Qin Deming, now adept at building anticipation, smirked when Qin Ruqing didn’t guess and finally pulled a small wooden box from under the table.

It looked plain, lacking even the slightest special design or embellishment.

However, when Qin Ruqing sniffed at it with a curious nose, she said suspiciously, “It seems to be a pill.”

Qin Deming raised an eyebrow. “Even though your talent for alchemy isn’t great, your nose is quite sensitive.”

He opened the plain wooden box, revealing three seemingly ordinary pills resting inside.

Qin Ruqing’s gaze fixated on one of the pills. “Why does this one look somewhat like the Small Breaking Pill?”

Qin Deming was pleasantly surprised.

He thought his daughter’s knowledge of pills hadn’t reached a headache-inducing level. “You’re right. It’s the Small Breaking Pill, the Minor Breaking Pill, and the Major Breaking Pill.”

Qin Ruqing: … Who came up with these names for this series of pills, and why are they so mundane?

Qin Ruqing quickly deduced the effects of the other pills, “So the Small Breaking Pill can enhance the Foundation Establishment stage, and the Major Mirror Breaking Pill can affect the Golden Core stage?”

Her eyes lit up as she quickly thought of something else, “Does the Minor Mirror Breaking Pill have a chance to trigger foundational effects, and do the higher-level pills in the same series have similar effects?”

Qin Deming pondered for a moment and shook his head, “These three pills are designed for different stages and possess the ability to break through barriers.

However, in terms of special effects, only the Minor Mirror Breaking Pill does.

It’s said that the inventor of the Minor Mirror Breaking Pill was a top genius alchemist.

Later generations imitated his ideas to develop pills targeting higher levels, but they don’t evoke the same awe-inspiring feeling as the original.”

Despite this, these three pills remained incredibly precious.

It could even be said that the Celestial Bureau had been exceedingly generous this time.

Just to mention one point, the Major Mirror Breaking Pill could affect the Golden Core stage, but their family didn’t even have one in the Core Formation stage.

Such a valuable gift from the Celestial Bureau would surely be coveted even by a Silver-tier family, indicating the magnitude of this gesture.

Qin Deming himself was taken aback by the extent of this generosity, which prompted him to call Qin Ruqing over and ask, “Daughter, the Celestial Bureau has sent such a lavish gift. What could be their intention?”

“Intention?” Qin Ruqing’s lips curled up slightly. “Was this small wooden box sent along with the gift list?”

Qin Deming was momentarily surprised and shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

He lowered his voice. “It was quietly slipped to me by that young man recording official.”

Qin Ruqing lightly clapped her hands. “Well, there you have it. If it was slipped quietly, it means it’s not something they want publicized. What could the Celestial Bureau have that they don’t want others to see?”

Qin Deming, being the clan leader, immediately understood. “Are you saying… hush money?”

He mouthed the last three words without saying them aloud.

Seeing his daughter nod, Qin Deming relaxed.

If it was hush money, it was normal. “But if it’s hush money, the amount is indeed quite substantial!”

Qin Ruqing remarked, “Apart from hush money, this also signifies the Celestial Bureau Fifth Elder’s attitude. That young official is clearly the elder’s confidant. The Elder is expressing confidence in our family and making an undisclosed investment.”

—Giving resources that a Silver-tier family would use, isn’t this advancing an investment beforehand?

An undisclosed investment?

Hearing this, Qin Deming was not surprised but pleased. “If the Fifth Elder indeed has confidence in us and is making an early bet, then our family’s promotion is practically a sure thing!”

“Why aren’t you surprised, Dad? Doesn’t the Celestial Bureau claim to be absolutely neutral?” Qin Ruqing was puzzled.

Qin Deming shook his head.

As a clan leader, there were certain things he knew.

He gestured with his hand and said with insight, “There’s no absolute neutrality in this world. I’ve long heard that the Celestial Bureau secretly supports families it favors.

Families supported by the Celestial Bureau tend to develop much faster.

Just think, when you submit information for our promotion, it’s the Celestial Bureau that reviews it.

If they don’t like you, they could delay you for three or five years without any problem.

Conversely, if they want to support you, they might approve projects even if they don’t fully meet the standards…

But it’s too risky, so generally, support is given quietly with some resources.”

The more he spoke, the clearer Qin Deming’s intentions

Qing Yue Mei sighed and said, “I never expected such good fortune to come to our family. This shows that our family indeed has potential for development…”

Qin Deming was delighted, while Qin Ruqing clicked her tongue twice, feeling satisfied that her earlier actions had been effective.

However, Fifth Elder seemed to be in a tough spot.

If his position were stable, he wouldn’t be thinking about supporting others to gain leverage.

It seemed the recent breakdown of barriers had affected him.

After chatting with her father for a while, Qin Ruqing returned to her courtyard.

After consuming the Ice-Fire Dual Herb and Spirit Fruit, Ancestor Wenxuan had secluded herself.

It would be a few months to half a year before he emerged fully healed, without any injuries.

In Qin Ruqing’s mind, although Ancestor’s recovery wasn’t settled yet, she mentally checked it off as done.

She was just waiting for her to come out of seclusion to claim her system reward, a lottery chance.

Recently, Tang Zifeng had also come to inform her that progress had been made on improving the alchemy furnace.

Soon, the pharmacy industry line would be completed, earning her another lottery chance.

In addition to that, her father was building a foundation and gaining favor from the Celestial Bureau, increasing the family’s potential.

The system rewarded her with a lottery chance each time.

Calculating on her fingers, Qin Ruqing suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. If she wasn’t mistaken… with the lottery chances she had in hand and those yet to come, it seemed she already had nine chances. Could her ten consecutive draws be coming soon?

After calming her racing heart, Qin Ruqing adjusted her plans for the coming period based on the system’s progress.

With about three more years until the Little Floating Sky opened, she planned to settle and organize her family before heading to the Western Ridge.

Qin Ruqing had an idea she hadn’t mentioned to anyone: she intended to build her foundation during this trip to the Western Ridge.

While she had focused on upgrading the family, her own cultivation had increased somewhat naturally.

However, the recent situation in the Southern Jungle had made her feel a bit uneasy.

Her intuition told her it wasn’t simple.

Strength was fundamental to survival in the cultivation world.

Qin Ruqing felt her progress in strength wasn’t fast enough (she couldn’t say this out loud; she’d be beaten up or at least scolded).

She decided to shift her focus from the family to her own cultivation.

She set a manageable goal for herself: after returning from the Western Ridge, she would return home as a foundationa establishment cultivator, loaded with treasures.