Chapter 283: Chapter 283: The System’s Sneaky Strategy, 'Sacrificing a Pawn to Save the Queen'
If Yu Tianheng's feelings for me were genuine, then how could he have abandoned me when my life was in danger!
After a while, the female protagonists noticed that the diary had stopped updating and figured Su Ming was probably on the road.
In reality, Su Ming was on the move, but he was also mentally sparring with the system.
Su Ming thought to the system, "So, you're not planning on giving me an explanation?"
[The system replied calmly: "Explain what? This system doesn't understand what you mean."]
Su Ming knew the system was playing dumb. He pressed on, "I'm talking about Liu Erlong. I wrote about her in my diary, so don't tell me you don't know what's going on. Care to explain?"
[The system remained composed: "What's the problem? Isn't this outcome ideal? Liu Erlong found out about Yu Xiaogang's true nature—how he toyed with her emotions. With her temper, it's only natural that she would beat him up!"
[If Flender hadn't been there to hold her back, Yu Xiaogang might've been killed by her!"]
Su Ming frowned. "So you admit that you were the one behind all this?"
[The system admitted: "Yes, this system gave Liu Erlong a little something. After all, Yu Xiaogang is a scumbag who plays with women's emotions and shirks responsibility. I know you despise him, but you didn't have a proper excuse to deal with him. So, I acted on your behalf!"]
Su Ming grew interested. "Tell me, what exactly did you give her?"
[Ding! It wasn't anything special—just a small book detailing Yu Xiaogang's life, with some insights and theories about his actions. Whether she believes it or not is up to her."]
[As long as she isn't completely brainless, she'll figure things out and do a little investigating herself."]
[As a result, Liu Erlong broke free from her lovesick tendencies and started focusing more on improving her strength instead of pining over Yu Xiaogang. Her strength has improved considerably as well!"]
[In fact, this system has done her a favor!]
Su Ming: …
Su Ming felt a bit speechless. "System, I don't necessarily mind what you did, but don't you think you should have informed me first? I would've liked a heads-up so I could be prepared."
[The system replied: "Understood. In fact, there's something else I need to tell you."]
Su Ming's heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"
[The system responded: "I also gave Bibi Dong a similar little book. So, you know... be prepared!"]
Su Ming was stunned for a moment. Goodness, Bibi Dong's strength is far beyond Liu Erlong's! I can already imagine what might happen once she confirms all the details. Yu Xiaogang could be in real trouble!
If Su Ming remembered correctly, in the original story, Yu Xiaogang shamelessly went to Spirit Hall to ask Bibi Dong for help regarding dual martial soul cultivation. At that time, Bibi Dong let him go because of her lingering feelings for him.
But this time, even if Bibi Dong didn't kill Yu Xiaogang, she certainly wouldn't let him off easily!
After all, Yu Xiaogang had been her first love—the man she deeply loved. Yet, despite the book from the system, Su Ming doubted Bibi Dong would be able to bring herself to harm him immediately.
Su Ming hadn't forgotten that Bibi Dong was under the influence of the Rakshasa God's trials, which fed her negative emotions. Her feelings for Yu Xiaogang had long since turned into a twisted obsession, detached from love. Under this influence, Yu Xiaogang might be nearly as important to Bibi Dong as Qian Renxue.
Seeing that Su Ming seemed to buy into the explanation, the system heaved a mental sigh of relief. Luckily, it was good at tricking him—this was the classic strategy of "sacrificing a pawn to save the queen."
Rather than risk Su Ming discovering that someone else could read his diary and tracing Liu Erlong's strange behavior back to the system, it chose to minimize the damage by feeding him this story. Clever, clever system!
Su Ming, thinking he was being savvy, had been completely misled by the system.
Of course, I'm a bit suspicious of the system, but I don't have any concrete evidence, he thought. And the system's explanation does make sense…
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing today's diary entry. You have been awarded one divine soul ring (direction can be specified).]
Su Ming nodded in satisfaction. A divine soul ring that can be customized—nice!
I'm already at level 48. It won't be long before I need my fifth soul ring. My Wood Release ability now has both durability and life attributes. Should I add more life essence or something else for the next ring?
After a moment of thought, Su Ming made a decision. He would put off adding more life essence for now. He decided to add a poison attribute to his Wood Release!
Even though it seems like poison and wood don't really match, I haven't forgotten that one of Wood Release's big ultimate moves requires poison. The poison doesn't need to be too high-level, and placing it in the fifth ring would be just right.
As for the next few soul rings, they'd be dedicated to durability and life essence, stacking buffs as much as possible!
[Ding! The female lead mentioned the most in today's diary is Dugu Yan, followed by Liu Erlong and Bibi Dong.]
[The female lead mentioned the most is Dugu Yan. She has received one divine soul ring as a reward!]
When Dugu Yan saw this reward, she was ecstatic—a divine soul ring!
She hesitated, unsure whether to use it immediately or save it for later.
Dugu Yan had reached level 40 recently but had yet to acquire a new soul ring. Originally, she had planned to wait for her grandfather's return so he could help her. However, she wasn't sure how long that would take.
After a bit of thinking, Dugu Yan decided to hold onto the divine soul ring for now. It felt wasteful to use it right away—perhaps she should save it for her seventh soul ring or, if nothing else, her ninth soul ring.
Besides, she already had a rough idea of what she wanted for her fourth soul skill. As Su Ming had mentioned, her martial soul's poison would only grow stronger over time. Why not choose a speed-boosting soul skill?
Her grandfather no longer had the ability to boost his speed, but she could still find a way through her soul skills.
At that moment, a message from the system appeared in everyone's diary.
[Ding! The host has been successfully mis—uh, I mean, reassured. Due to the current circumstances, every female lead has been rewarded with a new skill: 'Acting Mastery'!]
[I've handled things on my end. Don't let me down—don't give the host any reason to suspect anything! Keep up the act!]
Meanwhile, books about Yu Xiaogang's life and various speculations about his actions appeared before both Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong, along with an explanation from the system about its plan.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone