Crisis

"Brother Sanjia, it's getting late. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

As the sky gradually darkened, Oscar rubbed his sleepy eyes inside the tent and looked at Su Sanjia beside him with confusion.

"Mm, I just can't sleep."

That was how Su Sanjia answered, but how could he possibly be unable to sleep? Knowing the plot well, he knew that the king of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Titan Giant Ape, would soon break into their camp. Xiao Wu would be taken away, Tang San would chase after her without regard for his own life, and through a fortunate coincidence, he would kill a thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider and luckily obtain the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances.

Su Sanjia had actually considered taking the Eight Spider Lances for himself, but his Martial Soul was light. Something like the Eight Spider Lances was not particularly useful to him.

"Roar!"

A sky-shaking roar suddenly came from the distant forest, followed by an incomparably terrifying Soul Power pressure that nearly made them suffocate!

Su Sanjia's expression changed. He knew the Titan Giant Ape had arrived!

"Little monsters, wake up! Damn it, why would something like this appear in the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?!"

Zhao Wuji's roar carried far through the silent night. His voice was filled with urgency, along with a trace of fear that was difficult to detect.

Just as Su Sanjia and Oscar inside the tent were about to move, a deep whistling sound suddenly tore through the air! Su Sanjia's face changed. Without caring that Oscar was still bare-chested, he grabbed him by the neck, turned into a streak of light, burst through the tent, and flew into the air.

"Ahhh! Brother Sanjia! My clothes!"

Oscar cried out miserably. Yet just as the two of them rose into the sky, a thick tree came crashing down onto their tent! The fragile tent was torn apart almost instantly. Oscar's face turned pale, and he finally understood why Su Sanjia had acted as he did.

"This really is... a monster."

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, Su Sanjia's pupils still contracted the instant he saw the Titan Giant Ape.

The Titan Giant Ape was enormous, practically like a small mountain! Its jet-black fur seemed to have magma-like liquid flowing across it. Its entire body exuded the savage aura unique to Soul Beasts, while its moonlike eyes gleamed with yellow crystal radiance. Simply standing there, it felt like an insurmountable peak!

The king of the forest, the Titan Giant Ape!

"Gulp!"

Oscar swallowed hard, his legs trembling violently in midair.

"The very definition of terror... the king of the forest, a ten-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape!"

Zhao Wuji, Lu Xingbin, and Li Yusong stood in a triangle as they faced off against the Titan Giant Ape. They looked no better than Tang San and the others. Whether they were Soul Saints, Soul Emperors, Soul Elders, or Soul Grandmasters, they were all utterly helpless before a ten-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape.

Tang San instinctively shielded Xiao Wu behind him, completely failing to notice the complicated look in her eyes.

"Roar, roar, roar!!!"

The Titan Giant Ape roared toward the heavens. The sound waves alone forced Su Sanjia and the others to use their Martial Souls to resist. Only now did Su Sanjia witness the continent's highest level of power. Even if this was merely the lowest tier of a fantasy world, it was still not something the current Su Sanjia was qualified to face.

"Respected king of the forest, we mean you no offense. If this is your territory, we are willing to leave immediately!"

At the critical moment, Zhao Wuji stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice. Li Yusong and Lu Xingbin followed close behind. After tossing Oscar onto the ground, Su Sanjia also moved to the front.

Su Sanjia could not simply stand by.

No matter how terrible Zhao Wuji's reputation was in the Soul Master world, it could not be denied that Zhao Wuji had shown him great kindness. Knowing full well that this was a certain death situation, Zhao Wuji had still stepped forward. As a teacher, Zhao Wuji was more than qualified.

"What are you still doing here, kid? With your speed, you can definitely escape! Get out of here! Leave those little monsters to you. On the condition that you keep yourself alive, take them all out if you can!"

Zhao Wuji's large hand slapped Su Sanjia's body and forcefully pushed him backward. The Titan Giant Ape showed no intention of leaving. Zhao Wuji and the other two were already beginning to despair, but after despair came extreme fury!

Humans were like this. When a certain emotion reached its peak, it would transform into rage, along with the courage to fight desperately, regardless of life or death!

"Old Lu, Old Li! Looks like we're dying here today! But even if we die, we absolutely can't let this beast get past us!"

"Bullshit, did you even need to say that?!"

