Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall era.
[Ding! Transmigrator detected: Soul Power has been stagnant for five years. System awakening conditions met!]
"System? So transmigrators really do get systems?"
Inside a ramshackle thatched hut, Qin Moyu stiffened where he lay on the hard wooden bed, at a loss as he stared at the pearly white screen that had appeared out of thin air.
The thatched hut was drafty on all sides, with several holes in the roof. The cold air poured in through every gap.
The boy's cheeks were sunken, and his skin had a waxy yellow cast from long-term malnutrition. Dressed in coarse hemp clothes, he looked like a destitute vagrant from the lowest rungs of society.
"Five years! Five whole years! System, do you have any idea what I've been through these past five years?!"
Qin Moyu struggled upright, his frail body trembling as he spoke with a face full of indignation. His resentment was practically tangible.
[Host, calm down. I'm here on schedule, aren't I? At most... I'm only a teensy-weensy bit late~]
The pearly white screen flickered faintly, and the system's mechanical voice betrayed a hint of unease.
"A teensy-weensy bit?"
Qin Moyu narrowed his eyes, his gaze brimming with resentment. "Are you sure you didn't just forget to ship yourself?"
[...]
The screen dimmed at once, and the system went silent, playing dead.
For a moment, the air seemed to fall into a deathly silence.
Qin Moyu let out a long sigh. He forced his anger down and said nothing more.
Five years ago, he had been a thirteen-year-old middle schooler on Earth. He had a loving family, a little sister, and a house. His greatest hobby was reading novels, and on weekends he liked to borrow his old man's ID card and write stories for his own amusement.
Then one day after school, as he walked along the sidewalk, a bizarre purple dump truck suddenly went out of control. Without so much as a by-your-leave, his head collided with great fortune...
His vision went black, and Qin Moyu lost consciousness on the spot.
The good news was that he'd died quickly. He hadn't felt a thing, and he wouldn't have to lie in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
The bad news was that he'd transmigrated to the Douluo World—and his whole body had come along!
Another bit of good news was that Qin Moyu had read Soul Land, so he knew exactly where he was in the timeline: the story of Soul Land I.
The transmigrators who often found themselves in Douluo Continent all knew that this period was undoubtedly the golden age for an ordinary person to develop after transmigrating there.
As the continent's top power, Spirit Hall monopolized more than half its resources. It helped commoners awaken their Martial Souls for free and even provided basic subsidies to Soul Masters.
That was nothing like other eras, when Douluo Continent was firmly under Tang Buddha's control, leaving no chance of turning the tables.
Soul Land III was on hell difficulty. Although the Divine Realm had been swept into the Temporal-Spatial Turbulence, and Tang Buddha had temporarily lost sight of the Douluo Plane, Tang Hao and Ah Yin still had the whole world firmly in their grasp. On top of that, the Silver Dragon King and the Golden Dragon King loomed before him like two towering mountains of Beast Martial Souls, and the Abyss Emperor of the Abyss Plane wasn't someone to trifle with either.
And there was no need to mention Soul Land IV. You were fit only to be the Dragon God's crown prince's dog...
All in all, Qin Moyu had been lucky to transmigrate during the era of Soul Land I.
With a transmigrator's foreknowledge, all he needed was to awaken a Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power. Even if it was a pig, he'd still have a chance to turn his life around.
Then came even worse news.
Because he'd transmigrated with his whole body, he was a bona fide Earthling, no match for the hydrogen people of Douluo Continent. But the most fatal part was that he couldn't even awaken a Martial Soul!
People who couldn't awaken a Martial Soul were indeed rare in Douluo Continent...
But they were utterly worthless. They could only spend their lives at the bottom.
For five whole years, he'd huddled in a small village near Suotuo City, getting by on farm work thanks to his youth and strength.
Fortunately, after all that suffering, the tide had turned: the Transmigrator's Golden Finger system had arrived.
"So, a transmigrator, a system, and a golden finger. This is the protagonist's treatment, plain and simple!"
As long as it wasn't a miHoYo-style world-saving system, he was about to take off!
Suppressing his excitement, Qin Moyu rubbed his hands together and asked eagerly, his eyes alight with anticipation, "System-sama, I'm your most loyal servant! Loyal\o\o\o!!!"
"So, do we get a newbie gift pack? And whatever missions you're about to hand out, can you just make me invincible? I'll punch Little Scumbag and stomp all over Douluo Star!"
[I know you're in a hurry, but hold your horses.]
At that, Qin Moyu stopped mid-sentence, straightened his posture, and sat poised to listen.
