The photos inside were all taken when they were studying together at Shrek Academy. They included the outing outside Shrek City, the beast arena used for outer courtyard assessments, the Golden Tree house... Every place Xu Sanshi and she had been to was there. He didn't know how she managed to collect them.
Because Jiang Nannan was always unwilling to take photos with him in the past, Xu Sanshi's figure was originally not in these photos. She collected these photos, and at the very end, awakened the memories of them going to these places together.
On the back of the photos were written the time and simple words, "End of the first school year, went to the core disciple treasure appreciation gathering with everyone. That guy Xu Sanshi was overly attentive and said he wanted to give me a soul bone, I didn't accept it."
"Beginning of the second school year, the class organized a trip to play in the center of Shrek City. Someone was holding a luxurious wedding there. Xu Sanshi said he would hold an even bigger one in the future, but his gaze was always on me."
"End of the second school year, the academy arranged to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for soul rings. Xu Sanshi and I were separated by the beast herd, but because Xu Sanshi was there, I wasn't afraid."
"Beginning of the third school year..."
They were all such notes pretending to be aloof. The meaning was very simple, and the rhetoric was very ordinary. It was the mindset of a girl from a poor background after being pursued by someone. Every sentence tried to express "I actually care a bit about someone", "I am unwilling to be pursued by someone but enjoy it in my heart", and "I am liked by someone but feel at a loss and confused".
The only group photo was taken when they went to Star Luo to participate in the competition. The background was the noisy soul arena. She and Xiao Xiao sat next to a big tree under the setting sun. Unknown to them, Xu Sanshi had quietly squeezed into the frozen scene, popping out a head making a funny face in the bottom left corner of the photo.
Xu Sanshi smiled silently. He truly had never experienced this kind of feeling. It turned out that his every move had not failed to enter another person's world. It turned out that he wasn't the only one who would quietly space out while looking at her back.
He silently took out the new dress and shoes from the suitcase to put on Jiang Nan. Her body was so shriveled. Putting on the dress was easy, but putting on shoes and socks was terrible. Her legs and feet were as withered as branches. Xu Sanshi had to change into a dress with a longer hem so that it could cover her shriveled body, making her look more like when she was alive.
He picked Jiang Nan up horizontally, let her sit against the wall of the well, sorted her hair, and then arranged those small objects one by one next to her, having those things accompany her.
When arranging the photos, he accidentally turned over a certain group photo and saw what was on the back.
Those were their respective individual photos. His and her bodies were cut out little by little from other group photos and glued to the back of these photos, holding hands.
The calmness he tried so hard to maintain was instantly broken. With trembling hands, he turned over every group photo to look at their backs... The backs of all the group photos were glued. All the group photos were marked as experiences shared by Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, the world they had walked through together...
The world this girl had walked through was only this big, this small, yet it left the traces they had walked together.
You thought she could embrace a new world without you, but her memory was forever imprisoned in that night.
"Ah! Ah ah! Roar—"
Xu Sanshi let out a beast-like roar, staggering backward, taking a long, long time to calm down. Huo Yuhao stood behind with folded arms, watching, without any intention of going up to comfort him.
"How exactly did the dragon blood in her body get there?" Xu Sanshi asked in a low voice.
"Perhaps only Jiang Nannan herself knows this matter, but she is already brain dead, making it impossible to accurately probe her memory. You can only change the future; you are powerless about the past. This dragon blood came from a divine beast suppressed by the Divine Realm, released by Tang San to deal with me." Huo Yuhao scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"I think she wouldn't be stupid enough to drink dragon blood either. It should have been caused artificially, and during the Mingdu tournament, she seemed to have already lost her memory."
Huo Yuhao's words seemed to have clarified nothing, yet also seemed to have explained everything clearly.
"Tang San's target should have originally been you, right? But when we first met, it seemed I used Xuanwu Replacement to block Tang San's divine thought for you." Xu Sanshi turned around and looked into Huo Yuhao's eyes. He was so calm, but it seemed there really was a devil about to jump out of his eyes.
"It couldn't be helped. I had to protect myself at that time. Originally, you had no chance of becoming a god, and the Divine Realm might have a way to save Jiang Nannan. The Tang family's loyal dog isn't that easy to be. It's just a pity that freedom comes with a price. I'm almost dead." Huo Yuhao shrugged and explained.
"Are you talking about the fusion skill of the Food God and the Nine-Color Goddess?" Xu Sanshi looked at the withered Jiang Nannan. "Do you think Tang San would let me share my love with a girl other than his daughter?"
