Golden flames like smoke and mist surged from the fallen female immortal, outlining her graceful form as she slowly stood up.

The golden flames danced around her, creating a breathtakingly majestic appearance that matched her delicate features and eyes reflecting the fire’s glow.

Just as the sinister black-robed figure launched an attack with its claws, the female immortal, enveloped in golden flames, turned her gaze slowly towards the attacker.

It seemed a great battle was about to begin…

However, in the next moment, the stunningly beautiful female immortal turned and fled.

It was hilarious—despite activating her ultimate ability, she couldn’t fight back and had no choice but to run.

The ultimate ability was meant for escaping, after all!

Qin Ruqing didn’t just run; she also used every Thunderbolt Talisman she had, sticking them to herself.

The runes activated, and due to her extreme speed and the fiery aura surrounding her, she streaked through the sky like a meteor, leaving a long golden trail behind her.

Her innate ability, Lotus Fire Embodiment, was pushed to its limits, dramatically boosting her attributes and temporarily raising her cultivation level to the Core Formation stage.

But fighting was out of the question.

The golden flames flew through the air, evading one deadly attack after another.

When she couldn’t avoid an attack completely, she would slightly adjust to minimize the impact.

The golden-clad female immortal spat blood and was knocked down but quickly got up and continued to flee, leaving behind a trail of blood droplets and panicked cries in the sky.

“This is a Core Formation stage… What crime has Ruqing committed that warrants a Core Formation elder from the Fang family to kill me?”

The female immortal was both distressed and determined, yet still extraordinarily beautiful.

The two onlookers, Dan Qing and the Buddhist monk, were moved and enraged.

Regardless of who the attacker was, the fact that the black-robed figure dared to openly assault a participant of the Hundred Clans Conference had already incurred widespread wrath.

They wanted to step in to help Qin Ruqing.

Even if they couldn’t defeat the Core Formation elder, they could at least alleviate her dire situation.

But amidst her escape, Qin Ruqing shouted at them:

“Don’t come over! This person is here to kill me, it has nothing to do with you!” Even in such a desperate situation, she still remembered not to endanger the innocent.

Another attack hit her, causing her to spit more blood.

Finally, she couldn’t hold back her anger and cried out:

“The Fang family is despicable and treacherous! They betrayed the Qin family of Yingzhou first, then slandered us. Now, seeing the Qin family rise, they want to eradicate us entirely. It’s truly shameless!”

“Sending an elder to openly kill a participant at the Hundred Clans Conference, ignoring the rules of the event. Does the Fang family have any respect for the Celestial Family or the Hundred Clans?”

The female cultivator’s cries and questions caused the black-robed figure’s attacks to falter.

He wasn’t soft-hearted; rather, the situation made him realize that Qin Ruqing, this tricky opponent, was proving difficult to kill!

She seemed to have acquired a rare high-level secret technique that dramatically boosted her strength.

He didn’t know the cost or duration of this technique, but it had certainly complicated things for the Fang family elder.

With powerful beings arriving soon, if he didn’t leave now, not only would he fail to kill her, but the Fang family would be in serious trouble and unable to clear their names.

The black-robed figure, casting one last hateful glance at Qin Ruqing, quickly crushed a small object.

His figure dissipated like smoke, and before disappearing, he sent a parting message: “You little troublemaker, don’t be too arrogant. You won’t end up well.”

As he left, Qin Ruqing collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

Despite her disheveled appearance, her eyes were fiercely bright.

She thought, “Laughable, as if not being arrogant would stop you from trying to kill me! If my strength were sufficient, I’d be even more audacious!”

---

The scene was clearly captured and transmitted by the image stone Qin Ruqing had shattered, reaching all the surveillance crystals in the Huizhu Building’s affiliated shops.

“It’s coming, it’s coming!”

The staff of Huizhu Building immediately activated the magic to display the footage.

They were shocked to see that a major family had secretly attacked a contestant at the Hundred Clans Conference!

And the attacker was a Golden Core elder!

Were they out of their minds?

Or was there something so terrible about these young contestants that the family was willing to take such risks to kill them?

The staff were hesitant.

One of them asked the excited Third Elder, “Elder, are we really going to broadcast this footage? From what Qin Ruqing said, it seems the attacker was from the Fang family. Broadcasting their attack might offend them…”

The Third Elder, fixated on the footage, saw every frame as valuable material.

When he saw the scene of the golden flames enveloping the red-clad goddess and her fierce gaze as she rose from the flames, he couldn’t help but slam his thigh and cheer, “Wonderful! This segment is perfect. Let’s cut it out, record it into an image jade slip, and it’ll definitely sell well!”

“…Elder, did you hear what I said?”

“Heard it, huh? It’s just offending the Fang family? Laughable. The Fang family is of the Gold Rank, but is the Song family any less? The Song family has always been neutral, focusing only on entertainment and ignoring other matters. If the Fang family dares to turn against us, so be it! I want to see who has more people wanting us to fall—the Fang family or the Song family!”

The Third Elder disdainfully and forcefully declared, “—Release it!”

“Not only in the Hui Gathering Building, but all the Song family’s storefronts must be released!”

Thus, teahouses, taverns, restaurants, inns, auction houses…

The Song family’s businesses, which spread across the entire Eastern Region, simultaneously broadcasted the same scene.

It was a strange and chaotic sight—collapsed and sunken ground, with some areas unevenly raised, revealing thick tree roots.

The scene was littered with debris.

The sky was gray, obscured by a massive tree canopy, which looked like a dark cloth blocking out the sun.

