Wuhun: Desert Death on the left hand, the world on the right hand

After laughing, the White Cloud clone's expression froze. He turned to Nasus and said in a heavier tone, "Nasus, we should go find Elder Sang and Elder Zhu now. Their affairs cannot be delayed any longer."

Nasus nodded, his face solemn. “You are right. If we resolve this issue one day earlier, they will be less in danger.”

The two left the Secret Realm of Time and headed straight for the Elder Hall of the White Cloud Palace. Elder Sang and Elder Zhu were playing chess, and when they saw Baiyun and Nasus coming together, they were surprised.

"Why are you two little guys here? If not for cultivation, what are you doing here?" Old Sang asked with a smile, twirling his beard, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Bai Yun and Nasus were somewhat embarrassed. They also knew that all the big and small things in the past three years had fallen on Sang Lao and Zhu Weng, and they were more or less resentful.

"Master, please stop teasing us. We are here for something really important." Bai Yun had no choice but to step forward and speak to Mr. Sang and Mr. Zhu.

Zhu Weng had a very good impression of these two disciples. They were not only gifted, but also respectful to their teachers. They were rare talents. Seeing how serious they were, he could not help but put away his joking thoughts.

"If you have anything to say, just tell me." Zhu Weng put down the chess piece in his hand and said seriously.

Sang Lao paused as he twisted his beard. His cloudy old eyes stared at the white clouds like a hawk, and he said sternly, "You are not Yun'er, who are you?"

"What?!" Zhu Weng's smiling face suddenly became serious, and his wrinkled eyes stared at Bai Yun. "No, it's Yun'er's breath, right? What's going on?"

Bai Yun then confessed his cultivation of a soul clone and explained that the clone was no different from the original body. After hearing this, Sang Lao and Zhu Weng were first in disbelief, then worried, and could not help but scolded him, "Nonsense! How can you act without consulting us on such a risky matter?" After Bai Yun explained, they suppressed their worries and asked about Bai Yun's purpose of coming here.

Bai Yun took a deep breath and pretended to be relaxed, trying to ease the upcoming heavy atmosphere in this way: "Master, Mr. Zhu, we came here this time to tell you some new discoveries about soul beast contracts."

Seeing Bai Yun being unusually serious, Mr. Sang and Mr. Zhu couldn't help but put down the chess pieces in their hands and exchanged puzzled glances with each other.

"Soul beast contract? Yun'er, do you want to..." Old Sang stroked his beard, frowned slightly, and there was a hint of inquiry in his tone.

Bai Yun paused, organized his words, and then slowly said: "Master, I want you and Elder Sang to destroy one of your spirit rings each and turn to the path of contracting spirit beasts!"

Elder Sang tapped his fingers lightly on the stone table, making a crisp sound, as if tapping on Bai Yun's heart: "Yun'er, do you think your master and I haven't considered this? It's just that we are worried that after destroying our soul rings, we will have to practice again, which will take a lot of time, and..."

"Moreover, at our age, even if we practice again, we may not be able to recover our current strength. It may even damage our foundation. The gain will not make up for the loss!" Zhu Weng took over the conversation with a hint of helplessness and bitterness in his tone.

Bai Yun and Nasus exchanged a firm look, and they both saw the dawn of hope in each other's eyes. "Master, Zhu Weng, you are right. But we found in the Secret Realm of Time this time that signing a contract with soul beasts may solve this problem." Bai Yun's voice was filled with some uncontrollable excitement.

"Solve the problem? You mean..." A sharp light flashed in Mr. Sang's turbid old eyes, as if he had vaguely guessed something.

Bai Yun nodded solemnly. "Yes, Master, Nasus and I have discovered that signing a contract with a soul beast can not only gain powerful strength, but also delay aging, and even..."

Bai Yun did not say anything else, but Mr. Sang and Mr. Zhu had already understood what he meant. They both fell silent and the atmosphere became a little solemn.

"It can even prolong your life, right?" Finally, it was Zhu Weng who broke the silence. His voice was a little hoarse, with a slight tremor that he could hardly suppress.

Bai Yun and Nasus were silent. They knew that the two teachers were reluctant to change their cultivation because they were worried that destroying their own spirit rings would mean giving up years of cultivation and starting all over again.

Nasus took a step forward and said sincerely, “Teachers, we know it is difficult for you to give up your years of cultivation, but for your future and the future of the sect, I hope you can seriously consider it.” He paused and added, “Brother Yun and I are willing to protect you and help you complete the contract.”

