Qin Ruqing still had a smile on her face, like a polite junior.

She shook her head, showing disagreement. “I have long admired the Celestial Family. I know the Director and the Scribe are important figures. Important figures have grace and would not trouble a small person like me.”

Her flattery was so direct and obvious that even the furious Scribe couldn’t help but choke on his anger.

His rage was interrupted and couldn’t quite resume.

She continued, “However, if I’m really unlucky today and don’t make it out of the Celestial Bureau’s door, the next day, my family elders will issue the Family Order, announcing everything that happened in the small floating island to all the families on the Qianyuan Continent.”

The Family Order was a token issued when each family was established.

It was said to have been created by an ancient ascending great power during the creation era to unite families against monsters, even older than the Celestial Family.

This token had no other use but to transmit messages without any spatial obstacles.

All families with this token could see the messages posted.

Each family only had one token, and once used, it was destroyed.

Therefore, it was not used unless it was a matter of utmost importance.

Qin Ruqing’s words meant that if she died here today, the next day her family would use the only Family Order they had to announce the Celestial Bureau’s actions in the small floating island to the world.

Fifth Lingyu smiled and nodded. “So, you gathered so many people to come out with you to make it difficult for the Celestial Bureau to take action immediately, giving you time to communicate with your family.”

Qin Ruqing just smiled, neither admitting nor denying it.

Fifth Lingyu continued, “It seems you are not afraid of death. In that case, why do you have so many explosive talismans on you?”

Qin Ruqing gave an “oh” and pulled out an explosive talisman from her body. “Are you talking about this?”

Scratching her head as if embarrassed, she said, “If my words truly offended you and made the Director or the Scribe angry enough to take action, I would self-destruct and ignite this talisman. With my mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and bloodline advantages, this talisman should help me explode and kill one or two Golden Core Formation cultivators.”

She looked at the Scribe and said cautiously, “With the Director’s cultivation, he should be fine. But someone like you, Elder, might end up accompanying me on a journey to then.”

The Scribe’s beard twitched in anger again. It was like she was saying he deserved to die.

Fifth Lingyu laughed v.

He had sensed the power of the explosive talisman, which was the strongest attack of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It must have bek7enen given to Qin Ruqing by her family’s Ancestor for self-defense.

She had three of them on her.

With her mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, as she said, she could indeed take the Scribe down with her.

Even Fifth Lingyu himself would get hurt significantly.

After laughing, Fifth Lingyu clapped his hands. “Since you were thinking about mutual destruction, why didn’t you hide the talismans better? Showing a corner so blatantly, were you afraid we wouldn’t see it?”

Qin Ruqing laughed, shaking the talisman before tucking it back. “Exactly, I was afraid the Director and the Scribe wouldn’t notice.”

If she truly self-destructed, she would be gone, and Qin Ruqing wasn’t willing to go that far.

Moreover, faced with absolute strength, it seemed she didn’t even have the chance to self-destruct.

Just as Zhang Li once wanted to self-destruct but was stopped by the Elder Ancestor, with the Fifth Feather present, Qin Ruqing couldn’t possibly succeed in self-destructing.

So, Qin Ruqing openly revealed a corner of the exploding talisman to demonstrate her determination on this journey—what determination?

Naturally, it was the determination to take a bite of the meat in her mouth and insist on pulling it down to eat.

The Scribe sighed and softened his expression, “You little one, how dare you be so bold. Have you seen that we won’t lay a hand on you?”

The scribe had indeed been angry before, but not as angry as he appeared.

Qin Ruqing respectfully bowed to the scribe like a well-behaved junior, then smiled slightly, “If the Director and the scribe are determined to deal with me, they should appear after I have emptied the medicine garden.

How could they allow Ruqing to open the door to the second mine?”

“If Ruqing guesses correctly, the Director and the scribe are so calm, there must be some extra instructions. Therefore, I just need to wait quietly.”

The Fifth Lingyu’s eyes gleamed brightly as he clapped and laughed heartily, “Good, you are worthy of my attention. You have courage and strategy. Very good!”

After laughing, he continued, “Are you already in the middle Foundation Establishment stage just because you refined the Heavenly Fire Seed? Don’t look at me like that. You can delve deep into the fire pool and devour all the earth fires without any danger, how could you not have the protection of Heavenly Fire? Even if the Heavenly Fire is insufficient, there must be other mysteries on your body.”

Qin Ruqing remained silent.

How could she easily reveal the secrets of Daoist?

However, the Fifth Lingyu seemed uninterested too, and continued, “You can take everything away, as long as you agree to one condition from us. In the future, representing me, the Fifth Celestial Family, and me, Fifth Lingyu, in a place.”

Huh?

Qin Ruqing was surprised and looked up.

Go somewhere?

She thought about how the wave would likely be suppressed by the Celestial Bureau, but the situation was easy, just go to one place?

