Diary Settlement, Martial Soul Reforging?

[Tang Ya was truly stubborn to the extreme. Her Blue Silver Grass martial soul had mutated into Dark Blue Silver Grass; its attributes had veered toward something sinister, and even its very essence had changed. Yet she still insisted on copying Tang San's spirit ring configuration from back then.

Did she really think the path walked by the Tang Sect's ancestor was some universal template? Tang San had the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline as his foundation, and later, the Sea God and Asura God divine seats backing him up.

His Blue Silver Grass was a cheat. Your Dark Blue Silver Grass is a bomb that could backfire on you at any moment.

The proportions of control-type spirit rings suit the growth, control, and support of orthodox plant-type martial souls. If you force that approach onto a martial soul with dark attributes, your soul power corroding your temperament is only a matter of time.]

[If you keep stubbornly going down this path, then if you don't become an evil soul master, who will? Instead of exploring the traits of your mutated martial soul, you insist on replicating someone else's legend. Don't you realize that if legends were so easy to replicate, they wouldn't be legends?]

Tang Ya sighed as she looked at the updated diary.

Yes. Her martial soul had long ceased to be the Blue Silver Grass of Ancestor Tang San. Even its essence had changed. If she kept forcing someone else's spirit ring configuration onto herself, wouldn't she be courting death?

She took a deep breath. The turbulent emotions in her chest gradually settled, and the confusion and hesitation in her eyes completely faded, replaced by an unprecedented resolve.

She could no longer follow Ancestor Tang San's old path. She had to forge a path of her own—a path belonging to Dark Blue Silver Grass, one that could truly revive the Tang Sect and truly let her survive.

This entire shift in mindset took only a few breaths.

Beside her, Bei Bei hadn't noticed the change in her state of mind at all. He had just carefully examined Huo Yuhao's body and confirmed that his spirit ring absorption was extremely stable, without any lingering effects. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, playing the role of a considerate senior.

"How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Absorbing your first spirit ring went very smoothly—better than I'd expected." His tone carried a hint of praise, along with a trace of regret that was difficult to detect.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly shook his head. Excited yet restrained, he gave Bei Bei a deep bow. "Thank you, Brother Bei Bei. I'm fine. I feel great!"

Bei Bei smiled and nodded, his gaze falling on the Wind Baboon's corpse nearby. The Wind Baboon's white spirit ring had already vanished, so he naturally assumed that Huo Yuhao had absorbed the ten-year Wind Baboon's spirit ring.

The smile on Bei Bei's face faded slightly as he sighed softly to himself.

A ten-year spirit ring.

Even if this little fellow had some talent, once a ten-year spirit ring entered his body, the ceiling of his path as a soul master had been set in stone. No matter how talented he was, his life had already been ruined.

But Tang Ya had personally made that decision. Even if he disagreed with it inwardly, he couldn't undermine her in front of Huo Yuhao. He could only follow up by offering Huo Yuhao a few more words of encouragement.

Not far away, Lin Ye took in the entire scene and raised an eyebrow, his expression otherwise unchanged.

He had no interest in Huo Yuhao, nor did he want to get involved with him.

Even if the Diary System had perfectly blocked Tang San's perception of him, what kind of person was Huo Yuhao? He was a chess piece personally chosen by Tang San. If Lin Ye lingered around Huo Yuhao, then even if Tang San couldn't sense his specific information, he would definitely become suspicious.

There was no need to invite that kind of trouble.

Lin Ye straightened up, brushed off nonexistent dust from his clothes, then turned and prepared to leave the forest and return to Shrek City.

Of course, before leaving, he exchanged names with the three of them. It was a simple greeting, and now they knew one another.

Since earlier, Tang Ya's gaze had unconsciously followed Lin Ye's figure. When she saw him turn to leave, her body suddenly stiffened, and she almost instinctively wanted to rise and ask him to stay.

But when the words reached her lips, she forcefully swallowed them back down.

Tang Ya watched helplessly as Lin Ye's figure completely disappeared into the dense forest. The light in her eyes dimmed along with him, and her entire being seemed despondent.

Bei Bei quickly noticed that something was wrong with her.

Tang Ya seemed to be in a low mood. Although Bei Bei didn't know why, he was worried. He shifted closer to her and raised his hand, intending to gently pat her shoulder and offer some comfort.

But before his hand could touch Tang Ya's clothes, Tang Ya, who had been sitting still, suddenly dodged to the side as if she'd been burned, instinctively avoiding his touch.

Bei Bei's hand froze in midair.

He was completely stunned. The gentle smile on his face vanished entirely, leaving only bewilderment and confusion. He had no idea what he'd done wrong.

Tang Ya herself froze for a moment, only realizing what she had done after dodging away.

But she didn't explain or apologize. With little expression on her face, she lowered her eyes and stood up, grabbed the still-dazed Huo Yuhao by the hand, threw out a "We're leaving," then dragged him deeper into the forest without looking back, leaving Bei Bei standing there alone.

Huo Yuhao stumbled from being dragged so suddenly. He looked back at Bei Bei, who stood there at a loss, then at Tang Ya's icy expression ahead of him. Completely confused, he called out softly, "Brother Bei Bei..."

He truly couldn't understand it.

Weren't these two just sweet and inseparable a moment ago?

How had Tang Ya suddenly started avoiding Bei Bei like she'd seen a ghost? That mood swing was way too fast, wasn't it?

"Heh heh heh, little Yuhao, see that? That's women for you."

Skydream Iceworm's lazy voice rang out in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, carrying the disdain of someone experienced, along with a bit of gloating.

"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. One second the sky is clear for miles, the next it's covered in dark clouds. Kid, you've got a lot to learn in the future."

The confusion on Huo Yuhao's face deepened. He replied weakly in his heart, "Really? Brother Skydream, are women... really like that?"

[Ding! Today's diary instance is beginning settlement!]

[Person mentioned most frequently in today's diary instance: Tang Ya.]

[Settlement rewards are being distributed...]

[Reward One: Soul power level increased by one!]

[Reward Two: Martial Soul Reforging opportunity ×1 (can be actively used to completely restore a current mutated martial soul to its original initial state).]

Almost at the same time, Tang Ya, who was dragging Huo Yuhao forward with her head down, heard the settlement notification echo in her mind as well.

Those two reward descriptions seemed to have been carved directly into her mind.

Tang Ya's steps suddenly halted.

She had been walking too quickly, so when she abruptly stopped, Huo Yuhao behind her failed to react in time and crashed into her back, nearly falling over.

But Tang Ya paid no attention at all. Her entire body had frozen in place, while four words echoed repeatedly in her mind: Martial Soul Reforging.