Lin Chen brought up Yu Xiaogang in his diary, which was just the right opportunity to clear things up.
He had already guessed that Bi Biyao owned a diary.
"Let me see how I can mess with you."
Lin Chen sneered, then focused his Divine Power and began writing about the divine man who had a connection to Yu Xiaogang.
[Yu Xiaogang... I've got to say, he really knows how to flatter the great Clear Sky Hammer.]
[Which Soul Master Academy actually dared to treat him as some great Clear Sky Hammer? No one would believe that this so-called academy was so terrified of offending even one of the Clear Sky Hammer's disciples. Zhao Wuji's behavior was simply... inhuman, brother!]
One sentence had piqued everyone's curiosity.
What could this twenty-nine-year-old fellow possibly have done?
[Back then, he'd rather let Han San go hunt down his first soul ring, even though he was only a Great Soul Master with two soul rings. He'd even let him go into the forest alone.]
[And he let his disciple, who was so confident in himself, hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast? This fellow was a little too much. Did he really think Han San could defeat a ten-thousand-year soul beast that was only slightly stronger than a thousand-year one?]
[Then they ran into a four-hundred-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider. Han San got poisoned, and he nearly died! If Han San hadn't been reborn into the Tang Sect and learned the art of poison, he would've been done for ages ago.]
[And what's even more outrageous is that he actually advised Han San to absorb a ten-year-old soul ring! Was his reasoning that a lone bamboo shoot was easy to dig up?]
[You're a reborn Soul Master, a genius with full innate soul power, and you went to absorb a ten-year-old soul ring? I could go up a mountain and pick ten of those myself!]
"Ten-year-old soul ring?"
At the bottom of the Lake of Life, You Ruo and the others were all ashen-faced.
She had lived for countless years, and had seen plenty of people come and go. She had also seen countless soul beasts.
But someone who dared to advise a genius Soul Master to absorb a ten-year-old soul ring was beyond anything she could imagine.
"Even that person... could actually be called the Grandmaster of Soul Masters?"
You Ruo rubbed her temples. As the original soul master of the group had disappeared from everyone's thoughts, she found herself growing increasingly suspicious.
"Was this guy really a teacher? A disciple's senior brother takes over as his teacher? That's ridiculous. I'm exhausted."
Meanwhile, the content of the diary continued to flow, every line of text like a heavy hammer, striking Zhu Zhuqing and Mi Ruoxi right in the heart.
[If you think that's the limit, then you're underestimating Yu Xiaogang.]
[The magic he came up with was to have a group of talented children with soul power train by running laps while carrying stones every day, supposedly to strengthen their willpower...]
[He actually owned a Blue Silver Grass with a powerful life force. He'd force it to combine with poison, then try to graft on all sorts of poisonous plants with unknown properties. He tried to turn a divine herb, full of vitality, into a poisonous plant.]
[You're lucky. I know you're weak, so I only copied Bi Biyao's cultivation path. Maybe you followed it too.]
Bi Biyao: "???"
Was this really how that fellow did things?
Wasn't Yu Xiaogang the one who'd absorbed a poisonous spider and ended up with a spiderweb-like pattern? And he'd made the Blue Silver Grass into a poisonous plant, too?
"Running laps with stones? Trying to combine poison with a plant that has a powerful life force?"
Mi Ruoxi, who had been resting in the forest, sprang to her feet, her whole body trembling with anger.
That divine man!
Could he really be a teacher?
"Divine... Grandmaster... academy..."
Mi Ruoxi murmured to herself, eyes filled with resentment.
"Zhuqing, let's go. If we stay here, we'll really end up getting killed!"
Zhu Zhuqing blacked out, then immediately decided to leave with Mi Ruoxi.
Her martial spirit had evolved under the diary's influence, and Zhu Zhuqing could feel that her Ghost Shadow Spirit Cat martial spirit had become even more terrifying.
That evolution was something the gods had never bestowed upon her.
"Go. Now."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was as sharp as a blade.
The two of them quickly set off, drawing Zhao Wuji's attention.
"Zhu Zhuqing! Mi Ruoxi! What are you two trying to do?"
Dai Mubai, his face pale, rushed over. He had just gotten hurt in the chaos and was still fuming.
"If you're leaving now, do you want to die in the forest? Come back with me and rest!"
Zhu Zhuqing stopped, then looked at Dai Mubai with cold eyes.
"From today on, I'm leaving the academy. And whatever there was between us ends here."
"What did you say?!"
Dai Mubai's anger turned into a mocking laugh. His eyes flashed with scorn. "Zhu Zhuqing, have you forgotten who you are? Without me, you wouldn't even survive a day in the Star Domain!"
Dai Mubai lunged forward, reaching out to grab Zhu Zhuqing.
But then a cold gleam flashed.
"Ah—!"
Zhu Zhuqing disappeared like a phantom, then reappeared behind Dai Mubai.
With a single slash, three deep wounds appeared across Dai Mubai's chest. Black, foul-smelling blood seeped from the gashes, and he was utterly unable to heal himself.
Dai Mubai staggered, coughing up blood.
"Your... your martial spirit..."
Dai Mubai clutched his chest, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Shut up. Don't make me say it twice."
Zhu Zhuqing spat out the words coldly, then led Mi Ruoxi away.
"Stop!" Zhao Wuji roared furiously. As a teacher at the academy, how could he let the two of them leave?
At that moment, a huge bear paw was about to come down.
But then a mighty voice rang out. "Zhao Wuji, I'll settle things with you first!"
"Roar—!"
Long Gong Meng Shu and Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang walked out of the forest. Tang San's actions in the previous skirmish had left him seething, and now was the perfect time to get even!
Meng Shu released his soul power, its powerful force directly shaking Zhao Wuji back several steps.
"I'm leaving."
Zhu Zhuqing and Mi Ruoxi exchanged a glance, then took advantage of Long Gong and Snake Granny's attack on Zhao Wuji to slip into the night.
They headed in the direction of Heaven Dou City at full speed!
Elsewhere, Lin Chen had stopped updating his diary for the time being.
He and Dugu Bo had encountered Qin Ming, Duguyan, and a group of Shrek Academy students, who had gotten lost.
"Grandpa! Are you all right?"
Duguyan hurried over to him, her face full of concern.
Dugu Yan was also surprised. She asked with a little laugh, "That black-clad elder really is terrifying. He's so old. How many secrets do you think I've told him?"
"How did you know it was about martial spirits?"
Lin Chen scratched his nose awkwardly, then explained a few things.
He looked at Duguyan, secretly hoping she would have a diary, too. He wondered what kind of expression she'd make.
"Teacher Qin, let's go. This isn't a good place to stay." Dugu Bo spoke.
Qin Ming looked at Dugu Bo with a grave expression, then nodded. "All right. We'll head to Heaven Dou City!"
The group officially began their journey back to Heaven Dou City.
Lin Chen looked back at the vast Star Dou Great Forest, his mood weighed down with complicated feelings.
"We got quite a haul this time. We directly cut off Tang San's Eight Spider Lances. That must've been a huge blow to him!"
"For now, I'll call it a success. Bi Biyao and You Ruo have my diary..."
"As for the other four, I still don't know..."
Meanwhile, under You Ruo's orders, the operation to assassinate Lin Chen, the "good big brother" who had made Xiao Wu the Azure Bull Python's wife, was underway.
It was also why You Ruo wanted to keep her friendship with Lin Chen.
"I hope my judgment wasn't wrong, and that the diary really can change the fate of the soul beast clan."
You Ruo murmured to herself.
After all... the emperor had descended upon the Martial Spirit City!
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