The morning sunlight streamed through the window and fell across Bai Lan's face.
He opened his eyes, sat up, and rubbed them.
The Contract Book lay quietly beside his pillow. The silver-purple mark on its second page glowed faintly, as if to tell him that everything from last night had been real.
"Yinye," he called softly.
A flash of silver light.
A woman appeared before him.
Her long silver-purple hair cascaded down like a waterfall, shimmering faintly in the morning light.
Her silver-purple eyes gazed at him quietly, a gentle smile on her face.
"Good morning, Master."
Bai Lan looked at her, suddenly feeling a little dazed.
He had already seen her last night in the Contract Space.
But seeing her again in the real world still left him stunned by her beauty.
"Morning." He stood up. "Let's go see the Dean."
The Dean's office.
Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk, reading through some files. When he heard a knock, he didn't even look up. "Come in."
The door opened, and Bai Lan walked in.
Yan Shaozhe looked up, about to speak.
Then he froze.
Because a woman was following Bai Lan.
A woman he had never seen before.
Silver-purple hair, silver-purple eyes, and faint spatial fluctuations swirling around her. Just standing there, she inspired an urge to submit.
"Bai Lan, who is this...?"
Bai Lan walked up to him and said calmly:
"Dean, this is Yinye."
"My second Contract Beast."
Yan Shaozhe frowned. "Your second Contract Beast? Don't you already have Yinxing?"
Bai Lan nodded. "I did, until yesterday."
He paused, then continued:
"But last night, they fused."
Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted.
Fused?
"What do you mean?"
Bai Lan raised his hand, and the Contract Book appeared in his palm.
It opened, and the silver-purple mark on its second page began to glow.
"Yinxing and Youye both had Void attributes," he explained. "Last night, the Contract Book suddenly reacted and guided them to fuse, creating a new, independent individual."
"This is her: Yinye."
Yan Shaozhe fell silent.
He looked at the woman before him, at her silver-purple eyes, and at the faint spatial fluctuations around her.
He could sense that she was powerful.
Very powerful.
Stronger than the vast majority of Soul Beasts he had ever seen.
"How old is she...?" he asked.
Bai Lan didn't hide it. "Four hundred thousand years."
Yan Shaozhe drew in a sharp breath.
Four hundred thousand years.
A Void attribute.
Born from a fusion.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his shock.
"What about Yinxing and Youye?" he asked. "They..."
"They're still here." Yinye spoke, her voice cool yet gentle. "We can separate whenever Master wishes."
She raised her hand.
Silver and purple light flickered at the same time.
The next moment—
Yinxing and Youye appeared beside her.
One had silver hair and silver eyes, cool as the moon.
The other had purple hair and purple eyes, deep as the night.
The three stood together like flowers of different colors blooming from the same branch.
Yan Shaozhe was stunned.
He looked at Yinxing, then Youye, then Yinye.
"This..."
Bai Lan explained, "They can switch freely. When fused, they become Yinye, who is four hundred thousand years old. When separated, they become Yinxing and Youye, each retaining their original age and abilities."
Yan Shaozhe was silent for a long time.
Then, slowly, he said:
"Bai Lan, you really... leave this old man at a loss for words."
Bai Lan smiled and put away the Contract Book.
Yinxing and Youye turned into two beams of light and merged into Yinye.
Yinye also transformed into a silver-purple beam of light and returned to the Contract Book.
Only Yan Shaozhe and Bai Lan remained in the office.
"Dean," Bai Lan began. "There's something else I came to see you about today."
Yan Shaozhe looked at him. "Go on."
Bai Lan's gaze was calm.
"After Yinxing and Youye fused, a Contract slot became available."
Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up.
"You mean...!"
Bai Lan nodded. "I can make a contract with a third Soul Beast now."
Yan Shaozhe shot to his feet.
Well, that was some unexpected good news!
He walked to the window, his back to Bai Lan, and fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he turned around.
"Ice attribute," he said. "Have you made up your mind?"
Bai Lan nodded. "I have."
Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath.
"Good," he said. "Then let's go see Mu En."
The Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En sat beside the window, holding a cup of hot tea.
Sunlight bathed him in warmth.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around.
"Shaozhe? Bai Lan?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're here so early. Is something the matter?"
Yan Shaozhe walked up to him and bowed.
"Teacher, there's something I need to tell you."
Mu En nodded, indicating for him to continue.
Yan Shaozhe told him everything that had happened to Bai Lan the previous night.
The fusion.
Four hundred thousand years.
A newly available Contract slot.
Plans to make a contract with an ice-attribute Soul Beast.
Mu En listened, then fell silent.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then he looked at Bai Lan and slowly asked:
"Four hundred thousand years?"
Bai Lan nodded.
Mu En smiled.
There was a hint of complexity in his smile.
"Kid," he said. "Do you know what four hundred thousand years means?"
Bai Lan thought for a moment. "I know she's really strong!"
Mu En laughed in exasperation.
"Really strong? She's far more than that. This is on an entirely different level!" He shook his head.
He stood up and walked to the window.
"Di Tian is seven or eight hundred thousand years old, the strongest Ferocious Beast on the continent."
"Yinye is four hundred thousand years old, with the Void Shadow attribute."
He gazed out at the lake, his eyes profound.
"If she wanted to, she could go to the Star Dou Great Forest right now, and even Di Tian would personally welcome her."
Bai Lan fell silent.
Mu En turned around and looked at him.
"But that's not why you came to see me, is it?"
Bai Lan nodded.
"Elder Mu, I want to make a contract with an ice-attribute Soul Beast."
"To help Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao."
Mu En looked at Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe gave a slight nod.
Mu En was silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke:
"There are indeed ice-attribute Soul Beasts."
"And there's a place where two of them live. They'd suit you very well."
Bai Lan's heart stirred.
"Where?"
Mu En looked at him and slowly uttered four words:
"The Extreme North."
Bai Lan's heartbeat skipped.
The Extreme North.
Ice Empress.
Snow Empress.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for.
Mu En continued:
"There are three Ferocious Beasts in the Extreme North, known as the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North."
"Ice Empress, a forty-hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Jade Empress Scorpion."
"Snow Empress, a seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Heavenly Snow Woman."
"And a Titan Snow Demon King, also several hundred thousand years old."
He looked at Bai Lan, his gaze profound.
"If you can make a contract with one of them, Ultimate Ice will be within your grasp."
Bai Lan took a deep breath.
"Elder Mu, would they... agree to a contract?"
Mu En smiled.
"Under normal circumstances, no."
"How could a forty-hundred-thousand-year-old Ferocious Beast willingly become a human's Contract Beast?"
He paused, then changed tack:
"But—"
"They have a problem."
Bai Lan pressed him. "What problem?"
Mu En walked to the window and looked north.
"Heavenly Tribulations!"
Before you continue