Obviously, there were countless problems on both sides.

This was also the reason why Lucas Warren had led Emily Stone all the way to the Dingling Hall—he knew nothing about the new world, and the only person he could rely on was this mountain guardian whose loyalty had just barely reached 52.

Lucas Warren said, “How about this: we each ask one question, one at a time. You go first.”

Emily Stone was not polite: “Earlier, you said you were the 84th generation master of the mountain, Lucas Warren, but the historical records clearly state that the last disciple of Lingshan, Lucas Warren, perished in the heavenly tribulation. Later, there were no shortage of swindlers claiming to be Lucas Warren who came to our Shi family to scam money, and there were also historians who liked to be unconventional, claiming that the people of Lingshan were not completely wiped out. But the mainstream academic view has never wavered.”

Lucas Warren countered, “Such a convincing historical record—who wrote it?”

Emily Stone took a deep breath and said, “Your senior sister, the 83rd generation master of Lingshan, Olivia Warren.”

“Hiss…” Lucas Warren inhaled sharply. “As expected of her!”

Chapter 6: Waking Up to a World That Doesn’t Welcome Me

Senior sister Olivia Warren was, without a doubt, the most unique person Lucas Warren had ever known. The stories about her were “too numerous to record,” but precisely because they had spent so much time together, Lucas Warren believed he understood her at least a little.

He had expected that his senior sister had survived the heavenly tribulation—after all, there was a memorial tablet for Lucas Warren in the Lingshan ancestral hall, but none for Olivia Warren. Clearly, the truth that “troublemakers live a thousand years” was unshakable.

What he hadn’t expected was that the memorial tablet that had puzzled him so much, the one for himself, actually came from his senior sister!

Why did she write him as dead in the historical records?

There were many possible reasons—for example, to hide and protect her junior brother who was in seclusion in the Dingling Hall; or perhaps because Olivia Warren always liked to say that history was a little girl to be dressed up as one pleased, so when she finally got the chance to write the history books, it wouldn’t be surprising if she wrote all sorts of bizarre stories. Maybe in the historical records that Emily Stone so firmly believed in, the 82nd generation master Song Yijing was written as an incurable homosexual…

But these speculations only lingered in Lucas Warren’s mind for a moment.

Without evidence, thinking further was pointless.

So, in response to Emily Stone’s question, Lucas Warren could only explain, “Senior sister Olivia Warren has always acted unpredictably, so the possibility of a prank can’t be ruled out.”

Emily Stone was silent for a while, then said, “As everyone knows, among the founding heroes of the Calamity Suppression, Olivia Warren was the most dignified and steady, which is why she became the leader of them all.”

“Dignified and steady? That’s what the history books say!?” Lucas Warren was truly astonished. “Senior sister’s actions were always eccentric and bizarre, and she never liked to beautify herself according to public standards. Did she hit her head during the heavenly tribulation or something?”

Emily Stone swallowed and warned, “Don’t say things like that outside. Insulting a founding hero is a very serious crime. Even if I don’t report you, the patrolling blue-robed officers will come to arrest you.”

Lucas Warren fell into thought.

“So, after the heavenly tribulation, not only did senior sister survive, but she also gained extremely high worldly status… Then why didn’t she continue to lead Lingshan, but instead left the position of master vacant for a thousand years, only to pass it on to me? And why did she let Lingshan fall into such decline, with even the guardian families following suit?”

Emily Stone blinked: “Master, you’d best ask her that question yourself, don’t make things difficult for me… However, judging by common sense, the Honored One—that is, your senior sister Olivia Warren—after the heavenly tribulation, had no choice but to sever ties with Lingshan.”

Lucas Warren said, “Could you explain in detail?”

Emily Stone sighed and took a thin booklet from her red vest.

“This is a textbook jointly compiled by several Honored Ones of the Immortal Alliance, covering politics, history, cultivation, humanities, and other general knowledge. It’s a required course for every modern person. The answer you want should be in here.”

Lucas Warren took the booklet and saw a neatly printed line on the cover: Zhu Wang Early Childhood General Knowledge Textbook.

Emily Stone looked a bit embarrassed: “Don’t look down on early childhood general knowledge! The knowledge points in this textbook—if you tested random people on the street, 99 out of 100 wouldn’t be able to answer them all!”

Lucas Warren was unconcerned: “Reviewing the old to learn the new is a Shi family tradition. The ancestor who created the Stonefire technique, Susan Stone, always kept a beginner’s breathing and guiding manual at hand, and would review it even on the eve of ascension. There’s nothing to look down on.”

“Uh, thank you.” Emily Stone seemed a bit awkward. “I didn’t know the story you just told…”

“Susan Stone was both a rebel of the Shi family and of Lingshan. It’s not surprising that his story wasn’t passed down. But even without the guidance of ancestral stories, you still managed to walk the same path as Susan Stone. That’s impressive.”

While casually praising Emily Stone—earning 2 cheap loyalty points—Lucas Warren flipped open the booklet.

He read extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, finished the entire early childhood textbook. Then he understood why Emily Stone had used the textbook to answer his question.

Simply put, after the heavenly tribulation, the survivors, in their pain and reflection, decided to shift the blame onto Lingshan… or rather, onto the classical cultivation system represented by Lingshan.

Their theory, in Lucas Warren’s view, was rather far-fetched.

Modern people believe that in the classical era, cultivators placed too much emphasis on individual power, while long neglecting the foundation of the masses.