Xiao Wu quickly picked up on the key point: Ning Rongrong didn't deny that she might be easier to win over than Zhu Zhuqing. Instead, she shifted the topic, saying that her agreement alone wouldn't matter—it would be up to her three elders to decide.
After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was a massive and powerful organization, and since Ning Rongrong was the heir, her future partner would have to marry into her family. If that were the case, they would only be allowed to have her as their wife.
Xiao Wu narrowed her eyes and stared at Rongrong with a playful but slightly dangerous expression, "So, Rongrong, you're not denying that you might be easier to win over? And I'm sure, given Su Ming's abilities, he'll find a way to convince your father and grandfathers to let him marry you—especially if you both have feelings for each other."
Having spent six years together, Xiao Wu believed she knew Su Ming's character fairly well. But even then, Su Ming remained unpredictable—he was full of hidden surprises and unknown cards.
Feeling a bit flustered under Xiao Wu's gaze, Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and decided to be open, "Okay, fine. I admit, when Su Ming stepped in and helped me, I started to like him a little. But it's not to that extent yet."
"And besides, I've said this before—if someone can help me evolve my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, I'll marry him!"
"If Su Ming can do that, I'm sure my father and grandfathers wouldn't oppose it. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda only exists in legends. No one has ever seen it, and it's my father's greatest regret. He's been stuck at the seventy-ninth level for a long time now."
Xiao Wu huffed, "Su Ming knows a lot of things, plus he has a system. I bet he could find a way to evolve your martial spirit. And don't forget, in the original story, you became a Rank 2 God. Sure, it might've been a bit overhyped, but do you know what that means?"
Ning Rongrong's heart began to race as she recalled Su Ming mentioning that she eventually became a god in the diary. Her eyes sparkled with realization, "That means my martial spirit must have evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda at some point! Only then would I have the chance to become a god!"
Now, Ning Rongrong's thoughts were swirling with excitement. When would her martial spirit evolve? Would Su Ming help her? And if he did, would she really marry him? The thought made her face flush even redder.
Meanwhile, back in his room, Su Ming had begun writing in his diary, knowing he hadn't finished his entry for the day. He wasn't concerned about Oscar or Tang San—they were hardly worth paying attention to unless absolutely necessary.
[Today's battles at the spirit arena have come to an end. I saw a variety of martial spirits and spirit abilities, which I suppose was somewhat helpful in expanding my knowledge. But in terms of improving my combat skills? Not so much. Honestly, the people I fought were too weak. They couldn't even handle a tenth of my power. Sigh.]
[When will I finally find a strong opponent to have a real fight with? Of course, that person would need to be on my side. What if they had bad intentions?]
At first, Ning Rongrong had been thinking about how Su Ming needed a strong opponent to practice against. She immediately thought of her two grandfathers, but given the current circumstances, she couldn't consider them "on his side" yet. She couldn't guarantee how her grandfathers would react if they saw Su Ming's full strength.
If Su Ming's power exceeded their expectations, and he refused to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, they might develop dangerous thoughts. After all, if Su Ming joined another faction, it could become a threat to their clan. So Ning Rongrong quickly dismissed the idea.
[As for the events in today's spirit battle, I'll just jot them down briefly. Nothing major really happened, though Zhu Zhuqing's strength has clearly improved compared to the original timeline.]
[That surprised me a little. Her third spirit ability, Ghost Slash, now has a bleeding effect—something that didn't exist in the original. This bleeding effect instantly elevates what was once a fairly average skill into a top-tier one.]
[As long as Ghost Slash can wound the opponent, Zhu Zhuqing will definitely win in a prolonged battle. This time, she actually defeated Tang San, whereas in the original, she lost.]
[One thing that puzzled me was how Tang San agreed to engage in close combat with Zhu Zhuqing at first. With his confidence in his Tang Sect techniques, he wasn't afraid of close combat. But after taking just one hit from her Ghost Slash, he chose to avoid further direct confrontation, which was odd.]
The other girls were also intrigued. Why had Tang San avoided combat instead of fighting head-on? Could it have something to do with the diary's previous rewards for Zhu Zhuqing? Both Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing smiled and nodded, "You guessed right. Fortunately, the diary gave me the ability to bypass defenses just before the spirit battle. Without it, I'm not sure if I could've defeated Tang San."
"After all, Tang San is quite skilled. His Mysterious Jade Hand and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track are formidable. But with this ability to bypass defenses, his Mysterious Jade Hand became useless. That gave my Ghost Slash the opportunity it needed. After a series of attacks, Tang San finally made a mistake, and I was able to wound him. I suppose I got lucky."
"Continuously using my spirit abilities to boost speed and attack with Ghost Slash consumed a lot of my spirit power, but thankfully, I succeeded in the end."
After speaking, Zhu Zhuqing looked pleased with herself. With this newfound ability to bypass defenses, along with the internal energy technique she'd been practicing, she now believed she could even defeat Dai Mubai.
However, there was one downside—her internal energy technique, Nine Yin Manual, was incomplete. She had the internal cultivation method but no matching martial techniques. If she had the full manual, her strength would rise even further.
Xiao Wu then asked what had been on her mind, "Zhuqing, when I saw you fighting back then, you didn't seem low on spirit power. Did the diary give you something to increase your spirit power?"
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment before deciding to share. After all, both Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were trustworthy. Rongrong had even stood up for her and nearly got hurt.
In a low voice, Zhu Zhuqing replied, "Yes, it's thanks to the diary. But it didn't give me more spirit power directly—it gave me a cultivation technique."
