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

The cemetery is built on a low hill on the outskirts of Xingquan City, facing south with a wide view of the rolling hills and the distant horizon.

The wind blew through the mountain valley, carrying the scents of pine resin and earth.

Wang Yuanshan's tombstone stands on a flat grassy area halfway up the mountain. The tombstone is made of bluish-gray stone and only has his name and dates of birth and death engraved on it, without an epitaph.

This was chosen by Wang Xian.

Wang Xian felt that leaving an epitaph for Wang Yuanshan was unnecessary.

If there is nothing, then there is nothing left.

Nannan stood in front of the tombstone, her two little hands hanging by her sides, gazing at the three words "Wang Yuanshan" on the stone.

She didn't cry today.

From the night she woke up in the armchair and was carried away from the Wang family mansion by Qin Chong, to when Wang Xian told her that her grandfather had passed away, and now standing here today, she has cried many times.

But now, standing in front of the tombstone, her eyes were still a little red, but she didn't shed a tear.

She just stared at the words on the tombstone for a long time.

Wang Xian stood behind her without saying a word.

Qin Chong stood a little further away, leaning against an old pine tree on the hillside, arms crossed, his gaze also fixed on the tombstone.

The wind blew down from the hillside, making the wisps of hair on Nannan's forehead sway gently.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Xian spoke.

What are your plans for the future?

Nannan did not answer immediately.

She lowered her head, staring at the thin layer of moss on the base of the tombstone, her little fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of her cotton-padded jacket.

after awhile.

She raised her head and turned to look at Wang Xian.

Those eyes still had a childlike roundness and innocence, but what was inside them was different from what they had been a few days ago.

She said, "Big Brother Wang Xian, I'll go to the capital with you."

Wang Xian looked at her but didn't rush to speak.

The little girl said again, "I want to learn skills."

Her voice was soft, but she enunciated each word clearly.

"I want to cultivate myself, learn skills, and then come back to rebuild the Xingquan Wang family."

"Grandpa's life's work can't just go to waste like this."

Wang Xian nodded, neither praising nor coaxing her, but simply said, "Okay, once I've finished my business in Xingquan City, I'll take you back to the Wang family in the capital."

Nannan nodded vigorously, then turned around and bowed deeply to the tombstone.

Her small body bent down, and the wisps of hair on her forehead fell down, obscuring her face.

She remained in that position for several seconds before slowly straightening up.

Wang Xian took one last look at the bluish-gray tombstone.

He remembered the old man's last words as he knelt in the pool of blood, the unbelievably light weight he felt when the old man carried him, and the rough hands that had helped him up from the Bai family warehouse two years ago.

He remained silent for a long time, then turned around and said to Qin Chong:

"Let's go."

……

Dawn Orphanage is located on the edge of the old town, in a very remote location. It is surrounded by an old residential area, and the streets are so narrow that only one hovercar can pass through at a time.

The courtyard wall is grayish-white, covered with ivy, and the gate is a pair of iron gates with peeling paint.

When Wang Xian led Qin Chong and Nannan to the outside of the courtyard wall, she stopped.

He raised his hand and cast a spell on himself, Qin Chong, and Nannan.

The technique wasn't complicated; it simply made them appear ordinary to others, like three random passersby, thus reducing their presence.

This time, he didn't alert anyone, didn't inform the dean, and didn't use the main entrance.

He led Qin Chong and Nannan around to the side of the orphanage and went in through a side door without surveillance cameras.

The courtyard remains the same as always.

Slides, swings, sandpits, and a row of low, single-story classrooms.

The children were chasing and playing in the yard, while several caregivers stood chatting under the eaves.

Nobody noticed them.

Wang Xian slowed down and walked slowly along the base of the wall.

Qin Chong followed behind him, looking left and right, his expression a mixture of excitement and restraint.

He saw the old locust tree, the large water vat at the entrance of the canteen, and the floral bed sheets drying under the dormitory building. Each of these things reminded him of many things.

This is where he has lived for more than ten years!

The three of them crossed the playground, went around the teaching building, and finally arrived at the backyard.

In the corner of the backyard, the century-old tree stood quietly.

The trunk was so thick that it would take three adults to encircle it. The bark was covered with deep cracks and moss, and the branches and leaves blocked out the sun, shrouding the entire corner in a dense shade.

"This is it."

Wang Xian stood in front of the tree, looking up at the branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind, and then released his spiritual power.

The spiritual energy, like invisible tentacles, probed down the tree trunk, through the surface soil, through the shallow root system, and extended deeper.

Ten meters, fifty meters, one hundred meters!

At a depth of about 100 meters, he sensed a special restriction.

The restriction was so faint that he wouldn't have noticed it at all unless he was deliberately searching for it.

But the aura of that restriction gave him a very familiar feeling.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xian activated the Primordial Chaos Divine Heart, and the Chaos Heavenly Eye silently opened between his eyebrows.

Then he raised his right hand, made a hand seal, and started to operate the "Hetu Luoshu: The Mysterious Numbers of Heaven and Earth" that Fuxi had taught him.

"Whoosh!"

A mysterious array unfolded beneath his feet, its patterns seeping into the soil like flowing water, resonating with the restriction.

The barrier trembled slightly, then silently cracked open.

Wang Xian probed the crevice with his spiritual power and saw what was inside.

A small wooden box, about the size of a palm, was buried in the ground, with a faint, enchanting light flowing around it.

He raised an eyebrow.

With a wave of his hand, the wooden box emerged from the soil a hundred meters deep and landed steadily in his palm.

The box was made of some kind of wood he had never seen before, with no grain or decoration on the surface, and felt cool to the touch.

Wang Xian examined the box, but her brows furrowed even more.

He suddenly thought of something.

Fuxi was a figure who lived thousands of years ago.

No matter how powerful his divination skills were, the restrictions he left behind should have been eroded by thousands of years.

However, the barrier is worn very little, and it doesn't feel like it was set up thousands of years ago. It seems like it was buried recently.

Or.

This restriction itself has a special mechanism that allows it to repair itself over a long period of time, maintaining a relatively intact state.

Or perhaps someone else came here and repaired the barrier?

Regardless of the possibility, they all point to the same fact.

Fuxi's methods far exceeded his imagination.

Countless thoughts surged through Wang Xian's mind, only to be suppressed one by one.

Finally, he gave a bitter smile and muttered to himself, "I'm still too weak to even consider these things."

Done.

He shook his head, banishing those thoughts, and refocused his attention on the wooden box in his hands.

I took a deep breath and opened the box.

Inside the box was a specially made token.

The token is light blue in color, with a very faint halo flowing across its surface.

Next to the token was a letter with four words written on the envelope: "To be opened by the Immortal King!"

……