The Half-Year Agreement!

Yan Shaozhe remained silent for a long time.

Good heavens, is he really that monstrous?

Then, he asked, "What about the ninth evolution?"

Bai Lan looked at him and spoke slowly, "The ninth evolution is called Primordial Chaos Bamboo. It can take root in the void, form its own domain, and devour all energy to convert it into chaos energy."

The office fell into a long, heavy silence.

Yan Shaozhe leaned back in his chair, looking at the six-year-old child before him with a complex gaze.

Everything he had just described, even just hearing it, made one feel the sheer weight of it.

From the most ordinary bamboo, evolving step by step, until finally taking root in the void to form a domain and devouring chaos.

How could this be a mere bamboo?

This was a plant-type Soul Beast with god-level potential!

"Can you be certain that all these evolutionary paths are achievable?" Yan Shaozhe asked.

Bai Lan shook his head, "I cannot be entirely certain, but this is what the information from the Contract Book currently indicates."

Yan Shaozhe nodded.

He did not press further.

As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, he had seen far too many geniuses.

Some had extraordinary talent but lacked the right temperament.

Some had a resilient temperament but limited talent.

Some possessed both, yet got stuck at a certain bottleneck, unable to make any progress for the rest of their lives.

But Bai Lan was different.

His talent was not just good or very good; it was limitless.

As long as he could keep walking this path, as long as he could contract sufficiently powerful Soul Beasts, and as long as he could complete his evolutions time and time again.

This person's future was immeasurable.

"I understand."

"Starting today, you will be placed on the outer courtyard's priority cultivation list."

"You will receive additional cultivation resources every month, have a dedicated teacher to guide your training, and you may come to me directly if you encounter any problems."

Yan Shaozhe stood up.

Bai Lan rose and bowed, "Thank you, Dean."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, signaling him to sit, while he walked to the window and gazed outside.

"After you reach level twenty, I will take you to a place."

He said, his voice sounding somewhat distant, "There is a Soul Beast there that is very suitable to be your second Contract Beast."

Bai Lan couldn't help but ask, "What kind of Soul Beast is it?"

Yan Shaozhe turned back to look at him, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

"A Soul Beast that possesses spatial abilities."

Spatial abilities?

Bai Lan's heart began to race.

This was incredible.

Yan Shaozhe watched his expression and shook his head with a smile.

"Don't get too excited yet."

"Although that Soul Beast meets the condition of having 'no power to resist,' contracting it won't be that easy."

"We will discuss the specific operations once you reach level twenty."

He walked back behind his desk and sat down again.

"How long do you think it will take you to break through to level twenty?" Yan Shaozhe asked.

Bai Lan thought for a moment.

He was currently at level eleven.

From level eleven to level twenty, that was a total of nine levels.

For an ordinary Soul Master, this would indeed take several years.

But he was not an ordinary Soul Master.

The cultivation speed of Innate Full Soul Power was already far beyond that of an average person.

The Contract Book came with a Contract Space, and the cultivation of his Contract Beast would provide synchronized feedback to him, which was equivalent to two people cultivating at the same time.

Plus, with the priority resources from Shrek...

"About half a year," Bai Lan thought for a moment before finally saying.

Yan Shaozhe raised an eyebrow: "About half a year?"

Bai Lan nodded: "Six months at most to break through to level twenty."

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

His gaze became even more profound.

"Breaking through to level twenty in half a year, jumping nine levels starting from level eleven."

He said slowly: "Bai Lan, do you know what this means?"

Bai Lan nodded: "It means I need to improve by an average of one and a half levels every month for the next six months."

"More than that." Yan Shaozhe stood up and walked to the window: "Soul Power cultivation is not a math problem; it gets slower the further you go. Going from level eleven to fifteen might take half a year, but going from fifteen to twenty takes many people a year or even longer."

He turned back to look at Bai Lan: "What makes you think you can do it in half a year?"

Bai Lan did not rush to answer.

He was silent for a few seconds, then raised his hand, and the Contract Book appeared in his palm.

"Because of this."

Yan Shaozhe's gaze fell upon the illusory book.

"The Dean just said that I am equivalent to two people cultivating at the same time," Bai Lan said, "but actually, it's more than that."

He flipped open the pages, and the three characters for Iron Core Bamboo were clearly visible on the first page.

"My Contract Beast can cultivate autonomously within the Contract Space."

He explained: "A portion of the Soul Power it cultivates is fed back to me, and conversely, when I cultivate, it drives its growth as well."

"It's bidirectional."

Yan Shaozhe's eyes flickered.

"And," Bai Lan continued, "the true form of the Iron Core Bamboo is a plant-type soul beast. It inherently possesses the instincts of Photosynthesis and growth. As long as there is sunlight and Soul Power, it can grow slowly on its own."

He looked up at Yan Shaozhe: "So strictly speaking, I am not cultivating as two people, but two and a half."

Yan Shaozhe was silent for a moment.

Then, he smiled.

"Two and a half..." He shook his head: "This kind of cultivation efficiency is truly unheard of."

He walked back behind his desk, took a sheet of paper from the drawer, and spread it out on the desktop.

"Half a year, right?" He picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on the paper: "Then let's set a six-month plan."

Bai Lan leaned in to look.

On the paper was written:

[Bai Lan's Cultivation Plan: Break through to level twenty in six months]

Phase One (Level 11→15): Two months One Soul Gathering Pill daily One-on-one guidance once a week (provided by high-level teachers from the Martial Soul Department) Practical assessment once a month (opponents will gradually increase in difficulty from the Junior Class)

Phase Two (Level 15→18): Two months Double the Soul Gathering Pills, two per day Increase the frequency of practical training Enter the Simulated Soul Beast Forest for survival training

Phase Three (Level 18→20): Two months Full allocation of resources Personal guidance from Yan Shaozhe Enter seclusion during the final month

Yan Shaozhe finished writing, put down the pen, and looked at Bai Lan: "Any objections?"

Bai Lan read it carefully and shook his head: "None."

"Then it's settled." Yan Shaozhe folded the paper and put it into the drawer: "Starting tomorrow, the first phase will begin, and I will have the teacher in charge find you."

Bai Lan stood up and bowed solemnly: "Thank you, Dean."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand: "Don't be in such a hurry to thank me. If you don't reach level twenty in half a year, I will be disappointed."

Bai Lan smiled: "I won't let the Dean down."

When he came out of the Dean's office, the sky had already darkened.

Bai Lan held the wooden box filled with Soul Gathering Pills as he walked back to his dormitory.

The night breeze was cool, rustling the leaves along the path with a soft, whispering sound.

As he walked, he calculated his plans in his mind.

Breaking through to level twenty in half a year was the goal he had set for himself.

It sounded wild, but he knew exactly what he was doing.

Having read countless web novels in his past life, he understood one simple truth.

In the face of a cheat, so-called common sense was meant to be broken.

The dual-way cultivation of the Contract Book, the plant instincts of the Iron Core Bamboo, the talent advantage of Innate Full Soul Power, plus the priority training from Shrek...

With these four buffs stacked together, it would be a waste if he still cultivated at a standard pace.