Chapter 35: The King's Tail and the Titan's Grasp
The tension in the clearing was thick enough to cut with a blade. Serpent Grandma's Spirit Emperor aura pressed heavily against Zhao Wuji, but the Vice Dean refused to yield an inch.
"We are not unreasonable," Serpent Grandma finally rasped, her eyes darting between the stubborn Vice Dean and the highly talented students. "Since we both have a claim to this beast, let the juniors settle it. A duel between my granddaughter, Yiran, and one of your students. Whoever wins takes the ring."
Zhao Wuji grinned. He looked at Tang San. "San. Show them how Shrek Academy settles disputes."
Tang San stepped forward, his expression calm and calculated. Meng Yiran sneered, drawing her serpent-headed cane and launching a fierce assault. The battle was intense, but it was entirely one-sided. While Meng Yiran possessed higher raw spirit power, Tang San's mastery of the Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and his hidden weapons made him untouchable.
With a final, precise flick of his wrist, Tang San sent a barrage of throwing knives that pinned Meng Yiran's sleeves perfectly to the trunk of an ironwood tree, completely immobilizing her without spilling a single drop of blood.
Meng Yiran's face flushed with utter humiliation. Serpent Grandma sighed, recognizing the terrifying potential of the blue-haired boy. True to her word, she slammed her staff into the ground, conceded the snake, and led her furious granddaughter away into the forest.
"Great job, Little San!" Oscar cheered, raising his dagger. He didn't waste another second, driving the blade directly beneath the Crested Serpent's red crest.
As the thousand-year purple ring rose from the beast, Oscar sat cross-legged and began his absorption. The process took over an hour, the dense spirit energy wrapping around his food-system Martial Soul. When his eyes finally snapped open, a vibrant purple ring joined his two yellow ones.
"I did it!" Oscar laughed, jumping to his feet.
"Well, don't just stand there, big sausage uncle," Ma Hongjun grinned. "What's the spirit ability?"
Oscar suddenly looked incredibly embarrassed. He coughed, his face turning bright red. "The incantation is... well, it's a bit weird. I, your father, have a flying mushroom sausage!"
A burst of spirit light materialized in his hand, forming a bizarre, mushroom-headed sausage with translucent wings.
"It grants the consumer the ability to fly at the speed of a Crested Serpent for one minute," Oscar explained proudly, ignoring the snickers from Dai Mubai and Fatty.
"Incredible," Tang San murmured, his analytical mind immediately grasping the tactical advantage of temporary flight.
But before anyone could celebrate further, the ground beneath their feet violently lurched.
BOOM.
The impact was so heavy it felt as though a meteor had struck the forest. The towering ironwood trees groaned and snapped like twigs. The ambient spirit energy in the air suddenly became so suffocatingly dense that Ning Rongrong and Oscar were forced to their knees, gasping for breath.
"Everyone, get behind me!" Zhao Wuji roared, his face draining of all color.
The shadows of the canopy parted. Stepping into the clearing was a creature of absolute, primordial nightmares. It stood over fifty feet tall, its body resembling a terrifying cross between a chimpanzee and an ancient titan. Its fur was pitch-black, rippling with muscle density that defied physics, and its eyes burned like twin suns.
"A hundred-thousand-year beast," Tang San choked out, his vision blurring from the sheer spiritual pressure. "The Titan Giant Ape!"
"Run! All of you, run!" Zhao Wuji screamed. Knowing he was outmatched, the Vice Dean didn't hesitate. "Seventh Spirit Ability: Vigorous Vajra Bear Avatar!"
Zhao Wuji's body violently expanded, transforming into a massive, heavily armored bear. He charged forward with earth-shattering force, attempting to buy his students time to escape.
Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape, didn't even look at him. The ape casually backhanded the air. The resulting shockwave slammed into Zhao Wuji's Spirit Avatar, swatting the Level 76 Spirit Sage aside like a minor annoyance. Zhao Wuji crashed through four ancient trees before collapsing into the dirt, heavily injured.
"Vice Dean!" Dai Mubai yelled.