Upon closer inspection, the canopy was covered with densely tangled and twisted vines.

Smoke filled the air, suggesting a terrifying explosion or battle had taken place.

The most striking feature of the scene was a red-clad female immortal, with blood on her lips and a disheveled appearance.

She was angrily staring in one direction, shouting:

“How dare the Fang family attack me secretly during the examination! What are their intentions?”

Gasp!

An ambush on a family contestant during the Hundred Clans Conference!

The footage was already eye-catching, but the content was even more explosive!

The audience, who were previously drinking or chatting, were now all focused on the video crystal.

Moreover, the Hui Gathering Building, adept in capturing the right moment, quickly zoomed in on the expression of the female immortal, Qin Ruqing.

Who could look away?

Following that, directly opposite Qin Ruqing, a mysterious figure in black emerged from the rolling smoke.

The figure looked menacing, completely covered, with a face and body obscured.

His hawk-like eyes, sharp as needles, fixed on Qin Ruqing.

He raised his fingers into claws, ready to strike.

Hiss!

This is a scene from the second round of the examination, right?

Someone is openly attacking a family contestant during the exam?!

Is there no justice or law anymore?

In the footage, the red-clad female immortal did not fear the deadly attack.

Her entire body was enveloped in golden flames, making her appear as a celestial being.

The Hui Gathering Building once again focused the camera, capturing the stunning close-up of the female immortal’s expression, pushing the shot to its limits.

Hiss!

The audience’s hearts were gripped by her single, mesmerizing glance.

They watched as she skillfully evaded the black-clad figure’s deadly claw, but was injured by the residual force.

Her shoulder was torn, the bright red blood turning dark as it flowed.

In contrast to the grotesque figure in black, the red-clad female immortal appeared small and helpless.

Despite her efforts to escape from the clutches of the black-clad attacker, she continually stumbled and was hurt due to the significant power disparity.

Even so, the red-clad female immortal did not give up.

She unleashed incredible power, with golden flames surging.

The footage captured her as she, though battered and bruised, remained extraordinarily beautiful.

It seemed that other contestants from different families wanted to come to help, but Qin Ruqing stopped them.

“Don’t come over. He’s here to kill me, and it has nothing to do with you!”

What a noble girl! Even at this critical moment, she’s still thinking about others.

Another attack struck, and Qin Ruqing was knocked to the ground like a broken-winged butterfly.

She quickly got up and fled, casting a vengeful glance back.

“The Fang family is despicable and shameless! They betrayed my Qin family from Yingzhou first, then slandered us, and now, seeing my Qin family rise, they want to completely eradicate us!”

“Wow! ‘Betrayal,’ ‘slander,’ ‘eradicating,’ that’s quite a lot of information!”

The black-clad figure’s actions slowed as he glanced toward the White Tower, indicating that the supervising authorities were on their way.

With reluctance, he shot one last hateful look at Qin Ruqing and crushed a space stone to escape.

Exhausted and severely injured, Qin Ruqing fainted on the ground in a tragic scene.

The broadcast ended there, and the audience was in an uproar.

“Oh my goodness, someone actually tried to assassinate a contestant during the Hundred Clans Conference! Who is so bold to do this? What kind of grudge or hatred could make a family send an elder to kill someone?”

“Who was that black-clad figure? According to Qin Ruqing, it seems he was from the Fang family?”

“Why would the Fang family want to assassinate Qin Ruqing? This doesn’t make sense!”

“Didn’t you catch the second part? From what I heard, it seems the Qin and Fang families have a past grudge. Now that the Qin family is rising, and their younger generation is performing well at the conference, the Fang family couldn’t resist trying to eliminate them!”

“But according to the Huizhu Building’s report on Qin Ruqing, the Qin family was just a small family from Nanling, and they only recently improved their rank. Even then, they couldn’t compare to the Fang family. So, how could they have a grudge?”

“Not sure. It seems the Qin family’s background isn’t that simple…”

The entire Huizhu Building buzzed with discussion.

The first on the leaderboard, top genius; family feuds; betrayal and slander; rise and reversal…

Every frame of this short footage was packed with information, making everyone’s hearts race.

Excitement and joy filled the air!

The Third Elder watched the footage on the crystal and was beaming with satisfaction, seeing the high view count which meant popularity.

The young staff member handling the footage said, “Elder, the clip was too short. It ended quickly.”

The Third Elder waved his hand, “Replay it! Replay it again and again!”

“Until we receive new, explosive footage, replay this segment on loop!”

“Today, everyone who watched the recorded footage has to pay a hundred spirit stones! If they’ve already seen it once and want to watch the replay, they’ll have to pay again!”

A young attendant said, “Charging for each replay might upset the customers.”

“Let them be unhappy; if the news gets out, there will be a line of people wanting to see it.”

The Third Elder looked at the screen with a gaze full of affection as the red-clad female immortal stumbled and got back up.

Such a beautiful shot!

Even he watched it over and over.

Ordinary viewers, many of whom were Qin Ruqing’s top fans, couldn’t resist watching it either!

The young attendant sighed and obediently started the replay.

He was still young and didn’t fully understand that this footage had all the key elements: “Beautiful, Tragic, and Strong.”

It was simply sensational!

The Third Elder mentally counted the spirit stones and reminisced about the past.

Before the second round of the conference began, Qin Ruqing had actually come to the Hui Gathering Building to seek a collaboration.

He had been quite surprised.

Although Hui Gathering Building had been working tirelessly to report on her, investigate her information, and create hype for her, and had even personally crafted her public persona, they had never directly interacted with her!