However, they didn’t end up going to the Huicui Building as originally planned because they were interrupted halfway.

Qin Ruqing stood by the window, glancing at the bustling crowd and the street vendors below.

After a moment, she turned around, arms crossed, and looked at the ostentatious director.

“My good director, what do you want from me this time?”

Fifth Lingyu leaned back leisurely, resting one hand on the armrest of his seat.

His long sleeves, shimmering with a silk-like luster, draped down, revealing a wrist with a strong bone structure.

Seeing Qin Ruqing’s impatience made him smile, and he waved to the nearby servant to pour him some tea.

Tsk, so full of himself.

“Last time I saved you, you didn’t come to thank me. In case you forgot, I came here personally to remind you.”

Qin Ruqing blinked. “Last time you saved me… I’m sorry, I really don’t remember.”

Fifth Lingyu kindly reminded her, “The reason that Elder Fang from the Fang family arrived late was because I found two spatial rifts and sealed them. He had no choice but to find another way.”

So that’s how it was.

Qin Ruqing nodded in realization and then plopped down in front of Fifth Lingyu. “Good director, is that what you call saving someone? You blocked two paths, but didn’t people still manage to get in?”

Fifth Lingyu raised an eyebrow and said, “I bought you some time!”

Right, right.

The inspection of the secret realm is the responsibility of the two Celestial family.

If the Fang family had succeeded in killing the clan’s candidate, that would have been a huge dereliction of duty on your part!

Qin Ruqing said, “Alright, alright. For such a good deed, I should properly thank the director.”

She then personally picked up a cup of tea, which the servant had just poured, and placed it in front of Fifth Lingyu. “Drink up. Lately, I’m low on funds, so I’m using tea in place of wine. Thank you, director.”

The servant, holding the teapot, was dumbfounded.

Miss, are you supposed to show your sincerity by personally pouring the tea?

And now, the tea you’re offering is still from someone else’s hands!

Fifth Lingyu laughed heartily and didn’t mind at all.

He took the cup and drank it all in one go, praising, “Indeed, excellent tea.”

Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes.

This is so boring…

The nearby Qirong held the teacup obediently, glancing back and forth, and stayed silent.

He had previously been quite in awe of this Western Ridge director, who was said to have a distinguished background, but he didn’t expect him to be like this in private.

“Director, I’m still busy. If you have nothing else, I’m leaving!” Qin Ruqing raised her voice.

“Don’t be in a hurry, there’s something,” Fifth Lingyu said, his expression becoming serious.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if considering his words, and then looked at Qin Ruqing. “Investigating the Fang family might not yield any results, so you should be prepared for that.”

Tsk, is that all?

Qin Ruqing wasn’t surprised at all and had even come up with a reason for them.

She blinked, her tone calm and gentle: “That’s quite normal. The Fang family hasn’t left any solid clues. Their elder was always dressed in an illusionary robe, never showing his face. How can we identify him? Just me shouting won’t stir up any big trouble.”

Fifth Lingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised by Qin Ruqing’s overly “understanding” attitude.

Of course, Qin Ruqing could understand.

She even thought that even if substantial evidence were found, the Celestial Family might suppress the matter for various reasons.

To take it a step further, causing a fuss would be detrimental to the Celestial Family.

After all, the event was organized by Celestial Family, and if something went wrong, it would only prove their ineffective supervision.

Indeed, Fifth Lingyu said, “Actually, it’s not entirely without evidence. Our people did discover that the Nurturing Dan Tree Demon suddenly had problems. Fang Zhimin inexplicably attacked the tree demon and smeared a mysterious liquid called Extreme Illusion Gu Heart Liquid on his sword. This liquid can incite madness in demonic beasts, making them lose their sense of friend and foe. If the demonic beast ingests too much, there’s a risk of becoming demonic.”

Qin Ruqing nodded after listening and thoughtfully added, “Let me guess, a small amount of the Extreme Illusion Gu Heart Liquid on Fang Zhimin’s sword could make a Nurturing Dan demon beast go berserk.

This liquid must have a significant value and origin. It might not be produced exclusively by the Fang family; they wouldn’t be that foolish.

It might involve multiple families, which would make the investigation escalate and provoke complaints from various parties.”

But suppressing the matter was a different story.

The only ones who might be unhappy would be their small Qin family.

They could just comfort them afterward, couldn’t they?

Fifth Lingyu sensed the subtle sarcasm in Qin Ruqing’s tone and said seriously, “Don’t be upset. If we push the Fang family too hard, it won’t be good for your Qin family either.”

“The Feng family has also discussed this matter with us and promised to provide appropriate compensation to the Qin family after the conclusion of the event.”

Qin Ruqing could clearly hear the sincerity in Fifth Lingyu’s tone.

Indeed, without concrete evidence, repeatedly shouting about the Fang family’s assassination wouldn’t be of any use, so Qin Ruqing had never intended to make a fuss about it.

