Guzhu's First Change, Emerging from Obscurity!

In the dim Soul Beast Forest, Bai Lan stood before that ten-year-old Guzhu, silently digesting the information suddenly flooding his mind.

The contract was complete.

He raised his hand, and the pages of the book in his palm fluttered without wind, turning to the first page where a line of ink, still wet, had appeared:

[Contract Beast: Guzhu (Ten Years)]

[Status: Contracted]

[Abilities: Tenacity, Photosynthesis, Growth, Healing]

[Tenacity: The most basic form of tenacity.]

[Photosynthesis: A plant instinct; absorbs sunlight to grow and increase age.]

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

[Healing: A plant instinct; absorbs sunlight through photosynthesis to slowly treat minor injuries.]

[Evolution Count: 0/1 (Can evolve)]

[Nine Great Mortal Evolution Paths: Iron Core Bamboo → Arrow Bamboo → Blood Jade Bamboo → Lightning Struck Bamboo → Bilu Bamboo → Nine-Section Green Jade Bamboo → Tiangang Bamboo → Immortal Bamboo → Primordial Chaos Bamboo...]

[Ability Sharing: Not enabled (requires manual activation)]

"It really worked."

An indescribable, wondrous feeling welled up in Bai Lan's heart.

The moment the contract was completed, he vaguely sensed the existence of the Guzhu.

It was an extremely faint, ignorant consciousness, like a newborn infant, undeveloped and chaotic, instinctively drawing close to him, its contractor.

Is this the power of the Contract Book?

Not only can it form contracts, but it can also establish a mental connection?

The next second, a white Soul Ring rose from beneath the Guzhu.

A white Soul Ring simultaneously rose beneath Bai Lan's feet as well.

The Soul Ring was merely symbolic.

He now possessed four abilities.

Namely, the Guzhu's Tenacity, Photosynthesis, Growth, and Healing.

However, given its age, their current utility was limited.

Beyond that, his Soul Power had successfully reached level eleven.

He attempted to convey a simple command with his mind: shake.

The Guzhu before him remained motionless.

"...Right, after all, it's only a ten-year-old plant-type Soul Beast; how much intelligence could it possibly have?"

Bai Lan smiled self-deprecatingly, though he was not disappointed.

He valued the potential of this Guzhu, not its current abilities.

His gaze rested on the words [Can evolve].

"First evolution..."

He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and chose to confirm the evolution.

The next second, a sudden change occurred!

The Contract Book floated up from his hand on its own, hovering in mid-air as its pages erupted with a brilliant light, completely enveloping the Guzhu before him.

The light was warm and gentle, yet it contained a certain profound power.

The Guzhu began to tremble.

It was not a tremble caused by the wind, but a violent vibration of the entire plant, from its roots to its bamboo tip.

Fine, intricate patterns emerged on the surface of the bamboo stalk, resembling blood vessels or perhaps some ancient runes.

Bai Lan instinctively took a step back, his eyes locked firmly on the changes before him.

The ten-year-old Guzhu was undergoing a metamorphosis.

Crack!

With a soft sound, the old bark on the surface of the bamboo stalk began to crack and peel away, revealing the brand-new bamboo nodes beneath.

The newly emerged nodes were a faint silver-gray, shimmering with a metallic luster and refracting cold, sharp points of light under the sun.

The bamboo nodes were growing.

One node, two nodes, three nodes...

The Guzhu, which had originally been only as tall as a person, shot up at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally stopping at a height of about two people.

The bamboo stalk was a circle thicker than before, each node tight and symmetrical, with faint silver ring patterns at the joints, looking like natural metal hoops.

The bamboo leaves had changed as well.

The originally broad leaves became slender and sharp, with edges as keen as blades and veins that took on the texture of metallic wire.

As a gentle breeze brushed past, the leaves collided, producing a delicate, metallic chiming sound—crisp and melodious.

The light faded.

The Contract Book slowly descended back into the hands of Bai Lan, the text on its pages now updated:

[Contract Beast: Iron Core Bamboo]

[Age: One Hundred Years]

[Status: Contracted]

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

[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 in sync]

[Healing: Plant instinct, can slowly treat minor injuries through photosynthesis]

[Iron Bone: The hardness of the bamboo body is significantly increased, comparable to refined iron, can be used for close-quarters blocking and blunt strikes]

[Bamboo Leaf Flying Knife: Can simultaneously control up to nine bamboo leaves to detach and launch, range of thirty meters.]

[Evolution Count: 1/1 (Reached limit, must reach Soul Power Level 20 to unlock next evolution)]

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

One hundred years?!

Bai Lan's pupils constricted.

A single evolution had allowed the ten-year Guzhu to leap directly into the hundred-year tier?

The Iron Core Bamboo and the Soul Ring on his own body had also shifted from the initial white to yellow.

A yellow Soul Ring, the symbol of a century.

His Soul Power Level had not increased.

But that was not a major issue; after all, it was only a hundred-year Soul Ring, which was understandable.

Bai Lan raised his hand, his thoughts stirring as he activated Sharing.

In an instant, a strange power surged into his body.

He felt his bones become slightly heavier, and a faint, silvery-gray metallic luster flickered across the surface of his skin before vanishing in a flash.

This was the Iron Bone ability of the Iron Core Bamboo activating, currently reinforcing his physical defense.

He bent down to pick up a stone and forcefully scratched his arm with it.

Only a shallow white mark remained on his skin, which disappeared in an instant.

"Not bad at all." A smile curled the corners of Bai Lan's lips.

He turned his gaze back to the Iron Core Bamboo in front of him, attempting to control the bamboo leaves.

With a thought, nine bamboo leaves automatically detached from the bamboo tip and hovered in mid-air, their tips pointing toward a stone within his line of sight.

Go!

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

Thud, thud, thud!

With nine muffled sounds, the bamboo leaves sank entirely into the stone, leaving behind nine slender incisions, each two fingers deep.

Bai Lan walked over to inspect them and discovered that the bamboo leaves had pierced through the stone and landed on the ground behind it, yet the leaves themselves were completely undamaged and remained as sharp as before.

"Such strong piercing power."

"If this were to hit a person..."

He pulled out a bamboo leaf and flipped it between his fingers, feeling its cold, metallic texture.

He did not continue that line of thought, but the light in his eyes grew even brighter.

This was the power of the Contract Book.

Other Soul Masters could only possess one Martial Soul in their entire lives, attach at most nine Soul Rings, and obtain nine Soul Skills.

Those with better luck might get a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, which would grant a bit more, but not by much.

On the market, the vast majority of people were limited to nine for their entire lives.

Some didn't even reach nine, as they could never become a Title Douluo.

Self-Created Soul Skills and Soul Bone skills did not count.

This was strictly counting Soul Ring skills.

Yet he, every ten levels, could contract a new Contract Beast, and each Contract Beast could evolve independently to gain brand-new abilities and forms.

By the time he reached the Title Douluo level, he could possess nine Contract Beasts, each with nine evolutions; even if each only had a minimum of two abilities, he would possess a total of eighteen!

And, they could all be shared!

What did this mean?

It meant that he alone was an entire army!

"No wonder this Martial Soul is called the Contract Book..." Bai Lan muttered to himself: "Contract all things, to be used by me."

Just as Bai Lan collected his thoughts and intended to leave.

At that very moment, a low beastly roar came from behind him.

His body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head.

In the bushes about fifty meters away, a pair of ghostly green eyes were staring fixedly at him.

It was a Gray Wolf Beast the size of a calf, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth, its four limbs crouched low, poised to pounce at any moment.