How much was she willing to go on the road?

As if she knew what she wanted to ask, Fifth Lingyu brought a teasing attitude.

He muttered slowly and maliciously revealed the rest:

“A place that only true geniuses, recognized by the Heavenly Dao, can enter. If you don’t meet the Heavenly Dao’s criteria for a genius, you will be killed instantly by the will of the place. Even if you do meet the criteria, entering that place is a nine out of ten chance of death. So, do you agree?”

Surprisingly, after hearing this, Qin Ruqing did not show any shock.

Instead, she nodded slowly. This nod was not an indication of agreement, but rather, an acknowledgment of “as expected.”

As expected, the Celestial Bureau’s conditions were not that simple.

After some thought, Qin Ruqing said, “I agree.”

“But it’s not because of the things in this Small Floating Island. Everything I have taken is legitimate and rightful, without the slightest mistake or hesitation.”

“The reason I agree is to express my gratitude for the Director’s support and cultivation when he gifted me the scroll back then!” As she spoke, she performed a solemn bow.

Yes,

Qin Ruqing had no hesitation or guilt in taking things from the Small Floating Islans; she didn’t feel she was doing anything wrong.

However, she could not forget that Fifth Lingyu had gifted her a scroll because of a certain secret.

This gift was given in the name of an equivalent exchange, even though these were just casual items to Fifth Lingyu.

He didn’t care about anything in Small Floating Island.

Yet, Qin Ruqing still felt grateful.

Without the scroll from Fifth Lingyu at the beginning, she would have been kept in the dark like other noble families in the West Ridge.

Now, she could confront the errors of the Celestial Bureau openly and threaten them, all because of the scroll gifted by Fifth Lingyu.

No matter his reasons—whether for fun, indifference, or something else—Qin Ruqing appreciated this momentary kindness and support.

The girl in red spoke clearly, hands folded over her forehead, solemnly bowing deeply.

This was the highest level of etiquette in her noble family.

She said that her agreement wasn’t for the items taken from Small Floating Realm, but out of gratitude for the chief’s nurturing support.

Nurturing support.

Even someone as casual and indifferent as Fifth Lingyu felt deeply moved by this scene.

For the first time, he took Qin Ruqing seriously, observing her without playful intent.

Then, feeling that this distance was too great and unclear, he descended from his pedestal, knelt before Qin Ruqing, and softly said,

“Look up.”

Qin Ruqing lifted her head, raising an eyebrow subtly at his strange gesture.

With delicate features and lively eyes, she indeed had a very attractive appearance.

However, Fifth Lingyu had never been moved by appearances, as he himself had an exceptionally good face.

What fascinated Fifth Lingyu most was her eyes, the emotions within them.

She looked at him, then beyond to her prestigious family.

He could be certain that after her experience in Small Floating Island, she must have thought to herself, “Is this all the Celestial Bureau amounts to?”

A single glance might not seem significant, but despite her humble origins, she possessed such talent.

She deserved to be proud, for someday she would inevitably rise high.

What truly intrigued Fifth Lingyu was discovering that this girl had been staring at him all along.

From their first meeting to every subsequent encounter, every action, she had been watching.

If she were like others, she would have feared the Celestial Bureau and simply completed her task in the Fire Pool before leaving.

But she didn’t.

Like a spark fallen into the wilderness, her ambitions grew boundlessly.

She acted boldly, without hesitation, turning the Fire Pool upside down, even seizing the last remaining Fire Core.

Up to this point, her actions were nothing remarkable.

But even after understanding the truth behind the gifts from the Celestial Bureau, she showed no fear, no retreat, no settling for less.

On the contrary, she showed immense courage and excitement.

She knew every barrier space hid treasures, as if the Celestial Bureau had gathered centuries of essence from Island Floating Small and marked it all clearly for her.

With her experience in the Fire Pool, she relished the taste, like a wild beast with a taste for blood.

She staked everything, with a determination to tear a piece of flesh from the Celestial Family.

It was a substantial piece of flesh.

She didn’t even realize how precious it was.

Fifth Lingyu was sure that if he and the scribe hadn’t sealed the rear space, she would have dared to use her broken key to unlock every door.

She would have kept eating until she was full, unable to eat any more.

Yet now, when she could finally take that bite, she said, “Not for this flesh, but out of gratitude for nurturing support.”

Such hypocritical words, spoken with the utmost sincerity and solemnity.

Because she truly meant it.

She actually felt genuine gratitude.

Fifth Lingyu never imagined that one day his casual actions would be so earnestly valued by such a proud person.

So he knelt down and looked at her seriously.

After a moment, they gazed at each other, and he asked, “Do you know what I want to say?”

Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes and said, “You’re really funny.”

He was amused.

Fifth Lingyu paused, then burst into laughter, unable to contain himself, sitting on the ground without any decorum.

He said, “Hahaha, you’re really amusing!”