Yan Shaozhe! Key Cultivation!

The next day.

Outer Court, Martial Soul Department Dean's office.

Yan Shaozhe was sitting at his desk flipping through student files when a slight fluctuation suddenly came from outside the window.

He looked up to see a paper crane pass through the window and land slowly on his desk.

The paper crane unfolded automatically, transforming into a few lines of text.

Yan Shaozhe's gaze swept over them, his pupils slightly constricting.

"Bai Lan... six years old... Contract Book... Innate Full Soul Power... held out for an incense stick's time against Bei Bei..."

He set down the letter, silent for a moment.

Elder Mu had personally sent a letter asking him to pay special attention to a newly enrolled student.

Such an occurrence had happened very rarely, even in the history of the entire Shrek Academy.

"Contract Book..."

"To make Elder Mu speak up personally, just how special is this martial soul?"

A trace of curiosity flashed in Yan Shaozhe's eyes.

He stood up and walked out of the office.

Junior Class dormitory.

Bai Lan was sitting cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed in cultivation.

After moving in last night, he had simply tidied up his luggage and started his daily mandatory lesson: meditation cultivation.

There were no shortcuts to increasing soul power.

Even with his golden finger, even with his Contract Book, the hard work required could not be shirked by even a fraction.

A knock came at the door.

Bai Lan opened his eyes, stood up, and opened the door.

Standing outside was a middle-aged man in robes, his face dignified and his aura unfathomable.

"Are you... Bai Lan?"

"I am."

"I am the Dean of the Outer Court Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe." The middle-aged man looked at him. "Come with me."

Bai Lan was slightly stunned, then nodded and followed him.

Dean's office.

Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk and gestured for Bai Lan to sit opposite him.

He studied Bai Lan for a while before speaking slowly: "Elder Mu sent me a letter last night and specifically mentioned you."

Bai Lan's expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly.

"Students who can make Elder Mu personally speak up can be counted on one hand in the entire Outer Court."

Yan Shaozhe said, "I am very curious, what exactly is so special about your martial soul?"

Bai Lan did not hide anything and explained the abilities of the Contract Book once more.

After listening, Yan Shaozhe was silent for a long time.

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Bai Lan, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal: "Contract one every ten levels... each evolves independently... sharing abilities..."

He turned around, his gaze burning as he looked at Bai Lan: "Do you know what this means?"

Bai Lan thought for a moment: "It means I will be very strong in the later stages?"

"More than that." Yan Shaozhe shook his head: "It means your potential has no upper limit."

He walked back to his desk, sat down again, and tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop: "An ordinary soul master can only possess one martial soul in their lifetime, with at most nine soul rings and nine soul skills. Those who are lucky might have one or two soul bones, and a few more soul bone skills."

"As for obtaining a hundred-thousand-year soul ring... never mind... that is even harder..."

"But you are different."

"You can gain an additional contract beast every ten levels, and each contract beast can evolve independently."

"By the time you reach the Title Douluo level, you could theoretically possess nine contract beasts, each with nine evolutions..."

He paused, his gaze deep: "That is not just nine soul skills. That is dozens, perhaps even hundreds. And, they can be shared."

"This means that you, alone, are an entire legion."

Bai Lan's lips curled up, and he nodded: "That is what I thought as well."

Yan Shaozhe stared at him for a long while, then suddenly laughed.

"Elder Mu was right, you kid are indeed worth cultivating with special focus."

He stood up, walked over to the cabinet nearby, opened the door, and took out a wooden box from inside.

The wooden box was not large, entirely pitch-black, with complex patterns carved onto its surface.

Yan Shaozhe placed the wooden box in front of Bai Lan and opened the lid.

Inside, ten small porcelain bottles were arranged neatly.

"This is your first batch of cultivation resources."

Yan Shaozhe said, "Ten bottles of Soul Gathering Pill, ten pills per bottle, one pill a day; they can accelerate the speed of Soul Power absorption."