But Er Ming ignored them all. The massive ape took a step forward, the ground quaking. It reached out with an impossibly large hand, its massive fingers gently scooping up Xiao Wu from the center of the panicked formation.
"Xiao Wu!" Tang San screamed, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Er Ming secured his "Older Sister" safely against his chest. But as he prepared to leap away, the Titan Giant Ape paused. Its massive, burning eyes swept over the remaining students and locked directly onto the pristine, silver-robed aristocrat standing near the back.
Er Ming recognized the Sun-Ape Ki. It was his brother. Acting on beastly instinct—and perhaps wanting to pull Mame away from the humans to join the reunion at the core lake—Er Ming reached out with his other massive hand, sweeping it toward the terrified Shrek students to grab Bai Ming.
Seeing the sheer size of the hand descending upon them, Oscar and Rongrong screamed.
Bai Ming's pitch-black eyes narrowed. Foolish ape, Bai thought rapidly. If he grabs me now, my cover is entirely blown, and Tang San will ask too many questions. I must block him.
For the first time since enrolling in Shrek Academy, the Untouchable Aristocrat unleashed his Martial Soul.
"Possess."
The word was spoken softly, but it echoed like a thunderclap.
A violent, golden shockwave erupted from Bai Ming's body, shattering the ground beneath his boots. His immaculate silver robes tore slightly at the seams as his physique explosively expanded. His lean, aristocratic frame filled out with thick, corded muscle. His dark hair flared wildly.
But the most shocking detail was what uncoiled from beneath his silk tunic. A thick, muscular, brown-furred tail whipped through the air, cracking like a whip.
Behind him, a massive, terrifying phantom materialized—a giant brown ape, streaked with radiant golden fur, roaring silently into the heavens.
The Shrek students watched in absolute shock. The elegant, wealthy Young Master Bai had transformed into a savage, primal warrior. He looked like the very definition of a wild King Beast.
Bai Ming stepped in front of his terrified classmates and threw his hands up, catching the descending finger of the Titan Giant Ape.
CRACK!
The collision of Sun-Ape Ki and Er Ming's physical strength created a localized vacuum. Bai Ming's boots sank two feet into the solid earth. He gritted his teeth, intentionally suppressing his Cosmic Origin Core so he wouldn't actually hurt Er Ming or reveal his true power level to Tang San.
Because he held back, the sheer kinetic force of the 100,000-year beast was overwhelming. Bai Ming was pushed backward, his boots carving deep trenches through the dirt. A small trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth to perfectly sell the desperate defense.
"Ming!" Oscar yelled, terrified for his friend.
Er Ming felt the resistance. The Titan Giant Ape looked down at the muscular boy holding his finger. He saw the brown tail whipping in the air, and felt the familiar, restrained pulse of the golden Sun-Ape Ki. Er Ming's massive eyes widened a fraction of an inch in sudden realization.
He wants to stay with the humans, the ape's primal instincts translated.
Understanding the silent command, Er Ming immediately stopped pushing. The Titan Giant Ape let out a low, rumbling grunt, pulled its hand back, and glanced one last time at Xiao Wu. Then, with a single, earth-shattering leap, the King of the Forest vanished into the dark canopy, traveling miles in a single bound.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Bai Ming let out a heavy breath, allowing his golden aura to recede. His muscles shrank back to their elegant proportions, and his brown tail wrapped discreetly around his waist like a furry belt. He wiped the small drop of blood from his lip, his aristocratic mask sliding perfectly back into place.
"A tail..." Ma Hongjun stammered, pointing a shaky finger. "You're an ape spirit master?"
"Did you think I was just a pretty face, Hongjun?" Bai Ming replied smoothly, casually dusting off his sleeves.
But Tang San wasn't paying attention to Bai Ming's reveal. The blue-haired boy was staring at the empty space where Xiao Wu had been standing just moments before. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were wide, vacant, and completely consumed by a desperate, terrifying madness.
"Xiao Wu..." Tang San whispered. "He took her. He took Xiao Wu."
Tang San snapped his head toward Oscar. "Oscar! A sausage! Give me a flying mushroom sausage right now!"
