The Heroines: Is This What It Means to Cheat?

Lin Ye closed the door behind him, pressing his back against the slightly cool door panel as his brows drew tightly together.

The scene in the living room replayed in his mind over and over, and the lingering sense that something was off grew stronger.

Too much of a coincidence. It was far too much of a coincidence.

Just yesterday, he had awakened his Second Martial Soul, and the evolution of his First Martial Soul had caused an earth-shaking commotion. Most of Haotian Sect, and even the entire Haotian Castle region, had been shrouded in golden light.

And today, an inspector from the sect headquarters had arrived right on cue.

They called it a routine inspection, but the Outer City had been peaceful for years. No one from headquarters had ever come down to inspect it before, yet they just happened to come at a time like this?

He would never believe there was no connection between those two things.

He walked over to the table and sat down, unease churning in his heart.

He had not written today's diary yet, and this troublesome matter was perfect material for it.

With a thought, words appeared clearly across the page as his consciousness moved.

[It's over, it's over. I think I'm about to be exposed!

Just now, some young master claiming to be a sect inspector came to my house. He said the sect had sent him down to investigate something.

Do I even need to ask? He must be investigating the commotion I caused before!

The disturbance when I awakened my Second Martial Soul, and when my First Martial Soul evolved, was just too huge.

I was wondering why everything had been so quiet before. So they couldn't find anything openly and simply switched to investigating in secret.

Although Haotian Sect has remained hidden from the world for many years, its foundation and power are not to be underestimated.

Even if the energy level of Douluo Continent is pitifully weak, Martial Souls are mysterious things. Maybe some elder has a Martial Soul that specializes in uncovering secrets. It is only a matter of time before they discover mine!

No, I need to come up with an explanation before I'm exposed.

Should I say that I found some heavenly treasure and accidentally absorbed it, causing my First Martial Soul to mutate?

As for my Second Martial Soul, I'll hide it for as long as I can.

This excuse might be a little far-fetched, but it should still work, right? It's perfectly reasonable for me to be lucky enough to encounter some fortuitous opportunity, isn't it?

Even if the higher-ups of the sect investigate me and become suspicious, they probably won't harm me, right?

Then again, it's hard to say. A God-Level Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power at rank 20 is simply too shocking.

I need to figure out whether there's something that can conceal my aura—something that can hide my Innate Soul Power at rank 20 and make it look like ordinary Innate Full Soul Power at rank 10.

The system should have a function like that, right? If it can't even conceal an aura, then isn't my system completely useless?!]

Almost the instant the diary's contents settled into place, every holder of a Diary Copy scattered across the continent saw this brand-new entry appear in their minds.

Xiao Xiao was sitting in her dormitory at Shrek Academy. The moment she sensed the Diary tremble, she immediately put down everything in her hands.

She sat up straight and quickly scanned the entire entry, her heart leaping into her throat.

A Haotian Sect inspector? A God-Level Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power at rank 20? Her little face instantly turned several shades paler, and even her clenched fingertips went white.

More than anyone, she knew that this Diary was the greatest opportunity of her life. If something happened to Lin Ye, if Haotian Sect controlled him, or if his secrets were exposed and he met with an accident, then her opportunity would be completely cut off.

At that moment, she was deeply worried for Lin Ye and wished she could immediately fly to the Outer City of Haotian Sect to help him erase every trace.

But there was nothing she could do. She could only worry helplessly while feeling shocked beyond belief.

Innate Soul Power at rank 20!

She herself had Innate Full Soul Power and was already called a genius, yet Lin Ye had directly broken through the limit of Innate Soul Power. On top of that, he had a God-Level Martial Soul. This was not talent at all—he was practically a monster!

She bit her lip, growing more anxious by the second.

Tang Ya was so shocked by the diary that she jumped to her feet, filled with both alarm and fear.

"Innate rank 20? A God-Level Martial Soul?"

She could not help blurting it out. Her eyes were wide as she reread that line several times, her face full of disbelief.

Before this, when she saw Lin Ye complaining in his diary about Huo Yuhao cheating, she had not truly felt much about it. She only thought Huo Yuhao was already absurdly overpowered. But compared to Lin Ye, Huo Yuhao's little cheat was nothing!

After writing a diary for a few days, he had directly evolved his First Martial Soul into a god-level one and gotten a Second Martial Soul for free. That Second Martial Soul was probably at least god-level as well, and his Innate Soul Power had been raised straight to rank 20.

Was this the Creator God's cheat code or something?

Why not just hand Douluo Continent over to him? Why bother leveling up? Why not let him take control of the God Realm too?

She paced around twice, unable to suppress the excitement in her heart. She had been worried that Lin Ye would not be able to hide his secrets, but now that she thought about it, so what if Haotian Sect discovered him?

A genius of this caliber? Haotian Sect would be too busy pampering and worshipping him. How could they possibly bear to harm him?

