That day, Su Qingcheng finally decided to go to visit the Xiao clan. Fortunately, at this point, Su Qingcheng’s reputation in the Tang Gu City had skyrocketed, and though she didn’t know it, coincidentally, there was a Tianqi Board Ranker who lived in the Xiao clan residence. She was a young maid a few years older than Su Qingcheng, who was named Fei Yan, and she was the personal attendant and bodyguard of the Xiao clan head’s precious daughter, Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua herself was not a slouch either, since lots of resources had been plunged into her cultivation and training, she had become a peak Tianqi Geomancer at the age of seventeen, and could be said to be as talented as Xiao Hei. When Su Qingcheng arrived at the residence, she was immediately greeted by Xiao Hua who happened to be there. Fei Yan was right by her side, and was shocked when she recognized the familiar Medallion Aura that Su Qingcheng had emitted that only she could detect.

A fellow ranker in the Xiao clan’s midst? She must be a personal attendant of that Xiao Hua. Yao Meiyue quietly reminded Su Qingcheng. She did not know Fei Yan’s identity in the Ranking board but there was a tacit understanding between the two to keep their identities as Rankers a big secret. Xiao Hua curtseyed politely. “Miss Qingcheng, it is a pleasure to meet you today. This is Fei Yan, my personal attendant. Actually, she is much stronger than you and I, so I am really fortunate to have her as a close friend…”

Their relationship is probably not that simple, is what Su Qingcheng thought. For someone much stronger than Xiao Hua to be faithfully by her side, Su Qingcheng surmised that they probably had a forbidden relationship. Thinking about this made Su Qingcheng look at Fei Yan with a cheeky expression, causing the attendant to blush faintly. “It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you, also. Actually, I’ve come to visit on some business.” she greeted the both of them politely in return. Truthfully speaking, Xiao Hua was one of the more polite and reserved people of the Xiao clan. She was smart, respectful and was nothing like the haughty princesses of other clans. Therefore, Su Qingcheng respected her a lot.

“What business exactly?”

“Humm, I’m looking for some rare herbs and plants,” Su Qingcheng explained. “Are you in possession of any Soul-stirring Grass?”

“Soul-stirring Grass… I think we should still have some, but why do you need it?”

“I am going to have a friend make some concoction for me to help cultivate, I am preparing to make my breakthrough to become a Tianqi Geomancer.” Su Qingcheng teethed out a white lie. In fact, she wasn’t necessarily lying, but only telling half a truth. A Tianqi Terraformer could indeed be considered a stronger version of a Tianqi Geomancer which was proven by the single Mark of the Paragon. The best part is that the Tianqi Aura of a Terraformer would be pretty much exactly the same as a regular Geomancer, only a bit denser. Therefore, Su Qingcheng was not afraid that Xiao Hua would question her.

“I see. Your method must be pretty strict and burdensome to train then. I will go ask Father for permission. Did you need anything else?”

“Uh… Well, if you have any information on where to acquire Flower of the Cursed Dragon, and if there has been anyone in the area with a Fruit of Desire, then please tell me also.”

Xiao Hua was startled. Is this kid going crazy? What kind of elixir needs such high-class herbs and plants? Now she was starting to get a bit suspicious. After all, she was still a User. What kind of method was so absurd that it needed such energy from those plants to power her up? With an awkward smile on her face, Xiao Hua said she would go visit her father, Xiao Dian, to check for information on the herbs that Su Qingcheng needed.

While Su Qingcheng was waiting…

“Little Hua, are you mad? We can’t just give some of those Soul-stirring Grass to Little Qingcheng just like that. Even if she has a strong and absurd foundation, it’s too much just to give it away like that to her. We’d better verify to see if she can really make proper use of those ingredients. We must conduct a test. Also, that Xiao Tie is growing mysteriously competent by the day, and I fear he’s plotting something very bad against Little Qingcheng. Now, her dad and I go way back, so I need to make sure she doesn’t die by his hands in a couple of months.”

“Father, why won’t you believe me? Xiao Tie has acquired a backer behind our backs. Fei Yan can attest to this, her cultivation level is even higher than yours.”

If Su Qingcheng were here, she would be shocked, but not as stunned as Xiao Dian, who was already a powerful Tianqi Lord. That must mean Fei Yan ranked relatively high on the Earth boards. If she were an Emperor, she wouldn’t be working hard as a servant of the Xiao clan.

“Well even if what you say is true, we don’t have any evidence. As for the matter of the grass, the Flower of Cursed Dragon and the Fruit of Desire, that’s more straightforward. Okay, how about this. Let’s meet with Little Qingcheng together.”

Su Qingcheng was growing impatient but soon saw the happy expressions of the father and daughter pair. She cupped her fists and bowed down politely. “Su Qingcheng greets Senior Xiao Dian.” She said solemnly.

“You’re the quietest of your siblings, haha. But it’s good to know you’ve grown well and can be someone worthy of succeeding the family…”

Su Qingcheng inwardly disdained this type of thinking. She yearned to be powerful and strong, free-willed like her mother was before marrying into the Su clan. She didn’t want to be restrained by merely being the family head…

“Little Hua had already told me about your matter. While we do have some Soul-Stirring Grass, at the moment, we can’t just give it to you willy-nilly.”

“What’s the condition you’ve set for me, then? I urgently need these materials.” Su Qingcheng frowned. “Let’s be straight-forward about the matte.”

“Good, good, you are just like your father in this respect. In this case, let me be forthright and honest with you. We really can’t help you regarding the Fruit of Desire, but I happen to have one bud of Flower of Cursed Dragon. The Soul-Stirring Grass we have a lot in stock right now, so as it happens, we can give both of them to you. However, you need to render us a merit of equivalent worth.”

