Ning Rongrong, though still a little princess, had noticeably toned down her once rebellious attitude. She no longer wanted her temper or spoiled nature to hinder her interactions with others, especially people like Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu, both of whom she read about in Su Ming's diary. As for Tang San and Dai Mubai, she wasn't particularly interested in getting close to them—her impressions of them weren't too favorable anyway.
In her heart, Ning Rongrong felt deeply grateful to Su Ming. Thanks to his system, when she awakened her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, she had reached the rare state of innate full soul power. This was a great shock to her father, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo. Typically, within the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, known for being the most powerful auxiliary clan, having innate full soul power was almost unheard of due to the martial soul's natural limitations.
Her father and the two Douluo elders were beyond thrilled, showering her with affection and granting her whatever she wished. Her father even declared that the position of clan leader would be hers in the future.
However, over the past six years, due to reading Su Ming's diary, Ning Rongrong's personality had subtly shifted. Though she still had her little princess persona, she had matured significantly. The diary's influence had molded her into someone more thoughtful and less willful than in the original timeline.
She also realized that sticking close to Su Ming, coupled with the rewards from the diary, might even allow her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to evolve into the Nine Treasures Pagoda, which would in turn change the destiny of her clan.
As Ning Rongrong thought of this, her mind wandered, and her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I wonder if Su Ming will be shocked by my current spirit power level when we meet in a few days," she mused.
Thanks to the steady growth in her soul power and the amplification of her cultivation by the Jade Pendant of Glazed Tiles, her current spirit power had already reached a terrifying level of 34. Considering that auxiliary-type martial souls are generally more difficult to cultivate, this was an astounding achievement!
Her father and the two elders had been utterly dumbfounded by this rate of progress. They had encountered other innate full soul power geniuses before, but none had progressed so swiftly. Of course, they had no idea that Ning Rongrong had a "cheat" working in her favor!
Meanwhile, in the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire.
Zhu Zhuqing realized that it was time for her to make her move now that Su Ming was preparing to go to Shrek Academy in a few days.
Like Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing was also benefiting from the diary system. Although her innate soul power was ranked at nine, which was already considered a monstrous level for her family's Hell Civet martial soul, it had attracted immense attention from both the Zhu family and the Dai royal family.
When she awakened her martial soul, the Dai royal family immediately announced her engagement to Dai Mubai. As vassals of the royal family, the Zhu family had no choice but to comply, even though Zhu Zhuqing's innate soul power exceeded Dai Mubai's by one rank.
Refusing the engagement would have been seen as rebellion, potentially leading to the destruction of the Zhu family since they lacked a Titled Douluo. Even more concerning was the attention Zhu Zhuqing's talent had drawn from her older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, and Dai Mubai's older brother, Dai Weisi. The two of them viewed her as a direct threat.
Since the awakening of her martial soul, Zhu Zhuqing had been dealing with constant covert attacks. Although she had managed to avoid these attempts on her life, they were relentless, serving as a form of oppression.
What disgusted her even more was Dai Mubai's behavior. He had crumbled first under the pressure, fleeing alone to the Heaven Dou Empire a year ago. He probably believed that even if they joined forces, they would be no match for Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, whose strength had long reached the Spirit Ancestor level due to their head start in cultivation.
As of now, Zhu Zhuqing had only managed to reach level 35, thanks to the system and her relentless effort. Although her current strength was exceptional for her age, it was far from enough to stand against Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.
What annoyed her the most was Dai Mubai's cowardice. Instead of fighting, he had fled to the Heaven Dou Empire, effectively giving up on competing for the throne. His carefree attitude infuriated Zhu Zhuqing. She didn't care much about the throne itself, as power and titles were fleeting, but she couldn't respect Dai Mubai's lack of courage.
He had run off to the Heaven Dou Empire, leaving her alone to face the wrath of Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun. What kind of man was that?
Fortunately, the time had come. Su Ming would be heading to Shrek Academy soon. According to the system's hints, Zhu Zhuqing would also be making her way there shortly. In the original timeline, she had escaped in a rather sorry state. But this time, as she glanced at the spatial talisman in her hand, she smiled to herself. Now, she could travel to the Heaven Dou Empire in secret without anyone being the wiser.
Would Su Ming Be Surprised?
She wondered if Su Ming would be surprised by then, given that her level was now vastly different from that in the original story. She wasn't sure if this discrepancy would be noticed.
