Protect Our Patriarch

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Under Old Yao's arrangement, each person's desk had another test paper placed on it.

Emperor Longchang even took the time to check the test papers. Upon seeing the questions, he felt dizzy and quickly looked away to feel better.

He couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart, wondering what was wrong with the brains of those people from the Divine Dynasty to make such difficult questions for children.

Fortunately, during his childhood, these perverse questions hadn't been unearthed from the ruins yet, and he felt quite lucky thinking about it.

When Emperor Longchang saw the adorable faces of the children, he hesitated a bit.

Should he just let it go? He didn't want to be too cruel to the children.

But then he thought, he had to have some leverage against Wang Shouzhe, right? If he gave up now, wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?

With this thought, Emperor Longchang smiled more kindly, "Children, enjoy the fun of the exam~~ Don't feel too pressured, just take it easy."

He silently added in his heart, if you little ones end up with a psychological shadow, don't blame me, blame Wang Shouzhe. Who told him to target me for no reason? I'm just defending myself, just a normal retaliation.

"Bring it on, what's there to be afraid of?"

Although Wang Yingxuan's confidence as a top student had been shaken a lot by the second exam, she was still a vibrant and energetic "genius beauty" and started solving the problems with her pen.

I, Wang Yingxuan, refuse to believe it. At worst, I'll score thirty points.

But as soon as she saw the questions, she was dumbfounded. She recognized every word and symbol, but when combined, her mind went blank.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

The ultimate questions of life philosophy kept popping into her mind.

As for Wang Lilong, it was even worse. Her big, watery golden eyes were already swirling with dizziness.

What to do if I want to sleep? The reason I can't solve the problems must be because I ate too much earlier. I have to admit, the royal food is really delicious... especially the spiritual beef jerky, sweet and tasty like honey, I could eat hundreds of pounds without getting tired.

Wang Lilong thought dizzily.

"Woo woo~"

Little Commandery Princess Xue'ning bit her pen, tears of frustration streaming down her face.

Although the royal clan school occasionally had such perverse questions, they were always used as major questions. Even if they couldn't be solved, the clan school teachers wouldn't be angry.

But now... the first question couldn't be solved, the second question couldn't be solved, the third question still couldn't be solved... every question was a major one...

Not to mention the girls, even Wu Zhixing's face was pale, sweat continuously dripping from his forehead.

For every question, he had to rack his brains to understand and think, but even so, many questions still made him feel like vomiting.

Among the four little ones and one big one taking the exam, only Wang Anye remained calm and composed, unfazed by the sky falling. He occasionally thought for a moment, then started solving the problems, tackling them one by one, as smoothly as flowing water.

Seeing him like this, Emperor Longchang's smug expression gradually froze, unsure as he said, "Old Yao, is he faking it? He must be pretending, right?"

"Well... maybe so, my grades weren't great back then either, I don't quite understand the world of top students." Old Yao glanced sympathetically at the Emperor.

He already had a premonition that Wang Anye was a tough nut to crack, even more so than those five little wolf cubs.

In fact, Emperor Longchang already had a bad feeling, but he still held a sliver of hope for a "miracle" to happen.

In the midst of the slow torment.

"Dang!"

The bell signaling the end of the exam rang, and Wang Anye obediently put down his pen, no longer solving the problems.

"Wow~~~"

Wang Yingxuan burst into tears.

The dream of being a top student that she had painstakingly built was shattered in an instant. I, Wang Yingxuan, am ultimately just a poor student.

"Woo woo~"

Wang Lilong also started crying.

She buried her head in Wang Yingxuan's arms, hugging her and crying together, heartbroken.

Why? Why do humans create such terrifying questions, aren't these meant for children? Why? Why be so cruel?

As for Little Commandery Princess Xue'ning...

She had already stopped crying, her tears had dried up during the exam.

"Ugh, ugh!"

