Chapter 1: Just Transmigrated and Already Disinherited

In early August in the Wushan Territory, the high-hanging scorching sun roasted the earth, the heat so intense that even the air became distorted.

Yet Ronin was dressed in thick, formal noble attire, walking along the flat road paved with bluestone toward the highest point of this manor—Wushan Fortress.

More than ten minutes ago, he was still a game designer working overtime through the night on a project proposal; he never expected to die suddenly and be reborn in the body of a noble scion in another world.

He didn't even have time to digest the memories of his predecessor before he was watched by Guards and taken to Wushan Fortress to face a trial directed at him.

Fortunately, the road was quite long, giving Ronin time to digest some of his predecessor's memories and figure out his current situation.

It turned out that this was a world that appeared similar to Earth's early Middle Ages on the surface, but in reality, it was a supernatural world with Battle Qi and Magic.

The predecessor whose body he had transmigrated into was named "Ronin Wushan," the eldest grandson of the Wushan Marquis family, possessing the right to inherit the title of Marquis.

But for someone raised in a top-tier noble family, he not only failed to master any kind of supernatural power, but also lingered in dance parties and indulged in fine wine and women, achieving nothing.

Just at the banquet the day before yesterday, the predecessor got dead drunk and went to bed with a woman.

No one expected that this woman would commit suicide the next day and leave behind a suicide note accusing the predecessor, making it known to everyone in an instant.

Logically speaking, many nobles have chaotic private lives, and having relations with a woman at a banquet is not a big deal.

Even if an ordinary woman committed suicide, it would just be that—not a big deal.

But the trouble lay in the fact that this woman's identity was very unusual; she was the youngest granddaughter of the Border Count of Wushan Ridge, Earl Aosen Haide.

The current Wushan Territory is beset by internal and external troubles and is very unstable, and this Border Count not only has a flourishing family but also holds the heavy responsibility of maintaining the safety of the border.

This resulted in the fact that although this Border Count is a vassal of the Marquis, once the relationship turns sour, even a slight reduction in effort or complete inaction on certain major matters would cause immeasurable damage to the Wushan Territory.

For this reason, the predecessor's father, who had just returned from a military campaign, gave the predecessor a punch as soon as he heard about this, intending to teach him a lesson, but never expected to send him straight to heaven.

Recalling this, Ronin's heart grew increasingly worried and anxious.

Would the Wushan Marquis Mansion sacrifice him for the sake of the stability of the territory and the family?

Thinking about it, it was very possible!

After all, the predecessor's mother died early, his father didn't love him, his grandfather didn't care for him, and there was no power behind him to support him; although his political status was high, his situation was very awkward.

"Why did I encounter such a thorny matter as soon as I transmigrated?"

Ronin felt helpless in his heart; he turned his head to look left and right, and the group of Guards following him completely dispelled any thoughts of "whether he could slip away."

Sigh...

The Marquis Mansion is huge, with countless rockeries, fountains, flowers, and other landscapes inside, everywhere manifesting the luxury and heritage of the Wushan Family.

Following the wide stairs upward, a huge military fortress built entirely of white jade stone stood on the top of the small hill, imposing yet not lacking in weight.

This was Wushan Fortress.

Ronin's heart was shocked by this scene for only a second or two, and then it was replaced by anxiety again.

What he was about to face was not only Earl Viggins, the father who sent his predecessor to his death with one punch, but also the representatives of the Haide Family who had angrily come to demand an explanation.

Both groups of people wanted to vent their anger on him; how could he, a poor little newbie who had just transmigrated, withstand such great fury?

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, legendary golden finger, manifest quickly and save your master!"

As a lover of games and novels, he knew well that every transmigrator has a golden finger.

In this desperate situation, he could only pray for this.

Perhaps in response to his call, a line of text did indeed flicker in his field of vision:

【Activated after obtaining a title】

Ronin was overjoyed when he saw this line of text; he did indeed have a golden finger.

But after seeing the content of this line clearly, the smile on his face froze; this golden finger actually still needed to be activated!

"A title... how could that be so easy to obtain?"

Although the predecessor had the right of inheritance, to become the Marquis of Wushan Territory, one must first wait for his grandfather to die, and then wait for his father to pass away, only then would it be his turn to inherit.

Taking a step back, after he graduated from the Supernatural Academy, his father might confer a title of Viscount or Baron upon him, but that was a matter for next year; there was still a year to go.

Moreover, right now Ronin not only had to face Viggins's anger, but also faced the risk of being "sacrificed"; where was he going to get a title?

