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

Wang Defa was sprayed with spittle, and his face turned ashen.

He took a step back, wiped his face, gritted his teeth to suppress his anger, and tried to calm these people down with reason:

"Listen to me, Father has already left us all the most leeway by doing this."

"If you cooperate by confessing and making a confession, there may be a possibility of a reduced sentence."

"But if you keep making a scene, you'll only drive away the last bit of room for maneuver!"

"Reduce sentence? You're kidding me!" Wang Zhengye sneered. "The things we did were enough to get us shot! There's no chance of us surviving, and you're still trying to fool us!"

Wang Defa finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He abruptly raised his head, his face turning completely grim. His gaze swept over those who were making the most noise, and his voice carried the authority befitting a family head: "Enough! If you continue this commotion, you'll be bringing ruin to the entire Wang family!"

"Father has already taken full responsibility. Your actions are just telling outsiders that the Wang family has no intention of repenting!"

"What will Wang Xian think then?"

"He'll think we're putting on an act! That we're lying to him! Do you want to cut off even our last chance of survival?"

He pointed at Wang Zhengye and Wang Feixiang, emphasizing each word:

"You lot are disregarding the overall interests of the family and trying to bring about the downfall of the entire Wang family."

"Men, take them under control!!"

Those tribesmen who wanted to protect themselves hesitated for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.

They knew that Wang Defa was right.

If these people are allowed to continue causing trouble, everyone will be doomed.

They swarmed forward and pounced on Wang Zhengye and his group.

Wang Zhengye was unwilling to surrender.

He shoved aside the tribesman who was at the front, cursed angrily, and threw a punch.

Wang Feixiang also joined in, grabbing a chair from the side and smashing it into the crowd.

Those tribesmen who had no other way out also went all out and started fighting with those who wanted to protect themselves.

The entire main hall instantly descended into chaos. Tables and chairs were overturned, porcelain was smashed all over the floor, some people were pinned to the ground, others were straddling others and punching them, and curses, screams, and gasps mingled together, causing dust to fall from the beams and pillars.

Wang Yuanshan sat in the armchair, pressed the little girl's face against his chest, and covered her ears with his hands.

The little girl nestled in his arms, her tiny body trembling, but she stopped crying.

She simply clung tightly to her grandfather's waist, burying her face in his faded white robe, listening to the terrifying noises outside that she couldn't understand.

Wang Yuanshan looked down at the farce unfolding before him.

His people, his bloodline, his children and grandchildren, were tearing each other apart and beating each other right before his eyes.

The family he built up with his own hands, the Wang family he had spent half his life working hard to build, was now fighting tooth and nail like a pack of starving wild dogs for the slightest chance of survival.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, a smile that held a hint of sarcasm and self-mockery.

He seemed to be laughing at himself.

It was as if he was laughing at the people in front of him.

Wang Yuanshan looked down at the little girl in his arms.

The little girl was already asleep, whether from crying herself to sleep or from being disoriented by the shouting, it was hard to tell.

Her small hands were still clutching the hem of his clothes, and tears streamed down her face.

Wang Yuanshan reached out and touched her head, tidying her messy hair, then looked away and returned his gaze to the figures wrestling together in front of him.

He remained silent for a long time before finally closing his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, there was no longer a trace of hesitation in those cloudy old eyes!

Then.

Wang Yuanshan stood up, gently placed the sleeping little girl on the armchair, and then took an old, folded coat from the side and carefully covered her with it.

After doing all this, he turned around and faced the group of people who were still fighting in the hall.

"Director Sun," Wang Yuanshan said, his voice not loud, but with a resolute tone, "this should be the last time I ask for your help. Do it."

The words fell.

In the shadows on the side of the main hall.

A figure slowly walked out; it was Sun Tianrui.

He wore a dark robe, had a square face, and possessed an air of authority that came from long years in a high position.

His gaze swept over the mess in the main hall, over the Wang family members wrestling together, and finally landed on Wang Yuanshan.

He sighed softly.

The people were so engrossed in the fight that no one noticed his appearance.

Wang Defa was punching a clansman, Wang Zhengye was rolling on the ground with two other people, and Wang Feixiang was chasing someone around the room while holding up half a chair leg.

The entire main hall was like a pot of boiling porridge.

Sun Tianrui looked at Wang Yuanshan and said softly, "Old Wang, it's too formal to ask for a favor."

"Two years ago you gave me an incredible opportunity, which is why I am where I am today."

"Consider this repayment for the favor you did back then."

Wang Yuanshan gave a wry smile; the wrinkles on his aged face seemed even deeper than before.

"What coincidence?" He shook his head. "It's obvious that I dragged you into this."

"Otherwise, you wouldn't be in this situation today. I'm the one who has let you down."

Sun Tianrui also shook his head, his tone calm, as if he had already figured something out:

"No, I can't blame anyone else for how I've gotten to this point; I can only blame myself."

"I had the opportunity to stop before I got caught up in it."

"Unfortunately, I was too greedy and had too many selfish desires."

Wang Yuanshan fell silent.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only sighed.

The sigh was very soft, but it was as if the last bit of turbid air in the body had been expelled.

Then he raised his head, his gaze passing over Sun Tianrui and landing on the people who were still fighting.

He watched for a while, his gaze calm, so calm that it didn't seem like he was looking at his own blood relatives, but rather at a group of complete strangers.

"Are you really sure about this?" Sun Tianrui asked him again. "These are all your blood relatives."

Wang Yuanshan's gaze remained fixed on the scene.

He looked at the disheveled and contorted-faced people and slowly said:

"I am old and decaying."

"The Wang family of Xingquan has also become corrupt."

"The corrupt should leave."

"But this is still the home I built with my own hands and feet, and I can't bear to watch it just disappear like this."

"So I have my own selfish reasons. I don't want the name of the Xingquan Wang family to go with me, but I also don't want Young Master Wang Xian to be embarrassed because of me."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly:

"After all, he's my young master!"

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Sun Tianrui, his eyes no longer showing any hesitation.

"So, let all the curses and resentment fall upon this old man!"

"I will give the young master and the world an explanation!"

After he said that, he completely changed.

The aura of the Divine Realm exploded from his body!

The aura came too suddenly and too fiercely, like a beast that had been sleeping for too long suddenly leaping out of the abyss.

The clansmen who were fighting in the main hall were hit head-on by this force, and several of them were instantly blasted away.

Some people crashed into the wall, some were thrown to the ground, and some rolled several times before stopping.

Everyone is stunned!

They turned their heads and looked at the old man standing in the center of the hall with his back straight.

The man they had called father and grandfather for decades stood there, radiating an aura that sent chills down their spines!

……