“Xiyao, take action immediately and give a hard slap to…” Fifth Ziyan said in a hurried tone.

Fifth Xiyao took action, though he ignored the part about the hard slap.

Despite the director’s enthusiastic command, if this got reported later, he would end up clutching his chest and sighing.

Who would have thought that the seemingly authoritative and Celestial Master was actually quite sensitive?

The good director’s professional philosophy was: Stay stable, survive cautiously, and develop sneakily.

His biggest fears were: Losing his position as director, getting reported, and getting targeted by prestigious Celestial families.

Therefore, to prevent the director from going crazy, Fifth Xiyao decided to focus mainly on resolving the Qin family’s predicament today, giving them some face but not overdoing it.

With these thoughts in mind, his jade-like slender fingers leisurely lifted the lid of the wooden box.

A subtle wave of spiritual energy emanated from his fingertips, deliberately showing everyone that he was using spiritual energy to inspect.

After a moment, Fifth Xiyao withdrew his hand and spoke in a calm voice:

“The formula used by the Qin family to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill differs from the common ones but is clearly more effective. These two pills have a fresh and rich fragrance, indicating they were just recently refined and are at their peak effectiveness.”

After this brief evaluation, he provided a more advanced explanation:

“Aside from that, the pill is smooth and plump. Upon closer inspection, one can see clear pill patterns. Only top-quality pills produce such patterns. This indicates that the person who refined these Foundation Establishment Pills possesses extraordinary skills in pill refinement, with at least the cultivation level of a Core Formation stage, significantly enhancing the quality of these pills. Taking these pills would be at least ten percent more effective than ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills.”

Ten percent more effective?

Wouldn’t that mean a ten percent higher success rate in foundation establishment?

Moreover, according to the recorder, the person who refined these pills had excellent skills in pill refinement, at least at the Core Formation level.

Wasn’t this saying that it was personally refined by the Qin family ancestor?

Could she really produce such high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills?

Ancestor Wenxuan’s reaction confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

She smiled with a hint of admiration and said:

“The Scribe has keen eyes, indeed. This pill uses our Qin family’s secret formula for Foundation Establishment and was personally refined by me three days ago.”

She glanced lightly at Ancestor Ren, “What was intended as a gesture of goodwill has been misunderstood by Ancestor Ren, which is truly disheartening.”

Fifth Xiyao smiled, “Ancestor Wenxuan, no need to be disheartened. This pill was not intended for the Ren family. As long as the recipients appreciate it, today’s event can still be considered a success.”

He looked down and scanned the room with his dark eyes, “Are representatives of the Cheng and Yan families present?”

The Qin family had planned this event meticulously, ensuring that the Cheng and Yan families were present.

Although the Cheng and Yan families were not of high status and typically wouldn’t have the resources to attend such a grand event, as affiliated families of the Qin family, their presence was justifiable and wouldn’t be seen as a breach of etiquette.

The Cheng family, having an insider in Cheng Yiming, had received some advance notice.

Hearing about the gift of Foundation Establishment Pills, they were both shocked and delighted but managed to maintain their composure.

The Yan family, however, was less composed.

The head of the Yan family attending the banquet was huddled nervously in a corner, and upon hearing the unexpected gift of Foundation Establishment Pills, his heart raced.

The Ancestor of the Ren family began making a fuss over the Foundation Establishment Pill, clearly looking for trouble with the Qin family.

The excited heart of the Yan family head turned to fear, worried that the Yan family would become cannon fodder caught between these powerful families.

Hearing the Fifth Xiyao’s call, the Yan family head stood up tremblingly with the Cheng family head, bowing respectfully to the esteemed guests at the table.

The recorder nodded calmly and said, “The Qin family gifted these two high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills as a reward. Unexpectedly, such a commotion occurred at the banquet, causing you all distress. Thus, the Celestial Bureau will also provide some compensation. What do you think?”

He then began announcing the names of items, not many, but each valuable and fitting for the status of the Cheng-Yan subordinate families.

It was clear to everyone that while the compensation was ostensibly for the subordinate families, it was actually to compensate the Qin family and save face for them.

The Cheng and Yan families never expected such a windfall, thinking that today’s unexpected gift was already generous, and now receiving even more.

Although they were being used to bolster the Qin family’s reputation, they could still claim to have been publicly rewarded by the Celestial Bureau, which was a significant honor.

The two family heads immediately bowed excitedly, “Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Qin family, for your generous gift!”

They then expressed their loyalty profusely.

The Ren family head watched this scene, his face turning green.

He could see that the recorder had stopped him from acting and was subtly warning him.

If the matter ended here, the Ren family’s “worries” would be alleviated, and the Scribe had saved some face for the Ren family.

