Qin Deming was taken aback. “But they can’t just write ‘I want to work with you’ on their faces, can they?”

Qin Ruqing chuckled and said, “Just wait and see. Those who have that intention will naturally come to us on their own.”

After saying a few more words, Qin Deming busied himself with other matters.

As he had mentioned, Qin Deming was under a lot of pressure today with all the attention on him.

The heads of the clans from Nanling began to arrive one after another.

The Qin family’s east and west side doors were wide open, but not the main gate.

The focus today was on recruiting subsidiary families, and as subsidiaries, the Qin family had to maintain a position of absolute leadership.

If one day the Qin family were to be promoted to a silver-grade aristocratic family and hold a grand celebration, that would be the time when the main gate of the Qin family would be wide open.

Qin Ruyu was also dressed in a formal robe, welcoming guests at the door.

In addition, there were the second branch siblings and Qirong.

They were the younger generation of the Qin family’s main line, and it was appropriate for them to greet the guests.

This way, they wouldn’t be overly familiar, losing the dignity of a noble family, nor would they be disrespectful, making people feel neglected.

The only one missing from the main line was Qin Ruqing.

It wasn’t that Qin Ruqing didn’t want to come, but both Qin Deming and his son, as well as the Ancestor, believed that with Qin Ruqing’s current status comparable to that of an elder, there was no need for her to greet guests at the door.

She had her own responsibilities.

Qin Ruqing was indeed doing what she was supposed to do.

She was lying on a flying sword, hiding in the clouds, watching today’s “recruitment event,” and had also brought Tang Zifeng along.

Tang Zifeng was dragged out of the refining room by someone, looking unhappy.

But even if he was unhappy, he wouldn’t show it on his face.

It was just that the corners of his mouth were slightly downturned, which in Qin Ruqing’s words, made him look like someone you’d want to tease a little, someone you’d want to see slip up.

“Why did you bring me here to see your family’s affairs?” Tang Zifeng’s cheeks were slightly puffed up.

He was sitting on his own flying device, hiding in the same cloud as Qin Ruqing.

Tang Zifeng’s flying device was a small flying boat, neat and without any special features.

In Qin Ruqing’s words, it was so ugly that it didn’t look like the flying device of a genius refiner at all.

Qin Ruqing, with her head down, didn’t even lift it when she heard him speak. “I brought you here to see how my Qin family demonstrates its clan’s power…

Besides, staying cooped up in the refining room every day will cause problems.

Since I brought you to the Qin family, I naturally have the responsibility to take you out regularly for a stroll!”

“What do you mean by ‘regular strolls’? It feels like taking a pet out for a walk for no reason…” Tang Zifeng’s expression became even more wooden, lips pursed, and suddenly he said, “Under my Tang family’s banner, there are five subsidiary families, big and small.”

It meant, the show you’re putting on here isn’t impressive enough for me.

Qin Ruqing was startled for a moment, then turned her head to look at him in surprise.

Tang Zifeng’s face was expressionless, just his mouth pursed.

It was the first time in her life that she had been stumped. (Normally, it’s her who stumps others.)

Qin Ruqing felt a fresh wave of amusement at Tang Zifeng’s comment.

She deliberately glanced up and down at him and said, “That’s still part of the Tang family. What’s it to you?”

“You’ve already been kicked out of the family, stop reminiscing about the past here.”

Tang Zifeng immediately straightened his lips into a thin line and moved to leave in his flying boat.

This clearly meant he was quite displeased.

Qin Ruqing chuckled and grabbed the end of his flying boat, “Don’t be upset. You brought up the Tang family yourself, so I’m just being honest~”

After pulling him back, the meeting underneath began.

To showcase the Qin family’s wealth, the tea served to these clan chiefs was Spirit Milk Tea.

Qin Deming sat high at the head of the table, giving a speech.

The speech directly addressed three main points:

Firstly, how awesome the Qin family is.

Their ancestor is the top cultivator in Nanling (excluding the Celestial Bureau), hinting at even greater future development, implying that following their family is promising.

Secondly, how wealthy the Qin family is.

They now own the entire Secret Realm unearthed in Nanling.

If any lucky family becomes a subsidiary of the Qin family, they can also enjoy the benefits of this realm.

Thirdly, making ambitious promises. After boasting about their own greatness, they went on to talk about the benefits of joining their family, even daring to mention things like becoming a top-tier family in ten years or ascending in fifty years.

