Ning Rongrong Scolds Oscar! The Titan Giant Ape Attacks? Huang Yan: Let's Enjoy the Show! (Please Keep Reading!)

But when she looked at Oscar on the ground, the fear in her eyes instantly turned into intense disgust and fury.

"Oscar, you bastard!"

Pointing at Oscar on the ground, Ning Rongrong's voice shook violently with anger.

"You actually used me as a human shield?!"

Oscar was drenched in sweat and convulsing with pain. He couldn't even manage to get a complete sentence out.

"Rongrong... I... I didn't..."

"Shut up!"

Ning Rongrong's eyes were red-rimmed as she gritted her teeth and cursed him.

"You were always saying how much you liked me, how you'd protect me forever!

And what happened?

When danger came, your first instinct was to hide behind me and make me, an auxiliary-type Soul Master, shield you from that horrifying thing!"

At that, Ning Rongrong turned around, still shaken, and looked at Zhu Zhuqing, whose face was as cold as frost. Her voice was choked with tears and gratitude.

"Zhuqing, thank you...

If you hadn't kicked him away just now, my hand would definitely be the one that got burned off!"

Zhu Zhuqing coldly glanced at Oscar on the ground.

Her face was full of mockery and disdain, and her voice held not a trace of warmth.

"A man's words are a ghost's lies.

Only when life and death are on the line can you see what a person is really made of."

"Everyone, shut up!"

Just then, Zhao Wuji endured the tearing pain from his severed arm and roared, cutting off Ning Rongrong's scolding.

His face was as pale as paper. He clamped his remaining left hand over the bleeding wound at his right shoulder and snarled through clenched teeth.

"Isn't there already enough chaos?!

With blood in the air this thick, the surrounding Spirit Beasts will come running soon!

If you want to die here, keep arguing!"

They were on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Even if Spirit Beasts showed up,

the group could still handle them with ease.

But Zhao Wuji had no heart to continue hunting for a Spirit Ring now.

Zhao Wuji's roar made Ning Rongrong take a frightened step back. She bit her lip and fell silent.

But her gaze toward Oscar remained cold.

"Dai Mubai!

What are you standing there for?!"

Zhao Wuji turned to look at Dai Mubai, whose face was grim.

"Help Oscar stop the bleeding!

If he bleeds to death, I'll hold you responsible!"

"Yes, Teacher Zhao!"

Dai Mubai snapped out of it and hurried over to Oscar, pressing down on his severed wrist, which was still spurting blood.

Seeing his once-close friend in such a miserable state, Dai Mubai couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.

"Xiao Ao, hang in there!

Quick, use your Soul Skill!

Make some Recovery Sausages!"

Oscar was convulsing with pain, his face smeared with tears and dirt.

He glanced at Ning Rongrong, who was watching coldly from the side. A hint of despair flashed in his eyes before he tremblingly recited his Soul Skill incantation.

"I have... I have a big sausage..."

Several sausages appeared. Dai Mubai quickly stuffed them into Oscar's mouth, then took out another and handed it to Zhao Wuji.

On the other side, Tang San also struggled to his feet and took several bottles of medicine from Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

"Teacher Zhao, Boss Dai, this is the Special Effect Golden Sore Medicine I prepared. It can stop bleeding quickly."

Tang San's face was deathly pale as he tossed the bottles over.

With Xiao Wu's trembling help, he sprinkled the medicine powder over his severed finger.

"Hiss—"

The moment the powder touched their wounds, they all sucked in a sharp breath from the pain. Fortunately, the bleeding finally stopped.

Zhao Wuji leaned against a tree, panting heavily. He looked at the few piles of ash on the ground, his eyes full of lingering fear and frustration.

"Damn it, we've really taken a hard fall this time!

We don't even know what we were dealing with, and now we've got one crippled and two injured!"

Supporting the weak Oscar, Dai Mubai asked with a grave expression.

"Teacher Zhao, what do we do now?

Xiao Ao's third Spirit Ring..."

"To hell with hunting for a Spirit Ring!"

Zhao Wuji cursed, slamming his remaining left hand against the tree trunk.

"I've lost an arm, and my strength has taken a huge hit.

Xiao Ao lost a hand, and Xiao San lost a finger.

In our current state, going into the Star Dou Great Forest would be like delivering ourselves as food to the Spirit Beasts!"

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath, looked around at the battered group, and gritted his teeth as he gave the order.

"Pack up immediately and leave tonight!

Get out of the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest and return to Shrek Academy!"

"Brother..."

Xiao Wu supported Tang San, her eyes red and her voice choked.

"I'm sorry. This is all because of me..."

"You silly girl."

Tang San stroked Xiao Wu's head with his uninjured right hand, his gaze tender but unusually firm.

"I told you, as long as I have even one breath left, I won't let anyone hurt you."

The group helped each other as they stumbled out of the Star Dou Great Forest.

To be safe,

Zhao Wuji decided they should rest for the night at an inn and tend to everyone's injuries again.

They would set off for Shrek Academy first thing the next morning.

However, the moment they sat down in the inn's main hall, before they'd even had a sip of water,

"Rumble—!"

The ground suddenly shook violently without warning!

The entire inn rocked wildly. Tables and chairs toppled in an instant, and dust sifted down from the ceiling.

"What's going on?!"

Zhao Wuji shot to his feet, gripping a pillar with his remaining left hand. His expression changed drastically.

"Is it an earthquake?!"

Dai Mubai shielded the weakened Oscar and shouted,

"Everyone, watch out!

Stay together!"

Tang San endured the pain in his severed finger and called out a warning.

Xiao Wu had still been watching Tang San's hand with red-rimmed eyes and a worried expression.

The sudden, terrifying commotion startled her so badly that she froze in place.

"This tremor... this feeling..."

Xiao Wu's face turned even paler than before as a fatal oversight flashed through her mind.

She suddenly remembered that, during the life-or-death struggle against that strange golden fire,

she had released the aura of her Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast form in a desperate attempt to protect everyone.

That had successfully driven Huang Yan away.

But afterward, when Tang San lost his finger, she had panicked.

Overcome with grief, she had completely forgotten to conceal her aura again!

"Oh no... Could Er Ming be here?!"

Xiao Wu was horrified, cold sweat instantly soaking through her back.

Given how sensitive Er Ming was to her aura, if he sensed it leaking out, he would charge over in a frenzy, no matter what!

"Xiao Wu, don't be afraid!

Hide behind me!"

Tang San pulled Xiao Wu behind him and stared at the pitch-black night outside the inn.

"Teacher Zhao, something's wrong!

This isn't an earthquake. Some terrifyingly huge creature is approaching!"

"Damn it!

What did I do to deserve this kind of rotten luck today?!"

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth, his eyes full of despair.

Meanwhile,

in the night sky not far from the town,

Huang Yan hovered in midair, beating his wings.

He looked toward the Star Dou Great Forest and keenly sensed the surging, overwhelming pressure.

A Mountain Giant Ape was charging wildly toward the inn where the Shrek group had taken shelter.

Trees toppled in its wake, and the earth rolled beneath its feet.

"Oh? The Titan Giant Ape sure is quick."

Huang Yan watched the scene, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Huang Yan folded his arms across his chest, his expression one of anticipation. He chuckled softly.

"Now the real show is just getting started."