The group traveling with them seemed to be a local noble family from the Eastern Region.

They couldn’t help but explain to Qin Ruqing and her companions, “These are fairy sounds. Climbing Mount Buzhou and hearing these sounds symbolize the long journey of cultivating immortality.”

Qin Ruqing smiled and bowed slightly to the speaker, saying, “Thank you for the explanation.”

Her smile was like blooming spring flowers, causing the speaker to blush.

He took out a jade slip, waved it at Qin Ruqing, and whispered, “Fairy Ruqing, I’m a fan of yours.”

Feeling embarrassed, he quickly sped up, bypassing Qin Ruqing.

His footsteps made a jingling sound on the stairs.

Qin Ruqing laughed, saying, “He’s quite funny!”

She wanted confirmation and turned to the person next to her, “Tang Zifeng, don’t you think so?”

Tang Zifeng replied, “Mm.”

The shy or excited young man ahead of them missed a step and fell flat on the stairs.

Since the stairs were sound-producing, his fall created a loud “thud” like someone hitting a piano with a fist.

Everyone, both in front and behind, turned to look at him.

The young man’s face turned as red as a tomato, and he felt embarrassed.

He wanted to dig a hole and hide right on the spot.

It was one thing to become the subject of ridicule, but to embarrass himself in front of Qin Ruqing, who was watching from behind—an idol witnessing his humiliation! He wished he could just die!

After this unfortunate episode, they finally managed to reach the top of Mount Buzhou smoothly.

The shape of Mount Buzhou resembled a cone with the tip cut off, revealing a large and a small cross-section.

The large cross-section was at the base of the mountain, while the small cross-section was the plaza at the summit.

The plaza was paved with pure white jade marble, giving off a solemn and sacred aura.

At the center of the plaza were six circular platforms, the purpose of which was unknown.

As everyone gathered in the plaza, the space around the circular platforms twisted, and four leaders silently appeared.

Someone exclaimed, “The leaders are here!”

The crowd erupted into noise, but gradually quieted down as the Directors made a gesture for silence.

“The second round of the conference begins now. This round will also determine your final rankings. The rewards for making it into the top ten need no elaboration; those who should know, know. Let me briefly explain the rewards for the top three.”

“First place: a thousand strands of Divine Silk and a Nascent Soul Fruit.”

“Second place: a hundred strands of Divine Silk.”

“Third place: a Nascent Soul Fruit.”

Heavens, this was the first time seeing such a significant disparity in rewards between the top three.

The reward for first place was incredibly generous, and then it dropped sharply.

And this was just the top three!

The rarity of the Nascent Soul Fruit went without saying; its name alone indicated its value.

As for the Divine Silk, some people had no idea what it was used for.

“What is Divine Silk, and why does the reward for second place drop to just a hundred strands, without the Nascent Soul Fruit?” That was a tenfold difference!

“I don’t recognize its value, but the Nascent Soul Fruit seems more appealing. Unfortunately, I lack the ability to make it to the top three. Otherwise, if I could obtain a Nascent Soul Fruit, my family might have a chance at advancing to the Jin rank.”

The Director of the Wind Department let them discuss for a while before speaking again:

“Alright, having finished talking about the rewards, it’s time to explain the rules for the second round. Please listen carefully and don’t miss a single word.”

“In the second round, you will be transported to a fragmented space where you will need to complete a task of clearing out monster beasts. You will earn points based on the level of the beasts you defeat, and these points will be recorded on the jade slips you carry.”

“This fragmented space naturally has a toxic miasma. The toxins in this miasma can seep into exposed skin, so holding your breath won’t help.

Prolonged exposure to the miasma will accelerate the consumption of your spiritual energy, slow down recovery, and lead to symptoms like weakness and reduced combat ability.

Staying in the miasma for too long can cause fainting or even severe effects like the dispersal of spiritual energy and rotting of the spiritual roots, turning you into a mere mortal with no cultivation abilities.”

“Based on our tests, most of you can’t stay in the miasma for more than half an hour, with only a few exceptions. Exceeding this limit will damage your spiritual roots, and staying for an hour will result in losing your cultivation abilities.”

“So, let me emphasize once more: don’t stay in the miasma, always stay alert and avoid it!” The Director stressed.

“When you enter the space, you will see a tall white tower in the center. The tower can release detoxifying gases that dilute and eliminate the miasma, so the closer you are to the tower, the better.”

“The position of the White Tower is getting safer.”

“But, please be aware that this safe position will gradually shrink and move! So, adjust your position according to the range of the detoxification gas released by the White Tower!”

“Also, you must not lose your jade slips. If you lose one and someone else picks it up, your score will transfer to that person.”

“Those who lose their jade slips will be eliminated with zero points. Those who deliberately crush their jade slips to forfeit will also be eliminated. Eliminated participants will be immediately teleported out of the shard space.”

“The Gold List will rank you based on your survival time and score. The longer you survive and the higher your score, the better your ranking. The standards are up to you to figure out.”

