"God?"
In the spiritual sea, the moment Chen Junting mentioned the word, Electrolux's expression turned serious.
"What god are we talking about here?"
"Tang San," Chen Junting replied. "The one we talked about last time."
"Ah... the Sea God. Or rather, the Asura God."
At that, Electrolux relaxed slightly. "If it were a god tied to spiritual power, memory work might get risky. But this one? Not my biggest concern."
Still, he frowned.
"If you're thinking of sealing Wang Dong's memory to stop Tang San from noticing anything... I don't recommend it."
Chen Junting raised a brow. "Why not?"
"Because sealing part of someone's memory leaves a blank space—like a hole. And if Tang San ever examines her mind closely, that gap will be obvious. My method is different: we overwrite it. Create a believable memory to layer over the real one, leaving the original untouched but completely hidden."
Chen Junting didn't hesitate. "Then let's go with that."
Electrolux gave a firm nod. "Alright. No time to waste."
A faint, gray stream of soul energy slipped from behind Chen Junting's head, invisible to anyone else, and drifted toward Wang Dong. In moments, it slipped into her spiritual sea.
Wang Dong suddenly swayed, her vision dimming.
"Hey—Wang Dong? You okay?"
Huo Yuhao reached out to catch her—but his hand accidentally landed on her chest.
No one else noticed the misstep, but Wang Dong sure did.
"AH! Huo Yuhao!!"
She snapped back to awareness, her face burning bright red. Before he could explain, she pounded his arm with her fists, sending him stumbling back.
"Wait, wait—Wang Dong, I just tried to catch you! I didn't mean to—mmph!"
Her hand clamped over his mouth mid-sentence.
"Say one more word and you're sleeping in the hallway tonight," she hissed.
Yuhao blinked, looking helpless.
Ning Tian crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the exchange. She couldn't help grinning. "Well, well. You two are pretty close, huh? If Wang Dong had long hair, I'd mistake you for a couple."
Wang Dong froze.
His entire face turned crimson. "Wh-what are you saying, Sister Xiaotian?! I—I'm a real man!"
Despite his outrage, his eyes flicked guiltily toward her, like he was hoping she believed him.
Ning Tian just chuckled and turned her attention to Huo Yuhao. "By the way, Yuhao, do you have a girl you like? If not, what do you think about Xiaofeng?"
"Wha—!?"
Yuhao's face turned the same shade as Wang Dong's.
He glanced nervously at Wu Feng, who looked like she was enjoying the show. But before he could sputter out a response, she beat him to it.
"Oh, give it a rest, Ning Tian. Yuhao's like a little brother to me. Big sister vibes only."
Yuhao nodded furiously.
"Shame," Ning Tian teased with a wink.
Wang Dong visibly relaxed.
Trying to change the subject, he turned to Ning Tian with a weak smile. "Anyway, congrats, Sister Ning Tian. I heard your spirit evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tower. That's huge."
Then, acting casual, he nudged Yuhao. "By the way, what kind of girls do you like?"
The deflection worked—at least for now.
Among them, only Chen Junting noticed what really happened.
With Electrolux's help, Wang Dong's memory of the immortal herb had been cleanly overwritten. A false, unrelated memory now sat in its place, indistinguishable from the real thing—even to a god like Tang San.
But as Electrolux exited the process, he noticed something strange.
"Her memories before age six… they're just gone."
Chen Junting frowned. "Gone, like sealed?"
"No," Electrolux said, voice tight. "Gone, as in erased. Deleted."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "Do you know what happened to her?"
Chen Junting hesitated, then calmly explained what he knew. He didn't speculate or exaggerate. Just the facts.
When he finished, Electrolux went silent.
And then—rage.
His power surged through Chen Junting's spiritual sea, a gray storm of anger that even dimmed the radiant gold of the Life Essence there.
"Unacceptable," Electrolux growled. "Memory isn't some toy you cut and paste at will. You don't just erase pieces of someone's soul like trimming a photo. Do you understand what memory is?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"Memory is the foundation of the soul! It's what builds thought, identity, emotion—everything. Change the memory, and you change the person. And that bastard thought he could just rebuild her however he wanted?"
He snorted. "I'd never dare alter memory so crudely. I layer false impressions—I don't erase what makes someone who they are."
Chen Junting clenched his fists, guilt flickering behind his eyes. He wasn't the one who'd done this… but knowing Wang Dong'er's fate stirred something raw inside him.
"Elder Yi… can you protect her?"
Electrolux's expression hardened. "Of course."
His tone turned deadly.
"If that so-called 'father' tries anything, I've left behind a failsafe. Should he ever try to merge Wang Dong and Wang Dong'er's minds, I'll preserve her original consciousness and memories."
"And when she's ready, she'll take her body—and soul—back."
Chen Junting exhaled slowly.
He wasn't doing this for Tang Wutong.
He was doing this for the friend he knew.
For Wang Dong.
...
Their brief reunion over, the group finally pushed through the crowd and entered the academy. After checking in, they returned to their dorms to settle in.
That evening, Xu Sanshi, Beibei, He Caitou, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan joined them at Xiaohuo for a relaxed welcome-back barbecue. Laughter, teasing, and roasted skewers filled the night.
They had no idea the academy had revised this year's promotion assessment—and it wasn't going to be easy.
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(End of Chapter)
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