Night fell, and it was time to rest again.
The male students were responsible for putting up temporary tents, while the female students prepared some food.
As the teacher, Zhao Wuji naturally took on the night watch. At the moment, he was chatting and laughing with Tang San. After all, Zhao Wuji had taken a thrashing without using Soul Skills.
Suddenly, the amusement in Zhao Wuji's eyes vanished. Seemingly sensing some terrifying presence, he immediately shielded Tang San behind him.
Some distance away, Tang Feng also sensed a terrifying presence rapidly approaching Shrek's camp. He thought, The Titan Giant Ape should be here. Focusing every ounce of his attention, Tang Feng slowly crept in that direction.
Before long, after an immense fluctuation of Soul Power, Tang Feng saw a towering giant ape heading deeper into the forest.
Tang Feng immediately leaped swiftly through the treetops, following from far behind.
Meanwhile, Shrek's camp was in shambles, with several people unconscious. Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, his anger pushed to the limit. He pleaded with Oscar for a few Flying Mushroom Sausages, then swiftly gave chase as well.
The Titan Giant Ape raced through the forest, covering over a hundred meters with every leap.
Although Tang San had the assistance of Oscar's Flying Mushroom Sausages, their effects did not last long, and he was soon left behind.
After traveling a dozen or so kilometers, the Titan Giant Ape slowly stopped and lowered his body, allowing Xiao Wu to drop from his shoulder to the ground.
Once on the ground, Xiao Wu began pointing at the Titan Giant Ape and scolding him. "Er Ming, why did you come here? You'll scare my friends! Don't be so reckless next time, understand?"
The Titan Giant Ape could only nod helplessly and admit his mistake. In front of Xiao Wu, he was like an obedient little baby-a truly remarkable sight.
Xiao Wu chattered on, lecturing him for a while longer. Seeing that time was short, she sat cross-legged and began condensing her Third Soul Ring.
Tang San had not caught up yet. Tang Feng did not dare gamble on the Titan Giant Ape's powers of perception either, so he found a dense treetop along Xiao Wu's route back and lay in ambush.
During his pursuit, Tang San found his path blocked by a Man Faced Demon Spider. However, this spider had already used up all three of its webs, and its abdomen was clearly badly injured. It was brandishing its eight legs in front of him.
With Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track footwork, he could easily have gone around it and continued pursuing the Titan Giant Ape.
But the Man Faced Demon Spider was one of the targets Grandmaster had instructed Tang San to choose for his Third Soul Ring. Grandmaster had once told him that a Man Faced Demon Spider was the hardest to obtain, warning him never to force the matter.
Moreover, the Man Faced Demon Spider now had less than twenty or thirty percent of its strength remaining. This was a truly rare opportunity.
Tang San immediately abandoned the chase, deciding to kill the Man Faced Demon Spider before him and absorb its Soul Ring first. It seemed Xiao Wu was not so important after all.
Tang San killed it using various Hidden Weapons.
The Man Faced Demon Spider's life gradually ebbed away. Specks of bluish-purple light began gathering above its body, and a bright purple Soul Ring slowly rose.
Tang San prepared to regulate his breathing and recover for a while before absorbing the Soul Ring. All this had taken nearly an hour, and there was no telling how long absorbing the Soul Ring would take.
By now, Xiao Wu had finished condensing her Soul Ring. The Titan Giant Ape said, "Sister Xiao Wu, let me take you back!"
Xiao Wu immediately refused. "No need. My companions aren't far from here. There's nothing to worry about. If you take me back, you'll expose my identity, and I won't be able to explain myself. You should head back first. I can go on my own."
With that, Xiao Wu bid the Titan Giant Ape farewell, and the two beasts went their separate ways.
They probably never could have imagined that this would be their last meeting.
On her way back, Xiao Wu was in a wonderful mood. She now had three Soul Rings and was delighted, skipping toward Shrek's camp.
Perhaps Xiao Wu felt there was no danger in this Thousand-Year Soul Beast region. Besides, Er Ming had frightened away all the Soul Beasts along the way when they came. At this moment, she had no guard up whatsoever. She truly was carefree.
Swinging her long ponytail and humming to herself, Xiao Wu passed a tree with dense foliage when she suddenly sensed something coming down at her from overhead. She had just looked up when a staff with golden ends appeared before her eyes. Before she could react, it struck her neck. Her vision went black, and she fainted.
