She immediately said, “View.”

Qin Ruqing saw the original value of Side Quest 2 (Create a Harmonious and United Family Atmosphere).

Now, the progress bar had moved forward, showing a small increment.

Before Qin Ruqing could think more about it, the system added: [Side Quest 2 progress increased, reward points +5.]

Wow! Progressing in the side quest also gives reward points!

While excited, Qin Ruqing was puzzled.

What did she do to unknowingly push the side quest forward?

Thinking back to what just happened, she could only attribute it to holding Qirong’s hand and telling her third aunt that she would take care of Qirong at school.

Perhaps this made her third aunt have a better impression of her, thus increasing the Family Unity Value?

If that’s the case, she now had an idea of how to progress Side Quest 2.

Maybe she could take advantage of this system to get more rewards.

— No choice, she had too few points!

Entering the classroom, Qin Ruqing looked around.

Unlike modern classrooms, the Qin family’s school had low tables, similar to the low tables from the Wei and Jin dynasties, with mats underneath where people would sit cross-legged.

Qin Ruqing sat at one of the low tables and pulled Qin Qirong to sit next to her.

Her mother had mentioned that when they first started, the Second Elder would teach them for a month, then they would join the rest of the students.

Qin Ruqing: Got it. First a small class for beginners, then joining the regular class. Even in the world of cultivation, family schools are quite advanced.

Looking around, there were several tables but only four students, including her and Qirong.

The other two were already seated.

The other two looked familiar.

Qin Ruqing recalled that they were the two children with the best talent among the group tested yesterday, siblings named Qin Zhiyao and Qin Yu.

The two siblings sat next to each other, sitting upright and not relaxing at all.

This indicated their unfamiliarity and wariness of the new environment.

Qin Ruqing could guess why: two five-year-olds, taken from their familiar surroundings to a place they found awe-inspiring, probably heavily advised by their elders, wouldn’t dare relax.

She wanted to do something to ease their tension, but before she could, the Second Elder appeared at the door.

She had to put her plans aside.

The Second Elder was known in the family for his good temper and a bit of a playful nature.

He even carried a folding fan.

Qin Ruqing: Haha!

The Second Elder sat on a slightly higher mat at the front, with a black low table in front of him.

He opened his fan with a flourish, fanning himself slowly, “Today’s lesson is about nurturing spirit.”

“Does anyone know what nurturing spirit is?”

Qin Qirong eagerly answered, “We’re nurturing spirit right now!”

This answer was clever.

It answered the question without really answering it.

The Second Elder stroked his beard, smiling, “Not bad.”

His gaze fell on Qin Ruqing, and Qin Ruqing lowered her head.

Qin Ruqing thought to herself: “Please don’t call on me, I don’t know the answer.”

Fortunately, the Second Elder didn’t seem to have any intention of asking anyone to answer.

He explained, “Nurturing spirit, as the name suggests, is about nurturing the spiritual body. What is the spiritual body? It’s our physical body. Of course, we are not spiritual bodies yet; it’s our goal to become one.”

“Nurturing spirit involves three steps.” He held up three fingers:

“First step: nurturing the meridians;

Second step: nurturing the soul;

Third step: nurturing spirituality.

Each step gets progressively harder.”

This was something Qin Ruqing didn’t know, so she listened attentively.

“The path of cultivation is long, and nurturing spirit is like the foundation stones of this path.”

“The bigger and stronger your foundation, the smoother and more stable your cultivation journey will be. Understand?”

The Second Elder’s explanation was vivid, and the four students below all nodded repeatedly.

Qin Qirong seemed to be the type of student teachers loved—enthusiastic and eager to learn.

He asked, “So, Second… sir, how can we make our foundation strong and solid?”

The Second Elder’s eyes lit up, and he tapped the table with his fan, “That’s a good question!”

“Yes, how can we make the foundation strong? This involves specific methods for nurturing spirit.”

He shook his head with a scholarly air, “Lower-level methods nurture the meridians, middle-level methods nurture the soul, and upper-level methods nurture spirituality.”

Perhaps feeling that the Second Elder was indeed very kind, and seeing the chubby boy’s example, Qin Zhiyao gathered the courage to ask her biggest question.

“Teacher, what level is the Qin family’s method for nurturing spirit?”

The Second Elder’s hand paused mid-fan shake, and a trace of embarrassment flashed in his eyes.

He coughed lightly and said calmly, “The Qin family’s method is, of course, very good.”

Another answer that said nothing.

Unfortunately, the little girl had used up all her courage to ask this question and didn’t dare to press further.

The Second Elder breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

He had nearly lost face in front of the younger generation.

What level was the Qin family’s method?

Of course, it was the lowest level!

The Second Elder couldn’t help but glance in Qin Ruqing’s direction, feeling a pang of regret.

Even at its peak, the Qin family had never obtained a middle-level method for nurturing spirit.

Such methods, like cultivation manuals, were tightly controlled by powerful families and rarely shared.

So, even though the ancestor had identified Qin Ruqing’s potential as golden grade, the best the Qin family could do was to nurture her using a lower-level method.

The Marrow Cleansing Elixir was one of the essential medicines for lower-level methods.

Unfortunately, even the lower-level method was now a financial burden for the Qin family, relying on the ancestor’s private resources.

The Second Elder sighed inwardly again and looked away.

What a waste of this child’s talent, like having a treasure mountain but no way to mine it.

Qin Zhiyao was fooled by the Second Elder’s answer, but Qin Ruqing was not so easily deceived.

“The Qin family’s method is naturally very good,” but why did this “very good” sound so questionable?

She recalled the ancestor mentioning that the Qin family’s method was lower-level and couldn’t fully develop her potential.

Qin Ruqing herself didn’t feel regret.

She had long understood the Qin family’s situation.

Seeing the family prosperity value still declining, she knew the family was far from thriving.

Curious, she asked, “System, is there a higher-level method for nurturing spirit in the store?”

The system, true to its style of minimal words and maximum images, directly displayed the relevant product.

[Middle-Level Nurturing Spirit Method: Glazed Realm. Exchange Points: 2500.]

Qin Ruqing only had 6 points, 5 of which were just earned today…

Sorry, never mind.

She clicked her tongue inwardly.

So expensive! With the system giving out points so stingily, when would she ever save up enough?

Maybe because she had nothing to lose, Qin Ruqing asked, “System, is there an upper-level method in the store?”

She couldn’t afford it anyway, so she might as well look.

The system didn’t respond.

Qin Ruqing persisted, “System?”

After a moment of silence, the system coldly displayed a message.

[Insufficient cumulative points to view.]

Qin Ruqing’s face stiffened.

Damn! Who are you looking down on?