As time passed,
in the days that followed, Jiang Nannan brought
a little more color to Lu Ran's life.
Besides cultivating, eating, and relieving his urges, he also started visiting the Outer Academy to spend time with Jiang Nannan,
strolling around together, cultivating together, and counting the stars.
Lu Ran and Jiang Nannan lay on the soft grass. Fireflies drifted around them, their warm light flickering softly. Shrek City blazed with lights in the distance, and stars dotted the sky.
Jiang Nannan rested her head on Lu Ran's arm,
curling up against him.
This was where Soul Power came in handy. Without it, Lu Ran's arm would lose circulation and go numb in less than ten minutes,
forcing him to change positions.
But now, even after half an hour, he wouldn't feel the slightest discomfort.
"Nannan, what year are you in now?"
Lu Ran gently played with her hair, which carried her natural fragrance.
Jiang Nannan's voice was soft. "Third year."
Third year...
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Didn't that mean Huo Yuhao would be enrolling next year?
Ah... time really flew. Three years had passed in the blink of an eye...
"Then we can be classmates next year."
"Really?!"
Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up. Excited, she wrapped her arms around Lu Ran and pressed herself close to him. "Then wouldn't I be your... senior?"
Clinging to Lu Ran, she teased him:
"Come on, call me Senior. Come on..."
As she squirmed, her long hair fell in a tousled cascade.
Now it was Lu Ran's turn to make a fuss. He raised the corners of his mouth smugly.
"Not a chance!"
"No, no... Hurry up and say it, say it, say it..."
As they playfully tussled, Jiang Nannan suddenly remembered something else and stopped.
"By the way, are you going to challenge Bei Bei?"
Lu Ran was baffled. "What do you mean?"
"When did I ever say I was going to challenge Bei Bei?"
Where had that come from?
Jiang Nannan explained, "Someone asked me to bring it up with you a couple of days ago, but I have to keep their name secret."
She couldn't say.
"..."
Lu Ran glanced at her, his eyes gentler than moonlight.
In that instant,
everything suddenly made sense.
No wonder Tang Ya had glared at him through gritted teeth that day. So that was it.
"Go back and tell Tang Ya I have no interest in beating Bei Bei."
Jiang Nannan was taken aback again, disbelief filling her eyes.
She thought back to what she'd just said.
She hadn't mentioned Tang Ya's name, had she?!
"How did you know?"
Lu Ran tilted his head back and gazed at the moon high in the night sky, its pale blue glow forming a faint halo.
"Heh. Isn't it only natural that I'd know?"
"Come on, tell me. Please, please tell me~"
Jiang Nannan rubbed her pretty face against his chest, coaxing him.
"Just tell me..."
"I won't."
Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "You won't?"
"Then I'll steal all your warmth!"
With that,
she clung to Lu Ran like an octopus, her long, shapely legs wrapped around his, her whole body pressed tightly against him.
She rubbed herself against him.
Crickets chirped in the grass.
"Xiao Ran, have you decided which Soul Beast you'll contract next?"
The following morning,
at Sea God Pavilion,
Yan Shaozhe paid him a visit.
Lu Ran considered it. "I have. The next one will be a fire-attribute Soul Beast."
Of the four basic elements—earth, water, and wind were already covered. Only fire was left.
He wondered which elements fire could combine with.
"And have you decided on the fifth Soul Beast?"
Yan Shaozhe pressed on.
Lu Ran was a little confused, but answered anyway.
"Preferably one with a light or dark attribute. They're both high-level attributes."
Light-attribute Soul Beasts were rare, but Shrek Academy could still find them. Dark-attribute ones were comparatively scarce. Lu Ran only knew of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and the Dark Sacred Dragon. But the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Tang San had absorbed seemed to have been the last of its kind.
There had been no news of one in ten thousand years.
As for the Dark Sacred Dragon, that was even more hopeless. It probably wouldn't show up for another twenty thousand years.
Yan Shaozhe understood and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. He hadn't become obsessed.
"Don't worry. The Academy will do everything it can to help you find one."
Then he abruptly changed the subject.
"Xiao Ran, do you know how the Tang Sect declined?"
Hm?
What did he mean?
Lu Ran blinked.
"You should know that the Tang Sect was once no less powerful than our Shrek Academy. Their peerless Hidden Weapons gave them influence across the entire continent."
Lu Ran nodded blankly.
Of course he knew all that. But why was Yan Shaozhe suddenly bringing it up?
Yan Shaozhe spoke earnestly.
"But
they kept trying to restore Blue Silver Grass to its former glory, using all kinds of methods. In the end...
I'm sure you know they failed."
Lu Ran thought, Of course. An ugly duckling can grow into a swan because it was a swan to begin with.
He'd never heard of a purebred wild chicken turning into a phoenix.
Yan Shaozhe continued.
"More than five hundred years ago, the Tang Sect, already in decline for many years, gathered its last resources and prepared to take one final gamble. They poured everything into cultivating someone with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul,
hoping to claw their way back from the brink."
"But it ended in total disaster. They lost everything, and barely anyone was left in the entire sect."
He paused.
"—All because the Tang Sect stubbornly stuck with Blue Silver Grass..."
He looked at Lu Ran with deep concern. "Xiao Ran, Blue Silver Grass is indeed a legendary plant, but there are plenty of other Plant-type Soul Beasts that meet your requirements. If you want one, Dean Yan can find it for you. There's no need to contract Blue Silver Grass."
"Ah..."
Lu Ran's mouth twitched.
So that was what Yan Shaozhe meant.
He'd assumed Lu Ran wanted to contract Blue Silver Grass?
Lu Ran sighed helplessly.
"Dean Yan, I know Blue Silver Grass well. I'm not under any illusions about how powerful it is."
If he were going to contract one, he'd definitely choose the Blue Silver Emperor.
He wouldn't settle for ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
"However,"
Lu Ran continued, "I really have been paying close attention to Blue Silver Grass lately,
but for other reasons."
He looked out the window at the Blue Silver Grass leaves swaying in the breeze, his expression turning serious. "I wasn't trying to hide anything. And please don't worry, Dean Yan. In a year and a half at most, or perhaps two years, I'll give you an explanation.
By then, you'll understand why."
Seeing Lu Ran's confidence, Yan Shaozhe thought it over. The boy had always been decisive and full of ideas.
Had he misunderstood him?
His worries gradually faded.
"Very well. Dean Yan trusts you."
After Yan Shaozhe left,
Lu Ran's thoughts stirred, and he entered the Small World.
Before him stretched a sea of blooming Blue Silver Grass. Sturdy roots sprawled through the rich soil, bearing emerald leaves and tiny pale-blue flowers.
The petals were delicate, thin as a cicada's wings.
At first, he had thought Blue Silver Grass couldn't bloom. It wasn't until he saw it with his own eyes that he realized:
Blue Silver Grass could flower.
What an incredible discovery.
Not far away, Green Wood Vine grew in abundance. Thick tendrils wound around towering trees, bearing enormous white blossoms.
Their fragrance was faint.
The scent of an entire patch of Blue Silver Grass couldn't compare to that of a few Green Wood Vines.
Lu Ran went over to the Green Wood Vine.
With a light touch of his toes, he landed on a branch of the ancient tree.
He took a small white brush and a Walnut Wood Box from his Storage Soul Tool.
Then, facing the Green Wood Vine's stamens,
he gently brushed off the fluffy, pale-yellow pollen, rich with life force,
and collected it in the little wooden box.
Before you continue