So It Was All Tang San's Scheme! Gu Yue Realizes the Truth

Gu Yue's mind conjured up another face.

Na'er.

That innocent, naive other half she had separated from herself.

That foolish girl who had been adopted by Tang Wulin and refused to merge with her no matter what.

That idiot who had made a bet with Tang Wulin and sent her to get close to him.

No wonder.

No wonder Na'er refused to merge.

No wonder Na'er was so devoted to Tang Wulin.

It had all been a scheme.

A wave of intense nausea churned in Gu Yue's stomach.

She recalled how she had blown hot and cold toward Tang Wulin just a few days ago.

She remembered every moment she had deliberately approached him and tried to please him for the sake of that bet.

Disgusting.

It was absolutely disgusting.

Tang Wulin lay on the stretcher, covered in wounds.

He struggled to turn his head, meeting Gu Yue's gaze.

His entire body froze.

What kind of look was that?

Cold, dark, and filled with killing intent that had almost solidified into reality.

She wanted to kill him!

Why? Was it because of Lin An?

Just because he liked Lin An, she wanted to get rid of him.

Gu Yue withdrew her gaze.

She lowered her eyelashes, concealing the killing intent in her pupils bit by bit.

She could not alert the enemy.

If this was truly a trap laid by Tang San, she must not expose herself until she had the power to control her own destiny.

Regardless of what Tang San's goal was, or how vast this scheme might be.

With her here, the Dragon Queen must not come to any harm.

Otherwise, there would be no need for this world to exist.

The rain began to fall.

At first, it was just a few sparse drops, striking the concrete of the playground and splashing into dark watermarks.

Then, the rain intensified.

It was as if someone had overturned a giant basin in the sky; the rain poured down in dense sheets, stinging the skin upon impact.

"It's raining!"

"Hurry back to the classroom!"

Several students instinctively ran toward the teaching building.

Just as they took a step, a cold pressure descended like a mountain.

Wu Zhangkong stood where he was.

His white clothes were soaked by the rain, clinging to his body and highlighting the sharp lines of his shoulders and back.

His expression remained unchanged, his gaze sweeping over the restless students like ice blades across a throat.

"Stop."

The two words were not loud, yet they nailed everyone to the spot.

"If you can't even handle a little rain, what kind of soul master do you expect to be?"

His voice was piercingly clear amidst the curtain of rain.

No one dared to move.

The students who had run out lowered their heads and retreated, rainwater streaming down their hair, their school uniforms soaked and clinging to their bodies, their lips turning pale from the cold.

Nearly a hundred people stood on the playground in the torrential rain, like silent stone statues.

Lin An stood among the crowd.

Seven-colored radiance swirled as the Rainbow Light Shield kept the rain at bay.

His body was dry, his shirt was perfectly smooth, and not even his hair had been dampened.

Several students nearby, soaked to the bone, stole glances at him, their eyes filled with envy.

"Continue training," Wu Zhangkong's voice cut through the curtain of rain. "Next group."

Lin An fought two more matches after that.

His opponents were two Power Attack System soul masters, one at level eleven and the other at level twelve.

When they stepped onto the arena, their expressions had already collapsed.

It wasn't fear.

It was just bizarre.

It was too bizarre.

When the first opponent released his soul skill, his soul power took a strange turn in his meridians, inexplicably misfiring and causing the skill to fizzle out.

He turned red in the face and tried again.

This time the soul skill released, but the aim was ridiculously off.

A blade of light flew past Lin An's left shoulder by three meters, nearly clipping a spectator off the stage.

The second opponent was even more straightforward.

He didn't even attempt to use a soul skill.

Because he had looked up at the sky.

Lightning was faintly rolling within the clouds.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about beating Lin An.

But what if he won? What if he got struck by a bolt of lightning himself?

For the sake of his own life.

"I forfeit," the first person raised his hand.