Ma Xiaotao had been resting against the headboard when the diary's contents instantly jolted her awake, her eyes filled with shock.

She had thought Huo Yuhao's cheat was already unprecedented, unmatched through the ages. Yet she had never expected this Lin Ye, whom she had never met, to be even more outrageous than Huo Yuhao.

Whose subordinate was this guy, exactly?

Innate Soul Power at rank 20, a God-Level Martial Soul, and he had raised his talent to such inhuman heights just by writing a diary?

She clicked her tongue in amazement, becoming increasingly curious about the "system" Lin Ye kept mentioning. What heaven-defying thing was it, to be capable of doing something like this?

At the same time, a trace of worry rose in her heart. Haotian Sect was no harmless force. A sect that had remained hidden for years possessed countless methods. Could Lin Ye truly keep such secrets hidden?

If something happened to Lin Ye, this Diary—which could foresee so many things and bring opportunities—would be gone as well.

But her thoughts soon turned elsewhere.

If he could casually produce even God-Level Martial Souls, then perhaps the Evil Fire within her body was not such a difficult problem for Lin Ye at all?

Her heartbeat quickened. If she could use this opportunity to resolve the Evil Fire that had plagued her for years, then the road ahead would be smooth and open.

At that very moment, Wang Dong'er, seated in the place of honor in Lin Ye's living room, received the diary's full contents as well.

She held a warm teacup in her hands, maintaining the aloof coldness expected of a sect inspector as she listened to Lin Xiao—Lin Ye's father—respectfully report on the Outer City's recent affairs.

On the surface, she seemed to be listening attentively and nodded slightly from time to time. In truth, all her attention had long since fallen upon the new diary entry in her mind.

After quickly reading the entire entry, Wang Dong'er froze for a moment, then nearly failed to maintain her expression. She forcibly swallowed the laughter that had reached her lips.

The weight that had hung over her heart for so long dropped with a thud, and she let out a huge sigh of relief.

She had thought that coming here rashly in the identity of a sect inspector would more or less arouse Lin Ye's suspicions. She had even prepared several explanations to deal with any probing he might attempt.

But as it turned out, Lin Ye had not connected her to it at all. He had completely attributed her visit to the disturbance caused by his Martial Soul awakening, and he had even made up the reason for her himself. He had gone so far as to speculate that the sect was secretly investigating him.

Wang Dong'er secretly rejoiced in her heart and could not help praising herself.

Genius, Wang Dong'er. You're truly a genius! It was like being handed a pillow the moment you wanted to sleep.

This was perfect. Even if something went wrong later, she only needed to say, "I was ordered by the sect to investigate the previous anomaly," and she could explain everything away. She would not even need to bother making up an excuse herself.

But when her gaze fell again on the line about "a God-Level Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power at rank 20," the ease on her face instantly vanished. Her pupils contracted sharply, and even the teacup in her hand trembled slightly beyond her control.

She knew the Diary was heaven-defying, and she knew Lin Ye had received many benefits through writing it. But she had never imagined it could be heaven-defying to this extent.

He had only written a diary for a few days, yet he had not only evolved his original Martial Soul into a god-level one, but had also directly awakened a Second Martial Soul. Judging from the towering phenomenon earlier, that Second Martial Soul was undoubtedly a top-tier God-Level Martial Soul too!

Even his Innate Soul Power had directly surpassed the continent's universally acknowledged limit, reaching an unprecedented rank 20!

Not only her—every heroine holding a Diary Copy had the same thought arise in her heart: cheating was simply too damn amazing!

They had often seen Lin Ye complain in his diary about things like "Huo Yuhao cheating," and they roughly understood what cheating meant.

But only now, after watching Lin Ye ascend in a single step and raise his talent to such heights just by writing a diary, did they truly understand the enormous difference between cheating and not cheating.

To Soul Masters like them, gods were supreme beings—the ultimate destination that they might not reach even after exhausting their entire lives.

But for Lin Ye, becoming a god was merely his starting point.

Even without any more rewards from the Diary, Lin Ye only needed to cultivate steadily with his twin God-Level Martial Souls and Innate Soul Power at rank 20, and he would inevitably become a god in the future.

What they might never even touch the threshold of in their entire lives was, for someone else, an effortless certainty.

The gap was so vast that it made them despair, yet it also stirred an ambition within them unlike anything before.

They did not need to obtain heaven-defying God-Level Martial Souls like Lin Ye, nor did they need Innate Soul Power at rank 20.

They only needed to follow behind Lin Ye steadily. Even if they merely drank a mouthful of the soup left over from his opportunities, they could gain benefits they had never dared dream of before, making their paths countless times easier.

Wang Dong'er lifted her eyes toward Lin Ye's room. A glimmer that no one else could perceive flashed through her eyes, and a faint smile curled at her lips.

Right now, she was the person closest to Lin Ye. The terrace nearest the water caught the moonlight first—she would not easily let such a tremendous opportunity slip away.