Bai Lan fell silent for a second.
Then he smiled.
"You caught me."
Yinye looked at him without a word.
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then spoke:
"Yinye, what would you think if I said I wanted to go to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Yinye's pupils contracted slightly.
Ice Empress also raised her head to look at him.
"The core area of the Star Dou Great Forest?" Yinye's voice carried a hint of gravity. "Master, that's the Great Ferocious Land."
"Di Tian is there."
"And so is a group of Ferocious Beasts who are hundreds of thousands of years old."
She looked at Bai Lan, her gaze serious:
"Even I would have only a slim chance of survival if I went in there now."
Bai Lan nodded.
"I know."
Yinye asked, "Then why do you want to go, Master?"
Bai Lan fell silent for a second.
Then he looked out the window and said softly:
"Because there's a Soul Beast there."
"If I can contract it—"
He paused, his gaze growing profound:
"My path will be much easier."
Yinye and Ice Empress exchanged a glance.
They didn't ask which Soul Beast he meant.
But they saw something in Bai Lan's eyes that they had never seen before.
Ambition.
And anticipation.
"Master," Ice Empress said.
Bai Lan looked at her.
Ice Empress said, "Wherever you want to go, we'll follow you."
"But not now."
Her gaze was serious and resolute:
"Let's wait until we're a little stronger."
"Until your level is a little higher, Master."
"Until we have better odds."
"Then we'll go together."
Bai Lan looked at her, at the determination in those ice-blue eyes.
Suddenly, he smiled.
"Okay," he said. "We'll do it your way."
He closed his eyes again.
This time, he truly began cultivating.
But the thought in his heart hadn't disappeared.
It had only been pushed aside.
Hidden away.
Waiting to be brought out again when the time was right.
Five years.
Another five years.
By then, Huo Yuhao still wouldn't have reached the Star Dou Great Forest.
Bai Lan could get there first.
But first—
He had to grow stronger.
Strong enough to take that fat silkworm right from under Di Tian's nose.
Strong enough that the Ferocious Beasts wouldn't dare stop him.
Strong enough—
To contract that million-year existence.
Outside the window, the moonlight remained unchanged.
Bai Lan's breathing gradually evened out.
Yinye and Ice Empress kept watch beside him, one on either side.
Their two peerlessly beautiful figures glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Like guardians.
And companions.
Far away, in the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest,
the night was dark.
There was Di Tian, the Ferocious Beasts, and that million-year Soul Beast held captive.
And—
the future, five years from now.
The morning sun shone through the window and fell across Bai Lan's face.
He opened his eyes and sat up.
A new day had begun.
Yinye and Ice Empress, on either side of him, were already awake.
Yinye stood by the window, gazing outside. Her silver-purple hair shimmered softly in the morning light.
Ice Empress leaned against the headboard, still holding the well-thumbed, dog-eared copy of Record of Continental Customs.
"Good morning, Master." Yinye turned around and smiled gently.
Ice Empress raised her head too, closed the book, and gave a small nod.
Bai Lan rolled his shoulders and jumped out of bed.
"Starting today, I'm going to train hard."
Yinye paused. "Weren't you already cultivating, Master?"
Bai Lan shook his head.
"That was just regular cultivation," he said. "Starting today, I'm going to push myself harder."
He walked to the window and looked outside.
Some students had already begun their morning exercises on the distant training field.
He said softly, "I need to hurry and break through level forty, then contract Snow Empress and fulfill the promise I made earlier."
"There's no need to rush so much. We've waited hundreds of thousands of years; a little longer won't matter."
"Master doesn't need to put such a heavy burden on himself."
"Just do whatever makes you happy."
Yinye and Ice Empress exchanged a glance and smiled.
"I know. It's also a goal I'm setting for myself."
"Who wouldn't want to improve their cultivation as quickly as possible?"
Bai Lan said with a smile.
"How do you want to train, Master?" Yinye asked.
Bai Lan turned and looked at them.
"You two can spar with me."
Yinye froze for a moment.
Ice Empress froze too.
"Fight?" Ice Empress frowned. "Master, we'd hit you too hard..."
Bai Lan smiled.
"I'm not asking you to go all out," he said. "Hold back until you're around my level and help me get some real combat experience."
He looked at them, his gaze serious:
"Real combat is the best training."
"Just meditating is too slow."
Yinye thought it over, then nodded.
"Understood."
Ice Empress nodded as well.
"All right."
Half an hour later.
In the small clearing behind the dormitory.
Bai Lan usually trained here. The secluded clearing was screened by trees, so no one would disturb them.
Bai Lan stood in the middle of the clearing, loosening up.
Yinye stood opposite him, a faint silver-purple glow surrounding her.
Ice Empress stood to the side with her arms folded, ready to watch.
"Ready, Master?" Yinye asked.
Bai Lan took a deep breath.
"Come on."
Yinye nodded.
The next second—
Her figure vanished from where she stood.
Space Folding.
Bai Lan's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately dodged to the side!
But he was still half a beat too slow.
Yinye appeared behind him and lightly tapped his shoulder.
"Too slow, Master." Her voice came from behind him.
Bai Lan turned around and looked at Yinye.
"Again."
Yinye smiled.
"All right."
An hour later.
Bai Lan lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
He was drenched in sweat from head to toe, his clothes clinging to him. He looked utterly disheveled.
Yinye stood beside him, breathing steadily. She hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Master, shall we call it a day?" she asked.
Bai Lan raised a hand and waved it weakly.
"W-wait a moment..."
Yinye smiled and sat down beside him.
"You're improving quickly, Master," she said. "At first, you couldn't dodge a single move of mine. Now you can dodge three or four."
Bai Lan panted and said nothing.
He knew Yinye was only trying to comfort him.
Three or four?
He had only barely managed to dodge them.
He hadn't even had a chance to counterattack.
Ice Empress walked over and looked down at him.
A hint of complicated emotion showed in her ice-blue eyes.
"Master," she said.
Bai Lan looked at her.
Ice Empress said, "You're training too slowly like this."
Bai Lan was taken aback.
Yinye looked at her too.
The Ice Empress continued, "Real combat is certainly useful. But the foundation you need is Soul Power."
She crouched down and looked at Bai Lan.
"If you don't have enough Soul Power, no amount of combat experience will help you."
Bai Lan fell silent.
He knew the Ice Empress was right.
He was currently at level thirty-seven.
At his age and level, he was already a genius among geniuses.
But for him, it still wasn't enough.
Not nearly enough.
"Then what do you suggest?" he asked.
The Ice Empress thought for a moment. "We'll help you."
Bai Lan raised an eyebrow. "How?"
The Ice Empress looked at Yinye.
Yinye seemed deep in thought.
Then the two spoke at the same time.
"Train together."
In the days that followed, Bai Lan's life became extremely routine.
In the mornings, he meditated and cultivated his Soul Power.
Yinye and the Ice Empress sat on either side of him, using their auras to draw in the surrounding heaven-and-earth Soul Power and more than double the speed of his cultivation.
At noon, he ate a simple meal.
Then, in the afternoon, he trained in combat.
Yinye and the Ice Empress took turns fighting him, suppressing their strength to his level so they could spar with him.
At first, Bai Lan couldn't dodge a single attack.
After three days, he could dodge one or two.
After seven days, he could occasionally counterattack.
After half a month, he could last ten moves against Yinye when she suppressed her strength.
In the evening, he continued meditating.
Yinye and the Ice Empress still stayed by his side.
Day after day.
Without fail.
Before you continue