As a cultivator, he must strive with all his might for the position of young clan leader, to protect his sister and be her strongest shield.

Seeing her brother’s expression, Qin Ruoqing knew he understood her meaning.

Her smile grew even wider.

In truth, she had no particular desire for the position to be held by someone in the family.

However, after considering it, her brother was the most suitable candidate for the position of young clan leader.

His temperament is balanced and calm, more decisive and influential than their father, and he is better at managing people and running the family than Qin Luxian.

He is in just the right middle ground.

Of course, there are other candidates for the young clan leader position, such as Qirong and the third sister.

However, the third sister, who practices both alchemy and swordsmanship, is too busy with alchemy to involve herself in administrative matters.

Qirong is even less suitable; he was simple and naive as a child, and only improved somewhat as he grew up, making him unsuitable for a position that requires adept social skills.

Moreover, Qin Ruqing had genuinely discussed the matter with them, and neither of them was interested in the position.

As for herself, Qin Ruqing had no interest in being in a position like that of the clan’s ancestor or Clan Leader.

She preferred a noble and leisurely role where she could set general guidelines and leave the execution to others.

So, among the remaining candidates, the most suitable, capable, and willing to vie for the position was none other than her brother.

The only issue is that her brother currently has dual spiritual roots and is at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Among young cultivators, he is indeed exceptional, but as the Qin family progresses, his current talent might not suffice for the role of young clan leader.

Qin Ruqing had kept this in mind.

When she took advantage of the Fifth Family’s resources that day, she intentionally brought up this spiritual medicine.

Once her brother cultivates an acquired spiritual body, all issues will be resolved.

..

At the South Ridge Celestial Bureau.

The Fifth Ziyan, who once saw Qin Ruqing as a promising junior, now looked at her with only admiration and amazement.

Back then, he had taken her in, thinking she might have a chance to break into the top ten of the grand competition.

He was focused on the political gains it could bring him.

Little did he expect that Qin Ruqing would turn out to be like an unspread phoenix that soared to great heights once given a bigger stage.

The news of her top ranking in the Golden List had spread across the four domains, beyond what his small office could handle.

Qin Ruqing remained humble, and after respectfully greeting the South Ridge Office Director, she said, “I came today to inquire about the Fifth Family.”

“Could you please tell me about it?”

The South Ridge Office Director seemed somewhat hesitant.

He knew Qin Ruqing would soon be going to Penglai Immortal Island, so it was normal for her to seek information about the Fifth Family.

However, matters within the Fifth Family were complex and not easily shared with outsiders.

Nevertheless, given how much face Qin Ruqing had brought to the South Ridge (with her impressive achievements), the Director decided to speak.

“Normally, details about the Celestial Family are not for public discussion, but since you’ll be going to Penglai for training and are considered semi-officially part of the Celestial Family, it’s fine to share a bit.”

“You were introduced to Penglai Immortal Island by Fifth Lingyu, and you carry his mark. You naturally belong to the original clan leader’s lineage. So, be especially careful of Fifth Youlin.”

Qin Ruqing noted this name, then picked out a key term, “Original clan leader’s lineage?”

The South Ridge Office Director looked at her with a complex expression and said, “The Fifth Family has two main factions: the original clan leader’s lineage and the current clan leader’s lineage.”

“With your outstanding talent and the fact that you’re going to Penglai for training, Fifth Youlin shouldn’t cause too much trouble for you.

But remember, don’t get involved in the factional disputes. Otherwise, even with Fifth Lingyu’s protection, you might not be safe.”

So that’s it.

Combining the previous hints from the Eastern Head Director Feng Qinxue and what the South Ridge Office Director said today, it’s clear that the Fifth Family is very complex—

Just by hearing terms like “original clan leader” and “current clan leader,” you can tell the conflicts and issues are huge.

She had suspected for a long time that Fifth Lingyu’s status in the Fifth Family was peculiar—high but not extremely so.

If he were that important, why would he come to the Western Ridge as a director for some extra prestige?

At that time, she had speculated that it might have been someone’s scheme.

Combining that with today’s information, it is very likely that the person behind it was Fifth Youlin from the current clan leader’s faction.

Seeing that the Director of Nanling had finished speaking and seemed to have said all he could, Qin Ruqing didn’t press further.

Some things can’t be casually discussed, especially when dealing with people from the Fifth Family.

It was enough for her to be aware of the general situation.

After returning from the Celestial Bureau and spending another day at home, she began preparing for her upcoming cultivation journey before entering the Void Realm.

Now, Qin Ruqing, Luwei, Qirong, and Tang Zifeng were in the medicinal fields on the back mountain of the Qin family, observing the little mud spirit working in the soil.

The little mud spirit, also known as the Earth Spirit, was brought back from the Floating Realm.

Before attending the Hundred Clans Conference, Qin Ruoqing had fed it ten drops of her blood and instructed it to work diligently.

Upon returning, she saw that the little mud spirit had already cultivated three and a half acres of spiritual soil and seemed to be working hard.

As she calculated the “wages” for the little mud spirit, Qin Ruoqing said:

“I’ll give you another ten drops of blood. We’ll be leaving again soon, so make sure to work hard on the land while we’re gone!”

