The Second Contracted Beast, Jade Green Bird

"Hiss!"

The Datura Snake flicked its tail in excitement, immediately darting out its pink tongue to catch the scents drifting through the forest.

Within two seconds, it nimbly scaled a towering tree, bypassed the vines coiled around the trunk, and reached the canopy, quickly locking onto the scent, and even pinpointing a cyan figure in the sky.

It climbed down the ancient tree and signaled to Xia Yan, "Hiss!"

Follow me!

Xia Yan understood its intent and immediately followed.

Half an hour later, at a sheer cliff face with a terrifying thousand-meter drop, various plants grew along the rock wall, yet they could not conceal the sharp, vertical intensity of the precipice, which looked as if it had been carved by a giant blade.

Xia Yan and the Datura Snake hid within the shrubbery, watching the dozen or so large cyan birds resting on the jagged peak of the cliff ahead.

They were slender yet sturdy, radiating a sense of power, with extremely sharp beaks and deep, jewel-like cyan pupils.

The largest among them, standing over three meters tall, was estimated to be over two thousand years old, while the weakest appeared to be just over a hundred years old, barely half a meter in height.

Xia Yan noticed one particular Jade Green Bird with a graceful posture, it was just about a thousand years old.

That's the one!

Without hesitation, Xia Yan immediately summoned the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, locking onto that specific soul beast.

"Shu!?"

"Shu-shu!!"

The Demon Suppressing Pagoda flew into mid-air, expanding several times its size, naturally startling the flock of Jade Green Birds.

They did not flee immediately, but instead assumed an aggressive stance.

But to their surprise, the Demon Suppressing Pagoda hovered in the air and suddenly erupted with a massive suction force; the graceful thousand-year-old Jade Green Bird didn't even have time to resist

before it was pulled into the pagoda.

"Shu--!"

The Demon Suppressing Pagoda then vanished.

The remaining Jade Green Birds were completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Shu-shu?!"

"Shu!!"

This was a bizarre sight they had never encountered before, leaving the Jade Green Birds utterly helpless and unsure of how to react, forcing them to rely on their survival instincts.

But their survival instincts told them it was time to use their survival speed!

A faint cyan light shimmered over their bodies, and in an instant, they vanished into the horizon.

At the same time, back inside the pagoda, Xia Yan's aura began to climb rapidly, his soul power breaking through the level twenty barrier—twenty-one, twenty-two...

It finally stopped at level twenty-three and a half.

His physique became more slender, his muscle definition clearer, and his skin turned fairer.

Beside Xia Yan, the Datura Snake's aura was also soaring, quickly breaking through seven hundred years, eight hundred years, and skyrocketing straight to one thousand one hundred years!

It left behind a snakeskin on the ground; its original seven-meter-long dark green body had shrunk back to one meter, and its scales had even turned a deep crimson.

This was not a sign of weakness; on the contrary, it was the symbol of entering the millennium rank! A symbol of power!

"Hiss!!"

Stronger!

At the very moment Xia Yan's aura climbed, the second floor of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda was opened.

Where there was once only void, now, under a vast and lofty clear sky, lay countless shattered cliffs and precipices, with winds from unknown origins blowing against the plants clinging to the rock faces, seemingly never to cease.

The cliffs varied in shape and style—some were as wide as flat plains, others as sharp as stone blades; some were covered in blooming flowers and lush forests, while others were eroded by the wind, barren and devoid of life.

The figure of the Jade Green Bird was flapping its wings in the sky; this was its territory, its domain.

"Screech!!"

The cry was piercing, drowning out the whistling wind.

Below, on a cliff as wide as a flat plain, Xia Yan and the Datura Snake coiled around him appeared without a sound.

Xia Yan gazed into the distance, a breeze blowing against him from time to time, fluttering the hem of his shirt.

He clenched his left hand, the muscle lines on his forearm becoming more defined and taut; his body felt light, his soul power circulated faster, and his meridians were tougher.

Compared to improvements that required day-by-day accumulation, this sudden change was much easier to perceive.

Of course, this was not entirely due to the increase in soul power.

It was more a result of the all-around physical enhancement brought by the Datura Snake's upgrade and the contract with the Jade Green Bird, including strength, speed, and reaction time—all of which would continue to grow as the soul beasts matured.

In other words, by the time the Datura Snake and the others reached one hundred thousand years, Xia Yan would be able to easily defeat ordinary soul masters relying solely on his physical strength, without even using soul power.

At the same time, the Jade Green Bird had also brought him an additional boost in speed; it was not an active or passive soul skill, but a simple, permanent attribute increase.

And then there was the soul skill:

Jade Shadow Flowing Light.

A fifty percent increase in speed—it was a buff-type soul skill.

Xia Yan was not surprised; it was entirely within his expectations.

However, in his mind, the power of Snake Shadow Binding had also increased.

The range, the strength of the snake shadows, their tenacity, and the toxins...

Everything had been enhanced across the board.

So, soul skills could evolve?

"Hiss hiss!!"

Just as he was thinking this, the crimson Datura Snake coiled around Xia Yan tapped his back with its tail: "Hiss hiss!"

It was here!

The Jade Green Bird landed one meter in front of Xia Yan, meekly lowering its head to show submission.

"Screech~"

Xia Yan reached out to stroke its cyan feathers; the texture was as delicate and smooth as silk, yet incredibly tough.

The Datura Snake crawled across Xia Yan's arm, burrowing into the green plumage until it vanished from sight.

"Hiss hiss!"

One could only hear its excited chirping as it crawled about; clearly, it loved the silk-like green feathers very much.

Only:

"Screech, screech!"

It's so ticklish!

Above the Star Dou Great Forest, a cyan figure cut through the sky.

"Hiss--!"

Xia Yan sat on the back of the Jade Green Bird, the wind whistling past his ears, his black hair dancing wildly.

The Datura Snake was tightly coiled around his arm, its head pressed against his chest; it was clearly a bit nervous, but it was also obvious, this was thrilling, and it loved it.

Two days later, Notting Academy.

In the dean's office, before a black desk, the dean in a brown robe looked on with eyes full of pride and reluctance:

"You reached the cultivation level required for graduation long ago, and the academy truly has nothing left to teach you..."

"Very well, I approve your graduation application."

Xia Yan said, "Many thanks, Dean."

At a junior Soul Master Academy, one could apply for graduation upon reaching the first ring. The reason Xia Yan had waited until he reached the second ring to leave was primarily because he had been too weak before.

Although he could dodge most ordinary dangers, a first-ring soul master truly possessed little strength.

Notting Academy had been able to provide a stable environment.

However, now that he had reached the second ring and become stronger, there was naturally no need to stay any longer.

The Dean smiled and shook his head: "What are you thanking me for? There isn't much I could do for you..."

"You have always had your own ideas. I assume you have already decided where you are going, haven't you?"

Xia Yan nodded: "I plan to go to an intermediate Soul Master Academy."

The Dean was not surprised. Talented students generally only went to two types of places: large sects or higher-level soul master academies.

He stamped the graduation application in his hand with a red seal and solemnly handed it to Xia Yan:

"When are you leaving?"

Xia Yan hesitated for a moment: "I will leave as soon as I submit the graduation application."

The Dean was surprised: "In such a rush?"

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your classmates?"

Xia Yan said: "No need."