At night, Star Dou Forest should have been fraught with danger, yet still followed some kind of quiet rhythm.
But on this star-speckled midnight, a terrifying aura—one powerful enough to make even the soul tremble—
swept through the entire outskirts of the forest like a sudden tsunami.
"Rumble—!"
Trees in the distance toppled in swaths like brittle stalks of hay. Heavy crashes rang out as the earth shook violently, the sound drawing nearer and nearer.
The air seemed to freeze. The forest's insects and birds fell silent all at once, leaving only the muffled thunder of approaching footsteps, each one pounding into everyone's heart.
"This... this kind of aura..."
Dragon Duke Meng Shu, who had been protecting Meng Yiran as they searched for a place to camp, turned as white as paper.
His perception as an eighty-first-rank Soul Douluo was blaring warnings, telling him that something utterly beyond their ability to resist was drawing near.
"I've never felt gravity pressure this immense! Could it be... the King of the Forest?!"
Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang's voice trembled. She gripped her snake-headed cane so tightly that it creaked.
"Grandpa, Grandma, what is that?"
Meng Yiran's delicate body shook. She had never seen her usually indomitable grandfather look so utterly terrified.
"Run! Quickly!"
Meng Shu didn't even have time to call out to Su Yun. He grabbed Meng Yiran, unleashed all his Soul Power, and shot toward the forest's outskirts like a streak of light.
Faced with the pressure of such a superior life form, what did pride or fortune matter? It was all worthless.
Tang San was stunned, too.
He stared fixedly at the gigantic creature slowly emerging from the darkness: a great ape like a black mountain, its knotted muscles gleaming with a metallic sheen in the moonlight, its lantern-sized eyes shining with a wild, ferocious red light.
"Titan Giant Ape..."
Tang San swallowed. So tense that he could feel his heart about to leap out of his throat, he was terrified.
But from the corner of his eye, he saw Xiao Wu beside him, and his twisted fixation and desire to show off warped his fear into something resembling heroism.
Trembling, he pulled the Godly Zhuge Crossbow from the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist. It was the most powerful weapon he could bring to bear.
"Xiao Wu... don't be afraid! I have a Hidden Weapon! I'll get you out of here!"
Tang San gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand straight, searching the frightened, pale face for a hint of gratitude.
Su Yun, however, looked utterly calm.
He leaned against an old tree, even raising his folding fan in his left hand with elegant ease.
As Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing watched in horror, he leisurely summoned the black Diary and scrawled across its faintly glowing page.
[Well, well. The big fool Er Ming is finally here.]
[He probably hasn't seen his Sister Xiao Wu in too long and missed her, so he came charging out of the core area in a hurry.]
[Look at this commotion. How much public property has he destroyed? How many flowers and plants has he trampled? He has no environmental awareness at all.]
[What's Little San shaking that busted slingshot for? "I'll hold it off"? With your head? Er Ming could blow you all the way back to Holy Soul Village with a fart.]
[But that's fine. The big scene is about to begin. I'll "reason things out" with Er Ming in a moment, then visit his "lakeside mansion" in the core area.]
The diary entry synchronized in real time.
Ning Rongrong had been so scared she was ready to dig herself into the ground, but when the copy in her arms lit up, she froze.
"Er Ming? Big fool? Sister Xiao Wu?"
Ning Rongrong stiffly turned to look at Xiao Wu, who wore a worried expression.
Zhu Zhuqing had finished reading the diary, and her tense body relaxed at once.
She looked at Su Yun with an extremely complicated expression.
Did this man actually know even the King of the Forest?
And from the way he talked, it sounded like he was judging some blockheaded neighbor.
Xiao Wu finished reading the diary, and the worry in her heart eased, too.
What she feared most was that Er Ming would act recklessly and hurt Su Yun, or accidentally expose her identity without realizing it.
Now that she saw Su Yun had already figured everything out, a hint of sweetness and adoration flickered in her bright eyes.
"Roar—!"
The Titan Giant Ape let out an earth-shaking roar and slammed its enormous palm into the ground, kicking up another storm of dirt and stones.
Its huge eyes swept across the crowd before fixing on Xiao Wu.
"Tang San, take Xiao Wu and run! I'll hold it off!"
Tang San suddenly roared and pulled the trigger on the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. Sixteen bolts shot toward the ape's chest with piercing whistles.
"Clink, clink, clink..."
They didn't even produce a spark. The bolts struck Er Ming's meteorite-hard skin and didn't even scratch it.
