Qin Ruqing admitted her Dao Physique and techniques were rough, but that didn’t matter.

She would correct her flaws and use her unconventional methods to improve!

Ultimately, all fancy and refined techniques boil down to results.

Qin Ruqing was a practical person who focused solely on results.

While she was enjoying herself, the four directors observing her were astonished.

To prevent accidents and monitor the candidates, the four directors were stationed in the White Tower within the Fragmented Space.

They only focused on Qin Ruqing, as she was their primary interest.

Initially, the atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable.

After all, Qin Ruqing was quite impressive with her flashy skills and online assistance.

The directors found her entertaining and weren’t surprised by her ability to fight Golden Core monsters.

Director Feng commented, “She must have absorbed that top-grade Soul Source Stone. Before entering the space, I noticed her cultivation seemed stronger than in the first round.”

The other directors weren’t surprised either, only sighing:

“This girl, you say she’s lucky, but her draw at the Tianyun Island lottery was disastrous. Yet, despite her seemingly bad luck, she managed to encounter and interact with aspects of the soul even before reaching the Golden Core stage,” sighed the bald director from the Western Region.

Dealing with the soul is something typically considered only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, as it’s directly related to the subsequent stage, Soul Transformation.

Of course, that’s according to normal cultivation progress.

For elite training within Celestial families, soul source stones are used much earlier.

Now, Qin Ruqing had inadvertently refined a soul source stone even before reaching the Golden Core stage.

This was partly due to her exceptional abilities, as she not only obtained a supreme soul source stone but also possessed that mysterious flame.

Without that flame, an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to refine such a large soul source stone even if they had it.

The Southern director, now looking at Qin Ruqing as if she were his own child, said with satisfaction, “She indeed has abundant opportunities.” After a pause, he added a qualifier, “In cultivation.”

…As for other aspects, better left unsaid.

So, they watched as she boldly went to fight a Golden Core stage demonic beast.

The directors were shocked to see this.

Just because she could shatter a Golden Core puppet didn’t mean she could fight a real Golden Core stage demonic beast.

But reality defied their expectations.

The beast truly died, and in a bewildering manner.

The bald director from the Western Region couldn’t comprehend it, “What kind of spell did she use this time? She keeps pulling out these new techniques. If it weren’t for the well-known history of the Qin family, I’d think she was a genius nurtured by some hidden family.”

Hidden families wouldn’t have such a plethora of mysterious, unheard-of spells.

The beast’s twisted death was baffling.

The Northern Director, with a serious expression, pointed out a crucial detail, “The seals she used were the same as before, indicating it was the same technique. However, she did something different to produce a completely new effect.”

Connecting all the information, her mysterious flame and the supreme soul source stone, the Wind Director had an astonishing guess.

“It’s the soul! She tampered with the demonic beast’s soul! For a Golden Core stage beast, whose defenses are nearly impregnable, the only area she could manipulate is the soul.”

The soul?!

Soul attacks are a profound and intricate field.

How did that girl manage it?

Even the well-informed directors, searching through their lifetime of knowledge, couldn’t fathom how Qin Ruqing, still not at the Golden Core stage, managed to destroy the soul of a Golden Core demonic beast.

Their inability to comprehend was understandable.

Despite their high cultivation levels, their thinking remained grounded in conventional paths.

Qin Ruqing was different.

Her perspective had already skewed beyond the stratosphere.

Qin Ruqing was unaware of the difficulties of splitting the soul or the dangers of soul explosions, yet she accidentally stumbled upon a method that worked remarkably well for her.

Because she absorbed a top-grade Soul Source Stone, her soul reserves far exceeded her level.

She could afford to sacrifice a bit of her soul without becoming debilitated, especially with her strong body and protective Heavenly Fire, which prevented her from losing her sanity.

This was a unique method only Qin Ruqing could use.

Those at her level didn’t have her soul reserves and strong constitution, and those at higher levels had more refined techniques, avoiding such self-destructive methods.

She charged forward recklessly, yet in her own mind, everything felt perfectly reasonable and under control.

After defeating the Golden Core monster, Qin Ruqing sat down to rest for fifteen minutes, during which the sharp pain in her head finally eased.

She used the green aura from her Dao Physique to test whether it could enhance her soul’s recovery.

The results were impressive.

The Dao Physique’s ability to heal was so extraordinary that it even accelerated the recovery of her soul.

Normally, it would take her a month to recover from such damage, but after using the green aura, she felt she’d be fully recovered in just a day.

Feeling rejuvenated, Qin Ruqing jumped up.

Her mood brightened, and she began thinking about who her next target might be.

Qirong noticed Qin Ruqing’s improved complexion and sighed with relief, but then saw the sparkle in hre eyes.

He realized she was already plotting her next move.

Qirong didn’t know what to say.

Caring about Qin Ruqing’s well-being was a waste of time.

She was fine—better than fine.

Her extraordinary willpower and Dao Physique made her more resilient than even the toughest insect.

Having completed her initial experiments successfully and in high spirits, Qin Ruqing saw the passerby she had previously encountered and approached him with a smile:

“Shall we go? Need help with the monster?”

The passerby, still in shock from seeing her defeat the Golden Core Stage Beast, flinched and stammered, “Uh, yes, please!”

Qin Ruqing raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I say before that anyone providing clues about Golden Core Beast could get help with me? Do you need my help or not? If not, I’ll be on my way.”

She was busy, aiming to gather as many points as possible and prepare for her plans.

