The Goddess Codex's First Entry: Skill Draw

Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City.

[Ding! Goddess Xiao Wu meets the binding conditions. Bind her?]

A system notification suddenly sounded on the street.

Lin Xiao looked around and spotted two people walking toward him.

Xiao Wu and Tang San!

They were familiar faces, exactly as he had seen them in the animation.

The two chatted and laughed. Xiao Wu seemed curious about everything, looking all around her, brimming with energy.

She was the first goddess the Goddess Codex System had detected since it activated.

One day remained before the Shrek story began.

"System, bind her!"

[Ding! Xiao Wu bound successfully. Initial affection: 10.]

[Ding! Xiao Wu's affection has reached 10. Draw a skill from her skill pool?]

The system's voice sounded again.

"Start the draw!"

As soon as he spoke, a golden light descended from the sky and became a golden card.

Intricate patterns lined its edges, while Xiao Wu's image filled the center.

The card then became a spinning wheel and began to turn rapidly.

"Waist Bow, Charm, Instant Teleportation, Invincible Golden Body... They're all here?"

The skills on the wheel genuinely stunned Lin Xiao.

The system had told the truth. Every skill belonging to the corresponding person was available.

He had been bound to the system for several days. According to its explanation, the Goddess Codex awarded rewards when he gained affection from bound goddesses.

Anything Lin Xiao did could affect their affection.

Once affection reached 100, it would lock there, neither rising nor falling.

At affection levels of 10, 50, and 70, he could draw a skill once. At 100, the ultimate reward would unlock.

The system automatically detected and bound goddesses, setting their initial affection at 10. That meant every new target gave him one draw.

Every skill drawn counted as a Self-Created Soul Skill and took up no Soul Ring skill slot.

The skills available to draw were not limited by the corresponding person's current level, either.

The system could also issue missions from time to time.

Completing them brought rewards of all kinds.

Those even included charm, Soul Rings, Soul Bones, divine artifacts, and more.

The golden wheel slowed and finally stopped.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You drew the Soul Skill—Invincible Golden Body!]

[Ding! System enhancement activated. Invincible Golden Body has been enhanced to Thirty-Second Invincibility. Your strength increases tenfold while you are invincible!]

A drawn skill could even be enhanced?

Lin Xiao marveled inwardly. In the original story, Xiao Wu's Invincible Golden Body lasted only eight seconds, even when she reached the Titled Douluo realm.

Its strength boost was only twofold.

Now, after the system's enhancement, he was a real man for thirty seconds.

And his strength increased tenfold.

For thirty seconds, he would be a real man beneath the level of gods. Even Qian Daoliu would have to retreat with his head covered in lumps, wouldn't he?

He had the Soul Skill, but one look at his status panel told another story.

Good grief. It was completely blank.

His Soul Power Level was zero. He had no Martial Soul.

"Is this what happens when you arrive in person? Looks like I'll have to find a way to get some Soul Power."

Lin Xiao thought it over.

He did not know whether, after arriving in this world, he could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and turn it into Soul Power.

Otherwise, having a Soul Skill but no Soul Power to use it with amounted to nothing.

[Ding! Host has bound his first goddess. Beginner mission unlocked!]

[Beginner mission: Stay in the same room as Xiao Wu. Rewards: Innate Soul Power raised to level 20, Martial Soul Awakening, and a new system feature unlocked!]

The pillow had arrived just as he was growing sleepy.

Level twenty Innate Soul Power—wasn't that an advantage only a divine-level Martial Soul could grant?

If so, the Martial Soul awarded by the system should also be divine-level.

A system cheat never disappointed.

Next, he had to make contact with Xiao Wu and find a way to share a room with her.

He also needed a strategy for raising her affection.

There were three more chances to draw skills, and reaching 100 affection would unlock the ultimate reward.

He had to raise it!

All the way to the top!

Lin Xiao gathered his thoughts, and the golden wheel before him dissolved into specks of light.

He looked toward the approaching Xiao Wu again, considering how to make contact.

Xiao Wu and Tang San were about to find a hotel and rest.

Having only just arrived in Suotuo City, Xiao Wu was curious about everything around her.

Unlike Nuoding City, Suotuo City was a mid-sized city that saw plenty of traveling merchants.

It was also home to Suotuo City Intermediate Soul Master Academy and served as a grain hub, making it exceptionally lively.

"Xiao Wu, let's find a hotel and rest first."

Whenever Tang San looked at Xiao Wu beside him, affection flickered in his eyes.

Six years. It had been six years!

The little white rabbit he had cared for had grown into a graceful young woman.

"Brother, let's look around some more."

Xiao Wu clearly was not ready to rest yet.

This was her first time seeing such a bustling city. How could someone with her energy rest so soon?

"All right. We'll walk around a little longer."

Tang San nodded.

If she wanted to explore, he could only go along with her.

The two walked on, chatting and laughing.

Soon they passed Lin Xiao.

As they passed, Xiao Wu suddenly turned her head and met Lin Xiao's eyes just as he looked back.

Xiao Wu stopped. An indescribable feeling stirred in her heart.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing her stop, Tang San turned around too.

When he saw Lin Xiao, his brows drew together slightly.

They had looked into each other's eyes?

For six years, Xiao Wu had never paid attention to anyone but him.

Why was she looking at a stranger now?

Had Xiao Wu made a friend without his knowing?

Or was this someone close to her?

A fierce sense of crisis welled up in Tang San, as though he were about to lose something precious.

He watched Lin Xiao warily.

Lin Xiao held Xiao Wu's gaze for a moment, then turned and left without lingering.

"It's nothing, Brother. Let's go."

Xiao Wu came to her senses, shook her head, and thought no more of it.

But to Tang San, it meant something else entirely.

For the first time, Xiao Wu had held someone else's gaze for more than a few seconds.

And it was a young man so handsome that even Tang San felt inferior.

Tang San was plain-looking, while Lin Xiao had fine features—he could even be called beautiful.

Does Xiao Wu like good-looking boys?

Tang San brooded over it. Loss and alarm gripped him, and he reached out to take Xiao Wu's hand.

But she had already turned and walked ahead, leaving his hand frozen in midair.

"That guy..."

Tang San looked toward where Lin Xiao had disappeared and clenched his fist. Then he followed Xiao Wu, his face dark.

After they left, Lin Xiao retraced his steps.

"First impression made. Now I need to find an opening."

"The Rose Hotel. I'll get there ahead of them."

In the Rose Hotel Lobby, Tang San was fighting Dai Mubai.

The two were locked in a fierce clash, while Xiao Wu watched from the side.

The gap in their levels kept Tang San from gaining any real advantage.

Even when he used Soul Skills to hold Dai Mubai back, Dai Mubai broke through them by force.

Lin Xiao arrived outside the hotel. The first person he saw was Xiao Wu, watching the fight nearby.

Tang San was busy fighting Dai Mubai and could not spare any attention for her.

This was a perfect chance to approach Xiao Wu!