"God?"
In the spiritual sea, the mere mention of divinity instantly sobered Electrolux. "Which god do you mean?"
"The one we spoke of before—Tang San."
"Ah—the Sea and Asura God," Electrolux murmured, then a confident glint appeared in his eyes.
If it were a deity tied to the soul arts, his divine fragment might not succeed. But Tang San? His domain lay elsewhere.
"Sealing memories to hide things from Tang San?" Electrolux shook his head. "I don't advise it. A sealed memory leaves a blank space—easily spotted if he's watching. Better to overlay a plausible false memory atop the original, hiding it without erasing it."
"Then we'll do as you say, Elder," Chen Junting agreed without hesitation. Electrolux was the expert here.
"Very well."
No time to waste—Electrolux acted at once.
An invisible wisp of gray energy seeped from Chen Junting's skull, slipping into Wang Dong's spiritual sea.
Moments later, Wang Dong staggered, vision blurring to black.
"Wang Dong! Are you okay?" Huo Yuhao caught him—but his hand accidentally brushed Wang Dong's chest. No one noticed, thanks to the crowd.
"Ah! Huo Yuhao!" Wang Dong jolted awake, face burning crimson. He pummeled Huo Yuhao's arm in a flurry of embarrassed fists.
"Wait—why are you hitting me!? I just—"
Huo Yuhao's protest was cut short as Wang Dong clamped a hand over his mouth.
"If you dare say a word," Wang Dong hissed, "you're sleeping outside tonight!"
Huo Yuhao blinked innocently.
Ning Tian watched, arms crossed, a knowing smile spreading. "Oh? Such close friends! If Wang Dong grew his hair long, I'd swear you two were a couple."
Wang Dong recoiled as if scalded, face now matching a monkey's backside. "S-Sister Xiao Tian! I'm a pure-blooded man!" He kept sneaking glances at her, guilt written all over his face.
Ning Tian giggled, mischief sparkling in her eyes. She turned to Huo Yuhao. "By the way, Yuhao—do you have a crush? If not, what about Xiao Feng?"
"Huh!?" Huo Yuhao's cheeks flamed. His innocent confusion vanished instantly.
He glanced at Wu Feng, who looked like she'd just swallowed a fly. Before he could speak, she cut in:
"Ning Tian! Don't play matchmaker! Yuhao's my little brother—how can a subordinate marry his boss!?"
Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously. He saw Wu Feng as a caring elder sister—nothing more.
"What a shame," Ning Tian sighed, making Wang Dong exhale in relief. After an awkward pause, he forced a topic shift: "Congratulations on evolving your martial soul into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Sister Xiao Tian!"
He then smoothly asked Huo Yuhao about his ideal girl—so seamlessly that no one noticed the gap in his logic.
Only Chen Junting knew the truth.
Electrolux's overlay had effortlessly buried Wang Dong's memories of the immortal herbs. Though Tang San remained unaware, Electrolux had sensed something amiss:
Wang Dong's memories before age six were completely blank.
Not sealed—erased.
Curious, Electrolux asked Chen Junting, "Do you know why?"
The question backfired—Chen Junting's reply ignited Electrolux's fury.
"Outrageous! Absurd!" Electrolux's divine fragment trembled with rage. His wrath flooded Chen Junting's spiritual sea, turning its emerald expanse ashen gray. "What kind of father is he!? Does he think memory is a painting—something to erase and repaint at will!? Memories aren't Lego blocks to be snapped together!"
"Even I only dare overlay memories—not rewrite them! Why? Because memory is the soul's foundation! It shapes one's character, thoughts, the very self! Alter it, and you alter the soul. Is the resulting person even the same being!?"
"He thinks identical body + soul + memory = identical person? This isn't arithmetic—1+1+1 doesn't equal 3!"
Chen Junting fell silent. Of course Tang San wouldn't understand. A former Tang Sect assassin, now a god embroiled in divine politics—how could he grasp the sanctity of a soul's continuity?
Yet pity stirred for the lost Wang Dong'er. "Elder… can you save her—without exposing her?"
"Of course."
Electrolux's eyes hardened—a necromancer's ruthlessness surfacing. "If that unworthy father acts, I'll plant a failsafe: preserve the girl's true consciousness. When she reclaims her body and soul, she'll purge the foreign imprints. That will be her rebirth."
Chen Junting nodded.
His friend wasn't Tang Wutong.
She was Wang Dong—Wang Dong'er.
And so, in the shadows, a safeguard was laid.
Later, after reuniting with friends, the group entered the academy. Post-registration, they returned to their dorms—then hosted Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan for a "Little Huo BBQ."
The mood was light. Even Tang Ya faced the promotion exams with confidence.
Unbeknownst to them, this year's second-years were so talented that the exams had been drastically revised…
---
Author's Note:
Let me clarify my take on Wang Dong's situation (since the original novel is vague):
- Wang Dong's spiritual sea contains a Sea God divine fragment with two triggers:
1. Active: Tang San manually probes her memories.
2. Passive: Activated only at life-threatening moments or if someone tampers with her "purity" (e.g., romantic/physical intimacy).
- Electrolux's intervention avoided both triggers. As a soul-specialized divine fragment, he overlaid memories without altering the original data—bypassing the Sea God's safeguards entirely.
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