A Week of Change

Spirit Academy girls' dormitory, Room 666.

The night was deep, and the corridor was quiet, save for the occasional chirping of insects.

Xiao Wu sat on her bed, her legs wrapped in gray silk stockings crossed, her Scorpion Braid resting against her chest, her fingers unconsciously twisting the pink ribbon at the end of her hair.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

The Soul Power within her meridians surged, a feeling of fullness so intense it felt as if it were about to overflow, making her entire body tremble slightly.

"Do you guys feel it?" Xiao Wu asked, her voice very low. "The Soul Power in my body right now is completely different from a week ago."

Ning Rongrong was leaning against the headboard, having changed from her blue skirt into a pale pink pajama set that revealed her fair collarbones. She closed her eyes, sensed the circulation of her own Soul Power, then opened them and nodded.

"Different doesn't even cover it. I jumped from level 61 straight to 65—four whole levels. At a normal cultivation speed, that would take at least two years."

Zhu Zhuqing sat by the windowsill, the zipper of her black leather jacket pulled halfway down to reveal the white tank top underneath; the moonlight cast a long, slender shadow of her tall figure.

"Me too. 62 to 65, three levels." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was flat, but her hand gripping the window frame tightened slightly. "And, the soul skill I obtained..."

She didn't finish, but the other three in the room knew exactly what she was going to say.

Bai Chenxiang was the quietest, her two braids already undone, her long, jet-black hair spread across the pillow. She turned over and whispered, "I went from 60 to 64, four levels. And I got that 50,000-year soul skill, Evasion—ten seconds of 100% Evasion against any attack."

After she said this, the four of them fell silent simultaneously.

Only the sound of the wind outside the window remained, along with four hearts beating in unison.

Xiao Wu was the first to break the silence. She hopped off the bed, having already kicked off her crystal heels at the foot of the bed, and stepped onto the floor barefoot. The chill rising from the floorboards helped clear her head.

"I pulled a 90,000-year soul skill."

As soon as these words left her lips, the other three stopped breathing.

"Nin... 90,000 years?" Ning Rongrong's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"Void and Violent Killing Eight-Stage Throw," Xiao Wu's voice trembled slightly. "Void can make me immune to all physical and energy attacks. For the Violent Killing Eight-Stage Throw, once the first hit lands, the opponent has no chance to resist; every hit carries a stun effect, for eight consecutive throws."

The room fell silent again for several seconds.

Zhu Zhuqing jumped down from the windowsill, walked over to Xiao Wu, and reached out to pinch her arm.

"What are you pinching me for!"

"Confirming whether you're talking in your sleep." Zhu Zhuqing's expression was dead serious.

"I'm telling the truth!" Xiao Wu rubbed the spot that had been pinched red, lowering her voice urgently. "It came out of one of those dolls from the High-Tier Zone. My hands were shaking so hard I almost dropped the doll on the floor."

Ning Rongrong sat up straight on the bed, her calves wrapped in white silk stockings swinging over the edge. She bit her lip and spoke up as well.

"My Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda... it leveled up."

"Leveled up? What do you mean?" Xiao Wu leaned in.

"I opened a rare treasure, the [Aromatic Silk Beauty]. After consuming it, my Glazed Pagoda upgraded to nine levels!" Ning Rongrong extended her hand, a faint nine-colored radiance condensing at her fingertips.

Zhu Zhuqing wasn't envious; she said, "I obtained an 80,000-year soul skill, Nether Flying Wings. When activated, I can fly with no time limit."

"Fly?! You mean actual flight?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened.

"Yes."

"No time limit?"

"None."

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong exchanged glances, both seeing the same shock in each other's eyes.

For an agility-type soul master like Zhu Zhuqing, what did the ability to fly mean?

It meant her mobility had increased several times over. If she couldn't win on the ground, she could take to the sky, weaving back and forth in the air; with her speed combined with flight, an average Soul Saint wouldn't even be able to touch her.

Bai Chenxiang sat up as well, hugging her knees, and quietly repeated her soul skill.

"50,000-year soul skill, Evasion. Once activated, 100% Evasion against all attacks for ten seconds, with a three-minute cooldown."

The four of them looked at each other, no one speaking.

One week!

Only one week!

Because of a small street-side claw machine shop, the strength of the four of them had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

If this were told to anyone else, no one in the entire Douluo Continent would believe it.

Xiao Wu returned to her bed, pulled the quilt over to wrap around her legs, and lowered her voice even further.

"These things must absolutely not reach Brother Chuan's ears."

"Of course not," Ning Rongrong immediately replied. "The system said it's passed down to women only, not men, and the penalty for violating the Confidentiality Agreement is too severe. Who could handle their Soul Power dropping to level one?"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "There's nothing to discuss regarding keeping this secret; we can't say a word even if we die. I want to talk about something else."

"What is it?"

"Hu Liena."

As soon as that name was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room shifted subtly.

Xiao Wu's mouth puckered. Ning Rongrong's eyes dimmed. Bai Chenxiang lowered her head and fell silent.

Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, her black leather jacket stretched tight across her full chest.

"She knows the secret of the Claw Machine, too. And I've secretly observed that she can play six times—she's a Gold Member, higher than any of us. She goes to the shop every afternoon and stays alone with Brother Chuan. She hogs it for half the day while the four of us share the other half. So, she's definitely getting more than we are."

This sentence was like a thorn pricking everyone's heart.

Xiao Wu bit her lower lip. "I know. Isn't that why we agreed on it beforehand? We go in the morning, she goes in the afternoon. We stay out of each other's way."

"The problem is," Ning Rongrong said gloomily, "her membership level is so much higher than ours, and she gets more attempts, so the items she draws are naturally better."

Xiao Wu fell silent; there was no refuting that.

"So," Zhu Zhuqing stared straight at Xiao Wu, "we have to find a way to grind our membership levels up. Especially the 'favored by the Shopkeeper' criteria—that gives the most experience points."

Xiao Wu's face flushed.

"I... I'm already trying, okay! You've all seen me feeding Brother Chuan fruit and bringing him breakfast every day."

"That's not enough." Zhu Zhuqing's tone was blunt. "I suspect that when Hu Liena goes on dates with Brother Chuan in the Star Dou Forest, she gains dozens of experience points at once. We only get one or two points for wiping tables and sweeping the floor at the shop. The efficiency gap is too wide."

Bai Chenxiang finally spoke, her voice soft. "Then what do we do? Should we ask Brother Chuan out to hang out, too?"

The room fell quiet again.

The four girls were each lost in their own thoughts, calculating their own little schemes in the stillness of the night.

Outside the window, moonlight bathed the entire Spirit Academy campus.

No one knew that after this unremarkable night, everything would begin to change at an accelerated pace.