Guzhu's Second Evolution!

The sky had turned completely dark by the time he stepped out of the Dean's office.

Bai Lan held the empty wooden box in his arms.

Six months' worth of Soul Gathering Pills, not a single one left, all consumed and settled in his stomach.

He walked along the path back to his dormitory.

The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing away the exhaustion of the day.

Yet, his heart could not calm down in the slightest.

Level twenty.

Half a year, from level eleven to level twenty, not a single day off.

More importantly, tomorrow, Yan Shaozhe was going to take him to form a contract with that space-type Soul Beast.

Just thinking about it made his heart race.

Spatial abilities.

In the Douluo Continent, he knew better than anyone how rare space-type Soul Beasts were.

That was not something you could buy with money; it was truly a matter of luck, not something you could seek out.

And now, a five-hundred-year-old Void Butterfly was waiting for him somewhere.

"Calm down, calm down."

Bai Lan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

Tomorrow's business could wait until tomorrow.

Tonight, there was something even more important to do.

The second evolution of the Iron Core Bamboo.

It had been half a year.

For these past six months, the Iron Core Bamboo had accompanied him in cultivation, fought alongside him, and helped him charge all the way from level eleven to level twenty.

The nine bamboo leaves had been fired countless times.

The Iron Bone body had blocked countless attacks for him.

Now, he was level twenty.

It was time for the Iron Core Bamboo to evolve once more.

Returning to his dorm, Bai Lan closed the door and sat down by the bed.

He did not rush to summon the Contract Book, choosing instead to settle his mind and adjust his state.

A moment later, he raised his hand.

The Contract Book appeared in his palm, its pages fluttering without wind until it opened to the first page.

[Contract Beast: Iron Core Bamboo]

[Age: Three hundred years]

[Status: Contracted]

[Abilities: Iron Bone, Photosynthesis, Growth, Healing, Bamboo Leaf Flying Knife]

[Evolution Count: 1/2]

[Notification: Host has reached level twenty. The Contract Beast is eligible for its second evolution. Confirm?]

In half a year, the Iron Core Bamboo had also grown from one hundred years to three hundred years.

Its abilities had also been greatly enhanced.

Bai Lan looked at the prompt, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"Confirm."

As soon as the words fell, the Contract Book shone with a brilliant light!

The entire book floated up from his hands, hovering in mid-air as the pages flipped frantically.

Golden rays of light surged from the pages, weaving together in the air to form a massive cocoon of light.

The cocoon descended slowly, landing on the floor.

Within the light, a silhouette was vaguely visible.

It was the main body of the Iron Core Bamboo, trembling violently inside the cocoon.

Bai Lan stepped back a few paces, his eyes fixed intently on the cocoon.

During the last evolution, he had witnessed the entire process of the ten-year Guzhu transforming into the hundred-year Iron Core Bamboo.

What about this time?

How strong would the Arrow Bamboo be?

Would it start at a thousand years?

Just as he was thinking this.

Crack!

A soft sound emerged from the cocoon of light.

Immediately following it came a second sound, then a third...

The cracking sounds grew increasingly dense, as if something were breaking out of its shell.

Finally!

Boom!

The cocoon of light exploded, transforming into specks of light that filled the air.

In the center of the radiance, a brand-new bamboo stood silently.

Bai Lan's pupils constricted slightly.

It had changed.

It had changed too much.

First was the color.

The original Iron Core Bamboo had been silver-gray, shimmering with a metallic luster.

But now, this bamboo was a deep, profound cyan-green, its surface covered in fine, intricate patterns that resembled some sort of ancient runes.

Next was the height.

Previously it was two people tall, but now it was at least three or four people tall, nearly reaching the ceiling of the dormitory.

Then there were the bamboo leaves.

The previous leaves had been slender and sharp, with edges as keen as blades.

The current leaves had become even longer and more elegant, with faint flowing light shimmering along the veins, as if every leaf contained some kind of energy.

Finally, the bamboo nodes.

Around each node was a faint circle of golden patterns, looking like a natural seal.

Bai Lan stood where he was, speechless for a long time.

It wasn't until the Contract Book fell back into his hands that he snapped out of his daze and looked down.

The text on the pages had been updated:

[Contract Beast: Arrow Bamboo]

[Age: Three Thousand Years]

[Status: Contracted]

[Abilities: Iron Bone, Arrow Intent, Arrow Rain, Photosynthesis, Growth, Healing]

[Iron Bone (Enhanced Version): The hardness of the bamboo body is significantly increased, comparable to refined black iron. The golden patterns at the nodes can additionally disperse impact force. Defense is increased by more than three times compared to the Iron Core Bamboo period. After Sharing, it can significantly increase the host's physical defense, making it difficult for ordinary blades to cause injury.]

[Arrow Intent: The bamboo body transforms into a streamlined shape, better suited for launching. The nodes can automatically condense Soul Power to form energy arrows.]

[Arrow Rain: Each bamboo leaf can repeatedly condense energy into arrows with a range of over one hundred meters. Mental locking allows for target tracking, and it can fire in rapid succession to form an Arrow Rain covering an area.]

