Night fell, and everyone rested in their tents.
Suddenly, Flander's voice rang out from outside.
"Everyone, leave the tents. Quickly!"
Ma Hongjun was just about to go to Ning Rongrong's tent when he was startled by the voice.
After everyone left the tents, Flander and the other five old men were on high alert.
"Stand in formation. Hongjun, Mubai, if anything happens later, take them and retreat first."
Flander had barely finished speaking when, in the direction he was facing,
two tall trees suddenly parted slowly, and a huge figure silently emerged.
Seeing this behemoth, everyone's breath seemed to stop.
Only Xiao Wu looked at the approaching figure with affection.
It was a being like a mountain, its dark fur shimmering faintly in the dim starlight and moonlight. Although it was on all fours, its shoulder height was definitely over seven meters.
If it stood upright, its height would probably be over fifteen meters.
It appeared to be a creature that resembled both an ape and a chimpanzee, its body entirely black except for a pair of lantern-sized eyes that gleamed with a yellowish-brown luster. In the night, if it weren't for its movement, its body would be completely invisible.
This enormous creature was incredibly robust, unbelievably so. Not only was its body massive, but every inch of it was covered with muscles more powerful than granite, bulging like small hills.
Yet, this massive being moved without making a sound, not even a breath.
"The King of the Forest, the Titan Ape!"
Everyone here knew this spirit beast. Like a Title Douluo among humans, the Titan Ape clan was a similar existence among spirit beasts.
The Titan Ape was an absolute overlord in any spirit beast forest. No spirit beast dared to offend it, for the inevitable result was death. Even a hundred-year-old Titan Ape could rival a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast.
They possessed unparalleled strength and speed, with virtually no weaknesses in attack or defense. Most terrifyingly, they can also unleash skills similar to soul skills.
No one knows what the Titan Giant Ape's true skills are, because all the humans who have witnessed them are dead. Even among ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, their strength is vastly different; this is due to their inherent attributes.
The Titan Giant Ape is clearly one of the few soul beasts standing at the very top of the pyramid. The terror it brings is a nightmare for almost every soul master. Countless
soul masters have coveted the Titan Giant Ape's power, hoping to kill it and obtain it as their soul ring, but all those who had such thoughts and attempted to achieve this have vanished from the world.
Among known soul masters, it seems only one person has ever hunted a Titan Giant Ape, and only that one person.
The Titan Giant Ape is not only powerful, but it also possesses intelligence comparable to humans.
In the forest, it is the absolute king.
Ma Hongjun was also deeply shocked by the Titan Giant Ape's mountain-like body; he knew this Titan Giant Ape was Erming.
A kind and honest spirit beast, its fate in the original story was not good; it ultimately sacrificed itself to Tang San, becoming the first spirit ring of Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer.
Aside from Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun, and perhaps even Tang San, everyone else was stunned by the Titan Giant Ape.
Although the Titan Giant Ape didn't show any malice, they couldn't help but be tense.
Its majestic gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Xiao Wu, but its eyes were too large, and the starlight was dim, so no one saw it.
Flander knew that the Titan Giant Ape of the Star Dou Great Forest was a 100,000-year-old spirit beast; ordinary Title Douluos were no match for it, let alone their group.
"Could it be that Shrek Academy will all perish here today?" Flander sighed inwardly.
He never expected to encounter the Titan Giant Ape on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. The entire Shrek Academy had come out, only to be devoured by the ape—a complete wipeout.
"Your Majesty, King of the Forest, we have no intention of offense. If this is your territory, we will withdraw immediately,"
Flander said respectfully. The Titan Ape was intelligent, and he hoped to persuade the beast.
If they resorted to force, their group would be unable to inflict even the slightest harm on the Titan Ape.
The Titan Ape ignored him and looked at Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu was looking at Tang San.
"Ooh-hoo!"
Suddenly, the Titan Ape pounded its chest and let out a fierce roar.
The intense breath formed a hurricane, making it difficult for the group to stand.
Flander and the others had all summoned their Martial Souls and were on high alert.
"Xiao Wu!"
Ma Hongjun looked at Xiao Wu and whispered urgently.
Xiao Wu ignored Ma Hongjun and leaned close to Tang San's ear, whispering,
"Brother, remember what I told you!"
After saying this, Xiao Wu gently kissed Tang San's lips.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, Xiao Wu walked towards the Titan Ape.
"Erming, let's go home!"
Tang San stood there blankly, his eyes filled with determination as he looked at Xiao Wu. He didn't go forward to stop them.
From Tang San's expression, Ma Hongjun knew that Xiao Wu must have told Tang San her identity.
The Titan Giant Ape calmed down and looked at Xiao Wu gently, like a child the size of a mountain.
"Dean, teachers, classmates, I'm going home. Please take care of Xiao San for me from now on,"
Xiao Wu said to everyone.
"Brother, remember Xiao Wu. I'll wait for you here."
Finally, Xiao Wu jumped onto the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder.
"Erming, let's go!"
The Titan Giant Ape turned and walked into the depths of the forest.
As the Titan Giant Ape and Xiao Wu's figures disappeared, everyone recovered from the oppressive aura of the Titan Giant Ape.
"Xiao Wu!"
Tang San murmured.
Ma Hongjun hadn't expected Xiao Wu to say goodbye to everyone in such a sudden way.
Wouldn't that expose her identity as a soul beast to everyone?
Actually, what Ma Hongjun didn't know was that in the previous few days, Xiao Wu had already revealed her identity to Tang San.
When she revealed her identity, Tang San wasn't surprised, as if he had expected it.
Possessing the Purple Demon Eye, Tang San must have gleaned some clues from Xiao Wu during their six years together. What
pained Tang San was the thought of being separated from Xiao Wu.
Regardless of who she was, over the years he had considered her a younger sister, or rather, his only companion, family besides his father and teachers. She
was also his closest person.
He had promised to protect Xiao Wu, but now he was separated from her because he couldn't. This strengthened Tang San's resolve to quickly cultivate to the level of a Title Douluo.
Xiao Wu had already confessed to Tang San what Ma Hongjun had told her about Sword Douluo's visit. She couldn't bear to deceive Tang San, nor could she bear to risk her life by his side.
She knew that if she were in danger, Tang San would surely die before her.
And now, the reason Xiao Wu so readily revealed her identity was also because of Tang San.
In truth, as a soul beast, her biggest concern was Tang San, her lover.
What she feared was that after her identity was exposed, Tang San would despise her because she was a soul beast.
She feared losing Tang San's love because of it.
Now that she and Tang San had made it clear that Tang San was still the brother who loved her to the bone, and didn't care about her identity.
The opinions of others weren't so important; in the human world, she only had Tang San!
Ma Hongjun didn't know what would happen, but compared to Xiao Wu's tragic end in the original story, he preferred that their separation be temporary, avoiding that painful period.
Most importantly, his own transmigration had brought many variables, and there might be even more uncertainty in the future.
The plot couldn't develop exactly as before; the arrival of Sword Douluo was one such variable.
If Sword Douluo was truly ruthless, Xiao Wu would probably have already been killed and had her soul bone taken.
Therefore, he couldn't completely rely on probability or the mercy of others.
Tang San probably understood this as well, knowing that continuing like this would put Xiao Wu in unknown danger, which is why he didn't stop her and endured the temporary separation before
leaving .
Tonight would be a melancholy night.