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Nighttime, Sea God Island.
Bo Saixi sat alone inside the Sea God Temple, recalling the utterly pointless "heart-to-heart" she had with Xuan Ming earlier that day, her heart filled with frustration and a hint of grievance.
She had finally mustered the courage to change into a long dress—something she would never usually wear, but which highlighted a woman's softness—trying to express her feelings subtly, but the result was... "Sigh..." She let out a soft sigh and rubbed her brow.
The proactive approach Gu Yuena suggested seemed even harder than she had imagined.
Just then, a familiar aura rapidly approached.
Bo Saixi's heart tightened, and she instinctively adjusted her appearance.
The next moment, Xuan Ming's figure appeared at the temple entrance.
His face carried a bright expression of sudden enlightenment, as if he had solved a difficult problem.
Bo Saixi's heart stirred.
Had he... finally gotten a clue?
Xuan Ming walked into the temple.
Instead of immediately discussing the "otherworld battle royale" like he had in the daytime, he looked seriously at Bo Saixi and asked, "Great Priestess, have you ever considered... achieving God Position?"
Bo Saixi was slightly startled, the sliver of hope that had just risen in her heart instantly replaced by confusion.
Why did he suddenly ask about this?
Had the Sea God already told him about the hidden God Test?
She cautiously refrained from answering directly, instead countering with, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Seeing that she didn't deny it, Xuan Ming became even more certain of his guess.
It seemed the information Poseidon revealed was true; Bo Saixi indeed faced the opportunity—and the crisis—of achieving God Position.
He organized his thoughts, trying to make his suggestion sound natural without exposing Bo Saixi's secret: "I just feel that given your strength and aptitude, it's a pity to be confined to Sea God Island merely as the Great Priestess.
If you intend to challenge for the Sea God God Position..."
He paused, then said sincerely, "I can give you the Sea God's Heart."
Bo Saixi was completely stunned, her sea-blue eyes filled with disbelief.
He... he was going to voluntarily give her the Sea God's Heart?
Why?
But immediately afterward, while a warm current flowed through her heart, an even stronger sense of worry and a hint of inexplicable anger also arose.
She immediately shook her head, her tone urgent and reproachful: "What nonsense are you talking about!
The Sea God's Heart has already merged with you.
Forcibly stripping it away will cause irreparable damage to your foundation!
It might even endanger your life!
How could I possibly take it!"
She gazed at Xuan Ming, her eyes complex: "I never intended to take your Sea God's Heart."
This statement was sincere.
The so-called hidden God Test, obtaining the Sea God's Heart, had only been an excuse and a reason for her, from the beginning, to force herself to face her inner feelings and take a step forward.
She had witnessed the hardships this young man had endured on his journey and knew how much he carried.
How could she possibly harm him for her own selfish reasons?
Xuan Ming was puzzled by Bo Saixi's fierce reaction.
In his view, since Bo Saixi needed the Sea God's Heart to achieve God Position, and he was willing to give it, wasn't this a win-win situation?
As for the damage... he had his own methods to minimize the risk.
He thought for a moment and changed his approach, attempting to define the matter as a "transaction."
This might make it more acceptable to Bo Saixi and less abrupt.
Xuan Ming continued calmly, "Great Priestess, don't be alarmed.
I proposed this because I actually have a selfish motive."
He looked at Bo Saixi, his gaze sincere: "What I plan to do next carries immense risk, and success is uncertain.
If something happens to me in the future... I'm already uneasy about Bibi Dong, not to mention Qian Renxue, who is watching the continent like a hawk.
Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong, those young girls, while talented, are still too young..."
His voice lowered slightly: "Therefore, I want to make a transaction with you.
If I give you the Sea God's Heart to help you achieve God Position, then if I meet an unfortunate end in the future, I hope you can, for the sake of this friendship, help me... look after them."
Xuan Ming felt his proposal was perfectly reasonable.
Bo Saixi gained the key item needed to achieve God Position, and he found a powerful guardian for the people he cared about.
Mutual need, fair trade.
However, the moment he finished speaking—
"A transaction?!"
Bo Saixi abruptly stood up, her normally gentle sea-blue eyes instantly blazing with fierce anger!
An unspeakable heartache and immense disappointment engulfed her like a tide!
She worried about him, thought for him, and even tossed and turned because of the affection that had quietly sprouted!
