The man pondered for a moment and then stood up, revealing a tall and sturdy physique.

He was more upright and robust compared to Fifth Lingyu, but not in a muscle-bound way—more in a distinguished manner.

The man said, “So, you’re the Celestial Seed, Qin Ruqing.”

He knew her name?

Qin Ruqing lowered her eyes and responded cautiously, “I’m not worthy of the title Celestial Seed, but I am indeed Qin Ruqing.”

The man nodded.

Qin Ruqing, curious, asked, “How did you know my identity?”

The man replied calmly, “The resources Fifth Lingyu provided you needed approval from the clan. I approved them.”

Qin Ruqing was taken aback, then showed an awkward but polite smile.

She had a guess about the man’s identity.

He had a strong yet calm presence.

He thought for a moment and then took out another bronze bell.

It floated in front of Qin Ruqing.

“This bell is brand new and never been used. It’s a complete bell, not a secondary one. If you need it, consider it a gift from me, a greeting gift.”

Qin Ruqing blinked in surprise and exclaimed, “Thank you so much! I need it!”

She accepted it eagerly, her eyes shining.

The man seemed momentarily surprised by her straightforwardness but then smiled, “Very well.”

“Go ahead.”

Without waiting for Qin Ruqing’s response, he activated the concealment barrier, making him disappear from her view.

Holding the new bell, Qin Ruqing felt frustrated.

That Fifth Lingyu really tampered with her bell!

Now, she had a secondary one.

A couple of days later, after thoroughly searching the fourth level of the Celestial Library, Qin Ruqing used the bronze bell to call Fifth Lingyu.

Today, Fifth Lingyu was not wearing his crown but had tied his hair with a braid and used gold decorations.

He was the only man Qin Ruqing had seen who looked appropriate with gold adornments.

When Qin Ruqing saw Fifth Lingyu, she called out loudly:

“Hello, Director! I plan to enter the Second Hell now!”

However, Fifth Lingyu seemed more focused on the bell at her waist, his expression shifting subtly.

“You changed the bell I gave you?”

Qin Ruqing casually lifted the bell from her waist and said with a relaxed demeanor:

“Are you talking about this one?”

Fifth Lingyu nodded slightly, “Where did it come from?”

A complete main bell was typically only given to official members of the Fifth House recorded in the family registry.

Since Qin Ruqing was an outsider, she shouldn’t have been able to get the main bell, especially not one brought into Penglai.

Qin Ruqing smiled and explained, “I don’t know who gave it to me. Two days ago, I bumped into someone practicing in the Wanjun Pavilion’s fourth level. I disturbed him, but he wasn’t upset and gave me this bell as a greeting gift.”

Fifth Lingyu snorted, “You just accept anything someone gives you? Aren’t you usually very cautious? Why isn’t your guard up now?”

Qin Ruqing looked innocent and said, “He said that the bell you gave me was a secondary bell with limited functions, and it would be inconvenient to use in the Divine Mountain. He gave me a complete bell, so I thought it would be more convenient to switch.”

Fifth Lingyu was almost laughing in frustration.

He knew exactly what this shrewd girl was thinking.

She suspected there was something wrong with the bell he gave her and chose to trust a stranger from the Fifth Family instead.

She probably figured out that the stranger was the Fifth Family’s young master and assumed that he wouldn’t have any ill intentions.

Naturally, she was pleased to wear the new bell as a token of appreciation.

Fifth Lingyu felt trapped and possibly embarrassed.

Feeling slighted, he huffed and left without saying more.

Qin Ruqing’s eyes flickered with surprise.

It was rare to see Fifth Lingyu so openly displeased.

Usually, he was always smiling, even when she deliberately provoked him.

It was like he was watching a show.

Today, however, he expressed his displeasure so clearly.

Was it really because she changed the bell?

Qin Ruqing didn’t think she had that much influence.

Reflecting on the situation, she considered the other main character involved.

The young clan leader of the Fifth Family?

The one she met in the Wanjun Pavilion might be the young master, as he didn’t seem old enough to be the head of the family.

Could it be that he and Fifth Lingyu weren’t on good terms?

It seemed like Fifth Lingyu was offended because she chose the bell from his rival over the one he gave her.

Qin Ruqing figured this was probably the case.

Unexpectedly, Fifth Lingyu had a “Why are you friendly with my arch-enemy? I’m so mad” attitude, like a little kid.

Qin Ruqing clapped her hands and followed along cheerfully.

