“In order for the Qin family to advance in rank…” In a virtual space, the Fifth Clan Leader pondered aloud, his face serious and somewhat confused.

“Hmm…” replied Feng Qinxue.

They exchanged glances, both surprised by what they saw in each other’s eyes.

They hadn’t expected the Qin family to make such a move.

Applying for a rank advancement using the clan’s seal—this action… “It must be the work of that Demon Star!” Feng Qinxue asserted.

Most people wouldn’t think of such an outrageous maneuver.

“Don’t they know that the Qin family doesn’t yet meet the standard for a golden rank?” This was the most confusing part for Fifth Sheng.

Why would anyone make such a grand effort if they knew it was doomed to fail?

But the question was, was Qin Ruqing a fool?

“Qin Ruqing might know something. The attitudes of the Two Great Dao Sovereign towards her are quite special, particularly the Dao Sovereign Fusheng. She might be aware of some secrets that even we don’t know,” Feng Qinxue said, shooting a reproachful glance at the Fifth Sheng.

Fifth Sheng was about to analyze what Qin Ruqing might know, but upon receiving Feng Qinxue’s look, he stopped and said, “What’s with that look?”

“Isn’t the Dao Sovereign Fusheng your ancestor? Why does he treat Qin Ruqing more favorably than he does the members of your Fifth Clan?”

The Fifth Leader was upset, his beard bristling, “Isn’t this just nonsense? Dao Sovereign Fusheng isn’t surnamed Fifth! Our Fifth Clan practices his teachings, but there are no juniors in our clan that he values. He just took a liking to that Demon Star. What can I do about it?”

“Doesn’t this show that your Fifth Clan is ineffective? You were the ones who tried to win her over initially, but instead of successfully attracting her, you nearly had a falling out!”

Thus, the two Clan Leader of Celestial Family in the virtual space began to argue.

After a while, the Fifth Sheng, looking exhausted, wiped his face and surrendered first, “Let’s ask the Qin family what they think. According to the rules, the Qin family has no chance of advancing in rank because they haven’t yet reached the level of Transcending Stage. Qin Ruqing should be very clear about this.”

“…I’m aware,” Qin Ruqing’s virtual figure said cheerfully in the connected space.

“I know that it doesn’t meet the current standard, but I also know that there is a more hidden standard, and the Qin family might still have a chance. So, we’re here to give it a try!”

Just giving it a try…

It sounded so casual, as if making fun of their status as Celestial Clan Leaders.

The Fifth Sheng couldn’t help but complain internally, but what bothered him the most was—

“How do you know there’s a more hidden standard for clan rank advancement?”

Even we don’t know about it!

Qin Ruqing replied, “Dao Sovereign Fusheng told me!”

Huh?

“The Dao Sovereign told me in the Void Realm that the current rules for clan advancement are too complicated, so he left a simpler base-level standard!”

Feng Qinxue threw another reproachful glance at the Fifth Sheng.

Fifth Sheng… didn’t retort this time, simply feeling tired as he wiped his face.

He truly didn’t understand!

His confusion, grievance, and complexity were enough to circle the Four Hells three times!

The Dao Sovereign Fusheng e was their Fifth Clan’s ancestral sage!

How come he didn’t give any regard to their Fifth Clan but shared all the secrets with Qin Ruqing!

Who should he complain to?

Should he blame the ancestor for not valuing them, or blame his own clan for not having promising juniors like Qin Ruqing?

Both were frustrating and made Fifth Sheng feel miserable!

Fifth Sheng felt as withered as an old flower.

Feng Qinxue was too lazy to deal with him and frowned as she asked Qin Ruqing, “Do you realize how significant this matter is? If it turns out to be false…”

“Whether it’s true or false, the Director can just give it a try and see,” Qin Ruqing said, blinking.

“I don’t know the exact standards; the Dao Sovereign only told me that to advance in rank, one can consult both the Heavenly Book and the Buzhou Golden List. Both are artifacts he left behind. If the Director thinks I’m lying, you can call forth the artifacts and ask them directly!”

Seeing the strange looks from the Fifth Sheng and Feng Qinxue, Qin Ruqing added, “Of course, if you don’t have the artifacts with you, you can always try back home. After all, the Qin family isn’t in a hurry.”

Feng Qinxue looked up, a bit speechless, “…No need, I just happen to have the artifacts with me.”

Fifth Sheng said, “…I didn’t bring them, but I can have them delivered within fifteen minutes.”

