Qin Ruqing wasn’t upset at being “hung up” on, as she had gathered valuable information.

So there’s a magma pool in Small Floating Sky? It can refine almost any level of fire seed? But it wasn’t clear if this includes the Heavenly Fire Seed.

Qin Ruqing was tempted to call back and ask for more details, but she restrained herself.

She knew it would be too much to bother the Director again now.

She decided she’d ask him when she had another chance.

The next day, Qin Ruqing found Tang Zifeng.

He seemed to be polishing something, handling it with precision and strength, quite different from his usual reserved demeanor.

His style in crafting was very assertive.

Qin Ruqing watched for a while and suddenly asked, “Hey, Tang Zifeng, do you know about Thunder Spirit Fire Seed and Light Spirit Dust?”

Tang Zifeng’s carving knife slipped forward abruptly, leaving a deep cut on the material he was working on.

Qin Ruqing gasped, watching him not move, and reminded him, “Tang Zifeng, it seems like you’ve ruined that.”

Tang Zifeng’s gaze fell on the scratch, then he casually looked away, seemingly unconcerned. “Thunder Spirit Fire Seed and Light Spirit Dust? Why are you asking about these?”

“Recently, I came across these two materials in a crafting book. They seem very powerful. I was wondering if I could use them for my main spiritual weapon. If you think they’re useful, I can try to get them for you!”

Seeing Qin Ruqing so excited, Tang Zifeng seemed to think that as long as he said they were useful, she could immediately acquire these two things.

He couldn’t help but look at her helplessly and said gently, “Where did you read this crafting book? If you’re not a professional, I’ve told you about these two crafting materials, but not about their rarity.”

Oh, they sound very precious.

Qin Ruqing nodded eagerly. “Please, tell me more.”

With a smile, Tang Zifeng shook his head and began to explain, “The Thunder Spirit Fire Seed is a type of extremely violent fire stone used to create large-scale destructive weapons that can cause explosive damage.”

He paused for a moment, then added a cautionary note, “If you ever come across Thunder Spirit Fire Seed, handle it with extreme care. It can explode upon heavy impact.”

However, Qin Ruqing was more focused on the “explosive damage” and “large-scale destructive weapons” aspects rather than the caution.

This…this…this was exactly what she wanted!

Excitedly nodding her head, Qin Ruqing asked eagerly, “And what about the Light Spirit Dust?”

Seeing Qin Ruqing’s eyes widen with excitement, resembling a mouse who had just stolen oil, Tang Zifeng was puzzled.

Wasn’t what he just said a normal thing?

Why was she so happy about it?

Still patient, Tang Zifeng explained, “Light Spirit Dust…is a rare feather powder found on high-level avian monster wings. It’s usually used as a rare additive in crafting flying spiritual tools. A spiritual tool enhanced with Light Spirit Dust is at least ten times faster than ordinary ones.”

Seeing Qin Ruqing’s reaction, clearly wanting to exclaim, Tang Zifeng added, “But don’t get your hopes up. Light Spirit Dust is extremely difficult to obtain. High-level avian monsters fly in the high skies, making them difficult to encounter, let alone capture.”

Qin Ruqing’s silence made Tang Zifeng think she was disappointed.

Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but console her kindly, “Don’t worry. I’ve been keeping an eye on your main spiritual weapon for you. I already have a rough idea. These two crafting materials are hard to find, but I’ll help you find alternatives with similar effects. Combining them should achieve almost the same result…”

Using alternatives?

Was she the kind of person who would settle for alternatives?

Qin Ruqing stood up excitedly, eyes shining.

She smirked, “Alright, alright, alright!”

Tang Zifeng thought she agreed, but the next moment she said, “I want those first two! When we go to Small Floating Sky, I’ll start looking. Now, please help me figure out how to craft a spiritual weapon using these top-tier materials!”

“Please, Elder Tang!” She patted his shoulder.

Tang Zifeng was helpless, but seeing Qin Ruqing’s bright eyes full of hope, he didn’t argue.

When she learned how difficult these two materials were to find, she would naturally change her mind.

For now, why disappoint her?

Qin Ruqing was in a good mood, satisfied with everything she got from the ten consecutive draws.

