Na'er's Departure

Tang Wulin slowly awoke, got up, pushed open his bedroom door, and went to the washroom to freshen up. He scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his cheeks, then looked up at his reflection in the mirror. The boy had skin as radiant and white as snow, soft, short azure hair lying neatly against his head, and eyes as clear and luminous as the finest sapphires. Now, those eyes were filled with an inescapable sense of loss.

His gaze unconsciously swept toward the shelves arranged side by side beside him. All of Na'er's toiletries were gone—not a towel, cup, or toothbrush remained. The empty shelf made his chest ache. Tang Wulin silently turned and left the bathroom.

In the past, the family of four had gathered around the dining table, surrounded by warmth and endless laughter. Now, only three sat quietly at the table, the air so oppressive it seemed almost frozen. The food tasted as delicious as ever, yet to the three of them, every mouthful was bitter and difficult to swallow.

Tang Wulin lowered his eyes, a hundred emotions mingling in his heart. He had to admit that when he first grew close to Na'er, he had indeed harbored some intention of using her. The Golden Dragon King Bloodline had been forcibly sealed within his body and was consuming his life at every moment. To preserve his own life, he had deliberately drawn close to the still-young Gu Yuena.

But three and a half full years of companionship, familial affection, and shared bonds had long since washed away that initial trace of calculating self-interest. He had almost forgotten that the sweet, obedient little sister beside him was the Silver Dragon King, the sovereign of all soul beasts who had lived for ten thousand years. In his heart, Na'er had always been nothing more than a little sister who needed his protection.

Ever since his Golden Dragon King Bloodline awakened, Tang Wulin's appetite had far exceeded that of ordinary people. Yet now, he had no appetite at all and merely picked woodenly at the rice in his bowl.

Seeing him like this, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were filled with heartache. Softening their voices, they slowly recounted everything that had happened when Na'er left the previous night. The circumstances differed greatly from the original story Tang Wulin remembered, but the ending—their separation—had ultimately remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, in the void outside the house, Gu Yuena paused and looked back, her fragmented whispers drifting softly away. "Dad, Mom, Big Brother..."

A thin veil of moisture clouded her amethyst-clear eyes. Reluctance surged within them, but she stubbornly held back every tear, letting not a single one fall.

Standing steadily beside her, Di Tian respectfully reminded her in a low voice, "My lord, it is time for us to leave."

Na'er took one last, lingering look at the three silent, dejected people inside the house. Then she turned away and left with the others, never looking back.

Only Di Tian did not immediately follow. He remained alone where he stood, his gaze piercing through the walls and locking firmly onto Tang Wulin inside. An indescribably strange aura lingered around the boy, stirring an odd feeling within him. Yet even after probing repeatedly, he could find no clues.

Di Tian frowned slightly, then quickly dismissed the strange feeling. He was merely a human child, not worth taking to heart. With that thought, he stepped forward to catch up with Na'er and the others, disappearing completely from the sky above the residential neighborhood.

In the blink of an eye, a full week had passed since Na'er's departure.

Tang Wulin gradually returned to his usual routine. Like any ordinary nine-year-old, he went to school on time, attended lessons, and worked through his academic subjects step by step. His days seemed no different from before. He had always been a rational person whose maturity far surpassed that of his peers, and he had slowly readjusted his mindset and condition.

He knew that he and Na'er would never be parted forever. This was only a brief separation, a mere few years. All he needed to do was wait patiently.

Rather than dwelling on when they could meet again, Tang Wulin was now haunted by a deeper, more insoluble question: was the Na'er who had just left truly the complete Gu Yuena? And was the Na'er who appeared at Shrek Academy in the original story really the same being as the little sister who had spent three and a half years by his side?

He had never been able to accept that rather absurd plotline in the original story: the mighty Silver Dragon King, who commanded countless soul beasts and looked down upon the entire continent, would split her own divine soul for no reason, creating a personality with an independent consciousness. She would even make a wager with her original self, betting that Tang Wulin would fall in love with her separated self, only to lose herself completely in the end and stake away even her own true heart.

To him, such a premise was far too mindless. It did not fit the Silver Dragon King's intellect or breadth of vision at all.

Putting together the little moments of their three and a half years together, along with Na'er's painful decision to leave and forcibly sever her emotional ties, Tang Wulin arrived at the only reasonable conjecture: the Na'er who had just left him was, in fact, the complete Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena.

And the reason she would later split off an independent, gentle Na'er personality lay in these years spent in a small human household.

