It was early morning, and sunlight pierced through the sparse clouds, shining on the low hills.

However, Shen Qian and Old Man Hu were standing on the shady side.

Shen Qian looked up at the seemingly unreachable sunlight, then looked down again at the mottled tombstones that had become somewhat crooked due to the passage of time.

Seeing that Old Hu was still immersed in grief and unable to extricate himself, Chen Qian took the white chrysanthemums from his hands and then walked to the row of tombstones.

These tombstones, resembling those buried in an abandoned corner, number seventeen in total.

Shen Qian followed the gaze.

Li Sixi, Ye Jialei, Fu Xiaoxiao, Yu Xin...

He didn't know any of them.

Until, Shen Qian arrived at the tombstone in the very center.

"The Tomb of Jiang Chengye".

The five characters in the very center caught Shen Qian's eye.

This is a person who has been written into the history of No. 7 Middle School.

He was the top martial arts champion in Jingcheng ten years ago, and also the only top martial arts champion in the history of No. 7 Middle School.

Shock, confusion, and emotion flashed across Shen Qian's eyes, his feelings a complex mix.

The shock came from the fact that none of the teachers and students at No. 7 Middle School knew what had happened to Jiang Chengye afterward; it turned out he had died long ago.

The confusion stemmed from the cause of the other person's death.

The lament is that a top scholar from a province was buried in this remote and neglected corner after his death. Although there were signs that the tombstone had been regularly maintained, it could not hide the desolation and loneliness.

No matter how proud you were in your lifetime, at this moment you are nothing more than a handful of yellow earth, ignored by everyone.

"You should also know that the education situation in Jingcheng has been declining in recent years."

Old Hu appeared beside Shen Qian at some point, and took a chrysanthemum from Shen Qian's hand, placing it in front of the tombstone.

"Ten years ago was Jingcheng's last glory, and perhaps also the greatest glory in Jingcheng's history."

"That year, Jingcheng not only produced a martial arts champion, but also a third-place winner, a girl named Fu Xiaoxiao... In addition, Jingcheng had 33 people among the top 100 in the province in martial arts, almost occupying half of the list."

A look of surprise flashed across Shen Qian’s eyes. He only knew that Jingcheng’s education had started to decline ten years ago, but he had never known that there had been such a glorious year.

"Then the seventeen people here..." Shen Qian asked subconsciously.

"They were the group of thirty-three people who applied for the Jiangzhong Military Academy, and they were all accepted," Old Hu said slowly.

Shen Qian suddenly turned his head, already guessing what was going on. "They all died ten years ago? In that unknown incident involving Jiang Zhongjun?"

"Otherwise, why do you think education in Jingcheng has declined?"

Old Hu sighed, "They had accumulated so much honor and fortune back then, and with their deaths... Jingcheng's backbone has been broken by more than half."

Shen Qian recalled seeing him off before the college entrance examination. At that time, Chai Haotian said that there were many reasons for the decline of education in Jingcheng.

I think that's the main reason.

However, due to certain factors, the newly appointed city lord, Chai Haotian, concealed this matter.

Over the past decade, it's likely that very few people know the truth.

To extend this line of thought, could the departure of the previous city lord of Jingcheng also be related to this matter?

"So what exactly happened ten years ago?" Shen Qian composed himself and then asked.

"I may not be able to explain it clearly, I can only tell you what I know and have seen..."

Old Hu paused for a moment, then pulled out a bottle of strong liquor from somewhere. He poured some onto the grave, then took out two cups, poured one into a glass, and handed it to Chen Qian.

The two sat down on the ground and drank together in this desolate cemetery. Old Hu downed two cups in one go, and seemed to have finally sorted out his thoughts, a look of reminiscence appearing on his face.

"Actually, Jiang Chengye is very similar to you."

"With me?" Shen Qian was taken aback.

"He also came from a poor family, a single-parent family, and had a younger sister. His mother remarried three times but never met a good man. When Jiang Chengye was fourteen, she ran away with a man from another province, leaving him and his sister to depend on each other."

“…I’m still a little better off than him; at least I have a complete family.” Shen Qian shook his head.

Shen Qian keenly realized that since Old Man Hu started talking about Jiang Chengye, it was very likely that the incident ten years ago was also closely related to Jiang Chengye.

"Not only that," Old Hu smiled, "he was also mediocre before high school. If it weren't for compulsory education, he wouldn't have even wanted to go to high school and would have gone to work instead."

“At that time, I was the vice president of the Jingcheng Hometown Association. We so-called ‘successful’ people who are away from home do some charity work to help our hometown. Jiang Chengye was one of the people I sponsored.”

"At that time, we just felt sorry for his background. Who would have thought that he would suddenly soar to great heights in high school, just like you, and suddenly show a talent that is rare in the world."

"Finally, he achieved remarkable success in the college entrance examination, becoming the first martial arts champion of No. 7 High School..."

Shen Qian nodded slightly. In this respect, the two were somewhat similar, but he wondered if Jiang Chengye also had a cheat code...

"Later, as I had hoped, he was recruited by the Jiangzhong Military Academy, and he did not disappoint me after joining the academy."

Old Hu continued to recall: "He was not only a genius, but also a natural leader. In just half a year, he gained a great reputation in a place like the Military Academy where geniuses gathered. All the students in Jingcheng looked up to him."

"He broke several records since the establishment of the military academy, such as the record for the fastest grade skipping, the record for the highest number of credits in a single semester, and the record for the fastest completion of a secret realm, etc..."

Old Hu recounted many of Jiang Chengye's military exploits, which deeply moved Shen Qian.

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