You're Really a Girl? Incredible!

The light faded, and Ye Zhiqiu and Dong Qianqiu reappeared on a street on Heaven Dou Star.

The two stood where they were and exchanged a glance.

Dong Qianqiu blinked, then looked down at her hands. Once she was sure she had returned, she let out a long breath.

"Was that... real?" she asked.

"It should have been," Ye Zhiqiu said.

"We really got summoned to Tianluo Star?"

"Looks that way."

Dong Qianqiu fell silent for a while, digesting this information. Then something suddenly occurred to her. "That girl named Lan Xuanyu... she said her classmate pulled us over using a Summoning Gate. Is summoning someone across planets even possible?"

Ye Zhiqiu did not answer immediately.

Of course he knew what had happened. Lan Xuanyu's gold-patterned blue silver grass and silver-patterned blue silver grass, combined with the bloodline resonance between her and Nana, had caused this interstellar spatial Isotopic Resonance.

But he could not tell her that outright.

"Not very likely." Ye Zhiqiu weighed his words before continuing:

"Opening a spatial passage across interstellar distances would consume an astronomical amount of energy. With the strength of a few One-Ring Soul Masters, they should have no way of doing it."

"Then why..."

"That's why we need to ask Teacher Nana," Ye Zhiqiu said.

Dong Qianqiu nodded at that. Without lingering any longer, the two turned and headed back toward Nana's dormitory.

Nana's dormitory was in a small detached villa on the academy grounds. It was quiet and secluded, and few people usually came by.

The door was unlocked. Nana was sitting on the living room sofa with a glass of water in her hand, her silvery-white French braid draped beside her shoulder.

When she saw the two push open the door and enter, she put down her glass and swept her gaze over their faces.

"Why are you back?"

After all, Ye Zhiqiu and Dong Qianqiu had only just left.

Dong Qianqiu hurried over and recounted everything from beginning to end: how a gate of light had suddenly appeared on the ground as they were walking, how they had been dragged into a place called "Douluo World," how they had met three children around her age, fought a pack of Lava Hounds, and then been teleported back.

"They said it was Tianluo Star." Looking baffled, with a touch of innocent charm, Dong Qianqiu continued, "They actually summoned both of us over there. They even said it was some mystery of space. Is that possible?"

Nana's brows furrowed slightly, and she did not answer right away. After a moment of silence, she slowly said, "According to what you've told me, they were merely a few children your age with one-ring cultivation. With their strength, opening a spatial passage over a long distance would naturally be utterly impossible. Opening one across interstellar distances, over such a vast span, would consume an astronomical amount of energy."

She paused before continuing, "Then there's only one possibility. It was a resonance produced by spatial Isotopic Resonance. That requires coincidence, rather than opening a passage directly through energy. Only that could have brought about this situation."

"Spatial Isotopic Resonance?" Dong Qianqiu repeated the term, clearly not quite understanding it.

"Don't rush. Tell me exactly what happened again," Nana said.

Dong Qianqiu nodded and carefully described once more how she had been summoned over and fought alongside those three.

Nana listened intently without interrupting.

"That child who used the grass with silver patterns..." Nana suddenly spoke, continuing, "Was she a very pretty little girl with black hair and blue eyes?"

Dong Qianqiu thought for a moment. "She was pretty. How did you know?"

At that, Nana's expression became somewhat subtle.

Was it really Xuan Yu?

Standing beside her, Ye Zhiqiu watched the changes in Nana's expression and understood everything perfectly.

"What was her name?" Nana asked.

Ye Zhiqiu answered, "Lan Xuanyu."

Nana's fingers twitched slightly.

It really was Xuan Yu.

That child she had felt especially close to from their very first meeting, the child who had banished the emptiness in her heart, the child she often thought of after they parted.

She had always known she was being watched, and she had always known she should not disturb that child's life.

She had stayed here, waiting for Lan Xuanyu to come find her someday. She had never expected to regain contact in such a way.

"Teacher Nana, what's wrong?" Seeing her remain silent for so long, Dong Qianqiu could not help asking.

Nana came back to herself, her gaze focusing on Dong Qianqiu's face again. "You said the child who used the grass with silver patterns was named Lan Xuanyu."

"Yes, she told us herself."

Nana fell silent for a while before saying, "When I was on Tianluo Star, I worked as a private tutor for a time. That child... was Lan Xuanyu."

Dong Qianqiu froze at her words.

"You know her, Teacher?"

"Yes."