If they continued to press, they would lose face completely.

The Old ancestor of the Ren family could only clench his fists in frustration, unable to say a word.

Today was truly a grand spectacle, with the audience at the banquet well-fed and thoroughly entertained.

Just this one banquet revealed a lot.

The newly promoted Silver-ranked Qin family from South Ridge, despite just being elevated, demonstrated deep family heritage.

Not only could they host such a grand and innovative banquet, but they could also bestow two Foundation Establishment Pills to their subordinate families.

Such generosity surpassed many older Silver-ranked families.

First, it was clear that the Qin family had significant backing and ambiguous relations with the Celestial Bureau of both South and West Ridge.

While the support from South Ridge was understandable, being the only Silver-ranked family in the area and with all the major families of the Southern Region present, it was natural for the Celestial Bureau to save face for them.

The attitude from West Ridge was even more puzzling, being even more exaggerated.

Regardless of why the Celestial Bureau was so keen on supporting an out-of-town family, the Qin family benefitted greatly.

With such overt support from the Celestial Bureau, the Qin family’s position within the Silver ranks was now solid.

The major families were envious, thinking that the Qin family had mastered the art of currying favor!

Another important point was that with Fifth Xiyao personally endorsing the Qin family’s pills, their reputation was now well-established.

In the future, families seeking to purchase high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills from the Qin family would be innumerable.

After all, having a master alchemist in the family was rare in the entire Southern Region.

This was another wave of hidden benefits.

Hosting this banquet to celebrate their promotion proved highly profitable for the Qin family!

As the banquet concluded, the Ren family left without a word of courtesy, both angry and left in a huff.

The lively atmosphere was for others to see, and after the banquet, news of a conflict between the Qin and Ren families would surely spread.

The Qin family had expected Ren’s disruption today. As for harmony, with the Fang family backing Ren, peace was out of the question.

Thus, the Qin family didn’t care about Ren’s reaction.

Qin Ruqing and the family elder personally saw off the Two Scribe officers.

The eagles circled above.

The Scribe from Xiling was indeed planning to leave immediately, given the long distance between Xiling and Nanling.

Before leaving, the Xiling Scribe said, “Sixth Elder, remember the director’s instructions.”

Qin Ruqing laughed and asked, “How many times did he remind you before you left? Isn’t it annoying?”

The Xiling Scribe laughed, stroked his beard mysteriously, and said, “It is indeed annoying.”

After the laughter, Qin Ruqing said seriously, “I deeply appreciate what the Xiling Celestial Bureau and the director have done for me. I promise to do my best in the Hundred Clan Conference and strive for a good ranking. If I can’t even make it to the top ten, there’s no need to discuss anything further.”

The Xiling Scribe paused, his eyes flickering.

It seemed this young girl knew the truth behind the Hundred Clan Conference.

As she said, if she couldn’t make it to the top ten, the Sixth Region would be out of reach, and passing the entry selection would be impossible.

Everything was understood without words.

The Xiling Scribe nodded with a smile, bowed to Ancestor Wenxuan, and turned to leave.

He looked at the tall young man nearby and couldn’t help but ask:

“Xiaoxi Yao, why are you acting so differently today?” Normally, the Nanling Celestial Bureau wouldn’t interfere in such matters.

The Fifth Xiyao glanced at him and said calmly, “Circumstances forced me to put in some effort.”

Qin Ruqing laughed.

This officer had a way with cold humor.

The Xiling Scribe was taken aback but then laughed heartily, “What a ‘circumstances forced you,’ Xiaoxi Yao, you have become quite humorous over the years!”

He glanced in a certain direction among the clouds, feeling very pleased and eager to report this scene to the director.

Without further delay, he nodded to everyone and flew into the air, riding the eagle formation away.

In a certain place among the clouds, a director almost couldn’t resist casting a spell to knock that old guy down after hearing the laughter.

He barely held back—mainly because doing so would reveal his presence.

Rubbing his hands, he thought that sneaking around like this was unbecoming of a director and quietly left.

After the banquet ended and the guests dispersed, the head of the Cheng Yan family came to thank the Qin family personally.

The Qin family offered kind words of encouragement and sent them off.

Although the Qin family used them to save face this time, the two affiliated families gained substantial benefits.

They even gained favor from the Celestial Bureau, which would surely make many people envious.

The Qin family’s higher-ups gathered to discuss only one thing: their enemy, the Fang family, had indeed discovered them.

The elder sighed worriedly, “Without the Fang family’s backing, even with silver resources, how could the Ren family dare to cause trouble at the banquet?”

“Chaos?”

