It Still Has to Be Brother Er Ming (Seeking Follow-ups)

Ghostly hesitated no longer. A dense shadow rolled outward, firmly shielding Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, then transformed into a ghostly silhouette and shot away at astonishing speed in the opposite direction from the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and the valley.

Within the shadow's embrace, Hu Liena suddenly felt a sharp, piercing pain deep in her brain, as if countless needles were stabbing into her soul at once.

[Warning: Detected violation of regulations—Mental Attack initiated against the host.]

[This is a first offense. Issuing a warning.]

[If any further harm is inflicted upon the host, execution protocol will be carried out immediately.]

A cold, mechanical voice rang out directly in the depths of her consciousness, utterly devoid of emotion.

Hu Liena let out a muffled groan. Her face instantly turned pale, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

She gritted her teeth, enduring the punishment pain that originated from the very rules of this system, and cast one last look back at the rapidly receding core zone of the forest, thick with chaos and danger.

The direction where Yu Tiancheng had vanished was already completely obscured by layers of trees.

But the intense unwillingness of having victory snatched from her grasp coiled around her heart like poisonous vines.

The enhanced "Fox Charm" soul skill pulsed faintly within her sea of spirit, as if reminding her of the power she had already grasped, and even more so, burning her with an almost obsessive craving for the one who could bring her even greater power.

"Yu Tiancheng..." she murmured, her pink eyes churning with complex, unreadable emotions.

"We will meet again. Next time... you won't be so lucky."

At the same time, inside a hidden cave at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A flash of silver light. Space rippled like water.

Yu Tiancheng staggered out of the spatial passage that had not yet fully closed, his body losing balance and slamming heavily against the cold stone wall.

He grunted, sliding down the wall to sit on the ground, gasping for breath. Every inhalation trembled with the relief of having escaped death.

His face was as pale as paper. His soul power was nearly depleted, and the vortex in his dantian was dim and lifeless.

Worse still was his spiritual power—forcibly deflecting Hu Liena's enhanced "Fox Charm" assault had left his sea of spirit ravaged like a storm-torn landscape, throbbing with pain, his vision blurred and doubled.

"Cough... cough..." He coughed a few times, barely propping himself up against the stone wall.

He had made it.

In that absolute moment of chaos created by the Titan Giant Ape's earth-shaking roar—a roar that could distract even a Titled Douluo—he had seized the fleeting opportunity and activated the Teleportation Talisman.

A teleportation of five hundred kilometers.

Logically, with the Diary in hand, a mental attack of Hu Liena's caliber shouldn't have affected him so substantially.

But at the very instant the teleportation activated, he had indeed felt an extremely brief "disconnection" in the mysterious link between himself and the Diary.

As if, while crossing the spatial barrier, some protective mechanism had been temporarily cut off.

Still, none of that mattered now.

He was alive. He had escaped the encirclement of two Titled Douluo and the Golden Generation.

"For now... I'm safe." Yu Tiancheng muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

The sudden release of nerves stretched to their limit brought not only exhaustion but also a near-floating sense of relief.

Cold sweat had long soaked through his clothes, clinging to his skin with a chilling touch.

But reason quickly overpowered the post-escape emotions.

The danger was far from over.

That old chrysanthemum, Yue Guan, was likely already tracking the spatial fluctuations. The Martial Soul Hall's influence spanned the continent, and a net for his capture was probably being rapidly cast.

He had to recover as quickly as possible, then leave immediately and get far away.

Yu Tiancheng forced himself to endure the discomfort in his spiritual sea and first checked his own condition.

Aside from depleted soul power and mental trauma, his body had no serious injuries.

The top priority was recovery.

With a thought, he sank his consciousness into his sea of spirit.

That ancient, mysterious Diary floated quietly at the center of his spiritual sea, radiating a soft, warm glow.

The light flowed like a gentle stream, slowly but steadily nourishing and repairing his damaged spiritual power. The stabbing pain gradually eased under its soothing touch.

While the Diary mended his spiritual wounds and his ring restored his soul power, Yu Tiancheng decided to finish today's diary entry first.

[Yesterday was bad enough, today was even worse.]

[Yesterday was the first time I ran into Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo. Chased like a stray dog. Barely managed to bluff my way through with the cloak, thought I could catch my breath.]

[But what happened? They came back for round two! Directly cornered me in the Mixed Zone.]

[I had no choice but to "voluntarily" go with them.]

[Lucky for me, I was quick-witted. Used the fake identity "Lin Fan" and made up a plausible excuse.]

[They probably thought I was useful, or wanted to play the long game, so they didn't crush me on the spot.]

[If I'd been stupid enough to say, "My surname is Yu, I'm from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family"...]

[Heh, I'd probably be cold meat by now.]

[Martial Soul Hall has never shown mercy to the Upper Three Sects, especially the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan]

The other Diary Copy holders' hearts were also churning with emotion at this moment.

They had just marveled yesterday at how Yu Tiancheng had cleverly evaded a Titled Douluo's Spiritual Power search, only to learn in the next breath that he had been caught shortly after and forcibly recruited into Martial Soul Hall's ranks.

This rollercoaster of events made them break out in a cold sweat for him as well.

Inside the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong sat with majestic poise, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.

Yesterday, after learning that Yu Tiancheng had evaded Ghost Douluo's spiritual detection, she had felt a twinge of regret, since the chance to get close to Yu Tiancheng had slipped away.

But seeing that Yu Tiancheng had still crossed paths with Hu Liena's group, a faint, barely perceptible gleam flickered in her eyes—the cold light of a plan moving forward.

And there was also Nana's guidance.

Bibi Dong was a clever woman. Yesterday, her name had been mentioned once, but she hadn't received any reward. The only one with more name mentions than her was Hu Liena.

Once Nana returned, she would have to question her thoroughly.

[Still, this system did one decent thing]

[Today's settlement reward gave me a Teleportation Talisman, usable as long as I found a moment when no one had me locked on]

[But at the time, with Yue Guan watching and Ghostly at my side, what "moment of no one locking on" was there?]

[In the end, heaven never seals off all exits!]

[Titan Giant Ape! Brother Er Ming! That roar of yours came at just the right time]

[A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's pressure erupting created utter chaos in an instant]

[Yue Guan and Ghostly's attention was drawn by absolute power—in that split second!]

[I seized it. Void Flash to reposition, activated the Teleportation Talisman]

[I escaped]

Writing up to this point, Yu Tiancheng's pen paused. He let out a long, heavy breath, as if reliving that heart-stopping moment once more. Relief was mixed with lingering fear.

Meanwhile, Hu Liena, still in the midst of retreat, had just endured the headache from the rule warning. Now, reading the diary's contents, her chest tightened again, and a faint metallic taste rose in her throat.

It really was him! Yu Tiancheng!