On Yingzhou Island, the Fang family, upon receiving the news, was also furious.

Not only had the assassination of Qin Ruqing failed, but they had also been tricked by that little troublemaker.

The scene of the assassination attempt had been recorded and spread throughout the city via the Gathering Tower!

At that time, the Fang family had already punished the Sixth Elder, who had failed in the assassination, and Fang Zhiming, who hadn’t cooperated effectively.

They then sent people to negotiate with the shameless Song family, spending a fortune to have the assassination footage removed.

This failed assassination attempt left the Fang family with nothing to show for their effort but embarrassment and trouble.

Meanwhile, Qin Ruqing emerged from the conference with great prestige.

The Fang family had considered sending more people to assassinate Qin Ruqing, especially since she had just played them for fools.

Keeping such a troublesome younger member alive was indeed risky.

However, the conference was still ongoing, and Qin Ruqing was staying at the Gathering Garden.

The place was guarded by two major Celestial families, surrounded like an iron barrel, making it even harder to act than a fragmented space.

Additionally, the Fang family was exhausted from dealing with the Celestial Bureau ’s investigation and could only abandon the idea.

The Song family, having received the money, quickly removed the assassination footage.

The Fang family thought the matter was settled, but soon discovered that the Song family had turned around and produced an interview.

In that interview, the troublemaker directly exposed the old grievances between the Qin and Fang families, accusing the Qin family of “being wronged and driven out by the Fang family.

This directly put the Fang family in the spotlight.

At this moment, the head of the Fang family was furious, and as usual, he was loudly scolding the Sixth Elder and Fang Zhiming.

“If it weren’t for the two of you being useless, things wouldn’t have come to this!”

The head of the Fang family was utterly baffled.

He looked at the Sixth Elder, his finger pointing as he said, “A Golden Core elder failed to assassinate a mere junior who hasn’t even formed a Core? I can’t even imagine how that happened!”

Deciding to send a Golden Core elder had already been an overestimation of Qin Ruqing, with the intent of a sure kill.

But the attempt failed!

This was not just regrettable; it was absurd!

It was completely out of touch with reality!

The Sixth Elder’s face turned red.

This was in a clan meeting, and other senior members were watching.

Being reprimanded so severely by the head of the family was truly embarrassing.

The Sixth Elder’s lips moved, trying to explain, saying the troublemaker had the strength to fight above her level, that she was peculiar, and that there was chaos due to the tree demon’s rampage…

But these absurd excuses even sounded like justifications to him.

Thus, he could only endure the humiliation with a stiff face.

Even though the Sixth Elder was an elder, the head of the family showed some restraint in his reprimand.

However, there was no such leniency with Fang Zhiming.

“You’re truly useless! When the clan asked you to assist the Golden Core elder with the assassination, what did you do?

Even if the elder arrived late, didn’t you make any preparations beforehand?

Where is your brain?

The conference had so many rounds, and not only were you supposed to surpass Qin Ruqing, but you should have at least gathered intelligence.

She has so many hidden cards; why didn’t you report them to the family?” the head of the family shouted.

The main reason for the failure of this assassination attempt was that the troublemaker had too many hidden cards!

Despite her insufficient level of power, she somehow managed to locate the Golden Core elder.

And then there was that mysterious fire, a secret technique that could significantly enhance her strength in a short time…

One thing after another led to the failure of the assassination.

Fang Zhiming knelt at the clan meeting.

His eyes were lowered, fists clenched, trying to find a way to defend himself.

Bottom card, bottom card—if it could be easily known, how could it still be called a bottom card?

She had clearly guessed long ago that the Fang family would attempt to kill her, so she hid her strength throughout the tournament and never exposed herself!

But such an explanation could not be voiced, only making him seem more useless.

He could only remain silent.

The Fang Clan Leader, seeing him like a mute unable to speak a word, became even more disappointed and coldly said:

“If your sister hadn’t been cultivating in the forbidden area and had participated in this tournament, none of these things would have happened. You can’t even compare to a strand of your sister’s hair…”

These words struck Fang Zhiming’s most painful spot.