The passerby quickly recovered. “Yes, yes, I need it! Having the number one on the leaderboard help is a great opportunity. I’d pay anything for this!”

This was a huge win for him!

Thus, with the personal testimony of that one brother, the news that the top-ranked Qin Ruqing was genuinely offering her help as a stand-in spread like wildfire.

It quickly garnered a fervent response.

So much so that her proxy, Qirong, had his communication stone jammed with calls.

Many of these calls were from people trying to take advantage of the situation.

Qin Ruqing, after encountering a couple of people who were just messing with her, immediately took their jade slips as punishment.

She wasn’t interested in taking others’ jade slips because the small amount of points wasn’t worth her time.

She could hunt more beasts in the time it took to chase down tricksters.

But that didn’t mean she could be trifled with.

Qin Ruqing had Qirong send out a message warning that anyone who dared to deceive her would lose their jade slips.

They should consider the risk before sending any false leads.

Sure enough, the number of calls Qirong received was halved.

But those who did get through provided reliable information.

As a result, Qin Ruqing’s beast-hunting speed didn’t decrease; it actually increased.

In just two days, Qin Ruqing amassed a huge amount of points.

By hunting only high-level beasts, she created a massive lead over the second place.

This also led to a situation where half of the high-level beast resources were claimed by Qin Ruqing, forcing other top-ranked participants to start competing among themselves earlier than expected.

That is, they began stealing jade slips from one another to gain points.

This inadvertently caused intense internal competition.

The elimination rate of family-affiliated participants increased.

By the third day, there were no more calls for Qirong because only about a dozen people remained in the space.

Those who were still in the game were all top-ranked, with considerable wealth.

They dared not face Qin Ruqing, let alone ask her for help.

After finishing off a Foundation Establishment stage beast she found herself, Qin Ruqing sighed, “Even small amounts are still something… no more business coming in.”

Qirong, sitting on a large rock, muttered, “Fang Zhiming is insane. Half of the eliminated family-affiliated participants these days were taken out by him.”

“People need to secure their rankings to survive. It’s understandable,” Qin Ruqing responded nonchalantly, turning to look at the White Tower.

From their position, the White Tower appeared very large, indicating they were close to the center of the fragmented space.

With the poisonous circle shrinking by half, they were entering the real final phase.

Qirong was about to ask where they were heading next when they heard a rustling from the nearby bushes.

Qirong immediately became alert, but Qin Ruqing remained relaxed, resting her chin on her hand.

The bushes parted, revealing a young man in a blue robe.

He wore a tall crown, and his demeanor was more that of a scholar than a cultivator.

Qin Ruqing smiled and called out, “Brother Song.”

The newcomer was Song Xinwu.

To describe the characters involved: the Song family from the Gathering Tower and the unlucky individual who was narrowly pushed out of the top ten by Xiao Fenhua.

Qin Ruqing had once wondered why this person, despite being from the Song family and of the same eastern domain’s golden rank, was not as famous as Fang Zhiming or Ming Ying.

It wasn’t until she heard the explanation from Director Feng that she realized some top-tier families had geniuses who were “directly admitted” to the Ruins.

If the Song family had secured such a spot, it would be normal to send someone less important to participate in the Hundred Clans Conference.

Song Xinwu greeted Qin Ruqing with a respectful bow and said, “We came to discuss a potential collaboration.”

“Is the previous promise still valid?” Song Xinwu asked.

Qin Ruqing remembered the promise, which involved helping them with their competition.

This was the first time someone of such a high ranking was coming to ask her for help.

However, Qin Ruqing already had an idea of why they were approaching her.

Before the conference began, she had visited the Gathering Tower… and that visit was not in vain.

“Of course, the promise still stands. What kind of information about the Demon beast can you provide?”

Initially, Qin Ruqing wasn’t very concerned, but Song Xinwu said, “I can provide the location of a Golden Core Stage.”

The mention of the Golden Core Stage made both Qin Ruqing and Qi Rong sit up straight.

“Are you serious, Song Xinwu?” Qin Ruqing asked.

Song Xinwu replied, “Whether I’m credible or not, Qin Ruqing should have an idea. This Golden Core Stage is likely the only one in the entire Fragmented Space. Moreover, not only I know about it—at least half of the remaining contestants know about it. It’s just that you don’t.”

“Why don’t we know?” Qirong was puzzled.

Such important information could have been exchanged for a chance to have substitute, so why didn’t anyone mention it?

Qin Ruqing thought about it and understood: “Because we have already accumulated too many points early on, and the remaining contestants don’t care much about substitutes. They are more worried about the risks—worried about losing their jade slips to me.”

Additionally, since her score was so high, revealing the exact location of the Golden Core Stage would mean they wouldn’t even get a chance at a minor reward.

Therefore, they all seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement—not to tell her.

Song Xinwu bowed and said, “If it weren’t for the third elder of our clan saying that Qin Ruqing would appropriately assist me, I wouldn’t have dared to come.”

“Besides that, I’m also tempted by your promise to help. If you can indeed help with a Golden Core Stage, securing a top-seven position in this conference would be almost guaranteed.”

Song Xinwu was honestly revealing why he came to her, hoping to reassure Qin Ruqing.

Additionally, being pushed out of the top ten by Xiao Fenhua was a significant regret for Song Xinwu.

Qin Ruqing empathized, understanding the bitterness of such misfortune.

She stood up, looking cheerful, and said:

“As a member of the Song family, I naturally want to help. Considering how much fame your family has given me, I’ll take on this task!”