Sea God Pavilion Night Talk! Bai Lan's Future! Blessing or Curse?

The night was as dark as ink.

Inside the inner city of Shrek City, the Sea God Pavilion stood silently on the island in the center of the lake, a faint glow seeping through its window lattices.

Yan Shaozhe walked with hurried steps, crossing the long corridor over the water to arrive before the pavilion. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Inside the pavilion, Elder Mu was sitting by the window, holding a cup of clear tea, his gaze fixed on the lake surface outside.

Moonlight spilled down, the lake water shimmering with ripples, just as it always had.

"Shaoze is here?" Elder Mu did not turn his head, his voice calm. "Coming over so late, is there an urgent matter?"

Yan Shaozhe walked behind him and stood still.

"Teacher." He spoke, his voice somewhat low. "I must speak to you personally about the matter regarding Bai Lan."

Elder Mu turned his head and glanced at him.

Yan Shaozhe's expression was very serious, so serious that it did not look like how a Dean of the Martial Soul Department should appear.

"Sit and speak." Elder Mu pointed to the chair beside him.

Yan Shaozhe sat down and remained silent for two seconds, as if organizing his words.

Then, he spoke.

"Bai Lan has already reached level twenty-six."

Elder Mu nodded. "I know. Going from eleven to twenty in half a year, and jumping to twenty-three yesterday; that boy's cultivation speed is indeed astonishing."

"That's not all." Yan Shaozhe interrupted him. "Teacher, he is not at twenty-three, he is at twenty-six."

Elder Mu's brows twitched slightly.

"Last night, he evolved his second Contract Beast."

Yan Shaozhe said every word clearly. "That Void Butterfly, a five-hundred-year-old one; he evolved it twice in succession, and now..."

He paused, taking a deep breath.

"It is now a fifty-thousand-year Void Butterfly King."

The pavilion fell into a deathly silence.

The teacup in Elder Mu's hand stopped in mid-air, motionless.

After a long while, he slowly set the teacup down, turned around, and faced Yan Shaozhe directly.

"How much did you say?"

"Fifty thousand years." Yan Shaozhe repeated. "Space-type, fifty-thousand-year level, possessing at least eight abilities, including Space Imprisonment and Shatter Teleportation."

Elder Mu fell silent.

A very long period of silence.

Then, he smiled.

It was not a smile of gratification, nor one of pleasant surprise, but a complex one, carrying a hint of helplessness.

"Fifty thousand years..." He murmured, repeating it. "A level twenty-six Soul Grand Master, carrying a fifty-thousand-year black Soul Ring on his body..."

He looked at Yan Shaozhe. "Do you know what this means?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded. "The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

"Not just that." Elder Mu stood up and walked to the window, turning his back to him. "A level twenty-six with a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring—once such a thing spreads, the entire continent will be shaken."

"The Holy Spirit Church will kill him at any cost."

"The other factions, the empires..."

"And those old monsters hidden from the world will try every possible way to study him."

"Even... within our own ranks, not everyone may be able to keep the secret."

He turned around, his gaze profound. "This Bai Lan is a genius, but he is also a bomb that could detonate at any moment."

Yan Shaozhe stood up and walked to his side. "Teacher, I understand, which is why I came to find you the moment I knew."

Elder Mu nodded and sat back down in his chair.

He closed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

After a long time, he opened his eyes.

"What about his first Contract Beast? What is its situation now?"

Yan Shaozhe replied, "The three-thousand-year Arrow Bamboo also evolved along with it, from three hundred to three thousand—a tenfold increase."

Elder Mu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The first evolution was from ten years to a hundred." He said slowly. "The second was from a hundred to a thousand, and the third..."

He looked at Yan Shaozhe. "When he reaches level thirty, will this Arrow Bamboo become thirty thousand years old?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded. "According to the current pattern, yes."

"And the Void Butterfly King?"

"Fifty thousand years to... fifty thousand?"

Elder Mu shook his head.

"No," he said. "I think fifty thousand years is unlikely. One hundred thousand years is a threshold; once you cross that threshold, it is no longer a simple accumulation of years."

He paused, his gaze becoming profound. "At level thirty, while it won't reach fifty thousand years, I believe the Void Butterfly King will become a one-hundred-thousand-year soul beast, a true one-hundred-thousand-year soul beast."

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath.

One hundred thousand years.

A level twenty-six Soul Grand Master possessing a one-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.

Such a thing, let alone seen, had never even been heard of.

"Teacher..." he began, his voice somewhat dry. "What should we do?"

Elder Mu did not answer.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

The night breeze blew in, carrying the chill of the lake water.

"His martial soul is called the Contract Book," Elder Mu said slowly. "He contracts one every ten levels, each evolving independently, with abilities Sharing. Shaozhe, tell me, has such a martial soul ever appeared in history?"

Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "No. At least, not in the records of Shrek Academy."

"Then do you know what this means?"

Yan Shaozhe was silent.

Elder Mu turned around and looked at him.

"It means his potential has no upper limit."

"It means that as long as he is given time, he can become the most powerful existence on this continent."

"It means..."

He paused, his voice becoming deep.

"It means he is the only one who has the possibility of becoming a god."

Yan Shaozhe's pupils constricted.

Becoming a god?

Elder Mu walked back to his chair and sat down again.

"However," he said, his tone shifting. "The premise is that he can live until that day."

He looked at Yan Shaozhe. "Do you know what state I am in right now?"

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head.

He knew.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En, a Peerless Douluo, the anchor of Shrek Academy.

But his body had long been unable to hold on.

"I could die at any moment."

"Perhaps next year, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps... it could be tonight."

Elder Mu said calmly, as if he were speaking of something unrelated to himself.

"Teacher..."

Elder Mu waved his hand, interrupting him.

"Therefore, I must be clear about one thing."

"If I am no longer here, who can protect him?"

Yan Shaozhe looked up. "I can..."

"You cannot," Elder Mu interrupted him, his tone calm but firm. "You are the Dean of the Martial Soul Department. You have many things to manage and many people to protect. Furthermore, your strength is not enough."

Yan Shaozhe fell silent.

He knew that Elder Mu was speaking the truth.

A Title Douluo is an existence held in high regard in the eyes of ordinary people.

But in front of those true old monsters, it is not enough.

"Then what should we do?" he asked.

Elder Mu was silent for a moment.

Then, he slowly spoke:

"There is only one way."

"Let him protect himself."

Yan Shaozhe was stunned.

Elder Mu looked at him, his gaze profound:

"I protect him, but there will always be times when I cannot reach him in time."

"You protect him, but there will always be enemies you cannot defeat."

"But if he is strong enough himself, strong enough that no one dares to touch him, that is true safety."

"But Teacher, he is only six years old..."

"Age is not the issue." Elder Mu waved his hand: "The issue is time."

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed out at the night sky.

"His growth rate is faster than I imagined."

"From level eleven to twenty-six in half a year; such speed is unheard of."

"If he maintains this speed..."