With her mood lifted, she naturally had the leisure to focus on other things.

Qin Ruqing watched as Tang Zifeng picked up the material he had previously damaged.

He seemed to use some technique, and the marks on the material slowly disappeared.

Impressed, she remembered that he had been crafting non-stop these days.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Tang Zifeng, you seem really busy lately. What are you crafting?”

Tang Zifeng replied succinctly, “Spiritual weapons, preparing for the Crafting Tournament.”

“Oh, I see,” Qin Ruqing nodded in understanding.

She had forgotten about that.

The Crafting Tournament was coming up, and it was normal for Tang Zifeng to use this time to improve his skills.

“Have you decided what kind of spiritual weapon you’ll craft for the tournament?” she asked.

Tang Zifeng paused in his movements, and surprisingly, a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

Lately, he seemed to do this often, zoning out from time to time.

Fortunately, he never let it affect his work, so it wasn’t easy for others to notice.

Qin Ruqing waved her hand in front of his eyes to bring him back to the present.

He blinked and lowered his gaze. “I’ve already got some ideas.”

Qin Ruqing relaxed, no longer feeling doubtful.

After these days of warm-up preparation, the highly anticipated Crafting Tournament finally entered its registration period, which lasted for three days.

During these three days, everyone had to go to the Celestial Ministry

Hearing that Tang Zifeng was going to participate in the competition, the Yang family eagerly stepped forward, intending to accompany him for registration.

After all, Qin Ruqing and the others had come from outside and naturally didn’t know much about the competition procedures.

Recently, the Yang family had been riding high on their success.

They had partnered with the Qin family, who had become the official collaborators of the Celestial Bureau.

Riding this wave of success, the Yang family’s reputation soared.

After all, the lively pills and cultivation accelerators they had sold earlier were all from their home.

Even though the prices of the pills and cultivation accelerators were now macro-controlled by the Celestial Bureau, and the Bureau also took a portion of the selling rights, the Yang family remained the only family besides the Celestial Bureau that could connect with the Qin family.

He had heard that the Tang family had come knocking a couple of days ago but hadn’t even seen the young miss.

Very good.

Seeing the Tang family lose face, Yang Wenxu felt very satisfied.

As someone who having been squeezed out of their status as a Silver Grade family, naturally, they looked unfavorably upon the current Tang family.

Yang Wenxu became even more attentive towards Qin Ruqing and her group, guiding them while introducing various crafting competitions held in Xiling.

“In Xiling, apart from anything else, there are crafting competitions held at least once a month, sometimes even twice a year.

Winners at these competitions are greatly admired by the people of Xiling. Those genius crafters who consistently win several sessions are treated like stars among stars.”

Qin Ruqing quickly understood. It was similar to idol worship, where the “stars” the people of Xiling admired were likely those who achieved top positions in crafting competitions.

After all, most people in the cultivation world were strong, but Xiling emphasized craftsmanship and physical forging.

The winners were seen as powerful individuals in their eyes.

“In the current city, who is the most famous crafting master?” Qirong asked curiously.

For some reason, Yang Wenxu pursed his lips. “There are many famous crafting masters in Xiling, but if we’re talking about the most famous right now… it’s probably Tang Biao from the Tang family.”

He reluctantly mentioned this name because it was the truth; he couldn’t lie to the Qin family.

But Yang Wenxu quickly shared his opinion.

“However, mark my words, Tang Biao’s crafting skills are quite unstable.

Occasionally, he designs something stunning, but it’s like a flash in the pan.

The only truly genius work he created was a spiritual weapon he entered in a previous crafting competition, winning the top spot.

But afterwards, it was like he ran out of ideas, unable to create anything comparable to that spiritual weapon.”

Yang Wenxu clicked his tongue with some complexity. “Perhaps that’s how crafting masters are. They have occasional flashes of inspiration. If they can seize it and forge a design that amazes everyone, they can make a living out of it for a lifetime. Unlike us cultivators, who have to endure hardship day after day. If we slack off even a bit, our skills diminish, and we’ll be overtaken by others.”

Qirong, also a cultivator, nodded understandingly.

Qin Ruqing, however, was curious about this supposedly stunning design. “What kind of spiritual weapon could allow Tang Biao to make a living out of it for a lifetime?”

