The news of Clan Leader successfully breakthrough foundation establishment stage spread throughout the Qin family immediately, shocking everyone who heard it.

Indeed, three days ago, they had heard rumors from the Clan Leader’s residence.

At that time, even the Ancestor had come out of seclusion to investigate, eventually sealing off the Clan Leader’s courtyard.

Some had speculated then that the Clan Leader might be attempting foundation building.

But speculation aside, no one had expected he could actually succeed!

No wonder they were astonished.

Before this, Qin Deming’s cultivation had not even reached the stage of Peak Qi Refining Stage.

Attempting foundation building directly from the ninth level of Qi Refinement was almost unheard of.

People were bewildered and confused, rushing to ask those who had gone to investigate the situation.

“So, um, is it true? Did Clan Leader Breakthrough?”

The first wave of people returning with congratulations had a remarkably similar expression—confusion.

They returned, puzzled but confirming that Qin Deming had indeed laid his foundation.

The curious Qin clan members gasped collectively, then immediately asked the most crucial question:

“How did Clan Leader manage to lay his foundation? We didn’t hear anything about it before!”

At this point, those who had returned first looked even more bewildered.

They hesitated several times before finally, under pressure from others, awkwardly replied:

The Clan Leader said, “Today, when I went out, I found a spirit stone. After picking it up, I suddenly felt a strong and undeniable sensation that today was the day I could successfully lay my foundation! I thought, why not give it a try, nothing to lose, so I broke through… and it worked.”

People were bewildered, “What?”

They understand each word individually, but put together it makes no sense.

How can seeing money lead to successfully laying a foundation? This sounds like a made-up story!

Someone cautiously asked, “Um, what about that spirit stone?”

It seemed like the spirit stone held some mystical significance in all of this.

The returning messengers seemed puzzled too, “Oh, the spirit stone… When people heard the Clan Leader’s explanation, everyone claimed the spirit stone belonged to them. The Clan Leader Qin Deming couldn’t handle the noise, so he gave each person a piece. That’s how it ended.”

Others were shocked: “Heavens!”

Meanwhile, the person speaking absentmindedly patted their own pocket…

Actually, they had also asked for a spirit stone.

Even though they knew it wasn’t the one the Clan Leader initially found, after being touched by the Clan Leader who had just successfully breakthrough, it might have some mystical power.

They thought, maybe it would help with their cultivation, perhaps enlightenment would strike someday?

In another courtyard,

Qin Dehao sat there in a daze, muttering, “Qin Deming… actually laid his foundation? Didn’t he just reach the ninth level of cultivation?”

Generally, Qi cultivators need to reach full-circle Qi, a condition reached compressing limit reach state, even Qin Dehao knew the Grand Elder understood a lot, and looked eagerly, hoping for an answer.

With the dispute that had just ensued, combined with his own subsequent thoughts, he appeared much calmer now and wouldn’t jump anxiously because of the events in the main house.

However, this matter truly surpassed his understanding.

Under such a gaze, Grand Elder sighed and finally explained, “The Clan Leader himself said he received a divine revelation, where the heavens indicated the highest chance of success for laying his foundation that day. He tried it out and it worked.”

Qin Dehao frowned, “Can that really happen? Isn’t it obvious he made up this story to fool people?”

The Grand Elder responded calmly, “In this vast world, there are many wonders. Back when I was in the Eastern Realm, I even heard of someone experiencing three lifetimes in a dream and immediately forming a core upon awakening. Compared to that, what the Clan Leader did seems much more plausible. The former is truly unbelievable.”

Qin Dehao clenched his fists uneasily, his emotions fluctuating, “Could his luck really be that good?”

Before he was like this, and now with the foundation establishment stage, Qin Deming had such good luck!

The Grand Elder looked at him with a calm gaze, “It’s not entirely necessary to attribute all of his achievements to luck. Although you’re younger than him by a few years and your cultivation is on par, your talent in cultivation isn’t surpassing his. Moreover, as foundation establishment progresses, it depends less on talent and more on insight. His success in laying his foundation shows he has that insight.”

The Grand Elder couldn’t help but teach and advise.

If this were before, Qin Dehao would have been annoyed and argued back.

But now, after listening, he bowed his head slightly and said, “I’ll take your advice, Grand Elder.”

The Grand Elder was slightly surprised but quickly became pleased, nodding in satisfaction, “It’s good that you can take it to heart. The main house is now in a different league, and with Qin Deming having breakthrough Foundation Establishment, his position is unshakable.

In the future, you need to be mindful of your words and actions, not to provoke the main house… and especially not to exert authority over Qin Ruqing, that young girl, based on your seniority.”

Qin Dehao listened quietly for a long while.

The Grand Elder looked at him, waiting for a response.

Eventually, Qin Dehao turned his head and whispered, “During this period, I will go manage the branches and won’t return to the main estate.”

This was his way of indicating he would step back.

Given Qin Dehao’s strong-willed nature, saying this was already quite restrained.

The Grand Elder nodded approvingly.

“It’s good that you’re stepping back. By stepping back, you can preserve your life and your dignity. Otherwise, that girl could really make you suffer.”

The Grand Elder felt a complex mixture of shock and understanding.

The scene where that young girl had questioned him with her head held high was still fresh in his mind, and now, not long after, Qin Deming had successfully laid his foundation.

This could only be attributed to fate.

When all fortunes converge, they create a force.

This force would elevate those around her.

In such circumstances, opposing this formed “force” would be self-destruction.

This was the wisdom accumulated over more than a hundred years by the Grand Elder.

South Ridge City, which had barely calmed down, suddenly received another bombshell: the Qin family, newly admitted as an affiliated clan, had just produced another Foundation Establishment Stage.

Three Foundation Establishment in one family!

This was unprecedented in South Ridge.

Among the prominent families of South Ridge, the strongest had been the Zhang family, with two foundation establishment stage.

Now, the Qin family had achieved a status that commanded respect and awe in the city.

The Qin family had risen.

This prestigious family from afar had unexpectedly surged ahead, not only accepting affiliated clans but now boasting three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Their flying ship traveled faster than ever before!

Could it be that in a few more years, the Qin family’s Ancestor would achieve Golden Core formation, transforming into the first Silver-grade noble family in the Southern Ridge?

From top to bottom, Southern Ridge City buzzed with this news.

Take the underground gambling dens of Southern Ridge, for instance; they were a barometer of local events.

With news of the Qin family head reaching Foundation Establishment spreading, a new betting pool emerged rapidly: “When will the Qin family achieve Silver-grade?”

Simultaneously, an existing pool—”When will the Zhang family surpass the Qin family and reclaim the top spot in Southern Ridge?”—was removed.

No one dared to bet on it anymore, clearly believing that after three members of the Qin family achieved Foundation Establishment, Zhang’s family couldn’t surpass them.

The betting on when the Qin family would achieve Silver-grade was escalating rapidly, soon exceeding a thousand participants.

Most bets were for twenty or thirty years, with a few bold ones for ten or fifteen years, and astonishingly, some even for five years!

Were people so wealthy they could afford to burn money?

Or had the rise of the Qin family truly garnered a group of fanatic followers?

Betting on achieving Silver-grade in five years—wasn’t that just blindly optimistic?

Besides the gambling dens, the fastest channels of gossip were the taverns and tea houses.

It was rumored that the hottest topic in Southern Ridge’s major taverns nowadays was guessing how many people the Qin family had blocked at their gate today.

Indeed, in recent days, the Qin family’s gate had become impassably crowded.

Smaller clans sent congratulatory gifts.

After delivering their gifts, they wanted to visit the Qin family head and inquire, “Hey, are you still accepting affiliated clans? How about considering my family?”

There were also close relatives and old friends of the Qin family.

Such times were perfect for leveraging relationships.

Even if they were distantly related, anyone with some connection would come knocking.

