Hearing that Oscar was a clanless food-system Spirit Master, Chao Tian-Xiang became extremely interested and wanted to recruit him.
However, before she could speak, Tang San stepped forward to fight in Oscar's place. He stated he was Rank 29, making it a fair match. Both Zhao Wuji and Serpent Grandma agreed. Oscar quietly thanked Tang San for his help.
Tang San and Meng Yiran introduced themselves. Meng Yiran (Rank 30) was beautiful but visibly furious.
The duel began. Meng Yiran attacked first with her cane. Tang San dodged and used his Blue Silver Grass to trap her body with his Binding ability.
However, Meng Yiran used her Serpent Body ability to make her body slippery, allowing her to escape the vines. Because the thorns tore her clothes, she became even more enraged. She immediately counterattacked by launching her Tongue Blade, a poisoned blade shooting from the tip of her cane.
Using his Purple Demon Eye to clearly see her attack, Tang San boldly charged forward. He caught the poisoned blade barehanded using his Mysterious Jade Hands, a technique that made him completely immune to poison.
Now, both fighters were locked in a stalemate, tightly gripping the cane. Since neither would let go of the weapon, the fight turned into a pure contest of raw spirit power. Tang San could have easily used his Hidden Weapons for a quick victory, but his pride as a cultivator made him choose to win this power struggle fairly.
As Tang San's steady spirit power slowly overpowered Meng Yiran, Chao Tian-Xiang sighed and conceded the match to prevent her granddaughter from suffering permanent injuries.
She and Zhao Wuji stepped in simultaneously to separate the two fighters safely. Tang San retreated smoothly, but Meng Yiran immediately coughed up blood and collapsed from exhaustion.
Oscar quickly handed Tang San a recovery sausage. Instead of asking Zhao Wuji for help, Tang San chose to meditate and recover on his own. He knew their teacher needed to conserve his energy just in case the terrifying Dragon Duke suddenly appeared.
Proud of Tang San's independence, Zhao Wuji turned to Oscar. "Brat, what are you waiting for? Finish it!"
Excitedly, Oscar took a short knife, killed the thousand-year *Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent*, and sat down to absorb his third spirit ring.
Even then, Zhao Wuji remained on high alert, watching Chao Tian-Xiang's every move. Once Meng Yiran was stable enough to stand, she glared bitterly at Tang San and Oscar.
"We lost. We will talk about this after we find your grandfather," Chao Tian-Xiang told her granddaughter.
Before leaving, the Serpent Grandma shot a cold look at Zhao Wuji. "Motionless Bright King, I am sure we will meet again someday."
Leaving that thinly veiled threat behind, the two women vanished into the dense forest. Zhao Wuji finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief; from start to finish, the legendary Dragon Duke had never shown up.
Now that the Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent had been obtained, even if that married couple wanted to seek revenge, they still had to first consider whether it was worth it or not. Once Oscar finished absorbing the spirit ring, leaving this place even a little earlier would be good. If the situation took a turn for the worse and they ran into the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent family again, it would not go well.
Now the color of the sky had gradually turned dark. In the Star Dou Great Forest, the air was humid, and the rich fragrance of plants made one's whole body relax; if there were no longer any ferocious spirit beasts here, then perhaps this might become a paradise for people.
Dai Mubai stood as a silent sentinel over Tang San, while Zhao Wuji guarded Oscar's vulnerable form. High above, Kyle perched in the sprawling branches, his eyes scanning the gathering gloom.
A half-hour bled away before Oscar finally stirred. With a deep, shuddering breath, his eyes snapped open. In a heartbeat, the faint pink aura surrounding him ignited into a brilliant, pulsing magenta light that bathed the clearing in a surreal glow. From beneath him, the raw power of his cultivation manifested: two brilliant yellow rings, followed by the majestic, blinding violet of a thousand-year spirit ring. He had shattered the chains of the Spirit Grandmaster phase. Oscar was now a Rank 30 Food System Spirit Elder.
