"All right, Master."
Youye nodded.
Then she raised her hand.
With a light wave—
A huge boulder a thousand meters away silently vanished.
It hadn't been smashed.
It hadn't been cut apart.
It had vanished.
As if it had never existed.
Bai Lan fell silent.
Mu En fell silent.
Youye lowered her hand and looked at Bai Lan.
"Master, this is only the most basic ability."
Bai Lan took a deep breath.
"That's enough," he said. "Come back and rest for now."
Youye nodded, turned into a streak of purple light, and disappeared into the Contract Book.
Bai Lan closed the book and turned to Mu En.
"Elder Mu, let's head back."
Mu En looked at him and suddenly asked:
"Boy, do you know how strong you are now?"
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
Mu En smiled.
"Good. Better not to know," he said. "If you did, it'd be easy to get carried away."
"Now, as long as no one on Di Tian's level makes a move, you're basically in no great danger."
"Good. That puts my mind at ease, too."
He turned and walked toward the exit of the gorge.
Bai Lan followed.
After a few steps, Mu En suddenly asked:
"By the way, what's your Soul Power Level?"
Bai Lan froze.
Only then did he remember to check his Soul Power.
He focused his thoughts.
Level 37.
Bai Lan stared.
Level 37?
He'd gone straight from Level 30 to Level 37?
He looked at Mu En.
Mu En was looking at him, too.
His eyes held a complicated mix of emotions.
"Level 37..." he murmured. "Three Contract Beasts: one at thirty thousand years, one at a hundred thousand, and one at three hundred thousand..."
"If you'd absorbed Soul Rings directly, your Soul Power Level might have shot straight up to Level 40."
He shook his head.
"Boy, you've left an old man like me at a loss for words."
Bai Lan was silent for a second, then smiled. "I really am a monster."
Mu En stopped in his tracks.
He turned and looked at Bai Lan.
His aged eyes held deep anticipation.
His voice was soft. "Yes, you're the real monster. Those others at the academy are just ordinary people compared to you."
Bai Lan nodded.
He agreed.
Although he didn't have a system,
the Contract Book was outrageous enough.
"Youye, can you use your Void Power to take us straight back to Shrek Academy?" Bai Lan asked, looking at the stunning Youye.
"Of course."
"It's a piece of cake."
Youye nodded.
Mu En grew curious, too.
The next moment—
Youye drew on her Void Power, enveloping herself, Bai Lan, Mu En, and Yinxing before turning into a streak of light and entering the void.
They returned to Shrek Academy through a Void Passage.
It would save them a great deal of time.
As for the bamboo, it had returned to the Contract Book's space.
Everything in the Void Passage flew past at incredible speed.
Youye's power carried Bai Lan along, leaving him suspended in a strange state.
Twisted lights and shadows surrounded him. He couldn't make out anything, only feel his body moving at high speed.
"Youye," he said.
"Hmm?"
"How long will it take at this speed?"
Youye fell silent for a second, as if calculating.
"Half an hour," she said. "Three days faster than traveling normally."
Bai Lan raised an eyebrow.
Half an hour, saving three days.
A three-hundred-thousand-year Void Shadow Lord really was absurd.
He turned to look beside him.
Mu En was in the Void Passage as well. His expression was calm, but his eyes held a hint of wonder.
Even this Peerless Douluo, who had lived for over a hundred years, didn't often get the chance to experience void travel.
Yinxing floated on the other side, looking much better than before.
Youye's power carried her along, so she didn't have to fly on her own and could rest properly.
"Yinxing," Bai Lan asked, "how are your injuries?"
Yinxing looked at him, her gaze gentle.
"Much better. Don't worry, Master."
Bai Lan nodded without saying more.
The Void Passage was very quiet.
So quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.
After an unknown length of time—
A point of light appeared ahead.
It grew brighter and larger.
Then—
Boom!
The three of them burst out of the void and landed on solid ground.
Bai Lan steadied himself and looked up.
The entrance to his dormitory.
His dormitory entrance.
"We're here," Youye's voice came from behind him.
Bai Lan turned around.
Youye stood there, her purplish-black hair stirring lightly, a faint glow of shadow circling her.
Her stunning face was expressionless, but her eyes remained fixed on him.
Yinxing stood at his side, her moonlit aura gently washing over them.
Mu En stood at the back, his hands clasped behind him.
He looked at the three young people—no, two Soul Beasts in human form and a six-year-old boy—and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"All right," he said. "I'll be heading back."
Bai Lan turned to him. "Elder Mu, won't you come in for a while?"
Mu En waved a hand.
"What for? You young people can spend time together on your own."
He turned and headed toward the Sea God Pavilion.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
"By the way."
He turned back to Bai Lan, his gaze profound.
"Boy, just keep what happened today to yourself."
"Don't tell anyone."
Bai Lan nodded. "Understood."
Mu En gave a quiet "Mm," then turned and left.
Under the moonlight, his figure gradually disappeared into the night.
Bai Lan turned his gaze back to the dormitory door.
It was closed.
He'd locked it when he left, and it was still locked.
"Let's go in," he said.
He pushed open the door and went inside.
The room was just as he'd left it.
A simple bed, a simple table, a simple cabinet.
Moonlight poured in through the window, spreading a patch of silver across the floor.
Standing in the room, Bai Lan suddenly felt dazed.
When he left, he'd been Level 30.
When he came back, he was already Level 37.
When he left, he'd had only two Contract Beasts.
When he came back, he had a three-hundred-thousand-year Void Shadow Lord.
"Master."
Yinxing's voice sounded behind him.
Bai Lan came back to himself and turned to look at her.
Yinxing stood in the doorway, moonlight falling over her and surrounding her in a soft glow.
A faint weariness showed on her cool face.
Youye stood beside her, her purplish-black figure almost blending into the darkness. Only her deep violet eyes shone.
The two of them simply looked at him.
As if waiting for his orders.
Bai Lan was silent for a second.
Then he looked at the only bed in the room.
It wasn't large, about a meter and a half wide. It was just right for him to sleep in alone.
But now—
"You two..." he began, then suddenly didn't know what to say.
Yinxing seemed to see his hesitation.
"Master, I can stand," she said calmly. "Soul Beasts don't need to sleep every day."
Youye nodded, too. "I can slip into the shadows. It's more comfortable."
Bai Lan: "..."
He looked at the two of them, then at the bed.
"No," he said.
The two of them froze.
Bai Lan walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"You've been fighting alongside me for half the day, evolving, and traveling all this way."
"You need to rest."
He looked at them.
Before you continue