As they reached the top floor, it suddenly became quiet and gazes stabbed towards them.


    Soon it returned to its original atmosphere as if nothing had happened, but during that moment of silence, Qing provided a lot of information to the Phoenixes.


    The women exchanged nces and gauged her “rank” based on the information they gathered.


    What’s this, her face is covered.


    She’s using quite a good face veil. Is it Bgasa silk? It’s totally luxury.


    But only the face veil is luxury? She must not have much confidence in her face.


    Look at the shape of that body. Did everything she ate just spread out up and down?


    Ha. With breasts like that, they wouldn’t show even with clothes on, and what’s with those hips, skirts wouldn’t even fit.


    I’m not saying this out of envy, no I’m not crying.


    But, martial attire? The fabric is good quality but not quite high-end.


    She doesn’t seem to care much about adornment.


    The upper garment is a long jacket to the knees, with a crossed cor covering high to avoid exposing the corbone, isn’t it suffocating just to look at?


    She’s from a martial sect rather than a n, and among them, probably a Daoist sect.


    Why is she carrying two swords, and she even came in wearing a flute prominently as if she knows how to y it.


    But if you’re going to use a flute, use a good one, is that a short staff or a flute?


    Moreover, if you came, you should at least greet people, why are you just awkwardly looking around?


    The conclusion they reached was that she was an ugly country bumpkin who came up from some local Daoist temple.


    The women’s level of vignce instantly dropped to the bottom.


    If you were to look at the scene in the tower frame by frame, you might notice an interesting phenomenon.


    The gazes that had all focused on Qing at once returned to several women who had already taken their seats in the hall.


    And those women who received the gazes nced at each other, checking each other’s reactions.


    The women receiving the gazes were the faction leaders, the heads of cliques.


    And this was the bidding process of the clique leaders.


    Who wants to take that country bumpkin?


    She doesn’t seem worth much. I’ll pass.


    She seems to be in the female martial artist category.


    Taking her wouldn’t be beneficial and she has no sense. Ah, what a waste.


    Since no woman asked who she was first, it meant that no faction was extending a hand after her failed attempt to appeal her charm upon entering.


    Then there were two choices for a woman to make, and one choice for a martial artist to make.


    If Qing were a woman skilled in socializing, she would have approached the faction leader of her choice, introduced herself first, shed a smile, and wagged her tail saying “I want to be friends with you.”


    Or she could have drooped her shoulders with a disappointed look, thinking her debut at the Phoenix Association hadpletely failed, and headed towards the seat for rejects in one corner.


    (There’s always a gloomy “reject zone” in one corner of the Phoenix Association gatherings)


    And if she were a martial artist, she would either be ignorant of women’s power struggles or know but not care, and head towards the separate “female martial artist zone.”


    This was a ce for female martial artists who weren’t interested inplicated power struggles, those closer to martial artists than women.


    Would Qing understand theseplex inner workings?


    She just looked around the gathering, thinking “Wasn’t Miss Gong supposed to be here?”, and her simple impression was:


    Wow, they’re all dressed so gorgeously.


    That’s when Tang Nanah came up the stairs.


    “Oh, Qing’er, I told you to wait a moment but you already came up. Here, put on this scarf, it’s one I cherish, it’s Sichuan brocade.”


    Tang Nanah made a show of personally draping the scarf over Qing’s forearms and adjusting its hang.


    A scarf refers to a wide and long piece of cloth, usually draped over both forearms and hanging long down the back and sides.


    The long cloth of unknown purpose that often appears in fairy paintings is this scarf.


    “I don’t understand why people wear scarves. Isn’t it just ufortable? You can’t even lower your arms when wearing this.”


    When wearing a scarf, your arms basically end up in an awkward jump rope position.


    If not, it would drag on the ground.


    “It’s because it’s pretty. Ah, it’s beautiful.”


    At this, tension circled the hall again.


    Isn’t that the Poison Flower? It is the Poison Flower.


    Damn, the queen bitch is here. Why did that unlucky one stuck in Sichuane all the way to Kaifeng?


