Xun'er: This diary has finally come back to life

[Looking at the Testing Magic Stone Tablet...]

["Xiao Yan, Dou Zhi Li, third stage! Rank: low!"...]

["Dou Zhi Li, third stage!"]

["Third stage? Heh heh, just as I expected. This genius has been treading water again this past year."]

[...]

["Who knows? Maybe he did something to weigh on his conscience and brought down the gods' wrath."]

[...]

["Next, Xiao Xun'er."]

[The girl's cool, detached bearing was like a green lotus just beginning to bloom...]

[Unlike the other boys and girls, the young Xiao Xun'er did not mock or jeer at Xiao Yan.]

[...]

[The moon was like a silver platter... the cliff... raised something slightly...]

["Fifteen years..."]

[Xiao Yan had a secret in his heart that he alone knew. He was not from this world, or rather, Xiao Yan's soul...]

[The continent was called the Dou Qi Continent...]

[...The instant Xiao Yan raised his head, the black ring on his finger...]

"Done!"

This was the alternative Ye Qingzhou had come up with: simply write Xiao Yan's story.

But he didn't write down every last detail. He focused on cultivation and only touched briefly on matters involving women.

Ever since his Soul Realm had improved, he could clearly recall certain things from his past life. In particular, he could remember written content if he tried hard enough.

"Upload."

Ye Qingzhou watched the diary page expectantly.

The next moment, he saw all the words being etched into it, which meant the diary had accepted the content.

It was true and valid, but it wasn't something he had personally experienced.

"It works." Ye Qingzhou smiled.

That meant he didn't need to write about his own experiences at all.

He could simply write about Xiao Yan's experiences, or someone else's.

"What about the reward?"

Ye Qingzhou picked up the diary and leafed through it several times, but saw no reward.

He checked the rules again and understood.

"Random rewards are granted at irregular intervals, which means they aren't guaranteed. So I don't get one as soon as I upload an entry."

"The reward that doubles cultivation results should be calculated at midnight."

"All right, then."

With a thought, Ye Qingzhou put the diary away and rose to collect a High Xuan Tier cultivation method and Dou Technique from the Scripture Pavilion.

What he didn't know was that, after he successfully uploaded his first diary entry, ancient pages appeared simultaneously before countless women across the Dou Qi Continent, visible only to each of them.

Inky light flickered across them, and their contents were identical.

In Wutan City, Jia Nan Academy was temporarily using the enormous square in front of the city lord's residence to recruit students.

Before the tent at the very center, a great cloud of dust was settling. A youth dressed in close-fitting black clothes braced himself on one knee, sweat dripping from his chin.

"Instructor Ruo Lin, thank you for going easy on me." The youth sprang lightly to his feet, a flash of white light passing through his eyes as he cupped his fists.

Instructor Ruo Lin withdrew the Dou Qi spreading around her green robes, a look of approval appearing in her eyes. "Xiao Yan, ten exchanges have passed. You've qualified, and I'll grant you one year's leave."

"Take this token. When the time comes, report to Jia Nan Academy."

Xiao Yan grinned and accepted the token with both hands.

Then he glanced toward the edge of the square, but failed to spot the figure who stood apart from the others.

Has little sister Xun'er left? Xiao Yan felt a little disappointed, but didn't dwell on it.

Right now, all he could think about was growing stronger to face the "Three-Year Agreement," which was less than two years away.

As for this slightly unusual "little sister" he had gained so easily, he preferred mature, older women and knew he had no special tastes, so there was no need to pay her too much attention.

Meanwhile, in a tent not far away, Gu Xun'er stood alone in a long purple dress, holding an ancient-looking book in both hands.

"Twelve years. This book has finally shown signs of activity again."

Xun'er stroked the book, her eyes brightening at its tangible feel.

Twelve years ago, her mother, the guardian of the clan's flame temple, had been gravely injured for reasons unknown. Before she died, she sealed the nascent Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, which the clan had nurtured for seven years, inside Xun'er.

Because of clan rules, the inheritance, and certain dissenting voices, her father, Gu Yuan, needed ten years to merge with the nascent flame. Before doing so, he had secretly sent her, unable to cultivate normally, to the Xiao Clan so she could have an ordinary childhood, away from the clan's rumors and fierce competition.

When she first arrived, the Heavenly Flame tempered her meridians every day, leaving her with symptoms similar to cold poisoning. Because she was so young, she could only endure it on her own.

One night, Xiao Yan, who was only four years old, had snuck into the small courtyard where she lived.

Several shadow guards protected her, but they did not stop a child.

It was then that an illusory book suddenly appeared out of nowhere in her mind.

A line appeared in the book, stating that Xiao Yan housed the soul of an adult from another world and had come to her room to experiment with Dou Qi, while also palpating her bones to treat her.

The treatment was of no use to her at all. Young as she was, she was mature for her age and had no desire to become a test subject, so she had the shadow guards knock him out and throw him out.

Xiao Yan never came looking for her again, but she had kept a covert eye on him and found that he indeed did not act like a child.

When Xiao Yan was riding high on his reputation as a genius, she had not joined the others in fawning over him. After he fell from grace and became trash, she had not mocked or jeered at him either. Since he had appeared in the diary, she had even offered him a few words of encouragement.

But after that, the ancient book had never updated again.

Until now, when it had finally shown signs of activity and could even take physical form.

"Hmm?"

Xun'er opened the ancient book and, upon seeing what was written inside, wore an odd expression.

She had read plenty of storybooks, and their contents were much like what was written in the diary.

But the protagonist of this story was the Xiao Yan she knew.

She had personally witnessed the opening scene, where his strength was tested.

"A diary, as the name suggests, is a book for keeping daily records."

"Was the owner of the ancient book secretly observing Xiao Yan and writing it down?"

"Because Xiao Yan has a soul from another world?"

Thoughts tumbled through Xun'er's mind.

If that was the case, why was it only now recording something Xiao Yan had experienced a year ago?

"The entry breaks off at the part describing the ring."

"Sure enough, there's something strange about that ring."

"Uncle Xiao Zhan said there were guests."

"Three-Year Agreement?"

Xun'er found herself looking forward to it for no apparent reason.

As long as she saw more diary entries, she should be able to follow the clues and find the person writing them.

She was quite curious who this person was and why they had given her a copy of the diary.

Moreover, the copy had appeared inside her body, bypassing the protective restriction her father had left within her.

"Is it recording past events now because the entries are delayed, or is it a matter of where it begins?"

"Then will it also write about the future?"

Meanwhile, at the border between the Tagor Desert and the Luo Yan Empire.

Deep within a frigid valley, a woman appeared with illusory, blood-colored wings formed behind her and a purple serpent's tail for her lower body.

She was just about to dive down the mountain when she suddenly moved.

She raised a jade hand, and an ancient book took form.

"This ancient book has finally shown signs of activity again!"