At that moment, Tang San's emotions could no longer be held back, and he roared, "Xiao Wu!"
Everyone on the wooden dragon looked at Tang San in surprise. Why was he reacting so strongly? And why was he only worried about Xiao Wu, not even thinking about Su Ming? Weren't they from the same village?
A moment later, Ning Rongrong, who had been pretending to be unconscious, "woke up." Zhu Zhuqing glanced at her, confused, as if to ask, "Why did you faint?" Ning Rongrong shook her head, signaling that she was fine.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun woke up, but it was due to the intense pain. "Ahh! Everything hurts!"
Oscar quickly stuffed one of his recovery sausages into Ma Hongjun's mouth. While the sausage couldn't restore his limbs to their original state, it could reduce some of the pain and speed up his recovery. As for Ma Hongjun's "second brother," there was no hope—his lower body had been completely crushed, and it was unlikely to ever recover. The thought of never being able to enjoy the pleasures of life again was an unbearable punishment for him; he'd rather be dead than live like this, without any joy or hope.
After consuming the sausage, Ma Hongjun's pain subsided somewhat, and he asked in a daze, "Teacher Zhao, we're not dead? We survived?"
Looking around at the wooden dragon, he realized something was amiss. Where was Su Ming? And where was Xiao Wu? And why were Tang San's eyes so red?
These thoughts only flickered in his mind briefly, as his main concern was how they had escaped from the Titan Giant Ape. "How did we get out of there?" he wondered.
Zhao Wuji, his face pale, said helplessly, "We're alive, but Su Ming and Xiao Wu probably won't make it. They sacrificed themselves so that we could escape, using Su Ming's wooden dragon to carry us out. But they were captured by the Titan Giant Ape. I fear their fate is sealed."
In his heart, Zhao Wuji thought, What a shame to lose such promising students as Su Ming and Xiao Wu. They may be commoners, but their talent and strength were extraordinary. With them, Shrek Academy could have grown much stronger.
Still, trading their lives for ours was worth it. Several of these students come from powerful backgrounds—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Star Luo Royal Family, and even the son of the legendary Haotian Douluo. They are people I cannot afford to offend. Now, they are all safe, and I am still alive. That's what matters most.
Ma Hongjun, upon hearing this, had mixed feelings. He hadn't expected Su Ming and Xiao Wu to sacrifice themselves to save everyone. But when he thought of his current state, unable to enjoy life as he once did, he felt that death would have been a kinder fate. Living like this was worse than death.
Ning Rongrong, however, protested, "I don't believe Su Ming would die so easily. He's strong, both in talent and skill. Someone like him will always have a way out!"
The others didn't argue with her; they didn't see the point in debating. Soon after, the wooden dragon carried them far away from their previous location before dissipating into a pile of wood, as it could only last for a limited time without Su Ming's control.
Seeing that they were now relatively safe, Zhao Wuji instructed the group to rest briefly before leaving. He turned to Oscar and said, "Oscar, make more sausages to help us recover quickly. Staying in Star Dou Forest is too dangerous. I never expected the Titan Giant Ape to appear so close to the forest's edge. Something's not right here!"
Oscar nodded and began chanting his incantation, furiously making sausages for everyone.
Then Zhao Wuji turned to Tang San and said, "Little San, it looks like you'll have to wait for another chance to obtain your third spirit ring. Next time, we'll bring Flender along. I made a mistake this time. Losing Su Ming and Xiao Wu is a heavy price to pay."
After saying that, Zhao Wuji sat down to meditate and recover his spirit power.
Tang San, however, wasn't paying attention to Zhao Wuji's words. He was consumed by the thought that since the Titan Giant Ape hadn't killed Su Ming and Xiao Wu immediately, they might still be alive. He needed to rescue Xiao Wu as soon as possible!
As for the third spirit ring, that could wait.
Tang San approached Oscar and quietly said, "Oscar, give me more of your flying mushroom sausages."
Oscar looked at him, shocked, guessing what Tang San was planning. Was he really going to attempt to rescue Su Ming and Xiao Wu on his own? That would be a death sentence!
Tang San, seeing Oscar's hesitation, said in a low, intense voice, "Oscar, I'm begging you! If you consider me your brother, give me those sausages. I have to at least see their bodies—otherwise, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"
Oscar, while not naive, was much smarter than he appeared, especially compared to Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun. Tang San was clearly agitated—his red eyes and earlier shouts for Xiao Wu were proof enough. He hadn't even called for Su Ming.
Oscar realized that Tang San was driven primarily by his need to save Xiao Wu, or at least recover her body. Su Ming seemed to be an afterthought for Tang San.
This puzzled Oscar. Weren't Tang San and Su Ming from the same village? Weren't they former classmates at the same academy? Why didn't Tang San care more about Su Ming?
Additionally, Oscar had started to notice something strange about Tang San's feelings for Xiao Wu. Could it be that Tang San had romantic feelings for her?
Oscar felt more certain with each passing thought. No wonder Tang San seemed indifferent toward Su Ming. Anyone could see that Su Ming and Xiao Wu were growing closer, though their feelings hadn't been explicitly expressed yet.
What Oscar didn't know was that Tang San's indifference toward Su Ming wasn't just because of Xiao Wu. The second reason was that Su Ming's strength overshadowed Tang San. While Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was a powerful control-type martial spirit, it paled in comparison to Su Ming's wood element control, which could both attack and defend, making him a near-perfect all-rounder.