"Having a golden finger but being unable to activate it, it's truly like bad luck opening the door for bad luck—bad luck to the extreme!"

He was truly... unable to voice his bitterness.

"Young Master Ronin, the lords are waiting for you inside!"

After the Guards sent Ronin to the entrance of the fortress, they stood on both sides, and the captain made a gesture of invitation, signaling for Ronin to go in alone.

Standing under the five-meter-high gate of the fortress, Ronin felt his own insignificance; he looked up into the interior, and at the end, tens of meters away, a few figures could be vaguely seen.

Heavy, oppressive.

"What must come, cannot be avoided!"

He took a deep breath, then stepped forward and walked inside.

There were no Guards standing guard on either side of the castle hall corridor; it seemed they did not want the arguments inside to be spread out.

"Things might not be as bad as imagined."

Ronin comforted himself, and soon reached the end, where he saw the five people there.

Directly in front, on a high seat of jade, sat an old man with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles.

Seeing him, Ronin's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken by two beats.

This old man was the founder of this castle, the master of the Wushan Territory, a powerful Meteor-level Knight, a Marquis of the Auduin Kingdom, Lulansi Wushan.

Ronin did not expect that this matter would actually alarm the old Marquis, who had not asked about political affairs for more than ten years; it seemed that even the Marquis had to attach importance to the relationship with the Haide Family.

Standing on the right side of the old Marquis was a burly, middle-aged man with a beard.

He was the second son of Marquis Lulansi, the Earl of Wushan City, the future heir to the Wushan Territory, and Ronin's father, Viggins Wushan.

As the second son of the old Marquis, Viggins should not have had the right to inherit the title, only because his eldest brother Geleimusi died in battle thirty years ago did it fall to him, but he clearly was not prepared.

The 52-year-old Viggins was still only an Advanced Knight, lacking strength and clarity of mind, unable to suppress the restless vassals in this chaotic era.

And the predecessor, as Viggins's eldest son and the second heir to the Wushan Territory, was an ordinary person who hadn't even mastered supernatural power.

With both heirs behaving in such a manner, the outside world naturally assumes that once the old Marquis passes away from illness, the Wushan Marquis Territory will gradually fall apart.

This is the root cause of the instability in the Wushan Territory.

Luoning quietly glanced at the three people on the other side; they were all wearing armor and carrying swords, exuding powerful auras, especially the golden-haired man in the middle, who made Luoning feel very uneasy.

If he was not mistaken, this person was a Knight who followed the Border Count—Nigen Golden Mad Lion, a Golden-level Peak Knight, only one step away from being able to rival the old Marquis in combat power.

Seeing Luoning walk in, the expressions of the five people in the hall varied.

The old Marquis on the high seat remained calm, showing neither anger nor sorrow;

The three Knight representatives snorted coldly, glaring with hatred, their eyes looking as if they could devour someone;

Only Weijinsi roared furiously: "You damn thing, why haven't you knelt down yet!"

Luoning was startled by this sudden roar; are the voices of Advanced Knights in this other world all this loud?

Considering the punch that had killed his predecessor, he could only obediently submit and kneel in the center of the hall.

"Heh~"

Just then, a cold laugh came from above; the representative of the Haide Family, the Golden-level Knight Nigen Golden Mad Lion, glanced at Weijinsi with disdain.

"The principal party has arrived, so the Count of Wushan City does not need to put on such a show in front of us. Since Miss Selina died because of Luoning, the Wushan Family must give our Haide Family a satisfactory explanation for this matter!"

"That's right!"

The Knight beside him chimed in: "And this time, the siege of the Black Gold Brotherhood—it was precisely because of your erroneous command that Baron Slande died in battle; you must pay the price for your mistakes!"

"The eldest grandson and the youngest granddaughter of the Haide Family both died because of your Wushan Family; if this matter is not handled properly, it will only damage the friendship between our two families!"

Adhering to the principle that "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal," the three Knights represented by Knight Nigen followed Earl Haide as their lord; they gave Weijinsi no face at all and started berating him directly, looking as if they would resort to arms if a price was not paid.

In such situations, Weijinsi would usually roar back even louder.

But at this moment, he could not refute, because in this war to encircle the bandit group, he had indeed made mistakes in his command.

Flushed with anger and having nowhere to vent it, he could only roar at Luoning again: "Damn it!"

Luoning's heart, however, sank to the bottom.