(Qin Ruqing requested this sentence be added; honestly, even Qin Deming’s thick skin had some trouble with this.)

The clan cleaders didn’t know what to think after hearing this, but at least on the surface, they were full of “amazement” and “admiration.”

Qin Ruqing lay on the cloud, watching her father’s speech, covering her mouth and giggling like a little mouse that had stolen oil.

Her father had written the draft of this speech himself, but she had “polished” it on the side.

Meanwhile, Tang Zifeng was forcibly pinned down here, watching this embarrassing drama with an expressionless face.

Honestly, he thought Qin Ruqing’s facial expressions were more entertaining than—

Finally, the speech concluded, and it was time to attend the formal banquet.

Qin Ruqing withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and asked the person beside her, “What do you think?”

Tang Zifeng honestly replied, “Your facial expressions were quite varied. It changed every moment.”

Qin Ruqing interrupted, “…That’s not what I meant. I meant the content of my father’s speech!”

“Although somewhat exaggerated and not entirely honest or objective, overall, the meaning was right,” Tang Zifeng said.

Qin Ruqing covered her mouth and chuckled, nodding in satisfaction, “You only need to say the last sentence.”

Tang Zifeng pursed his lips.

His focus was on the first two sentences, though.

Before the banquet started, Qin Ruqing slid down from the cloud to meet her father, “Dad, how was it?”

Qin Deming stroked his beard.

He was still holding onto the air of a noble family leader he had displayed earlier. “The enthusiasm of these clan leader is impressive, but to meet your criteria of ‘coming forward without appearing servile, and sincerely wanting to join,’ there are perhaps only one or two families.”

Tang Zifeng stood nearby, and upon hearing the three descriptions, his mouth twitched lively.

Qin Ruqing smiled and nodded knowingly, “That’s good to know. We’ll see more at the banquet later. Oh, what are the names of those two families?”

“One is surnamed Cheng, and the other is surnamed Yan.”

Qin Ruqing nodded upon hearing this, having a general impression.

Qin Deming, on the other hand, noticed the tall, thin young man standing behind his daughter

He looked handsome and upright, but Qin Deming didn’t recognize him.

“What’s this?” Qin Deming exclaimed

Qin Ruqing answered “Dad, this is the guest elder from Zhang’s family that I invited over, surnamed Tang.”

Qin Deming suddenly understood, “Is it him? The one who wrote the note before?”

He scrutinized him closely.

Initially, Qin Deming had a negative impression of this person for writing anonymous notes, suspecting him of not being upright.

But now, seeing his clear eyes and dignified appearance, he felt unexpectedly favorable towards him.

It wasn’t as bad as he had thought.

While Qin Deming was observing, Tang Zifeng had already respectfully bowed and said, “Clan Leader Qin.”

Qin Deming nodded with a smile and replied, “Elder Tang.”

Since he was a guest elder from Zhang’s family, calling him “Elder Tang” seemed appropriate.

Tang Zifeng’s expression stiffened momentarily but he nodded nonetheless.

Qin Ruqing chuckled inwardly—it seemed Elder Tang couldn’t escape this nickname.

After chatting for a while and noticing Tang Zifeng’s social awkwardness, Qin Ruqing bid farewell to her father and prepared to leave with him.

Since she brought him here, she felt responsible for seeing him off properly.

Qin Deming had other guests to attend to, so he didn’t linger.

After he left, Qin Ruqing turned around, teasingly calling out, “Elder Tang~”

Tang Zifeng seemed to stumble for a moment but didn’t turn back, walking briskly ahead.

Qin Ruqing laughed as she watched him, but suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, “Watch out!”

There was someone ahead! That person was walking straight towards them.

She quickly used a light body technique, catching up in a few steps and pulling him aside just in time to avoid a collision.

Tang Zifeng was pulled to the side by her, while Qin Ruqing found herself face to face with the person she nearly collided with.

They didn’t collide, but their eyes met.

Seeing a pair of surprised eyes, Qin Ruqing took a step back hastily.

Tang Zifeng also came to his senses and supported Qin Ruqing, looking concerned.

She smiled at him to reassure him that she was fine, then turned to look at the person who almost collided with her.

“Sorry about that, I almost bumped into you just now. Are you alright?” Given the occasion today, he must be a guest here for the banquet.

