Fabricating myths, starting with the creation of eight fictional ancient tribes

This statement is partly true and partly false.

The Eight Ancient Surnames did indeed exist in history and were the most prominent surnames in ancient times.

But Wan Xingwang cleverly packaged them into a colossal entity that has never been interrupted in its lineage and remains hidden from the world to this day.

It fits everyone's fantasy of "ancient and mysterious" and is supported by a real historical background, making it difficult for people to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Just as netizens were celebrating the revelation, Wan Xingwang's stomach started growling.

"Gurgle—"

The sound was exceptionally clear in the empty village committee room.

Wan Xingwang sighed helplessly and rubbed his shrunken belly.

"Showing off may feel good, but filling your stomach is the most important thing."

He temporarily left the forum, got up and walked to a corner, where he found a pile of rusty iron objects.

Those were several animal traps and a few tattered earthen cages.

Although it seems unreliable, in this godforsaken place, it's the only hope.

Wan Xingwang carried the pile of things and walked out of the village committee.

It was midday, and sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows.

He followed the route he remembered and arrived at the stream behind the village.

The stream is crystal clear, and you can occasionally see a few small fish swimming by.

He carefully placed the fish trap in a calm backwater and weighed it down with a few stones.

They also put some moldy bread crumbs found in an abandoned kitchen as bait inside.

Then, he came to the path on the back mountain.

This place is overgrown with weeds, clearly a place frequented by wild animals.

He painstakingly pried open the rusty animal trap, carefully buried it in the grass, and covered it with fallen leaves.

After doing all this, Wan Xingwang returned to the village, first went to the well to fetch a bucket of water, and gulped it down until he felt a little more alive.

When I logged back into the forum, the posts were incredibly popular.

Countless netizens turned into research enthusiasts, frantically investigating the origins of the "Eight Ancient Surnames".

"Holy crap! I checked! The Ji surname really is the ancestral surname of all surnames! It was the royal surname of the Zhou Dynasty!"

"The Jiang surname means they are descendants of Emperor Yan, Shennong! That's an incredibly powerful lineage!"

"The surname Ying is from the lineage of Qin Shi Huang! If there really is a lineage like this, then it's simply..."

"It's terrifying to think about! Do you think that if these families have really existed for thousands of years, they might actually possess some kind of power that we don't know about? Like... cultivating immortality?"

Once netizens' imaginations are unleashed, they can't stop.

Various speculations about cultivating immortality, achieving immortality, and superpowers have emerged one after another.

"Invincible in the West" was clearly stunned by this wave of overwhelming research, but he still stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

【Invincible West】: Nonsense! Pure conjecture! What era are we living in? The information age! How could anyone possibly become completely invisible?

【Invincible West】: Even if they really exist, those agents aren't fools! With enormous wealth in their hands, how could they willingly be someone else's dogs?

The saying "you can't see into someone's heart" is completely illogical!

【Invincible in the West】: The so-called eight ancient tribes should have been wiped out in the long river of history long ago! Only a bunch of brainless people like you would believe such nonsense!

[Ji Xuanyuan]: @InvincibleWest, your limited perspective restricts your imagination. Is controlling others really that difficult?

[Ji Xuanyuan]: You think wealth and modernization are the ultimate power? You are sorely mistaken.

[Ji Xuanyuan]: For those wealthy people who have already reached the top of the pyramid, money is just a number.

What truly drives them crazy are things that money can't buy.

[Ji Xuanyuan]: For example, being free from the torment of disease. For example, the opportunity to prolong life. And for example... certain powers that transcend the mortal realm.

[Ji Xuanyuan]: What I've said is just the tip of the iceberg. You think you've seen the real world, but that's just what others want you to see. That's the greatest ignorance.

Netizens fell silent; countless people in front of their screens were now deep in thought.

They drew parallels to the famous "bread and butter" theory and the crazy things that the wealthy did to prolong their lives.

Blood transfusions, human cryopreservation, the search for the secret to immortality...

If there really is a mysterious force behind this that can offer the hope of "immortality," then everything seems to make perfect sense.

"This is terrifying to think about... Are we really just pawns on a chessboard?"

"If that's really the case, then this world is terrifying..."

The post's popularity skyrocketed, jumping directly from fifth to first place on the trending topics!

Countless people began discussing the authenticity of the "Eight Ancient Clans," and some even began to worry about the future of everything they had worked so hard for.

Will they be easily overthrown by these ancient families?

Speculation about "immortal cultivators" has been rampant.

Some business tycoons who usually stay out of the spotlight can no longer sit still.

The CEO of a well-known listed company even personally posted a question online.

[Ups and Downs in the Business World]: I run a real business, and I don't believe this claim. If it were true, what would all our hard work over the years amount to?

Are we really just puppets being manipulated by others? That's absurd!

Although he said he didn't believe it, his deep fear and unease were conveyed through his words.

On the other side, Wan Xingwang looked at the internet, which had completely exploded, and exited the forum with satisfaction.

The heat is almost up; if you keep frying it, it will easily burn.

Let them ferment on their own for a while.

He drank another ladle of cool well water and rubbed his aching temples.

"Being a keyboard warrior isn't easy, it's brain-draining."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, his stomach protesting again.

"We need to go see if we've made any progress."

Wan Xingwang picked up his axe and kitchen knife and walked out of the village committee again.

This time, his luck seems to be good.

As soon as I reached the stream, I could see the broken earthen cage swaying in the water from afar.

He walked over quickly and lifted the cage with force.

"Splash!"

Water splashed everywhere, and several large, fat, dark figures struggled desperately inside the net.

"Good heavens! It really is an old crucian carp!"

Wan Xingwang was overjoyed.

These crucian carp are all quite large, each about the width of a palm, with shiny black scales. They are clearly top-quality fish that grew up in this mountain spring water.

Now dinner's taken care of!

He carefully poured the fish into the cloth bag he carried with him and tied it tightly.

With the fish at the bottom, he was in a much better mood, and his steps became much lighter.

Carrying his axe, he headed straight for the animal traps on the back hill.

Although I didn't have high hopes, I thought it would be good to catch a wild rabbit.

Before he even got close, a violent struggle reached his ears.