Yu Tiancheng crouched in the woods on the mountain behind his family estate, staring at his right hand.
A faint silver arc of electricity flickered in his palm—this was the "Mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon" he'd been mocked for over the past six years.
Twelve years old, with ten levels of Soul Power.
In the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, where geniuses abounded, he was a laughingstock.
"Tomorrow... is the deadline to obtain my First Soul Ring."
The family's rules were clear: if a disciple failed to obtain their First Soul Ring before turning twelve, they would lose their status as a family disciple and be sent to work in the clan's outlying businesses.
And Yu Tiancheng knew that in the Soul Hunting Plan five years from now, those who worked in the outlying businesses would be the first to die...
He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned pale.
"To think a transmigrator could end up living like me. What a disgrace."
At six, he had awakened a weakened version of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.
What no one else knew was that he had another Martial Soul—a notebook.
He'd thought it was his cheat as a transmigrator, but it showed no sign of Soul Power. It was fair to call it a Trash Martial Soul.
His Innate Soul Power was only level one, the second-lowest in the clan's history.
The lowest belonged to that "Master," Yu Xiaogang...
His parents had died young, he was a collateral-line disciple, and his talent was at the bottom of the clan.
A disastrous start.
"Forget it. I'll focus on staying alive first." Yu Tiancheng stood and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"I'll just absorb some Ten-Year Soul Ring tomorrow, and then..."
He looked toward Heaven Dou City.
"I'll go to Blue Tyrant Academy and find Aunt Liu Erlong."
This was the survival plan he'd been counting on for six years:
Liu Erlong was one of the few members of the clan living outside it. She had a fiery temper, but she was loyal.
More importantly—in the original story, she and the people from Blue Tyrant Academy survived the Soul Hunting Plan.
"Just get through the next five years. I can worry about the rest later."
The next day, at the family's Soul Hunting Forest.
The middle-aged guard assigned to Yu Tiancheng looked impatient.
"Young Master Tiancheng, could we hurry up? I still need to get back and relieve the next shift."
"Let's go with that Ten-Year Wind Baboon. It's not like your Martial Soul..."
He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
Yu Tiancheng didn't argue.
He really had planned to absorb some random Ten-Year Soul Ring.
But just as he started toward the Wind Baboon—
BOOM!
A crash suddenly rang out deep in the forest.
A silver figure smashed through several trees and charged straight toward them.
"A Hundred-Year Spirit Beast! A Silver Moon Wolf!" The guard's face went deathly pale.
The Silver Moon Wolf was a speed-type Spirit Beast with at least three hundred years of cultivation.
It had clearly been pursued by an even stronger Spirit Beast and was fleeing in a panic.
And it was heading straight for Yu Tiancheng.
"Young Master, run!" The guard rushed forward, but he was too slow.
The Silver Moon Wolf's claws were already swiping toward Yu Tiancheng—
A split second from death!
Inside Yu Tiancheng, the notebook Martial Soul that had lain dormant for six years suddenly began to shake violently.
Vmmm—
A terrifying suction force erupted.
"Grrr—" The Silver Moon Wolf let out a scream.
Its body shriveled before their eyes as its Soul Power and life force were savagely drained away.
All of it flowed into the notebook in Yu Tiancheng's left hand.
Three seconds.
In just three seconds, a Hundred-Year Spirit Beast had become a dried corpse.
A Yellow Soul Ring floated in the air.
The guard stood frozen, his legs trembling.
Yu Tiancheng was stunned too.
[System alert! Energy absorption has reached the critical threshold]
[Diary Fabrication System activating...]
A cold, mechanical voice rang out.
Yu Tiancheng sat cross-legged and absorbed the three-hundred-year Soul Ring left behind by the Silver Moon Wolf.
The process went exceptionally smoothly—most of its energy had already been absorbed by the notebook.
Once he'd absorbed the Soul Ring, his Soul Power shot up from level ten to level twelve.
But the real changes were only beginning.
[System activation complete]
[Host: Yu Tiancheng]
[Martial Souls: Space-Time Dragon (unawakened), Diary (system vessel)]
[Soul Power: Level 12]
[The system absorbed the host's Soul Power to grow, slowing the host's cultivation. Compensation gift pack now available]
"Damn it!" Yu Tiancheng nearly swore. "I knew there had to be a reason my Soul Power was so damn hard to cultivate. You little leech have been absorbing it!"
Although his Martial Soul had mutated, Yu Tiancheng had always thought it was a beneficial mutation, like Aunt Liu Erlong's.
But not only was his Innate Soul Power low, his cultivation had always been slow too.
So this was the real culprit!
[Compensation system starting]
[Space-Time Dragon Martial Soul awakened (God-tier)]
[Host's Soul Power increased to level 15]
[First Soul Ring transformed into a personal Soul Ring]
[Meridians reforged. Current constitution can support Soul Rings of up to 1,200 years]
[Additional skills acquired: Mastery of Hand-to-Hand Combat, Disguise]
[Personal Soul Ring: Formed naturally by the host's Martial Soul. Its age will automatically increase as the host's constitution improves]
Yu Tiancheng opened his eyes.
The silver arc in the palm of his right hand was no longer faint. Instead, it had taken the shape of a tiny silver dragon.
Its Dragon Scales and claws were clearly visible.
A terrifying Dragon Might radiated from it.
The guard fell to his knees with a thump, his voice trembling. "Y-Young Master, what kind of Martial Soul is this?"
This time, he was completely sincere.
Yu Tiancheng ignored him.
The ability of his First Soul Ring had already appeared clearly in his mind:
First Soul Skill: Time Acceleration—can double the flow of time for himself for a period of time.
He felt the surging power in his body and the notebook, now warm in his left hand.
He smiled.
As he smiled, tears streamed down his face.
"Six years..."
"This thing's been sucking away my Soul Power for six years..."
"Are you finally full now?"
Yu Tiancheng opened the notebook.
[Congratulations, host, on successfully binding the Diary Fabrication System]
[Simply record fabricated content in the diary each day to receive generous rewards]
[Rewards include, but are not limited to: Soul Bones, God-Bestowed Soul Rings, rare treasures, supreme techniques, and more]
Yu Tiancheng's eyes brimmed with tears.
He could get stronger just by writing a diary!
It was the most familiar trope from the web novels of his previous life.
He wouldn't have to complete any idiotic tasks from the system. He could level up just by moving his hands—or even by using his mind.
Below were the rules for using the Diary System:
[You must update your diary every day. The content is unrestricted and may include daily complaints, trivial matters, cultivation insights, and more]
[There are also hidden instances that require special conditions to trigger]
[The Diary Fabrication System reserves the right of final interpretation]
The rules for diary systems were mostly the same everywhere, but the "hidden instances" piqued Yu Tiancheng's interest.
He wondered what the special conditions were.
He took a deep breath and willed the notebook to write on its own—
[Six years! System, you finally woke up]
[I've been transmigrated for twelve years and had my Soul Power drained for six. Do you have any idea what these past six years have been like for me?]
[Every day, those direct-line family members mocked me as a "mutated loser." My cultivation was slower than a snail's]
[But things are better now. My Space-Time Dragon Martial Soul has awakened, and it's God-tier!]
[Let me get the timeline straight...]
[Tang San and Xiao Wu should be at Shrek Academy by now, along with Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun]
[Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing are there too, of course. The Shrek Seven Devils have already assembled]
[I don't know if they've obtained their Third Soul Rings yet]
[But Shrek Academy will probably move to Heaven Dou City and merge with Blue Tyrant Academy before long]
[The Soul Hunting Plan five years from now... sigh]
[The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan... the Upper Three Sects... hardly any of them will survive]
[Someone like me, a useless collateral-line disciple, probably won't make it past the first wave]
[The clan encourages its disciples to study abroad, so I need to hurry to Heaven Dou City and enroll at Blue Tyrant Academy before Shrek moves in]
[At the very least... I need to save the people who've been kind to me]
[Aunt Liu Erlong, please stay safe]
[Wait for me]
Before you continue