Bai Lan's eyes widened slightly.

Soul Gathering Pill?

He had read about this item in the books at Shenhun Village; it was a precious medicinal pill that assisted in cultivation, with a single pill costing several hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Ten bottles, one hundred pills...

How much money was this?

Watching his surprised expression, Yan Shaozhe smiled and waved his hand: "Don't overthink it. Shrek is not short on these resources; what we lack are geniuses worthy of them. Since you were able to reach this stage at six years old, these are what you deserve."

The younger one was nurtured, the greater the potential.

Bai Lan took a deep breath, closed the wooden box, and bowed solemnly: "Thank you, Dean."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, signaling him to sit down.

"This is only the first batch."

He said, "Once you reach level twenty, I will personally take you out for a trip."

Bai Lan looked up: "Take me personally?"

"Correct." Yan Shaozhe looked at him, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny: "You are able to contract a second Contract Beast, aren't you? And since a Contract Beast must have no resistance, I will personally take you to a place where you can contract one that is sufficiently powerful."

Bai Lan's heart skipped a beat.

A sufficiently powerful Contract Beast?

Yan Shaozhe watched his expression and smiled, not continuing the topic, but instead shifting the conversation: "However, before that, I have a question I would like to ask you."

"Please go ahead, Dean."

Yan Shaozhe leaned forward slightly, his gaze becoming sharp: "Your Contract Beast can evolve. I want to know, how much potential do these evolved forms possess?"

Bai Lan was silent for a second.

This was the key question.

Only he could see the evolution paths of the Contract Book.

Others only knew it could evolve, but they had no way of knowing what it could specifically evolve into or how strong it would be afterward.

Yan Shaozhe was probing his bottom line.

Or rather, he was probing the upper limit of the Contract Book.

Bai Lan thought for a moment and decided not to hide too much.

Since he was to be nurtured as a priority, he had to show some real substance.

"Dean, my Iron Core Bamboo is currently only at its first evolution." He said, "I can roughly see the first few stages of its evolution path."

Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up: "Tell me about it."

Bai Lan carefully chose his words: "The second evolution is called Arrow Bamboo. At that point, its bamboo leaves can infinitely condense energy into arrows, with a longer range and the ability to track targets."

Yan Shaozhe nodded: "A long-range shooter, not bad."

"The third evolution is called Blood Jade Bamboo." Bai Lan continued: "It can absorb surrounding Soul Power and life force, converting them into powerful healing effects."

"A healing type, not bad." Yan Shaozhe looked thoughtful.

"The fourth evolution is called Lightning Struck Bamboo." Bai Lan said: "It gains the lightning attribute, and its attacks carry a paralysis effect."

Yan Shaozhe's expression shifted slightly: "Elemental type..."

"The fifth evolution is called Bilu Bamboo." Bai Lan said: "It can manipulate wind elements, and its speed is significantly increased."

"The sixth evolution is called Nine-Section Green Jade Bamboo." He paused: "It can switch between nine different elemental attacks: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light, and dark."

"It's that powerful!?"

Yan Shaozhe's eyebrows shot up.

"The seventh evolution is called Tiangang Bamboo." Bai Lan said: "It can set up formations to trap enemies and absorb their Soul Power."

"It can even set up formations!?" Yan Shaozhe's eyes widened.

Holy crap, the potential is infinite!

"The eighth evolution is called Immortal Bamboo." He took a deep breath: "It possesses an extremely strong regenerative ability; as long as a single bamboo root remains, it can be reborn."

Why did he have to say it out loud?

It was mainly to let the other party know his potential.

Increase the allocation of high-tier resources for his cultivation.

Only in this way could he rapidly increase his Soul Power in the shortest amount of time and contract more Contract Beasts.

In any case, Guzhu was merely his first Contract Beast.

It was just a card played in advance, a lure.

As for the Contract Beasts of the future, he certainly wouldn't be talking about them.

After all, he wasn't a fool.