Mu En Steps In, Annihilating Them in an Instant! Breaking Through to Level 30! Before the Third Evolution!

"You little brats from Shrek Academy..." He licked his lips. "You're really lucky."

"I can smell the aura of a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast from a hundred miles away."

He stared at Bai Lan, a greedy glint flashing in his eyes.

"Kid, that fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast you have... Hand it over, and I'll let you die quickly."

Bai Lan said nothing.

He simply raised his hand slowly, and the Contract Book appeared in his palm.

The light of Arrow Bamboo lit up on the first page.

Silver light shimmered on the second page, where the Void Butterfly King's mark rested.

Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Xu Sanshi charged in from three directions, protecting him.

"Five of them." Bei Bei spoke in a low voice, his tone more grave than ever. "Three Spirit Kings and two Soul Emperors."

"It's not a big deal."

Bai Lan spoke calmly, full of confidence.

He had no intention of running, either.

The Void Butterfly King had just told him that the space around them had already been sealed off.

There was no escape.

That left only one option: kill them all.

He raised his head and looked at the black-robed man.

"You want a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast?" he asked.

The black-robed man raised an eyebrow. "What, changed your mind?"

Bai Lan smiled.

"Then come and take it."

Before the words had even left his mouth, silver light flared from the Void Butterfly King!

Space Imprisonment!

The space around the black-robed man instantly solidified, pinning him in place!

"Attack!" Bai Lan shouted.

Arrow Bamboo trembled violently. Hundreds of leaves fell at once, transforming into a storm of azure streaks that shot toward the four Evil Soul Masters!

Lightning flashed across Bei Bei's body as he transformed into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and charged at the nearest enemy!

Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass grew wildly, trying to ensnare another foe!

Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Turtle shell appeared, shielding everyone!

But the difference in their strength was too great.

The arrows pierced through one Spirit King's defenses and pinned him to the ground. The other three, however, merely waved their hands, knocking away every bamboo leaf.

Bei Bei was sent flying by a single palm strike. He crashed into a tree and spat blood.

Black flames incinerated Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass.

Cracks spread across Xu Sanshi's turtle shell.

Bai Lan stood still, watching the black-robed man break free of Space Imprisonment and walk toward him step by step.

"How interesting." The black-robed man licked his lips. "Spatial abilities... You've got plenty of good things on you, kid."

He raised his hand. Black mist gathered into a giant palm that reached for Bai Lan!

Bai Lan stood still, watching the black-robed man approach one step at a time.

Five enemies.

Three Spirit Kings and two Soul Emperors.

They would be a considerable force anywhere.

But he knew the truth.

The Void Butterfly King was fifty thousand years old.

That put it on par with a human Soul Saint.

It could handle them with ease.

He had even already run through the plan in his head:

The Void Butterfly King would carry him into the air → Dimensional Slash would take out two Spirit Kings first → Space Imprisonment would pin down the Soul Emperors → Arrow Rain would finish them off.

He wouldn't have to touch the ground once.

They wouldn't even get close enough to touch his clothes.

What a shame.

"Looking for death."

Just as Bai Lan was about to act, Mu En's voice rang out from the night sky.

Bai Lan sighed and silently recalled the Void Butterfly King, which he had been about to summon.

Fine. I wouldn't have to do anything this time.

Boom!

A golden beam of light descended from the sky, blasting the black palm to pieces!

The black-robed man's pupils contracted. He jerked his head up!

Beneath the moonlight, an old man with a head of white hair and beard hovered silently in the air.

Nine Soul Rings pulsed slowly behind him.

Yellow, yellow, purple, black, black, black, red, red, red.

A Titled Douluo.

"Elder Mu..." Bai Lan murmured.

Mu En looked down at him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Not bad, kid."

Then he turned to face the Evil Soul Masters.

His gaze was calm.

Yet in that instant, all five Evil Soul Masters felt true terror.

"You dare lay a hand on someone from Shrek..."

Mu En raised his hand.

"Did you ask my permission?"

Golden light illuminated the entire night sky.

All five figures turned to ash in an instant.

Bai Lan stood where he was, watching the scene in silence for a long time.

Was this the strength of a Peerless Douluo?

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

It wasn't enough.

He was still too weak.

Mu En landed beside him and reached out to steady his unsteady body.

"Let's go back."

Bai Lan looked up at him.

"Elder Mu, I..."

Mu En waved a hand, cutting him off.

"No need to say anything."

He looked at Bai Lan, his gaze profound.

"You've reached level thirty."

Bai Lan froze.

