Xiao Ge, You Really Are a Bewitching Little Rascal

Huo Xiaotao seemed lost in thought.

Getting too close to Xiao Ge could easily make the little rascal wary. If he ever became suspicious of her, the secret she had been hiding would likely be more than she could bear.

Just like the pain she had suffered the last time her heart had been pierced.

If it happened again, she really might not be able to hold on.

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

Huo Xiaotao's thoughts settled. A ripple of light shimmered in her eyes as she glanced at Xiao Ge, then quickly turned and left.

[Huo Xiaotao has left... That little rascal is so full of suspicion. Never mind, there's no need to pay him any attention. Today's diary entry is almost finished. Let's see if I can get a golden reward out of it today.]

After a brief pause, that familiar, beautiful voice sounded once more in Xiao Ge's mind.

[Congratulations, Master, on completing today's diary entry. A reward is being issued...]

[Congratulations, Master, on obtaining a flame reward. Soul power increased by one level; all soul rings' ages increased by one thousand years. You also obtained Soul Weapon materials: Deep-Sea Silver, Water Crystal, Black Gold Ore, and multiple kinds of magic gold (unlimited quantities; usable as needed).]

[The reward has been issued.]

Another wave of disappointment washed over Xiao Ge.

Recently, the diary entries had basically never yielded anything good. And the rewards from the flame diary were especially poor. Aside from the nearly fixed increases to soul power and soul-ring ages, they were just Soul Weapon materials he couldn't use.

I don't even have a Soul Weapon forge.

What use are these things to me?

Take the materials and give them to the Spirit Academy? Don't make me laugh.

Even if I gave the Soul Weapon materials to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy, it'd be better to sell them and pocket the money.

Come to think of it, he seemed to have accumulated quite a few good things... Maybe he could wait until the holidays and sell them all at once, giving his own little treasury a proper clear-out.

Unlike Xiao Ge, who got nothing useful out of it, Huo Xiaotao's breathing suddenly quickened. Her body even stiffened for a moment.

Fortunately, she was wearing a disguise, so no one noticed anything unusual.

The prompt that had sounded in the minds of all the diary's owners was why Huo Xiaotao had reacted so strongly.

[Today's diary entry is complete. The system is calculating...]

[Congratulations to Huo Xiaotao for reaching the maximum number of diary entries. You have obtained a flame reward: soul power increased by three levels; an external soul bone, the Nine-Headed Phoenix Tail (from a 90,000-year-old Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent); flame reward issued...]

[The flame reward has been issued.]

Huo Xiaotao's breathing quickened. The Nine-Headed Phoenix Tail Martial Soul appeared beyond her control, and the air around her instantly filled with a burning heat.

Under the startled gazes of the surrounding outer-court students, Huo Xiaotao sprang to her feet and vanished in a flash.

Immediately afterward, a scorching warmth surged across her back. A powerful, overbearing force—like the source of the phoenix—stirred, and an ancient flame seemed to awaken, sweeping upward against the current.

Huo Xiaotao let out a soft groan. Her uncontrollable body arched, and the clothes on her back instantly burned to ashes in the heat.

Then three golden-red tail feathers emerged from her lower back, stretching out behind her. Each feather was more than ten meters long. Fine patterns of flame ran across their surfaces, and a faint glow at their tips suddenly burst into dazzling brilliance.

By the time Huo Xiaotao had fallen back into place, the clothes on her body had already been burned away by the scorching heat. Three magnificent tail feathers had also grown from her back.

The three tail feathers fanned out behind her. Their tips lifted slightly, and shattered sparks of flame danced around them. Their main color was a brilliant crimson, and every feather shone with a golden radiance. Their patterns seemed almost alive, while the heat pouring from them was even more intense than the phoenix flames she could no longer control.

Huo Xiaotao suddenly opened her eyes. A flash of crimson light appeared in her gaze.

Xiao Ge... he really was something else!

Up until now, if the years of cultivation granted by the diary were excluded, the best flame reward any diary owner had received was Duoduo's ten-thousand-year Wisdom Skull.

But her external soul bone, which came from a 90,000-year-old Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent... was only slightly inferior to Duoduo's ten-thousand-year Wisdom Skull.

Although the difference in age was small, external soul bones were even rarer than skull bones. What was more, this external soul bone suited her perfectly. It could even strengthen the phoenix flames in her body.

Xiao Ge... this really was an unexpected delight.

Compared with the increase in soul power, the three additional levels had brought her closer to breaking through to the Soul Sage rank.

Xiao Ge, you really are a bewitching little rascal...

Huo Xiaotao couldn't help but lick her lips. Her eyes lifted slightly, and her gaze grew bright with excitement.

"Hey! Hurry up and go! I'm going to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy with my father!"

On a mountain path, a handsome young man looked helplessly at the girl standing in front of him. He couldn't help but complain.

"Father, didn't my father agree to your request? Why are you still making such a fuss?"

"Enough! Your father has already gone to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy. What are you still talking about? He's already agreed! No wonder your father sent me away early. I couldn't find a single thing to criticize."

As she spoke, Xiao Ge couldn't help letting out a deep sigh.

As the most talented genius the Sun Moon Imperial Family Spirit Academy had ever produced, Xiao Ge secretly hoped that he could make a trip to the Spirit Academy and create an unprecedented miracle.

His sister had no idea what sort of things he'd been up to. She had to go to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy to take part in some kind of exchange!

She could just stay home and train, then wait until the mainland's elite soul masters' competition came around. That would be a lot more fun.

And their father, too—he really was something. He'd come up with all sorts of excuses to reject his son's requests, but he'd agreed to his daughter's without hesitation. Now he'd even gone to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy to take them there.

Tsk...

Xiao Ge couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

At that moment, a look of amusement flickered in Duoduo's eyes. She smirked and said, "Hey, don't be so quick to complain! I'm going to represent the Sun Moon Imperial Family Spirit Academy and challenge the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy. That doesn't mean we can't go there and have a look around!"

"Is that so? You can't have everything your way, can you?"

Duoduo let out a sinister laugh. A sly glint flashed in her bright eyes, and her expression filled with anticipation.

She was going to the Ouyang Family's Spirit Academy to do what? To see that Xiao Ge and find out whether he really had the qualities he'd bragged about!

Even if today's diary entry didn't give him some incredible reward—ten thousand years of cultivation, an external soul bone, whatever—just hearing about it was enough to make her jealous!