Yu Xiaogang was imagining how he would tailor the Shrek Seven Devils' training routes, how they would absorb their Soul Rings, how he would configure the team—everything was wonderful.
Little did he know that, at that moment, the Shrek Seven Devils were all on the verge of panic.
The Star Dou Great Forest was so silent it was suffocating.
The core region, once filled with thunderous beast roars, now held nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind. It was as empty as a haunted land.
The air no longer carried the rank stench of Soul Beasts or the freshness of grass and trees, but a hollow feeling that made one's heart tremble.
"They're gone... They're all gone..."
"How could this happen?"
"This is the Star Dou Great Forest..."
"If even the Star Dou Great Forest is like this, could the Soul Beasts elsewhere have disappeared too?"
The more Dai Mubai searched, the colder his heart grew. He kept voicing his terror.
"Shut up!"
"How could all the Soul Beasts possibly disappear?"
Zhu Zhuqing, behind Dai Mubai, heard his words and angrily shouted at him.
She hadn't forgiven Dai Mubai yet, and now that he was saying things she didn't want to hear, her tone was naturally harsh.
If all the Soul Beasts were gone, wouldn't that mean she had no Soul Rings to absorb?
Then she'd be stuck at the Soul Grandmaster realm for the rest of her life. She didn't want that.
"Damn it!"
"Damn it!"
"How could this happen?"
"We really can't find a single Soul Beast. Even the plant Soul Beasts have disappeared..."
Elsewhere, after searching for a long time, Oscar and Ma Hongjun were both agitated and terrified, unable to accept the reality before their eyes.
The Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest really had all disappeared.
"It's okay. Maybe the Soul Beasts have only disappeared from this area. They should still be around in other directions."
"That's right. The Star Dou Great Forest is so vast. There's no way every Soul Beast has disappeared."
"Yeah, we don't need to scare ourselves. Even if the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest are gone, there are still Soul Beasts elsewhere, right?"
"Mm-hmm. As long as every Soul Beast in the world hasn't disappeared, we'll be fine."
Oscar and Ma Hongjun tried to reassure each other—and themselves.
After saying that last sentence, they both fell silent. The thought of such a possibility filled them with boundless fear.
"Impossible... Something like that could never happen..."
The two exchanged another glance.
Then they relaxed.
They truly couldn't believe that the Soul Beasts could become extinct on the Douluo Continent.
It was impossible!
"Teacher Zhao, what exactly is going on?"
"Even the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest have disappeared. Could the Soul Beasts elsewhere have disappeared too?"
After searching alongside Zhao Wuji, Ning Rongrong was also utterly shocked.
She was fairly well-informed and knew that the Star Dou Great Forest was the largest and most powerful Soul Beast forest, so she suspected that something might have happened elsewhere too.
"Don't worry. Something like that couldn't happen."
Zhao Wuji didn't turn around. He merely gave her a perfunctory reply.
Ning Rongrong pouted at Zhao Wuji's back, feeling a little angry.
She was shocked and uneasy, and wanted some reassurance from Zhao Wuji, but he was brushing her off.
That immediately made Ning Rongrong miss her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
If she were at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect right now, whether it was her father, Sword Grandpa, or Bone Grandpa, they would all have considered her feelings first.
"No. If the Soul Beasts really have disappeared, I have to return to the sect right away."
"If all the Soul Beasts are gone, there's no reason to stay at Shrek Academy."
Ning Rongrong began to think about going back.
Before, she had been focused on figuring out how to fit in with Shrek. But now that something as terrifying as the disappearance of the Soul Beasts had happened, she no longer had the mind to worry about that.
All she wanted was to return to the sect and have her father and the two grandpas find out what had happened.
Still, Ning Rongrong hadn't completely lost her composure. Before, she would have demanded that Zhao Wuji take her back at once.
This time, she said nothing. She decided to wait until everyone returned together, then leave.
Xiao Wu darted through the forest like a startled rabbit.
Thorns tore at her pink dress, and blood streaked her pale calves, but she didn't notice.
Tears had long since blurred her vision. Her heart felt as though an icy hand had clenched around it, and each beat brought a ripping pain.
She wasn't only worried that something might have happened to Daming and Erming. She also grieved for all the Soul Beasts that had disappeared.
After all, she had once been one of them. Seeing so many Soul Beasts vanish filled her with sorrow.
"Daming! Erming! Please, don't let anything happen to you!" Xiao Wu thought anxiously.
At first, she had been with Tang San. But when she realized they really couldn't find a single Soul Beast, she seized a chance to slip away and headed for the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.
She didn't dare tell Tang San that she was a Soul Beast, but she was too worried about Daming and Erming to stay. So she had no choice but to sneak off.
She could come up with an excuse when she got back.
Whoosh—
At last, she reached the familiar Lake of Life.
This should have been the heart of the forest, the home of the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python, and the mightiest symbol of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Yet the lake remained deep and green, its surface frighteningly still.
There was no Titan Giant Ape on the shore, nor a bull's head rising from the water. Those two behemoths, as massive as hills, who guarded this place—and whose auras even made Titled Douluo wary—had vanished without a trace.
"No—!" Xiao Wu let out a piercing scream, her legs giving way as she fell to her knees in the cold mud beside the lake.
"Daming! Erming!"
"Come out!"
"It's me! Your Sister Xiao Wu is back!"
"Come out! Don't scare me!"
Xiao Wu cried out anxiously toward the lake.
But the only answer was the lake's unruffled, silent surface.
"No—!"
Terrible fear and sorrow completely engulfed Xiao Wu.
The forest was empty. Her home was empty. Her younger brothers, who had depended on each other with her, were gone.
She felt as though the whole world had abandoned her.
Why? Who had done this? Who had such terrifying power that they could wipe out every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest in an instant?
Xiao Wu's thoughts were a chaotic mess. All that remained was endless grief and helpless wailing.
Far away, Tang Hao, who had followed her all the way, also felt his heart turn ice-cold.
When Xiao Wu slipped away, he had hesitated for a moment, then followed her.
It wasn't that he wasn't worried about Tang San. He had realized that the Soul Beasts throughout the Star Dou Great Forest seemed to have truly disappeared. Without Soul Beasts, Tang San was no longer in danger.
So he had followed her.
Now, seeing that the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest was empty too, Tang Hao was shaken—and, at last, afraid.
"Ah Yin, are you still here?"
"You must still be here, right?"
"Ah Yin, wait for me. I'm coming to see you now!"
Whoosh—
Tang Hao vanished in an instant.
The Soul Beasts had disappeared, and Tang San was safe for the time being.
He didn't want to wait another moment.