Qin Ruqing smiled.

It seemed like mentioning Feng Mingyue was a bit of a sales pitch.

And it was true; besides her status, Feng Mingyue was indeed a signature figure of the Feng family.

Qin Ruqing thanked the manager politely and settled there.

In the days that followed, she focused on guiding Qirong and the others in their training.

“Qirong, if you want to increase the power of your punch, you can try pushing it out with spiritual energy and adding some rules of force.”

“And as a qualified physical cultivator, you should be as meticulous as a thread, able to accurately identify your opponent’s weaknesses. If you don’t strike, fine, but once you do, you must make every move count…”

Following Qin Ruqing’s advice, Qirong launched a punch infused with spiritual energy.

Rocks at the mountaintop rumbled and rolled down as the sword winds of the space were stirred by the energy, actively attacking and producing a metallic clashing sound as they grazed Qirong’s forearm.

“What do you mean by saying a qualified physical cultivator should be meticulous as a thread…” Qirong turned his head after finishing, feeling the statement was somewhat off.

Do physical cultivators have such high mental requirements too?

Qin Ruqing sat in a rocking chair, munching on melon seeds, and spat out the seed shells, saying, “You see, you don’t get it, do you? Being a physical cultivator doesn’t just mean being reckless. The more of a physical cultivator you are, the more you need to learn to control the energy within you. Every punch must be precisely calculated to land perfectly. If you can grasp this, you’re pretty much mastering the path of strength.”

Qirong let out a bewildered “Oh” and began to try according to Qin Ruqing’s method.

He was smart, never as simple as he appeared on the surface, and at least had great insight in cultivation.

Before long, he seemed to find the right force, and with a concise and swift punch, it appeared to have no significant impact.

Yet, shortly after, the vertical cliff let out a cracking sound.

At the point where Qirong struck, a deep fissure snaked upward as if a few more hits there would break the cliff in half.

Qin Ruqing exclaimed, “Is the mountain going to collapse? Now that Feng family manager will have a headache again.” Yet, her tone seemed quite amused by the prospect.

Seeing Qirong’s energy depleted, Lu Wei lifted the lid of a cauldron in front of her, and with a gentle wave, a wisp of green smoke wafted out, swirling around Qirong before slowly dissipating.

Soon, Qirong’s breathing steadied, his depleted spiritual energy quickly replenished, and his gaze became clear, as if he had just enjoyed a refreshing nap.

Qin Ruqing turned her head and gave Lu Wei a thumbs up, “With Third Sister here, Qirong’s practically a perpetual motion machine now.”

She sniffed the light fragrance of the smoke, “Is this powdered elixir?”

Lu Wei smiled, “No, it’s incense.”

“Incense arts are originally a branch of alchemy.” She briefly introduced the inheritance she received from the Ruins of Return.

Simply put, it boiled down to one core idea: using elixirs to nourish oneself.

And this point is precisely the root of the decline of the modern alchemy path—alchemy has become a secondary practice in the contemporary world, offering little benefit to the alchemist’s cultivation.

However, cultivation is the core of everything in the cultivation world.

“This inheritance exactly addresses the current issues with alchemy. From now on, by practicing alchemy, I can feed back into my own cultivation. By taking the corresponding elixirs, I can cultivate the medicinal body,” Lu Wei explained.

Qin Ruqing pondered for a moment, then took Lu Wei’s wrist and probed with a special spiritual sense.

Lu Wei was initially startled but, realizing it was Qin Ruqing, she relaxed her guard.

After a while, Qin Ruqing looked up and said, “Third Sister, the spiritual energy within you can no longer be considered ordinary spiritual energy; it’s a type of medicinal power.”

She thought for a moment and quickly analyzed, “The core of this technique should be to convert the energy gained from alchemy or taking elixirs into medicinal power, and then use that medicinal power to transform your body later.”

Lu Wei was surprised that Qin Ruqing could grasp all the intricacies from just a brief touch on her wrist.

She was truly amazed.

Qin Ruqing, however, had even deeper insights.

Her speech quickened, and her gaze fixed on one point as if deep in thought.

“I’ve noticed that ancient Dao traditions seem to have a common point—they are vastly different from the modern world. Ancient Dao traditions focus on self-cultivation. Any Dao path, when cultivated to the end, seems to be transformed into the practitioner themselves.”