[The full name of this system is the Diary System. Host, you don't need to fight or kill. Just write a diary every day, and you'll receive generous rewards!]
[How does that sound? Easy work, handsome pay. Are you excited yet?]
Qin Moyu: "???"
The thatched hut instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop...
The happy smile froze on Qin Moyu's face. Looking bewildered, he sat on the wooden bed.
A Diary System? Writing a diary made you stronger?
Qin Moyu's mouth twitched like crazy. He couldn't help asking, "Diary System? Just come out and say it. Are you one of those crappy systems where I fantasize in my diary, but every heroine in Soul Land gets a copy?"
System: [???]
Six-six-six, not a single step missed. Whether it was open or not, I knew!
"Do you take me for an idiot? Who writes a diary these days?"
"I used to write fanfiction in my previous life, all right? I've already played out these tricks. You think you can fool me?" Qin Moyu snorted, puffing out his chest, pride written all over his face.
System: Hey, this kid's not stupid?
The truth was far more outrageous than Qin Moyu had imagined.
Not only would all the heroines in the Douluo Plane receive a copy of this diary, but heroines from other planes would get one too...
Even the handsome readers watching the fun beyond the dimensions, right there in front of their screens, would get a copy!
That's right, you. You're reading it too!
[Host, please do not slander this system without cause. Honest systems like me are few and far between these days.]
"Heh! Fine!"
Qin Moyu gave a sarcastic chuckle, not buying it for a second. "Then do you dare swear that only I can see the contents of my diary, and absolutely no one else can?"
[Just tell me whether you want it or not.]
Qin Moyu: ???
"I want it, I want it! Oh, come on, big bro, I was just joking! How could I not want it?"
Qin Moyu's expression changed faster than a page turning. He immediately put on a fawning mask and hurriedly begged for mercy.
Phew, just messing with it.
He knew the score. After five years stranded in Douluo, with too little food and clothing and no end in sight to his wait for a Martial Soul Awakening, this system was his only chance to turn his life around.
If he really let the system walk away, he'd spend the rest of his life rotting in the mud at the bottom. He wouldn't even have anywhere to cry.
[Host, please complete the first day's diary entry as soon as possible. Upon completion, you will receive a newbie gift pack.]
The system's prompt rang by his ear, and Qin Moyu temporarily stopped worrying about the diary copies leaking.
Before writing, though, Qin Moyu lowered his voice and probed, "System, besides not being allowed to pad it out, does this diary... protect me from being hunted down by the people who get a copy?"
That was undoubtedly the most crucial point, and it would determine how far he dared to go with the diary.
Should he reveal a little about himself, or just write his thoughts on the original story and keep his origins firmly under wraps?
Still, even if he kept his identity out of the diary, there was a risk of exposure. It would just be a little lower...
[Hmm???]
[This is the Douluo Continent, famed as the sewer of the fantasy world. Come on, are you afraid of Mother's Entanglement or something?]
[Host, just write whatever you want, however you want. No one will dare put you in danger.]
The system's mechanical voice brimmed with confidence.
Qin Moyu remained unconvinced. "Really? System, could you let me in on... how strong you are?"
The system was silent for a long while.
[Calculating the host's request... system processing power being deployed...]
[Power dimensions calculated.]
[ID number: 440902...]
A neat string of eighteen digits appeared smack in the middle of the screen.
Qin Moyu's pupils contracted, and he nearly blurted out a curse. "Holy shit, the—"
Wasn't this even shadier than the Spring Autumn Cicada? Wait...
Those opening digits... This ID number didn't seem to be his?
Before transmigrating, Qin Moyu had been born and raised in Guangxi, so his ID number started with 45. Numbers beginning with 44 should belong to the old-timers next door in Guangdong, right?
The system seemed to sense the question in Qin Moyu's mind, and its mechanical voice sounded unhurriedly:
[Don't overthink it. That's not your ID number, of course. It's the author's.]
Holy (ºOº) shit, the—!!!
"So powerful?!"
Qin Moyu sucked in a sharp breath and stared in shock.
Now he could finally relax!
Since the system had said so, he could write his diary without holding back. Heh heh heh!
Qin Moyu immediately dropped his cautious act, put on the sunny smile of a cheerful young man, and set about writing his first diary entry.
And the instant the diary was generated, heroines and supporting heroines across Soul Land I, II, III, IV, and V, Battle Through the Heavens, Martial Universe, The Great Ruler...
At every point in time, a resplendent diary copy appeared in their hands without warning.
Before you continue