"Knock, knock, knock."
A flurry of hurried knocks shattered the quiet of the night.
The door was immediately pushed open.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong walked in one after the other.
They had originally lived in the dormitory area assigned by the academy. After their crushing defeat, the group had ended up living close to one another.
"Xiao Wu, are you reading that thing too?"
Ning Rongrong had already guessed.
Xiao Wu looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, like a startled little rabbit.
She hurriedly tried to hide her diary, but when she saw that Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were holding booklets just like hers, she froze.
"You two... got one too?"
Xiao Wu's voice was a little hoarse.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then closed the door behind her, her expression grave.
"Looks like it isn't just us."
The three of them sat around the table. The three black copies of Qin Feng's Diary lay in the middle, looking especially eerie.
"This thing appeared out of nowhere on my bed."
Ning Rongrong spoke first, pointing at the cover. "It has my name on it. Exclusive Copy."
"Mine too," Zhu Zhuqing said, her voice cool.
Xiao Wu sniffled. "Mine too... The things written in it are all false, right?"
She still didn't want to believe that Tang San would hurt her.
Zhu Zhuqing opened the diary and pointed to a page about Spirit Hall.
"Whether it's false or not, we can find out by checking."
"It says here that Spirit Hall will be destroyed in the future, and that Bibi Dong will even die at Qin Feng's hands."
"Look at the real-time Message Board here."
Zhu Zhuqing pointed to the lines of tiny text appearing at the bottom of the diary page.
They were "comments," or rather, "reaction records," visible to the diary's owner in this particular area.
[Pope: Qin Feng, how dare you curse me?]
[Pope: Shrek must die.]
"Even Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall, is reading this diary. And judging by her reaction, she's clearly lost it."
Zhu Zhuqing analyzed the situation calmly. "If this diary were just a prank, someone of Bibi Dong's standing wouldn't take it so seriously. Since she believes it, that means what's written in the diary is most likely true."
Ning Rongrong added, "Besides, this diary can grant rewards. Qin Feng mentioned in it that he got a boost to his Soul Power and an External Soul Bone after closing the diary."
"If he were just lying, who could come up with a divine-level reward like that?"
"Maybe... if we do well, we could get some kind of reward too. Maybe even evolve our Martial Souls?"
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.
Turning the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda into the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda was her lifelong dream.
If this diary really was that powerful, perhaps...
As Xiao Wu listened to their analysis, her face grew paler and paler.
Even Bibi Dong believed it.
It could even grant rewards.
The diary said she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and that Tang San had been scheming against her...
"Had Third Brother really been kind to me just for my Soul Bone?"
Xiao Wu pressed a hand to her chest. It hurt there, as if needles were stabbing her.
She thought back to the way Tang San usually looked at her. He was gentle, but sometimes there really was something inscrutable in his gaze.
She used to think it was affection. Now, she wondered... could he have been looking at a priceless treasure?
"But why?"
Xiao Wu murmured to herself. "Why would my fate be to sacrifice myself?"
"Because you're weak."
Qin Feng's voice seemed to come from the diary.
Of course, that was just Xiao Wu's imagination.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Xiao Wu, who seemed utterly lost.
"If you want to change your fate, the only way is to get close to Qin Feng."
Zhu Zhuqing closed the diary, her tone resolute. "If he can foresee the future, then he's the variable."
"The diary's mechanism seems to be that as long as Qin Feng mentions us more often, or our actions change the plot, we might get rewards—or even change the future."
Ning Rongrong nodded in agreement and clenched her little fist.
"That's right! Whether it's for the sect or for myself, I can't just sit here and do nothing."
"That Qin Feng is annoying, but he was right about one thing. Shrek... might really not be where we belong."
"Next time we meet, I'll make him pay!"
At that, Ning Rongrong blushed and gritted her teeth. "How dare he call me flat-chested! I'll make him open his eyes and take a good look!"
Watching the determined looks in her two companions' eyes, Xiao Wu felt the scales in her heart begin to sway violently.
On one side was Third Brother, whom she had known for years. On the other was a mysterious diary that could foresee everything.
Maybe I should test Qin Feng too?
At the very least, I need to find out what that "Asura God Sword Sheath" means.
Qin Feng had no idea that the three girls had already formed a united front.
He was writing with gusto. His pen took a turn, and he thought of that fiery woman.
[Aside from the younger girls, Liu Erlong of Blue Tyrant Academy is quite the catch too.]
[She's a little older, sure, but she's still got her charms. She's got that mature auntie vibe, and her figure is like a perfectly ripe peach.]
[The only shame is that this woman has absolutely terrible taste in clothes!]
[With such a great figure, she still insists on dressing so oddly. It doesn't show off her charms at all! What a waste of nature's gifts.]
[And her taste in men is even worse.]
[Her taste is so bad that she actually fell for that loser Yu Xiaogang—and he's her cousin too!]
[Isn't that messed up? Is her head full of paste or what?]
[Her fiery temper would be one thing, but she's also so brainlessly protective of Yu Xiaogang.]
[The most ridiculous part is that Liu Erlong fell for Yu Xiaogang because she admired his so-called "talent."]
[I just want to ask: what talent does Yu Xiaogang have, exactly?!]
[Back in the Great Soul Arena's lounge, during our theoretical debate, I backed him into a corner so badly he couldn't say a word. He couldn't even fart, and he was completely outclassed by me!]
[Besides, most of Yu Xiaogang's so-called "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" were plagiarized from the Martial Soul Hall Library!]
[He takes other people's research, puts his own name on it, and goes around swindling people. Even after he gets exposed, he puts on the act of an unrecognized genius.]
[This is what they call a "Grandmaster"? I'd say "Grand Deceiver" fits him better!]
[Yu Xiaogang is a hypocrite through and through!]
After finishing, Qin Feng tossed his pen onto the table and felt thoroughly refreshed.
At that moment, in the dean's office of Blue Tyrant Academy,
Liu Erlong paced back and forth irritably, worried about Xiaogang's state of mind.
Suddenly, a black booklet appeared on her desk.
She picked it up in confusion and began to read. After just two lines, her expression turned remarkably animated.
"Still got my charms... mature auntie vibe?"
Liu Erlong instinctively touched her face, the corners of her mouth lifting.
"You've got a good eye, kid. Back in my day, I was quite the beauty..."
But then her smile froze.