Wu Zhixing staggered outside Zhuozheng Pavilion, vomiting profusely. It was the first time in his life he had done problems until he vomited.

"Sigh~~"

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Wang Anye looked at everyone, also letting out a long sigh.

To be honest, these questions were indeed not easy. In the past, he could only get three or four out of ten right. But after the hellish training from Miss Spirit Artifact, these so-called difficult problems were just ordinary.

Whether they liked it or not, the exam results came out quickly.

As expected.

The gap between poor students was revealed, three zeros, one thirty, plus a full score.

Without a doubt, the full score belonged to Wang Anye.

When the results came out.

Everyone looked at Wang Anye with completely different eyes.

This was not something that could be described with just the words top student.

Clearly, he was a god of learning.

"Anye nephew." Wang Yingxuan grabbed Wang Anye's arm, her eyes full of admiration, "I never thought you were so amazing, I couldn't solve a single one of those questions."

"Actually, I guessed a few of them, just lucky guesses." Wang Anye said modestly.

He said this, but in his heart, he thought, if Aunt Yingxuan went to report to the new recruit camp, and Miss Spirit Artifact insisted on tutoring her, one of them would definitely break down, they couldn't coexist.

Wu Xue'ning looked at Wang Anye with a strange gaze.

This wasn't Wu Yiluo lacking vision, she had clearly found a treasure.

This Wang Anye, whether in appearance, demeanor, intelligence, or even talent, was impeccable. If there was one small flaw, it was that the foundation of his sixth-grade clan was still too low.

"Hmph! This brat does have some skills." Emperor Longchang's face burned with embarrassment.

The set of test questions he was so proud of not only didn't trouble Wang Anye, but instead gave him a chance to shine and make a name for himself.

But fortunately, Emperor Longchang was someone who could afford to lose, so he waved his hand and said, "Anye brat, I admit you're quite outstanding, worthy of our Yiluo."

"Your Majesty flatters me, Anye is just doing his duty." Wang Anye gracefully bowed, showing remarkable composure for his age.

"I promised you a condition earlier." Emperor Longchang's expression softened considerably, "Tell me, what condition do you want to propose? Of course, if you want Commandery Prince An to be directly elected as the Emperor's son, that's definitely not possible."

"Your Majesty, it was just a joke earlier, not to be taken seriously." Wang Anye hurriedly said, "If you really want to reward me, just give Anye another red envelope."

This kid speaks so well, much better than his great-grandfather Wang Shouzhe.

Emperor Longchang's mood improved significantly, and he waved his hand with a smile, "I am the Emperor, my promise is as good as gold. Fine, fine, since you want a red envelope, I'll give you another one, one million, no, two million Top Gold!"

For a child, this was already a huge sum.

The annual national tax revenue of the entire Longzuo Commandery was only a few million.

It was clear that Emperor Longchang still thought highly of Wang Anye, trying to find ways to support the child.

"Two million?" Wang Yingxuan and Wang Lilong exchanged glances, unable to resist whispering to each other, "Aunt Lilong, Anye is indeed smart. He previously deduced that His Majesty must have eaten too much, depleting the national treasury, and that's why he's trying to extract money from our Longzuo Commandery."

Wang Lilong also sighed softly, "Sigh, even the Emperor's days aren't easy these days."

"Exactly, exactly, even the main branch of the Wang's Clan gives us each a red envelope of one and a half million Top Gold." Wang Yingxuan also sighed softly, "Is the Emperor's promise only worth two million Top Gold? He must have been eaten poor..."

A little girl and a dragon girl whispered to each other, thinking they were being discreet.

But who was Emperor Longchang?

He was the mighty Lingxu Emperor, if he wanted, he could hear a tiny ant crawling outside Zhuozheng Pavilion.

Not to mention him, even Old Yao, a Divine Realm expert, had long surpassed the realm of ordinary people.

The two girls' words were heard clearly by both of them, and they couldn't help but exchange awkward glances.