"So smart! This is my good senior! As long as God King Tang San is around, you could never embrace a living Jiang Nannan!" After Huo Yuhao said this, this spiritual clone also began to dissipate along with the weakening of his main body.
"His biggest mistake was underestimating the love for Jiang Nannan in your heart!"
Xu Sanshi stood quietly at the bottom of the well. With a beckon of his right hand, the Sea God Trident landed steadily in his hand. The pouring rainstorm suddenly flowed backwards, as if venting the Sea God's anger.
"Shoulder her love for you! You are not fighting alone!" A devil's murmur seemed to come from high in the sky...
—
The entire continent listened to Tang San's planning and his layout for the continent's future, and everyone couldn't help but reveal a look of horror on their faces.
Most of Tang San's plans were to maintain the feudal theocratic noble class and hinder the further development of the continent's society. With the appearance of soul tools, the Tang Sect declined, and the massive Sun Moon Empire naturally became a thorn in Tang San's side.
He even set his sights on the Abyssal Plane that would arrive at the Douluo plane thousands of years later, making the people of the entire Douluo Planet pay an extremely tragic price to obtain evolution, just to better provide him with the power of faith.
Think about it, a generation's legend descending to the continent again after tens of thousands of years to save the entire world. Such mighty power of faith would be enough to benefit a deity infinitely.
Even Huo Yuhao didn't expect this point. He thought Tang San set his sights on the Abyssal Plane shortly before the story of the Legend of the Divine Realm.
Even the first-generation God Kings of Kindness and Evil, who were mentally prepared early on, couldn't squeeze out a single word. In this situation, even if they wanted to speak up for Tang San, they had to consider the feelings of the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life.
The Destruction couple's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot. Huo Yuhao's previous words once made the Goddess of Life think he was exaggerating and deliberately belittling Tang San. She didn't expect that the future in Huo Yuhao's mouth was actually a beautified version.
Huo Yuhao withdrew his divine thought and turned his gaze to the two great God Kings of Kindness and Evil, who had complex expressions. "Now, do the two of you still plan to risk universal condemnation to continue sheltering him?"
The first-generation God Kings of Kindness and Evil smiled bitterly. The development of the situation had long far exceeded their expectations. Even if they had the intention to shelter Tang San, the Destruction couple wouldn't condone the two of them acting this way.
"In that case, Tang San will be handed over to the God of Destruction to handle. We will absolutely not intervene again. It's just that the Asura God position on Tang San must be passed down."
As they spoke, they cast their gazes at the numerous Ultimate Douluos on Huo Yuhao's side.
Obviously, this time they changed their target of recruitment to the people on Huo Yuhao's side.
The God of Destruction came to Tang San's side and was about to take out the Seed of Asura in his body, but Tang San woke up at this critical moment.
"Hahahahaha! So that's how it is, so that's how it is!"
Tang San burst into wild laughter regardless of his image, causing the God of Destruction, who was about to act, to frown slightly.
"I was wondering how a mortal could evade my divine thought countless times, destroy my layout on the Douluo Continent countless times, and use various mysteries to deal with me countless times!"
"It turns out, I am the victorious side. I am the original victor!"
"You and I are actually both wandering souls who transmigrated here!"
"Huo Yuhao, doing this? Are you worthy of the original Huo Yun'er? Worthy of Wutong? Worthy of Yingying and Zhanji?"
Tang San's words made many people feel completely confused. Only a very few partners who knew the development of the original timeline had slight changes in their expressions.
Huo Yuhao stared at him coldly and said, "So what if you know? The current you has lost thoroughly. I won't give you any more chances to struggle."
"Indeed, as you said, the me of this world has lost, lost a crushing defeat!" Tang San laughed eerily. "Huo Yuhao, you tampered with history and reversed the future, but I don't know if you have the ability to face head-on the timeline that has undergone drastic changes?"
"What do you mean?" Huo Yuhao had a faint ominous premonition in his heart.
"There is an old saying: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. He who reverses cause and effect will surely suffer the backlash of cause and effect!"
Tang San continued to laugh wildly and mock, seemingly despising all of Huo Yuhao's actions so far.
"This seat does not know what the future holds, but you, Tang San, can no longer see the future." The God of Destruction acted immediately, locking his divine power to prevent him from using methods like self-destruction to cause unnecessary trouble.
Right at this moment, dark clouds rolled on the horizon, and a blue-gold stream of light whistled over. Before the person arrived, several halos had already arrived.
The four great God Kings present were all projection phantoms. Facing this familiar Indeterminate Storm, they naturally had to pull back and dodge.