At the mention of this, Yang Wenxu’s eyes showed surprise.

He might not like Tang Biao, but he had to admit the brilliance of his creation.

He whispered, “It’s said he created a highly destructive weapon. If used properly, it can harm even Golden Core Formation stage cultivators!”

Qin Ruqing and the others were stunned.

A spiritual weapon capable of harming Golden Core Formation stage cultivators?

What kind of concept was this? In families with Golden Core Formation stage ancestors, they were almost guaranteed to become Silver Grade families.

In other words, could this thing harm the Ancestors of Silver Grade families?

Put another way, if a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator wielded this spiritual weapon, would it mean they could contend with Golden Core Formation stage cultivators?

Cultivators found it difficult to form core, let alone older ancestors.

Qin Ruqing was currently worried about concocting Mystery Heart Liquid for her ancestors.

With this spiritual weapon, would her family gain a top-tier combatant akin to a Golden Core Formation stage cultivator?

Even Lu Wei couldn’t help but sigh. “If it’s true, this design is indeed stunning. No wonder Tang Biao could achieve

Yang Wenxu shook his head. “The spiritual weapon that Tang Biao won the crafting competition with was still just a conceptual design. It was a rough outline, but its effectiveness fell short by a lot. Right now, it can barely harm upper-level Foundation Establishment cultivators. After that, he hasn’t produced any breakthrough works, yet his fame persists because everyone still hopes he’ll perfect the spiritual weapon, truly creating something as envisioned in the conceptual drawings!”

So, the spiritual weapon hadn’t been truly created yet!

Qin Ruqing was surprised but nodded in understanding.

Creating a spiritual weapon that could directly harm Golden Core Formation stage cultivators would indeed be exaggerated.

Therefore, even if Tang Biao’s actual spiritual weapon had its effectiveness halved, people were still willing to wait for him.

For some reason, Qin Ruqing glanced at Tang Zifeng beside her.

Despite his usual expressionless demeanor, she felt his face seemed tighter today.

Quickly concealing her emotions, she turned to Yang Wenxu and others, engaging in casual conversation.

As they spoke, they arrived at the registration location.

This was the institution under the Celestial Bureau specifically managing crafting.

It was currently packed with people, bustling and chaotic.

Most of Xiling’s crafters, along with some crafting masters invited from outside domains by the Immortal Goods Bureau, were estimated to be present.

Taking a look around, Qin Ruqing felt that crafters had a somewhat technical student vibe.

They wore drab gray robes, messy hair, and seemed a bit irritable.

Up ahead, two crafters were on the verge of a fight due to registration timing issues, not with fists but with their spiritual weapons, emitting occasional flashes of light in the air and cutting through robes on the ground.

They paid no mind, casually retrieving spare robes from their storage rings and continuing their argument, continuing their fight.

Qin Ruqing felt that today, these crafters weren’t here just to register but rather eagerly engaging in combat with their peers.

With so many people, Qin Ruqing was preoccupied observing others and didn’t notice the crowd, accidentally getting pushed aside.

Seeing this, Tang Zifeng furrowed his brow and steadied her. “It’s crowded. Watch your step.”

Yang Wenxu also noticed the commotion.

Being a cultivator, tall and strong, he forged ahead to clear a path.

Qirong felt it was his duty to protect his sisters and followed Yang Wenxu, pushing through the crowd.

Lu Wei held Qin Ruqing’s hand gently and said, “Sister, hold on tight and don’t get separated!”

Seeing this, Tang Zifeng silently walked behind them, maintaining a protective stance.

Halfway through, nearing the entrance to the main hall, a clear and commanding female voice came from behind, “Everyone, make way for this lady!”

Before Qin Ruqing could see who it was, the crafters who had just been fighting for positions hastily cleared a path.

Following the voice, Qin Ruqing saw a tall and slender woman in a fiery red robe, a typical provocative Xiling attire that revealed a lot of thigh, adorned with numerous matching accessories.

Each wrist had three or four bracelets, a collar around her neck, and anklets on each delicate ankle, all in shimmering gold.

Strangely enough, the flashy attire didn’t make the woman seem vulgar at all; instead, she appeared dazzling and perfectly matched her outfit.