At the mention of Xiao Wu.
Everyone's eyes turned to the rabbit-eared girl curled up in the corner.
Xiao Wu lowered her head, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
Her body trembled slightly, not from cold, but from fear—the fear of parting, the fear of facing the future alone.
She knew the time to part had come.
Her identity had been exposed.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast taking human form was an irresistible temptation to Soul Masters.
Even if Spirit Hall had retreated for now, once the news spread, powerful figures across the continent would descend like sharks that had smelled blood.
If she remained at Shrek, by Tang San's side, she would only bring catastrophic disaster upon everyone.
Spirit Hall would never let a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast go, especially one that had taken human form, with the highest-quality soul rings and soul bones.
"Brother..."
Xiao Wu raised her head.
Her eyes were red, her sockets brimming with tears like two clear springs reflecting Tang San's figure.
She fought hard to keep the tears from falling, but her voice had already become choked and broken.
"I... I'm leaving."
Tang San's body stiffened.
He wanted to say no. He wanted to say, "I'll protect you." He wanted to say, "We'll face this together."
But when he opened his mouth, it felt as though something had blocked his throat, and no sound came out.
Because he knew that he had neither the right nor the ability to say such things.
Even Titled Douluo-level enemies required his father to risk his life to hold them back. He was only a Soul Ancestor—what right did he have to claim he could protect her?
That helplessness was like a rusty, blunt knife, viciously carving at his