The House of Living Roots Crystal was installed beneath the Qin ancestral hall.

Not at the deepest defense core.

Not beside the command network.

Beneath the family tablets.

Qin Wanshan insisted.

"This is not a weapon."

The crystal spread gentle roots of light through the estate’s internal formations. It did not monitor thoughts. It did not enforce obedience. It stabilized family systems: grievance channels, contribution records, child protections, elder duties, guard responsibilities, and emergency authority lines.

Qin Mo looked at the formation map and said, "This is the most complicated non-weapon we have built."

Qin Wanshan replied, "Families are more complicated than weapons."

The Blood-Law Balance Heart helped revise family codes. It ensured blood relations did not erase wrongdoing and law did not erase compassion.

The Family Merit Fairness Ledger connected with the Fair Contribution Ledger Crystal from Floor 87.

The Future Branch Protection Seal was placed near younger generation training halls.

Qin Yuze disliked how many protections surrounded him.

Qin Xue’er loved some of them because they glowed.

Qin Yuheng watched the family shift.

Outer branch members received clearer advancement routes.

Guard families received better education access.

Young descendants were screened against dream-script influence.

Resource distribution became more transparent internally.

Some elders grumbled.

Qin Wanshan ignored them.

Power returning to the Qin family would create pressure. If internal foundations were unfair, enemies would exploit cracks.

The Ninth Gate helped close them.

During this period, the Tower climb slowed.

Not stopped.

Slowed.

Floors 91 to 94 were cleared over two months.

Floor 91: Copper Rain Refuge Line — evacuation and disaster logistics.

Floor 92: Silver Beast Honor Valley — beast tribe honor judgment.

Floor 93: Nameless River Crossing — name protection under mass migration.

Floor 94: Ash Crown Orphan Hall — protecting children from false inheritance claims.

Each gave tools for governance, migration, and child protection.

The Qin Estate became more resilient.

But Blood Sun changed targets again.

Not Qin family.

Not academy children.

Not road sites.

They targeted public opinion.

Rumors began spreading:

Qin family was secretly hoarding high-grade Talent Fruits.

Qin Yuheng controlled Heavenly Gate Academy decisions.

Qin Yuze’s awakening was abnormal.

Qin family’s hidden guards threatened smaller families.

Qin Zhengyuan’s recovery involved forbidden rituals.

Most were false.

Some contained distorted truth.

Lin Xian’er identified the rumor structure.

"Not meant to convince everyone. Meant to create smoke."

Yu Qingmei said, "Smoke before political pressure."

Soon, several minor families petitioned the city council to investigate "resource inequality and hidden family militarization."

Qin Wanshan laughed when he heard.

Not happily.

"They want to make us reveal defenses."

The Qin family did not overreact.

They responded publicly with clean records where safe:

Qin Yuze’s public awakening status was legally private beyond Awakened.

Talent Fruit possession was not public obligation.

Qin family trade taxes were clean.

Guard forces were registered within legal private security limits—only the visible layers, of course.

Qin Zhengyuan’s health was family privacy.

Yu Qingmei issued academy support regarding student privacy.

Lin family quietly countered market rumors.

Zhao Lan, surprisingly, spoke against forced talent disclosure.

Her statement mattered because Zhao family had no reason to defend Qin publicly unless the principle affected all families.

Public pressure weakened.

Mo Cangyan noted the failure.

"Systems again."

Xue Rong asked, "Should we escalate?"

Mo Cangyan shook his head.

"No. Public pressure revealed their legal defense capacity. Useful."

He added another line to Qin Yuheng’s profile:

Builds institutional counters after each attack.

Direct pressure inefficient.

Need multi-domain convergence.

Multi-domain convergence meant attacking several values at once.

Family.

Academy.

Public opinion.

Road clue.

Tower opportunity.

Sibling safety.

Mo Cangyan began preparing such a convergence.

The likely timing?

Floor 100.

The Tenth Gate.