“Oh, that’s perfect,” Qin Ruqing’s virtual figure said cheerfully as she sat down cross-legged, “I’ll wait here. You two can go get the artifacts for verification.”

“Maintaining the virtual projection requires energy from the clan seal,” Feng Qinxue gave Qin Ruqing a look and waved her hand to withdraw from the space.

Fifth Sheng followed suit.

Qin Ruqing clicked her tongue and exited as well, complaining to the nearby Ancestor, “Those two are definitely having a private meeting to sort things out…”

This was the first time Ancestor Wenxuan saw Qin Ruqing interact with the two Celestial Clan Leaders.

She asked in surprise, “Qingqing, isn’t your attitude a bit too… casual?” Actually, the Ancestor wanted to say disrespectful.

“Oh, I know, it’s fine. Compared to my disrespect, they’re more concerned about my secrets, whether I am honest, and whether I can be controlled by them. They have too many things to worry about, and my disrespect is the most insignificant among them. I see no reason to inconvenience myself for it,” Qin Ruqing waved her hand dismissively.

Ancestor Wenxuan remained silent.

The information revealed by Qin Ruqing was quite shocking.

Qin Ruqing set aside the family decree and casually pulled out her communication stone.

… It was an explosion of messages. It was as if her phone was overloaded with unread notifications, causing it to lag.

Most of the messages were inquiries about the Qin family’s application for an upgrade.

Qin Ruqing randomly selected a message from Song San.

The Song family’s messages had a distinctive style—they liked to bold their text and use magic to make it flicker and dance, as if they were perpetual “marketing accounts.”

“Ancestor! What have you done this time!”

“Why didn’t you inform us in advance?”

“Do you have confidence?”

“Shall we arrange a headline for the Song family this month?”

Arranging news headlines for the cultivation world on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis was Qin Ruqing’s idea, which the Song family had gladly adopted.

Qin Ruqing looked at Song San’s message with some amusement, feeling that the old man seemed to be adopting a certain identity—such as her subordinate.

But she didn’t have subordinates as old as him!

So, she regrettably had to let that sentiment go.

After a calm sigh in her heart, Qin Ruqing casually replied, “No confidence. We’ll talk later.”

She then used her divine sense to scan through more messages and suddenly looked up at the Ancestor.

“Ancestor, the Lu family is sending someone over.”

Ancestor Wenxuan asked, “? Who?”

“This is the person who leaked information about me to the Fang family, which led them to resort to desperate measures and try to kill you.”

“I was so angry at the time that I put a death warrant on this person with the Lu family. They probably dared not disregard my words, and seeing that I hadn’t mentioned it for a while, they proactively sent the person over.”

Qin Ruqing looked up and said, “Ancestor, when the person arrives, handle them as you see fit. Should they be killed?”

Ancestor Wenxuan fell silent again.

She couldn’t find the words to respond.

“The Lu family head said this person is somewhat unwilling. If released, they might cause trouble,” Qin Ruqing added.

Only then did the Ancestor emerge from the complex emotions and start considering the matter seriously.

“Even if we kill them…” The Ancestor pondered, “It would harm your reputation.”

Qin Ruqing was about to retort that she didn’t have a good reputation to begin with. But the Ancestor raised a hand to stop her.

“Since I’m still alive, it would be unjustifiable for you to kill them now.”

“Let’s imprison them in the Qin family’s dungeon. The Lu family did not take action this time, so keeping this person alive is a way of acknowledging their favor and maintaining mutual respect.”

“Mm, that’s fine.” Qin Ruqing was indifferent.

While they were talking, it seemed the two Celestial Leaders had completed their tests.

Qin Ruqing entered the virtual space once more.

The expressions of Fifth Sheng and Feng Qinxue were momentarily similar—complex with a hint of surprise, and within that surprise, a trace of speechlessness.

In short, Qin Ruqing was right.

The two artifacts did indeed respond!

Before speaking, Feng Qinxue glanced at Fifth Sheng, who gestured for her to proceed.

Feng Qinxue took on the role of explaining for Qin Ruqing: “What you said is indeed correct. The artifacts have reacted. To verify through the artifacts, you need to submit the Qin family’s family decree and a full-power strike from the current highest combat power of the Qin family.”

The current highest combat power of the Qin family was none other than Qin Ruqing herself.

Qin Ruqing nodded, “Where should I submit my full-power strike?”

Feng Qinxue conjured a golden ring from her palm, her expression complex. “Strike it directly.”

Fifth Sheng, looking helpless, summoned a scroll. “And this.”

“Are you going to test it now?” Qin Ruqing asked.

