Cultivation! Breakthrough!

Bai Lan was silent for a second.

Then, he smiled.

"You found me out."

Yinye looked at him without saying a word.

Bai Lan thought for a moment and spoke:

"Yinye, if I said I wanted to go to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, what would you think?"

Yinye's pupils constricted slightly.

Ice Empress also raised her head to look at him.

"The core area of the Star Dou Great Forest?" There was a hint of gravity in Yinye's voice: "Master, that is a land of great peril."

"Di Tian is there."

"And a group of hundreds-of-thousands-year-old fierce beasts."

She looked at Bai Lan with a serious gaze:

"Even for me as I am now, going in would be a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation."

Bai Lan nodded.

"I know."

Yinye asked: "Then why does Master want to go?"

Bai Lan was silent for a second.

Then, he looked out the window and said softly:

"Because there is a Soul Beast there."

"If I can contract it—"

He paused, his gaze becoming profound:

"My path will be much easier to walk."

Yinye and Ice Empress exchanged a glance.

They did not ask what kind of Soul Beast it was.

But in Bai Lan's eyes, they saw something they had never seen before.

It was ambition.

And it was anticipation.

"Master." Ice Empress spoke up.

Bai Lan looked at her.

Ice Empress said: "No matter where you want to go, we will follow."

"But not now."

Her gaze was serious and firm:

"Wait until we are stronger."

"Wait until Master's level is higher."

"Wait until there is more certainty."

"At that time, we will go together."

Bai Lan looked at her, looking at the determination in those ice-blue eyes.

He suddenly smiled.

"Alright," he said. "I'll listen to you."

He closed his eyes again.

This time, he truly began to cultivate.

But in his heart, that thought had not disappeared.

It was merely suppressed.

Hidden away.

Waiting for the right moment to be brought out again.

Five years.

Five more years.

By then, Huo Yuhao will not have reached the Star Dou Great Forest yet.

He can take the first step.

But the prerequisite is—

He must become stronger.

Strong enough to snatch that fat silkworm right from under the nose of Di Tian.

Strong enough to make that pack of Fierce Beasts afraid to stand in his way.

Strong enough—

To form a contract with that million-year-old existence.

Outside the window, the moonlight remained.

Bai Lan's breathing gradually steadied.

Yinye and Ice Empress stood guard by his side, one on the left and one on the right.

Two breathtakingly beautiful figures shimmered with a faint glow under the moonlight.

It was a vigil.

And it was companionship.

In the distance, in the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The night was deep.

There lay Di Tian, the Fierce Beasts, and that trapped million-year-old Soul Beast.

And also—

The future five years from now.

The morning sun shone through the window, landing on Bai Lan's face.

He opened his eyes and sat up.

A new day had begun.

To his left and right, Yinye and Ice Empress were already awake.

Yinye stood by the window, looking outside, her silver-purple hair glowing softly in the morning light.

Ice Empress leaned against the headboard, still holding that dog-eared copy of the Record of Continental Customs.

"Master, good morning." Yinye turned back and smiled slightly.

Ice Empress also looked up, closed her book, and nodded gently.

Bai Lan stretched his shoulders and hopped off the bed.

"Starting today, I need to cultivate properly."

Yinye was slightly taken aback: "Weren't you already cultivating before, Master?"

Bai Lan shook his head.

"That was just normal cultivation," he said. "But starting today, I need to increase the intensity."

He walked to the window and looked out.

On the training grounds in the distance, students had already begun their morning exercises.

He said softly: "I need to seize the time, break through to level forty, and then contract Snow Empress to fulfill the promise I made."

"Actually, there is no need to be so anxious; we have waited hundreds of thousands of years, so this little bit of time doesn't matter."

"Master doesn't need to shoulder such a heavy burden."

"Just do whatever makes you happy."

Yinye and Ice Empress exchanged a glance and smiled.

"I know, but it's also a goal I've set for myself."

"There isn't a person alive who doesn't want their cultivation to improve quickly."

Bai Lan said with a smile.