    The Poison Flower lent her own item? Did she go crazy from mishandling poison?


    At this, Tang Nanah shot nces here and there as if to show off.


    Her gazes reached the clique leaders, and they all exchanged nces while snickering.


    Is that ying servant? The great Tang Nanah is clinging to such a rustic ugly woman?


    Moreover, she seems to know nothing about this side? What’s she doing bringing someone who knows nothing?


    That’s when it happened.


    A tiny thing came running with high-pitched screams like a bird.


    “Sister! Gaga sister!”


    “Oh, isn’t it Hyangi. Our Hyangi was here?”


    Qing lifted Zhuge Hyang up, spun her around twice, then hugged her close.


    The seven-year-old littledy let out a clear, pleasant child’sugh, giggling happily.


    “Ah, Gaga sister, did you see our brother? I saw him after a long time but he didn’t y with Hyangi, it’s too much.”


    “Your brother is over there where the men gather. He’ll probably go home today, so ask him to y with you to make up for the missed time.”


    “Heheh, okay.”


    And when Qing tried to put the child down, Zhuge Hyang hung onto Qing’s neck like she was clinging to a tree, with no intention of letting go.


    Qing chuckled and hugged Zhuge Hyang again.


    At this sight, the women raised their level of vignce again.


    She was a woman followed by the Zhuge n’s darling, putting the Poison Flower below her.


    She wasn’t just a country bumpkin.


    That’s when a pretty beauty somewhere in the middle spoke with a bright smile.


    “Hey, Poison Flower. A new Phoenix has arrived, aren’t you going to introduce her?”


    So Qing looked at that woman.


    Wow, what? Gulp. How can she wear clothes like that?


    Seeing it directly, the impact is incredible.


    It was a trend called “thin-transparent-exposed.”


    Thin means thin, transparent means see-through, and exposed means revealing, epassing all three in one outfit.


    It involves wrapping a sash around the ribs to lift the breasts up, then wearing a very long skirt.


    Add a see-through gauze vest on top and the thin-transparent-exposed look isplete.


    Many poets were inspired by this desirable attire and wrote poetry, with famous lines like:


    “White snow piles up on the front chest.”


    “The exposed chest is white as snow.”


    “The revealed chest is like snow reflecting the sky.”


    They allpare breasts to snow, not because of giarism, but because snow-white skin is considered beautiful.


    Meanwhile, how much of the upper chest was exposed depended on the individual’s confidence, wealth, and level of power.


    The higher all three were, the lower and more area was revealed.


    And the confidence of the woman who spoke to her was at the maximum level, dangerously close to the edge.


    Qing struggled to correct her instinctively drawn gaze and said:


    “Ah. Hello everyone. I’m Ximen Qing, an outer disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect. I’mcking, but I’ve studied under Master Ximen Surin.”


    “Grand Matron!” “Zenith Among Women!” “Grand Matron!”


    This doesn’t distinguish between men and women, huh.


    And this sharp chorus again.


    It seems like there’s a rough one, two, fire rhythm, and as long as they shout simultaneously, it doesn’t matter if the content is slightly different.


    I should try joining in instead of standing alone stupidly if I get the chanceter.


    Qing inwardly resolved.


    And that opportunity came right away.


    “So you’re Miss Ximen. I’m Jin Seol. You must have heard my name?”


    And then Jin Seol made an expression as if waiting for something, and Qing sensed it.


    Ah. This is the moment I should shout now!


    Um, so, Jin Seol um.


    Who are you?


    Qing realized a serious error.


    Shouldn’t you know something to shout?


    That’s when Zhuge Hyang blew her hot child’s breath into Qing’s ear through the face veil.


    “She’s Miss Jin Seol of the Guangdong Jin n. She’s in charge of the Blooming White Lily among the Five Flowers of Murim.”


    “Blooming White Lily!”


    Qing cheated and copied the correct answer.


    Although the timing was quitete, Jin Seol nodded with a proud expression.


    In Chinese poetry, there’s a line that goes: “Sitting like a peony, standing like a peony, walking like a lily.”


