Diary Settlement, Fragments of Truth?

It wasn't that she had never been doubtful or aggrieved. But whenever she thought of Elder Mu saving her life and nurturing her, she suppressed those thoughts, believing herself immature and unworthy of the old man's kindness.

But now, Lin Ye's words were like a sharp blade, directly cutting open the truth she had deliberately concealed for decades.

Yes, Elder Mu had given her a second life, and she would have spent her entire life repaying Shrek Academy anyway. Why did he have to bind her so tightly with the title of "child bride"?

Could it be that, in Elder Mu's eyes, her gratitude and loyalty were so unworthy of trust?

Had the old man she had revered all her life been keeping something in reserve against her from the very beginning?

[Did you really have to tie her to your great-grandson, slap the label of child bride on her, and nail her entire life to Shrek's war chariot?

How lacking in confidence were you? Or did Mu En never save her out of pure goodwill in the first place? Was it all just to find his precious great-grandson Bei Bei a backer who could protect him and remain absolutely loyal to him?]

In the inner courtyard dormitory, Ma Xiaotao stared at the words in her mind, her brows tightly furrowed as turmoil churned within her.

When her martial soul went out of control, Elder Mu had personally helped suppress her evil fire. In her impression, Elder Mu had always been an exceptionally kind elder.

Though he possessed cultivation that could reach the heavens and shake the earth, he treated the younger generation with the gentleness of a true elder.

But now, seeing Lin Ye dissect Zhang Lexuan's circumstances, doubts rose in her heart as well.

[Some people are still making excuses, saying that Mu En had just fought Du Bisi back then, was gravely wounded and near death, and underwent a drastic change in temperament. They say he became suspicious of the whole world, which was why he did this.

Give me a break. Even a drastic change in temperament doesn't work like that.]

[If you were truly afraid she might turn against you, you could've simply refused to save her, or sent her somewhere else after saving her. Why give her top-tier resources, teach her all those abilities, then bind her with such a disgraceful method? Isn't that like taking off your pants just to fart—completely unnecessary?]

[To put it bluntly, he wanted her talent and wanted her to work herself to the bone for Shrek, but he was afraid she wouldn't be under his control.

So he used gratitude and status to trap her in Shrek for the rest of her life.

With such petty magnanimity, forget Ultimate Douluo—I don't think he was even as good as the sect master of an ordinary sect.]

At the bottom of the Lake of Life.

A cold smile curled across Gu Yuena's lips.

Human schemes truly had always been filthy and laughable.

So what if he was an Ultimate Douluo? Even standing at the peak of the human world, he could not escape these sordid calculations.

Save someone, offer them sweetness first, then lock them in chains and make them willingly serve you for life. Such methods could hardly be called honorable.

"The expert even Di Tian feared was nothing more than a calculating mortal after all."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was also bewildered. Though she was still young, she had heard Di Tian and the others tell many stories about human experts. Di Tian had repeatedly mentioned Mu En's name, calling him one of the people in the human world who must never be provoked.

But now, this expert who seemed like a god walking among mortals had been stripped bare by Lin Ye, leaving nothing hidden?

She shook her fluffy little head, feeling that the human world was far too complicated. Such a supreme expert was actually full of vile intentions.

She flicked her tail, curled herself into a ball, and stared even more intently at the diary in her mind.

[Of course, there's no point talking about this now. That old bastard Mu En only has a few years left to live anyway.

It's just a pity for Zhang Lexuan. She spent her whole life inside this carefully woven scheme, and even in the end, she never saw what the person she had revered all her life truly looked like.]

He had written enough in today's diary, so Lin Ye decided to stop.

"System, settle today's rewards."

At the command of his thoughts, two gentle spheres of light instantly appeared within his sea of consciousness.

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow. Looking at the two utterly ordinary light spheres, his anticipation immediately faded, and he couldn't help curling his lip.

Well, no jackpot today.

That made sense. A grand prize had dropped yesterday—how could he get golden streaks every day? Things like this couldn't possibly come with surprises every single time.

[Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: Soul Power +3!]

[Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: Incomplete Soul Venerating Banner (crossed out) Human Emperor Banner!]

Lin Ye's eyes lit up instantly as he stared fixedly at the little banner within the light sphere.

A flood of information instantly entered his mind. This Human Emperor Banner came from a vast cultivation universe. It was a soul-nourishing banner that a righteous cultivator in white had failed to refine.

The white-robed cultivator casually tossed this failed product into the void. Without even sparing it a glance, he vanished from the spot in a flash.

Yet this banner, discarded so casually, had been intercepted by the system and delivered directly into Lin Ye's hands.

Although it was an incomplete version and most of its functions had been damaged, its most fundamental core ability remained—for example, nurturing souls.

A smile tugged at Lin Ye's lips as he inwardly praised the system for being thoughtful.

He had been worrying about how to safely intercept Elex's remnant soul. That wisp of a soul was far too fragile and could completely dissipate with the slightest mistake.

Though he had come up with several contingency plans before, every one of them carried considerable risk.

Now, things were different. With this Human Emperor Banner, forget a mere wisp of remnant soul—even an even weaker soul could be safely nourished.

Lin Ye toyed with the Human Emperor Banner in his sea of consciousness, his mood greatly improved.

When Lin Ye chose to settle his rewards, the rewards on the diary copy's side were settled at the same time.

[Today's diary copy synchronization settlement complete!]

[Person mentioned the most in today's copy: Zhang Lexuan!]

[Copy rewards issued: Soul Power +1! One 50,000-year left arm soul bone! One 50,000-year right arm soul bone! One Fragment of Truth (1/3)!]

[Note: Collect three Fragments of Truth to make one wish, or learn any truth you wish to know.]

At Shrek Academy, this series of notifications rang clearly within Zhang Lexuan's mind.

She froze for a full three seconds before abruptly opening her eyes.

Soul Power +1? Two 50,000-year soul bones?

Two light spheres appeared before her eyes. One instantly entered her body, and she could clearly feel her soul power rise by an entire rank out of nowhere.

Within the other sphere lay two soul bones emitting dense fluctuations of soul power.

These were a paired set of 50,000-year arm bones. Even across the entire Douluo Continent, they were priceless treasures that could not be bought with money. Though she was the eldest sister of the inner courtyard, soul bones of this level were not something she could obtain whenever she wished.

Yet her gaze locked tightly onto the Fragment of Truth radiating a mysterious glow.

Gather three of them, and she could learn any truth she wanted?

Zhang Lexuan's heart pounded wildly as countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

What Lin Ye had written in the diary about her, about Elder Mu... Lin Ye himself had said that those were merely conspiracy theories and guesses from readers in his previous life, not irrefutable facts.

Could it be... that what Lin Ye wrote was completely different from the actual truth?

A blazing fire instantly ignited in Zhang Lexuan's eyes.

She had to collect all three Fragments of Truth.

She had to learn the truth behind her family's extermination.