Not even a three-year-old would believe such an obvious lie.
Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Xiao Wu came clean about her identity.
"Actually..."
After steadying herself a little, she looked at Tang San, then turned to Tang Wu:
"Third Brother, Fifth Brother, you guessed right. I'm not a normal person."
"Actually... I'm... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who transformed into human form."
After saying those words, Xiao Wu seemed to have exhausted all her strength.
She lowered her head, not daring to look them in the eye, afraid she would see distance and estrangement in their gazes.
She didn't want to see the family she'd spent six years with look at her with disgust.
There was nothing sadder in the world.
You could be standing right in front of someone, yet the distance between you felt like an entire world.
And yet.
The next second.
Tang San wrapped his arms around Xiao Wu and held her close. Then, as she stared at him in shock, he said:
"I don't care whether you're human or a Soul Beast. All I know is that you're Xiao Wu."
"The little sister I once swore to protect... That's enough for me."
Tang San showed not the slightest disgust at Xiao Wu's identity as a Soul Beast.
He released the delicate figure in his arms and met her bright eyes, speaking with utmost seriousness:
"As long as you still consider me your big brother, we'll do everything in our power to protect you. Right, Tang Wu?"
As he spoke, Tang San looked toward Tang Wu.
"Of course..."
Tang Wu stopped watching from the sidelines, stepped forward, and blinked:
"After all, there isn't another silly rabbit like you in the whole world, Xiao Wu."
"You're calling me silly again! Aaaah, you're making me so mad!"
"Don't run! I'm gonna bite you..."
"You bite people every time you get angry. How many times have you used that move already? Out of tricks, are you?"
The two of them bickered and tussled, just like before, exactly as they had throughout the past six years.
Watching Tang Wu and Xiao Wu play around, Tang San's lips curved into a faint smile.
But on the other side...
Titan Giant Ape Er Ming was in a terrible mood.
He'd watched Tang San sweet-talk his way into winning over his Sister Xiao Wu.
The look on his face...
It was like a father-in-law meeting his son-in-law: no matter where he looked, he found something to dislike, and his teeth ground with anger.
Afterward...
Xiao Wu chose to return to the human world with the two Tang brothers. When Titan Giant Ape heard this, his first reaction was to refuse.
It was simply because...
Er Ming still couldn't bring himself to completely trust Tang Wu and Tang San.
Especially since they knew about Sister Xiao Wu's Soul Beast Transformation. That made him even less willing to let her go.
"All right, Er Ming. Stop throwing a tantrum, or Sister Xiao Wu's going to get mad."
Seeing this, Xiao Wu put on her big-sisterly air and scolded Titan Giant Ape:
"Besides, if I don't go back to the human world and absorb enough human aura, my level will stay stuck where it is."
Tang Wu jumped in and came up to Titan Giant Ape, unable to keep from grinning as he said:
"Exactly. Come on, big guy. You don't want to see Sister Xiao Wu stuck at Soul Elder rank forever, do you?"
At those words...
The brain packed into Titan Giant Ape's muscles, which rarely got much use, finally turned over once.
Thinking of what would happen, he could only helplessly let things unfold and leave.
It was just that...
Watching Xiao Wu insist on leaving while Titan Giant Ape could only stand there helplessly, unable to do anything about it...
Like a husband fast asleep.
"Yamete! No, Sister Xiao Wu, you can't...!!!"
"ROAR—"
Titan Giant Ape pounded his chest, letting out a dull "thump," then opened his enormous palm.
The sudden commotion startled Tang San. He turned to Xiao Wu and asked:
"Xiao Wu, what's he saying?"
"Er Ming means he can carry us part of the way, back to the edge of the forest."
Xiao Wu translated Er Ming's meaning for them.
Tang Wu looked at Titan Giant Ape. He clearly didn't want to do it, but for Xiao Wu's sake, he could only resignedly bring the two of them along.
He'd really gone this far for her?
Haji Ape, you rascal!
So the three of them hitched a ride on Titan Giant Ape and made it back along the route they'd come in less than half an hour.
Not a single ill-advised Soul Beast dared to block their way.
Watching Xiao Wu leave, Titan Giant Ape couldn't help following her for a little while.
When you see Sister Xiao Wu again, I hope you'll be happy and live well.
All right?
Be happy. Live well...
Only when Xiao Wu waved at him did he finally stop:
"All right, Er Ming, this is far enough. We're close to the edge now. It wouldn't be good if someone saw you."
With no other choice, Titan Giant Ape finally stopped and turned to leave.
"Third Brother, there's something I'd like to ask you two to help me with..."
Seeing that no one else was around and only Tang Wu and Tang San were beside her—both of whom she trusted completely—Xiao Wu explained that to break through, she had to condense a Soul Ring herself, and that now was the perfect time.
Tang San didn't give it a second thought. He thumped his chest and agreed on the spot.
They only had to stand guard. How hard could that be?
Seeing this...
Xiao Wu sat cross-legged and began to draw on the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast essence within her, condensing a Soul Ring.
At first, the ring resembled a white hundred-year Soul Ring.
However, its inner ring was entirely different from an ordinary Soul Ring. It had no runes or circuits at all.
That meant there was no Soul Beast information inside it—just a mass of pure energy, with no Soul Skills recorded either.
To explain it in gaming terms...
It was a blank Soul Ring, empty inside, whose only function was to help her break through.
Afterward...
The Spirit Ring Circuit gradually took shape, replacing the blank ring with a new Soul Skill.
Once the Soul Skill was chosen, all that remained was to add enough essence to raise the ring's age step by step.
Soon, white turned to yellow, and then the yellow advanced into a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Tang Wu watched it all with his own eyes, his gaze filled with astonishment:
"Self-Condensed Soul Ring... How exactly is this possible? What's the principle behind it?"
He was fascinated by the idea of self-condensing a Soul Ring, and incredibly curious about it too.
If humans could master the technique themselves, it wouldn't necessarily make them stronger, but it would absolutely let them find what suited them best.
After all...
The Soul Ring best suited to you would surely come from a Soul Beast of the same kind as your Martial Soul.
Besides, Tang Wu seemed to remember that in the original story, Tang San had received help from the Blue Silver King.
His first four Soul Rings had all been poison-type, and his Blue Silver Grass had mutated beyond recognition, only to be forcibly brought back.
It had even gone straight from ordinary Blue Silver Grass to Blue Silver Emperor, though that was because Tang San carried the bloodline of the previous Blue Silver Emperor within him.
Still, it was enough to show that absorbing a Soul Ring of the same kind with powerful essence brought enormous benefits to a Soul Master.
"What are you thinking about, Tang Wu?"
Seeing Tang Wu frown, as if deep in thought, Tang San couldn't help asking.
When he learned what his dear little brother was thinking, he was stunned too.
And right at that moment, Tang Wu dropped another bombshell:
"If I'm not mistaken, Brother, absorbing a powerful Soul Ring of the same kind can trigger Martial Soul Evolution."
"Your ordinary Blue Silver Grass could evolve into the emperor of all Blue Silver Grass, just like mine..."