A full nineteen Soul Rings appeared around the three of them. Zhao Wuji, standing at the very front, had his seventh black Soul Ring flare brilliantly! Facing such a terrifying forest overlord, Zhao Wuji immediately used his Martial Soul Avatar. The Vigorous Vajra Bear Martial Soul awakened and fused with its master. A faint dragon's roar rose from Li Yusong's Dragon-Patterned Staff, while a huge chessboard appeared in Lu Xingbin's hands. Black and white pieces fell, turning heaven and earth into a battlefield!

"Run!"

Zhao Wuji roared as he punched toward the Titan Giant Ape's head.

"Damn it! Leaving you guys behind would be lame as hell! There's no way I'm doing that!"

"Let's fight!"

"Seven Treasures Have Names: first, strength; second, speed!"

No one chose to be a deserter. Zhao Wuji, standing at the front, felt both angry and gratified.

It was no exaggeration to say that everyone's lives now rested almost entirely on Zhao Wuji, this Soul Saint! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's level-ignoring support instantly raised his strength to the level of a Soul Douluo. Unprecedented power surged into Zhao Wuji's body.

What did an ant trying to shake a tree look like?

It probably looked exactly like this.

The Titan Giant Ape beat its chest with both fists before smashing them fiercely into the ground. Its incomparably immense strength blasted several deep cracks into the earth. Waves of dust-filled air surged into the sky one after another. Zhao Wuji, at the front, had his Martial Soul Avatar shattered and was sent flying almost without any ability to resist!

Before the fury of the king of the forest, everyone was powerless to resist. Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others had already lost consciousness. Su Sanjia avoided the first wave of attacks using the power of Elementalization. The sense of danger in his heart had never been particularly strong, because he knew the Titan Giant Ape had come for Xiao Wu. However, after seeing the Titan Giant Ape unleash one attack, the Titan Giant Ape, which should have taken Xiao Wu away, actually raised its fist again and smashed it toward Zhao Wuji, trying to finish him off!

How was that possible? This had never happened in the original plot!

Su Sanjia could not watch Zhao Wuji die with his eyes open.

"Bastard!"

Su Sanjia roared. His second and third Soul Rings shone brilliantly as surging Soul Power became the most dazzling beam of light at his fingertips. He recklessly poured Soul Power into his second Soul Ring, charging briefly and staking ninety percent of his total Soul Power!

"Second Soul Skill, Energy-Gathering Laser!"

This was the strongest attack Su Sanjia could currently unleash! The power of this move was enough to kill a Soul King! Yet before the Titan Giant Ape, it was still far too weak.

However, Su Sanjia's attack clearly caused the Titan Giant Ape pain.

Su Sanjia's Laser Beam possessed explosive power in addition to its extreme penetrating force.

The Titan Giant Ape was enraged. It abandoned Zhao Wuji, and its enormous beast eyes locked onto Su Sanjia!

It threw a punch, but it did not hit its target.

Elementalization!

Su Sanjia felt the Soul Power in his body was nearly depleted. The Titan Giant Ape's strength was simply too terrifying. That punch had relied purely on physical force. If the Titan Giant Ape had used Soul Power, he would definitely have been blown apart by that punch!

Yet just as the Titan Giant Ape was about to attack again, large swathes of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around it, Phoenix flames came blazing in, and a faint whistling came from behind him. Su Sanjia reached out and caught it. It was a piece of tofu.

Looking at the people behind him, who showed no intention of retreating, Su Sanjia's lips curved upward, though they lacked their usual teasing smile.

The Titan Giant Ape's attack had missed, and its rage intensified! It opened its massive mouth as a large amount of Soul Power began to gather.

"Titan Sky Cannon..."

Su Sanjia could clearly sense that he had been locked onto by a surge of Soul Power. True, he was fast, but the Titan Giant Ape was not slow either!

Was this attack impossible to dodge...

At that critical moment, Su Sanjia's Observation Haki suddenly detected Xiao Wu's lips moving behind Tang San. The surging Soul Power in the Titan Giant Ape's mouth gradually faded, replaced by a roar.

This time, the sound wave attack came directly at the Shrek Academy students led by Su Sanjia. With their strength, they had no possibility of resisting it.

Su Sanjia was sent flying backward. Tang San spat out a mouthful of blood. Ma Hongjun, already at the end of his strength, instantly fainted. Oscar, who was hiding behind a boulder, was actually in better condition.

A massive hand that blocked out the sky reached toward Xiao Wu. Having achieved its objective, the Titan Giant Ape swiftly departed.

"No!!! Xiao Wu!!!"