"We just need to go out and lure them away, then send someone to sneak over while we have the chance."
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, a confident smile spreading across his face.
He fully expected his perfectly reasonable plan to earn repeated praise from Dragon Duke Meng Shu.
Yet after waiting for ages, he heard not a single word of agreement.
Puzzled, Yu Xiaogang turned to look at Meng Shu beside him.
The Dragon Duke, a senior renowned throughout the continent, was looking at him as though he were an idiot.
Even the hand gripping his dragon-headed cane was trembling violently.
"Lure them away?"
Meng Shu looked at Yu Xiaogang and muttered:
"Yu Xiaogang, have you gone mad?!"
"That's the Titan Giant Ape, the true overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
"And that Sky Azure Bull Python beside him is a hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast that even a Titled Douluo would take a detour to avoid!"
Meng Shu was so furious that he actually laughed. His usual dignified bearing had long since been tossed beyond the highest heavens.
He had encountered the Titan Giant Ape once before in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Back then, just one distant glimpse and that crushing pressure had left him having nightmares for a long time afterward.
And now Yu Xiaogang actually wanted him to release his martial soul and lure him away?
"They're trembling because of the Ancient Great Array's pressure?"
Meng Shu sneered repeatedly and spat straight onto the ground.
"Even if it really is pressure from an array, so what?"
"I'm making myself clear right here today."
"Even a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring isn't worth taking such a risk!"
With that, Meng Shu grabbed Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang beside him.
"Old woman, we're leaving!"
"We, the Peerless Dragon Snake, want no part of this opportunity!"
"If we follow this waterlogged-brained lunatic, we'll all die here today!"
Chao Tianxiang nodded repeatedly as well. The beast tide ahead had frightened her soul out of her body too.
Without the slightest hesitation, the two turned around, ready to take their granddaughter Meng Yiran back the way they had come.
No matter how good an opportunity was, they had to be alive to claim it!
Seeing that the Peerless Dragon Snake couple actually intended to leave, the smile on Yu Xiaogang's face instantly froze.
He felt that his authority had been seriously challenged.
"Senior Meng! Please believe in my theory!"
Yu Xiaogang hurriedly spoke up to stop them.
"My Ten Core Competencies cannot possibly be wrong! They're already spent bolts at the end of their flight!"
Hearing this, Meng Shu could not even be bothered to turn around.
Theory?
To hell with your damned theory!
Before absolute strength, theory wasn't worth a fart!
Just as Meng Shu was about to quicken his pace and leave.
A fiery-red figure suddenly blocked their path.
It was none other than the hot-tempered Liu Erlong!
"Stop!"
Liu Erlong stared at Meng Shu, her eyes blazing.
"You two old fossils actually dare question Xiaogang's wisdom?"
"If Xiaogang says the array is suppressing them, then they're being suppressed!"
"If you don't dare go, it's because you Peerless Dragon Snake are as timid as mice!"
Liu Erlong had always worshipped Yu Xiaogang as her idol. How could she tolerate anyone belittling him like this?
She abruptly turned to Flender, who stood nearby looking awkward.
"Boss Fu, since these two old fossils don't dare go."
"Then we'll do it ourselves!"
"Let our Golden Iron Triangle open these ignorant fools' eyes!"
Flender wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling distinctly uneasy himself.
But when he saw Liu Erlong's almost murderous gaze, then Yu Xiaogang's expectant eyes.
He could only steel himself and nod.
"All right!"
"Then let our Golden Iron Triangle display its former glory once more!"
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang nodded too, then turned and instructed, "Little San, we'll create an opening for you shortly. Seize the chance to get inside!"
"Yes, Teacher." Tang San nodded and immediately braced himself for action.
Yu Xiaogang believed that once the Golden Iron Triangle took action and unleashed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, although they would be no match for the opponents, protecting themselves and keeping them occupied should pose no problem.
Then all the endless treasures underground would belong to them.
"Sun and Moon Radiance, golden transformation!"
At that thought, Yu Xiaogang shouted, and his pitiful rank-twenty-nine soul power instantly erupted.
Flender and Liu Erlong released their martial souls at the same time.
Their soul power rapidly intertwined and fused in midair.
In an instant, a dazzling golden halo soared into the sky, illuminating the surrounding woods as brightly as day.
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a ringing dragon's cry.
An enormous divine dragon's phantom, over thirty meters long and covered in golden scales, slowly took shape above their heads!
This was the trump card that had made the Golden Iron Triangle famous throughout the continent.
Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Golden Sacred Dragon!
The moment this Golden Sacred Dragon appeared, it radiated tremendous pressure.
Yu Xiaogang stood beneath the Golden Sacred Dragon with his hands behind his back, that inscrutable smile once again appearing on his face.
He cast a contemptuous glance at Meng Shu, who was still watching nearby.
"Do you see?"
"This is the power of combining knowledge with martial souls!"
With that, Yu Xiaogang pointed at the densely packed soul beasts ahead.
"Golden Sacred Dragon, go!"
Upon receiving the command, the Golden Sacred Dragon in midair immediately opened its enormous mouth and let out a deafening roar.
Then it did indeed charge toward the group of ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
Its golden body, over thirty meters long, bared its fangs and brandished its claws in midair, bearing powerful soul power fluctuations as it closed on the edge of that enormous fissure.
Such a tremendous commotion naturally drew the beasts' attention at once.
The smile on Yu Xiaogang's face deepened.
He had even prepared to send Tang San sneaking over to find the array core the moment these soul beasts scattered in terror at the Golden Sacred Dragon's might.
Yet faced with this aggressively approaching Golden Sacred Dragon.
The densely packed ten-thousand-year soul beasts ahead did not flee. Instead, they all raised their heads in unison and growled!
They were afraid of the being underground.
But that did not mean they would fear some glowing long worm conjured up by a few humans!
Especially at such a critical moment, these humans actually dared shout and yell here. If they woke the master underground, who would bear the consequences?
At the very front, Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, lifted his enormous bull's head.
His huge eyes instantly filled with murderous intent.
"You fools courting death dare make a racket here!"
Then Da Ming swung his blue-green serpent's tail, as thick as a mountain range.
"Crack!"
An explosive report burst through the air.
The Golden Sacred Dragon, condensed through a Martial Soul Fusion Skill using the full strength of three soul masters, had only flown halfway and had not even had time to display any might.
Da Ming's thick tail struck it squarely on the head, as though swatting a fly.
"Crack!"
The instant the two made contact.
The enormous, thirty-meter-long golden dragon phantom shattered on the spot!
Without even holding out for a second, it dissolved into golden specks that filled the sky, vanishing completely.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill was violently shattered in an instant, and a terrifying backlash surged back into them.
Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and Liu Erlong simultaneously sprayed out great mouthfuls of blood.
All three were sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the mud behind them.
Yu Xiaogang, who had presided over the array core, suffered especially badly. His already feeble soul power was directly dispersed by the impact, blood poured from all seven orifices, and his entire body convulsed painfully on the ground.
"What?!"
Tang San, who had been preparing to find an opening to sneak in, was utterly dumbfounded.
He had not understood what had happened at all.
The Martial Soul Fusion Skill that his teacher had solemnly assured him could keep the opponents occupied.
Had actually failed to withstand even a single tail strike from the Sky Azure Bull Python?
This was what he called having no problem protecting themselves and keeping them occupied?
Before Tang San could react, the fierce winds produced by the shattered martial soul turned into a storm, completely tearing away the bushes concealing them.
Everyone from Shrek was instantly exposed in the clearing.
At that moment, Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape who had shattered the Golden Sacred Dragon, also swept a hostile gaze toward them.
When he saw the trembling girl in pink with a scorpion braid among the crowd.
Er Ming's lantern-sized eyes suddenly lit up.
Sister Xiao Wu!
Er Ming and Da Ming exchanged a glance.
Both knew very well that this place was now an absolute forbidden zone.
A single exposed scale from the being underground had made even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts like them tremble to their souls.
Yet these foolish humans still dared make a great show of wreaking havoc here.
If they truly enraged the one underground, they too would be buried alongside them.
It was too dangerous for Sister Xiao Wu to stay with these idiots!
They had to take her away!
At that thought, Er Ming did not hesitate.
His body, like a black fortress, abruptly leaped into the air, crossing over a hundred meters before landing thunderously before the Shrek group.
"Boom!"
The earth shook, and dirt flew.
The Titan Giant Ape's terrifying pressure as a hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast instantly enveloped the entire clearing.
"Xiao Wu!"
Tang San paled in alarm.
He watched helplessly as the Titan Giant Ape stretched out an enormous hand and reached straight for Xiao Wu.
"Stop!"
Tang San's eyes instantly turned red.
Without hesitation, he activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and placed himself in front of Xiao Wu.
His hands swept frantically across the Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moon Night at his waist.
The Godly Zhuge Crossbow, Silent Sleeve Arrow, and Back-Mounted Flower Crossbow!