"It's called the Nine Yin Manual, though the version I got is incomplete and only contains the internal cultivation method. Still, it allows my spirit power to regenerate continuously."
Ning Rongrong looked envious, saying, "Zhuqing, the rewards you received seem so amazing, whether it's the cultivation method or that skill that can ignore defense!"
Zhu Zhuqing smiled, "Yes, they are quite good, but your rewards aren't bad either, Rongrong. The God-given spirit ring and the reward that extends your spirit ring's age are perfect for you. You just need to improve your self-defense."
"My Nine Yin Manual is currently only the internal cultivation method. I wonder when I'll receive the exclusive martial techniques. But even now, it's already great. The cultivation method matches my spirit's attributes well. After practicing it, not only do I feel my spirit power is continuously regenerating, but my cultivation speed has also increased significantly!"
Then, with a slightly complicated expression, Zhu Zhuqing added, "I'm very grateful for the rewards Su Ming's system has given me. These rewards gave me the possibility of becoming stronger and changing my destiny. But I don't know how to thank him."
Ning Rongrong teased, "Zhuqing, since you hate Dai Mubai, why not consider Su Ming instead? In this world, it's normal for powerful men to have multiple wives, and Su Ming seems interested in you too."
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Xiao Wu and shook her head, "Su Ming is indeed a good person, but right now, I just want to settle my relationship with Dai Mubai before considering anything else. Besides, I've only just met Su Ming. It's not like you—you've already developed feelings for him so quickly!"
Ning Rongrong mumbled, "I... what? Never mind. Let's not talk about it now. It's too soon anyway, and besides, Xiao Wu and Su Ming are the closest. She's basically Su Ming's main wife, so she'd need to agree first."
Though a bit jealous, Xiao Wu felt there was no way she could restrain Su Ming's feelings. But she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him either, so she had no choice but to accept it.
Xiao Wu sighed, "Right now, I'm just Su Ming's little sister. Besides, he's a man of many affections. Even if I don't agree, what can I do? I just have to accept it. I only hope there won't be too many other girls in the future. Maybe we could all band together to keep him in check!"
Zhu Zhuqing then asked Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, did you receive any powerful cultivation techniques?"
Since Xiao Wu had the closest relationship with Su Ming, she had probably received more rewards, likely including a technique.
Xiao Wu smiled and replied, "Zhuqing, you guessed right. A few years ago, I received a martial art called Wind God Leg. Unlike your Nine Yin Manual, though, this technique is complete, with both the internal energy method and corresponding moves. But it's really hard to practice."
"I've been at the beginner stage of Wind God Leg for a long time, and I'm still not close to mastering it. Even so, my kicking techniques have become several times stronger. This martial art greatly increases both power and speed."
"But since I already have a teleportation spirit skill, I mainly focus on leg strength. Speed is secondary. I've also incorporated some of the leg techniques into my Eight-Stage Crush, and its power has doubled."
"As for Dai Mubai, if I were to use my Eight-Stage Crush at full strength, even with all his defenses up, it would still take half his life and damage his foundation!"
Ning Rongrong was amazed, "Xiao Wu, you're incredible! I just wish I had more self-defense abilities. Being a support-type spirit master always puts me at a disadvantage."
She sighed, "Yesterday, Flender gave us that long lecture about how running could increase a support spirit master's survival rate. But what's the point? Even if a support spirit master has great endurance and speed, it's still nothing compared to the boost a strong attack spirit master gets from their spirit rings!"
Rongrong complained about the task Flender assigned them—running twenty laps around the village. It was a grueling challenge even for strong attack-type spirit masters, let alone support-types. It seemed like an impossible mission.
As the three continued their conversation, they noticed the diary updating.
[It's odd that Tang San avoided Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Slash. Could there be more to it than just the bleeding effect?]
[When Tang San caught Ghost Slash with his bare hands, he seemed to be in pain. Could Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Slash have bypassed Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand defense?]
[And I clearly saw that Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand didn't break. Ignore defense? Yes! It must be able to ignore defenses!]
Seeing Su Ming's speculation, the girls couldn't help but agree—it made perfect sense. If Zhu Zhuqing's third spirit ability truly had the bleeding effect and ignored defense, it would be a top-tier skill. Such a combination seemed too powerful for a third spirit ability, making them envious.
However, some thought something didn't add up. With the resources available to the Zhu family of Star Luo, they shouldn't have been able to find a spirit beast with such a high-level skill for Zhu Zhuqing's third spirit ring. That left only one possibility.
At that moment, Bibi Dong considered that the only other possibility was that this was a system reward. And most likely, it didn't just enhance one of Zhu Zhuqing's abilities. Given her status as an agility-type attack spirit master, the most likely scenario was that she had received a reward that allowed her to ignore defenses upon landing a hit. But, as always with the system, it was just a guess—it was too mysterious to be certain.
The three girls exchanged shocked looks after reading the diary. Zhu Zhuqing was particularly alarmed—had Su Ming really figured it out already?
Still, his guess wasn't entirely accurate, but considering he didn't know they could receive rewards, it was impressive that he deduced so much.
[Maybe I should ask her about it later when we're alone? No... That kind of ability is usually a spirit master's secret. Unless we're really close, it wouldn't be appropriate. Better wait for another time.]
Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure what she'd say if Su Ming asked her directly. After all, their relationship wasn't close enough yet for her to share such personal secrets.
As for her closeness with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, it was mainly because they all had diaries and knew some of each other's secrets. Due to the diary's rules, they were able to get along well. And, as Su Ming had noted in his diary, they were destined to be companions in the original timeline, which gave them a natural sense of familiarity.
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