The Man-faced Demon Spider's corpse shimmered beneath the moonlight.
"It's mine."
Lin Chen gazed at the purple-gold spider soul bone in his hands, sensing the tremendous energy contained within it.
He wasn't going to absorb it right away. He planned to give the spider soul bone to Ning Rongrong.
"Though she's been badly hurt, that doesn't necessarily mean she'll accept it."
"Maybe the diary will give me an even better reward?"
Just as Lin Chen was pondering this...
"You brat, you really are a pain in the neck!"
A green-gold streak tore through the air, and the slender, wolfish figure of Dugu Bo descended from the sky.
The first thing he did after landing was give Lin Chen a once-over. He seemed entirely unbothered by the fact that Lin Chen had just stood up to the enormous ape.
"That was quite a stunt earlier. I thought that big ape had turned you into a bloody mess."
Dugu Bo seemed to have something on his mind.
Ignoring the way Lin Chen was sizing him up, he approached with a grave expression. "Kid, that person who just came to your rescue... Who exactly was he? The power of that father of yours was so terrifying that even this old man nearly couldn't breathe."
Lin Chen froze, then immediately tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Senior Dugu, you think too highly of me. I don't know him either. Believe me?"
"Bullshit!" Dugu Bo spat. "You expect me to believe you don't know him? Someone rushed in to save you, and that person was so strong he nearly scared the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King out of his wits. Even I could barely stand beneath his presence! You've got some nerve, hiding a terrifying expert like that!"
Lin Chen knew Dugu Bo wouldn't believe him, but there was nothing he could do.
He had no intention of admitting anything. He'd just casually made up a few lines.
"Ah... haha, you've got me..."
The two of them hurried in the direction where the others had retreated.
Taking advantage of the gap while they were on the road, Lin Chen sank into thought. Since all the major players had gathered today, he might as well take the opportunity to update his diary and see if he could get another reward. Then there was that kid from the Spirit Empire, who'd been making a huge fuss about himself.
[Damn, I can't believe the Spirit Empire would send someone to give me a soul bone as a reward.]
[I have to say, their actions are faster than I expected. Bi Biyao is a woman with a pretty ruthless streak. She's got a lot of ambition, and she's more clever than most. It's a shame she missed the real secret behind the Star Dou Great Forest.]
[When Father Tianqing made his move, I bet everyone was stunned, right? That Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, who'd cultivated for eighty thousand years, was an existence standing at the threshold of the Soul Eater organization's demigod realm.]
[You picked the wrong time to go after Bi Biyao. Qian Daoliu has shown up, and you're not even as good as Dugu Bo, are you, Hu Liena?]
[The reason Father Tianqing is looking for me—ha! You can guess for yourself. With his strength, if he were to unleash his full power, he could probably sweep aside every opponent in the world as it stands.]
[Father Tianqing, I'm begging you!]
Spirit City, the Papal Palace.
With a sharp clack, the jade cup in Bi Biyao's hand shattered.
She kept staring at the diary, her exquisite face full of shock and apprehension.
"Was that a heavy attack from the Azure Bull Python...?"
"Father Tianqing?!"
Bi Biyao was utterly stunned. She had thought Lin Chen was merely a boy with some sort of prophetic ability, someone she could capture and take away.
But then he'd gone and single-handedly attacked the Spirit Hall!
And the sentence about Father Tianqing looking for him had shattered all her calculations.
"A man who could make an eighty-thousand-year-old soul beast show itself to protect him... What sort of cause and effect does he have tied to him?"
Bi Biyao sank back into the papal throne, her eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Then I can't risk provoking him again. If I anger that Black Dragon King, the current Spirit Hall won't be able to withstand the consequences."
"Even Qian Daoliu and that old Azure Bull Python can't take him on. And now I..."
Her heart raced.
So the diary really had mentioned that if Ling Tian wanted to, he could push the human world to the brink of collapse!
That meant the secrets of the Soul Eater clan...
How terrifyingly powerful!
"If I can't make a move against her, I can only rely on this diary for now. I'll search for the cave ruins and find a chance to change my fate."
Bi Biyao's beautiful eyes flashed with a ruthless glint.
"Also, the diary's other owner might be a woman. And there's someone else... I absolutely have to find her. Only if I learn all the secrets will I have a chance in the future..."
What Bi Biyao wanted...
Was to expose the identity of the diary's other owner and gain her favor.
At the same time, Qian Ling'er was also in shock that the Spirit Hall had actually made a move.
"Father Tianqing, Bi Biyao..."
The diary in her hands was still updating.
[Besides Father Tianqing, I ran into a group of old acquaintances today.]
[Over at Shrek Academy, I met Tang San, the original protagonist of Douluo Dalu. He and his companions were supposed to hunt a Man-faced Demon Spider today, and he'd also obtained an attached soul bone...]
[In the original story, the attached soul bone would stay with Tang San for life, evolve into the Eight Spider Lances, and even become a divine artifact when he ascended to godhood.]
[One soul bone made a god. Tsk, what a lucky bastard. Still, it's practically the equivalent of someone absorbing everyone else's luck.]
[What a shame. The Eight Spider Lances, which could have helped Tang San become a god in this life, have already ended up in my storage ring. I'm looking forward to seeing whether his path to godhood will be harder now.]
"Eight Spider Lances? The foundation of his ascension to godhood?!"
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were watching from the side. They couldn't help gasping when they read those lines in the diary.
They subconsciously looked in Tang San's direction.
"He took Tang San's divine artifact?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the sword in her hand, her expression turning strange. This only made her more convinced that the person who'd rescued them was real.
She wanted to find Lin Chen.
To change the fate she'd been given!
To have him lead her along like he had Ning Rongrong!
Beside the Lake of Life beneath the ancient moon, You Ruo read the lines Lin Chen had written in his diary. A trace of doubt crossed her face.
"Hmm?"
The corners of her mouth soon curled into a cool, faint smile.
"This person is interesting. He's supposed to be following my orders, yet he acts as if he's reporting back to me."
"Father Tianqing is his brother now?"
You Ruo pursed her lips, but her curiosity about Lin Chen grew.
Especially that line about having taken the Eight Spider Lances. It was a divine artifact that had dared to defy her in the distant past, back when she had been young enough to challenge the gods of the divine realm.
"Maybe I should give him a little help. For the future of the Soul Eater clan, it might be useful to make use of this human..."
You Ruo said, stroking her chin.
Over in the northern lands, Ling Yuan had also learned about the diary.
What the hell? Ling Tian was actually the diary's owner's brother?
"What made Father Tianqing come out and fight for him? Could Ling Tian really be... the master? And he also has a diary..."
Ling Yuan immediately guessed the only possibility.
The only person who could command Father Tianqing, apart from Ling Tian himself, was the Azure Bull Python. That meant the two of them surely had a diary.
"I need to make a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest and see what kind of reward I'll get for sharing the diary..."
Ling Yuan said under her breath.
She rose and moved off without hesitation.
Before you continue