Qin Ruqing looked at him and noticed he was quite young, with attractive eyes, but he stared at her as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Qin Ruqing was puzzled and was about to ask if something had scared him silly.

However, she saw him suddenly cover his eyes with his hand, tears streaming down his face.

Oh no!

Qin Ruqing was startled.

Could I really be that terrifying?

Not to brag, but she had been considered a beauty in both her past and present lives, especially now in her current appearance.

Even the young attendants at home blushed occasionally upon seeing her.

How could this person be scared to tears?

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you! Did I actually hurt you, or did something get in your eye?”

Finally reacting, Cheng Xin, standing behind his son, hurried forward. “Miss, please don’t worry. The boy is fine; he just suddenly had an eye problem, which startled you.”

Judging by her appearance and attire, this young girl seemed to be from the main branch of the Qin family…

but if she was from the main branch, shouldn’t she have been at the door greeting guests?

It was quite strange.

While Qin Ruching was still puzzled, an eye problem? So he started crying upon seeing her?

But he courteously said, “I am from the main branch of the Qin family, in the fifth generation. It was our mistake to startle you, if there’s anything you need, please feel free to ask, we will do our best to accommodate.”

Cheng Xin was worried about his son’s condition and quickly waved his hands, indicating they had no requests.

Seeing they were indeed fine, Qin Ruqing then led Tang Zifeng away.

Once they were far enough, Cheng Xin hurriedly pulled his son to a corner.

“Yiming, are you okay?”

Cheng Yiming slowly lowered his hand from covering his eyes.

Seeing the state of his son’s eyebrows, Cheng Xin exclaimed in shock.

There was a small crack at the center of his son’s forehead, from which blood and tears were flowing.

This startled Cheng Xin greatly. “Yiming, you…!”

Cheng Yiming gasped weakly and asked, “Who was that girl just now?”

Cheng Xin didn’t understand why his son was asking this but replied, “She said she’s from the main branch of the Qin family, fifth generation. She should be Clan Leader Qin Deming’s youngest daughter.”

The daughter of the Qin family’s clan leader.

Cheng Yiming blinked hard, and the crack in his forehead finally disappeared.

He said abruptly, “Dad, at today’s banquet, we must strive to secure a position among the affiliated families of the Qin family!”

“Huh? Why?” Cheng Xin exclaimed in surprise and suspicion, then his pupils dilated suddenly. “Could it be…?”

Cheng Yiming remained solemnly silent.

He had glimpsed a delicate girl in red from afar, and sensed something unusual at the center of her eyebrows.

Unable to resist, he used a technique to look closer, but the girl turned her head just then.

Thus, he saw this scene:

On a long staircase ascending to the heavens, the girl stood at its peak, radiant in golden light that lifted her high, with countless subjects bowing before her. Amidst swirling mists, the girl opened her eyes, and behind her appeared a majestic figure, unreachable.

He didn’t fully understand what this vision represented, but he knew one thing—this fledgling phoenix, yet to spread its wings, had appeared in the Nanling.

If the Cheng family missed this opportunity, they would regret it for life.

Far away, Qin Ruqing escorted Tang Zifeng back to his refining workshop.

He remained silent the whole way, seeming somewhat awkward again.

Qin Ruqing didn’t bother with it.

In her experience, geniuses, especially those focused on Refining like Tang Zifeng, often had their peculiarities.

His occasional silence was tolerable.

At that moment, she was talking to the system.

The usually unresponsive system unexpectedly initiated a conversation, saying, “Host, someone is observing you.”

This startled Qin Ruching again. “Who?” She wondered aloud, “The young man I bumped into earlier? What did he see?”

The system replied, “With me here, he can’t truly observe you. I implanted a virus in him, so his eyes should be quite injured, and then…”

“And then?” Qin Ruching pressed.

“In your world’s terms, I added a little special effect,” the system explained.

“Huh?” Qin Ruching was bewildered.

The system then recreated the special effect for her.

After seeing it, Qin Ruqing twitched her mouth, almost wanting to claw out a piece of Qin family territory.

“The golden light, the heavenly staircase, the sun disk… Oh my goodness, System, your aesthetics…”

Qin Ruching covered her face with her hands, unable to bear looking at it directly. “System, is your appearance database from a bygone era? This special effect, at most, is worth no more than five cents…”