This was her third time visiting the Celestial Bureau of Xiling.

The first time, the director of the Xiling Celestial Bureau, Fifth Lingyu, wanted to meet her, so he had a steward invite her over.

Qin Ruqing amused Fifth Lingyu with some novelty, satisfying his curiosity.

Afterward, she learned about the leakage of her own innate perfection aura.

On that trip, Qin Ruqing understood her condition and laid the groundwork for future cooperation with the Celestial Office.

It was a fruitful visit.

The second time, Qin Ruqing went on her own initiative.

The small floating island was about to open, and she had obtained the seed of heavenly fire, which she needed to refine.

So, she went to Fifth Lingyu to ask about it and exchanged a secret (albeit slightly altered) for a map of the Earthfire Pool.

This third time, Qin Ruqing came again on her own initiative.

She had encroached on the Celestial Bureau’s “cake.”

Although theoretically, she had the right to this cake, it had already been marked by someone else, indicating it belonged to them.

Whether or not Qin Ruqing acknowledged this mark, she needed to explain to that person why she wanted the cake and what price she was willing to pay for it.

This journey felt exceptionally long and difficult for Qin Ruqing.

Tang Zifeng, walking beside her, noticed her flushed face and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Qin Ruqing deflected, saying, “Tang Zifeng, I don’t think Xiling is that great. How about, after all this is over, you come back to Nanling with me?”

“Look, hardly anyone in the Tang family truly cares about you. Your uncle Tang Chen may be placating you now, but that’s only because the Tang family’s reputation has plummeted, and he desperately needs someone skilled in artifact crafting to help restore it. He doesn’t care about you, so why stay and work for him? He won’t even make you the clan leader.”

Tang Zifeng gave Qin Ruqing a deep look and nodded, “I know.”

“I know the Tang family doesn’t care about me. I also know there are only a few people in Xiling who do.”

Qin Ruqing continued, “But it would be different in Nanling. My Qin family is the top dog there and has a good relationship with the Nanling Celestial Bureau. Plus, when I get back this time, we’ll soon be promoted. I’m the little tyrant in Nanling. If you follow me, you’ll have a bright future!”

“I’ll even persuade our ancestor to set up a special artifact room for you and make you the head. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“So, what do you say? After all this is settled, let’s go back to Nanling together!”

It was an enticing offer, but Tang Zifeng didn’t agree right away.

Qin Ruqing didn’t mind, as if she had just casually mentioned it.

Soon, they arrived at the stone hall of the Celestial Bureau.

The person guarding the door went to announce their arrival but returned saying that Tang Zifeng couldn’t enter; only Qin Ruqing was allowed in.

Qin Ruqing and Tang Zifeng exchanged a look.

Qin Ruqing smiled at him, saying, “It’s okay. Whether inside or outside the hall, the effect is the same.”

You coming with me shows the Celestial Bureau the stance of the Tang family.

Tang Zifeng understood immediately and nodded slightly at Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing then turned to the person who made the announcement and insisted, “He must come in with me. Master Tang is here to see Director Lingyu. Master Tang is also going to be involved in the Celestial Bureau’s spaceship project. Are you trying to drive him away early?”

The person at the door was speechless and didn’t dare to say anything more.

Qin Ruqing, without any hesitation, went straight into the hall.

Tang Zifeng watched her go in and then, just as Qin Ruqing had said, went to find Fifth Lingyu.

Inside the hall, there were only Fifth Lingyu and the scribe, without even any guards or attendants.

Qin Ruqing knew that only the director and the scribe were aware of this matter.

It didn’t really concern her, as it was the Celestial Bureau’s own secret that they wanted to keep from public knowledge, so only the higher-ups knew about it.

Qin Ruqing walked in, formally greeted them, and looked composed, neither fearful nor urgent.

This time, Fifth Lingyu wasn’t lounging but had his elbow on the table, his chin resting on his hand, smiling at Qin Ruqing.

“Elder Qin, what brings you here?”

Qin Ruqing looked up and smiled too, taking out a scroll and a jade token.

She said, “Now that the small floating island event is over, I naturally came to return the map.”

The scribe couldn’t help but snicker, while Fifth Lingyu made an amused sound and asked her to present it.

Upon examining the items, he noticed that the jade ends of the scroll had been plucked off, leaving the ends bare.

Looking at this, Fifth Lingyu wanted to laugh and knowingly asked, “Why are you returning something I gave you? And if you were going to return it, why is it missing parts?”

He picked up the jade token and raised an eyebrow, “Is this your way of compensating for the damage?”