“The White Tower will release detoxification gas for five days, meaning you can stay inside for up to five days. After that time, the shard space will forcibly teleport you out.”

“Finally, I must say, the second round of the competition is no longer a simple test; it could truly endanger your lives. If anyone has second thoughts, crush your jade slip before entering the space to forfeit.”

“Now, those who fear neither life nor death can move to the center of the platform. The second round of the competition is about to begin.”

The crowd began to stir but moved toward the center of the platform, with no one retreating.

Of course, those selected by prestigious families to participate in the Hundred Clans Conference are all elite members of their families.

How could they fear for their lives?

Qin Ruqing turned to look at Lu Wei and Tang Zifeng, smiling lightly, “You don’t need to join us for this professional competition. It seems quite dangerous for the second round.”

Lu Wei only gave Qin Ruqing’s hand a firm squeeze and then looked at Qi Rong, “Be careful, the rank is not the most important thing; your lives are.”

Tang Zifeng said, “I have a surprise for you after the conference.”

Tang Zifeng always had a demeanor of someone about to do something big.

When she heard about the surprise, Qin Ruqing was pleased, “Great, I love surprises!”

Without saying more, the Director signaled Qirong, and the two of them walked towards the circular platforms.

There were six circular platforms in total, arranged in a pattern that looked like a formation.

Qin Ruqing saw the directors using magic to activate the platforms.

A golden beam of light shot up into the sky, enveloping everyone.

When the golden light dissipated, everyone vanished from their original spots.

It felt like being thrown into a high-speed washing machine.

When Qin Ruqing was “spat out” of the washing machine, she landed on the ground and groaned.

Qirong also struggled to stand, grabbing onto a tree.

After regaining his balance, he also groaned.

Qin Ruqing saw Qirong standing in a cloud of reddish-brown gas and frowned.

She used fire magic to pull him out.

“You ended up in the toxic zone; of course, you feel nauseous!”

“Toxic zone? I thought it was miasma,” Qirong said, taking a deep breath of the cleaner air.

The previous smell had been foul and made him dizzy.

“Miasma is toxic. If it’s not the toxic zone, then what is?”

When Qin Ruqing heard the Director explain, she immediately thought it was similar to a survival game.

Although the rules were different, the core was about survival and escape.

In the context of the Hundred Races Conference, the focus was on killing monsters and grabbing jade slips.

Once Qin Ruqing recovered a bit, she floated through the ancient trees and saw the white tower in the center.

She descended and landed.

She said:

“We must be on the outskirts here. I’d estimate we’re about half the length of the Southern Primitive Forest from the White Tower.”

“Half the length of the Southern Primitive Forest? This space is pretty large then,” Qi Rong nodded thoughtfully.

Qin Ruqing picked up a twig, sat on a fallen dead tree, and sighed, “Let’s discuss what you just heard.”

Qirong knew his sister was testing him.

He nodded and picked up a twig as well, mimicking her.

“Our main focus is to kill the demon beasts because they affect our score, and the score affects our ranking.”

“Besides that, we need to avoid the toxic miasma. The detoxification gas released by the White Tower will move and shrink, so we need to adjust our position according to the safe zone.”

“So I suggest that strong participants head directly towards the center of the space. It’s closest to the White Tower and will likely have more large demon beasts. By occupying the area near the White Tower, you can gather points. Weaker participants should move from the edge towards the center, adjusting their position according to the safe zone.”

After explaining, Qi Rong felt he had covered everything and looked at Qin Ruqing with anticipation.

Qin Ruqing shook her head, took his twig, erased what he had written, and wrote two new characters, “Jade Slip.”

“You’ve analyzed things quite well, but you missed a crucial point—jade slips.”

“Scores can be taken and transferred. Do you think it’s easier to kill demon beasts or to ambush clan participants?”

Qirong thought for a moment and said, “It depends on the situation.”

“It depends on the strength of the ambusher and the one being ambushed.”

Qin Ruqing laughed, “Good job, Qirong, you’re thinking independently now.”

“Yes, it depends on the strength. So, some people will be ambushers, and ambushers can be ambushed as well.”

“So, which role should we take?” Qi Rong began to think more creatively.

“Should we find a safe spot to hide and wait until others get stronger, then snatch their jade slips in one go?” Qi Rong suggested excitedly, even making a fist for emphasis.

Qin Ruqing was stunned.

This kid was now quite adept at the dark side of strategy!

She smiled and said, “Well done, Qi Rong, you’re catching on to the art of scheming. Let me teach you something new.”

“Don’t make it too obvious when you’re scheming, or you might scare off the ‘sheep.’ Also, sometimes, driving the flock is more important than how you scheme.”

“But for now, it’s pointless to discuss this. Our first priority is to escape the toxic gas!”

“Escape the toxic gas?” Qi Rong was confused. Qin Ruqing smiled and pointed behind him.

The red-brown gas was clearly starting to move in their direction.