(Beautiful picture of Ning Rongrong)
[Ma Hongjun stamped his feet anxiously. "You... You all have someone. What am I supposed to do?"]
[His eyes shifted, and a lecherous smile spread across his face. "How about we all share?"]
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. She was completely dumbfounded.
"Good grief—!"
She flung off the covers and sat up.
"No way! How could someone be so shameless?!"
"Who's playing this prank?!"
Her face flushed with anger, and her fists clenched tight.
They'd just been talking about saving them, and now they were divvying them up?
And "share"?
Share your big head!
[Just then—]
[A golden figure plummeted from the sky!]
[BOOM—!]
[A wave of air exploded outward, sending Dai Mubai and the other three stumbling backward!]
[A young man stood in front of the three girls as the golden dragon shadow behind him slowly faded away.]
["Four guys ganging up on three girls? Have you no shame?"]
[The young man glanced back at you.]
[He had sharp brows and bright eyes, a straight nose, and features so exquisite they looked painted. His golden eyes held a hint of disdain and a hint of laziness.]
[He was none other than—Lin Jiang.]
[He was about your age, and his Martial Soul was the Golden Dragon King.]
[Dai Mubai and the other three charged at him together—]
[One punch each.]
[One kick each.]
[In no time at all, all four were beaten black and blue. They scrambled away, rolling and crawling.]
Ning Rongrong's mouth fell open.
"One against four? And he made it look that easy?"
"He's about our age? That's absurd!"
Her heart inexplicably beat faster.
[After Dai Mubai and the other three fled in disarray, Xiao Wu was the first to rush over and grab Lin Jiang's sleeve, her eyes shining like stars.]
[Zhu Zhuqing stood to one side, watching Lin Jiang in silence, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.]
[And you—]
[You stood still, watching the young man's back, your face turning red.]
[All three of you fell in love with Lin Jiang.]
Ning Rongrong: "..."
She sat frozen on the bed, her face turning red right before her eyes.
"What kind of ridiculous cliché is this?!"
She covered her face and toppled onto her pillow.
"This is so fake! How could three people fall in love with the same person at once?!"
[Lin Jiang was a heaven-blessed genius who made a name for himself across Heaven Dou at a young age.]
[He had countless admirers around him, a whole flock of twittering beauties.]
[You three—Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and you—were only three among them.]
Ning Rongrong pursed her lips.
[And after your father, Ning Fengzhi, met Lin Jiang, he made his decision on the spot—]
["This young man is worthy of my daughter!"]
[He offered the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as her dowry, marrying you off to Lin Jiang!]
Ning Rongrong: "???"
She abruptly sat up, her eyes wide as saucers.
"Impossible!!!"
"This has to be a prank by that Lin Jiang! He must have used a spirit-type Martial Soul to make up some kind of simulator and trick me!"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her face was bright red.
"This simulator is so ridiculous! So fake! So absurd!"
"How could my father offer the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a dowry? That's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! The whole sect! Is he just giving it away?!"
"I'm not listening! I'm not listening! Blah, blah, blah!"
Ning Rongrong snatched up her pillow and clamped it over her ears.
She buried her entire head in it, her long hair spilling across the bed.
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening—"
Her muffled voice came from inside the pillow, tinged with both embarrassment and anger.
[...]
[Simulation continuing—]
[At fourteen, with the help of the Immortal Grade Herbs provided by Lin Jiang, your Martial Soul evolved from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—]
Ning Rongrong didn't want to listen, but a pillow couldn't block the voice inside her head.
[...]
Ning Rongrong clutched the pillow tight, automatically filtering out the voice in her mind.
[—]
Ning Rongrong curled her toes beneath the covers.
[Lin Jiang became a god and ascended to the Divine Realm with all of you, his wives.]
"Enough!!!"
Ning Rongrong yanked away the pillow and sat up, her face red as a boiled shrimp.
"Whoever's doing this, get a life!"
She punched the air, gritting her teeth.
"When I catch you, you're dead!!!"
The room was perfectly quiet.
Only moonlight spilled in through the window, illuminating her flushed, angry face.
Ning Rongrong panted, glaring at the ceiling.
After a long wait, no more voices sounded in her mind.
She sat there for a while, then slowly lay back down and pulled the covers up to her chin.
She blinked at the ceiling.
"Lin Jiang..."
She whispered the name.
Then she abruptly pulled the covers over her head.
"I'm not thinking about it! I'm not! I have to report to that lousy academy tomorrow!"
Her muffled voice came from beneath the covers.
"My father would never offer the whole sect as a dowry."
She paused.
"...Becoming a god and ascending to the Divine Realm with all his wives..."
Another pause.
"...That's ridiculous! Totally unbelievable!"
"What kind of lousy simulator is this? Whoever wrote this story didn't even use their brain—"
Before she could finish,
a mechanical voice sounded in her mind again.
[Simulation ended.]
[Congratulations, host. You have received simulation rewards—]
[Distraction Technique upgraded from "Three-Aperture Control Heart" to "Four-Aperture Constant Heart"!]
[You have received "Basic Soul Tool Mastery Across the Continent"!]
[You have received one "Basic Soul Tool Engraving Knife"!]
As soon as the voice faded,
a palm-sized engraving knife appeared out of thin air in front of Ning Rongrong and landed on the covers.
It had a silver-white blade, a wooden handle, and a few simple patterns etched into its edge.
Plain and ordinary.
Ning Rongrong froze.
She looked down at the knife, then touched her own head.
"There really are rewards?"
She picked up the knife, turned it over twice, and pursed her lips.
"I'm not doing dirty, exhausting work like making Soul Tools."
She tossed the knife aside, though the corners of her mouth lifted despite herself.
"But upgrading my Distraction Technique is nice... Four-Aperture Constant Heart! Now I don't have to train hard for it!"
At the same time.
At Dugu Manor.
Lin Jiang lay in bed. Dugu Yan had already fallen fast asleep.
He closed his eyes, and the system panel lit up in his mind.
[Ding! Ning Rongrong's simulation has ended. Subversion Value +11]
[Total Subversion Value: 167]
[Congratulations, host. You have received simulation rewards—]
A flash of golden light.
A golden engraving knife appeared out of thin air in front of Lin Jiang.
Its long, slender blade was forged from an unknown golden metal. A lifelike Five-Clawed Golden Dragon curled along the blade,
and two tiny red gems were set in its eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Two archaic characters were engraved on the handle: Golden Dragon.
Lin Jiang reached out and gripped the handle.
A warm energy flowed through his palm and into his body, resonating faintly with his Golden Dragon King Martial Soul.
"A god-tier carving knife..."
Before you continue