[Photosynthesis: Plant instinct, absorbs sunlight to grow, can increase age.]

[Growth: Grows very fast and very tall, but this does not necessarily mean the age increases synchronously.]

[Healing: Plant instinct, can quickly treat non-serious injuries through Photosynthesis.]

[Evolution Count: 2/2 (Reached the limit, must reach level thirty to unlock the next evolution)]

[Ability Sharing: Not enabled (Must be activated manually)]

Three thousand years.

Bai Lan took a deep breath.

From three hundred to three thousand, it had jumped tenfold.

He looked at the three-to-four-person-tall Arrow Bamboo before him and suddenly felt a strong urge.

He wanted to test it.

To test just how strong this Arrow Bamboo really was.

Sharing, activate.

With a slight movement of his mind, a mysterious power surged into his body.

He felt his eyes change.

They became clearer, sharper.

The moonlight outside the window, the shadows of the trees in the distance, even the textures on the leaves, could be seen with absolute clarity.

This was the enhancement to dynamic vision brought by Arrow Intent.

He raised his hand, a thought stirring in his mind.

Behind him, the Arrow Bamboo trembled slightly.

A bamboo leaf detached itself automatically, hovering beside him.

Following that was a second leaf, then a third...

Nine bamboo leaves fell in succession, suspended in mid-air and rotating slowly.

But it was different from before.

Previously, the bamboo leaves were just nine ordinary leaves.

Now, each of these nine leaves emitted a faint cyan glow, as if wrapped in some kind of energy.

Bai Lan stared at a tree a hundred meters outside the window, his mind stirring.

Go!

The nine bamboo leaves transformed into nine streaks of light, shooting out!

The speed was astonishing!

Almost the instant he formed the thought, the nine streaks of light had already pierced through the trunk of the tree, flew out the other side, curved in the air, and flew back, once again hovering beside him.

Bai Lan was stunned for a second.

Then he walked quickly to the window and looked outside.

On the trunk of that tree, nine tiny holes were clearly visible, piercing all the way through.

And his bamboo leaves remained completely undamaged.

"Range over a hundred meters... mental locking allows for tracking... capable of rapid fire..."

He murmured the description from the panel, then suddenly smiled.

How could these be mere bamboo leaves?

These were nine flying swords that could track targets automatically.

He turned to look at the Arrow Bamboo, his gaze falling upon the leaves covering the tree.

One, two, three...

Dense and numerous, there were at least a hundred of them.

That was just nine leaves earlier.

If he released his full power, with over a hundred bamboo leaves turning into streaks of light simultaneously to form an Arrow Rain...

Just thinking about it made Bai Lan's scalp tingle.

"No wonder it's called Arrow Bamboo..."

He retracted the bamboo leaves, letting them return to the tips of the branches.

Then, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to sense the changes in his Soul Power.

The evolution of his Contract Beast had an impact on him as well.

Hum!

Just then.

Both the Arrow Bamboo and the yellow hundred-year Soul Ring on his body transformed simultaneously into purple thousand-year Soul Rings.

Two purple Soul Rings appeared around the main body of the Arrow Bamboo, pulsing slowly.

On Bai Lan's body, a second purple thousand-year Soul Ring also condensed.

Both Soul Rings were at the thousand-year level.

And both came from the same Contract Beast—the Arrow Bamboo, at three thousand years.

The two purple Soul Rings shone in harmony, emitting a rich thousand-year aura, far heavier than the previous three-hundred-year Soul Ring.

But Bai Lan knew clearly that these Soul Rings were, in the end, just symbols.

The skills remained the same few abilities of the Arrow Bamboo.

Iron Bone, Arrow Intent, Arrow Rain, Photosynthesis, Growth, Healing.

No matter how many Soul Rings he had, the skills would not change.

However, this did not hinder him from contracting a second Soul Beast.

According to the rules of the Contract Book, each Contract Beast only needed one Soul Ring to represent it.

The remaining Soul Ring slots could be reserved for future Contract Beasts.

After all, no matter how many Soul Rings a single Contract Beast provided, the skills remained those same few.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, the smile on his lips deepening.

Level twenty-three.

Going from level twenty to level twenty-three might normally take half a year of cultivation.

Yet he, having done nothing, had jumped straight there.

"So this is the terrifying power of a Contract Book..."

Bai Lan stood up, walked over to the Arrow Bamboo, and reached out to touch its stalk.

The bamboo felt ice-cold, carrying a faint ripple of energy.

Three thousand years of growth had reinforced its Iron Bone to a degree comparable to refined black iron; even a light touch was enough to feel its heavy, solid texture.

"Tomorrow, I will go to contract my second Contract Beast," he said softly. "By then, you will have a companion."

The Arrow Bamboo trembled slightly, as if responding to him.

Bai Lan smiled and withdrew his hand.

He walked to the window and gazed out at the night.

He wanted to see just how miraculous this legendary space-type Soul Beast truly was.