His breath stopped instantly, holding it in, his neck showing obvious bulging veins, indicating his inner turmoil.

Fang Zhiming’s father tried to smooth things over, “Clan Leader. Let’s focus on the next steps. There’s no point in arguing with this useless one.”

His intention was to protect his son, but the casual mention of “useless” only added to Fang Zhiming’s hatred.

The other elders shifted the topic, starting to criticize the Song family: “That family has no shame from top to bottom. They took our money and then pulled this stunt! Are they not afraid of us turning against them?”

“Hmph, the Song family is just a minor clan that rose by selling battlefield intelligence, profiting from the dead. Now they dare to challenge us! I say we should take this chance to teach them a lesson.”

The Clan Leader immediately dismissed this idea: “No! The Song family, though lowly, does have a lot of information in their hands.

Besides, they have no high ambitions, only focusing on a few spirit stones.

There’s no need to make an enemy out of them for no reason. The real issue now is to deal with the public opinion in the city…”

The Sixth Elder, who had been silent, came up with an idea, hoping to make amends:

“I say, that little bastard from the Qin family has made a big mistake. By revealing the conflict between the Qin and Fang families, people will dig up the old wrongdoings of the former Yingzhou Qin family. Causing Yingzhou to fall is a grave crime. Thus, Qin Ruqing would be from a criminal family!”

“Why don’t we co-sign a letter to the Celestial Bureau, asking to remove Qin Ruqing from the gold list?

Someone from a criminal family has no right to be at the top.

Her tournament qualification should be revoked.

At the very least, we can steer the public opinion to highlight the crimes of the Qin family from Yingzhou… Will the public still support the Qin family then?”

As the Sixth Elder spoke, the room fell silent, as they realized this was indeed the best course of action.

Writing to the Celestial Bureau might not have much effect, as they would unlikely agree.

However, by bringing up the criminal history, they could still influence public opinion against the Qin family.

The claim that they couldn’t participate in the Hundred Clan Conference was merely the Fang family’s attempt to apply pressure.

The main objective was to manipulate the public opinion in the city.

A hundred years ago, the Fang family had smeared the Qin family once; what was the harm in doing it again after a century?

…

Qirong went out to buy some pastries from the Gathering Tower for Qin Ruqing (yes, the Gathering Tower also sells pastries). When he returned, he found her still lounging around the table, leisurely eating melon seeds.

“Sister, it’s practically impossible to move outside. Even within the Gathering Garden, some family competitors are calling us a criminal family…” Qirong handed over the excessively sweet and airy pastries to Qin Ruqing and sat down with a troubled expression.

These pastries were served in jade bowls, white and fluffy, with bits of dried fruit and nuts sprinkled on top.

They were a popular snack among female cultivator at the Gathering Tower, said to be best enjoyed with tea.

After taking a bite, Qin Ruqing realized it was essentially just a cream cake and immediately became fond of it.

At this moment, she put down the melon seeds and, after savoring another bite of cake, said contentedly:

“They can say whatever they want. It’s not like we can shut their mouths. I knew this day would come as soon as the first interview segment aired and the Gathering Tower arranged that question.”

Qi Rong sensed something and leaned in to say, “Sister, did you actually want things to blow up like this?”

By now, he had noticed that his sister wasn’t trying to downplay the situation but seemed to want it to escalate further, even actively fueling the fire.

If she hadn’t mentioned that last statement in the interview, there wouldn’t have been the subsequent uproar.

Qin Ruqing responded lightly, “Yes! How could it not get bigger?”

Qirong fell silent but looked at Qin Ruqing with a hopeful expression, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Feeling his gaze, Qin Ruqing sighed and, after finishing the fruit bits on the cake, slowly said:

“Think about it. After Third Sister and the others finish competing and the conference is officially over, we’ll start preparing to enter the Void Realm. But what about the Qin family once we leave?”

“What about the Qin family?” Qirong was stunned, this was something he hadn’t considered.

Qin Ruqing’s gaze was calm, but her tone was serious: “When the conference ends, our Qin family’s hidden status will be completely exposed, and we’ll have revealed ourselves. Do you think the Fang family will let the Qin family off?”

“Even if the Celestial Bureau has regulations against taking action overtly, can’t they still come at us covertly? If they really want to target you, there are countless methods they can use. The Fang family is a Gold Grade family, and if the Qin family is still hiding as before, we might not even know how we die.”

“So, the established strategy has to change!” Qin Ruqing raised her voice.

“From hiding and keeping things secret to openly bringing these matters to light. We need everyone to know that our Qin family, has a grudge against the Fang family!

Only by drawing the attention of the entire Eastern Region, and indeed the whole Four Regions, can we ensure that the Fang family dares not act recklessly.”

From the beginning, Qin Ruqing’s collaboration with the Gathering Tower and the live broadcast was not intended to impact the Fang family directly.

What could they do?

At most, their reputation would be damaged.

As for the assassination attempt being penalized, as long as they didn’t actually catch anyone, the Fang family had a hundred excuses to clear themselves.

Qin Ruqing herself could think of those excuses for them.

Thus, from start to finish, Qin Ruqing’s goal was never to disgust the Fang family or to rely on the Celestial Bureau to punish them. Her objective was self-preservation!

To protect the Qin family.

First, expose the nature of the Fang family’s assassination attempt to the public, sparking curiosity.

Then, reveal the enmity between the Qin and Fang families, followed by disclosing their past grievances.

Step by step, layer by layer, using the Hundred Clans Conference and the top spot on the Golden List to attract attention from the Four Regions.

This attention would serve as both scrutiny and oversight.

With such widespread scrutiny, the Fang family would be hesitant to act recklessly.

Qirong, having made significant progress in his thinking, frowned and asked, “But now there are already many people in the city saying we come from a criminal family. If our reputation can’t be reversed at this point, won’t we end up bearing the blame in vain?”

Qin Ruqing smiled, “How do you know it can’t be reversed? The criticism in the city is because someone is pushing it. But we haven’t made our move yet. Once they’ve acted, it will be our turn to counter.”

“You’re referring to the second episode of the interview? But with just that, can we really reverse our reputation?” Qi Rong was not very confident.

Qin Ruqing’s smile deepened with meaning, “That’s hard to say~”

She had been crafting her persona since the start of the conference!

The halo of three rings on the Golden List, being the top of the list; meticulous attention to her expressions and beauty management; and the attitude of persevering and competing fairly with Dan Qing despite her injuries.

All these factors combined to create the current buzzworthy figure of Fairy Ruqing in the Eastern Region.

The Fang family’s manipulation of public opinion was aimed at smearing her again.

While the idea was good, they didn’t understand:

The Fang family had managed to nail the Qin family to the pillar of shame before because the Qin family had lost public support and their strength had significantly diminished.

That’s how the Fang family succeeded.

But now, the Qin family reappeared with a new image and with the popular “face” of Qin Ruqing.

It would not be so easy for the Fang family to pour that dirty water back on them.

Not to mention whether the Qin family would agree, the public wouldn’t accept it either!

The Fifth Elder of Shangzhou looked at the unified stance of his juniors with disbelief and said:

“Don’t you all believe so wholeheartedly in Fairy Ruqing and the Qin family?”

Of course.

The younger brother clenched his fist and replied with an unprecedentedly determined look in his eyes:

“If a family can raise a fairy like Qing Fairy, who is upright, beautiful, and kind, how bad can that family really be?”

How bad can it really be…

The elder was completely at a loss.

Where does your sense of conviction come from, kid?

If Qin Ruqing were here, she would surely smile and reply:

The sense of conviction… naturally comes from “My house could never possibly collapse!”