A dark figure jumped down. Who else could it have been but Tang Feng? He immediately fed over a dozen Bewildering Pills into Xiao Wu's mouth. That amount was enough to keep her asleep for four or five months.
He then put Xiao Wu into the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, which could store living creatures. After silently thanking Old Monster, he surveyed his surroundings once more.
With his prey secured, Tang Feng paid no further attention to anything else. His figure flashed as he swiftly headed toward the outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest.
In the distance, the Titan Giant Ape, who had just left, was strolling leisurely toward the forest's center when his steps suddenly faltered involuntarily. He felt an emptiness inside, as though he had lost something exceedingly precious.
He glanced back in the direction Xiao Wu had gone and wanted to return to check on her, but feared she would chatter on and scold him for acting recklessly again. After a moment of silence, he thumped his head and continued toward the core region.
Elsewhere, just as Tang San was preparing to absorb the Soul Ring he had longed for, three uninvited visitors flashed out of the woods.
They were Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran, who had left not long ago. Beside them was Meng Yiran's grandfather, Dragon Duke Meng Shu.
Dragon Duke Meng Shu was at least over seventy, but eight Soul Rings pulsed around him-yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black. He was unmistakably a Soul Douluo above rank eighty. His Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang, "Dragon-Snake Combined Strike," rivaled a Titled Douluo in power, making him a renowned figure in the Soul Master World.
Upon arriving, Dragon Duke Meng Shu spotted the thoroughly dead Man Faced Demon Spider at a glance, and his expression immediately darkened.
Meng Yiran also shouted at the sight, "Who killed my Man Faced Demon Spider? Who?"
Not far away, Tang San had just been about to absorb the Soul Ring. Upon recognizing the arrivals and hearing Meng Yiran's cries, he could not help smiling bitterly to himself. Could this be fate?
Meng Yiran soon recognized Tang San beside the Soul Ring. Unable to suppress the anger on her face, she was furious beyond measure.
Snake Granny approached Dragon Duke and whispered a few words into his ear.
Dragon Duke Meng Shu asked coldly, "You're Tang San, the one who defeated my granddaughter not long ago?"
Tang San nodded.
Seeing Tang San remain fearless in the face of danger, Meng Shu could not help feeling a trace of admiration. He gave a detailed explanation, making it clear that they had been hunting this Man Faced Demon Spider and that it was an exceptionally rare Soul Beast.
Tang San naturally argued back immediately. Of course, he could only say he had acted in self-defense, even though he clearly could have gone around it using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
An old hand, Dragon Duke heard that Tang San had killed the Man Faced Demon Spider alone. Rather than becoming angry, the admiration in his eyes deepened.
Seeing Meng Yiran on the verge of exploding beside him, Meng Shu stroked his granddaughter's head, signaling her to remain calm.
Meng Shu began threatening and enticing Tang San, demanding that he join his family. Otherwise, he could forget about absorbing this Soul Ring.
Tang San did not even need to think. He had sworn to rebuild and spread the Tang Sect in this world. How could he possibly join someone else's family?
Tang San shook his head and refused outright. But with his deeply calculating mind, how could he possibly accept this outcome?
The mechanism of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow in Tang San's hand had already been activated. He was probably planning to use this Hidden Weapon to take Meng Yiran down with him.
At the same time, thoughts surged through Tang San's mind. He proposed rescuing Xiao Wu as a condition and began bargaining with Dragon Duke Meng Shu, deliberately stalling.
Sure enough, before long, just as Dragon Duke Meng Shu was about to lose patience, Zhao Wuji arrived with the Shrek group in time to ease Tang San's crisis.
What followed was the familiar plot: Tang San and Meng Yiran made another wager, with the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring as the stake.
Oscar promptly chimed in, adding the condition that Meng Yiran had to kiss Tang San.
Just as everyone thought this was impossible, Dragon Duke Meng Shu actually agreed.
At those words, a golden gleam flashed through the shrewd Zhao Wuji's eyes, his thoughts racing. He glanced at Tang San, then at Dragon Duke, and quickly understood Dragon Duke's intentions.