Fifth Lingyu walked quickly, completely ignoring Qin Ruqing.

But Qin Ruqing wasn’t worried; she now roughly understood how to use the copper bell.

The inner space of the divine mountain was quite mysterious.

The copper bell was somewhat like a tool for navigating the mountain.

It could pinpoint locations and had features similar to an ID badge and a tracker.

As long as she inputted a name with her mind, the copper bell could automatically transport her.

Qin Ruqing maintained her smiling face, ready to input the information, when suddenly her expression froze—wait, what was the name of the second prison again?

After pausing for two seconds, Qin Ruqing took out a jade slip and started asking for help:

“Dear Director, what’s the name of the second prison? I can’t find the way!”

She was left waiting for a moment before she received a reply: “Beg me.”

Beg you? What’s this!

Qin Ruqing replied, “Please, please!”

As long as she could achieve her goal, Qin Ruqing didn’t mind taking a little verbal hit—because she could make up for it elsewhere.

The other party was caught off guard by her straightforwardness and, after a while, provided the name.

This time, the copper bell finally worked.

She disappeared from her spot.

When she reappeared, the space was dark, and the scene resembled the path to hell, with a massive, towering bronze door.

Fifth Lingyu stood at the door with his hands behind his back.

Qin Ruqing walked over and saw the ancient inscription on the bronze door:

“Path of the Marginalized.”

This was the second prison of the fourth level.

Fifth Lingyu glanced at her with a hint of annoyance and said, “Go ahead, isn’t this where you wanted to go? Go in and suffer a bit.”

Hey, don’t make it so obvious that you’re pointing me towards the Path of the Marginalized to give me a hard time.

Qin Ruqing complained internally but started speaking nicely (mainly to avoid any possible sabotage, not knowing if he had the authority to adjust the difficulty of the Path of the Marginalized):

“Dear Director, please don’t be upset. If you had given me the main bell, I wouldn’t have switched it, and I would’ve definitely worn it properly!”

Qin Ruqing mentioning this only made Fifth Lingyu more frustrated.

The Celestial Family copper bells had a fixed number, representing status, and naturally, no one could have more than one.

To get additional ones, one would have to apply through their clan.

He had initially found it troublesome and, also because the main bell was difficult to manipulate and he couldn’t control Qin Ruqing’s whereabouts, he hadn’t replaced it at the time.

Now that Qin Ruqing had seen through it and specifically requested a replacement, even if he was annoyed, he couldn’t really criticize her.

Fifth Lingyu gave Qin Ruqing a warning glance, signaling her to be quiet.

Qin Ruqing chuckled.

If you can’t keep your own affairs in order, don’t blame me for being cautious.

She approached the bronze door.

As she got closer, two menacing bronze beast statues emerged.

They had frightening, red-eyed, and sharp-toothed faces.

The statues’ eyes glowed red, and if Qin Ruqing hadn’t reacted quickly, they might have bitten off her head.

Startled, Qin Ruqing turned around in fear, and Fifth Lingyu casually said, “The Fourth Hell has a progressive structure. You need to show your Hell’s Token to pass.”

You should have mentioned that earlier.

Qin Ruqing knew Fifth Lingyu was intentionally making things difficult for her. She pouted and took out her token, making the red glow in the statues’ eyes disappear.

The heavy bronze door slowly opened. Before stepping through, Qin Ruqing waved to Fifth Lingyu with a bright smile, showing her pearly white teeth, and then turned and walked away.

It was odd. Her angry demeanor was quite irritating, but when she smiled and waved like that, she seemed cute and endearing.

Whether she was cute or not was another matter, but “obedient” definitely didn’t apply to her.

Fifth Lingyu watched as the bronze door closed and Qin Ruqing’s figure disappeared, his expression less angry than before.

His eyes were not filled with anger but with contemplation.

On the other side of the bronze door, Qin Ruqing’s smile gradually faded.

Fifth Lingyu was truly strange.

He was calculating and manipulative toward her, but also showed tolerance and patience.

Even when she deliberately provoked him, he didn’t react harshly.

This didn’t make Qin Ruqing feel any less wary; instead, she became even more cautious.

But there was no use in overthinking now. Qin Ruqing looked ahead and saw a pitch-black void, with no visible way forward or backward.

She thought for a moment and then ignited a small flame at her fingertip.

The flame flickered and danced, the only source of light in the darkness.

With the light guiding her, she moved forward calmly.