"How does Master want to cultivate?" Yinye asked.

Bai Lan turned around and looked at them.

"The two of you, spar with me."

Yinye was stunned.

Ice Empress was also taken aback.

"Spar?" Ice Empress frowned slightly: "Master, our attacks are too heavy..."

Bai Lan laughed.

"I'm not asking you to go all out," he said. "Suppress your levels to match mine and spar with me in real combat."

He looked at them, his gaze earnest:

"Practical combat is the best form of cultivation."

"Relying solely on meditation is too slow."

Yinye thought for a moment and nodded.

"Understood."

Ice Empress also nodded.

"Good."

Half an hour later.

In the small clearing behind the dormitory.

This clearing was where Bai Lan usually practiced; it was in a secluded spot, shielded by trees, ensuring no one would disturb them.

Bai Lan stood in the center of the clearing, stretching his limbs.

Yinye stood opposite him, a faint silver-purple glow surrounding her body.

Ice Empress stood to the side, arms crossed, ready to observe the battle.

"Master, are you ready?" Yinye asked.

Bai Lan took a deep breath.

"Come."

Yinye nodded.

The next second—

Her figure vanished from where she stood.

Space Folding.

Bai Lan's pupils constricted, and he dodged to the side instantly!

But he was still half a beat too slow.

Yinye appeared behind him, reaching out to tap him lightly on the shoulder.

"Master, you were slow," her voice came from behind him.

Bai Lan turned around and looked at Yinye.

"Again."

Yinye smiled.

"Good."

An hour later.

Bai Lan lay on the ground, gasping for air.

He was drenched in sweat from head to toe, his clothes clinging to his body, looking utterly disheveled.

Yinye stood beside him, her breathing steady, not even breaking a sweat.

"Master, shall we end today's practical combat here?" she asked.

Bai Lan raised a hand and waved it.

"Wait... wait a moment..."

Yinye smiled and sat down beside him.

"Master is improving very quickly," she said. "At the beginning, you couldn't even dodge one of my attacks, but now you can already dodge three or four."

Bai Lan panted, saying nothing.

He knew Yinye was just comforting him.

Three or four times?

That was barely dodging at all.

He didn't even have a chance to counterattack.

Ice Empress walked over and looked down at him.

Those ice-blue eyes held a trace of complex emotion.

"Master," she began.

Bai Lan looked up at her.

Ice Empress said, "The way you are cultivating is too slow."

Bai Lan was stunned.

Yinye also looked toward her.

Ice Empress continued, "Practical combat is certainly useful. But the foundation of a master is Soul Power."

She crouched down and looked at Bai Lan:

"If your Soul Power is insufficient, no amount of practical combat experience can be brought to bear."

Bai Lan fell silent.

He knew Ice Empress was right.

He was currently level thirty-seven.

At this age and this level, he would already be considered a genius among geniuses in the outside world.

But for him, it was not enough.

It was far from enough.

"Then what do you suggest?" he asked.

Ice Empress thought for a moment and said:

"We will help you."

Bai Lan raised an eyebrow: "How will you help?"

Ice Empress looked at Yinye.

Yinye appeared lost in thought.

Then, the two spoke in unison:

"We will cultivate together."

In the days that followed, Bai Lan's life became extremely regimented.

In the morning, he meditated to cultivate Soul Power.

Yinye and Ice Empress sat on his left and right, using their own auras to guide the surrounding Soul Power of heaven and earth, increasing his cultivation speed by more than double.

At noon, he ate a simple meal.

Then in the afternoon, practical combat training.

Yinye and Ice Empress took turns stepping onto the field, suppressing their strength to match Bai Lan's level to spar with him.

At the very beginning, Bai Lan couldn't even dodge a single strike.

Three days later, he could dodge one or two.

Seven days later, he could occasionally launch a counterattack.

Half a month later, he was already able to exchange ten moves with Yinye while she suppressed her strength.

At night, he continued to meditate.

Yinye and Ice Empress remained by his side.

Day after day.

Without a single interruption.