"Congratulations, Little Ao," Zhao Wuji rumbled, a rare smile cracking his weathered face.
The breakthrough had fundamentally altered Oscar. His stature seemed broader, thrumming with newfound vitality, but the most striking change was the bewitching gleam in his peach-blossom eyes.
Dai Mubai let out a booming laugh. "You're the second of us to break the thirtieth rank! Let's see it, Little Ao. Show us the might of a thousand-year spirit ability!"
Oscar's joyous expression faltered, a deep flush creeping up his neck. "Let's... let's talk about it when we get back."
"What are you afraid of?" Ma Hongjun teased, his eyes practically gleaming with mischief. "Don't tell me you're scared we'll mock you? Your incantation couldn't possibly be more humiliating than the last two. Show us the fruit of our labor!"
Resigned to his fate, Oscar sighed. "You must swear on your lives... no laughing."
The group nodded solemnly, though their lips were already twitching. Raising his right hand, Oscar summoned his spirit power and chanted his third incantation:
"Flying Mushroom Sausage!"
Pfft— The solemn vow evaporated instantly. Laughter erupted through the clearing like a shockwave. Even the stoic Zhao Wuji threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"You promised!" Oscar bellowed, his face burning. But his outrage only fueled their hilarity. Resting in his palm was a bizarre creation—it shared the body of his Recovery Sausage, but the top bulged outward into an umbrella-like mushroom cap, bearing a faint, uncanny resemblance to the crest of the Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Zhao Wuji finally composed himself. "Alright, alright, Little Ao. Tell us what it does. A thousand-year ability is no joke."
Oscar straightened his spine, a smug, arrogant grin replacing his embarrassment. He held the mushroom sausage high like a divine artifact.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability. Effect: Flight."
The laughter died instantly. The silence in the clearing was absolute.
Flight.
Even Ning Rongrong, the heir to the continent's supreme Auxiliary Spirit, stared at Oscar in pure disbelief. An auxiliary master granting the power of flight was a myth, a legend spoken of in hushed tones.
Relishing their stunned silence, Oscar coughed dramatically. "I wasn't finished. The ability is: Fly for one minute."
"Damn it!" Dai Mubai cursed, the illusion shattering. "One minute? You couldn't even cross a decent-sized gorge with that!"
Oscar's eyes narrowed with supreme confidence. "Is that so? What if I told you that for that one minute, you fly at the absolute velocity of the Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent?"
"What?!"
"My ring came from the Serpent," Oscar declared proudly. "If you ever want to taste the skies, you had better start begging me now."
Zhao Wuji nodded, deeply impressed. "A worthy prize. How many can you manifest at your current strength?"
"Ten at most," Oscar replied.
"Ten is enough," Zhao Wuji said, his tone shifting back to that of a militant commander. "As soon as Little San wakes, we vanish. We leave this forest behind."
"Teacher Zhao... I am afraid we cannot leave."
Tang San's voice cut through the clearing, calm but unyielding. His eyes drifted open, burning with a quiet, intense determination.
Zhao Wuji frowned. "Cannot leave? The Star Dou Great Forest is not a playground, Little San. We have our prize. If we linger and you perish, Flender will have my head."
"But I need a spirit ring as well."
"No buts—" Zhao Wuji started, before the words caught in his throat. His eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What did you just say?"
"I have broken through the thirtieth rank," Tang San stated, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. "I need my third spirit ring."
The clearing plunged into a stunned silence. Oscar dropped his triumphant mushroom sausage into the dirt. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's jaws went slack. Zhu Zhuqing's icy facade cracked into pure astonishment, and Ning Rongrong's charming smile froze. Xiao Wu simply squeezed Tang San's arm, her eyes shining with fierce pride.
Kyle broke the silence with a wild, exhilarated grin.
"Because we are Shrek," Oscar muttered in awe. "He is the monster among monsters."
Zhao Wuji let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, a proud smirk forming on his lips. "Then we stay. We will hunt the perfect beast for you, Little San. We delve deeper."
