[These master and disciple really were a perfect match.]
Chen Mo put down his pen and closed the diary.
[Ding! Diary successfully released.] [Daily diary reward: 3 Free Attribute Points.] [Detected an increase in affection between the host and Xiao Wu: 35 → 45.] [Detected that the host's relationship with Xiao Wu has entered a new stage (sharing a courtyard). Additional reward: 5 Free Attribute Points.]
Chen Mo raised his eyebrows and brought up the system panel.
[Host: Chen Mo] [Level: Level 46 Soul Ancestor] [Martial Soul: Divine Tree of Creation] [Soul Rings: Purple (1,000 years), purple (4,200 years), purple (9,500 years), black (15,500 years)] [Strength: 52] [Agility: 49] [Constitution: 57] [Spiritual power: 78] [External Soul Bone: Dandelion Clone (4 seeds, 1 implanted)] [Soul Bone: Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Leg Bone] [Aura: Idiocy Aura (on cooldown)] [Available attribute points: 8]
Chen Mo allocated the attribute points to spiritual power and constitution, and the panel changed slightly.
[Spiritual power: 82] [Constitution: 61]
Chen Mo dismissed the panel and stretched.
Meanwhile, in the west wing.
Xiao Wu was reading the diary too.
When she read "a little funny, and a little heartbreaking," her face instantly turned red.
When she read "with me around, she won't suffer that kind of ending in this life," she hugged the diary and curled into a ball under the covers, unable to stop the corners of her mouth from lifting.
When she reached the later section about Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, she could not help bursting into a giggle.
But she knew perfectly well that Tang San really was different from before.
The old Tang San had been a man of few words, but he had genuinely cared about her.
Now, every other word out of his mouth was about cultivation, and even the way he looked at her carried a disdain that said, "You'll interfere with my cultivation."
Xiao Wu rolled over and hugged the diary to her chest.
She did not care.
Tang San could go cultivate all he wanted. All the better if he did not come bother her.
All she needed was to stay by Brother Chen Mo's side.
As these thoughts drifted through her mind, Xiao Wu drowsily fell asleep.
In her dream, she seemed to see Chen Mo standing amid golden light, reaching out to her.
She ran toward him with a smile.
Meanwhile, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and various corners of the Star Luo Empire, the women who possessed diary copies reacted differently as they read this entry.
Dugu Yan bit her quilt, consumed with jealousy. "What does he mean, Xiao Wu moved in? How can another woman be living in Brother Mo's courtyard!"
But when she read further and saw how Chen Mo had helped Xiao Wu modify her Soul Skill and protected her, she deflated again.
"...Brother Mo treats everyone so well."
She muttered sourly, yet could not help wishing she could move into Brother Mo's courtyard too.
When Bibi Dong saw the words "perfect match," she gave a rare smile.
"Yu Xiaogang..." She sneered. "So this day has come for you too."
Whether it was because of this diary or not, ever since receiving it, the more Bibi Dong thought back on the past, the angrier she became.
Looking back now, she found those old affairs between her and Yu Xiaogang nothing but laughable.
Was a level twenty-nine piece of trash worthy of lingering in her, Bibi Dong's, thoughts?
Ning Rongrong pouted when she read the part about Xiao Wu moving into Chen Mo's courtyard.
"This Xiao Wu certainly moves fast."
For some reason, she felt a little jealous and a little unwilling to concede.
"Once I find this person, I'm going to..." Before she could finish, her own face reddened, and she buried it in her pillow.
Zhu Zhuqing stared at the diary in silence for a long time.
In the end, she merely sighed softly and put the diary away.
Nuoding City. She wanted to go there too.
Early the next morning, Chen Mo had just finished breakfast when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
The Blue Silver Emperor extended a branch from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, waving her leaves toward the gate like a little alarm.
Chen Mo did not even need to guess.
At this hour, with that rhythm of knocking, who else could it be but that "theory grandmaster"?
He opened the gate, and sure enough, it was Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang had clearly tidied himself up today. His hair was meticulously combed, and he had changed into a clean robe. He carried two bundles wrapped in oiled paper, his face piled with a smile warm enough to melt winter snow.
Tang San followed behind him.
Tang San was carrying things too: two boxes of pastries.
"Young friend Chen Mo, good morning, good morning."
Yu Xiaogang smiled until his eyes nearly narrowed into slits. "I had some free time today, so I came to pay you a visit. I brought some medicinal herbs native to Nuoding City, along with a few theoretical manuscripts I've compiled over the years, for you to peruse."
Chen Mo understood perfectly.
Yu Xiaogang had been stuck at level twenty-nine all his life. He had spent his whole life cultivating, hoping only to climb one step higher.
Now that he had heard of a divine artifact that could accelerate cultivation, how could he possibly sit still?
Chen Mo saw through the master and disciple's scheme at a glance.
They wanted him to willingly hand over the Soul Bone clone?
Keep pretending. I'll play along.
"You're too kind, Grandmaster Yu." Chen Mo smiled and stepped aside. "Please, come in."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. Carrying his gifts, he entered the courtyard and looked around as he walked.
The courtyard was not large, but it was neat and tidy. Several stalks of Blue Silver Grass grew in a corner-ordinary Blue Silver Grass that Chen Mo had deliberately planted as cover.
A pot of tea sat on the stone table, still steaming.
"What a refined courtyard you have, young friend. Truly refined!" Yu Xiaogang praised it endlessly.
Chen Mo poured him a cup of tea. "Have a taste, Grandmaster Yu. It's just plain tea."
Yu Xiaogang accepted the cup but did not hurry to drink. His eyes shifted before he said, "Young friend, after I went back yesterday, the more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt."
"Ashamed?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Yu Xiaogang sighed. "You're so young, yet you've already attained the rank of Soul Ancestor. I have several decades on you, yet I'm still wasting away at the threshold of Soul Elder. It truly is... shameful."
Chen Mo sneered inwardly.
Here it comes. Setting the mood, about to play the pity card.
Sure enough, Yu Xiaogang changed tack:
"Over the years, I've poured my life's work into theoretical research. The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent-I worked those out word by word."
"Sadly, however strong the theory, if my Soul Power won't rise, it all amounts to nothing in the end."
As Yu Xiaogang spoke, he secretly looked up to observe Chen Mo's expression.
Holding his teacup, Chen Mo leisurely blew on the steam, his face expressionless.
Growing anxious, Yu Xiaogang added more fuel to the fire. "Young friend, I heard... ahem, I heard from Xiao San that you possess an inherited treasure that can help people cultivate?"
Chen Mo set down his teacup and looked at Yu Xiaogang.
That glance unexpectedly left Yu Xiaogang feeling a little guilty, though he forced the smile to remain on his face.
"That's true," Chen Mo said leisurely. "But Xiao San should also have told you, Grandmaster Yu, that it's an inheritance from a god, and it recognizes its master. Finding it an inheritor depends on fate."
Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes. Fate, fate."
"Then... young friend, do you think this divine artifact and I share any fate?"
Yu Xiaogang looked at Chen Mo expectantly, his gaze like that of a dog spotting a meaty bone.
Chen Mo nearly laughed out loud.
Good grief, that direct?