She had her own plans.

Qin Ruqing smiled, “Alright, then I’ll trouble the director to speak well of our Qin family and help us secure some compensation.”

Fifth Lingyu, for some reason, felt uncomfortable listening to Qin Ruqing’s tone.

He thought she should be unhappy and even find a way to be sarcastic, which would match her temperament.

But now, she was being so agreeable and smiling brightly… It was clearly a fake smile.

Fifth Lingyu, always straightforward, furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “Why are you giving me a fake smile?”

Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes and said, “If I’m not smiling, should I be crying? It’s just a small matter. I managed to keep my life under the Golden Core’s Assassination, secured the top spot, and there are plenty of rewards in the future. Everything is under my control, so why shouldn’t I smile?”

Qin Ruqing might have some subtle feelings about the celestials, but she didn’t plan to take her frustration out on Fifth Lingyu.

She considered them friends, and Fifth Lingyu had always looked out for her.

One should be content and grateful.

Qin Ruqing smiled lightly again. “Alright, good director, do you have anything else?”

Fifth Lingyu looked at Qin Ruqing seriously for a moment, then resumed his lazy posture. “Anything else? Of course, just a reminder to this little ingrate not to run off with someone else just because they throw you a bit of meat!”

Haha, that was quite a long sentence.

“Are you planning to talk to me about the benefits of the Fifth family’s enticements now?” Qin Ruqing rubbed her hands together.

Fifth Lingyu even mimicked Qin Ruqing’s eye roll. “Only thinking about benefits? You little ingrate, you’re not wrong.”

Qin Ruqing snorted quietly.

What else should she think about if not benefits?

She wasn’t one to dwell on emotions, preferring to focus on advantages.

Her life’s ideal was to have all the fat sheep she raised automatically offer themselves up.

So far, only Tang Zifeng managed to do that.

Fifth Lingyu said seriously, “You should also start thinking about these matters. Once all the event trials are over and the top ten spots are decided, you’ll need to start preparing for the entrance to the Void Realm.”

“You should know that not everyone can enter the Void Realm. Some people, even if they have a spot, might still not be able to get in. Only two types of people can successfully enter the Void Realm.”

Qin Ruqing pretended to be uninterested but listened attentively.

“First: true geniuses; second: Nascent Soul cultivators under one hundred years old.”

These two points… even Qirong couldn’t help but complain, “Well, isn’t a Nascent Soul cultivator under one hundred years old just a true genius?”

So, this isn’t two points; it’s clearly just one point.

Fifth Lingyu, however, shook his head with a hint of amusement. “Not necessarily. A Nascent Soul cultivator under one hundred years old is impressive, but whether they meet the Void Realm’s standard of a true genius is still debatable.”

Qin Ruqing realized something: “So, that’s why the Hundred Clans Conference always emphasizes ‘we need true geniuses,’ because if you’re not a true genius and your cultivation isn’t high enough, you won’t be able to enter the Ruins, right?”

Fifth Lingyu gave her an approving look, as if saying she was teachable.

Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes.

She remembered Fifth Lingyu’s earlier comments about the troublesome Sixth Domain.

That place, it seemed, required “true geniuses recognized by the Heavenly Dao,” a progression of restrictive terms, which felt like a nested set of requirements to her.

Just in case, Qin Ruqing asked, “The Void Realm won’t have any setting that eliminates people who don’t meet the requirements, will it?”

Fifth Lingyu raised an eyebrow at Qin Ruqing, clearly understanding why she asked that question.

“No, that won’t happen. If you don’t meet the requirements for the Void Realm, you just won’t be able to enter, and that would just be a wasted spot.”

“Back to the main topic, actually, Feng Qinxue wasn’t entirely wrong. Your techniques are indeed crude. You have limitless potential, but your family has somewhat hindered you by letting you grow freely without fully developing your potential.”

What’s wrong with growing freely?

Wasn’t the fact that she was growing freely a good thing?

It seemed like Fifth Lingyu was implying that her family’s approach wasn’t ideal.

Nonetheless, while Qin Ruqing could criticize, she was aware that she needed to intensify her training.

This wasn’t just about increasing her cultivation level but about comprehensive, systematic training to improve herself.

Although her family had invested significant resources in her development, from the perspective of the immortals or the higher-ups, it was as if the cultivation hadn’t been very effective.

Fifth Lingyu threw out a suggestion to guide her response, “So, how about coming to our Central Domain, Penglai, to study at the Fifth Immortal Clan?”

Ah, so he was trying to lure her to the Fifth family.

This wasn’t just a matter of enticing her but directly inviting her to Penglai Immortal Island.

To be honest, Qin Ruqing didn’t know much about Penglai Immortal Island in the Central Domain.

The external records didn’t provide much information, only noting that it was the domain of the Celestial clan.

Whether the island was inhabited only by Celestial Family or had other inhabitants, she had no idea.