He had not expected that the Haide Family had lost two grandchildren at once; losing a granddaughter was one thing, but even the eldest grandson with the right of inheritance had died unexpectedly.

And it was his predecessor's father's fault.

"This blame won't be pinned on me, will it?"

Luoning felt increasingly uneasy; being the eldest grandson himself, could they use his life to pay for the life of that Slande?

The silent, oppressive, and suffocating atmosphere made Luoning's breathing rapid; he was just a newcomer to society who had recently left school, so where would he have experienced such a situation?

But he knew that the person who decided whether he could be safe was not his father, and certainly not the three representatives of the Haide Family, but Rulans Wushan, who had been sitting on the high seat without saying a word.

The old Marquis had once cultivated his predecessor as his successor—after all, since his son was already a waste, he could only pin his hopes for revitalizing the family on his eldest grandson.

But the predecessor's performance disappointed him, especially after he still had not mastered extraordinary power in the last two years.

"Although death is inevitable in war, I am deeply saddened by the death of Baron Slande; he was a brave child!"

On the high seat, the old Marquis slowly opened his eyes and finally spoke.

"I ask Sir Nigen to convey my grief and apologies to Aosen and Balindun."

Upon hearing this, Nigen stood up and performed a Knight Salute with one hand over his chest; it was evident that his attitude toward Weijinsi was completely different from his attitude toward Marquis Rulans.

"Nigen will certainly convey it, but..."

The old Marquis raised his hand and sighed heavily, interrupting the other party's words.

"Speaking of which, Wushan and Haide are still related by marriage, yet I did not expect such two unfortunate events to occur. Weijinsi is at fault for Slande's death in battle, and we should compensate, but Selina..."

Having said this, he looked at his grandson kneeling on the ground, and Luoning's heart also jumped into his throat at this moment.

Whether he could live or not depended on the next sentence.

"The child Selina committed suicide; she did not die directly at the hands of Luoning."

Hearing this, Luoning's suspended heart finally settled down.

With these words from the old Marquis, he knew that his little life was finally saved.

As long as he could survive, that was fine.

But on the other side, Nigen and the others became anxious.

"My Lord, although Miss Selina did not die directly at the hands of Luoning, she died because she was insulted by him; you cannot just gloss over this matter with one sentence!"

As he spoke, he took a piece of parchment from his pocket and said with tears in his eyes: "This parchment was written by Miss Selina herself, and it records everything that happened after she was forcibly dragged into the room by Luoning! If there is no punishment for this, then we..."

"Do not be impatient."

Marquis Rulans interrupted Nigen's words again.

"I only said that Selina did not die directly at the hands of Luoning, so I will not agree to your demand that Luoning pay with his life. But I did not say that I would not give the Haide Family an explanation."

Hearing this, Nigen, who had been prepared to argue, stopped his words.

In fact, he also knew that it was impossible to make the eldest grandson of the Marquis Mansion pay with his life, but they could only get what they wanted by making such a demand.

After Along silence, Rulans slowly spoke:

"Slande died in battle, causing the Haide Family to lose an excellent eldest grandson. Since his death and Selina's death can both be attributed to my Wushan Family, I will make a promise here."

Luoning held his breath and pricked up his ears to listen to the following words; his fate depended on how this old man on the seat arranged it.

"I can promise."

Marquis Rulans said solemnly: "In the future, among the third generation, my youngest grandson, that is, the son of Weijinsi and Daianni, Breton Wushan, will inherit the title of Marquis of the Wushan Territory. As for Luoning..."

He paused and looked at Luoning, who was keeping his head down, "I strip Ronin Wushan of his right of inheritance!"

Although there is a succession system for the eldest son and eldest grandson, as long as they commit a fatal mistake, it can be revoked if said so.

Luoning had now committed a fatal mistake, or rather, he had fallen into a whirlpool of fatal mistakes.

As for whether stripping Luoning of his inheritance could improve the relationship? Even if an explanation was given?

That was certain.

Because the mother of Buleidun, who succeeded Luoning's inheritance rights, had the surname "Haide," she was the daughter of Aosen Haide.

In other words, Buleidun is the biological grandson of this Border Count.

Luoning's heartbeat suddenly accelerated; in this instant, he seemed to understand something.

Could it be that Selina's suicide was for the purpose of stripping away his inheritance rights and transferring them to his half-brother Buleidun?

Then the scheming behind this is truly too sinister.

"No, I must find a way to leave the center of this whirlpool!"

Signing tomorrow, open for investment.

(End of this chapter)