"Outside the entire country?"
"Abroad?"
Yuan Mengqi shook her head, "It's more general than that."
"You can understand it as a circle exclusively for superhumans."
"A circle of superhumans?"
Yuan Mengqi nodded.
"Although superhumans appear no different from ordinary people in their daily lives, in reality, the things they require on a daily basis are vastly different from those of ordinary people."
"Those ordinary martial artists and Grandmasters are relatively easy to deal with; they only need common herbs for their cultivation."
"But if it's Qi cultivators or espers, the things they need to improve are entirely different."
"Therefore, outside the secular world, there exists an invisible social circle for superhumans."
"They exchange insights, trade items, and swap information."
"And the Eight Great Families of the Imperial Capital are the main participants in this."
"So, the Eight Great Families of the Imperial Capital are actually eight powerful families that include superhumans?"
Hearing Yuan Mengqi's explanation, Qin Xuan suddenly understood.
No wonder families like Chen Zhongping and Ye Shuliang, which spanned the military, political, and business sectors, were only considered first-rate families at most.
It turned out that the truly top-tier families were those with the involvement of superhumans.
"But are there no superhumans in those first-rate families?"
"If there are, why don't they try to focus on cultivating them?"
As one question was answered, more followed.
Yuan Mengqi answered Qin Xuan's questions clearly.
The core of it all was two words: inheritance.
With the great changes in the world, the entire Blue Star was no longer suitable for superhumans to survive.
Most inheritances had been severed hundreds of years ago.
The possibility of generating mutated superhumans had been declining year by year.
By now.
Those who could become superhumans, apart from a very small number of lucky individuals, were basically those with fixed inheritances.
Either their families possessed sufficiently excellent methods for continuous cultivation.
Or they had certain special physiques that had been passed down to the present day.
In short, individual superhumans were almost non-existent.
Otherwise, why would only these eight families hold an unshakeable position?
"Moreover, the patriarchs of these eight families hold a very important identity: they are candidates for the Dragon Country's Dragon Head."
"Once the current Dragon Head passes away, they will unite to support the strongest family head to become the new Dragon Head and lead the Dragon Country..."
"Wait, wait, what is a Dragon Head?"
"Isn't the Peak the one who leads the Dragon Country?"
The more Qin Xuan listened to Yuan Mengqi, the more confused he became.
Only now did he suddenly realize that he seemed to know nothing about his beloved country!
Yuan Mengqi could completely understand Qin Xuan's surprise.
After all, he hadn't lived with the Qin family before, so it was normal for him not to know these more hidden matters.
"The Peak is the overt political leader of the Dragon Country, and he can make decisions on most matters concerning the Dragon Country."
"However, if a matter involves superhumans or highly sensitive aspects between major countries, the Dragon Head will intervene and handle it personally."
"You mean, the Peak is like the Dragon Head's personal secretary, and the Dragon Head is the true leader of the entire Dragon Country?"
"Something like that."
Having clarified the relationship between the Dragon Head and the Peak, Qin Xuan gained a deeper understanding of the Dragon Country's power structure.
Combined with what Yuan Mengqi had told him earlier, Qin Xuan once again refreshed his perception of the Eight Great Families of the Imperial Capital.
Originally, he thought the Eight Great Families of the Imperial Capital were merely wealthy and influential, but he hadn't expected that the heads of the eight families were also candidates for the nation's leader.
But it made sense.
If the leader of the Dragon Country was just an ordinary person without any abilities, how could the eight families, with their various powerful individuals, obediently follow his orders?
He just wondered who the current Dragon Head was.
Could it be the Qin family?
After all, more than one person had said that the Qin family was currently the number one family in the Imperial Capital...
"General Qin, what are you doing here?"
Mid-thought, Qin Xuan's train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice.
Turning around, he saw Li Hongyu and Qin Hu walking in together.
Why were they here?
Although it was a holiday, shouldn't special forces soldiers like them be spending their leave in the barracks?
Wait, wouldn't they both be here for the gathering?
If so, since Li Hongyu was from the Li family, then Qin Hu must be...
From the Qin family?!
Thinking of this, Qin Xuan's eyes widened.
No wonder he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with Qin Hu the first time they met.
He always couldn't help but tease him.
It turned out they were related by blood!
But who could he be?
A younger brother?
A cousin?
Or...
A maternal cousin?
As he pondered, Qin Hu and Li Hongyu arrived before Qin Xuan.
Before they could speak, another unfamiliar voice drew everyone's attention.
"Qin Hu, Li Hongyu!"
"You two are quite fast!"
"Oh?"
"Sister, greetings to all three elder sisters."
"Is this General Qin Xuan?"
"He's quite handsome!"
The young man who arrived later familiarly threw a "flirtatious glance" at Qin Xuan.
Then, Yuan Mengqi's stern and beautiful face immediately turned cold at a visible speed.
"Yuan Zhicheng, is this how Mom taught you to speak to elders?!"
Upon hearing Yuan Mengqi's tone, Yuan Zhicheng immediately realized he had been a bit too presumptuous.
His hair stood on end, and he couldn't help but shiver.
"Uh, well, I just remembered I have something to do at home, so I'll be going now."
"Sister, you all enjoy yourselves. We'll talk again when we have time, talk again!"
Leaving behind a promise to talk later, Yuan Zhicheng turned and ran.
However, how could a mere martial arts apprentice like him be faster than a Grandmaster?
"Sister, I was wrong, I was really wrong."
"It's just that I was too excited to see the legendary General Qin and momentarily forgot to maintain proper etiquette!"
"I'll apologize to him right away, just let me off the hook, let me off the hook!"
Seeing Yuan Mengqi's iron fist about to descend, Yuan Zhicheng immediately put on a pitiful act.
After a cold snort, Yuan Mengqi ultimately didn't strike.
When one is out, everyone wants to save face.
Moreover, her brother was already in his early twenties; no matter how good their relationship was, it was not appropriate to discipline him in public.
The shrewd Yuan Zhicheng naturally understood his sister's good intentions.
After escaping Yuan Mengqi's "claws," he immediately acted as an intermediary.
Not only did he solemnly greet Qin Xuan and apologize, but he also enthusiastically introduced Qin Xuan to everyone he knew present.
"This is the youngest General of our Dragon Country, Qin Xuan."
"Don't let his young age fool you; his cultivation has already reached the peak of perfection!"
"If you ask why he can be so formidable at such a young age?"
"I can only say, Young Master is the GOAT, a disciple of the Supreme, DDD!"