Replace me as the top scholar? Go talk to my Marshal Grandpa!

at the same time.

The top floor of that luxurious private club in the capital.

Long Xiaotian sat on the sofa, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

On the giant screen in front of him, the last part of Wang Xian's speech was playing, and the ensuing online frenzy was going off.

His hand was gripping the cigar tightly.

A trusted aide rushed in and whispered in his ear the latest news about the impact on the Long family's businesses.

After listening, Long Xiaotian remained silent.

He just stared intently at the boy standing on the podium on the screen.

The boy was receiving cheers and applause from the entire audience.

That young man, with just a few words, pushed his Long family to the opposite side of the entire empire.

That young man, with a single speech, caused the Long family to pay the heaviest price in ten years.

Long Xiaotian finally spoke.

His voice was low and cold, as if squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Okay...okay...okay."

"They'd rather destroy the talent transplantation technology than share it with us."

He stared at Wang Xian on the screen, speaking each word carefully:

"The Wang family... Wang Xian... you are doing very well."

Sikong Lie, who was sitting next to him, picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

A faint hint of schadenfreude played on his face.

Although the three families are currently in a temporary alliance.

But that's only because their interests align; it doesn't mean they're a unified entity.

The three companies will continue to compete, and they will continue to watch each other's misfortunes unfold.

Sikong Lie put down his teacup and slowly began to speak:

"Tsk tsk tsk... Wang Quan's son is quite something."

He shook his head, his tone tinged with a hint of regret:

"Their 'nine truths and one lie' rhetoric was used with such skill that we had no choice but to swallow our bitterness."

"And what about him? He transformed himself into a great hero who sacrificed himself for the country and the people."

"This prestige, tsk tsk... From now on, who in Great Xia would dare to easily touch him?"

Fu Yuan didn't speak, but the fingers holding the wine glass tightened slightly.

Nine parts true, one part false.

Sikong Lie is right.

Wang Xian's speech was indeed nine parts truth and one part falsehood.

It is true that Bai E was cursed to death.

It is true that the three families secretly manipulated public opinion and instigated protests.

It is true that they proposed a deal to the Wang family.

Even the demand for Li Mo's release in the deal was genuine.

but--

Two points in the transaction were deliberately "modified" by Wang Xian.

The first point.

They never promised to "provide Wang Xian with an A-level talent".

Their deal involved sharing talent transplantation technology.

Instead of handing over the technology.

Sharing and giving away are two completely different concepts.

Sharing means that the Wang family still controls the core technology; they just have an extra copy.

Handing it over means the technology will completely change hands, leaving the Wang family with nothing.

Wang Xian changed "share" to "hand over".

What's so clever about this change?

The brilliance lies in its ability to subconsciously lead the public to believe that the Long family intends to monopolize the technology and seize it from the Wang family.

What the public fears most is that technology will be monopolized by a certain force.

Because once a monopoly is established, one can truly do whatever one wants.

Second point.

They never promised to "provide an A-level talent".

What's so clever about Wang Xian's "A-level talent" that he added out of nowhere?

Its brilliance lies in the fact that it raises a question in the minds of the people—

Where did you get your A-level talents?

Could it be... that it was also extracted from some innocent person?

Once this question arises, the image of the Long family will be completely tarnished.

Moreover, Wang Xian completely distanced herself from the situation.

From beginning to end, he was just a victim.

A pitiful victim who was kidnapped, stripped of his talent, cursed to kill his talent, and forced to hand over his technology.

A person of great righteousness who, despite being threatened and tempted, still chooses to sacrifice himself to protect the masses.

All the spearheads, all the anger, all the hatred—

All of this points to the Long family.

Sikong Lie looked at the crowd still applauding enthusiastically on the screen, then at Long Xiaotian's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, and couldn't help but shake his head again.

"This Wang Xian... is no ordinary person."

He said softly.

Fu Yuan remained silent.

Long Xiaotian remained intently focused on the screen.

……

The conference site.

The enthusiastic applause and cheers continued.

Just as the atmosphere reached its climax.

A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Wang Xian, I have a question."

The voice wasn't loud, but it sounded somewhat out of place amidst the enthusiastic atmosphere of the entire venue.

The applause gradually subsided.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

He was a middle-aged male reporter wearing a dark gray suit and frameless glasses.

His name tag indicated that he was a reporter for a media outlet called "Daily News".

Wang Xian glanced at him.

Wang Qi also glanced at him.

Just one glance.

The reporter felt his heart skip a beat, and a chill ran down his spine.

Wang Qi's calm gaze carried a sense of oppression unique to those who had long held high positions, as if it could see right through his thoughts.

But thinking of the task assigned by the Long family and the generous reward, the reporter still mustered his courage and asked:

"Wang Xian, you just said that you would completely destroy the core data of the talent transplantation technology in front of all of us."

He paused, a hint of doubt in his voice:

"However, there is a problem now—none of us are professionals."

"We have no idea what the core data of talent transplantation technology actually includes."

"What if you're just destroying some unimportant documents in front of us, just to put on a show?"

"What if your Wang family has actually secretly copied the core information and is keeping it for your own use?"

"How can we, ordinary citizens, believe that this technology has truly been completely destroyed?"

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became delicate.

Many reporters subconsciously frowned.

That's a very direct question, even a bit offensive.

Wang Xian just made the decision to sacrifice himself for the country and the people, and now some people are questioning whether he is faking it?

But some reporters secretly nodded in agreement.

This is a sensitive issue.

But it was a very insightful question.

Without a convincing oversight mechanism, it's difficult for the public to truly feel at ease about the destruction of technology.

All eyes were once again focused on Wang Xian.

Wang Xian looked at the reporter calmly.

He was neither angry nor flustered.

On the contrary, he even found it somewhat amusing.

He had expected someone to ask this question.

In fact, even if this reporter doesn't ask, the reporters arranged by the Wang family will ask on their own initiative.

Because this is a crucial part of his plan—he wants to put a definitive conclusion on this matter.