Yet, in his eyes, everything between them could ultimately be reduced to a cold, hard "transaction"?!
Trading the Sea God's Heart for the protection of other women?!
This act of objectifying and quantifying feelings and attachments was like a cold needle, fiercely piercing the softest part of her heart!
"Xuan Ming!"
Bo Saixi's voice trembled slightly with fury.
She pointed at the temple entrance, and the mighty Seagod's Light around her erupted uncontrollably, bathing the entire hall in a brilliant blue.
"I have no responsibility to look after those girls for you!
Your life or death has nothing to do with me!
Now, get out, immediately!"
Before her words even finished, a powerful repulsive force suddenly erupted from Bo Saixi, crashing into Xuan Ming like a surging wave!
Xuan Ming had never expected Bo Saixi to attack suddenly, and with such a violent reaction.
Caught completely off guard, he was directly blasted out by the immense force, streaking across the night sky and crashing heavily onto the beach below Sea God Mountain.
Xuan Ming lay on the beach, staring up at the night sky, his eyes full of confusion and incomprehension.
The transaction he proposed was clearly a guaranteed profit for Bo Saixi.
She gained the opportunity to achieve God Position, only needing to offer a promise for the future, and that promise was only conditional on him meeting an "accident."
Why was she so angry?
Why did she even resort to violence?
Inside the Sea God Temple, Bo Saixi leaned against the tightly shut doors and slowly slid down to the floor.
Tears uncontrollably streamed from the corners of her eyes, her heart filled with grievance, heartache, and an indescribable sense of powerlessness.
She was angry at Xuan Ming's denseness, and even more angry at his word "transaction," which made everything so cold and... disheartening...
Ice Crystal Castle, top-floor terrace.
Gu Yuena stood there quietly, her silver-purple eyes like the purest amethyst, reflecting everything happening on Sea God Mountain in the distance.
She watched Xuan Ming being mercilessly blasted out of the Sea God Temple by Bo Saixi's strike, falling like a shooting star onto the beach below.
She watched him lie on the sand, gazing at the night sky, his face etched with pure, undisguised confusion and incomprehension.
Gu Yuena fell silent.
She sighed softly, her silver hair fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
She realized she seemed to have made a mistake.
She had reminded Bo Saixi to be proactive, but she forgot the most crucial prerequisite: Xuan Ming's almost paranoid, habitual way of thinking.
Unless the other party gave an answer that couldn't be clearer, his mind, honed by countless crises, would always prioritize the worst-case scenario and resolve issues in the most "pragmatic" and "transactional" way possible.
Expecting him to grasp subtle emotional hints on his own was like climbing a tree to catch a fish.
She had thought that Bo Saixi, being the Great Priestess and highly experienced, would be able to understand and handle Xuan Ming's particular trait.
But now it seemed that Bo Saixi was clearly bewildered, and even felt offended and hurt, by Xuan Ming's astonishingly bizarre thought process.
Thinking this, Gu Yuena's figure once again transformed into a silver light, silently streaking across the night sky and arriving before the Sea God Temple, which was still shrouded in faint golden light and a low-pressure atmosphere.
Bo Saixi was still sitting against the door.
Her sea-blue hair was slightly messy, and tear streaks remained at the corners of her eyes.
Sensing Gu Yuena's aura, she merely lifted her eyelids, her voice hoarse and carrying a hint of petulance: "If you're here to speak for him, then don't bother."
Gu Yuena looked at her state and spoke calmly: "I am not here to speak for him, only to tell you a fact."
"Xuan Ming's thought pattern is different from ordinary people's.
He has experienced too many schemes, calculations, and life-or-death crises.
This has made his thinking extremely pragmatic, even somewhat... dulled.
In his perception, any unclear intention might hide risk.
He is accustomed to defining relationships using explicit methods like transactions or cooperation, because for him, this means safety and control."
She watched Bo Saixi's slightly trembling eyelashes and continued, "He doesn't understand your subtle hints.
You interpreted his entrustment, which came from responsibility and trust, as a cold transaction, and this confused him.
Unless you tell him directly—'My concern for you goes beyond ordinary friendship; I am in love with you'—he will forever respond using his problem-solving logic."
Bo Saixi remained silent, offering no reply.
She was still immersed in the grievance and anger caused by being wounded by the word "transaction."