Holding nothing back, Tang San unleashed every hidden weapon on his body like a torrential downpour toward the Titan Giant Ape's enormous palm.
Not only that, the Eight Spider Lances on his back instantly shot out as well, thrusting toward Er Ming's wrist with deadly poison.
"Clink, clink, clang!"
A dense series of metallic collisions rang out.
The Tang Sect Hidden Weapons Tang San took such pride in struck the Titan Giant Ape's hide, harder than steel, without leaving so much as a white mark.
They all fell to the ground.
As for the deadly poisonous Eight Spider Lances, they could not even pierce Er Ming's skin.
The gap in strength was too great!
Er Ming paid no attention at all to Tang San's attacks, which amounted to little more than scraping his skin.
He merely waved his hand.
"Bang!"
Tang San felt as though a massive hammer had struck his chest. He sprayed out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, slamming heavily into a distant tree trunk.
"Brother!"
Xiao Wu let out a startled cry.
But before she could resist, Er Ming gently enclosed her in his enormous hand and placed her directly on his shoulder.
Once he had done all this, Er Ming did not even glance at Tang San on the ground.
He turned and, in a few bounds, returned to the edge of the enormous fissure. Together with Da Ming, he guarded Xiao Wu and lay back down on the ground.
"Xiao Wu..."
Tang San struggled to rise from the ground, his entire body covered in mud and blood.
He looked at Xiao Wu sitting on the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder, his eyes filled with despair and madness.
Xiao Wu had been captured by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!
As far as he knew, falling into the hands of such a ferocious beast meant ten deaths and not a single chance of survival!
He slowly turned his head toward Yu Xiaogang, who lay in the muddy water nearby, his fate unknown, his face filled with resentment.
Was this what his teacher had meant by "protecting ourselves and holding them off won't be a problem"?
Was this what his teacher had called an "Ancient Great Array"?
If Yu Xiaogang had not insisted on showing off, insisted on thinking himself so clever and coming here to search for some array core...
How could Xiao Wu have been captured by the Titan Giant Ape!
It was Yu Xiaogang's arrogance and ignorance that had killed Xiao Wu!
"Xiaogang..."
Flender, too, clutched his chest as he struggled to get up from the ground.
He looked at Yu Xiaogang, his eyes filled with disappointment.
For that instant just now, he had truly felt as though one foot had already stepped through the gates of hell.
He had nearly gotten every student of Shrek Academy killed!
Liu Erlong, standing nearby, was deathly pale as well.
Though she had a fiery temper, she was no fool.
"Ptooey!"
Seeing this from a distance, Dragon Duke Meng Shu spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground.
"Conceited trash!"
"Not only did his martial soul shatter, he even lost his disciple's female companion in the bargain."
"Old woman, let's go. Stay away from this bunch of walking curses!"
Meng Shu did not want to waste another word. Taking Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran with him, he swiftly disappeared into the woods.
Only the Shrek group remained, facing the wreckage of their camp.
Dragging his gravely injured body, Tang San walked up to Yu Xiaogang one step at a time.
He looked down at the man he had once regarded as a god.
"Teacher..."
"Is this the supposedly infallible theory you take such pride in?"
Lying in the muddy water, Yu Xiaogang barely managed to open his eyes.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain something.
But under Tang San's gaze, he could not utter a single word.
He knew his reputation was utterly ruined.
Not only had he become a laughingstock before Spirit Hall, but now even the disciple he was proudest of hated him utterly.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the enormous fissure, at the very front of the beast horde.
Xiao Wu sat on the Titan Giant Ape's broad shoulder, still somewhat shaken.
She looked down at the bottomless fissure, then glanced at the surrounding ten-thousand-year soul beasts, usually so high and mighty, yet now lying obediently on the ground.
"Da Ming, Er Ming..."
Xiao Wu lowered her voice, communicating in the way unique to soul beasts.
"What exactly happened here?"
"Why did you capture me and bring me here?"
"And what exactly is underground that made you rush to smash even that Golden Dragon just now, afraid it would make the slightest disturbance?"
Upon hearing Xiao Wu's questions.
Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, slowly turned his enormous bovine head as well.
He glanced into the depths underground, and an unprecedented reverence appeared in his enormous eyes.
"Sister Xiao Wu."
Da Ming's voice rang out in Xiao Wu's mind.
"Those humans just now were far too stupid."
"They had no idea what lay beneath their feet, yet they actually dared to make such a huge disturbance here."
Before you continue