They rested through the night, remaining utterly undetected. By dawn, they resumed their hunt, scouring the treacherous wilds for a beast worthy of Tang San. But as the sun dipped below the horizon on their second night, the very fabric of the forest seemed to warp.
Just as they prepared to make camp, Kyle let out a blood-curdling shout. Tang San had never seen him look like this—his face was pale, his eyes wide with an apocalyptic dread.
"Abandon the forest! Now!" Kyle roared, his voice trembling with an unnatural panic. "Something is coming. Something even Teacher Zhao cannot fathom surviving against!"
"Wait, explain yourself!" Zhao Wuji demanded.
"Listen to him!" Tang San interjected, his instincts screaming in tandem with Kyle's. "Kyle's intuition is absolute. We run. Now."
"Move!" Zhao Wuji commanded, his instincts taking over. "Oscar, the wings! Rongrong, the speed!"
"Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Second Word: Speed!"
Bathed in Ning Rongrong's radiant light and propelled by Oscar's magic, the group launched into the canopy like shooting stars. As they tore through the air, Kyle's expression hardened into grim resolve. He summoned his arsenal: the three, four, and five-section nunchaku.
"First Seal: Heaven Seal Release!"
Kyle's aura violently flared, his muscles expanding as 20% of his latent power unlocked.
"Second Seal: Earth Seal Release!"
A shockwave ripped from his body. His physique swelled with explosive, raw muscle, his clothes tearing as 40% of his absolute power surged through his veins. His hair lengthened wildly, whipping in the wind as he initiated a forbidden art.
"Eight Colour Barrier: Red Triangle!"
His three-section nunchaku ignited into a fiery crimson, the chains atomizing as the segments floated into a defensive orbit one meter around him.
"Eight Colour Barrier: Orange Quadrilateral!"
The four-section weapon flared like a miniature sun, orbiting at two meters.
"Eight Colour Barrier: Yellow Pentagon!"
The final weapon burned with a blinding golden light, expanding his divine barrier to three meters. The sheer toll of channeling this much power threatened to tear his body apart.
As Oscar's flight magic faded, they crashed into the underbrush, miles from their campsite.
"We made it," Oscar panted, clutching his knees. "We have to be safe now..."
"No," Kyle whispered, his eyes locked on the impenetrable darkness ahead. "It's already here."
The earth did not just tremble; it groaned in agony. Two colossal, ancient trees were slowly, effortlessly torn apart as if they were mere twigs. From the abyssal darkness emerged a shadow so immense it seemed to eclipse the night sky.
Standing on all fours, its shoulders breached seven meters. Were it to rear up, it would touch the heavens at over fifteen meters. It was a demonic ape forged from living obsidian, its muscles bulging like granite mountains. Its eyes were twin lanterns of cursed yellow crystal, radiating a suffocating, primordial malice.
Tang San's blood ran cold. The knowledge instilled in him by the Grandmaster surfaced instantly.
"The King of the Forest," Tang San choked out, his unshakeable calm finally shattering. "The Titan Giant Ape."
This was no mere beast. It was a deity of destruction, a creature possessing human-like intellect and world-ending power. A hundred-year Titan could obliterate a ten-thousand-year beast. It stood at the absolute apex of the spirit beast pyramid—the ultimate nightmare of every Spirit Master.
"Respected King of the Forest," Zhao Wuji rasped, bowing his head in a desperate bid for survival. "We mean no offense. We will leave your domain immediately."
The Titan Giant Ape did not blink. It did not care. To the King, they were nothing but insects.
Zhao Wuji's eyes locked onto the towering god of death. He gritted his teeth, his voice a low, commanding growl.
"I will hold the line. Eat the sausages. Run and do not look back."
With a thunderous battle cry, Zhao Wuji ignited his spirit. Seven brilliant rings erupted around him. The first, second, third, and fifth rings blazed with blinding intensity.