No rush, Qin Ruqing said with a chuckle, “Let me prepare a bit.”

Feng Qinxue thought she was preparing for a powerful strike.

To pass the examination of the two divine artifacts, her strike would certainly need to have the power of Transcending Stage.

Given the Qin family’s current conditions, this requirement might need to be even higher.

However, Qin Ruqing leisurely summoned the clan seal and activated it with a flash of spiritual light.

Fifth Sheng looked puzzled, while Feng Qinxue’s eyelid twitched, and she began to have a bad premonition.

Sure enough, after activating the clan seal, Qin Ruqing began to speak.

“From the Southern Region, Southern Ridge Qin Clan, Elder Qin Ruqing is here. Today, I wish to undergo the examination of the two divine artifacts for the clan’s rank advancement and request the presence of all clans as witnesses.”

Huh?

You’re doing it this way?

The Fifth Sheng opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to say anything to stop it.

Soon, figures began to appear in the virtual space.

These figures looked around and saw Qin Ruqing, as well as the two Celestial Clan Leaders.

They bowed respectfully, but the Fifth Sheng could tell from their expressions that they were all quite intrigued.

Song Minzheng, with a stern face, heard Third Elder Song San anxiously shouting outside, “Clan Leader, Clan Leader, is it being recorded? It would be a huge regret if such a grand event isn’t recorded!”

Song Minzheng thought to himself that the clan seal assembly was so solemn, how could they record it?

Yet, his hidden hand was faithfully holding a small blue jade stone, attempting to record the event.

After a while, Song Minzheng frowned and said, “It’s not possible. The barrier has a defensive mechanism.”

Song San, anxious, jumped up and down, “Then what should we do?”

Song Minzheng also regretfully put away the recording stone and internally lamented the missed opportunity.

Feng Qinxue, now taking on a cold and elegant demeanor, frowned and said, “Let’s begin.”

So, Qin Ruqing started.

In fact, she was also confused—she didn’t know which of her attacks was the strongest!

When she fought, she always acted according to her whims—simply put, she used different tactics for different people.

Thus, the effectiveness of each tactic varied with different opponents.

There was no way to measure which attack was the strongest.

Qin Ruqing decided to interpret the artifact’s requirement as releasing her currently most proficient attack.

What was she most proficient at?

Crafting fireballs!

So, Qin Ruqing proceeded to craft.

The golden ring and scroll in the virtual space appeared majestic and enormous, floating above everyone’s heads.

Qin Ruqing crafted a fireball aimed at each of the two colossal artifacts.

But she wasn’t casual about it.

Before releasing the fireballs, Qin Ruqing, to be cautious, added a drop of her blood essence to each fireball and packed them with countless fire seeds.

She was skilled at crafting fire seeds, able to differentiate their attributes and functions.

She crafted seeds with various fire types, like Purple Thunderstorm Fire, Golden Mist Soul Fire, and others designed to cause explosive damage to flesh or soul, and even combined several to create a comprehensive seed.

Qin Ruqing added ten comprehensive seeds to each fireball.

After this process, she felt her soul being strained and her mind aching.

It was reaching the limit.

Qin Ruqing nodded and then released the fireballs.

However, others couldn’t see her painstaking efforts and thought she had just used a basic fireball spell.

You use the clan seal to summon all the clans to witness your rank advancement, and you end up using such a skill?

This must be a joke, right?

Yet, the reactions of the two divine artifacts proved that Qin Ruqing was not joking.

She was precise and serious, using a mysterious version of the fireball spell.

The enormous divine artifacts floating above everyone’s heads shimmered, swallowing Qin Ruqing’s fireballs.

Their reactions were impressive.

The Buzhou Golden List—a golden ring in its original form—began to shine brightly, rotating in the air and emitting a humming sound.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Book scroll unfurled, and its pages started to ripple with concentric waves.

Soon, a shocking scene unfolded.

The golden ring trembled violently and suddenly shattered, turning into countless golden particles.

The golden light dispersed and then reformed, as if golden ink on paper, and began to write slowly on the Heavenly Book.

“Today, the Southern Region Silver-Ranked Qin Clan, a family in harmony, with abundant assets, outstanding descendants, and limitless potential. Rank advancement granted by heavenly decree, in recognition and encouragement.”

Others had come with the intention of merely observing, but upon witnessing this scene, their minds were struck with the same fear as the Fifth Sheng, questioning in their souls.

Heavenly decree for rank advancement, as recognition and encouragement…

Is this really possible?!!!