One evening, half a month later.
Bai Lan sat cross-legged on the bed and slowly opened his eyes.
He exhaled a mouthful of stale air.
Yinye looked at him. "Master?"
Bai Lan didn't answer.
He simply raised a hand and felt the flow of Soul Power within his body.
Then he smiled.
"Level thirty-eight."
Yinye's eyes lit up.
"Congratulations, Master."
Ice Empress lifted her head too, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward.
Bai Lan looked at the two of them, warmth welling in his heart.
They had stayed by his side for the past half month.
From morning until night.
Never once complaining.
"Thank you," he said.
Yinye shook her head.
"You don't have to thank us, Master."
Ice Empress nodded.
"We're your Contract Beasts."
"Staying with you while you cultivate is only right."
Bai Lan looked at them and suddenly smiled.
"Then we'll continue tomorrow."
Yinye nodded. "All right."
Ice Empress nodded too.
Outside the window, the sun sank in the west.
Golden evening light spilled into the room, falling over the three of them.
Time flew by.
It passed in a flash.
Another half month went by.
Bai Lan sat cross-legged on the bed, cultivating with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, he opened them.
Yinye and Ice Empress both looked at him.
"Master?"
Bai Lan fell silent for a second.
Then he smiled.
"Level thirty-nine."
Yinye smiled.
Ice Empress smiled too.
"Congratulations, Master," they said in unison.
Bai Lan stood up and rolled his shoulders.
In one month, he'd gone from level thirty-seven to level thirty-nine.
That was more than twice as fast as cultivating on his own.
After all, once a Soul Master reached the Soul Elder rank, their cultivation speed was forcibly slowed.
For those with Ultimate Attributes, it was even slower.
Even so, Bai Lan had managed to break through two levels in one month.
And this was the late stage of the Soul Elder rank.
"At this rate, I should reach level forty in another month."
"Since both of you have Ultimate Attributes, my cultivation speed has slowed considerably, and I need a particularly large amount of Soul Power."
"Otherwise, if I'd given it to someone else, they might already have reached the Soul Ancestor or even Spirit King rank."
He said.
Yinye nodded.
"That's true. There's nothing we can do about it."
"But it's not a big problem. In a month, we can go find the Snow Empress."
A glimmer flashed through Ice Empress's eyes.
The Snow Empress.
Her companion, whom she'd waited hundreds of thousands of years to see again.
Soon, she would be reunited with her.
Bai Lan understood as soon as he saw her expression.
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't keep her waiting much longer."
Ice Empress looked at him and nodded gently.
"I know."
Night deepened outside the window.
Bai Lan stood by the window, gazing into the distance.
That direction led to the Extreme North.
The Snow Empress was waiting there.
Farther away was the Star Dou Great Forest.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was trapped there.
Five years.
No—
Only four years and eleven months remained.
Of course, he wasn't obligated to choose that fellow.
Although Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had lived for a long time, his combat strength was truly pathetic.
If there were a more suitable choice, Bai Lan wouldn't choose him.
Most importantly, if possible, he wanted to contract a female Soul Beast.
As for a male, he might have to think it over.
"Master." Yinye's voice sounded behind him.
Bai Lan turned around.
Yinye stood behind him, her silver-violet eyes shining faintly in the moonlight.
"It's time to rest," she said. "You still have to cultivate tomorrow."
Bai Lan smiled.
"All right."
He turned and walked back to the bed.
He lay down.
He closed his eyes.
Yinye and Ice Empress stood guard on either side of him.
Moonlight spilled over them.
Blending their shadows together.
Shrek Academy, Dean's office.
Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk, holding a report that had just arrived.
A knock came from outside the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a fiery-red figure walked in.
She was a girl of about twelve or thirteen.
Her fiery red hair fell over her shoulders like flames, every strand seeming to burn with a faint glow.
Her features were exquisite and bold, and an innate pride showed between her brows.
Her eyes tilted slightly upward at the corners, and her lips were a pale crimson.
Standing there, she was like a burning flame.
But on closer inspection, beneath that flame lay a trace of fatigue that was hard to notice.
Ma Xiaotao.
The top genius in Shrek Academy's Outer Courtyard.
A level forty-three Soul Ancestor.
Her Martial Soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix.
"Teacher." She walked to the desk and bowed slightly. "I'm back."
Yan Shaozhe raised his head and looked at her.
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment.
She'd lost weight again.
That Evil Fire was getting worse.
"Sit down," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.
Ma Xiaotao sat down.
Yan Shaozhe was silent for a second before speaking.
"Xiaotao, how did this round of training go?"
Ma Xiaotao smiled.
There was a trace of bitterness in her smile.
"Same as always," she said. "When the Evil Fire flared up, I nearly lost control."
She raised a hand, and a wisp of flame appeared in her palm.
It wasn't a normal red. It carried a strange, dark crimson hue.
"Teacher said I could hold out until around twenty."
"But now, I feel like... I might not last that long."
She gazed at the flame and spoke softly.
Yan Shaozhe fell silent.
He looked at his disciple, at the fatigue and struggle in her eyes.
She was only a teenager.
She should have been enjoying the brightest years of her life.
Instead, every day she had to fight the Evil Fire inside her.
"Xiaotao," he began.
Ma Xiaotao lifted her head.
Yan Shaozhe looked at her gravely.
"There's someone who can help you."
Ma Xiaotao froze.
"Help me?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded.
"His name is Bai Lan."
"He's seven years old and a student at Shrek Academy."
Ma Xiaotao frowned.
Seven years old?
Could a seven-year-old child really help her?
"Teacher," she said, her voice tinged with disbelief, "I know you mean well, but a seven-year-old child..."
Yan Shaozhe waved a hand, cutting her off.
"Xiaotao, hear me out."
He briefly explained Bai Lan's situation.
The Contract Book.
Contract Soul Beasts.
Ultimate Ice.
The Ice Empress, a seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast.
Ma Xiaotao was stunned.
Seven hundred thousand years?
Ultimate Ice?
"Teacher..." She parted her lips, unsure what to say.
Yan Shaozhe looked at her.
"I know this is hard to believe," he said. "But it's true."
He stood and walked to the window.
"Xiaotao, your Evil Fire needs Ultimate Ice to suppress it."
"And Bai Lan already has seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Ultimate Ice."
He turned and looked at Ma Xiaotao.
"Whether you can be cured depends on him."
Ma Xiaotao fell silent.
For a long time.
Then she stood up.
"Teacher, take me to see him."
Outside the dormitory.
Yan Shaozhe stopped and looked back at Ma Xiaotao.
"Wait here."
He knocked on the door.
"Bai Lan, are you there?"
The door opened.
Bai Lan stood in the doorway, looking at Yan Shaozhe.
"Dean?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded and stepped aside.
"Xiaotao, come over."
Ma Xiaotao stepped forward and stood beside Yan Shaozhe.
She lowered her head and looked at the boy before her.
Seven years old.
A head shorter than her.
He looked utterly ordinary.
But those eyes.
Ma Xiaotao froze for a moment.
Those eyes were so calm.
Too calm for a seven-year-old child.
He looked at her as if she were an ordinary person, not Shrek Academy's greatest genius.
"Hello," Bai Lan said. "I'm Bai Lan."
Before you continue