"Then why is she on Tianluo Star?" Dong Qianqiu looked puzzled. "She looks about our age."

Nana shook her head. "It's a long story. I'll tell you when we have a chance."

She changed the subject and looked at Dong Qianqiu. "Qianqiu, if they summon you again, go over and ask that child who uses the grass with silver patterns whether she knows Nana."

"Oh, sure." Dong Qianqiu nodded, then asked, "So you want me to confirm who she is, Teacher?"

"Confirm that first. We'll discuss the rest afterward."

Nana narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly considering something. A moment later, she added, "Stay here with me for now. If they summon you again, I'll be able to observe that Summoning Gate."

"Okay." Dong Qianqiu nodded in agreement.

Ye Zhiqiu stood to the side and watched the entire exchange.

Of course he knew what Nana was thinking. Lan Xuanyu was her daughter. Although she had memories, the pull of blood could not lie. Dong Qianqiu had most likely been summoned because Nana had been beside her. Lan Xuanyu's silver-patterned blue silver grass carried the aura of a dragon bloodline, and the coincidence of spatial Isotopic Resonance had dragged Dong Qianqiu away from Nana's side.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

On Tianluo Star, at the exit of the Douluo World training grounds.

Lan Xuanyu, Qian Lei, and Liu Feng emerged from their virtual pods and stood before the counter. The staff had already finished calculating their rewards.

Qian Lei picked up the Douluo Coin and turned it over in his hands, looking a little disappointed. "All that work, and we only get a third of a coin each?"

"You should be glad you got anything. What more do you want?" Liu Feng said irritably beside him.

Lan Xuanyu did not join in. She stood beside the counter, her mind still on what had just happened.

That gate of light, the girl summoned from Heaven Dou Star, and the boy named Ye Zhiqiu.

Qian Lei said, "Why don't we try again and see if we can summon them?"

Liu Feng thought for a moment. "We can try, but watch what you say. If Ye Zhiqiu really eliminates you, you'll have nothing to complain about."

Lan Xuanyu said, "Exactly. Besides, if we build a good relationship with them, we'll have another helper or two when it's time for the assessment."

"Okay, okay, I know."

Afterward, they applied for the beginner assessment again.

Light flashed, and they were back in the arena. That made things simple: the setting was exactly the same as before, and even their opponents were identical.

Without hesitation, Qian Lei immediately cast out his Summoning Gate. Lan Xuanyu covered her left hand with silver-patterned blue silver grass and grasped the doorframe.

Sure enough, the exact same sensation returned. Time seemed to freeze for an instant, and Lan Xuanyu distinctly felt a faint connection with the other side.

The gates around the arena opened, and Lava Hounds poured in.

A slender figure appeared within the gate of light, wearing a white short-sleeved top, her dark-blue hair in a ponytail. It was Dong Qianqiu.

Immediately afterward, Ye Zhiqiu stepped through as well.

The moment Dong Qianqiu crossed the gate of light, she saw Lan Xuanyu in front of her. She froze briefly, then quickly turned toward the gate and called:

"Teacher, it really is her! We're here again!"

Lan Xuanyu froze when she heard that.

Then she heard a familiar voice coming from beyond the gate of light.

The voice was not loud and carried a hint of coolness, yet it left Lan Xuanyu utterly stunned.

"Xuan Yu, it's me."

When that voice passed through the gate of light, Lan Xuanyu seemed to be rooted to the spot, her eyes fixed on the slowly revolving silver doorway.

"Teacher... Nana?"

"Yes."

A soft reply came from beyond the gate. It was quiet, yet as clear as though the speaker were only half a meter away.

Lan Xuanyu's eyes reddened in an instant.

She had grown up with Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng, and her parents had treated her very well. But before meeting Nana, she had never felt that extraordinary sense of closeness.

From their very first meeting, she had found this silver-haired teacher strangely familiar, as though they had known each other long ago. After they parted, she often thought of Nana, but knowing Nana had her own affairs to handle on Heaven Dou Star, she had not dared disturb her.

She had never expected to hear her voice again under these circumstances.

"Teacher Nana... where are you? I miss you so much..."

There was a brief silence beyond the gate of light. Then Nana's voice sounded again, a little gentler than before. "I'm on Heaven Dou Star. Zhiqiu and Qianqiu are my students. I'm working as a teacher here."

"Then can you come over?" Lan Xuanyu asked eagerly. She took two steps forward, wanting to approach the gate of light, but its edges were flickering faintly and looked unstable, so she stopped.

