Dead for Sure This Time

Lin Ye told the three education committee members how he had slain the Titan Snow Demon in the Far North.

As for his Sixth Soul Ring...

He had obtained that Soul Ring by hunting Xiao Wu.

Because so much was involved, he did not explain in detail.

"You brat..."

"You really aren't afraid of anything, are you?"

"A Titan Snow Demon!"

"Weren't you afraid it would flatten you with one slap?"

"..."

Meng Shenji's palms broke out in a cold sweat as he listened.

Lin Ye had actually dared to hunt a hundred-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon on the edge of the Far North.

Good heavens!

Even if the three education committee members joined forces, they would not dare do such a thing.

But then again...

Lin Ye had loved adventure since childhood.

Without that adventurous spirit, he would never have reached his current level of cultivation.

Just then,

Zhi Lin and Bai Baoshan stepped forward and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder. "Be careful out there, kid," they said gravely. "A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone is a treasure that can only be chanced upon, never sought. If anyone learns you have one, they'll come after your life. You may be strong now, but an open spear is easy to dodge; an arrow from the shadows is not."

"I understand!"

Lin Ye nodded.

The three education committee members talked with Lin Ye in the room for a long time.

They mainly asked about his experiences over the past year and urged him to look after his safety in the future.

Meanwhile,

Zhao Wuji was preparing to lead the Shrek Six Monsters into the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Listen up!"

"We have two objectives this time."

"First, field training to improve your strength."

"Second, to help Dai Mubai obtain his fourth Soul Ring."

"Understood?"

Zhao Wuji nodded in satisfaction after the six answered.

Mm...

That was how students should behave.

"Good!" Zhao Wuji swept out a hand. "Into the forest we go."

The Shrek Seven Devils assumed a battle formation as soon as they entered the Soul Beast forest.

Dai Mubai took the lead.

Tang San directed them from the center.

Ma Hongjun brought up the rear.

The other three stayed close to Tang San.

But...

They had barely entered the Soul Beast forest

when a deep, muffled growl rolled over their heads.

The earth shook violently...

Dead branches pattered down through the trees.

A towering figure slowly emerged from the dense woods ahead.

"That sound is awfully familiar!"

"Don't tell me..." Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply. "The Titan Giant Ape?!"

In an instant,

memories he had buried came roaring back.

He remembered it clearly: the first time he had taken Tang San to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a Soul Ring, they had encountered the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape. He had nearly lost his life in the forest that day.

"Fuck!"

"It's that thing again?!!"

Before Zhao Wuji could think any further,

its mountain-sized body came into view.

Thick cords of muscle twisted along its massive arms. Its gray fur was dense and shaggy, and its cold beast eyes locked onto the seven of them.

Who the fuck else could it be but the Titan Giant Ape from last time?

At that moment,

a hundred thousand curses stampeded through Zhao Wuji's mind.

He had run into the Titan Giant Ape twice?

Why the fuck was he so unlucky?

But...

This time, the Titan Giant Ape gave them no chance to react.

It leaped high into the air.

Its mountainlike body slammed into the ground.

A crushing, tyrannical pressure pinned everyone from Shrek to the earth.

"Roar—"

The Titan Giant Ape threw back its head and roared.

Sister Xiao Wu?

Sister Xiao Wu, where are you?

Its lantern-sized eyes swept the surroundings, but it could find no sign of Sister Xiao Wu—not even a trace of her scent.

Rage seized it!

It had heard nothing from Sister Xiao Wu for an entire year.

The Titan Giant Ape feared that she had died at the hands of human Soul Masters.

Sister Xiao Wu.

I'll avenge you right now.

"Roar—"

Tang San and the others could not understand the Titan Giant Ape's beast language at all.

From where they stood...

the Titan Giant Ape was simply pounding its chest in a frenzy.

"Dean Zhao."

"The Titan Giant Ape seems even more agitated than last time."

"Something seems to have enraged it. I think it's about to attack us."

Tang San was baffled.

They had no feud with the Titan Giant Ape.

Why did this hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast keep attacking them?

"No shit!"

"Run!"

"All of you, run!"

"..."

Zhao Wuji stepped forward.

A mighty surge of Soul Power erupted from his body.

Great Strength Vajra Bear—possess!

Seven Soul Rings rose one after another beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

His muscles swelled visibly, his skin turned dark brown, and fine brown fur sprouted across his body.

The phantom of an enormous bear Martial Soul appeared behind him, radiating pressure as heavy as a mountain.

He crossed his arms before himself, trying to block the Titan Giant Ape's attack.

But...

before the ape's giant palm even descended, he felt a pressure he could not resist.

"Third Soul Skill—Spider Web Restraint!"

"Third Soul Skill—White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

"Second Soul Skill—Phoenix of Blazing Fire!"

"..."

At the voices behind him, Zhao Wuji went numb from head to toe.

Facing the Titan Giant Ape alone, he might have had a one-percent chance of surviving. With so many of them charging in together, they were clearly going to die here to the last person.

"Boom—"

The Titan Giant Ape brought its fist down.

The enormous fist struck the ground, sending spiderweb cracks racing outward.

A violent shock wave exploded across the clearing, hurling dirt and shattered stone into the sky.

The Shrek Seven Devils and Zhao Wuji had no time to steady themselves. A tremendous force surged up beneath their feet, flinging them away like kites with severed strings.

The Titan Giant Ape still had some sense left.

It knew that if its fist came down on them, it would lose every chance of finding Sister Xiao Wu.

Mm...

It still clung to hope.

If Sister Xiao Wu was alive, perhaps she would stop it from killing the Soul Master before it.

It knew she liked this human.

But...

Sister Xiao Wu did not appear.

Sister Xiao Wu!

Are you really dead?

"Roar—"

This time, the Titan Giant Ape truly lost its reason.

It had made up its mind!

One punch would do it.

It would make these hateful humans pay with their lives.

The Titan Giant Ape raised its massive right arm once more, every muscle bulging. Even the forest trembled around it.

Violent Soul Power gathered around its fist, every strand of gray fur standing on end. Nothing remained in its eyes but fury that could swallow the heavens.

"Roar—"

The Titan Giant Ape's huge fist came crashing down with the force to shatter a mountain, even more terrifying than its last blow.

Worst of all...

this punch was aimed straight at the heads of the Shrek group.

The crushing pressure left their legs as though welded to the ground. They could not dodge it.

"We're finished!"

Zhao Wuji had already closed his eyes.

His life flashed through his mind like scenes in a revolving lantern.

He knew he was certain to die today.