He cast his Vajra Body and unleashed a crushing Gravity Control and Gravity Crush squarely onto the Titan, attempting to chain the god to the earth. Condensing all his tyrannical spirit power into his Vajra Palms, Zhao Wuji launched himself off a colossal redwood, screaming as he hurled his body like a meteor straight toward the Ape's head.
Simultaneously, Kyle unleashed his ultimate barrage. "Endless Spear of Light, Expansion!"
He hurled twin spears of incandescent light into the heavens and slammed his hands together in prayer.
"Hundred Spear Rain!"
The heavens tore open. Hundreds of massive, divine spears cascaded downward like an apocalyptic meteor shower, their devastating velocity doubled by Zhao Wuji's gravitational field.
"Protect the others!" Dai Mubai roared, his third ring erupting. "White Tiger Vajra Transformation!" Clad in a blinding golden aura, his silver-bladed claws extended as he charged with a deafening tiger's roar, aiming straight for the beast's colossal legs.
"I will not abandon you!" Ning Rongrong's voice pierced the chaos, clear and unyielding. The radiant Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda spun majestically above her palm.
"First Word: Strength! Second Word: Speed!"
Six blinding beams of celestial light shot forth, tethering to Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and Kyle. The legendary pagoda cared nothing for level disparities; all three warriors instantly felt their strength and speed explode by 30%. Zhao Wuji's strike reached an apocalyptic intensity, rivaling an eightieth-rank Spirit Douluo.
Tang San moved like a phantom, his Blue Silver Grass surging forward not to strike, but to bind. The thorny vines coiled desperately around the Titan's legs, injecting every ounce of paralytic venom Tang San possessed.
Zhu Zhuqing melted into the shadows, hunting for a fatal opening. Ma Hongjun ignited his Bathing Fire Phoenix and unleashed a supercharged Phoenix Fire Wire directly at the beast's torso.
—— HONG! ——
Zhao Wuji's supercharged Vajra Palms slammed into the Titan Giant Ape's skull. It was the absolute pinnacle of his destructive power.
But reality was a cruel mistress.
The moment Zhao Wuji made contact, a shockwave of pure, abyssal force violently repelled him, sending him rocketing backward like a cannonball. The King of the Forest roared, a sound that ruptured the air itself. The indestructible Blue Silver Grass was instantly atomized into green mist. The combined onslaught of Shrek's finest did not even leave a scratch on its obsidian hide.
The Titan Giant Ape was infuriated. With a speed that defied its mountainous bulk, it leapt into the stratosphere. It descended like a falling moon, crashing directly into the center of their formation.
Before the impact could pulverize them, Kyle moved. Driven by sheer desperation, he placed a hand on the beast's hide and invoked his forbidden arts: "Six Realm Technique, Fourth Style: Evil Heist! Third Style: Good Fortune!"
He siphoned 10% of the deity's boundless power. Kyle's skin burned a violent crimson, his veins bulging as if they might explode from the raw energy. He slammed his hands down, detonating his "Three Colour Barrier".
The red, orange, and yellow nunchaku shot into the heavens, weaving a towering, impregnable fortress of light around the Great Titan Ape.
"RUN!" Kyle's vocal cords tore as he screamed.
They consumed the mushrooms and took to the sky. Supported by Ning Rongrong's amplification, they flew like the wind. But Kyle wasn't finished. For the first time, he unleashed his true soul: The Astro Dragon.
A majestic dragon, forged from the brilliant azure of a clear sky and clad in impenetrable steel scales, materialized with a deafening roar. Thunderheads instantly choked the sky above. The dragon's aura enveloped them, pushing their velocity to an impossible 143%.
"It won't hold!" Kyle warned, his eyes locked on the violently trembling barrier. "Twelve strikes! That's all it can take. We have ten seconds!"
—— PENG! ——
The Titan Giant Ape brought its fist down. The Red Triangle barrier shattered like glass.
