The old man saw the confusion on Lin Fan's face and continued to explain, "That's just how highly the upper ranks think of you. You've shown them enough to make them invest all this in you. After all, it really was surprising where you came from…"

Qiao Yi Fei had been curious about this since she heard this and she couldn't help asking, "Grandfather, where are they from? Why couldn't I find anything about this during my investigations?"

​​

The old man turned to look at Qiao Yi Fei and shook his head, "This isn't something you should know. Even I was barely qualified to know about this, so just don't ask about this for now."

Lin Fan looked down at the token in his hand with a surprised look before looking back at the old man.

Even though he didn't know if the old man was involved in this or not, he had a feeling that he was. After all, even if he did have the potential and talent that the Hunters Organization was looking for, there was still too much that was uncertain about his identity.

Without someone vouching for him, there was no way they would have taken the initiative to make this first move.

He was certain that it was this old man, but as for why this old man would help him, it was unknown to him.

If it really was just to get him to marry his granddaughter, there really was nothing he could do. But of course, he could look into helping his granddaughter get closer to Momonga.

When Momonga saw Lin Fan looking at him, even though he was the Undead King that had lived for countless years, he still felt a chill run down his back from that gaze.

After bickering for a bit, the old man finally said, "The Hunters Exam will be in two weeks, so take care of your business before then. Of course, since you are skipping the first round, you'll get another two extra days to prepare before having to come."

Then he turned over to Momonga and Angela, narrowing his eyes for a bit before saying, "As for your friends...The higher ups decided to let them take the exam as well, but you will be their guarantor since we weren't able to find out as much as we would like…Just use your token and you'll all be allowed to join the exam, understood?"

Lin Fan had thought that he would be alone in the Hunters Exam, but now it seemed like both Momonga and Angela were able to go with him too.

Lin Fan took a deep look at the old man and he didn't know how to feel about this. It would be almost impossible for them to find any information on Momonga and Angela since that information existed in a realm that far surpassed the reach of the Hunters Organization. For them to be able to participate in the Hunters Exam as well, the old man must have paid quite a heavy toll to help them.

Lin Fan was even more doubtful when he learned this, but he still had to feel grateful to the old man since he had done much more than anyone to help Lin Fan since he came to the upper realm. Moreover, Lin Fan could tell that the old man treated him sincerely, like his own grandchild.

While that did put Lin Fan in an awkward spot, he did appreciate it.

Lin Fan just gave a nod and said, "Senior, thank you for your help."

The old man knitted his brows and said, "There you go again, I told you to call me grandfather already."

Lin Fan revealed an awkward look, but then he said, "Yes, grandfather."

The old man immediately revealed a smile and said, "Good lad. Alright, you can go now. Xiao Yi Fei will contact you in two weeks about the Hunters Exam, so just focus on getting ready for now. The Hunters Exam isn't as easy as you think it is."

Then the old man turned to Qiao Yi Fei and said, "Xiao Yi Fei, help look over Xiao Fan over the next two weeks and help him prepare, understood?"

Qiao Yi Fei glared at Lin Fan at first since she thought that Lin Fan was slowly being won over by her grandfather.

Lin Fan's awkward smile became even more awkward when he saw this.

The only reason he had called the old man "grandfather" was out of respect for everything the old man had done for him, Lin Fan had no intentions of marrying Qiao Yi Fei at all. Even if he did, there would be a certain girl behind him who would beat him up until he wouldn't be able to move if he even had that thought.

So he could only stand there with an awkward smile.

But then Qiao Yi Fei seemed like she realized something as she suddenly revealed a smile at Lin Fan and said, "Big brother Lin, please take care of me."

After all, since Momonga was Lin Fan's friend and went around with him, if she spent more time with Lin Fan, that would also mean spending more time with Momonga. As they said, the friend of a friend was a friend and if she used this relationship, she would definitely be able to get closer to Momonga.

Lin Fan still had an awkward smile as he said, "Little sister Qiao, please take care of me as well."

Lin Fan's usually dense brain picked up a hint here since this was something that he had learned the hard way on earth.

Even though Qiao Yi Fei was clearly older than her, she still called him big brother. This was something that women loved to do, even if they were older, they liked to appear younger.

In Qiao Yi Fei's mind, she was forever seventeen, so Lin Fan who was clearly eighteen or nineteen years old was her big brother…

The old man watching this revealed a smile and gave a nod.

It seemed like his plan was going well.

He was certain that with how outstanding Lin Fan was, it wouldn't take much for his silly granddaughter to come back from her lost ways and finally realize what a good grandson in law would be. He was already looking forward to the day when he could hold his great grandson.

Of course, he knew that it wouldn't be that simple, so he would also be making his own plans.

Just like that, everyone began making their own plots in this messy relationship, but of course, none of them had any hostility in them. No matter what happened in the end, since the old man had already shown his sincerity, both Lin Fan and the Qiao Family wanted to remain on good terms if possible.

…

In another part of the city, it wasn't just them who were plotting.

In a dark hall with a single throne in the middle, there were several figures that were on one knee in front of that throne, waiting for the orders of the person in the throne.

That person was silent for a bit before saying, "Are you certain that the information you received is reliable?"

One of the people kneeling suddenly stood up and with cupped hands and a slight bow, they said, "One Shadow, this is information that we received from our spy in the Xu Family, so there is no mistake. The Xu Family Head should be passing at any moment."

The person in the throne stroked his chin as he was lost in thought before saying, "It came a little sooner than I expected, but I guess he wasn't as strong as I thought he was. But still, this is better than battling it out with the Xu Family."

Then there was a change in his tone as he said in a serious voice, "What about the artifact, do you have any information on that?"

The person who spoke shook their head as they said, "One Shadow, our spy has tried everything, but only the elders and the family head knew where the artifact was kept and now the Xu Family is on lockdown. If we want to get the artifact, we need to go to the Xu Family and personally take it, but that shouldn't be hard since they no longer have an Embryo Soul Realm Expert behind them."

The person in the throne asked, "What are they going to tell the public? Will there be anyone who will interfere in our plan?"

The person who had their head bowed slightly said, "No. From the information we received from our spy, the Xu Family will be announcing that their family head will be going into closed door cultivation in a few days. They want to try to keep the illusion up as soon as possible to let one of the elders break through. It seems that they received some kind of special pill and the first elder is close to breaking through."

The person in the throne narrowed his eyes as he said, "What kind of special pill?"

The other person replied, "There are rumours that it is a Pill Line Pill, but…"

The person in the throne suddenly relaxed as he gave a laugh, "A Pill Line Pill? If they want to lie, at least make it believable. How could the small Xu Family possibly get a Pill Line Pill?"

Then the person suddenly stopped laughing as he gave his order, "Prepare the troops, we'll make an attack in three days. That should be enough time for that old fool to die and for them to let down their guards in grief."

All the people kneeling suddenly got up and said, "Yes, One Shadow!"

After that, they all left the room, leaving the person in the throne alone in the room.

That person had a faint smile as he said, "This time, that artifact will be mine."