But that wasn't something she could handle; it all depended on the system's acting skills.
Now, all that was left was to wait for nightfall. She needed to find the right moment—sneaking away in the middle of the night seemed like the best option.
Meanwhile, Su Ming continued writing in his diary.
[Let me record what happened today before returning from Holy Soul Village. It was quite thrilling.]
[Today, Xiao Wu and I went to the cave where Ah Yin resided and tried explaining to her the concept of soul spirits and their benefits. Although Ah Yin's cultivation was only two thousand years, due to her reincarnation after ten thousand years of cultivation, she still retained her consciousness, so she definitely understood.]
[And then, very easily, Ah Yin became my soul spirit and provided me with a two-thousand-year soul ring. It's called "Reviving Spring," which passively increases life attributes by 30%, while its active skill can be used on oneself or others with the same effect.]
[So, I used it on Xiao Wu, and she said the effect felt like an all-round enhancement—not just accelerated healing but also an invigorating feeling throughout her body. It reminded her of Oscar's "Excitement Pink Sausage," which boosts all attributes by 10% for a short time. Pretty impressive!]
[Although my fourth soul ring is of a lower age than my third, the soul ring's age can increase with my strength, so I'm not losing out at all.]
[In fact, I've gained a lot. With Ah Yin as my soul spirit, I can share her abilities—such as using her Blue Silver Grass to gather information, or perhaps even her Blue Silver Domain. But I'll have to wait until Ah Yin's cultivation is higher to use the domain.]
[The information-gathering ability of her Blue Silver Grass far surpasses my wood element. After all, as long as there's Blue Silver Grass, Ah Yin can gather intel, whereas my wood element is limited to a certain range, which is a bit restrictive.]
[Hmm? Wait, why does the process of subduing Ah Yin as a soul spirit feel too smooth?]
Upon reading this, Ah Yin momentarily held her breath. Could it be that something had been discovered?
The other women, watching from the sidelines, were curious to see how the system would handle this.
"System, do you know what's going on? This process seems a bit too smooth to me."
[Ding! Please don't overthink it, Host. Becoming a soul spirit brings many benefits, and it allows her to quickly regain her strength. Following you is far better than staying in that cave. Ah Yin isn't foolish—she'd definitely choose the option that helps her return to her ten-thousand-year cultivation as soon as possible.]
Su Ming felt that the system's reasoning made sense, but something still felt off. Was it really that simple?
Oh well, it didn't matter. As long as things were progressing in his favor, why overthink it?
He continued writing in his diary.
[After completing the equal contract with Ah Yin, I used a disguise talisman to camouflage a hundred-year-old Blue Silver Grass in the cave as the Blue Silver Emperor, just in case Tang Hao discovered Ah Yin was missing.]
[How would Tang Hao feel when he finds out his Ah Yin was swapped?]
[Afterward, Xiao Wu and I went to the place where Tang Hao had hidden his soul bone. I quickly swapped the system's hundred-year-old Blue Silver Grass right leg bone with the ten-thousand-year one he had. Although the bone was only a hundred years old, since it was a system reward, its aura and appearance were indistinguishable from a ten-thousand-year soul bone!]
[Swapping the soul bone was definitely necessary. Luckily, the system rewarded me with this one, or I wouldn't have dared to steal it. If Tang Hao found the soul bone missing, his first reaction would probably be to massacre everyone in Holy Soul Village. After all, the bone was stolen from there.]
[The villagers are mostly commoners without awakened soul power, so even if he killed them all, he probably wouldn't feel much remorse.]
The female leads didn't think this was impossible either. After all, Tang Hao was originally from the noble sect, the Clear Sky Clan, so why would he care about the lives of commoners? It was already a mercy if they weren't exploited.
[After acquiring the soul bone, I had Xiao Wu use the transfer talisman to teleport us both to Notting Academy, hoping that Tang Hao wouldn't notice anything off. Since the system's items are so realistic that even Ah Yin was fooled, it's even less likely that Tang Hao would figure it out.]
[Alright, that's enough diary writing for today. In a few days, I'll be heading to Shrek Academy. I'm really looking forward to it! Though, it's not like I'm expecting much from the academy itself—it's just a scam. I mainly want to meet Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.]
The female leads were hooked now, wondering why Su Ming would call Shrek Academy a scam. Tell us already, you cliffhanger-loving jerk!