"No. This spatial gate is too unstable. If I came through, it would cause spatial disruption. That would be very troublesome."

Lan Xuanyu was deeply disappointed, but she was still delighted to be able to speak with Nana.

"Teacher Nana—ah, please wait a moment."

She had no choice but to pause, because the surrounding Lava Hounds were already charging at them.

Dong Qianqiu saw the Lava Hounds too. Although she did not know what relationship Lan Xuanyu had with Teacher Nana, the two clearly knew each other and were very close.

"Go ahead and talk to Teacher Nana. We'll take care of the Soul Beasts here," Ye Zhiqiu said.

Dong Qianqiu nodded, an ice-blue spear already condensing into shape in her hand.

Liu Feng also summoned his martial soul, the White Dragon Spear, and charged toward the Lava Hounds.

Lan Xuanyu stood beside the gate of light, fighting while she spoke with Nana on the other side.

"Teacher Nana, why can I summon Qianqiu? Her classmate said it was some kind of Summoning Gate, but it clearly summoned Soul Beasts before. Why did it summon people this time?"

"The most important reason you can establish contact through this Summoning Gate is spatial Isotopic Resonance. Spatial Isotopic Resonance occurs when spatial fluctuations of the same frequency appear in different spaces. Those two frequencies can resonate with each other, forming a spatial passage that connects them."

Nana paused, seemingly considering how to explain it more clearly.

"However, this is almost impossible in practice because the probability is so low. That makes your current summoning a very special case."

"Then can I summon you here, Teacher?" Lan Xuanyu asked again.

Nana was silent for a while. "It would be very difficult, almost impossible. But I don't know why, either. It's a subconscious judgment, perhaps intuition."

"...All right, then."

"Finish your assessment first, then exit. After ten minutes, enter again and try the same summoning," Nana said.

"If you don't summon Qianqiu, exit, wait another ten minutes, and summon again."

Although she did not quite understand what Teacher Nana intended to do, Lan Xuanyu still nodded in agreement.

"Finish your assessment first, then exit. After ten minutes, enter again and try the same summoning," Nana said.

"If you don't summon Qianqiu, exit, wait another ten minutes, and summon again."

Although she did not quite understand what Teacher Nana intended to do, Lan Xuanyu still nodded in agreement.

Afterward, they finished the assessment and exited again.

Over the next hour or so, Lan Xuanyu and the others attempted the summoning more than a dozen times.

The procedure was much the same each time: exit the assessment, rest for ten minutes, enter again, have Qian Lei open the Summoning Gate, and have Lan Xuanyu touch the doorframe with her silver-patterned blue silver grass.

Dong Qianqiu was summoned several times. On the other two or three occasions, they summoned Soul Beasts of varying strength.

Ye Zhiqiu went along twice during those attempts, but afterward he stayed with Nana and stopped going over. Repeatedly tussling with a pack of Lava Hounds was far too boring.

After more than a dozen attempts, Nana had more or less reached a conclusion.

"Xuan Yu, let's stop here for today."

Lan Xuanyu's slightly weary voice came from beyond the gate of light. "Okay, Teacher Nana. Will you... still be there?"

"I will."

"Then... can I talk to you like this again next time?"

Nana was silent for a moment before saying, "You should be able to. Your classmate's summoning ability is very unusual. As long as the conditions are right, we should be able to establish contact again."

From beyond the gate of light, Lan Xuanyu audibly breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "That's good. Teacher Nana, please take care of yourself."

"You too."

The gate of light slowly closed, and silver motes drifted through the air.

Dong Qianqiu stood where the gate had vanished, watching for a few seconds before turning to Nana. "Teacher, she really seemed reluctant to part with you."

"Yes," Nana replied, without saying anything more.

But Ye Zhiqiu noticed that her gaze was softer than usual.

"It's getting late. I should head back." Ye Zhiqiu glanced out the window. It was already completely dark.

Dong Qianqiu stood up as well. "I should go back to my dormitory too."

"Qianqiu, don't go back tonight," Nana suddenly said, then continued, "There may be more summons later. Stay here with me. It'll be more convenient."

Dong Qianqiu paused. "Is that all right?"

"Yes. The guest room is empty."

"Okay. Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."

Standing in the doorway, Ye Zhiqiu looked back at Dong Qianqiu. "Then stay here and behave yourself. I'll come find you tomorrow."

"Sure. Be careful on your way back."

Ye Zhiqiu waved, pushed open the door, and walked out.

"Got it."