His intention was obvious: Dragon Duke was now extremely satisfied with Tang San's talent and wanted to match him with his granddaughter.
Although the innocent Meng Yiran was somewhat surprised by her grandfather's decision, she did not object, because she was very confident in the form of contest she was about to propose.
But to the Shrek group's shock, she actually proposed competing with Tang San in Hidden Weapon techniques! This really was brandishing a saber before Lord Guan, utterly overestimating herself.
Seeing the Shrek group too astonished to speak, Meng Yiran thought they were all frightened.
Tang San did not want to miss such an opportunity and hurriedly accepted the wager.
The process and result naturally needed no explanation. Meng Yiran lost utterly, leaving her in a daze.
At Dragon Duke's prompting, Meng Yiran slowly came back to her senses, though she looked as if she had lost her soul. She could hardly be blamed. After all, she had encountered someone who did not originally belong to this world, and who specialized in studying Hidden Weapons at that.
Two people from two worlds who both loved Hidden Weapons had met here. One could only marvel at how wondrous and indescribable fate truly was!
The blow Meng Yiran suffered was simply too great, especially since she had been defeated in the very ability she excelled at most. She had lost to Tang San twice in succession, each defeat worse than the last. The confidence she had built up all this time had been battered by Tang San until not a patch remained unscathed.
Seeing Meng Yiran so distraught from the blow he had dealt her, Tang San suddenly felt a trace of a different emotion.
They both studied and loved Hidden Weapons. As Tang San looked at Meng Yiran, he actually felt a strong sense of kinship, the kind one felt toward a fellow traveler on the same path.
Tang San strode up to Meng Yiran and offered friendly words and explanations. Meng Yiran regained a little confidence and began seeing him in a new light, asking him about the technique he had just used. Before they knew it, the two were discussing the art of Hidden Weapons, with a strong sense that they regretted not meeting sooner.
Watching this from the side, Ning Rongrong was utterly dumbfounded. She wanted to remind Tang San: was he still going to absorb the Soul Ring? Was he still going to rescue Xiao Wu?
But being anxious was useless. The two were chatting merrily when Meng Yiran suddenly leaned over and kissed Tang San on the cheek.
Tang San "perhaps" truly had not expected Meng Yiran to "ambush" him. He only felt a warm softness on his face, and for a moment, he blushed all the way to his ears.
Seeing that the mood had reached this point, the quick-witted Zhao Wuji decisively spoke up. "Since you're fellow enthusiasts with the same interests, why not invite Miss Meng to join our Shrek Academy? That way, you can learn from each other often!"
Dragon Duke Meng Shu was delighted and immediately gave Zhao Wuji an approving look. You really do know what's what, lad.
Meng Yiran was naturally somewhat tempted as well. She looked toward her grandparents as though seeking their opinion.
Dragon Duke put on a thoughtful air before saying, "Very well. You young people can encourage each other and learn together. You'll make progress more easily than by staying beside us two old folks."
He then exchanged a glance with his wife, Chao Tianxiang, and continued, "Yiran, if you're willing to go, your grandmother and I have no objections."
Meng Yiran was not one to be coy. She immediately accepted Zhao Wuji's suggestion and joined Shrek Academy. By now, even her gaze toward Tang San had begun to grow fervent.
After another round of welcomes, Dragon Duke and Snake Granny immediately took Meng Yiran away to hunt for a Soul Ring.
Tang San also began absorbing the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring. Had he delayed any longer, it would have dissipated.
Who could have known that the power within this Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring would be exceptionally overbearing, and that its age exceeded his teacher's theoretical limit? Absorbing it caused Tang San extraordinary pain. His entire body swelled, and blood seeped from his pores. But since he had already begun absorbing the Soul Ring, he could only rely on himself to endure.
Time slowly passed. Xiao Wu, who should already have returned, would never return again.
Meng Yiran returned twelve hours later. Without Tang San interfering this time, they had smoothly hunted down a thousand-year serpent Soul Ring. A Soul Ring with compatible attributes really was quick to absorb.
When Meng Yiran returned, Tang San still had not finished absorbing that Soul Ring. Was its age too high? Or were its attributes too incompatible? Naturally, no one present knew.
Seeing this, Dragon Duke and Snake Granny gave Zhao Wuji some instructions, then left Meng Yiran there and departed.