Especially Emperor Longchang, who felt his face burning from their words. He did have a big appetite, but which Lingxu Realm didn't?

The national treasury wasn't wealthy, but it wasn't so poor that he needed to raise taxes on Longzuo for a meal, right?

Damn you, Wang Shouzhe, are you addicted to badmouthing me behind my back? Even in front of the children, you dare to slander me for squeezing Longzuo Commandery for a meal?

He didn't believe for a second that Wang Anye came up with that on his own.

How could a child's mind be so complex?

And that Duke of Dingguo's mansion, a bunch of opportunistic scoundrels, giving each child a red envelope of one and a half million Top Gold, trying to show off how rich you are.

Don't you see how poor you've become? If others don't know, do you think I don't?

In the end, such ruthless investment was just to try and connect with Commandery Prince An through Wang Shouzhe, hoping to make a comeback with a dragon's merit, right?

Heh, I've seen through your cunning little schemes.

With this in mind, Emperor Longchang grew more convinced of his reasoning, feeling a gnawing annoyance towards Wang Shouzhe and the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

He must find a way to deal with them, give them a few more pairs of small shoes to wear.

But, even if he wanted to deal with them, that was a matter for later. Right now, because of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion's wanton raising of red envelope prices, it posed a huge problem for Emperor Longchang.

How to give this round was a big issue. Giving too little would make his promise seem worthless. Giving too much, his private funds would feel the pinch. He couldn't possibly use national treasury funds to give out red envelopes, right?

Headache!

Why does dealing with Wang's Clan always give him a headache?

Is Wang Shouzhe born to be his nemesis?

"Anye brat, tell me, besides the red envelope, what other reward do you want? Treasure, elixirs, weapons, armor, anything is fine." Emperor Longchang smiled kindly.

He simply pushed the problem back to Wang Anye.

Top Gold was good, but giving out hundreds of millions at a time wasn't feasible. After all, a big country needed cash everywhere.

He had thought it through, as long as Anye brat asked, a treasure worth less than ten million was still doable.

If this brat was tactless and asked for a Divine Spirit Artifact or something, he could use it as an excuse to criticize Wang Shouzhe, sternly questioning how he was educating the child. Educating children shouldn't just focus on academics, but also on their moral character~

The more Emperor Longchang thought about it, the smarter he felt.

This was a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

"What do I want?"

Wang Anye was a bit confused, starting to frown and think carefully.

After a whole stick of incense, he still couldn't think of anything, so he shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't seem to lack anything. Just give me something as a token."

"Don't lack anything...?" Emperor Longchang sucked in a breath, looking at Wang Anye with a strange expression.

Can you be any more arrogant?

What do you mean by just give something as a token? Who are you looking down on?

"You child, how can you talk like that?" Old Yao secretly winked at Wang Anye, helping him, "His Majesty is letting you ask, so just ask honestly, don't be pretentious."

Saying this, he secretly held up a finger, as if hinting to Wang Anye not to exceed ten million.

This made Wang Anye a bit amused, "Eunuch Yao, I've really thought about it, and I can't think of anything I want. I really don't lack anything."

Besides, what good treasure could there be under ten million?

"Oh my, you brat, you're not being honest." Emperor Longchang rolled his eyes, "Who doesn't lack treasures? Would you lack a Divine Spirit Artifact? Do you lack cultivation techniques?"

"Your Majesty can give me a Divine Spirit Artifact?" Wang Anye showed some interest.

"I'm just saying." Emperor Longchang quickly retracted his words, glaring, "You're just a little brat, I would like to give you a Divine Spirit Artifact. But every Divine Spirit Artifact with a mind is very deep, you're too young to handle it."

"Like this Divine Spirit Artifact level storage ring of mine—'Brave Troops Treasure Ring'. The spirit artifact has a big temper, often only taking in and not giving out. Only with my Emperor-level strength can I make it behave. Can you handle it?"