Er Ming didn't feel a thing. It just thought the little fly hopping around in front of it was annoying and was about to slap him to death.
"Tang San, are you done with your performance?"
Su Yun's lazy voice rang out, imbued with an authority that seemed to pierce through the void.
He stepped forward and stood between Tang San and the ape.
"Su Yun, are you crazy? Get out of the way! It'll kill you!"
Tang San shouted from behind him, though in the dark recesses of his mind, he thought:
That's right, charge at it. Let it slap you to death!
Once you're dead, Xiao Wu will be mine!
What happened next shattered Tang San's understanding of the world and became a nightmare he would never understand for the rest of his life.
Faced with the shadow descending like a mountain, Su Yun didn't release his Martial Soul to defend himself. Instead, he activated the [Simulation Soul Skill] the system had rewarded him with.
In that instant, Su Yun's aura changed.
He was no longer the refined young noble, as gentle as jade. He became a god radiating the primordial might of antiquity, commanding all realms—even surpassing the laws of Star Dou Forest!
Only high-level Soul Beasts could sense this aura.
In Er Ming's eyes, the human before him wasn't a Soul Master at all.
He was practically an Auspicious Beast in human form—or even the legendary ruler of the Divine Realm!
Er Ming's enormous body suddenly froze.
Its palm hung less than three meters above Su Yun's head, yet it couldn't bring itself to strike.
A humanlike look of shock and confusion came over its eyes, along with a hint of instinctive fear.
Su Yun's lips curled into a faint smile. He sent a message directly into Er Ming's mind through his divine sense:
"Big guy, I'm Xiao Wu's friend. Don't put on an act. I know you're here to pick her up. You can take her, but you have to take me, too. Otherwise, I'll tell Sister Xiao Wu you tried to step on me just now, and she'll never talk to you again."
Er Ming: "???"
This human had not only seen through it but was threatening it, too?!
But his aura was terrifying—hundreds of times more imposing than Da Ming's!
While Er Ming was still stunned, Su Yun pushed off lightly with his toes. His body flashed like a golden streak of light, gliding through the layers of pressure before landing gracefully on the Titan Giant Ape's broad, plain-like shoulder.
Sitting on Er Ming's shoulder, he waved to the dumbfounded crowd below.
"Xiao Wu, come on up. The big guy looks fierce, but he seems to like us. He says he wants to invite us to his place."
Xiao Wu pressed her lips together in a smile and circulated her Soul Power. Light as a butterfly, she bounded up the giant ape's arm and joined Su Yun.
"Brother Su Yun, are we really going?"
Xiao Wu played along.
"Of course. Who would dare turn down an invitation from the King of the Forest?"
Su Yun smiled and patted Er Ming's ear. He sent another message through his divine sense.
"Come on. Let's go to the Lake of Life in the core area. Stop scaring the kids."
Er Ming nodded obediently. To keep Su Yun from falling, it even formed a soft barrier of Soul Power around its shoulder.
"No! Xiao Wu! Su Yun!"
Tang San let out a heart-wrenching howl from below.
He watched the girl he loved climb onto the monster's shoulder of her own accord and leave with the man he hated most.
The double blow of being abandoned and helpless left Tang San's eyes bloodshot. He squeezed the Godly Zhuge Crossbow so hard that it snapped.
Su Yun sat high above and looked down at Tang San, tiny as an ant. He flashed a textbook victor's smile.
"Tang San, no need to see us off. We're going to the core area for a feast. You stay here and enjoy your dirt. See you!"
The moment the words left his mouth,
the Titan Giant Ape let out a low growl, sprang into the air, and covered thousands of meters in a few bounds, carrying the two of them off into the forest's dark depths.
"No—!!!"
On the outskirts of Star Dou Forest, all that remained was Tang San kneeling in the churned-up mud. He pounded the ground with his fists, beating his chest and stamping his feet, weeping like a child who had lost his whole world.
[ Ding! You intercepted a major Shrek turning point: Xiao Wu's "kidnapping" incident. ] [ Because the host acted outrageously and took the heroine away, Tang San's mentality completely shattered. Luck Value -1500! ] [ Congratulations, host! You have received a reward: God-level physique enhancement. Since you are within the Lake of Life's range, you also receive a reward: a 300% increase to all-attribute absorption speed! ]
Su Yun felt the wind whistle past his ears and looked at Xiao Wu nestled against him. His heart was full of delight.
"This life in Douluo Continent is only just starting to get interesting!"
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