It Turned Out They Were Allies

The sixteen-hundred-year Soul Ring did not seem to be Qiangu Changkong's limit. In just two hours, he completed the absorption of the Soul Ring.

Tang San, on the other hand, had only just stabilized his Aura. It would take him at least another hour to finish absorbing the Soul Ring.

"Brother Wu Qi, are we seriously going to stand guard for him too?" Ning Rongrong could not help complaining.

She had no favorable impression of Tang San.

In her eyes, if Tang San truly cared about Xiao Wu, why had he not protected her from the start and allowed her to be captured?

Who was he putting on this act for afterward?

Just as the three of them were about to leave, a figure emerged from the nearby bushes.

"Xiao Wu?" Wu Qi noticed the newcomer.

Xiao Wu was greatly surprised to see them. "Wh-what are you doing here? What happened to Third Brother?"

After an explanation, Xiao Wu bowed to the three of them in thanks.

Qiangu Changkong could not help asking, "Weren't you captured by the Titan Giant Ape? How did you come back?"

Knowing that this would be difficult to explain, Xiao Wu simply shifted the "blame" onto the Sky Azure Bull Python.

Qiangu Changkong had no idea where that cow roar had come from. He only felt that the Star Dou Great Forest was far from peaceful tonight.

"Brother Wu, let's leave quickly. If some powerful Soul Beast sets its sights on us, we might not make it out of here."

Ning Rongrong nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Wu Qi had no intention of staying either, so they immediately retreated.

On their way out of the forest, the Golden Eagle Douluo, who had been secretly following the three of them, sent Wu Qi a voice transmission.

"Young Master, I have a feeling there is something wrong with that girl's identity."

"Back then, this subordinate followed the previous Her Holiness the Pope in pursuing Tang Hao. That girl's Aura is very similar to Tang Hao's wife's."

They had not spent much time with Xiao Wu just now. The Golden Eagle Douluo had only looked at her a few times and had not confirmed her true identity.

Wu Qi suddenly stopped and rubbed his stomach. "I need to relieve myself. You two go wait for me up ahead."

Ning Rongrong and Qiangu Changkong did not think much of it. Wu Qi left the group and headed toward the bushes nearby.

The Golden Eagle Douluo immediately came to his side.

"Young Master, did you discover something?"

Wu Qi asked in return, "The Titan Giant Ape is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Can a human survive after falling into its hands?"

The Golden Eagle Douluo did not understand what he meant. His gaze sharpened. "As expected, she is a Transformed Soul Beast. Young Master, wait here while this subordinate captures her and brings her back—"

Wu Qi raised a brow and grabbed his sleeve. "Can you let me finish first?"

If they captured Xiao Wu and brought her back to Spirit Hall, once Tang Hao realized what had happened, there would never be peace again!

Besides, the great show that would unfold in the future could not happen without Xiao Wu.

"Didn't you hear the cow roar she mentioned? Within the Soul Beast Forest, what kind of existence could make a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast give up so easily?"

The Golden Eagle Douluo fell into thought. After a long while, he said solemnly, "You mean there is a powerful expert protecting that girl from behind the scenes?"

This fellow had finally caught on. Wu Qi added, "That possibility cannot be ruled out. Besides, even if she is a Transformed Soul Beast, do you think the Soul Beasts in the forest would let you go if you touched her?"

The Golden Eagle Douluo looked thoughtful.

How many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were there on the continent? And how many of them chose to transform?

How could he possibly run into one so easily?

Elsewhere, after Zhao Wuji woke up, he immediately gathered the Shrek Four Monsters and searched the forest for Tang San's trail.

Hard work paid off. Following the direction Tang San had gone, they soon found him.

To their surprise, Xiao Wu had actually escaped as well.

As for Xiao Wu's explanation, it was exactly the same as in the original timeline.

For a moment, Zhao Wuji did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Xiao Wu's luck was simply absurd. After being captured by the Titan Giant Ape, she had still obtained a Soul Ring for free.

Tang San's luck was not bad either. After chasing after her, he had likewise hunted down a Soul Beast for his Third Soul Ring.

Seeing the corpse of the Soul Beast nearby, Xiao Wu secretly rejoiced. Third Brother has finally come to his senses. A plant-type Soul Master should hunt plant-type Soul Rings. The results are far better than animal-type Soul Rings.

I wonder what the Master was thinking. Third Brother actually listens to everything he says.

As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she had lived through countless years and knew many secrets of the Soul Master world very well.

In terms of systematic knowledge, she was certainly inferior to Yu Xiaogang. But in terms of experience and insight, she was leagues ahead of him.

Unfortunately, Tang San would not listen to her and had taken many unnecessary detours.

While standing guard for Tang San, Zhao Wuji noticed several azure feathers scattered across the ground nearby.

Sensing the residual Soul Power within them, he could not help asking, "Xiao Wu, were there other people here just now?"

Xiao Wu replied, "Yes, Wu Qi and the others. But we only met once in Suotuo City. I do not know what they said to Third Brother. I only know that they helped him obtain his Soul Ring."

"Wu Qi!" Dai Mubai was shocked.

So they had spent all that time searching in Suotuo City, while those people had entered the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts.

"Xiao Wu, was there someone among them named Qiangu Changkong?"

Xiao Wu nodded, somewhat surprised. "You know them? There was also a Ning Rongrong with them."

Ning Rongrong was there too?

Dai Mubai was completely dumbfounded.

Both he and Flender had guessed wrong. Who would secretly hunt down geniuses? Wu Qi and the others had clearly just left Suotuo City!

For some reason, Ning Rongrong had ended up traveling with Wu Qi and Qiangu Changkong, and they had happened to enter the forest to hunt Soul Beasts on the very day Shrek Academy held its admissions.

No matter what, now that they knew where the others had gone, they could look for them after returning.

Zhao Wuji slapped him on the head and said irritably, "What are you thinking about, brat?"

Dai Mubai let out a long breath and explained the whole story.

Xiao Wu suddenly understood. "No wonder they helped Third Brother. So he is the dean's disciple."

Ma Hongjun muttered, "Nothing's been decided yet. Even if he becomes the teacher's disciple, he'll only be a junior disciple."

Dai Mubai glared at him. "You dead fatso, do you even know your own limits? Let me tell you, Brother Wu is stronger than I am. Once he arrives at the academy, everyone had better be polite."

"If you get beaten up, do not expect me to stand up for you."

Stronger than Dai Mubai!

Everyone had different thoughts.

Zhao Wuji was secretly delighted. It had not been easy to find such a promising talent. He had to drag the boy into some proper training.

Oscar clutched his head and wailed. Another powerhouse was coming to the academy, and he even had his own lackeys. Oscar's lowly status at the academy might not survive; from now on, he might have to act like everyone's grandson.

Dai Mubai smiled. "Teacher Zhao, the dean must have misunderstood something earlier. Once Xiao San finishes absorbing his Soul Ring, we'll return to the academy immediately."

"The academy is going to become lively in the future."

About an Incense Stick later, Tang San finished absorbing the Soul Ring.

The Soul Beast that had provided his Third Soul Ring was different from the one in the original timeline, so he did not obtain a Soul Bone.

At the instant the absorption ended, he inexplicably felt a sense of loss.

But once he noticed Xiao Wu's figure, he quickly cast that emotion aside.

Xiao Wu had returned. That was enough.

As for the Third Soul Ring, although it was not from the type of Soul Beast Yu Xiaogang had designated for him, its Soul Skill was quite good. From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful for Wu Qi and the others' help.