The gazes of Old Sang and Old Zhu were complicatedly intertwined between Baiyun and Nasus, with a mixture of relief, worry, and struggle, all kinds of emotions that were difficult to express in words.

Silence spread between the two of them. Finally, it was Elder Sang who broke the silence first. He sighed and said in a heavy tone, "We know about this matter. It's just..."

"You just can't bear to destroy your soul ring and give up your years of cultivation, right?" Bai Yun said it directly for them with a hint of anxiety between his brows.

Sang Lao and Zhu Weng smiled bitterly at each other and did not deny it. Bai Yun's words hit the deepest fear in their hearts.

"Master, Elder Sang..." Bai Yun wanted to persuade him again, but Elder Sang raised his hand to interrupt him, "Yun'er, we appreciate your kindness." Elder Sang's wrinkled face was full of fatigue, "We all know that you are doing this for our own good, but this matter... we need time to think about it carefully."

"Yes, Yun'er, Nasus, don't worry, we will seriously consider it." Zhu Weng also echoed, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

"Well... okay." Bai Yun knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he could only take a step back, "Master, Elder Sang, you must seriously consider this!"

"Yes, we will." The two nodded heavily.

"Okay, we promise you." Mr. Sang took a deep breath, as if he had finally made up his mind, "But not now, we need some time to prepare."

"No problem!" Bai Yun and Nasus looked at each other and answered in unison, with undisguised joy in their tone.

"Let the two of you host this year's enrollment ceremony. This can be seen as a preparation for you to take over the sect in the future." Zhu Weng suddenly said, with a hint of relief in his tone.

Baiyun and Nasus were stunned at first, and then a warm feeling surged in their hearts.

Bai Yun and the others understood that this was the good intention of the two elders, so they did not refuse and turned to Elder Sang and asked, "Master, Elder Sang, I have been in seclusion for cultivation before, so I am not sure how many disciples there are in Baiyun Hall now? How did you assess new disciples in previous years?"

Elder Sang stroked his graying beard, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "There are currently 32 outer disciples and 282 menial disciples in Baiyun Hall."

"Only so few people?" Bai Yun frowned slightly, obviously a little surprised by the number.

Seeing this, Zhu Weng smiled and explained, "Yun'er, you don't understand this, do you? We have always been cautious in recruiting students, and would rather have a shortage than admit unqualified people. Over the years, your master and I have insisted on personally examining every new disciple. Only those children with good conduct and strong will can enter Baiyun Hall to study."

“Oh? Then how do you judge whether the disciples have qualified character?” Upon hearing this, Nasus also became interested and couldn’t help but interrupt.

"Haha, this mainly depends on our years of judging people." Elder Sang laughed heartily, pointing at himself and Zhu Weng, and said, "Old Zhu Tou and I, one plays the good cop, the other plays the bad cop, and we carefully observe every subtle reaction of the new disciple to infer whether he is an upright and kind person."

"Then is your consciousness firm? After all, the path of cultivation is full of thorns and temptations. Without a firm will, it is difficult to reach the end." Bai Yun asked.

"That's easy," Zhu Weng took over the conversation and said confidently, "We will release the pressure from our own martial spirits to see how long they can hold out. Only those who can withstand the pressure and hold out to the end can prove that their consciousness is strong enough and they will have the possibility to go further on the road of cultivation in the future."

After listening to this, Bai Yun fell into deep thought, as if he was thinking about something.

After a moment, Bai Yun raised his head, looked at Elder Sang and Elder Zhu, and said seriously: "Master, Elder Sang, I have an idea. I want to postpone this year's assessment ceremony for three days and hold it three days later. What do you think?"

"Why is this?!" Before Mr. Sang could even open his mouth, Mr. Zhu, who was more impatient, asked first.

"I want to personally test these new disciples this year, so I need some time to prepare," Bai Yun explained.

Old Sang and Mr. Zhu looked at each other and saw a hint of relief in each other's eyes.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Elder Sang nodded with a smile, his eyes full of praise. "In the next three days, Old Zhutou and I will notify all the registered disciples and ask them to prepare in advance."

"Thank you very much, Master Sang and Master," Baiyun and Nasus said in unison.

"By the way, Yun'er, how do you plan to evaluate them? I, an old man, can't wait any longer." Zhu Weng stroked his beard and asked with interest.

Bai Yun blinked slyly and said mysteriously, "Master, Master Sang, you will know when the time comes." After that, he pulled the still confused Nasus towards the direction of the Secret Realm of Time without saying anything.