"I forfeit too," the second person followed immediately, speaking twice as fast as usual.

The speed at which the two jumped off the arena was as if they were fleeing.

Lin An stood on the stage, his fists still clenched, his shield still glowing, seven-colored radiance swirling around his body—

But his opponents were gone.

His expression shifted from anticipation to confusion, and from confusion to frustration.

Was this a fixed match?

The thought bubbled up uncontrollably.

In the first match, Zhou Changxi had tripped and knocked himself out.

In the second match, Li Chushui had been struck by lightning.

In the third and fourth matches, his opponents had just swung at the air a few times before surrendering, never even touching his shield.

Had his dad bribed the academy in advance?

The more Lin An thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Based on his understanding of his old man, this was something he would absolutely do.

"Can you guys have some backbone?"

"Getting corrupted by money so easily."

No one answered from below the stage.

The two students who had been called out silently turned their faces away, pretending to admire the scenery.

Then, the finalists were announced.

Lin An saw the name of his next opponent.

Gu Yue.

His expression stiffened slightly.

Heaven's Favor could influence ordinary students, but it couldn't influence the Co-Lord of Soul Beasts.

She was the Silver Dragon King herself, having lived for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, with cultivation depth unfathomable and luck likely equal to or greater than his own.

Lin An looked up at the silver-haired girl across from him.

Gu Yue had already stepped onto the arena.

The rain had soaked her through, her long silver hair clinging to her cheeks and shoulders, water droplets dripping from the tips.

Her school uniform clung to her body, outlining her slender silhouette.

She didn't even bother to wipe herself off, just stood there, staring at Lin An without moving.

Lin An felt a bit unnerved by her gaze.

What was this silly dragon plotting now?

He calculated rapidly—

He was well aware that Gu Yue had a favorable impression of him.

But affection was one thing; on the arena stage, blades had no eyes.

Moreover, the way Gu Yue had just attacked Tang Wulin was ruthless, unleashing elemental bombardments as if they cost nothing, leaving him battered and bruised.

He hoped that, for the sake of the meals he had treated her to, she would go easy on him.

Lin An swallowed hard, secretly cranking his Rainbow Light Shield to maximum defense.

Every gaze below the stage was focused on this duel.

Gu Yue's strength had already been demonstrated.

Fire, ice shards, wind blades—she wielded elemental power with effortless ease, forcing Xie Xie to concede without even needing to use her spirit rings.

As for Lin An, although his track record was bizarre, he hadn't made a single move from start to finish, winning entirely on luck.

When these two clashed, what would actually happen?

Rain lashed the ground, splashing up dense sprays of water.

The tension in the air solidified, pressing down until everyone held their breath.

Gu Yue stood motionless.

Lin An remained on high alert.

Ten seconds passed.

Gu Yue still hadn't moved.

She just stood there, the rain hitting her body and evaporating into white mist from her spirit power, swirling around her.

Lin An's heart climbed higher and higher—

She isn't charging up some ultimate move, is she?

Can my fragile frame even withstand that?

Then, Gu Yue spoke.

Her voice cut through the curtain of rain, passed through the Rainbow Light Shield, and reached Lin An's ears with perfect clarity.

"I forfeit."

Three words.

The entire arena went silent for a heartbeat, then erupted.

"Forfeit?!"

"She's forfeiting? She just beat Tang Wulin to a pulp, and now she's just forfeiting against Lin An?"

"This is way too obvious of a throw!"

"Throw? This is a total washout!"

The buzzing of discussions filled the air, and disbelief was written on everyone's faces.

When Gu Yue fought Tang Wulin just moments ago, she was ruthless and merciless, her elemental bombardment overwhelming.

Now, facing Lin An, she was forfeiting without even throwing a single strike?

Wu Zhangkong's brows furrowed instantly.

"Gu Yue, give me a reason."

His voice was like tempered ice.

He hated fixed matches more than anything, and he hated deception in his class even more.