Three and a half years of simple, warm familial companionship had completely softened the heart she had kept frozen for ten thousand years. She had truly experienced human kindness and warmth, greatly diminishing her hatred of humanity. Carrying those tender human bonds, she would never be able to steel her heart and shoulder the great cause of reviving the soul beasts, much less resolve to wage war against humans.

That was why she would choose to peel away and sever this emotion-filled personality, separating out the Na'er who craved human warmth and cherished the three members of the Tang family. All that would remain was Gu Yuena's original self—cold, resolute, and devoted solely to avenging her race.

Once he understood this, every seemingly unreasonable development in the original story suddenly had a complete explanation.

But a new uncertainty rose in Tang Wulin's heart.

He could not help pondering: if Gu Yuena truly split her divine soul in two in the future, creating the gentle, pure Na'er and the cold, merciless Gu Yue, the Silver Dragon King's original self, then the two would eventually merge again.

But after they merged, would she still be the Na'er who had grown up beside him?

Na'er was the Silver Dragon King, but the Silver Dragon King would no longer simply be Na'er. Two independent consciousnesses, two utterly different sets of feelings, forcibly combined into one—which would be the real her?

The question was far too profound, touching upon the very origins of divine souls and consciousness. With his present experience and strength, he had no way to seek an answer.

Tang Wulin gently shook his head, stopping his tangled thoughts.

He dared not think any further, nor could he.

After all, throughout the ages, across countless millennia, who had ever seen someone personally split their own divine soul and personality, creating another utterly different version of themselves with independent thoughts? Such an inconceivable act defied all common sense.

The sun shone brightly that day, and the Red Mountain Junior Soul Master Academy held its annual graduation ceremony.

For Tang Wulin, this was an especially significant day.

The Red Mountain Academy's graduation ceremony took place as scheduled, marking the definitive end of his studies there.

On the platform, his homeroom teacher, Lin Ximeng, looked at the students standing in neat rows below and called out clearly, "Tang Wulin."

"Present."

Tang Wulin stepped forward at her call and stood straight before the platform. Wearing a gentle smile, Lin Ximeng solemnly handed him an exquisitely printed recommendation letter bearing the official seal of the junior soul master academy.

Holding this recommendation letter meant that he had officially graduated from the Red Mountain Academy. With this document, he could go directly to the East Sea Intermediate Soul Master Academy to enroll, without having to take its rigorous preliminary entrance examination.

Tang Wulin rubbed the rough texture of the paper between his fingertips, a touch of wistfulness rising in his heart.

Along the way, he had experienced rebirth, absorbed a hundred-year blue silver grass soul spirit different from the one in the original story, and endured a sorrowful parting with Na'er. After all those twists and turns, he would ultimately still follow the prescribed path and continue his studies and cultivation.

This was not merely graduation from an elementary soul master school. He had completed the entire curriculum of a junior soul master academy and was stepping into the intermediate soul master academy stage.

His next stop: Eastsea Academy.

Wu Changkong.

He was finally going to meet the esteemed teacher who would guide him throughout his youthful cultivation journey.

Deep anticipation and curiosity shone in Tang Wulin's eyes. He had always longed to meet the aloof, proud first teacher of unfathomable strength from the original story and discover what he was truly like.

Having read the original story in his previous life, he had always remembered two interpretations that had circulated online for years.

The first concerned the origin of his name. Many believed that his surname came from his adoptive father, Tang Ziran, while "Wu" came from his esteemed teacher, Wu Changkong. "Lin" corresponded to the Golden Dragon King's golden scales within him, carrying an allusion to the qilin and signifying a dragon or phoenix among men. From beginning to end, he had no blood relation whatsoever to Sea God Tang San.

The second assessment inspired even greater respect for Wu Changkong in him: even without Yu Xiaogang as his first mentor, Tang San could still have climbed step by step to the summit through his own bloodline and talent, attaining the dual godhood of the Sea God and the Asura God. But Tang Wulin absolutely could not have done without Wu Changkong.

Wu Changkong was the guide along the dark road of his youth, a strict teacher and an elder who silently protected him. No one could replace him.

Then he recalled Wu Changkong's illustrious exploits in the original story: intimidating the Silver Dragon King with his foot, overpowering the Golden Dragon King, and single-handedly sweeping aside every gifted student in the Eastsea Academy's Class Zero. His cultivation was profound, his temperament aloof and proud, and his insight unrivaled among his peers.

Such a powerful yet gentle teacher made Tang Wulin's yearning grow ever stronger.

He put away the recommendation letter, raised his eyes toward the bright daylight outside the window, and whispered silently in his heart.

Teacher Wu Changkong, here I come.