Qin Ruqing was still worrying about how to improve her aptitude—although it was indeed heartening that the system had confirmed her high talent.

She was just one step away from the “revitalizing the family” level!

However, being one step away didn’t mean she had reached it.

The life-threatening crisis was far from over.

While Qin Ruqing racked her brains on how to cross this threshold of “one step away,” her parents had also started thinking about it.

On the third day, Qin Deming brought Qin Ruqing a Spirit Awakening Pearl.

The reason it wasn’t brought on the second day was because Spirit Awakening Pearls were exceedingly rare.

They were the essence of spirituality from deep-sea dragon clams, and not every clam could produce such an essence.

Only clams over fifty thousand years old, refined for at least a thousand years, had a chance of forming such a pearl.

Grinding it into powder and mixing it with water for young children who had not yet cultivated their qi could enhance their bone marrow, increase their spirituality, and elevate their aptitude.

Now, what Qin Deming brought before Qin Ruqing was a Spirit Awakening Pearl extracted from a clam over fifty thousand years old, which was already extremely rare among Spirit Awakening Pearls.

It was silvery-white all over, about the size of a fingertip, and its rounded and full body faintly radiated a light pink glow, shining brightly even in dim surroundings.

Qin Ruqing held her breath and asked, “Dad, what is this?”

“This is the Spirit Awakening Pearl,” Qin Deming said. “It can cleanse the marrow, strengthen the spirit, and improve aptitude. Two days from now is the clan’s assessment, and this is a token of our parents’ love for Qingqing.”

Qin Ruqing blinked her eyes, teasingly saying, “Dad, are you afraid I’ll embarrass you at the clan assessment?”

Qin Deming secretly glared at his daughter; he could tell she was up to something just by the way her eyes darted around.

“Your father hopes Qingqing will demonstrate excellent aptitude at the clan assessment, so that the family’s standards for your cultivation phase can be set higher.”

The better the aptitude, the more resources the family would be willing to allocate during the cultivation phase.

Different levels of cultivation had vastly different impacts on the future.

It was said that some children from prestigious cultivation families would use countless celestial materials during their cultivation phase, and once they cultivated their qi, they would surpass others who had trained for ten or twenty years.

Not to mention future cultivation; there would be almost no bottlenecks below the Nascent Soul stage.

That was truly astonishing.

Qin Ruqing looked at the Spirit Awakening Pearl, which Qin Deming carefully placed in a jade box, and asked, “How do I take this? It’s such a big pearl; do I just swallow it directly?”

Qin Deming chuckled; this child was always sharp, yet she had her moments of innocence.

“Silly child, of course not. It should be ground into powder and mixed with water for ingestion.”

While Qin Deming went to handle the Spirit Awakening Pearl, Qin Ruqing astutely asked the system, “If I use this, can my aptitude reach the level you mentioned?”

【No.】

【The Spirit Awakening Pearl indeed has the effect of cleansing marrow, enhancing spirituality, and improving aptitude. However, among similar types of celestial and earthly treasures, it is considered relatively basic and has limited effects on enhancing the host’s aptitude.】

Understood.

Previously, when the system said she was just one step away from the “revitalizing the family” level, it sounded close, but Qin Ruqing knew deep down that issues involving innate talent and aptitude often hinged on that last breath.

As long as that breath wasn’t taken, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Indeed, the Spirit Awakening Pearl could enhance aptitude.

But for her,

It was clear that despite her efforts, Qin Ruqing’s cultivation wasn’t progressing as needed to trigger a qualitative change.

This posed quite a problem.

She knew her parents must have paid a hefty price to obtain the Awakening Pearl for her.

Yet now, this hard-won pearl seemed to be of no use to her.

Setting aside the waste, the crucial issue was that her life was still at stake!

“System, are there any spiritual items in the market that can cause a qualitative change in my aptitude?” Qin Ruqing asked.

The system replied succinctly: [Yes.]

Qin Ruqing was about to ask more when she heard a noise at the door and quickly withdrew her thoughts.

Qin Deming returned from dealing with the Awakening Pearl, holding a porcelain bowl in his hands as he entered.

He smiled and said, “Come, Qingqing, drink this spiritual liquid. Your mother and I can finally be at ease.”

Qin Ruqing hesitated, staring at the shimmering liquid in the white jade bowl.

The powdered Awakening Pearl added to it gave no color, but the faint sparkling light in the water hinted at its extraordinary nature.

Now, the question before her was whether to drink this bowl of spiritual liquid made from the powdered Awakening Pearl.

If she drank it, although it wouldn’t save her life, it could at least comfort her—it’s better than nothing.

But if she didn’t drink it… if the Awakening Pearl was useless to her, could it benefit someone else? Such a precious spiritual item surely had other uses, right?

After pondering for a while, Qin Ruqing decided not to hastily drink the spiritual liquid.

She could wait for a while; if there really was no other option, she could drink it before the clan assembly.

But if she drank it now, there might be no turning back.

Deceiving her father for now wouldn’t be difficult. However, there was another issue—

Would there be any unusual reactions if she drank it? Could her father detect it if she didn’t drink it? If there were reactions, she would be exposed.

Worried about unforeseen circumstances, Qin Ruqing scrutinized the jade bowl for a while and deliberately asked, “Dad, is this spiritual liquid potent? Will it cause any strange reactions in my body?”

Qin Deming gently stroked his beard and chuckled, “Silly child, medicinal liquids meant for children who haven’t yet cultivated their qi are extremely mild. Don’t worry, there won’t be any reactions. It’s like drinking a bowl of water. Later, I’ll set up a Gathering Spirit Formation by your bedside, and you’ll feel better after a nap.”

No reactions? Feel better after a nap?

If that’s the case, I can rest assured.

Qin Ruqing nodded and leaned closer to the bowl, as if about to drink, but suddenly wrinkled her nose and frowned.

She deliberately moved away a bit and said, “Dad, the taste is strange. I don’t want to drink it.”

Qin Deming looked at her suspiciously and sniffed as well. Indeed, there was a faint salty seawater-like smell, but it wasn’t unpleasant; the taste was quite mild.

“This is meant to enhance your aptitude, Qingqing, don’t be unreasonable!” Qin Deming said with a stern face.

Qin Ruqing stomped her foot and continued to frown, pretending to be stubborn, “No, it smells too bad…”

She sneakily glanced at Qin Deming, seemingly intimidated by his stern expression, and added, “How about this, Dad, could you get me a bowl of sweet water instead? Mixing it with sweet water might make it better.”

Qin Deming had always spoiled his youngest daughter, and Qin Ruqing had never liked taking medicine since she was little.

He didn’t suspect anything.

Hearing her request, Qin Deming breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, gently patting her head before leaving the room.

Qin Ruqing cautiously looked around to make sure her father was gone, then retrieved a small jade bottle from the storage pouch tied around her waist.

This pouch was a birthday gift from her father a few days ago.

To experience the feeling of cultivating immortality, she had intentionally placed a small jade bottle inside.

Look, now it came in handy!

Carefully, Qin Ruqing transferred the spiritual liquid into the jade bottle and put the bottle back into the pouch.

When Qin Deming returned, he saw Qin Ruqing setting down the bowl with a grimace on her face.

As soon as he appeared, she complained, “Dad, bring me the sweet water quickly. This taste almost made me throw up!”

Qin Deming was taken aback and hurriedly took the bowl away, awkwardly patting Qin Ruqing’s back.

Watching his daughter gulp down the sweet water, he anxiously asked, “How is it? Feeling better?”

Qin Ruqing looked relieved and nodded slightly, still sulking, “It’s really awful. I’m never drinking that again.”