Just look at the rest of the Shrek Seven Devils besides Tang San. What level was their Soul Power before they enrolled, and how quickly did they cultivate?
After Yu Xiaogang arrived, how many levels did they gain in two years?
If they hadn't eaten Immortal Herbs, the rate at which the Shrek Seven Devils' Soul Power improved over those two years could only be described as "useless." They had completely wasted their extraordinary natural talent.
After the Shrek Seven Devils graduated, without Yu Xiaogang, almost all of them were around the Soul Ancestor level. In five years, each of them gained more than ten levels, and the most exceptional ones gained eighteen or nineteen.
That showed just how poor Yu Xiaogang's teaching was. He was completely leading his students astray!
That was why Ye Wen had no intention of letting Tang San leave Yu Xiaogang's side. He could just stay with Yu Xiaogang and keep his head down.
Coerce Tang San and force Tang Hao to show himself?
Ye Wen would have plenty of chances to kill Tang Hao later. He wasn't about to resort to such despicable methods.
"Evil Tiger, Xiao Bai, let's go." Ye Wen withdrew his power and prepared to leave as well.
"Yes, boss."
The three of them left Nuoding City and headed for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Badly wounded, Tang Hao had fled to the vicinity of Shrek Academy. He was hesitating over whether to take Tang San away, but after carefully recalling what Ye Wen had said before leaving, he figured the other man probably wouldn't really hurt Tang San.
From Tang Hao's perspective, after all, there was no deep-seated hatred between them!
Tang San had been beaten by Ye Wen in his Humanoid Form, so Tang Hao had wanted to fight Ye Wen. In the end, he himself had been beaten by Ye Wen in his Semi-human Form.
That was all there was to it.
Besides, Tang Hao didn't want to keep Tang San by his side right now. After some thought, he decided to secretly protect Tang San around the clock for a while before making any further plans.
A few days later, the three students who had beaten Tang San stopped returning to Nuoding Academy, and the terrifying powerhouse who had beaten Tang Hao didn't show up again. At last, Tang Hao felt a little more at ease.
This time, Tang Hao had learned a harsh lesson. He was even a little traumatized and wouldn't dare go around picking fights so casually in the future.
After several days of travel, Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai arrived near the Star Dou Great Forest.
The three stood on high ground and gazed at the enormous forest before them. They couldn't help but marvel at its sheer size. It was so vast that it had no visible edge, as if it stretched on without end.
As Sea Soul Beasts, they had never seen a forest this large.
Evil Tiger said excitedly, "Boss, I'm suddenly looking forward to this."
"Me too," Xiao Bai said. "I want to see how many land-dwelling Soul Beasts live here that I've never seen before."
There were actually many scattered islands in the sea, some larger and some smaller, though none were very big. For instance, when the Shrek Seven Devils first headed to Sea God Island, they were attacked by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and fell into the sea. They eventually drifted to a place called Pearl Island.
Some of those scattered islands were home to land-dwelling Soul Beasts, but there weren't many kinds.
"I'm looking forward to it too." Ye Wen smiled. Although he knew about the Star Dou Great Forest, this was his first time experiencing the journey there in person.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
The three officially entered the Star Dou Great Forest and headed straight for their destination: the Lake of Life in the Core Region.
"Evil Tiger, Xiao Bai, even at our speed in our Half-humanoid Forms, it'll take us several days to reach the Lake of Life. So, we'll take turns switching to our Half-humanoid Forms as we travel," Ye Wen said.
"Sure, I'll go first," Xiao Bai said, switching to her Half-humanoid Form.
She then carried one person under each arm and rushed deeper into the forest with Ye Wen and Evil Tiger.
Right now, Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai were all only in their teens in terms of Soul Power while in their Humanoid Forms. If they came to a dangerous place like the Star Dou Great Forest, they could be killed by Soul Beasts before they even reached the Inner Region.
Sometimes, a Soul Beast would suddenly appear, leaving them no time to switch forms.
Besides, the time they could remain on land in their Half-humanoid Forms didn't reset just because they switched to their Humanoid Forms and then back again. There was a cooldown period.
So they had to take turns staying in their Half-humanoid Forms to ensure their safety along the way.
By taking turns like this, the three of them drew ever closer to the Lake of Life.
Several days later, they finally reached the vicinity of the Lake of Life.
The Titan Giant Ape had been lying on the bank beside the lake, resting in the shade. It seemed to sense something and immediately stood up, contacting the Sky Azure Bull Python beneath the lake: "Big brother! It feels like some powerful beings are heading our way!"
"Hmm!? Are they humans?"
"They're here!"
Whoosh!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai had all switched to their Half-humanoid Forms. They dropped down from above and landed firmly less than two hundred meters from the Titan Giant Ape.
"Wow, so this is the Titan Giant Ape! Its Aura looks pretty impressive." Ye Wen stood in the middle, a faint smile on his lips as he studied the giant ape in the distance.
It looked like something between an ape and a gorilla. Every part of its body was covered in powerful muscles, more formidable than granite. It stood over fifteen meters tall, but not quite twenty.
It possessed unparalleled strength, speed, and physical toughness. It looked formidable, and its strength surpassed Xiao Bai's.
"Are they humans?"
The Sky Azure Bull Python stayed hidden in the lake and didn't show itself. It communicated with Er Ming through Spiritual Power.
Er Ming scrutinized Ye Wen and the others. They looked like humans, but were also a little different. It couldn't quite make sense of them. "They don't seem like ordinary humans."
"Is that so? Er Ming, drive them away!"
"Get out of here!!!"
"ROAR!!!!"
The Titan Giant Ape roared loudly at the three of them. Its terrifying Aura made even Evil Tiger and Xiao Bai wary.
"So this is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast from the mainland? The Titan Giant Ape seems far stronger than I am." Xiao Bai's expression was grave.
Not just Xiao Bai—even Evil Tiger wasn't confident he could defeat the Titan Giant Ape.
"Titan Giant Ape, we didn't come all this way just to take a look around and leave."
"Is that so? Then what do you want?" The Titan Giant Ape was already seething with murderous intent.
"Relax, we're not here to hunt you, and we don't want to obtain your Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings either." Ye Wen got straight to the point. "We came here to tell you that from now on, the Lake of Life is my territory!"
"And you will become my loyal Subordinates."
The Titan Giant Ape was stunned. Humans often tried to hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts like them to obtain Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, but this was the first time it had heard of someone wanting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to become his underling.
Whatever the reason, the Titan Giant Ape wasn't about to show them any respect. "You have ten seconds to get out of here!"
"Otherwise, you'll face the wrath of the King of the Forest!"
"The King of the Forest? Hahahaha!" Ye Wen burst out laughing and shook his head in disbelief. "I thought the King of the Forest was just a title humans had given you. I didn't realize you actually thought you were the King of the Forest!"
Before you continue