Another blinding strike. The Orange Quadrilateral dissolved into dust. In the blink of an eye, seven apocalyptic punches rained down, leaving only the Yellow Pentagon standing between them and oblivion.
They had crossed a full kilometer, but the beast was a force of nature. With an earth-shattering blow, the final barrier collapsed. In a single bound, the Titan closed the distance, its massive hand descending to swat them out of the sky like flies. The gravitational pressure of its palm alone threatened to crush their internal organs.
Kyle threw himself into the path of destruction. He manifested the Continent Tortoise, a spirit of absolute defense. The colossal fist struck. The Tortoise instantly shattered into a million fragments, but it successfully deflected the blow. Kyle, bleeding and broken, summoned the Trench Serpent. The colossal snake coiled around the Ape's face, blinding it, while the Astro Dragon tore savagely at the beast's eyes and arm. Together, the twin beasts summoned a localized hurricane, battering the Titan with relentless fury.
It bought them one second.
With a dismissive flex of its muscles, the Titan Giant Ape obliterated both the Dragon and the Serpent. Kyle's spiritual manifestations were erased from existence. Completely drained, Kyle was blasted away by the shockwave, crashing into the undergrowth.
The Ape descended among the remaining students. Tang San's mind accelerated to impossible speeds. He violently shoved Xiao Wu out of his arms, throwing her away from the epicentre. Simultaneously, he delivered a brutal kick to Ma Hongjun, sending the Fatty skidding to safety, using the recoil to roll just outside the Ape's impact crater.
Dai Mubai acted purely on instinct. He grabbed Zhu Zhuqing, his tiger claws tearing a massive crater into the earth, and threw them both inside just as the shockwave hit. Zhu Zhuqing's vision went black as the seismic tremor wracked her spine.
Oscar, lacking physical power, tackled Ning Rongrong. He pinned her forcefully to the forest floor, shielding her fragile body with his own. If it walks on all fours, he reasoned wildly, laying flat might save us. And if we die... at least I die holding a beauty. Ning Rongrong, unable to withstand the violent tackle, lost consciousness instantly.
—— PENG! ——
Tang San rolled to his feet, his heart seizing in his chest. In horrifying slow motion, he watched the Titan Giant Ape raise its colossal arm and pluck the falling Xiao Wu out of the air.
"NO! LET HER GO!"
Tang San's eyes burned a demonic, bloodthirsty crimson. Ignoring the violently shaking earth, he vaulted off a shattered tree trunk, launching himself at the Titan. His hands blurred across his waist. Ten terrifyingly precise hidden weapons shrieked through the air, aimed directly at the Ape's only vulnerability: its eyes.
Below, Zhao Wuji witnessed the abduction. A primal, guttural roar tore from his throat. His seventh, pitch-black spirit ring detonated.
An abyss of dark light swallowed the teacher. When it faded, Zhao Wuji was gone. In his place stood a towering, five-meter-tall demonic bear of pure destruction. This was the Spirit Avatar—the ultimate trump card that traded half his life force for thirty minutes of 150% absolute power and 200% impenetrable defense.
But the Titan Giant Ape merely blinked.
Ding-ding-ding-ding!
Tang San's lethal weapons struck the beast's eyelids and bounced off harmlessly like pebbles striking a steel vault.
Rising to its full, terrifying height of fifteen meters, the Titan casually stepped aside, evading Zhao Wuji's earth-shattering charge. With a lazy flick of its free arm, it backhanded the raging Spirit Avatar.
—— HONG! ——
Even as the Spirit Avatar, possessing the ultimate defense of the Mighty Vajra Bear, Zhao Wuji was hopelessly outmatched. The deafening impact sent the giant bear skidding back eight violently heavy steps, trenching the earth. The Ape didn't even flinch. It let out a triumphant, mocking howl.
The resulting shockwave struck Tang San mid-air. With a desperate scream, he hurled his left-handed forging hammer directly at the Ape's skull. It shattered harmlessly. Tang San was blasted out of the sky, crashing violently through the canopy of a massive tree.
"No! San brother!" Xiao Wu screamed in terror from within the beast's grip.
The Titan Giant Ape ignored the recovering Zhao Wuji. With a single, earth-shattering leap, it cleared a hundred meters, vanishing seamlessly into the impenetrable abyss of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"XIAO WU!" Zhao Wuji roared, charging blindly into the dark, but it was futile. The Titan was a ghost. The recoil from the clash had nearly shattered his Avatar, and his spirit power was bled dry. He stopped, his colossal bear form trembling with absolute powerlessness.
When Tang San finally slid down the splintered trunk of the tree, his face was pale as a corpse, his mouth painted with thick, dark blood. His internal organs felt as though they had been put through a meat grinder.
The battlefield was a scene of absolute devastation. Ma Hongjun pulled himself out of the dirt, bruised and battered. Oscar carefully helped a groggy, stumbling Ning Rongrong to her feet. Dai Mubai crawled out of his crater, clutching an unconscious Zhu Zhuqing. Kyle emerged from the brush, a broken, bloody mess.
They locked eyes with one another, a heavy, suffocating realization washing over them. They had survived a direct confrontation with the King of the Forest. For any mercenary squad, it would be a legendary tale of survival.
But they were not mercenaries. They had lost one of their own.
Zhao Wuji dispelled his Avatar, falling to his knees as the backlash tore through his meridians. Tang San forced himself to stand. His legs trembled violently, and he violently vomited another mouthful of fresh blood onto the ruined earth.
He staggered over to Oscar. Oscar, his hands shaking, manifested a Recovery Sausage and offered it to him. He wanted to offer words of comfort, but what could he possibly say?
Tang San swallowed the sausage without a word. The healing energy flowed through him, stabilizing his shattered ribs and torn muscles, but it did nothing to mend the gaping void in his chest. He kept his head bowed, his expression hidden in the shadows. His voice, when he finally spoke, was entirely devoid of emotion. A terrifying, dead calm.
"I do not blame you, Teacher Zhao," Tang San whispered softly to the bloodstained earth. "I was the one who failed to protect her."
Zhao Wuji's pale face contorted with grief and shame. "How could a Titan Giant Ape appear on the outskirts...? I failed you all. I couldn't stop it."
He looked at the broken, battered children around him, knowing that the chance of Xiao Wu surviving the grasp of a god was absolute zero. He let out a long, shuddering sigh.
"Rest," Zhao Wuji ordered, his voice hollow. "We will move to a secure location. And then... we will decide what to do next."
In that suffocating silence, a phantom voice suddenly echoed directly into Oscar's ear.
"Little Ao. If you still consider me a brother... give me a mushroom sausage. Do not make a sound."
Oscar jolted. He recognized the voice instantly—it was Tang San. Yet, Ning Rongrong, whom he was still supporting, didn't react in the slightest. It was a secret transmission of sound, compressed and aimed for his ears alone.
Slowly, carefully, Oscar shifted his gaze. Tang San raised his head to meet his stare. In a flash of sheer panic, Oscar clamped his hand over his own mouth to stifle a gasp.
Tang San's eyes were no longer human. They had turned the color of freshly spilled blood—a horrifying, abyssal crimson. From those weeping eyes, Oscar felt an absolute, bone-chilling aura of death that froze the words in his throat.
Oscar hesitated. He didn't summon the sausage. He knew exactly what Tang San intended to do. And precisely because he was Tang San's brother, he couldn't simply hand him the tool to sign his own death warrant. Yet, pinned beneath that terrifying, blood-soaked glare, Oscar found himself entirely paralyzed, unable to speak a single word of protest.
The sausages he had prepared earlier had been blasted into the abyss by the Titan's shockwave. He had to conjure new ones. Thankfully, his previous exertion hadn't drained his spirit power completely.
The ghostly voice pierced his mind once more, trembling with a horrific desperation.