Qin Ruqing bowed slightly and calmly replied, “After I got the map, I successfully reached the vicinity of the Earthfire Pool but found that it was hidden by a profound spatial formation. Ordinary people couldn’t enter. After several attempts, I realized that this scroll was the key to activating the formation.”

“I benefited greatly from the Earthfire Pool and wanted to find other places with similar spatial fluctuations. As it turned out, there were indeed many such places. However, I was blocked by the concealed spatial formations and couldn’t enter. After much thought, I decided to use the jade on the ends of the scroll.”

“Along with my companion Tang Zifeng, we discovered that the jade had similar spatial fluctuations and could assist in opening the formations. So, we had my companion take the jade, refine it, and make it into a key.”

“Today, I have come for two reasons. First, I realized that this jade is precious, and I exchanged it for a secret, which might not be an equal trade, so I am here to return it to the director. Second, I came specifically to thank the director. If it weren’t for your gift of this jade, I wouldn’t have known that the small floating island hid so many concealed spaces. Without this jade to enter those hidden spaces, I wouldn’t have gained so much from the small floating island!”

Hearing these words, even the scribe and Fifth Lingyu were surprised.

She really has a lot of guts!

They all knew the truth of the matter.

The Celestial Bureau had secretly hidden places, leaving a small gap for Qin Ruqing to sneak in.

Unexpectedly, Qin Ruqing’s boldness and sharp eyes noticed the mysteries behind these spaces.

She then grew ambitious and wanted more.

She crazily utilized the initial scroll and, together with her artifact-refining companion, created a key to easily open the spatial formations, intending to exploit the Celestial Bureau’s secrets even further.

Qin Ruqing wanted to open all the spaces that the Celestial Bureau had deliberately hidden and concealed, causing a big stir.

The Celestial Bureau had tolerated her opening two of these spaces but eventually couldn’t bear it any longer and shut down all the spaces.

They were waiting for Qin Ruqing to come forward and apologize.

She was supposed to be terrified because she had trespassed on the Celestial Bureau’s territory without permission, displaying greedy and arrogant behavior.

The Celestial Bureau wanted to gauge her attitude during her apology to decide if she should return the things she had taken.

If she showed proper remorse, they would then discuss what price she had to pay to take those things with her.

However, Qin Ruqing’s attitude was astonishing.

She came in, not feeling guilty or fearful, but instead boldly brought up the matter herself, expressing “thanks.”

But anyone could tell that her thanks were actually mocking.

She was mocking the Celestial Bureau for manipulating things inside the small floating island.

She was mocking how the Celestial Bureau appeared to be taking on the responsibility of guiding the small floating island to benefit the noble families of Xiling every ten years, while secretly taking advantage of it.

They had set up hidden formations, preventing those families from noticing anything.

When the Celestial Bureau was established and issued the family laws, the ownership of secret realms was clearly defined.

A secret realm discovered in a region belonged to the noble families of that region.

For instance, the cyclical secret realm discovered in Nanling belonged to the local families there.

Because of the strength of the three major families, they divided the cyclical secret realm among themselves.

This was why the Jin family from Beiling had to go through trouble and deal with the Zhang family to get access to Nanling’s secret realm.

Now, the small floating island in Xiling naturally belonged to the noble families of Xiling.

However, the Celestial Bureau intervened, setting up arrangements under the guise of guiding it.

This clearly violated their claim of being absolutely neutral and not interfering in family affairs.

The Celestial Bureau of Xiling, backed by the Celestial Family of Penglai from the Central Region, had no right to set up barriers in Xiling’s local secret realms, claiming territories for themselves.

Qin Ruqing’s speech was openly mocking the Celestial Bureau.

The scribe’s face turned dark.

The director, since taking office, didn’t manage the affairs within the small floating island much, so the scribe handled most of the spatial barrier’s supervision and maintenance.

Qin Ruqing’s words, seemingly mocking the Celestial Bureau, were also mocking him.

The scribe couldn’t hold back and shouted, “How dare you!”

Qin Ruqing pretended to be startled and looked at the scribe in surprise, “Why do you say that, Elder? What did I do wrong to make you so angry?”

The scribe’s voice was cold, “You are slick with your words! Do you not know what you did in the secret realm? Since it’s your first offense, return everything you took from the herb garden and the mines, and you might be spared.”

Qin Ruqing widened her eyes, “I entered the small floating island by the rules and took things from there. Do I really have to return them? May I ask the Elder, where should I return them? To the Celestial Bureau?”

“You—”

Fifth Lingyu raised his hand to stop the scribe and looked at Qin Ruqing with a curious and amused expression, “Let’s be frank. Aren’t you afraid of what might happen today because of your bold actions?”

“Are you afraid of losing your life here?”