"What's going on?!" Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically. He sprang to his feet, and all seven soul rings on his body instantly flared to life. The powerful pressure of a Soul Elder erupted without restraint, reassuring Xiao Qing and the others while Zhao Wuji warily stared toward the northwest, where the sound and tremors had come from.
The terrifying pressure contained in that roar was enough to make even him, a Soul Elder, feel a chill in his heart!
Xiao Qing reacted the fastest. The instant he heard the first roar, his heart sank.
That level of commotion was absolutely not something an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could cause! Having trained in Sunset Forest and Star Dou Forest for so long, Xiao Qing naturally knew the limits of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
Ruling out Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, a name instantly flashed through Xiao Qing's mind—Titan Giant Ape! The King of the Forest, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, brother of the Sky Azure Bull Python, and Xiao Wu's younger brother, "Er Ming"!
Thinking of this, Xiao Qing subconsciously cast a quick sideways glance at Xiao Wu, who stood beside Tang San.
The instant Xiao Wu heard the roar, her delicate body visibly trembled. The smile on her face vanished at once, replaced by an extremely complicated emotion—shock, nervousness, and a trace of indescribable agitation.
She abruptly turned toward the direction of the roar, her lips parting slightly as though she wanted to say something, only to force herself to hold it back.
Watching Xiao Wu's reaction, Xiao Qing could not help thinking, Could it really be Er Ming?!
Because Oscar's timing, location, and target Soul Beast for obtaining his soul ring differed from the original story, theoretically, the chance and timing of the Titan Giant Ape's appearance could have changed as well.
But with such terrifying power and such widespread unrest among the Soul Beasts, Xiao Qing could think of no other possibility besides the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts deep within the forest.
"Teacher Zhao! This aura definitely isn't something a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast can possess. There's a high chance that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is in that direction!"
Xiao Qing spoke rapidly and firmly. He had to make Zhao Wuji realize the seriousness of the situation immediately. "The disturbance is coming from the northwest, and its range is rapidly closing in on us!"
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"
Everyone sucked in a breath, the color instantly draining from their faces. To youths whose highest cultivation was only Soul Elder, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was a legendary, unstoppable natural disaster!
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted, but as an experienced Soul Elder, he forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and shouted sternly:
"Xiao Qing, have your bird take off immediately and confirm that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's exact location, species, distance, and route! Hurry!"
Before Zhao Wuji even spoke, Xiao Qing had already communicated with Thunder Feather through his thoughts.
Thunder Feather, which had been circling high above on guard, let out a clear falcon cry. With a beat of its wings, it pushed its speed to the limit, transforming into a streak of blue-violet lightning as it shot toward the center of the chaos in the northwest.
Thunder Feather was incredibly fast and possessed excellent dynamic vision and aerial sight. In a situation like this, sending Thunder Feather was the wisest choice.
The wait felt exceptionally long. Every second seemed stretched out by the panicked cries of the Soul Beasts.
The chaos in the forest intensified. More Soul Beasts fled past them in panic, and some even crashed toward the camp in their blind desperation, only to be frightened away by the pressure Zhao Wuji released.
The tremors became increasingly obvious, and the terrifying roars grew clearer. Each one made everyone's hearts clench.
After only a few dozen breaths, Thunder Feather returned like a bolt of lightning and landed before Xiao Qing. Through their spiritual connection, Xiao Qing quickly learned what lay ahead.
Xiao Qing's expression became extremely grave. He turned to Zhao Wuji and spoke at a rapid pace. "Confirmed. It's the Titan Giant Ape! It's over fifteen meters tall and covered entirely in black fur. It's moving in our direction!"
"It's less than fifty li away from us! It's incredibly fast, smashing through or trampling flat every obstacle in its path! Thunder Feather says it seems to be chasing something, or perhaps something is drawing it in?"
Titan Giant Ape! The King of the Forest! It really was it! And it really was charging in this direction!
Zhao Wuji felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, even a Soul Elder like him was nowhere near enough!
But as a teacher of Shrek Academy, ensuring the students' safe retreat was his first priority!
"Everyone, listen up! Abandon the camp! Retreat southeast at full speed immediately! Run as fast as you can! Don't look back! Don't split up!"
Zhao Wuji's voice carried an unprecedented severity and urgency. He grabbed the still-dazed Oscar, then looked at Ning Rongrong. "Ning Rongrong, give everyone a continuous speed boost!"
"Seven Treasures have their name, the second is: Speed!"
Though Ning Rongrong's face was pale, she displayed the composure expected of a successor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at this critical moment. The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda shone brilliantly, and streams of colored light accurately fell upon everyone, including Zhao Wuji.
"Move!"
Zhao Wuji roared and took the lead, carrying Ning Rongrong and Oscar in his arms as he raced madly southeast, away from the direction the Titan Giant Ape was approaching from.
Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others followed without hesitation, pushing their speed to the limit.
As for Xiao Wu, before turning away, she could not help looking back toward the northwest once more, her expression complicated. Before she could look for long, Tang San grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.
Xiao Qing was in the middle of the group. Riding Xiao Feng, he continued to secretly observe Xiao Wu's reaction from the corner of his eye while thinking rapidly.
He was almost certain that the Titan Giant Ape had come for Xiao Wu.
But the current situation was that they were all fleeing together. In the original story, the Titan Giant Ape had charged straight over and taken Xiao Wu away. Would it charge directly at them now as well?
And in the original story, they had the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent to provide them with a flight soul skill.
To prepare for the worst, Xiao Qing began subtly adjusting his position within the group, gradually moving away from Xiao Wu toward the outer edge on the other side of the group.
If the Titan Giant Ape truly had come for Xiao Wu, then theoretically, the farther he and the others were from her, the safer they would be.
At the very least, he would not become collateral damage.
However, events seemed to develop beyond Xiao Qing's expectations.
Just as they had sprinted less than a li, the roar behind them suddenly became incomparably clear and close, as if it had exploded beside their ears!
The terrifying pressure rolled toward them like a tangible tidal wave, crushing the breath from their lungs. Oscar and Ning Rongrong, whose cultivation was lower, even felt their legs go weak.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Titan Giant Ape's unimaginably heavy footsteps rapidly closed in.
Through the spiritual connection, Xiao Qing clearly "saw" the scene Thunder Feather transmitted from high above behind them: after discovering that they were moving, the mountain-like Titan Giant Ape had abruptly increased its speed by a tremendous amount.
Xiao Qing understood that continuing to run in a straight line would not work. They had to use the terrain of Star Dou Forest to slow the Titan Giant Ape down, or they would have no chance of escaping.
Xiao Qing immediately patted Xiao Feng lightly on the back. Receiving the command, Xiao Feng gradually slowed down until he fell back beside Zhao Wuji.
Seeing Xiao Qing suddenly slow down and come to his side, Zhao Wuji immediately understood that something had gone wrong behind them!
"Teacher Zhao, that Hundred-Thousand-Year Titan Giant Ape has sped up. At our current speed, it's only a matter of time before it catches us. We have to slow it down."
Zhao Wuji naturally understood what Xiao Qing meant.
"Fine. Then you lead them and keep running. I'll stay behind and make some trouble for that big monkey!"
Xiao Qing had Ning Rongrong and Oscar ride Xiao Feng while he stood atop Thunder Feather. This not only put him farther from Xiao Wu and gave him greater mobility, but also meant Zhao Wuji no longer had dead weight holding him back.
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