Their congratulations weren’t mere formality but a way to “bask in the glory of their own family.”

See, just saying you’re connected suddenly made everything seem much closer.

Even wandering independent cultivators with real skills were coming forward to offer themselves as attendants.

Believe it or not, the Qin family actually took advantage of this rising momentum and recruited quite a few alchemists, artifact craftsmen, array masters, and talisman makers.

For a major family’s development, every aspect was crucial; since the Qin family had enough alchemists, they needed to focus on recruiting attendants to fill other roles.

In addition to this, even the Qin family’s longtime rivals, the Zhang family and the Han family, sent servants with gifts to express their congratulations.

It was a matter of “etiquette”; in the world of cultivation, it showed respect for the powerful.

To show no respect would tarnish a family’s reputation.

Honestly, the Zhang family was grinding their teeth in frustration.

Nothing was more annoying than seeing your old rival surpass you.

What made it worse was having to pretend to offer gifts—it was just exasperating.

In the Zhang family’s quarters, gloom hung heavy like dark clouds.

Their Ancestor’s mourning period had passed, and the family was finally starting to settle down.

Zhang Hong’s attempt to seize power had utterly failed, leaving him with only the title of Clan Leader, which he might not even hold onto for long.

Currently, Hao Gou

Hao Gou, now the foremost figure in the family’s affairs, felt quite relaxed compared to the gloom hanging over the Zhang family.

He even felt a fleeting joy when he heard about the Qin family’s Clan Leader become Foundation Establishment.

After all, his fate was in Qin Ruqing’s hands, so he could only grit his teeth and follow along.

Now that the young lady’s father had achieved Foundation Establishment, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Hao Gou.

Maybe, as the young lady had said, if he quietly followed the Qin family, he could really rise to prominence.

His lingering dissatisfaction seemed to dissipate completely.

He decided that in a few months, he would quietly eliminate Zhang Hong, the Zhang family Clan Leader.

That way, the young lady wouldn’t think he was inactive.

As for the Han family, another prominent clan in Southern Ridge, they had always kept a low profile.

It seemed like they were indifferent to the Qin family’s developments.

They followed protocol and sent servants with gifts but didn’t pursue further interactions.

Their Clan Leader, Han Yuwen, had finally obtained a ” Small Breaking Pill” and was currently in seclusion, focusing solely on breaking through.

They had no interest in other matters.

While the clans of Southern Ridge were in turmoil due to the Qin family’s Clan Leader becoming Foundation Establishment Stage, the Cheng family was urgently convening to discuss the list of congratulatory gifts they would send to the Qin family.

If the Qin family was at the center of discussion, then as their affiliated family, the Cheng family was on the periphery of this storm.

Many envied how timely they had hitched their wagon to the rising momentum of the Qin family, rising along with it.

For those who couldn’t attach themselves to the Qin family, they considered taking a detour, following the example of the Cheng and Yan clans.

Cheng Xin had long ordered the gates tightly closed, refusing to accept any gifts.

They hadn’t even finished preparing their own gifts for the main family.

For affiliated families like theirs, preparing offerings for the main family on various occasions was a crucial matter.

They had to be meticulously selected to convey respect, joy, warmth, and restrained elegance—sloppiness was not tolerated.

Tomorrow, Cheng Xin would bring this list of gifts to attend the celebration banquet for the Qin family patriarch’s Foundation Establishment.

Hence, today they were intensifying meetings within the family to finalize their preparations.

It’s strange to say, the Qin family now has three members at the Foundation Establishment stage, which should be a time of great joy. However, they unexpectedly kept a low profile this time, without any grand celebration.

Therefore, this banquet was small, only inviting close friends of the Qin family and…

As for why the upper management arranged it this way, there must be their reasons.

But for those below, just because there’s budget cutting above doesn’t mean they can be careless.

During the meeting with Cheng Xin and his family, because the banquet was so simple this time, the formality was intentionally increased by three points to show sincerity.