Even if the Celestial Bureau hadn’t stepped in to smooth things over today, the Qin family’s own ancestor would have taken action.

Qin Wenxuan had been keeping an eye on Ancestor Ren for a long time.

However, if the Qin family had acted on their own, it would have escalated things significantly, unlike now, where they can cover it up a bit.

An elder snorted, “I say, the Ren family is really foolish. Although they are a subordinate family, they are still a Silver grade. They completely disregard their own reputation! To provoke us so openly at this banquet—how disgraceful!”

Qin Ruqing shook her head and smiled, “Whether the Ren family is foolish or not is uncertain, but they are indeed arrogant. Ancestor Ren probably intended to slightly annoy the Qin family, spreading some vague rumors.

On such a joyous day, the Qin family wouldn’t dare to make a big fuss, so they would swallow their anger.

Who would have thought the Qin family would stand firm and directly confront them? And now, with the Celestial Bureau involved, Ancestor Ren never anticipated this.”

Qin Dexin pondered and looked at the ancestor, asking a very serious question: “Ancestor, the Ren family is already Silver grade. What about our true enemy, the Fang family?”

The hall fell silent.

The answer to this question was heavy.

They had a vague guess but dared not speak openly because it would be a huge mental burden.

The ancestor sighed and didn’t hide anything: “In these family rivalries, it’s always a matter of rise and fall.

Since the Fang family has pushed us down, they will naturally absorb the Qin family’s assets.

Adding the benefits they gained from the ancient ruins, the Fang family is now probably Gold grade.”

Gold grade!

Truly Gold grade!

Indeed, if the Fang family can command a Silver grade family as a subordinate, they must be Gold grade.

“If that’s the case, the Qin family is in grave danger?” an elder expressed concern.

Sensing the suddenly tense atmosphere, Qin Ruqing thought for a moment and deliberately tapped the table twice.

As everyone’s attention turned to her, Qin Ruqing smiled and said:

“Elders, there’s no need to worry. Today’s situation isn’t a bad thing but rather a good one.”

“Elder, what is your insight? Please enlighten us to ease our minds.”

Qin Ruqing spoke calmly, “The Fang family and the Qin family have a deep-seated grudge. There’s no escaping this conflict. I say it’s a good thing, not just to comfort everyone, but because today’s situation is genuinely beneficial to the Qin family.”

“Firstly, although the Fang family is Gold grade and intimidating, it also has many restrictions. For example, look at the Southern Ridge Celestial Bureau; they have to secretly support us, not daring to be open about it. The higher a family stands, the more scrutiny they face. If any mistakes occur, not just our Qin family, but the Fang family’s own rivals could seize the opportunity to bring them down.”

“So, even though they discovered our Qin family hiding in Southern Ridge, they didn’t dare to act directly and sent a subordinate family instead. Their indirect approach gives the Qin family a chance to develop and maneuver.”

“Secondly, the fact that the Fang family noticed us is also a sign of our strength. If we were still a small Bronze-level family, the Fang family wouldn’t have bothered to disrupt us. Their use of the Ren family shows their concern about the Qin family.”

“The pace of the family’s development is so rapid that I can’t sit still.”

“In the end, their timing was just too clever. With the Hundred Clan Conference approaching, it was only a matter of time before we clashed with the Fang family.

But to have this first confrontation at such a grand banquet, especially with the backing of the Celestial Bureau from both regions, was a strategic move.

Now, with the Ren family reporting today’s banquet events, the Fang family might speculate that we have ties with Celestial families. They won’t dare to make a move until they investigate further.”

Qin Ruqing spoke calmly, as if her words were a beacon, cutting through the dense fog in front of them and laying a solid, stable path for the Qin family.

An Second elder sighed, “Qing, your perspective is truly different. We might indeed be getting old, seeing things in a more pessimistic light, but you always manage to see the bright side.”

Hearing this, Qin Ruqing covered her mouth and giggled, “Elder, it’s not forced optimism. I see the Fang family’s strength as a good thing.”

Amidst the puzzled looks from everyone, Qin Ruqing fluttered her eyelashes, her apricot eyes shining brightly, her spirit more vibrant than ever.

She was confident in dealing with the Celestial families, let alone a mere gold-level family.

However, dealing with the Celestial Bureau required caution and effort, and sometimes it was necessary to be tactful in one’s approach.

But when it came to the Fang family, there were no such concerns.

Since the Fang family was a gold-level family, in Qin Ruqing’s eyes, they were nothing more than a gold-level resource bank, holding the resources the Qin family needed to advance to the gold level.

After she made a strong impression at the Hundred Clan Conference and removed the Fang family’s gold-level resources from the Ruins, obtaining their gold-level resources would be a piece of cake once she left the Ruins.