Tang San's heart was filled with frustration. Even though he was a twin martial soul owner, born with full innate soul power, and trained in the Tang Sect's unique abilities such as Xuan Tian Gong and hidden weapons, why was his strength still so much weaker than Su Ming's? Why was he always being overshadowed?
Why?!
Su Ming: You really have no clue how you got that full innate soul power, huh?
Oscar, seeing Tang San's persistence, had no choice. After all, Tang San had helped him acquire his third spirit ring, almost exhausting his own soul power in the process. Although this spirit ability would only be useful in the early stages and practically useless later on, Oscar couldn't blame Tang San for his bad luck.
Since Tang San needed his help now, Oscar knew he had to repay the favor.
He also understood why Tang San wanted multiple flying mushroom sausages—Tang San's previous one-minute flight was too short. He needed more to sustain himself, or he wouldn't have asked Oscar in the first place, since Oscar had already given him one earlier.
So, Oscar quietly chanted his flying mushroom sausage incantation: "I have a mushroom sausage!"
As Oscar quickly produced several sausages, his sudden switch in spirit ability caught the attention of the others. After all, they needed big recovery sausages, not mushroom sausages.
Dai Mubai, who was closest to Oscar, immediately noticed and turned to ask, "Oscar, why are you making mushroom sausages now?"
Oscar felt awkward, knowing he'd been caught, but there was nothing he could do—his spirit abilities required chanting.
Before Oscar could explain, Tang San quickly grabbed three mushroom sausages from his hand, instantly consuming one.
Tang San's sudden action shocked everyone. Zhao Wuji opened his eyes and, seeing Tang San flying into the air, asked, "Tang San, what are you doing?"
Tang San, not caring about Zhao Wuji's rebuke, replied with a heavy heart, "Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry, but I have to go and bring them back, even if it's just their bodies!"
With that, Tang San flew off, heading back in the direction where the Titan Giant Ape had gone.
Everyone, except for Oscar who understood Tang San's emotions, was stunned by his actions. Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were puzzled. Since when was Tang San so close to Su Ming and Xiao Wu? And if he cared so much, why had he left them behind earlier?
Zhao Wuji, watching Tang San ignore his orders, was furious. Damn it, Tang San! If something happens to you, I'll be in big trouble!
Zhao Wuji thought: If Tang San gets hurt and Tang Hao finds out, I'm done for! But even though my soul power has recovered somewhat, my attributes have been halved because of using my Martial Soul Avatar. Right now, I'm only as strong as a Soul King, and it's too dangerous!
Zhao Wuji's Martial Soul Avatar, while powerful, had serious drawbacks. After using it, he would be weakened for seven days—basically a sitting duck if any more danger arose.
He turned to Oscar and demanded, "Oscar, explain this to me now! What's going on?"
Oscar, knowing time was of the essence, quickly explained everything as fast as he could.
After hearing the explanation, everyone's expressions became strange. They weren't foolish—they could all tell that Tang San only wanted to save Xiao Wu, and Su Ming was just an afterthought. Tang San's feelings for Xiao Wu had been hidden quite well, it seemed.
But it wasn't that Tang San had deliberately hidden his feelings. He had been a cold-blooded assassin in his previous life, numb to emotions. It wasn't until the moment Xiao Wu was taken by the Titan Giant Ape that he fully realized what he had been feeling all along.
Meanwhile...
Sitting on Er Ming's left hand, Xiao Wu adopted a bossy tone, "Er Ming, let go of my brother! You're squeezing him too hard; he's in pain!"
Er Ming, obediently following orders, released Su Ming. After stretching a little on Er Ming's right hand, Su Ming jumped over to sit next to Xiao Wu.
With a playful glint in her eye, Xiao Wu asked, "Brother, why did you ask Er Ming to take you with us?"
Su Ming replied with a mysterious smile, "Why don't you guess, Xiao Wu?"
Huffing in mock annoyance, Xiao Wu said, "I guess you want to spar with Er Ming, and there are some trump cards you don't want the others to see. Like… those eyes of yours?"
Having already learned everything from Su Ming's diary, Xiao Wu answered with ease.
Su Ming, surprised, reached out to feel Xiao Wu's forehead, joking, "No fever. How did you suddenly get so smart, Xiao Wu?"
At first confused by Su Ming's gesture, Xiao Wu quickly grew irritated by his teasing. She chomped down on his arm—though only gently, just enough to leave a mark.
"Ouch!" Su Ming didn't dodge, knowing that Xiao Wu wouldn't really hurt him. He allowed her to bite down on his unprotected arm, the muscle beneath flexible enough to be either soft or hard at will.
Thanks to his cultivation and the years of refining his body with spirit power, his physical strength was comparable to that of a Soul Douluo.
But of course, Xiao Wu didn't really bite him hard. It was just playful teasing, with a hint of affection between them.
Rubbing his arm, Su Ming chuckled. "Ow, Xiao Wu, does that mean you're mad at me?"
Xiao Wu looked up with a pout, her large, round eyes filled with mock hurt. "So, Su Ming-ge, you really do think I'm a fool, huh?"
Su Ming patted her bunny ears, laughing heartily, "Of course not. Our Xiao Wu is the smartest!"
Although his words were a little perfunctory, Xiao Wu still liked hearing them.
If it hadn't been for the diary, Xiao Wu would never have guessed why Su Ming wanted to accompany her to Star Lake.
Seeing Xiao Wu's cute expression, Su Ming could no longer hold back. He leaned in and planted a firm kiss on her blushing cheek!
Shocked, Xiao Wu's mouth hung open, unable to process what had just happened. Her heart raced—Su Ming had caught her completely off guard!
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