“However, it’s a pity that our cultivation destinations are all scattered this time… I’m going to the Middle Region’s Penglai Immortal Island, the third sister is attending the Danhui, Tang Zifeng is going to the Qi Conference, and Qirong is heading to the Song Family.”

Indeed, Qin Ruqing had ultimately arranged for Qirong’s cultivation destination to be the Song Family.

This wasn’t Qin Ruqing’s suggestion, but rather the third elder of the Song Family who proposed it.

The Song Family had made quite a bit of profit from their association with Qin Ruqing, the top-tier fairy, and they realized how important it was to establish a good relationship with such a high-profile figure.

The Song Family was full of astute individuals.

They knew that Qin Ruqing had ambiguous relations with the Fifth Family and that undermining the Fifth Family would be futile.

But that’s alright; top-tier fairies have family members too!

Her brother, ranked fifth on the gold list, was handsome and seemed quite promising.

If he came to the Song Family, he might become a top-tier male cultivator like Qin Ruqing in the future!

Moreover, the Song Family was genuinely of the gold tier Family.

They not only had a lucrative background but also possessed many secrets and a wealth of techniques and skills.

The Song Family’s ancestral land contained a well-known Law Repository.

The third elder of the Song Family also promised to treat Qi Rong as one of their direct descendants and ensure that his treatment would not be worse than that of Song Xinwu.

(After all, they were hoping to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with Qin Ruoqing.)

Qin Ruqing was well aware of the Song Family’s influence.

With the Song Family’s resources and knowledge, Qirong might even find a way to advance his devouring physique.

Qin Ruqing knew that Qi Rong’s special physique, when advanced, would become a “Tao Tie.”

It was beyond the capabilities of the Qin Family to advance it, but there might be a chance with the Song Family.

Thus, she gladly accepted the third elder’s proposal and reminded Qirong to make good use of the opportunity.

At this moment, Qirong, squatting next to Qin Ruqing and watching her feed the little mud spirit, added:

“Even if we can’t meet, we can still use communication jade slips!” Qirong was quite excited about the prospect of cultivating at the Song Family.

“But communication jade slips are not very convenient,” Qin Ruqing replied.

Qin Ruqing sighed, missing her phone.

Tang Zifeng noticed Qin Ruqing’s nostalgic look and said, “Actually, I’ve created a group communication jade slip.”

Lu Wei asked, “What’s group communication? Does it mean everyone can hear what we say?”

Qin Ruqing instantly perked up and said, “What? Tang, show me!”

At that moment, she was still a drop of blood short of completing the ritual.

Little Mud looked anxious below, almost ready to speak.

Tang Zifeng took out four jade slips that were as transparent as jade and explained:

“You can carve words into these with your mind, and the text will appear on everyone’s jade slip, allowing for group chats. You can also use your mind to immerse yourself for face-to-face group chats.”

“But this feature can only be used once a month because it needs time to recharge.”

Qin Ruqing’s eyes lit up—group calling and monthly video meetings!

She eagerly took her own jade slip, which Tang Zifeng had already engraved with the character for “Qing” for easy identification.

She fiddled with it in her hands, amazed:

“Wow, Tang, this is so useful. Now we can…”

“Hey, you can even set names for each person?”

Qirong thought this was normal.

For group chats, you’d need to know who’s who, so he started to input his name.

But Qin Ruqing suddenly grinned and said, “Why don’t we each choose a nickname?”

Qirong replied, “We don’t have to use our real names? That works too.”

Tang Zifeng didn’t hesitate and entered his newly chosen nickname (Little Cow Tang).

Qin Ruqing burst out laughing, “Haha, this name…”

Tang Zifeng blinked, unfazed, “You often call me that, so it’s fitting.”

“Not bad, I like it.” Qin Ruqing nodded and typed her own nickname: (Miracle Qingqing)! She thought it was a bit plain, so she added a subtitle:

Miracle Qingqing (The First Female Immortal of South Ridge Village)

Qi Rong wondered, “Why South Ridge Village? Aren’t you the top female immortal of the four domains?”

Qin Ruqing waved her hand, “Keeping it humble!”

Then she turned to Lu Wei, “Third Sister, what’s your nickname?”

Lu Wei’s choice was revealed by the characters on the jade slip.

Qin Ruqing asked, “Why ‘Xiangri Weiwei’? Is there a meaning?”

Lu Wei replied lightly, “‘Xiangri’ means chasing after hope and light. It’s a nice name!”

Indeed, it’s a meaningful name, though not very playful.

It suits Third Sister’s temperament.

Qin Ruqing decided not to question further.

Finally, it was Qirong’s turn. The young man typed without hesitation: (Prideful Sky Qirong).

Lu Wei had a subtle expression and said, “Cough, Qirong, why this name?”

Qirong felt the name was perfect.

In his childhood stories, not being able to play the role of Qin Aotian was a great regret.

“Qin Aotian is a great name. I’m the Prideful Sky Qirong of our Qin family,” Qirong said seriously.

Qin Ruqing nodded with a pained expression, “…Alright, it suits you.”

So, with the new team composed of Miracle Qingqing (The First Female Immortal of South Ridge Village),

Little Cow Tang,

Xiangri Weiwei,

and Prideful Sky Qirong,

They set off on a clear morning, bidding farewell to the Qin family and heading toward their respective places of training!