    This describes a beauty, and among them, the lily is known as the flower of flowers for its strong fragrance and pure beauty.


    Jin Seol, the Blooming White Lily, was just like that.


    For reference, Sword Flower Murong Juhui imed that they just called her Lily because Jin Seol had no special skills.


    She didn’t stop there, showing hostility by saying that because she had nothing else to show off, she always went around with her chest exposed, clearly aiming to be the Pervert Flower or Slut Flower.


    It wasn’t entirely baseless.


    There’s the Poison Flower who uses poison, the Sword Flower who’s surprisingly serious about swords. The Wise Flower who’s smart and the Snow Flower who uses ice arts.


    Although all five beauties are beautiful enough to be called the Five Flowers of the Central ins, Jin Seol doesn’t have any notable characteristics or special skills to speak of.


    Of course, she ims it’s because she’s the most beautiful.


    “My, our Hyangi is just like Zhuge Liang? As expected of the Zhuge bloodline. So reliable.”


    “Heheh.”


    Qing rubbed cheeks with the child through the thin face veil.


    Zhuge Hyang burst into happyughter, and Tang Nanah lit up with jealousy at the sight.


    It was the ugly image of a viiness being jealous of a seven-year-old child.


    Jin Seol gently tested the waters and checked the situation.


    Even if there are differences in distribution, ns aren’t as strict as Daoist or Buddhist sects anyway.


    “Let’s see. We should prepare a seat for Miss Ximen. Where is there an empty seat…”


    Just as even cold water has its levels, the Phoenix Association banquet also has upper and lower seats.


    This doesn’t officially exist so no one exins it, but if you vite it, you’ll immediately face five hundred times the gossip and subtle ostracism.


    So you had to figure it out on your own, read the room, and find your ce well.


    And Jin Seol’s ploy towards Qing was exactly this: a scheme to relegate her to the lowest of the low seats.


    It’s an evil strategy with no escape route - if you don’t know, you’ll beughed at for being stuck in the lowest seat, and if you do know, you can’t refuse from your first banquet appearance and have to ept it with seething anger.


    She doesn’t particrly have bad feelings, but she can’t help it since that Tang Nanah bitch is sticking to her.


    The humiliation and insults she suffered because that dog-like woman neutralizes poison are still vivid.


    In the end, it was because of Tang Nanah.


    And just as Jin Seol was about to make her move!


    “Ah. It’s fine. I just stopped by because I heard Miss Gong was here. I n to just have a brief private conversation and leave.”


    “Ah. I see. But since we’ve met like this…”


    “I’m sorry too. But I can’t spend much time because I havepanions, so please understand.”


    Jin Seol’s smiling face became a bit awkward.


    That’s because she was thinking something else inside.


    ‘Right, so you’re trying to slip away like this? Okay, fine,panions. What kind ofpanions could you have?’


    She thinks she’s going to look around for men from the Nine Great Sects based on her background.


    Well, I wonder if there’s any man who understands women’s power struggles.


    “Then will you please join tomorrow’s gathering? I’d like to talk with you, and since all of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly will gather in one ce tomorrow, it would be good if yourpanions join too, right?”


    “Ah. Is that so? Will there be a lot of food?”


    “Of course, rare dishes from all over the Central ins will be gathered in one ce.”


    Qing’s eyes shed.


    Well then, I can’t miss that, she thought.


    “Excuse me, is Miss Gong here? Ah. There you are. Now, Hyangi. I have something to discuss privately, so the swinging is over now.”


    “Swinging? Is that a dialect? But I can understand what it means right away…”


    Qing patted Tang Nanah’s shoulder, telling her to at least exchange greetings with some familiar faces.


    At this, Tang Nanah walked out boldly, then pushed aside the woman next to Jin Seol and took her ce instead.


    Qing approached Gong Sonyeye directly, assuming the Five Flowers of Murim knew each other.


    As it happened, the seat where Gong Sonyeye was sitting was the very lowest seat, but Qing didn’t know anyway.


    Of course, even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared, but that doesn’t excuse her ignorance.