Spirit Academy girls' dormitory, Room 666.
It was late at night. The corridor was quiet, with only the occasional chirp of insects.
Xiao Wu sat on her bed, her legs clad in gray stockings crossed beneath her. Her Scorpion Braid rested against her chest, and her fingers absently kneaded the pink ribbon tied around its end.
She drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
Soul Power surged through her meridians. The feeling of being so full she could almost overflow made her whole body tremble slightly.
"Can you feel it too?" Xiao Wu asked in a hushed voice. "The Soul Power inside me is completely different from what it was a week ago."
Ning Rongrong was leaning against her headboard. She had traded her blue skirt for a pale pink nightgown that exposed her fair collarbones. She closed her eyes and felt the flow of her Soul Power, then opened them and nodded.
"Different is an understatement. I went straight from level 61 to level 65—four whole levels. At a normal cultivation rate, that would take at least two years."
Zhu Zhuqing sat by the window. The zipper of her black leather jacket was halfway down, revealing the white tank top underneath. Moonlight fell across her tall figure, casting a long shadow.
"Same here. From 62 to 65—three levels." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was flat, but her hand tightened slightly on the windowsill. "And the Soul Skill I got..."
She didn't finish, but the other three knew what she meant.
Bai Chenxiang was the quietest. Her braids had come undone, and her long black hair spread across her pillow. She rolled onto her side and said softly, "I went from 60 to 64—four levels. And I got the five-thousand-year Soul Skill, Evasion. For ten seconds, I can dodge any attack with a hundred percent success rate."
When she finished, all four fell silent.
The only sounds in the room were the wind outside the window and four rapidly beating hearts.
Xiao Wu was the first to break the silence. She jumped off her bed. Her crystal high heels had been left by the foot of it, and she stepped barefoot onto the floor. The chill rose through her feet, clearing her head somewhat.
"I drew a ninety-thousand-year Soul Skill."
The moment she said it, the other three stopped breathing.
"N-ninety thousand years?" Ning Rongrong's mouth formed a perfect O.
"Void and Violent Killing Eight-Stage Throw." Xiao Wu's voice trembled a little. "Void makes me immune to all physical and energy attacks. With Violent Killing Eight-Stage Throw, once I land the first throw, my opponent has no chance to fight back. Every hit causes a stun, and I can throw them eight times in a row."
The room fell silent again for several seconds.
Zhu Zhuqing jumped down from the windowsill, walked over to Xiao Wu, and pinched her arm.
"Why'd you pinch me?!"
"To make sure you weren't sleep-talking." Zhu Zhuqing looked completely serious.
"I'm telling the truth!" Xiao Wu rubbed the spot she'd pinched red, lowering her voice in agitation. "I pulled it out of a doll in the High-Tier Zone. My hands were shaking so badly, I nearly dropped it on the floor."
Ning Rongrong sat up straight in bed, her legs, wrapped in white stockings, swinging twice over the edge. She bit her lip, then confessed too.
"My Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda... upgraded."
"Upgraded? What do you mean?" Xiao Wu leaned closer.
"I got a heavenly treasure, Aromatic Silk Beauty. After I took it, my pagoda grew to nine levels!" Ning Rongrong held out her hand. A faint, nine-colored glow gathered at her fingertips.
Zhu Zhuqing wasn't envious. "I got an eighty-thousand-year Soul Skill, Nether Flying Wings. When I activate it, I can fly without any time limit."
"Fly?! You mean fly through the sky?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened.
"Mm."
"No time limit?"
"No."
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong exchanged a look. They saw the same shock in each other's eyes.
For Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-type Soul Master, what did being able to fly mean?
It meant her mobility had multiplied several times over. If she couldn't win on the ground, she could take to the skies and dart around overhead. With her speed and ability to fly, ordinary Soul Saints wouldn't even be able to touch her.
Bai Chenxiang sat up too, hugging her knees as she quietly repeated what her Soul Skill could do.
"Five-thousand-year Soul Skill, Evasion. For ten seconds after activation, I can dodge every attack with a hundred percent success rate. Three-minute cooldown."
The four looked at one another, but no one spoke.
One week!
Just one week!
And because of a little claw-machine shop on the street, the strength of all four of them had changed beyond recognition.
If they told anyone, no one on the entire Douluo Continent would believe them.
Xiao Wu returned to her bed and pulled the blanket over her legs, lowering her voice further.
"We absolutely can't let Brother Chuan know about any of this."
"Of course not," Ning Rongrong replied at once. "The system said it only passes to women, not men, and the penalty for breaking the Confidentiality Agreement is too severe. Your Soul Power would drop to level one. Who could bear that?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "There's nothing to discuss about keeping it secret. We can't tell anyone, even if we die. What I want to talk about is something else."
"What?"
"Hu Liena."
The moment that name came up, the mood in the room shifted.
Xiao Wu's lips puckered. Ning Rongrong's gaze darkened. Bai Chenxiang lowered her head and fell silent.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, her black leather jacket stretched taut across her full bust.
"She knows the secret of the claw machines too. And I've been watching her in secret. She can make six grabs and she's a Gold Member, a higher rank than any of us. She goes to the shop every afternoon and spends time alone with Brother Chuan. She gets half the day to herself, while the four of us share the other half. So she's definitely getting more than we are."
Those words pricked at every one of them like a thorn.
Xiao Wu bit her lower lip. "I know. That's why we agreed before, didn't we? We go in the morning, and she goes in the afternoon. We each mind our own business."
"The problem is," Ning Rongrong said quietly, "her membership rank is so much higher than ours, and she gets more grabs too. Naturally, she'll draw better things."
Xiao Wu fell silent. She had no way to argue with that.
"So," Zhu Zhuqing said, looking Xiao Wu straight in the eye, "we have to find a way to raise our membership ranks. Especially the 'earning the Shopkeeper's favor' requirement. That one gives the most experience points."
Xiao Wu blushed.
"I... I'm already doing my best, okay! I bring Brother Chuan fruit every day and bring him breakfast. You've seen me."
"That's not enough." Zhu Zhuqing was blunt. "My guess is that Hu Liena went on a date with Brother Chuan to the Star Dou Forest. One trip could earn her dozens of experience points. We wipe tables and sweep floors at the shop, and each time we only get one or two. The difference in efficiency is huge."
Bai Chenxiang finally spoke, her voice soft. "Then what do we do? Should we ask Brother Chuan to go out with us too?"
The room fell silent once more.
Each of the four girls had her own thoughts as she schemed through her own little plans on this quiet night.
Outside, moonlight bathed the entire Spirit Academy campus.
None of them knew that after this unremarkable night, everything would begin to change at an accelerated pace.