"Bai Lan, come here." Mu En beckoned.
Bai Lan walked over and bowed slightly.
Mu En cheerfully pointed to the three children behind him. "These three little ones happen to be here too. Let me introduce you."
He pointed first to the gentle-looking boy. "Bei Bei. Ten years old, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, level twenty-four. Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. He's currently in the advanced class."
Bei Bei nodded to Bai Lan with a warm smile. "Hello."
Mu En pointed to the girl with a ponytail. "Tang Ya. Ten years old, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, level twenty-three. Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
Tang Ya blinked her big eyes and curiously looked at the Contract Book in Bai Lan's hand. "A book Martial Soul? That's so rare!"
Last, he pointed to the arrogant-looking boy. "Xu Sanshi. Nine years old, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, level twenty-two. Mysterious Turtle Martial Soul."
Xu Sanshi looked Bai Lan up and down, then curled his lip. "Six years old? A new student who just enrolled?"
Bai Lan nodded.
Xu Sanshi snorted and said nothing more.
Mu En shook his head with a smile, then looked at Bai Lan. "Bai Lan, I only glanced at your book Martial Soul earlier and didn't examine it closely. Can you explain what abilities it has?"
Bai Lan pondered for a moment.
The Contract Book's abilities were his biggest trump card, but now that he had joined Shrek, people would find out sooner or later.
After all, he would be staying here for quite a while.
Since that was the case, he might as well tell them outright.
Perhaps he would even receive special attention and generous resources ahead of time.
Growth and time were the most important things for him right now.
Since Mu En had asked, it meant he wanted to understand Bai Lan's true ability and plan his training accordingly.
There was no point in keeping it under wraps.
"Elder Mu," Bai Lan said, raising his hand as the Contract Book appeared again, "my Martial Soul currently has four main abilities."
"First, for every ten levels I gain, I can forcibly contract one living or nonliving thing that's incapable of resisting, making it a Contract Beast."
A glint flashed in Mu En's eyes.
"Second, for every ten levels I gain, I can make one of my contracted Contract Beasts evolve. Each Contract Beast has its own independent number of evolutions."
Bei Bei's smile faded, and his gaze grew serious.
"Third, I can see the evolution paths of my Contract Beasts."
Tang Ya exclaimed, "Wow! That's amazing!"
"Fourth..." Bai Lan paused. "I can share all of my Contract Beasts' abilities."
"I've already contracted my first Contract Beast and completed its first evolution."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment.
Xu Sanshi's jaw dropped.
He stared at the book in Bai Lan's hand, his eyes widening slightly. "Sharing? You mean, whatever abilities your Contract Beast has, you can use them too?"
"That's right."
"So if you contract a bird that can fly, you can fly too?"
"That's right."
"What if you contract a dragon?"
Bai Lan thought for a moment. "Then I should be able to use the dragon's abilities too."
Xu Sanshi fell silent.
Tang Ya counted on her fingers beside them. "One Contract Beast every ten levels, and each one can evolve... So by the time you become a Titled Douluo, you'll have nine Contract Beasts, each with nine evolutions..."
She couldn't quite work it out, but her eyes grew brighter and brighter. "That's ridiculously powerful!"
Bei Bei regarded Bai Lan thoughtfully. "You said earlier that a Contract Beast must be incapable of resisting?"
"That's right." Bai Lan nodded. "I can only contract targets that can't resist, like newborn young, injured Soul Beasts that have lost their ability to fight, or inanimate objects without consciousness."
"That's a major limitation," Bei Bei said. "A target that can't resist is either too weak or needs to be subdued first."
"Exactly."
After listening, Mu En stroked his beard and laughed. "Interesting, very interesting. This Martial Soul has enormous potential, but it's weak in the early stages, accumulates power slowly in the middle stages, and only truly comes into its own later."
He looked at Bai Lan with a hint of admiration. "You managed to contract a Soul Beast right after your awakening and complete its first evolution. That shows you're sharp and know what path you need to take."
Bai Lan lowered his head slightly. "You flatter me, Elder Mu."
"I'm not flattering you. It's the truth." Mu En changed tack. "Still, just listening to you explain it is all theory. Since Bei Bei and the others are here, why don't we..."
He looked at Bei Bei. "Bei Bei, have a match with Bai Lan."
Bei Bei was taken aback. "Now?"
"Now." Mu En pointed to the incense burner in the corner of the hall. "You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Just suppress your strength to his level. Bai Lan, you can use all of your Contract Beast's abilities."
Tang Ya's eyes lit up, and she tugged at Xu Sanshi's sleeve. "This'll be fun!"
Xu Sanshi shook off her hand and scoffed. "What's there to watch? He's a six-year-old new student..."
But his eyes remained fixed on Bai Lan.
Bai Lan was silent for a second, then nodded. "All right."
The crowd moved aside, leaving an open space in the center of the hall.
Mu En lit an incense stick and placed it in the burner.
Smoke curled upward.
"Begin."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Contract Book in Bai Lan's hands flashed.
A streak of light shot from its pages, landed at his side, and transformed into a silver bamboo stalk about twice a person's height.
It was his first Contract Beast: Iron Core Bamboo.
Its stalk gleamed like metal, and its long, pointed leaves had razor-sharp edges.
Surprise flashed across Bei Bei's eyes. "This is..."
"My Contract Beast," Bai Lan said. "Iron Core Bamboo, a hundred years old."
Bei Bei nodded and asked no more.
He took a deep breath, and blue-purple lightning flickered over his body.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul possessed him.
Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, slowly pulsing.
A level-twenty-four Soul Grandmaster.
A yellow Soul Ring also rose beneath Bai Lan's feet.
It was the Hundred-Year Soul Ring granted to him by Iron Core Bamboo, symbolizing the four abilities he could share.
The two stood ten meters apart, facing each other.
Tang Ya crouched in the corner with her chin resting in her hands, watching the match without blinking.
Xu Sanshi leaned against a pillar beside her, looking nonchalant, but his eyes were locked on Bai Lan.
"How long do you think he'll last?" Tang Ya whispered.
Xu Sanshi curled his lip. "One incense stick? Even if Bei Bei suppresses his strength, he still has the foundation of a level-twenty-four Soul Grandmaster and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. That kid's only six and awakened his Martial Soul just a few days ago. He'll be lucky to last half an incense stick."
"I think he'll last until the end," Tang Ya said.
"Why?"
"Just a feeling."
Xu Sanshi rolled his eyes.
In the center of the hall.
Bei Bei didn't rush to attack. Instead, he looked at Bai Lan. "You attack first."
Bai Lan didn't hold back.
With a thought, Iron Core Bamboo shuddered violently.
Nine bamboo leaves broke free at once, hovering in midair with their tips pointed at Bei Bei!
Go!
Nine streaks of silver light shot toward him!
Bei Bei's gaze sharpened. He shifted his steps, his body slipping through the gaps between the leaves like a fish through water.
Not one of the nine leaves even brushed his clothes.
"Not fast enough," he said. "Your aim needs work too."
Bai Lan didn't respond. He simply continued controlling the bamboo leaves.
The nine leaves curved around in midair and rushed toward Bei Bei again!
This time, their angles were even trickier, cutting off every possible route of evasion.
A trace of approval flashed across Bei Bei's eyes. He advanced instead of retreating, and the first Soul Ring on his body lit up.
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