A ten-year Soul Beast, a Wind Wolf.
Relevant information flashed through Bai Lan's mind.
After ten thousand years of accumulation,
there were also some books about Soul Beasts in God Soul Village.
But not many.
Fortunately, there was one about this very creature, and he had read and memorized it.
The Wind Wolf excelled at speed and could spit out Wind Blades. Though it was only a ten-year Soul Beast, it was an absolutely lethal threat to him right now.
Damn, it's got its eye on me.
He slowly backed away, quietly tightening his grip on the sickle at his waist.
The Wind Wolf seemed to see what he was planning. It let out a low growl, pushed off with all four legs, and lunged at him like a gray streak!
It was incredibly fast!
In the blink of an eye, it had covered half the thirty-meter distance!
Bai Lan's pupils contracted. At the brink of life and death, he instead grew calm.
His will surged, and the Iron Core Bamboo behind him trembled violently.
Bamboo Leaf Flying Knife!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Nine bamboo leaves broke free at once, turning into nine silver streaks as they shot toward the Wind Wolf!
The Wind Wolf was airborne and had no time to dodge. It could only twist its body slightly, avoiding its vital spots.
But three leaves still struck it.
Two sliced open its flank, while one pierced straight through its hind leg!
"Awoo!"
The Wind Wolf let out a piercing cry and crashed heavily to the ground, bleeding profusely.
It struggled to get up, but its hind leg had been pierced and could no longer support its body.
Bai Lan didn't hesitate. He hurried forward with his sickle.
The Wind Wolf bared its teeth and tried to fight back, but he lopped off its head in one stroke.
Blood splattered across the ground.
Standing over the corpse, Bai Lan gasped for breath, his heart pounding.
This was his first time killing a person... No, a beast.
His first time in either life.
In his previous life, he hadn't even dared to kill a chicken.
Even stepping on ants had filled him with guilt.
Now, he had killed a wolf with his own hands.
Strangely, though, he felt neither the fear nor the revulsion he'd expected. Instead, he was oddly calm.
As if killing a Soul Beast was no big deal to him.
"...Maybe I was never a good person at heart."
"In my previous life, I was just held back by the law."
He gave a self-mocking smile, crouched down, and began to process the Wind Wolf's corpse.
The wolf pelt could be sold, the meat could be eaten, and the fangs could be made into ornaments.
A ten-year Soul Beast wasn't worth much, but even a tiny morsel was something to him right now.
When he'd finished, he glanced back at the Iron Core Bamboo.
After the exertion, its nine leaves had fallen off, but new ones were already growing at the tip, visible to the naked eye. It would probably recover before long.
"Come on. You're coming with me."
He tried issuing an order with his mind.
This time, the Iron Core Bamboo responded.
The Contract Book flashed.
The entire Iron Core Bamboo, roots and all, turned into a streak of light and entered the first page of the Contract Book.
Once a contract was completed, the Contract Book would create a separate Contract Space.
This space was specifically for Contract Beasts to live in.
They could cultivate inside it and feed their progress back to him, their master.
Any living or nonliving thing, no matter how large, could be put inside as long as it could be contracted.
Standing at the edge of the forest, Bai Lan looked back at the gloomy Soul Beast Forest and felt a pang of emotion.
A few days ago, he had been a six-year-old child who had just awakened his Martial Soul, utterly helpless.
Now, he had the Iron Core Bamboo, eleven levels of Soul Power, and the ability to fight in the truest sense.
It was only a hundred-year evolution, and only the most basic kind, but it was already enough to give him a foothold in this world.
"It's time to go."
He turned his gaze forward, found his bearings, and headed north along the main road.
Shrek Academy was located in Shrek City, at the junction of the three great empires.
From God Soul Village, he would have to cross Fasinuo Province and then travel a long way farther north.
At an ordinary person's pace, the journey would take at least half a month.
Bai Lan felt the money pouch Old Jack had given him inside his clothes. It held thirty Silver Soul Coins and two Gold Soul Coins.
For a commoner, that was a fortune.
But for a Soul Master, it was only enough to buy a few ordinary medicinal herbs.
"I'll have to spend carefully."
"Even if I sell the wolf's parts, I won't make much."
"Ten years is too low."
As he walked, he planned out his next steps.
According to the Contract Book, he had to reach level twenty to unlock the next evolution.
He was only at level eleven now, a full nine levels short.
For an ordinary person, gaining nine levels might take three to five years.
But for a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, it could be done within a year if he had enough resources.
"So the priority is to get into Shrek Academy as soon as possible and obtain systematic cultivation resources and guidance."
"I have to get through this transitional period."
"As for what comes later, I'll deal with it when the time comes."
Bai Lan quickened his pace.
Meanwhile.
The Star Luo Empire, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
In the backyard, inside a cramped servant's room.
Huo Yuhao curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging his knees without a word.
Today was the day he awakened his Martial Soul.
He had thought that after awakening his Martial Soul, life might get a little better for him and his mother.
Even if it was the most ordinary Martial Soul, it would at least prove he was fit to become a Soul Master. Maybe then the people who bullied them would show some restraint.
But he was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The moment his Martial Soul emerged from within him, everyone froze.
It was a pair of eyes.
Unreal and deep, as if they could see through everything.
Not the White Tiger.
Not the Evil Eye White Tiger.
It was a Spirit Eye.
A mutated Spirit Eye.
Huo Yuhao remembered how the Soul Master in charge of the awakening had been silent for a long while before finally speaking:
"Spirit Eye. Innate Soul Power... Rank one."
Rank one.
The room fell silent.
Then, a burst of laughter erupted.
"Hahahaha! The White Tiger Duke's son awakened a pair of eyes?"
"Rank-one Soul Power? Isn't that worse than useless?"
"A mutated Spirit Eye? That's hilarious. What's it for, peeping?"
Huo Yuhao lowered his head and bit his lip hard.
He felt countless gazes fall on him, pricking him like needles.
Those gazes held mockery, contempt, and schadenfreude.
There wasn't a trace of kindness among them.
After the crowd dispersed, he and his mother were brought before the steward.
The steward was a fat, middle-aged man. Before, whenever he saw them, he would force a smile and call them Young Master Huo and Madam Huo.
Although the titles sounded especially grating, at least he had maintained a semblance of courtesy.
But now, he couldn't even be bothered to pretend.
"Starting today, you and your mother will move to the utility room beside the woodshed."
"These rooms should go to people who are more useful."
The steward crossed his legs and didn't even look up.
Huo Yuhao's mother, Huo Yun'er, went pale and parted her lips, but no words came out.
She was only a maidservant.
Six years ago, the Duke had been drunk. She happened to pass by, and he had forcibly dragged her into his room.
Afterward, no one blamed the Duke.
Everyone blamed her.
They called her shameless, said she had seduced her master, said she was a toad lusting after a swan.
She had been driven out of the main courtyard and tossed into the servants' quarters in the backyard to fend for herself.
For years, she had raised Huo Yuhao and barely scraped by washing and mending clothes for others.
Her only hope was that Yuhao would awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul.
As long as he awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul, even the most ordinary one, the Duke's Mansion would acknowledge him. He could receive a monthly allowance and... stop being bullied.
But now...
Before you continue