Ning Rongrong looked envious, saying, "Zhuqing, the rewards you received seem so amazing, whether it's the cultivation method or that skill that can ignore defense!"
Zhu Zhuqing smiled, "Yes, they are quite good, but your rewards aren't bad either, Rongrong. The God-given spirit ring and the reward that extends your spirit ring's age are perfect for you. You just need to improve your self-defense."
"My Nine Yin Manual is currently only the internal cultivation method. I wonder when I'll receive the exclusive martial techniques. But even now, it's already great. The cultivation method matches my spirit's attributes well. After practicing it, not only do I feel my spirit power is continuously regenerating, but my cultivation speed has also increased significantly!"
Then, with a slightly complicated expression, Zhu Zhuqing added, "I'm very grateful for the rewards Su Ming's system has given me. These rewards gave me the possibility of becoming stronger and changing my destiny. But I don't know how to thank him."
Ning Rongrong teased, "Zhuqing, since you hate Dai Mubai, why not consider Su Ming instead? In this world, it's normal for powerful men to have multiple wives, and Su Ming seems interested in you too."
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Xiao Wu and shook her head, "Su Ming is indeed a good person, but right now, I just want to settle my relationship with Dai Mubai before considering anything else. Besides, I've only just met Su Ming. It's not like you—you've already developed feelings for him so quickly!"
Ning Rongrong mumbled, "I... what? Never mind. Let's not talk about it now. It's too soon anyway, and besides, Xiao Wu and Su Ming are the closest. She's basically Su Ming's main wife, so she'd need to agree first."
Though a bit jealous, Xiao Wu felt there was no way she could restrain Su Ming's feelings. But she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him either, so she had no choice but to accept it.
Xiao Wu sighed, "Right now, I'm just Su Ming's little sister. Besides, he's a man of many affections. Even if I don't agree, what can I do? I just have to accept it. I only hope there won't be too many other girls in the future. Maybe we could all band together to keep him in check!"
Zhu Zhuqing then asked Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, did you receive any powerful cultivation techniques?"
Since Xiao Wu had the closest relationship with Su Ming, she had probably received more rewards, likely including a technique.
Xiao Wu smiled and replied, "Zhuqing, you guessed right. A few years ago, I received a martial art called Wind God Leg. Unlike your Nine Yin Manual, though, this technique is complete, with both the internal energy method and corresponding moves. But it's really hard to practice."
"I've been at the beginner stage of Wind God Leg for a long time, and I'm still not close to mastering it. Even so, my kicking techniques have become several times stronger. This martial art greatly increases both power and speed."
"But since I already have a teleportation spirit skill, I mainly focus on leg strength. Speed is secondary. I've also incorporated some of the leg techniques into my Eight-Stage Crush, and its power has doubled."
"As for Dai Mubai, if I were to use my Eight-Stage Crush at full strength, even with all his defenses up, it would still take half his life and damage his foundation!"
Ning Rongrong was amazed, "Xiao Wu, you're incredible! I just wish I had more self-defense abilities. Being a support-type spirit master always puts me at a disadvantage."
She sighed, "Yesterday, Flender gave us that long lecture about how running could increase a support spirit master's survival rate. But what's the point? Even if a support spirit master has great endurance and speed, it's still nothing compared to the boost a strong attack spirit master gets from their spirit rings!"
Rongrong complained about the task Flender assigned them—running twenty laps around the village. It was a grueling challenge even for strong attack-type spirit masters, let alone support-types. It seemed like an impossible mission.
As the three continued their conversation, they noticed the diary updating.
[It's odd that Tang San avoided Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Slash. Could there be more to it than just the bleeding effect?]
[When Tang San caught Ghost Slash with his bare hands, he seemed to be in pain. Could Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Slash have bypassed Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand defense?]
[And I clearly saw that Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand didn't break. Ignore defense? Yes! It must be able to ignore defenses!]
Seeing Su Ming's speculation, the girls couldn't help but agree—it made perfect sense. If Zhu Zhuqing's third spirit ability truly had the bleeding effect and ignored defense, it would be a top-tier skill. Such a combination seemed too powerful for a third spirit ability, making them envious.
However, some thought something didn't add up. With the resources available to the Zhu family of Star Luo, they shouldn't have been able to find a spirit beast with such a high-level skill for Zhu Zhuqing's third spirit ring. That left only one possibility.
At that moment, Bibi Dong considered that the only other possibility was that this was a system reward. And most likely, it didn't just enhance one of Zhu Zhuqing's abilities. Given her status as an agility-type attack spirit master, the most likely scenario was that she had received a reward that allowed her to ignore defenses upon landing a hit. But, as always with the system, it was just a guess—it was too mysterious to be certain.
The three girls exchanged shocked looks after reading the diary. Zhu Zhuqing was particularly alarmed—had Su Ming really figured it out already?
Still, his guess wasn't entirely accurate, but considering he didn't know they could receive rewards, it was impressive that he deduced so much.
[Maybe I should ask her about it later when we're alone? No... That kind of ability is usually a spirit master's secret. Unless we're really close, it wouldn't be appropriate. Better wait for another time.]
Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure what she'd say if Su Ming asked her directly. After all, their relationship wasn't close enough yet for her to share such personal secrets.
As for her closeness with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, it was mainly because they all had diaries and knew some of each other's secrets. Due to the diary's rules, they were able to get along well. And, as Su Ming had noted in his diary, they were destined to be companions in the original timeline, which gave them a natural sense of familiarity.