Seizing Xiao Wu, Tang San Enraged: It Must Have Been Gu Rong!

Gu Rong's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together:

"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone—killing two birds with one stone! But..."

Gu Rong paused, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Those little brats are still outside. If Xiao Wu suddenly disappears, they'll definitely make a fuss."

"Make a fuss?"

Han Yu chuckled.

"What do they have to make a fuss with?

Tang San is only a Soul Ancestor, and Dai Mubai and the others are even weaker.

As long as you act swiftly and cleanly, Grandpa, they won't even be able to find out who did it."

Gu Rong nodded, then immediately shook his head.

"No. We just met them. If Xiao Wu disappears right afterward, even an idiot would suspect us.

This old man isn't afraid of Shrek's bunch of trash, but it still wouldn't sound good if word got out."

Han Yu rose to his feet and paced two steps with his hands behind his back.

"Then strike on the road.

When they leave Heaven Dou City and return to Blue Tyrant Academy, they'll have to pass along a stretch of official road.

Grandpa, lie in wait beforehand. Use a Spatial Shuttle to take her away—it'll only take a few breaths.

By the time they react, Xiao Wu will already be gone."

"Brilliant!"

Gu Rong slapped his thigh.

"And this old man can forge the scene too. I'll toss a few rabbit hairs on the ground and make it look like she was attacked by a high-level Soul Beast.

There are plenty of Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest anyway. Blame it on a Ten Thousand Year flying Soul Beast, and they won't even have anywhere to investigate."

Han Yu turned around, a chilling curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Then it's settled.

Grandpa, leave now and wait on the official road outside the city.

I'll hold down the fort at the sect. If anyone from Shrek comes to make trouble, we'll be prepared."

Gu Rong burst into laughter. With a casual sweep of his five fingers, a spatial rift appeared out of thin air.

"This old man will be back in no time.

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, just wait obediently to become his sixth ring!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Rong vanished into the rift.

The Shrek group walked along the official road back to Heaven Dou City, and the atmosphere was as oppressive as the sky before a storm.

Ning Rongrong's eyes were red and swollen as she continuously wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. Oscar followed beside her, repeatedly hesitating to speak.

Tang San walked at the front, his brows tightly furrowed as though he were deep in thought.

Dai Mubai finally could not hold it in any longer. He slammed a fist into a tree trunk by the roadside.

"That Gu Rong is going too far!

Is he so arrogant just because he's a Titled Douluo?

What's so great about that?"

Ma Hongjun rubbed his still-aching chest and muttered:

"Yeah. I only said one sentence, and he nearly shook me to death.

That old bastard's temper is way too bad."

"Say less."

Zhu Zhuqing spoke coldly.

"We were the ones who went looking for trouble first. It was already polite enough that they didn't deal with us."

Dai Mubai turned and glared at her.

"Zhuqing, whose side are you on?"

"I'm only stating the facts."

Zhu Zhuqing's expression remained unchanged.

"Ling Tian Sect is at the height of its power now. Three Titled Douluo are stationed there, and even the Heaven Dou Imperial Family has to show them respect.

What do we have to challenge them with?"

Tang San stopped and turned to look at everyone.

"Stop arguing.

What happened today was indeed something we failed to think through properly."

Ning Rongrong looked up at Tang San with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Third Brother, even you think I was wrong?"

Tang San fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Rongrong, you weren't wrong.

But Gu Rong wasn't wrong either.

From their standpoint, they truly had no reason to forgive you."

Oscar's face darkened, and he lowered his head.

Dai Mubai frowned.

"Tang San, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that we need to reassess Ling Tian Sect's attitude toward us."

Tang San's gaze was deep.

"The way Han Yu looked at me today..."

He paused and did not continue.

Xiao Wu had been walking at the very back of the group, unusually quiet.

Tang San turned to look at her.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?

Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Wu forced out a smile.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired.

Let's hurry back."

Ma Hongjun scratched his head.

"Come to think of it, did you all sense that Soul Beast aura at Ling Tian Sect?

It seemed especially obvious at the entrance just now."

Gu Rong had done that deliberately.

He had amplified Xiao Wu's Soul Beast aura so Ma Hongjun could sense it.

Dai Mubai sneered.

"What Soul Beast aura?

Fatty, did Gu Rong shake you stupid?"

"I didn't!"

Ma Hongjun grew anxious.

"I really sensed it! It was right near us!"

Tang San frowned slightly. He closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings for a moment, then opened them and shook his head.

"I didn't sense anything.

Fatty, you're probably too nervous."

Ma Hongjun muttered a few words and said nothing more.

Ning Rongrong wiped away her tears and took a deep breath.

"I won't give up.

Grandpa Bone used to dote on me the most. He's just still angry.

After some time passes, I'll come beg him again."

Oscar raised his head, bitterness flashing in his eyes.

"Rongrong, do you really only want Bone Douluo to come back?"

Ning Rongrong froze.

"What do you mean?"

Oscar shook his head without speaking.

Tang San sighed, turned around, and continued forward.

"Let's go. It'll be dark soon. We need to get back to the academy before nightfall."

The group set off again, each carrying their own thoughts.

Xiao Wu lagged behind at the very end. She looked back toward Heaven Dou City, unease flashing through her eyes.

She kept feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Had Gu Rong really seen through her true identity?

The sky gradually darkened, and the forests on either side of the official road cast deep shadows in the dusk.

Xiao Wu walked more and more slowly, falling more than ten steps behind the others.

She kept feeling as if something were watching her, sending chills down her spine.

Tang San glanced back and slowed down to wait for her.

"Xiao Wu, what exactly is wrong?

You haven't seemed right since earlier."

Xiao Wu shook her head and was about to speak when—

The space above her suddenly tore open.

A pale hand reached out from the rift and seized Xiao Wu precisely by the back of her neck.

"What?!"

Xiao Wu's pupils shrank sharply. Her Soul Power was just about to erupt when an irresistible force of space crushed it down completely.

"Third Brother!"

Xiao Wu only had time to cry out those two words before her entire body was dragged into the pitch-black spatial rift.

"Xiao Wu!"

Tang San's expression changed drastically. He shot toward the closing rift like an arrow released from a bow.

Too late.

The rift completely closed before Tang San's eyes, as though it had never existed.

"Who is it?!

Get the hell out here!"

Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted heavily.

His Purple Demon Eye was driven to its limit as he frantically scanned the surrounding void.

Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong simultaneously released their Martial Souls, forming a defensive formation back-to-back.

"Tang San, what did you see?"

Dai Mubai asked in a low voice.

Tang San stared fixedly at the spot where Xiao Wu had vanished, his voice terrifyingly hoarse.

"A hand... It reached out from a spatial rift... and took Xiao Wu away."

"A spatial rift?"

Ma Hongjun sucked in a sharp breath.