As he spoke, Emperor Longchang casually extended his finger, showing off his Divine Spirit Artifact level storage ring.

The storage ring was engraved with a fierce beast, looking very lifelike, as if it were alive, its eyes glaring fiercely at everyone.

Divine Spirit Artifacts were rare, and Divine Spirit Artifact level storage rings were even rarer, so Emperor Longchang had every reason to be proud.

However, upon hearing Emperor Longchang's words, Anye didn't react much, but the Boundless Treasure Ring on his hand couldn't stand it.

"Hey, who are you looking down on?" The spirit artifact sister of the Boundless Treasure Ring couldn't help but shout, "Even though you're the Emperor, you can't look down on our Anye like that, can you?"

"This, this, this..." Emperor Longchang's eyes almost popped out, "A Divine Spirit Artifact level storage ring!?"

Not only was the Emperor shocked, but even Old Yao was full of surprise.

Is this a joke, this brat Wang Anye actually has a storage ring of this level?

There were only three such storage rings in the entire royal family. One was in the Emperor's hand, one was used as tactical equipment on the outer region battlefield, and the other was in Prince Dexin's hand.

Divine Spirit Artifact level storage rings were different from the same level Divine Spirit Artifact weapons and equipment. The latter was a necessity for Divine Ability Masters, and having one made a huge difference in combat power, so even ordinary Divine Realm experts would find a way to get one, even if they had to sell everything.

But for storage rings, being one level lower "didn't make much difference."

It's like a Lingtai Realm cultivator, the first spiritual tool they buy is usually a weapon or a defensive spiritual tool. Who would buy a storage ring before having a weapon?

Because of this, Divine Spirit Artifact level storage rings, as non-essential items, were often even rarer.

With rarity comes high price, and the price "soars."

"......"

Wu Zhixing and Wu Xue'ning, standing aside, were also dumbfounded looking at Wang Anye.

This brat having a Divine Spirit Artifact level weapon was already unexpected. But he also had a storage ring? This was too rich, wasn't it?

This damn kid is only twelve years old...

While everyone was dumbfounded and the atmosphere was eerily quiet, the spirit artifact sister of the Boundless Treasure Ring continued to shout, "Also, what do you mean our Anye is too young to handle Divine Spirit Artifacts? What do you mean Divine Spirit Artifacts are deep? Anye, let me ask you, is my water deep? Can you handle me?"

"Uh... sister's water isn't deep, Anye can handle it..." Wang Anye said honestly, "Boundless sister is very easy to talk to."

"Exactly, as long as our Anye has a need, no matter how excessive, sister will find a way to satisfy you."

"Thank you, Boundless sister."

"You're welcome, Anye brother, mwah~~~"

"And that Emperor, feel free to give Anye the Divine Spirit Artifact, I'll make sure to train it well. Even if I can't, there's Master Wuchen..."

Emperor Longchang had lived for thousands of years, his face was as thick as a city wall, but at this moment, he felt his face burning.

No way, this series of invisible slaps was from a twelve-year-old child!

"Who is Master Wuchen?"

Old Yao, standing aside, keenly sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice.

"Eunuch Yao." Wu Zhixing, seeing the situation was not good, quickly stepped forward and said, "That's the spirit artifact of Anye's weapon..."

"Also a Divine Spirit Artifact?" Old Yao's eyelids twitched.

"Uh... yes." Wu Zhixing hurriedly explained to prevent the Emperor from being slapped again, "It's a very powerful Divine Spirit Sword, even Qianqiu suffered a big loss."

Qianqiu suffered a big loss?

You know, Qianqiu is considered a relatively powerful Divine Spirit Artifact, it's just too talkative, so it's not very popular.

The Emperor and Old Yao were both speechless.

Is that still a twelve-year-old brat?

How did he manage it?

Did the Wang's Clan concentrate all their wealth on him?

No wonder he said he didn't have any needs, it wasn't an act... he really didn't care for ordinary treasures.