“Indeed… Cultivation is essentially defying the heavens. The soul is trapped within the body, and to transcend, one must overcome the limitations of the physical form.”

“Why does the Dao Physique have such a significant advantage in cultivation? Apart from its innate fit with a certain Dao, it’s also because, in some sense, it is no longer a mere mortal body!”

Qin Ruqing’s eyes glazed over as she muttered some strange statements.

Listening closely, they seemed to hold startling truths.

Lu Wei and Tang Zifeng exchanged glances, both seeing the understanding in each other’s eyes.

Qingqing had always had a habit of speaking her mind and coming up with novel ideas.

But since she left the Void Realm, this tendency seemed to have intensified.

It was as if every detail of the world around her could trigger her thoughts and lead to profound realizations.

They had some basic guesses about this.

Others might not know, but they did: Qingqing was likely the “Chaos Successor” the Beast Emperor was looking for.

She had obtained an extraordinary inheritance in the Void Realm, which caused remarkable changes in her body and made her exceptionally sensitive to the operating rules of the world.

She was like a parched sponge that, after leaving the Void, began to absorb the “moisture” of the external world frantically.

She gradually became more and more full and constantly underwent changes that they could barely imagine.

Regarding these changes, Lu Wei and Tang Zifeng tacitly kept silent and didn’t ask further.

Even Qi Rong, the most oblivious among them, showed remarkable insight on this matter.

In the Feng family’s territory, even in private, and even with barriers in place, they did not mention terms like “Azure Lutos(Qinglian)” or “Chaos.”

At this moment, Qin Ruqing had finished her “train of thought.”

Like any other time, she clapped her hands with a bright smile and said, “I’ve had an epiphany!”

Lu Wei smiled and moved closer, gently saying, “Have you had another insight…”

---

During the time in the “Wall of Ten Thousand Feet,” Qin Ruqing was not in a hurry.

The Feng family was not in a rush, so why should she be?

However, the Feng family’s representatives arrived faster than Qin Ruqing had anticipated, and their choice was unexpected.

“Fairy Mingyue!” Qin Ruqing exclaimed in surprise as she saw the tall figure descending into the secret realm.

Feng Mingyue had a cool, midnight moonlight-like aura.

Upon hearing Qin Ruqing’s call, she looked over, giving a slight nod, though her expression remained unchanged.

“Elder sent me to find you. It’s time to set off.”

Oh, so they’ve negotiated with the Lu family about including her in the envoy!

Qin Ruqing understood and was about to ask if they were leaving immediately when she noticed that Feng Mingyue’s gaze remained fixed on her face, carrying an unusual, burning intensity.

“Fairy Ruqing, would you care for a duel?” The renowned Fairy Mingyue raised her sword towards Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing opened her mouth: “Huh? … What?”

“I sense that you possess the Nascent Realm, and coincidentally, so do I. We ought to have a match,” Feng Mingyue said earnestly.

Qirong’s eye twitched, and he couldn’t hold back, whispering to Lu Wei, “Third Sister, how exactly did this duel ‘ought to’ happen? It doesn’t seem to fit the context at all.”

Lu Wei, however, didn’t respond and simply signaled Qirong with her eyes to keep quiet.

Tang Zifeng remained calm, as if he wasn’t surprised by the scene.

He merely glanced in the direction of the secret realm.

At that moment, the Feng family’s Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Feng Qinxue had just landed in that same direction.

“I wonder if that girl will accept the challenge,” the most dignified Third Elder mused.

It would be a good opportunity to test her strength.

Aware of Qin Ruqing’s preferences, these old figures had deliberately made no effort to conceal their presence.

The Tang family boy had already noticed them, so there was no need to mention Qin Ruqing.

If she chose to accept the duel, it would imply that she permitted their observation.

Below, Qin Ruqing appeared to ponder for a moment before cheerfully responding, “You’re right. Let’s do it!”

She took a few steps forward and then turned back, politely asking, “Should we fight here, Fairy Mingyue?”

Feng Mingyue nodded calmly, “Yes.”

Thus, in this bizarre atmosphere, a duel that could stir up a storm in the outside world began naturally, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world…!