Suspecting Nested Loops, but I Had No Proof

Her younger sister, Ye Yingrong, the homeroom teacher of Class Three, had somehow appeared behind her.

She too craned her head, staring at Chen An and Gu Yue in the distance. She had been watching them for quite a while.

"Sis, what are you hiding here to watch?" Ye Yingrong asked curiously.

Ye Yingluo looked slightly embarrassed and explained in a low voice.

"A student in my class named Chen An seems to have run into some kind of situation. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to approach him directly, so I'm observing in secret to learn more about him."

"Is he the kid you mentioned yesterday, the one who sent a Two-Ring Realm student flying despite only having one ring?"

At that, Ye Yingrong immediately leaned half her body out as well, following her sister's gaze toward the two figures conversing in the plaza.

"That girl is in your class too?"

"I don't know."

Gu Yue's gaze fell on Chen An. Her black eyes held scrutiny as she carefully inspected him from head to toe.

After a moment of silence, her cool voice slowly rang out.

"What's your Soul Power at now?"

Chen An understood that this was a test.

All of his bloodline abilities had come from the Roulette, so their origins were unknown by this world's standards.

Although the Dragon Scale within him shared the same origin as Gu Yue, he guessed that at most, they would resonate with each other through their auras. There was no way she could peer into his true origin.

He had broken through to Level 22 yesterday. Today, he had deliberately suppressed his Soul Power fluctuations at Level 13. Even if Gu Yue noticed something, he could simply brush it off by saying he preferred to keep a low profile.

"Level 13." Chen An calmly reported his suppressed Soul Power Level.

Gu Yue's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm listening to you."

Gu Yue clicked her tongue and paused for several seconds before speaking again. "That's not what I mean. I mean, you were Level 14 three years ago, and now you're Level 13?"

Chen An froze inwardly. He had completely forgotten about that. When he first met Na'er, he had not concealed his Soul Power at all.

"Uh, fine. I'm Level 18."

Chen An looked at Gu Yue sincerely, while Gu Yue lowered her gaze to look at him.

"Really."

There was no suspicion on her face. Instead, an undisguisable disappointment appeared.

Di Tian had once told her that Chen An's future potential was immeasurable, but setting aside the uniqueness of his bloodline, his personality and rate of progress were hardly remarkable.

Gu Yue did not intend to keep tangling with him. Changing the subject, she brought up Na'er.

It had been fine when she did not mention it, but the moment Chen An heard Na'er's name, an inexplicable itchy sensation spread over his body.

Scenes of fooling around with Na'er in the human city surfaced in his mind one after another.

"The task I gave you was to bring Na'er back."

Gu Yue's expression turned colder, and her tone carried a reprimand.

"Who allowed you to take Na'er wandering around everywhere and do all those unnecessary things? Your abilities may not be all that impressive, but you certainly have guts."

The reprimand did not put the slightest pressure on Chen An. All that replayed in his mind were the easy, happy moments he had spent with Na'er, and he could not summon even the slightest remorse.

Gu Yue keenly saw through him... well, it was written all over his face. There was not the slightest hint of repentance in his heart.

But Chen An was now one of the few remaining high-level combatants on the soul beast side.

She could only cross her arms over her chest, her face full of disdain, and reluctantly give way.

"There must not be a next time."

"Sure."

Chen An agreed readily, lowering his head to glance at the bag of snacks Mu Xi had just stuffed into his hand. "Want some?"

Gu Yue directly ignored his attempt at conversation. "There are no other tasks at the moment. Remain on standby where you are."

With that, Gu Yue said no more and turned to leave.

Watching that cool figure disappear into the distance, Chen An felt as though he had just dealt with an inspection from a superior. The tension in his heart instantly vanished, and his whole body relaxed.

"She was easier to deal with than I expected."

Just then, footsteps sounded from the cafeteria entrance.

Tang Wulin emerged after finishing dinner. At a glance, she spotted Chen An waiting where he stood and quickly walked toward him.

The two walked side by side toward the dormitories.

Behind a stone pillar, Ye Yingluo and Ye Yingrong were still peeking out, their gazes following the pair's retreating backs.

"What are you two doing here?"

A somewhat stern male voice suddenly rang out behind them.

Ye Yingluo and Ye Yingrong stiffened at the same time and whipped around.

Long Hengxu stood behind them, his brows slightly furrowed and his gaze filled with suspicion.

"N-Nothing. We were just looking around."

Ye Yingluo hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

The sisters exchanged a glance, then simply went their separate ways and left.

On the way, Tang Wulin recalled the notice she had received earlier and casually said to Chen An beside her.

"Oh, Teacher Wu Changkong arranged for me and a new girl in our class to have extra training tonight."

"Training at night too? That sounds rough."

Chen An opened the snacks Mu Xi had given him, eating as he handed Tang Wulin a portion.

Tang Wulin reached out to take it, chewing as she continued.

"Yeah. Teacher Wu Changkong said that for the Class Advancement Tournament three months from now, Class Five needs to defeat the classes ahead of us one by one."

Chen An nodded. "So that means you'll have to fight me too."

"That's right!" Tang Wulin put her hands on her hips.

Chen An laughed at her eager attitude. "I remember the Class Advancement Tournament is three-on-three. Are the two of you enough?"

"The new student's martial soul can use several kinds of elemental attacks. Even I'm no match for her. Teacher believes in them, and I believe in us too."

"Good. I'll be waiting. When the time comes, I'll give it everything I have too."

When they reached the dormitory building, it was time to part ways.

Chen An looked at the girl beside him, his tone sincere.

"Good luck. I believe in you too."

Tang Wulin lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before looking up at Chen An.

Her eyes curved into crescents. Suddenly, she stepped forward, opened her arms, and gave him a big hug.

"I'll work hard."

After the brief embrace, she released him, waved at Chen An, and turned toward the girls' dormitory building.

Chen An remained where he was, his expression calm, without the flustered, bashful look of an adolescent.

He had originally intended to leave after saying his piece, but he had not expected Tang Wulin to pull that.

Chen An's lips moved slightly, and a soft voice only he could hear drifted out.

"Why does this feel like raising a death flag?"

That night, after finishing his meditation and before falling asleep, Chen An kept thinking about what the dreams from the previous two nights had meant.

Even his talent had not told him it could have such an effect.

Could it be a psychological issue?

Chen An did not think his mentality was that fragile.

If he had the same dream for a third consecutive day, then it could no longer be treated as some vague, illusory dream.

Both times, he had exited the dream after approaching Na'er at the center of the lake. If he entered that dream again tonight, what would happen if he did not approach the lake?

He took a deep breath.

The instant he closed his eyes, all sensation vanished from his body.