Only then did he realize that at some point, his Soul Power had broken through that barrier.

Level thirty.

A Soul Elder.

"Go back and rest for the night," Mu En said. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to Shadow Valley to contract your third Soul Beast."

Bai Lan took a deep breath and bowed solemnly. "Yes."

Under the moonlight, the old man and the boy stood side by side.

In the distance, Bei Bei struggled to his feet. Watching them, he managed a weak smile.

"That guy... He really is a monster..."

Night had fallen.

Shrek Academy, Junior Class dormitory.

Bai Lan sat alone on the edge of his bed. The window was half open, and the night breeze, cool with the chill of the lake, brushed gently across his face.

He hadn't turned on the light.

Moonlight spilled through the window, laying a sheet of silver across the floor.

The room was quiet.

Quiet enough for him to hear his own heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Bai Lan lowered his head and looked at his hands.

Those hands had nearly been crushed by an Evil Soul Master just moments ago.

Those hands were trembling slightly now.

Not from fear.

From excitement.

"I've reached level thirty..."

He murmured, his voice so quiet it was as if he feared disturbing something.

Three months ago, he'd been level twenty-six.

Three months later, he was level thirty.

Countless people took six months, a year, or even longer to cross the threshold between Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder. He had crossed it just like that, almost without realizing it.

On the brink of life and death, in the instant Elder Mu intervened.

He hadn't even had time to feel the breakthrough happen before he was already standing at a new starting point.

Bai Lan took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions churning within him.

He raised his hand.

The Contract Book appeared in his palm.

Its pages turned slowly of their own accord, though there was no wind.

On the first page, Arrow Bamboo's mark floated quietly, its green light soft and warm.

The patterns of its bamboo joints were clear, every line bearing the marks of time.

Three-thousand-year-old Arrow Bamboo.

His companion for half a year.

From ten-year-old Guzhu to hundred-year-old Iron Core Bamboo, and now to three-thousand-year-old Arrow Bamboo.

Bai Lan reached out and gently touched the mark.

A warm sensation passed through his fingertip, as if Arrow Bamboo were responding to him in its own way.

"This will be your third evolution," he said softly. "After this, if nothing goes wrong, you'll be the equivalent of a thirty-thousand-year Bamboo King."

Arrow Bamboo's mark trembled slightly, as if nodding in reply.

Bai Lan smiled and shifted his gaze to the second page.

The silver butterfly mark floated quietly, even more dazzling than Arrow Bamboo's.

The patterns on its wings were fine and intricate. Each one looked like a fold in space, slightly distorting the light around it.

The fifty-thousand-year Void Butterfly King.

His new companion of three months.

From five-hundred-year-old Void Butterfly to five-thousand-year-old Void Phantom Butterfly, and now to fifty-thousand-year-old Void Butterfly King.

As Bai Lan looked at the mark, a strange feeling rose within him.

He could still clearly remember the butterfly, no bigger than his palm, curled up among the branches of a dead tree in Illusion Valley. Its wings had trembled slightly, twisting the space around it.

It had just evolved then and was at its weakest.

He had taken advantage of the opportunity and forced it into a contract.

"Do you blame me?" Bai Lan asked softly.

The Void Butterfly King's mark glowed once, then dimmed again.

As if to say: No.

Bai Lan paused, then smiled.

"That's good."

He closed the Contract Book and rested it on his knees.

His gaze fell on the third page.

It was still blank.

A space reserved for a Soul Beast he would contract in the future.

"Void Shadow Beast..." he murmured, repeating the name Elder Mu had mentioned. "Shadow-type, with a trace of space affinity."

When he had just returned, Mu En had already told him about it.

He thought back to the battle that night.

The Evil Soul Masters had been surrounded by black mist, their techniques strange and vicious.

If he'd had a Contract Beast that could conceal its presence back then...

If he'd been able to completely hide the fluctuations of his Soul Ring...

Those Evil Soul Masters never would have noticed him.

Bai Lan clenched his fists.

"I have to get stronger," he told himself. "I have to do it quickly. Faster."

Elder Mu's body wouldn't hold out much longer.

Before then, he needed to grow strong enough to protect himself.

A faint sound came from outside the window.

Bai Lan looked up, his gaze sweeping warily toward it.

A paper crane slipped through the half-open window and drifted down into his palm.

The paper crane unfolded on its own, revealing several lines of familiar handwriting:

"Get a good rest tonight. Don't rush into evolving. Come to the Sea God Pavilion tomorrow morning, and I'll help protect you while you cultivate."

Signed: Mu.