Su Qingcheng had expected this. Naturally, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Though she was only in the fifth rank of the Tianqi User stratum, she was pretty much invincible against anyone in the same stratum as her, and she can defeat those in the Tianqi Geomancer stratum, and she could easily escape from anyone in the Tianqi Prince stratum even if she can only battle with them to a stand-still. This was of course due to her unique constitution and the fact she had formed a lightning nascent soul far earlier than had ever been recorded in history.

“What do I need to do?”

“Ok, our request for you is simple. In two days, little Hua is required to attend a banquet held by close friends of our Xiao clan. These fellas are from the Li clan. While the elders of the clans are very close, the Li elders have a tough time reining in their youngsters, and it’s for sure that little Hua will be the target of those more lecherous fellas,” Xiao Dian explained. “The Li clan naturally won’t stand for it but can you expect them to just reprimand their juniors in a banquet to celebrate an elder’s birthday? And of course, this is the Li Grand Elder, Li Fengtian, so it will be a grand feast. Please be her bodyguard for that evening and ensure nothing happens to her.”

“Can’t Miss Fei Yan go?” Su Qingcheng was rather confused about this matter, though Fei Yan didn’t seem to be bothered about this arrangement either. Evidently, she trusted in Su Qingcheng’s capabilities as both of them were Tianqi Ranking Board rankers. “She is of a much stronger stratum than I am.”

Xiao Dian smiled but shook his head. “Alas. Fei Yan is indeed a notch stronger than you, but she can’t attend because it just so happens that she has to go visit her father to check up on him. He is sick, and is part of the reason why she is working with us.”

Su Qingcheng frowned and then looked at Fei Yan with sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear that. You are very kind to allow her to see her father. Then, I will step up and accompany Miss Hua to the banquet. I won’t let anyone touch her.”

Fei Yan seemed to smile, nodding in acknowledgment while Xiao Dian raised his hands in a thumbs up manner. “Good, very good. Then, two days from now, please visit me again in the afternoon, we will attend the banquet together.”

“Alright, I’ll do as you say. I’ll have to inform my mother about it first, but I am sure she won’t mind.”

“Right, right. Of course. Su Ran, that ferocious lady, she definitely wouldn’t object to you being social for once. Haha!”

Su Qingcheng flushed a bit but bowed respectfully after cupping her fists together. “Then it’s settled. I’ll meet with you both two days from now, and I will do my best to protect Miss Hua and keep her safe.” She gave a knowing glance to Fei Yan also. Judging by how close they seemed, Su Qingcheng had a suspicion that their relationship was not just a master and servant one. She suddenly felt obligated to help out a fellow ranker after all. With a tacit understanding of one another, they parted ways on good terms.

Xiao Hua smiled. “You sure are decisive, dad.” She finally spoke when Su Qingcheng was no longer in the premises.

“Hmm. Miss Fei Yan is an extraordinary woman. I’m not that stupid to force someone not to help out their family. She is really a filial young woman. On top of that, she has cared for you so greatly.” Xiao Dian smiled. “It’s a blessing we have a Tianqi Sage of her strength to protect us.”

While Xiao Dian, Xiao Hua and Fei Yan left the premises, a cloaked figure suddenly peeped out from a pillar far away. Naturally, this cloaked figure was Xiao Tie, who had used a concealing technique from the Demon Flame Sect to hide there and eavesdrop on the conversation. He inwardly chuckled to himself. “I see, so that bitch is going to be Hua-hua’s bodyguard during the banquet? Hmm, if it were that Fei Yan slut, I’d be scared, but Su Qingcheng isn’t worth fart. I can coordinate with some Li buddies and set up an ambush. I wouldn’t even need to be present!” Xiao Tie whispered under his breath before chuckling again to himself and leaving the Xiao residence.

At that moment.

Su Qingcheng had already returned home. “Mother, I have to ask you for a favor.”

“Another favor?” Su Ran tilted her head.

“I am going to go be a bodyguard for Young Mistress Xiao Hua for a Li family banquet two days from now.”

“Huh? How come I don’t know about this? You little brat, hiding secrets from me. This is fine, those Li bastard juniors need to be taught a lesson anyway. Those elders may be venerable, but they’re useless when it comes to taming the young. Why you, though?”

“Young Mistress Hua’s attendant had requested leave to help continue her sick dad’s treatment,” Su Qingcheng explained honestly. “Besides that, I agreed mostly because I am trying to acquire those materials you said you couldn’t get. Xiao Dian was actually one of the more respected clan elders, so he was willing to set up an exchange. As long as I protected her in the attendant’s place, I could get both Soul-Stirring Grass and the Flower of Cursed Dragon.”

“Wow, you, this brat, are pretty resourceful,” Su Ran laughed happily. “Great. This is a good test for you, since you haven’t been able to conduct yourself at such social gatherings. Even if you aren’t directly going to participate, you can at least see what’s going on between other families. Also, we have a close relationship with the Xiao clan, so you can build more favor between our families. This is a win-win situation!” Su Ran seemed happy about this.

“Thank you mother.” Su Qingcheng bowed.

“Haha! Your dad’s gonna be happy when he sees you’re finally taking some initiative to broker deals. He thinks you’re like me, obsessed with the martial Way. But you’ve definitely got some foresight.”

“I’m not that muscle-brained, mother,” Su Qingcheng joked, causing Su Ran to flush and slap her daughter’s shoulder ferociously, eliciting a squeak from the young teen. “Geez, mother! Haha.”

Su Qingcheng would then spend the next two days comprehending the notes and journals of Faceless, attempting to get a better understanding of what it means to embark on the path of a Paragon. Since she didn’t have anything pressing to do, she would at least mentally prepare herself while waiting for the day of the Li family banquet…