He looked rather disheveled at the moment, his originally robust body covered in mud and grass fragments.
One arm hung limply, his sleeve torn open to reveal faint blue-purple bruises beneath. His other hand firmly held someone—it was the unconscious Tang San.
"It's Teacher Zhao!"
Ning Rongrong recognized the newcomer, her tense nerves relaxing slightly as she couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
Zhao Wuji gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently. When he saw Su Yu and the others, surprise flickered in his eyes first.
He hadn't expected them to escape from the Titan Giant Ape, but his expression quickly turned grave. Hoarsely, he said:
"You... are you alright? When I found Tang San, he was already like this..."
He shook the unconscious Tang San in his hand, his tone full of concern.
Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward, looking at Zhao Wuji and speaking solemnly:
"We're fine, but Xiao Wu was captured by the Titan Giant Ape."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji placed Tang San on the grass nearby and found a rock to sit on himself. He pinched his injured arm, frowning deeply:
"Xiao Wu was captured? What about Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar then?"
"They left the Star Dou Great Forest ahead of us when Teacher Su Yu confronted the Titan Giant Ape," Zhu Zhuqing answered concisely.
After listening to Zhu Zhuqing, Zhao Wuji lowered his head and remained silent for a moment. The evening glow filtering through the leaves cast complex shadows on his face.
After a long while, he finally took a deep breath and suddenly stood up, looking at everyone with a serious expression:
"Alright! We mustn't delay. Let's return to the academy first. After we get back, we'll gather all the academy teachers to figure out a way to rescue Xiao Wu together!"
"Mm!"
Just as everyone prepared to leave the Star Dou Great Forest, a rustling sound came from a nearby bush.
Before Zhao Wuji could fully stand up, a black shadow suddenly burst forth from the bushes—it was a giant spider!
The spider's entire body was purple-black, its carapace gleaming with a cold luster. Its eight slender spider legs were covered with barbs.
Most bizarre was its abdomen, covered with a layer of fine white fuzz.
The pattern formed by the interweaving fuzz and purple-black carapace strikingly resembled a distorted human face.
Eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were vaguely distinguishable—this was none other than the extremely dangerous Human-faced Demon Spider of the Star Dou Great Forest!
"Hmph!"
Zhao Wuji reacted extremely quickly. Though his injured arm couldn't move, his other hand instantly gathered dense yellow Soul Power, and he struck out without hesitation!
"What is this thing, scaring old Zhao here!"
Zhao Wuji snorted angrily, his eyes warily fixed on it.
"Teacher Zhao Wuji, that's a Human-faced Demon Spider!"
Su Yu helped Ning Rongrong stand up and reminded him in a serious tone.
This Soul Beast was extremely poisonous, its spider legs sharp as blades. Ordinary Soul Masters would detour to avoid encountering it.
The slapped-away Human-faced Demon Spider was clearly enraged, the "human face" on its abdomen twisting even more grotesquely.
Its eight legs pushed off the ground as it charged forward again, moving faster than before!
Su Yu's eyes narrowed. Without waiting for Zhao Wuji to act, he surged forward and threw a powerful punch directly at the eerie human face on its abdomen!
"Thump!"
The fist struck solidly, and the Human-faced Demon Spider let out a piercing shriek. Much of the fuzz on its abdomen was shaken loose, and a crack appeared in its purplish-black carapace.
After a few convulsions, its eight slender spider legs collapsed weakly to the ground—clearly, it wouldn't survive much longer.
At that moment, Tang San, who had been tossed aside, suddenly shook his head and struggled to rise from the ground.
"Te—Teacher Zhao! Teacher Su! What's… what's going on?"
Tang San's voice was hoarse, as if he'd just woken up, and he clearly hadn't fully grasped the situation.
He shook his head vigorously a couple of times before his muddled consciousness began to clear.
His gaze swept over the people around him. Seeing Zhao Wuji's injured arm and the still-damp blood at the corner of Su Yu's eye, his heart tightened, and he urgently pressed, "Teacher Zhao! Where's the Titan Giant Ape? Where are Dai Mubai and the others? And… where's Xiao Wu?"
At the mention of Xiao Wu, his voice involuntarily rose, his eyes filled with urgency as he instinctively began to look around for her.
Seeing his anxious state, Zhao Wuji's expression turned grave. He sighed and said, "Dai Mubai and the others have already left the Star Dou Great Forest. As for the Titan Giant Ape…"
He paused, then finally spoke the truth, "The Titan Giant Ape has also left, and Xiao Wu was taken by it."
"What?!"
Tang San's eyes widened abruptly, his face instantly turning even paler than before. He swayed slightly, as if unable to believe his ears.
"Impossible… How could Xiao Wu have been taken? I clearly…"
He trailed off halfway, recalling what had happened before he lost consciousness, his voice gradually fading.
Zhao Wuji patted his shoulder and said solemnly, "Tang San, don't panic."
"We'll return to the academy now, gather the teachers, and come up with a plan together. We will definitely rescue Xiao Wu."
Tang San bit his lower lip so hard it nearly bled, his hands clenched into tight fists, knuckles white from the strain.
Anxiety, self-blame, and determination surged in his eyes, a complex mix of emotions threatening to overwhelm him.
He took a deep breath, his tone resolute and unwavering:
"That will definitely be too late. I'm going to rescue Xiao Wu now!"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, he ignored Zhao Wuji's attempt to stop him, tapped the ground with his toes, and executed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step.
His figure blurred like an afterimage, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.
"That kid!"
Zhao Wuji was both anxious and furious. Just as he was about to chase after him, three figures suddenly emerged from the forest ahead, firmly blocking their path.
Two of the figures were familiar to them—Serpent Woman Chao Tianxiang, whom they had encountered earlier, and her arrogant granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
The additional figure was an elderly man.
The old man appeared to be at least eighty years old. Though not particularly tall, he exuded a steady, mountain-like presence.
In his hand, he held a Dragon Head Staff over four meters long. The staff shaft gleamed with a striking silver hue, as if forged from some special metal.
The dragon head at the top was exquisitely carved, with clearly defined dragon whiskers and horns, and even a cold gleam in the dragon's eyes, making the entire staff look extraordinarily magnificent.
At the sight of this iconic Dragon Head Staff, Zhao Wuji instantly understood.
This was undoubtedly Dragon Duke Meng Shu of the Peerless Dragon Serpent duo—Chao Tianxiang's husband and Meng Yiran's grandfather.
Meng Shu's gaze was sharp as he slowly scanned Su Yu's group, finally settling on Zhao Wuji. His voice was aged yet full of vigor:
"That big fellow passing through earlier made quite a commotion. You youngsters are quite lucky to be alive."
Zhao Wuji suppressed his urgency to chase Tang San, his expression turning grave as he looked at the three people before him.
The Peerless Dragon Serpent couple were renowned experts who had been famous for many years!