Seeing who had arrived, Zhao Wuji instinctively stepped in front of Tang Wu and the others, shielding them behind him.
In the Star Dou Forest, people were a hundred times more dangerous than Soul Beasts.
"I am Chao Tianxiang. This Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was our prey. We made one careless move, and it escaped."
"If you need proof, there are still wounds on its belly from my Serpent Cane."
"So you're Snake Granny, one half of the Peerless Dragon and Snake. Senior Chao Tianxiang, I'm Zhao Wuji."
Hearing her name, Zhao Wuji cupped his hands toward Chao Tianxiang.
Although Snake Granny was only a Soul Emperor, and he could easily overpower her,
she and Dragon Duke also possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Its power could even rival a Titled Douluo's, which meant Zhao Wuji couldn't afford to provoke them.
Snake Granny was nearby. So how far away could Dragon Duke be?
Seeing that Zhao Wuji had heard of her, Chao Tianxiang loosened her grip on her Serpent Cane a little.
Good, good. At least he knew who she was...
That meant this old woman had room to maneuver.
The two sides argued over who the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent belonged to, each insisting they were in the right.
Neither was willing to give an inch.
With no other choice, they decided to settle things the way Soul Masters usually did: whoever had the bigger fist got the Soul Beast.
Zhao Wuji turned to look at the others.
"Oscar's a support-type Soul Master. So, which of you will take his place?"
"Teacher Zhao, let me do it. My Soul Power is about the same as hers, so that'll make it fair."
Tang San stepped forward, perfectly at ease.
As for how things ended, naturally, Tang San came out victorious.
Outmatched, Chao Tianxiang could only reluctantly give up the prey she'd nearly secured and leave with her granddaughter.
But before Meng Yiran left, she shot Tang San a fierce glare.
"To avoid any further complications, Oscar, hurry up and absorb the Soul Ring."
"Okay, I'm on it..."
Oscar struck a fatal blow, ending the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's life.
As its Soul Ring emerged from the corpse and settled around him, he began absorbing it.
Only after Oscar finished absorbing the Soul Ring and explained what his Soul Skill did was their Soul Hunting Operation over.
"Sorry, Teacher Zhao. We'll have to extend this Soul Hunting trip. I just broke through to level 30."
But just then, Tang San announced that he'd advanced.
Rumble—
Suddenly,
the earth shook, and the trees around them swayed with the tremors.
It was here!
The instant he saw what was happening, Tang Wu realized the Titan Giant Ape had found them.
A pair of enormous, lantern-sized, golden-yellow eyes appeared between the trees.
Right after that, a pair of arms roughly shoved aside towering trees that had grown there for who knew how many years.
Trees weighing thousands of jin crashed to the ground.
Zhao Wuji tried to negotiate with the Titan Giant Ape, but it didn't even give him the time of day.
After activating his Martial Soul Avatar, he was treated like a stray dog by the roadside and casually kicked aside.
The Titan Giant Ape reached out with one hand. Tang San could only watch as Xiao Wu was snatched away, powerless to stop it.
All he could do was shout helplessly,
"No! Xiao Wu, give Xiao Wu back—!"
Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox. Throwing caution to the wind, he charged at the Titan Giant Ape.
He was only level 30, and he dared to risk his life against a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape?
Hah, San, you lunatic!
All I can say is, that Love Gu was just too busted.
Tang San couldn't accept the fact that Xiao Wu had been taken away.
"Oscar, please, help me! I can't lose Xiao Wu. I promised I'd protect her."
"Tang San, okay! I understand..."
"Third Soul Skill: True Flying Wing Mushroom!"
With the mushroom in hand, a pair of wings appeared on Tang San's back, and he pursued the Titan Giant Ape in the direction it had disappeared.
Zhao Wuji was badly injured. He wanted to stop Tang San, but there was nothing he could do.
"Even if you catch up, what are you going to do? Why won't you listen? Sigh, where's that kid Tang Wu?"
But when he turned around, Tang Wu was nowhere to be seen.
At the same time, elsewhere,
Tang Wu already had more Soul Power than Tang San. With Oscar's Soul Skill boosting him, he soon caught up.
"Brother, you're really going too far, playing the hero all by yourself."
"Xiao Wu, go! It's too dangerous here."
"I'm ordering you as your older brother: go back right now!"
When Tang San saw that Tang Wu had followed him, his first reaction wasn't happiness. Instead, he immediately told him to leave.
He even tried to use the authority of an older brother—second only to a father—to force him to go.
But—
As someone who regularly kept Tang Hao in line, when had Tang Wu ever listened to him? How could he possibly give in to this trick?
The answer was obvious.
Sure enough, Tang Wu rolled his eyes.
"Brother, you know this doesn't work on me. You may as well give up now."
"Besides, Xiao Wu was taken away. Do you think you're the only one worried about her safety?"
Actually, that was a lie.
Tang Wu knew Xiao Wu's identity. The Titan Giant Ape wouldn't hurt her.
What he really wanted was to meet the Titan Giant Ape ahead of time and see if he could get on good terms with it.
After all, a great man once said that you should make the enemy camp as small as possible and your circle of friends as large as possible.
"Xiao Wu, you..."
Tang San stared at Tang Wu blankly, then his expression quickly hardened with determination.
"Fine. We'll go together and bring Xiao Wu back, no matter what."
"Second Soul Skill: Blue Silver Connection."
A blue chain connected to Tang Wu, while two others linked to the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, continuously restoring Tang San's Soul Power.
Tang Wu's third Soul Skill, "Flying Wing Glider Grass," then stacked on top of Tang San's. With this repeated-stacking effect,
their flying speed increased by nearly half!
They flew for another ten minutes or so, but the traces left by the Titan Giant Ape grew fewer and fewer.
It was as if he knew someone was chasing him. He leaped farther and farther each time, until his tracks nearly vanished.
After thirty minutes, Oscar's Soul Skill wore off, but the Flying Wing Glider Grass still kept them airborne.
They weren't about to crash straight to the ground, but their speed visibly slowed.
Worse still, their Soul Power was nearly depleted.
Their urgent priority now was to replenish their Soul Power. Otherwise, forget rescuing Xiao Wu—
in the dangerous Star Dou Forest, without Soul Power, they could become prey to a powerful Soul Beast at any moment.
"No, Xiao Wu's still waiting for me. I can't... I won't..."
Tang San couldn't wait around to slowly recover.
If they took the time to recover, they'd be waiting until the cows came home.
As Tang Wu and Tang San flew over a forest, a Soul Beast on the ground attacked them.
"Watch out!"
Tang Wu sensed the fluctuation of Soul Power at once and kicked his brother in the chest.
Tang San felt a sharp pain in his chest. His body flew backward and slammed straight into a tree before sliding to the ground.
Tang San: Thanks a lot!
Tang Wu landed too, but he wasn't nearly as battered as the other man.
They looked toward the direction the attack had come from, and the Soul Beast's appearance came into view.
It was a gigantic turtle-like Soul Beast.
And on its back, it carried a small mountain. That wasn't a figure of speech—it really was a small mountain.
Layers of shell rose one atop another, forming three ridges. This meant it had a cultivation of around three thousand years.