Game Rollback

The moment their palms lightly touched, the Fate Wheel silently began to turn deep within Chen An's consciousness without any warning.

The prompt that appeared was exactly the same as when he had touched Xie Xie.

--Obtain the corresponding growth path?

After exchanging a few polite farewells with Mu Chen, Cen Yue, and the other Blacksmith Association blacksmiths, he turned and headed out with Tang Wulin.

Just as they were about to step out of the Blacksmith Association's entrance, Cen Yue hurried after them, holding two palm-sized, exquisitely crafted communication Soul Tools.

"Wait. These are the communication Soul Tools issued by the association. If forging assignments come in or we need to notify you to collect materials, we'll contact you through these. Keep them safe."

Cen Yue leaned closer and added in a low voice, "These are normally only given out at Level Three. We're making an exception for you two."

Tang Wulin quickly accepted them, her fingertips rubbing over the cool Soul Tool casing, her eyes filled with novelty.

On the way back, Tang Wulin never asked Chen An about his conversation with Mu Xi earlier.

At that moment, her thoughts were entirely occupied by her forging practice, the growth of her Soul Power, and the path she would take in the future.

The two returned to Eastsea Academy side by side, chatting casually along the way. By the time they reached campus, dusk had already fallen.

Beneath the dormitory building, the evening breeze brushed through the treetops, carrying a soft rustling sound.

"Then I'm heading back to the girls' dormitory. See you tomorrow." Tang Wulin waved to Chen An.

"Mm. Good night."

Tang Wulin turned and left.

Chen An stood downstairs without immediately entering the boys' dormitory.

He suddenly turned, his gaze shooting straight toward a dim, cold corner beside the wall.

To others, it was merely an empty patch of shadow.

But only Chen An knew that a familiar figure was hiding within that emptiness.

A strand of icy spiritual intent pierced through the void and entered Chen An's mind directly. It was Demon Spirit's voice.

[I'm back.]

He had returned, which meant Gu Yue would arrive at Eastsea Academy tomorrow.

Chen An withdrew his gaze and walked into the boys' dormitory.

The instant he pushed open the dorm room door, three pairs of eyes immediately fixed on him.

Chen An glanced over them. "I went to the Blacksmith Association. What is it?"

Wang Jinxi sat on the edge of his bed, his expression still carrying some of the shock from yesterday's battle. He spoke first, his tone frank.

"Chen An, I really didn't expect your strength to completely crush mine."

Zhang Yangzi had a steady temperament. He frowned slightly, his expression full of sincerity.

"I'm very curious. How exactly did you do it? Forget the fact that such a gap in strength should be nearly impossible among people of the same level—your martial soul even defeated us across levels."

The bruises on Wei Xiaofeng's face had yet to fully fade, and the marks left by their sparring session during the day remained striking. He wore a miserable expression, his lips pressed tightly together. He said nothing, merely stared at Chen An in silence.

Facing their questions, Chen An casually brushed them off, attributing it to the traits of his martial soul and some guidance he had received before. He had no desire to explain further.

After that, he stopped responding, washed up briefly, lay back on his bed, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

His consciousness sank, and he opened his eyes once more.

Chen An felt as though his body was unbearably heavy.

It was still that mist-shrouded Star Dou Great Forest, with a narrow, winding forest path stretching before him.

Chen An recognized it. It was the same as yesterday.

"Why is there a second stage?"

Having the same dream twice was not a good sign.

Na'er's figure immediately surfaced in Chen An's mind. His pace quickened involuntarily as he passed through layer after layer of white mist and headed toward Life Lake.

From afar, he saw the familiar back of a young girl, but he did not approach rashly.

He pondered quietly, wondering why he kept falling into the same dream.

"Could this be Inception?"

This had never happened before. Last time, as soon as the Fate Wheel appeared, the dream had shattered immediately.

This time, he decided to be patient and remain a little longer, quietly observing how things developed.

Pale, cold moonlight spilled across the lake, and ripples shimmered over the water.

Dressed in a simple white gown, Na'er's petite figure walked step by step toward the center of the lake. With every step she took, delicate rings of ripples spread across the surface.

Halfway there, she stopped and lowered her head slightly.

Her pale violet eyes, which had previously been hollow and lifeless, suddenly regained their awareness.

"Where am I...?"

She first looked down at her reflection on the lake's surface, then raised her eyes to survey her surroundings.

The vast mist obscured most of her vision, leaving only this stretch of Life Lake clear and bright.

After a brief moment of confusion, she recognized this place as the Star Dou Great Forest and instantly understood that she was in a dream.

She simply sat down where she was, wrapped her arms around her legs, and curled into a small ball, as lonely as she had once been while wandering the streets.

Because this was a dream, she did not notice Chen An behind the distant bushes.

At the same time, the Fate Wheel Chen An had expected still had not activated.

It seemed this dream was different from the last one.

He took a deep breath, stopped hiding, reached out to part the grass in front of him, and walked toward Life Lake.

But after taking only a few steps, a phantom suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

It was the back of a young man. His appearance and build were unmistakably Chen An's own.

"What is going on?"

Chen An abruptly stopped. Before he could carefully consider the strange sight before him, the Fate Wheel in his mind began to hum and spin at high speed.

Chen An 2--Chen An 3--Chen An 4·····

Chen An suddenly opened his eyes. Daylight streamed through the dormitory window. The dream was over.

He slowly sighed.

"What the hell was that...?"

The day's classes arrived as scheduled.

During class, Ye Yingluo noticed Chen An more than once.

The young man looked absentminded, clearly distracted, yet he completed every test steadily, and his results did not suffer in the slightest.

After class ended and all the other students had left, Ye Yingluo deliberately stopped Chen An. She wanted to speak with him and learn more about this student with such strange strength.

"Chen An, wait a moment."

Faced with his teacher's questions, Chen An merely gave a calm excuse that he had something to handle and politely declined.

If any other student had acted with such an attitude, Ye Yingluo would certainly have reprimanded them harshly.

But when she recalled the young man who had defeated five opponents alone and crushed the three Two-Ring Realm Soul Masters from Class One on the training grounds yesterday, she did not force Chen An to stay.

After he left, Ye Yingluo called out to Zhang Yangzi, who had not gone far yet.

"Zhang Yangzi, you share a dormitory with Chen An. How much do you know about him?"

Zhang Yangzi frowned and answered honestly.

"I don't know much either. He's usually quiet most of the time. But I often see him eating in the cafeteria with a female classmate."

"A female classmate?" Ye Yingluo raised an eyebrow slightly.