You Really Are a Charming Little Thing, Ao Yao

Ma Xiaotao nodded thoughtfully.

Approaching Ao Yao rashly would easily put him on his guard. If he discovered that she could read his Diary, the punishment it inflicted might be more than she could bear.

Like the Pain of Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart last time.

If it happened again, she definitely wouldn't be able to take it.

So... she had to find the right opportunity—one that wouldn't make him suspicious.

Ma Xiaotao made up her mind. Her eyes glimmered as she paused briefly to look at Ao Yao, then turned and left.

[Ma Xiaotao's gone... What a strange girl. Whatever. I don't need to bother with people like that. That's about enough for today's diary. Let's see if I can get a golden legend today!]

After a brief pause, that familiar, wonderful voice rang out in Ao Yao's mind once more.

[Congratulations, Host, on completing today's diary. Random reward distribution in progress...]

[Ding—Congratulations, Host, you've received the following rewards: Soul Power increased by one level; the age of all Soul Rings increased by one thousand years; Soul Tool crafting materials obtained: Sinking Silver, Crystal Silver, Gold Crystal, and Multi-faceted Magic Gold (unlimited quantity, available whenever needed).]

[Rewards have been distributed.]

No critical hit again?

Ao Yao felt disappointed.

The diary entries from the past few days hadn't yielded anything worthwhile. This time, the rewards were especially poor. Apart from the nearly guaranteed increases to his Soul Power and Soul Ring ages, he'd only received Soul Tool materials he had no use for.

I said I'm not going to be a Soul Engineer!

What am I supposed to do with these?

Donate them to Shrek Academy? Don't make me laugh!

He'd be better off selling the Soul Tool materials at an auction house than donating them to Shrek Academy.

Come to think of it, he'd already built up quite a stash of good stuff... Maybe he could visit an auction house during the holidays and clear out his inventory.

Unlike Ao Yao, who thought he hadn't received anything worthwhile, Ma Xiaotao's breathing suddenly quickened, and her body went rigid.

Fortunately, no one nearby noticed her strange reaction.

The reason for Ma Xiaotao's loss of composure was the notification that had sounded in the minds of all the Diary's owners.

[Today's diary entry has ended. System calculations in progress...]

[Congratulations, Ma Xiaotao. You appeared in the diary more times than anyone else and have received the following rewards: Soul Power increased by three levels; External Soul Bone: Phoenix Tail Feather (from a ninety-thousand-year-old Fire Phoenix). Distributing rewards... Rewards have been distributed.]

Ma Xiaotao's breathing quickened. Her Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul appeared uncontrollably, and the air instantly grew scorching hot.

Under the astonished gazes of the outer-court students nearby, Ma Xiaotao shot into the air and vanished like a streak of light.

A wave of scorching warmth surged from her lower back. Carrying the pure, domineering essence of a phoenix, it was like a volcano that had slept for thousands of years suddenly awakening, rushing upstream through her meridians.

Ma Xiaotao couldn't help letting out a muffled groan. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and the fabric over her lower back instantly turned to ash in the heat.

Then three phantom feathers, red and gold, slowly emerged from the base of her spine. Each was about ten centimeters long, its surface traced with fine patterns of flame. At first, they gave off only a faint glow, but in an instant, they blazed with dazzling red light.

By the time Ma Xiaotao fell uncontrollably back into her residence, the scorching heat had burned all her clothes away, and the three graceful tail feathers had finally taken solid form.

The three tail feathers lay against her lower back, their tips tilted slightly upward and tiny sparks swirling around them. Their primary color was a fiery red, and each feather's shaft shimmered with a golden sheen. Their patterns seemed to come alive, flowing slowly along the feathers. The heat they radiated was even more intense than her out-of-control Evil Fire!

Ma Xiaotao suddenly opened her eyes, a strange red glimmer appearing in them.

This reward... couldn't have been better!

So far, if the Soul Beasts were excluded, the best reward any owner of a Diary had received was Ning Tian's Hundred Thousand Year Wisdom Skull.

But her External Soul Bone, from a ninety-thousand-year-old Fire Phoenix... was absolutely no worse than Ning Tian's Hundred Thousand Year Wisdom Skull!

Although it was a little lower in age, External Soul Bones were far rarer and more precious than skulls. What was more, this External Soul Bone suited her perfectly. It could even faintly suppress the Evil Fire within her!

This reward... was an unexpected delight!

Compared to this, even the three-level increase in Soul Power that let her break through to Soul Saint seemed less important.

Ao Yao, you really are a charming little thing...

Ma Xiaotao couldn't help licking her lips. Her brows lifted slightly, and her gaze grew hotter.

"Big brother! Hurry up! We need to get to Shrek Academy!"

In the Mingdou Mountain Range, a rather handsome young man looked helplessly at the girl in front of him, unable to keep a trace of resentment from rising in his heart.

"Meng, Grandpa hasn't agreed to your request yet! Is this really a good idea?"

"Dummy! Grandpa's already gone to Shrek Academy. What does that mean? It means he's agreed! Even if he finds out we left ahead of him, he won't have a leg to stand on."

At that, Xiao Hongchen let out a deep sigh.

As the most talented genius ever to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's team, Xiao Hongchen was determined to defeat Shrek Academy and create a legend unlike any before.

And yet his younger sister had, for some reason, gone and decided she wanted to visit Shrek Academy as an exchange student!

Wouldn't it be better to quietly train at home and wait for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?

And what was Grandpa thinking? He could've simply found an excuse to turn down his impulsive sister. Instead, the old fool had agreed to her request and actually gone to Shrek Academy to discuss it with them.

Sigh...

Xiao Hongchen couldn't help sighing.

His reaction made Meng Hongchen furrow her brows slightly. "Big brother, don't be such a killjoy! We do have to represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and defeat Shrek Academy. But that doesn't mean we can't go visit it now!"

"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat. Right?"

Meng Hongchen smiled slyly and blinked her lively eyes, a look of anticipation on her face.

She wasn't interested in visiting Shrek Academy at all.

She wanted to see whether that guy Ao Yao was really as handsome as he claimed!

And maybe get some benefits from that magical Diary, too. Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones... External Soul Bones... They sounded incredibly cool!