The news broke far faster than anyone expected.
Early the next morning, Song Miaozhu received a call from Chen Yuanyuan, telling her there were some unflattering posts about her circulating on the SEIU app's forum.
She opened the app and took a look.
[Trending↑] So the vanishing spiritual energy... was being absorbed by a spirit item all along?
[Post 1] There's a spirit item like that? Why isn't it in the Contribution Mall?
[Post 2] Even SEIU insiders are scrambling to get one. Like we'd ever get a shot.
[Post 3] This isn't fair. Spiritual energy belongs to everyone. We should cultivate based on our own abilities, not cheat by using spirit items to siphon qi!
[Post 4] If I had one, I'd "siphon" too.
[Post 5] Am I the only one wondering who made this thing?
[Post 6] [Image] According to leaks on another forum, it's Master Song Miaozhu.
[Post 7] Master Song? That one? The famous one?[
Post 8] Who else could it be? People say she has ties to the Underworld. No wonder her luck's so good. She actually created a broken-level spirit item like this.
[Trending↑] Strongly Requesting the SEIU to Open Purchase Channels for the Spirit-Gathering Fortune Dolls
[Post 1] Rumor has it that Master Song can make two Fortune Dolls a day. SEIU should open up public access to them!
[Post 2] I agree. My mentor says my skill has long met the standard, but without enough spiritual energy, my body hasn't finished its tempering. I still can't open my spiritual platform.
[Post 3] +1. If you can't join SEIU, you can't get a Fortune Doll. Without a Doll, you can't advance in cultivation, which means you still can't get into SEIU. It's a deadlock.
[Post 4] @SongMiaozhu @CapitalSEIUHeadquarters @MingchengSEIUBranch …
[Post 5] These kinds of spirit items are as essential to cultivators as food is to humans. SEIU should regulate the price of Fortune Dolls like they do with grain.
[Post 6] Are you serious? Anyone can grow grain. Not everyone can make Fortune Dolls. I suggest Master Song make more, earn good karma, and benefit the public. That way the Underworld will credit her with virtue too.
[Post 7] Seconded. Master Song should keep producing more Fortune Dolls for the good of all.
[Post 8] Thirded. Master Song, please continue your virtuous path and help the people!
[Trending↑] The Spiritual Energy Thief: Song Miaozhu
[Post 1] The spiritual energy shortage started over six months ago. Now there's proof that the missing energy was absorbed by Master Song's Fortune Dolls. She only registered them with SEIU yesterday. How many Dolls did she make during that time? How much qi did she hoard? How far has her cultivation advanced?
[Post 2] Can one person really absorb that much spiritual energy?
[Post 3] Last month, I saw a qi light dot at home. Before I could absorb it, it vanished. Turns out someone stole it.
[Post 4] The same happened at my training spot two months ago.[Post 5] Isn't this basically trespassing to harvest someone else's qi?
[Post 6] You're all being too polite. Call it what it is: theft. Everyone else absorbs qi in their own space. Why does Song Miaozhu get to steal from others?
[Post 7] Yeah! She's a thief. Give us back our qi!
[Post 8] Give it back!
[Post 9] You all realize this is a real-name forum, right? You're not afraid of getting banned?
[Post 10] Cowards can stay quiet. Wait until the thief drains everything, then you'll regret it. Give us back our qi!
[Post 11] Give it back!
Every click led to more accusations, more outrage. And the most damning part? Many of the posters were familiar names. Not anonymous trolls, but registered cultivators, even a few junior SEIU staff from other cities. Real names, real complaints.
It was calculated.
This wasn't a random backlash. Song Miaozhu saw the timing and tone for what it was: an orchestrated smear campaign.
The SEIU higher-ups had failed to rein her in through official means, so now they were trying public pressure. Let the masses do the work. Create a narrative. Turn her into the villain. Push her into isolation, then offer a compromise: control in exchange for protection.
She laughed. The whole thing was textbook.
They wanted her to be a thief. An arrogant cultivator hoarding spiritual energy. That way, anything she said or did afterward could be framed as selfishness. And yet, the same voices demanding she stop were also crying for her to produce more. More for them.
They didn't want justice. They wanted access.
If they really thought absorbing qi through the Dolls was "stealing," then why not just ban the use of Fortune Dolls outright?
Because they wanted them, but couldn't get them. All they could do was yell at SEIU and vent their anger on her.
Public opinion can be a powerful tool. Some people thought they could use it to pressure her and twist logic to get what they wanted.
But that kind of trick didn't work on her.
She was alone, with no living relatives. Her friends had their own lives. As long as she didn't care, no one else's opinions could touch her.
She'd made her move knowing this was a likely outcome. Her silence had given her power. Now her strength gave her options. The dolls had been her shield, but they were also bait. Let them come closer, drawn by their own greed. Let them underestimate her again.
Just look at the online chaos. You'd think she had committed some monstrous crime. But her phone, texts, and WeChat messages were all filled with concern, not criticism. Friends and collaborators—close or not—were reaching out to check on her.
Her social circle was small, but yesterday, when she sold the Fortune Dolls, she had made sure to take care of everyone within it.
She didn't bother scrolling through all the posts. After a quick skim, she closed the app.
To each one, she gave the same response: "Don't worry. It doesn't affect me."
Then she tossed the phone aside and went back to her paper crafting. The Secret Art of Paper Crafting wasn't just her cultivation path. It was her sword, her armor, and her throne.
Meanwhile, in Lingcheng, Zhao Huoyan stared at the forum with growing alarm. He immediately tried to call Song Miaozhu, but couldn't get through.
He had just guaranteed yesterday that he would stand by her, and now this whole storm had erupted online.
SEIU's central office still hadn't tracked the source of the leak. It had moved too fast, with uncanny timing. A clean push, coordinated and deliberate. The moment they failed to box her in legally, this campaign appeared overnight. By now, it was too late to suppress them.
Worried that rogue cultivators in Lingcheng might take advantage of the situation, Zhao Huoyan quickly started mobilizing people in the group chat.
[Lingcheng SEIU Team Chat]
Zhao Huoyan: Anyone free today? Come with me to Xiaozhu Mountain. We're protecting Master Song.
Zhao Mumu: I'm in!
Wei Zuncheng: Count me in.
Du Yingdong: Me too.
Chen Shuanghe: I'm in.
Zhao Huoyan: Only those with a training record of A grade or above.
Chen Shuanghe: …
Zhao Mumu: …
Zhang Leyong: Me! Me! Me!
Mao Junhao: Me too! I've got an A grade and I hit hard!
In the end, all SEIU team members with combat experience or military backgrounds joined the operation.
They drove out in a full convoy toward Yuanshan Old Town.
"Captain, once we deal with the troublemakers and protect Master Song, it wouldn't be too much to ask if we could get her WeChat contact, right?"
"You read my mind!"
"Who wouldn't want to be friends with Master Song? With a good relationship, we could buy spirit items from her directly. Ignore those people raging online. As soon as someone becomes her friend, they shut right up."
"True that!"