelled from the school for some reason in his early years. According to our association's charter and industry self-regulation regulations, the lineage and skill level of any private instruction not approved by our school and association are not recognized.
Second, the title "Eagle Claw King" is a nickname given by Hu Biao via Feixin (a Chinese instant messaging platform). It has not been evaluated or recognized by any authoritative organization, and it cannot represent the image or level of traditional martial arts in East Korea. Our association does not recognize this title, nor does it believe that Mr. Hu Biao can represent the traditional martial arts community in any form of external exchange.
Third, I will advocate for positive, healthy, and orderly martial arts exchanges, and oppose any form of malicious hype and inappropriate competition.
Each individual is responsible for their own actions.
IV. Appendix: A partial photocopy of the list of disciples throughout history provided by the Huainan Eagle Claw Sect, which clearly indicates that Zheng Shanhe (deceased) was expelled from the sect for violating regulations.
Following the statement was indeed a photo of a yellowed roster. Next to Zheng Shanhe's name, written in striking red calligraphy, was the phrase "Expelled from the sect," along with a seal. Also included was a statement signed and stamped by Chen Zhenyue, the current head of the Huainan Eagle Claw Sect, confirming Zheng Shanhe's expulsion and Hu Biao's status as an unrecognized disciple of the sect.
"Good heavens! So the root of the problem was never right!"
"A disciple of someone expelled from the sect? Can he really learn anything from that?"
"If the association doesn't recognize him, then isn't this 'Eagle Claw King' self-proclaimed? No wonder he doesn't dare accept the challenge; he's afraid of being exposed!"
"He's brought shame upon himself internationally; even his own circle doesn't recognize him."
"He probably just came from a wealthy family, learned a few fancy tricks from an old man who was kicked out of his home, and now he acts like a connoisseur."
"Let's see how he handles this now. He's clearly distanced himself from both the association and his sect."
Immediately following was the widespread "unboxing" across the internet.
The last time Hu Biao was discussed on the Jiangnan University campus forum, it was somewhat like academic gossip. This time, however, he was exposed to public scrutiny.
The identity of the young master of Dongling Hongda Group has been revealed.
A freshman in the School of Biology at Jiangcheng University, whose college entrance examination scores were good but not top-notch.
Shortly after enrolling, he published a paper in a core journal and joined the research group of Vice Dean Shen Moxuan, thus gaining the privilege of not attending classes.
"Rich kid," "academic shortcut," "privileged student"—these labels were attached to him, mixed with impressions such as "self-proclaimed Eagle Claw King," "cowardly retreating," and "a disciple abandoned by his master," brewing a jar of extremely complex cyberbullying.
"Hehe, the truth is out. This rich young master was just dabbling in martial arts to impress others, but he overdid it and chickened out when he met someone serious."
"No wonder he was able to get into Professor Shen's group and not have to attend classes. It's all about money."
"It's good to be rich; you can succeed in both academics and martial arts, even if they're both just superficial achievements."
"I suggest checking if his paper also suffers from 'unclear lineage'."
"It tarnishes the reputation of Jiangda University, the reputation of Dongguo Martial Arts, and the reputation of Dongguo University students!"
"This kind of person should drop out of school, go home and inherit the family fortune, and stop making a fool of himself."
Of course, there were also a few rational voices or comments questioning the actions of the Traditional Martial Arts Association, but they were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming negative public opinion.
I am the dividing line. Inside Jiangcheng University, the atmosphere is equally subtle.
The school leaders were quickly alerted.
Unfortunately, it's unfortunate that a college student has been drawn into a nationwide public opinion storm in such an unacademic and negative way, involving multiple sensitive topics such as international exchanges, controversies over traditional martial arts, and the label of "rich second generation." Even the most knowledgeable and experienced school leaders have never encountered anything like it.
Hu Biao's advisor and department head were successively interviewed. The school's publicity department was inundated with calls.
Shen Moxuan's office also received more than one inquiry call. Although the tone was polite, the core message was nothing more than, "Dean Shen, shouldn't you restrain your prized student? At least, at this critical moment, shouldn't you come forward and clarify things?"
Shen Moxuan was also very troubled. He didn't know much about the martial arts world, but he recognized Hu Biao's academic level. He laid out Hu Biao's papers and his contributions to the research group clearly in front of the school leaders.
"I don't care about that Traditional Martial Arts Association, but I can vouch for the paper and Hu Biao's academic level. Besides, as far as I know, this matter has nothing to do with him. He did have a master, but that person has passed away. He has no contact with those traditional martial arts circles. This time, it's a complete disaster. It's all the media's doing, and that Traditional Martial Arts Association is stirring things up behind the scenes."
"I know, I know, but as you can see, the current public opinion environment is very unfavorable to us," Vice Principal Bai Cheng said, rubbing his temples with a headache.
"If that doesn't work, I can issue a statement and then publish his paper again—"
"How many people can even understand his paper?!" Bai Cheng said with a wry smile. "Forget it, just issue a statement. After all, he's our student, and he's so talented. We should protect him. By the way, tell him to take this final exam seriously and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"No problem." Shen Moxuan nodded, he had great confidence in Hu Biao's academic level.
In the dormitory, after the initial excitement, Sun Hao, Liu Bo, and Wang Zhe became cautious, wanting to comfort each other but not knowing where to begin.
Hu Biao, on the other hand, lay sprawled on the bed, scrolling through various online comments with an indifferent expression.
"Sanhu, are you alright?!" Sun Hao asked with some concern, seeing Hu Biao's ambiguous smile.
Hu Biao looked up at his three roommates' worried eyes, then suddenly smiled. "It's okay. By the way, I just got a verified account on Weibo and I want to record a video. Can you record it for me?"
"Huh?!" The three looked puzzled.
"The stage is almost set up, it's time to come to the surface!" Hu Biao said with a smile.