And to think Emperor Longchang thought he was being generous...

"Eunuch Yao, take a look at that 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight' painting." Old Yao whispered, "Maybe... sigh~"

This is a typical psychological change. When a poor person wears a real watch, others think it's fake. When a rich person wears a fake watch, others think it's real!

When a twelve-year-old brat took out the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight', the Emperor's attitude was indifferent, but when a twelve-year-old with two Divine Spirit Artifacts, who didn't care for treasures worth millions, took out the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight', it made people think.

After all, the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight', no matter how valuable, was just an artwork, its auction price was only a few million Top Gold, a leisure plaything for the powerful and influential, its price already at the top, how could it compare to a Divine Spirit Artifact that could be passed down through generations?

"Right, I haven't appraised the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight' Anye gave me." Emperor Longchang, after all, had a thick skin, found an excuse to first examine the 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight'.

When he unfolded it, the painting was ancient and heavy, Master Ji's style and charm were overwhelming.

"This?" Emperor Longchang's heart skipped a beat, "Something's not right, this style is ancient and intense, similar to Master Ji's style, but three points more profound. If it's a replica, I've never seen one that surpasses the original. If it's the original, even an amateur can tell the difference in style from Master Ji's work."

"Good painting, good painting." Emperor Longchang praised endlessly while appraising, "This 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight' vividly showcases the true final glory and decline of the Divine Dynasty, even more magnificent than Master Ji's version! Anye brat, whose replica is this?"

"Your Majesty, this was left to Anye by my master." Wang Anye answered honestly.

At the time, the resources in the Boundless Treasure Ring were exhausted, leaving only some useless artworks. If it weren't for hearing that the name of the painting Emperor Longchang damaged matched one of them, Anye himself would have almost forgotten about these things.

"Your master is...?" Emperor Longchang asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, my master is Ji Wuchen, who was a person of the Immortal Dynasty when alive." Wang Anye answered honestly, "Now he is the spirit artifact of the Divine Spirit Artifact 'Years'."

"A remnant soul as a spirit artifact? That's not unheard of... not too rare." Emperor Longchang muttered.

Suddenly, his body stiffened.

"Ji Wuchen, surname Ji? That name sounds familiar. I remember Master Ji wrote a poem 'Remembering My Father Wuchen in the Immortal Court' before his passing. Could it be that Senior Ji is the father Master Ji reminisced about all his life?"

"No wonder, no wonder... Master Ji said several times in his life that his achievements in painting were not one-tenth of his father's, and he spent his life imitating his father, only regretting that his father's excellent works followed him to the Immortal Realm. I used to think it was Master Ji's modesty, but now I see... remarkable, remarkable, I've uncovered a piece of history!"

Emperor Longchang had lived too long, his true hobbies were few. In recent centuries, he had been particularly fond of Master Ji's paintings, collecting several pieces.

But he never expected to obtain the genuine 'Divine Dynasty's Twilight', a cherished item difficult to measure in money.

After his excitement, he looked at Wang Anye with a changed gaze.

This was a difficult situation...

He couldn't possibly reward him with a Divine Spirit Artifact, right?

At this moment, Old Yao whispered a few words.

Emperor Longchang's eyes lit up immediately, "Anye, since you don't know what you like, why not visit my Divine Weapon Hall and pick something you like. But let me make it clear, there are two conditions. First, you can't take those few Divine Spirit Artifacts, you already have them, taking them would be a waste. Second, you can only take something for your own use, no giving it to others."

"What? I get to choose myself?" Wang Anye showed some interest.

"My promise is as good as gold, after all, you're Yiluo's fiancé, not an outsider." Emperor Longchang was quite shrewd.

"Then thank you, Your Majesty." Wang Anye said gratefully, "Your Majesty's thousands of years of collection must be very rich, even just visiting the Divine Weapon Hall would broaden my horizons."

...