"Little Ao... I am begging you. If I do not go now, I will live the rest of my days in absolute regret. As long as breath remains in my lungs, I, Tang San, will remember this debt until the end of time."
"Damn it all," Oscar cursed internally, letting out a ragged sigh.
He didn't know what he would do if he were in Tang San's shoes, but he understood the absolute resolve fracturing Tang San's mind. As a man, some things in this world simply had to be done, regardless of the cost. Oscar violently gritted his teeth. Never in his life had it been so agonizingly difficult to chant his spirit incantation.
While Tang San possessed the martial skill to compress his voice, Oscar had no such trick for his incantations.
Ning Rongrong, stirring from her daze in Oscar's arms, looked up in sudden shock.
"Little Ao, what are you doing?"
Her voice acted as an alarm, shattering the tense silence. Zhao Wuji, a seasoned veteran, snapped his head toward them, absolute dread dawning on his face as he realized what was happening.
But tragically, they were a fraction of a second too late.
Tang San snatched the newly formed mushroom sausage and swallowed it whole. Six translucent, illusory wings erupted from his back. In the exact millisecond Zhao Wuji lunged forward to stop him, Tang San launched himself violently into the night sky.
"Forgive me, Teacher Zhao," Tang San's voice drifted down, cold and hollow. "I must find Xiao Wu. Even if she has perished... I must recover her body."
As he hovered above them, everyone finally saw Tang San's eyes. Looking into that bleeding crimson void, they instantly understood the earth-shattering grief devouring his soul.
"Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Second Word: Speed!"
Ning Rongrong's voice cut through the despair like crystal. A blinding streak of light shot upward, striking Tang San's form and forcing his six phantom wings to beat with a frenzied, desperate power.
"Go, Little San! I stand with you!" Ning Rongrong shouted into the sky, completely ignoring the murderous glare Zhao Wuji shot her way. "Xiao Wu is my roommate too!"
"San brother! I will follow you shortly!" Kyle roared. "For now, this is all I can give!"
Kyle manifested his dragon spirit. The majestic Astro Dragon materialized with a deafening roar, its celestial power surging upward to envelope Tang San. Propelled by both buffs, Tang San's velocity exploded to an impossible 143%.
Tang San shot a silent, piercing look of profound gratitude toward Ning Rongrong and Kyle. He said nothing. He simply turned toward the abyssal darkness where the Titan Giant Ape had vanished, and became a streak of light.
"You... You foolish children..."
Zhao Wuji stared at Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Kyle, his massive frame trembling with a rage so profound it stole his voice.
Oscar offered a strained, wry smile.
"Teacher Zhao, you saw his eyes. If we hadn't let him fly, I fear he would have chased after a god on foot. If someone must face the consequences, let the blame fall on me."
Zhao Wuji snarled, his eyes burning.
"Blame?! Who said anything about blame?! Make me those damn mushroom sausages, right now!"
Though his roar was laced with fury, looking at his face, everyone saw the same unyielding, suicidal determination that mirrored Tang San's. Even Fatty Ma Hongjun gave a solemn, heavy nod.
Dai Mubai stepped forward, dragging Zhu Zhuqing by her hand. He looked at Oscar, his mismatched eyes ablaze.
"Oscar. Hurry."
Ever since he had crawled out of that crater, Dai Mubai hadn't let go of Zhu Zhuqing's hand. Watching Xiao Wu get ripped away into the dark, a terrifying thought had possessed him: What if it hadn't been Xiao Wu? What if the beast had taken Zhu Zhuqing instead?
He realized, with a sickening jolt, that he might have reacted with an even more catastrophic frenzy than Tang San. Gripped by this lingering, suffocating dread, he clung to Zhu Zhuqing's freezing little hand like a lifeline. No matter how she might usually struggle, he absolutely refused to let go.
But Zhu Zhuqing didn't struggle.
Her usual icy, unapproachable facade had completely melted away. She remained remarkably quiet, her striking eyes occasionally stealing soft glances at the man whose grip on her was tighter than iron.