With the help of his partners, Huo Yuhao also successfully avoided these halos.
That figure's movements were extremely swift, teleporting Tang San to his side with an attack almost in an instant.
Divine Skill, Xuanwu Replacement.
"The new Sea God?"
The God of Destruction looked at the newcomer with a surprised expression, but it was merely surprise.
Because the other party was undoubtedly several times weaker than Tang San in the Sea God state, otherwise this Indeterminate Storm wouldn't have failed to trap even the people on Huo Yuhao's side.
"Hahaha, my good son-in-law, you came just in time. Huo Yuhao and the others are at their weakest right now. Those few God Kings are also just projections. Take this opportunity to kill Huo Yuhao and the others!"
Tang San struggled to come to Xu Sanshi's side, commanding in a bossy tone.
Huo Yuhao didn't feel any surprise regarding Xu Sanshi's arrival. His expression remained calm.
The next moment, a sudden change occurred!
Pfft—
The trident accurately pierced through someone's chest, along with his god core and heart.
"You..."
Tang San lowered his head in disbelief, looking at the trident blade on his chest, his pupils shrinking continuously.
"The dragon blood in Nannan's body, you did that, right?" Xu Sanshi breathed rapidly, his face incomparably hideous as he questioned.
Tang San couldn't help but think of a year ago, the white moonlight that Xu Sanshi couldn't forget in his heart. To complete his daughter's happiness, he used the divine authority of forgetting on that girl.
"Stop, I am Wutong's..."
"Shut up! Shameless old thief!" The trident in Xu Sanshi's hand twisted fiercely, turning the flesh and blood in Tang San's body into a mess in an instant.
"The person I love has never been the daughter of a God King!"
Xu Sanshi's face was sorrowful, and the killing intent on his body actually surpassed Asura God Tang San at this moment.
"You wantonly toyed with my life, harmed the girl I loved the most for your own daughter. Not killing you makes it hard to relieve the hatred in my heart!"
Everyone stared with wide eyes at this scene, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Only Huo Yuhao silently applauded this scene. What Huo Yühao failed to do back then, Xu Sanshi did.
"Tang San, do you know what kind of tragedy your so-called bestowal is to a girl with an ordinary background?"
"Nannan is dead. I want you to be buried with her!"
Between heaven and earth, only Xu Sanshi's roar echoed continuously. His voice covered the thunder above the firmament, like a tearful accusation in an execution hall.
"Tang San, you will die a horrible death! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Xu Sanshi, his face covered in tears, pulled the trident out and stabbed it in fiercely again, blood dripping.
Pfft pfft pfft pfft...
Tang San could no longer utter a single word. His face gradually lost its color, and even his body temperature began to plummet.
The former generation's legend of the Douluo Continent, Sea God and Asura God Tang San, spilled his blood in the sky, dead!
No one went to stop him, let alone speak out to disturb him. At this moment, Xu Sanshi was like a child who had lost his toy, his crying shaking people's hearts.
Huo Yuhao watched expressionlessly as Tang San's corpse fell from the high altitude, not uttering a word.
Perhaps, this is retribution?
At this time, a faint light glowing with red fell into his hand.
That is...
The Seed of Asura?
Xu Sanshi casually tossed that red light to the four great God Kings and flew toward Huo Yuhao and his partners with a sorrowful expression.
"What do you want to do?" Jialin flashed to block in front of Huo Yuhao. The burning Scarlet Gold Profound Flame in her hand made crackling sounds.
Similarly, only a small number of people knew that it was precisely Huo Yuhao who utilized Xu Sanshi's Xuanwu Replacement back then, diverting Tang San's attention to Xu Sanshi, and thereby influencing his life trajectory through his daughter.
Now that he came running over, did he intend to settle the debt with Huo Yuhao?
Thud!
Just when most people thought he would make a move, Xu Sanshi knelt straight down towards Huo Yuhao. His knees crashed against the void, emitting a low, muffled sound.
"Huo Yuhao, I'm begging you, resurrect Nannan!"
The currently known means to resurrect a person were only the authority of the Lord of the Plane or the fusion skill of the Food God and Nine-Color Goddess couple. Now that Oscar and Ning Rongrong were dead, the only one Xu Sanshi could count on was Huo Yuhao.
"I can give it a try, but I can't guarantee it," Huo Yuhao responded very straightforwardly. "But next, I need your help."
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao glanced at the God of Destruction couple, exchanging a look.
"The Douluo plane is on the verge of destruction. I need you to take action to maintain the stability of the ocean. Can you do it?"
"...Alright!"