The light lasted for a full hour.
When it finally faded,
Bai Lan slowly lowered his hand and opened his eyes.
Then he froze.
Youye was gone.
In her place stood a woman.
A woman beyond words.
She stood quietly in the darkness, as if the darkness itself had taken human form.
She was a little taller than before, with a slender, graceful figure. Every curve was perfectly proportioned—not a touch fuller or thinner than it should be.
Her long purplish-black hair fell to her waist, faint points of starlight shimmering among the strands, as if she wore the entire galaxy draped over her shoulders.
Her skin was almost translucent, but not sickly pale. It had the warm luster of jade.
Beneath it, fine shadow patterns flowed slowly, like the veins of a living creature, or some ancient runes.
Her face...
Looking at her face, Bai Lan suddenly understood what it meant to be struck breathless.
She was stunning.
That was the only word he could think of.
But even that word could never do justice to the face before him.
An innate coldness lingered in her features, like a chilly moon hanging high in the night sky, gazing down upon all the world.
Her nose was high-bridged, her lips a faint purple, their corners slightly lifted in the hint of a smile.
Most astonishing of all were her eyes.
They were no longer slit pupils.
They were human eyes.
Her deep violet pupils seemed capable of swallowing every ray of light.
And now, Bai Lan's reflection shone in them.
She gazed at him,
as if he were her entire world.
"Master."
She spoke.
Her voice was no longer cool and distant. It had an unusual magnetism, as if it came from deep beneath the earth, or drifted down from the farthest reaches of the night sky.
Every word seemed to strike directly at the soul.
"You... became even more beautiful."
Bai Lan took a deep breath, tamping down his shock.
He finally understood why Tang Hao liked Soul Beasts in humanoid form.
Damn, they really were beautiful.
With a beauty like this, it was no wonder Tang Hao liked them.
He liked them too.
Youye and Yinxing were both peerless beauties.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
"I'm glad you like it, Master."
Youye smiled seductively and looked down at herself.
She raised her hand and gently clenched her fist.
The space around her rippled slightly with the movement.
"Three hundred thousand years." Her voice held a rare tremor. "So this is what it feels like to be a three-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast."
She raised her head and looked at Bai Lan.
"Master, thank you."
Bai Lan blinked. "Thank me for what?"
Youye fell silent for a moment.
Then she smiled.
It was the first time she had truly smiled.
Her lips didn't merely curve upward; her entire face softened, her eyes bending like moonlight spilling across a lake.
"Thank you for letting me see a view like this."
Her voice was as gentle as a dream:
"When I was fifty thousand years old, I thought that was my limit."
"When I was a hundred thousand years old, I thought that was the peak I could reach."
"When I was two hundred thousand years old, I thought I was already strong enough."
"But now—"
She looked at Bai Lan, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"Now I know I can become even stronger."
Bai Lan looked at her in silence for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
Youye tilted her head slightly. "Ready for what?"
Bai Lan pointed at the Contract Book.
"When I reach level forty, you'll undergo your fourth evolution."
"After that, every ten levels I gain will let you evolve again."
"Reaching a million years is only a matter of time. Compared to how long you Soul Beasts need to cultivate, it's barely anything at all."
Youye was stunned.
Then she smiled.
This time, her smile was brighter.
"A million-year Soul Beast!"
"I never dared to imagine that before. Now I can see hope, Master."
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Follow me, and you won't be disappointed. Becoming a divine beast or even a super divine beast is only a matter of time."
Youye looked at him, at the sincerity in his eyes.
Suddenly, she felt incredibly lucky.
Fifty thousand years of loneliness and ten thousand years of struggle—
and in the end, they had led her to meet someone like him.
She nodded. "Yes, I believe you, Master."
Bai Lan nodded and lowered his gaze to the Contract Book.
The text on the third page had been updated:
[Contract Beast: Void Shadow Lord] [Age: Three Hundred Thousand Years] [Status: Contracted] [Abilities: Shadow Dominator, Spatial Control, Shadow Step · Ultimate, Void Shadow Claw, Shadow Sky Cannon, Shadow Space Devour, Breath Nullification, Shadow Clone · Ultimate, Shadow Domain · Ultimate, Void Shadow · Ultimate, Shadow Abyss Descent · Ultimate, Shadow Sky Curtain, Void Walk] [Shadow Dominator: Freely control the Shadow Power within a thousand meters, turning shadows into solid attacks or defenses] [Spatial Control: Control the surrounding space—fold, distort, tear, and reshape it at will] [Shadow Step · Ultimate: Teleport between any shadows, regardless of distance, at no cost] [Void Shadow Claw: Tear open a spatial rift with each attack, banishing part of an enemy's body directly into the void] [Shadow Sky Cannon: Condense Shadow Power and spatial energy into a long-range attack, powerful enough to flatten a small mountain] [Shadow Space Devour: Open an entrance to Shadow Space, devour any attack, and convert it into her own energy] [Breath Nullification: Passive ability. Completely merge her presence with the world, rendering all detection methods ineffective] [Shadow Clone · Ultimate: Create up to nine Shadow Clones, each with eighty percent of her original strength. They can fight independently and inherit all her abilities] [Shadow Domain · Ultimate: Expand the domain to a thousand meters. Enemies within it are continuously corroded by shadows, allies become completely invisible, and spatial perception is thrown into disarray] [Void Shadow · Ultimate: Slip into the space between the void and the shadows, becoming immune to all attacks. She can bring allies with her] [Shadow Abyss Descent · Ultimate: Summon a projection of Shadow Space across a thousand-meter radius, forcibly pulling all enemies within it into Shadow Space and reducing their perception, movement, and attacks to zero] [New Ability · Shadow Sky Curtain: Unfurl a Shadow Sky Curtain across a three-thousand-meter radius. Within it, enemies' Shadow Power is suppressed while allies' Shadow Power is greatly enhanced. Lasts for fifteen minutes] [New Ability · Void Walk: Walk through the void, ignoring all terrain and obstacles. She can bring allies along] [Evolutions: 3/3 (Maximum reached; reach level forty to unlock the next evolution)]
Three hundred thousand years.
Void Shadow Lord.
Bai Lan stared at the densely packed list of abilities in silence for a long time.
Then he raised his head.
Mu En had somehow come up beside him and was also reading the text in the Contract Book.
His expression had gone completely numb.
"Three hundred thousand years..." he murmured. "Nine clones, a thousand-meter domain, Void Walk..."
He turned to Bai Lan.
"Kid, tell me. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then answered earnestly,
"Get stronger?"
Mu En laughed in exasperation.
"Get stronger?" He shook his head. "That's not getting stronger. That's cheating."
Bai Lan smiled but said nothing.
He turned to look at Youye.
She stood there, faint shadows of light swirling around her.
She was looking at him too.
Their eyes met.
Bai Lan suddenly said,
"Youye, let us see how strong you are now."
"Just show us something ordinary."
He was curious—just how powerful was Youye now?
Before you continue