"Little San, wait!" Zhao Wuji coughed, pulling himself out of the rubble, his bear avatar broken. "That's a hundred-thousand-year beast! You can't track it! It's suicide!"
"Give it to me!" Tang San roared, his voice cracking with pure grief.
Oscar, terrified by the look in Tang San's eyes, hurriedly chanted his bizarre incantation and produced the winged sausage. Tang San snatched it from his hands, shoving it into his mouth.
Instantly, six translucent wings sprouted from Tang San's back. Without another word to the Vice Dean, to Dai Mubai, or to Bai Ming, Tang San launched himself into the air, rocketing into the deadly shadows of the Star Dou Great Forest entirely alone.
Chapter 35: The Spider's Curse and the Duke's Mercy (Continued)
The flight through the canopy was a blur of emerald and shadow. Tang San's heart hammered against his ribs, every beat screaming Xiao Wu's name. But as the Mushroom Sausage's effect began to flicker and fade, a different kind of shadow loomed ahead.
A chittering, metallic sound echoed through the brush. From the darkness emerged a nightmare of obsidian and violet: a Man-Faced Demon Spider. It stood on eight spindly, razor-sharp legs, its abdomen marked with the grotesque pattern of a human face. It was nearly two thousand years old—a cold-blooded killer that specialized in hunting Spirit Masters.
The struggle was visceral. The spider's webs were like steel wire, and its venomous breath scorched the earth. Tang San, pushed to the absolute brink of his physical and mental limits, finally unleashed the Godly Crossbow. A mechanical thrum filled the air as sixteen bolts, coated in specialized poison, tore through the spider's armored joints and its primary eyes. With a final, desperate thrust of a hidden blade, Tang San pierced the beast's brain.
As the purple ring began to rise, Tang San collapsed, gasping. He didn't wait for his breathing to steady. He sat cross-legged and began to pull the ring toward him. He needed power. He needed it now.
Minutes later, the rest of the Shrek group, led by a limping Zhao Wuji and a silent Bai Ming, burst into the clearing. They found Tang San in the middle of a swirling vortex of violet energy—and they weren't alone.
"Stolen... again!" a sharp, youthful voice shrieked.
Meng Yiran stood at the edge of the clearing, her face pale with fury. Beside her stood the Serpent Grandma, but behind them both was a figure that made Zhao Wuji's blood run cold. He was a tall, imposing old man holding a staff topped with a golden dragon head. His presence was like a mountain, crushing the air out of the clearing.
The Dragon Duke, Meng Shu. A Spirit Douluo.
"Grandpa! He killed it!" Meng Yiran cried, pointing at the meditating Tang San. "That's the second time today!"
The Dragon Duke's eyes narrowed, his spirit power surging. The pressure was so immense that Oscar and Ning Rongrong felt their knees buckle. "To steal from the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent once is a mistake," Meng Shu's voice boomed like thunder. "To do it twice is a death wish."
Zhao Wuji stepped forward, his face pale but his voice steady. "Senior Dragon Duke, please! My student was blinded by grief. His sister was taken by the Titan Giant Ape. He wasn't thinking clearly!"
"Excuses do not return a wasted ring," the Duke snarled, raising his Dragon Staff.
The tension was snapped by a calm, metallic voice.
"Senior, if I may intervene."
Bai Ming stepped forward, his silver robes fluttering in the Duke's oppressive aura. He looked entirely unbothered by the presence of a Spirit Douluo.
"I am Bai Ming," the boy said with a flawless, aristocratic bow. "I do not wish for this unfortunate incident to ruin the image of Shrek Academy in the eyes of such respected elders. My peer was reckless, yes. As compensation, I offer my assistance in finding a replacement ring for the young mistress—one of equal or greater quality than this spider."
The Dragon Duke paused, his sharp eyes scanning Bai Ming. He felt something... an extraordinary, ancient resonance deep within the boy's aura. "You? A brat like you claims to be a better tracker than the Dragon Serpent duo?"
"I do not claim," Bai Ming smiled thinly, his eyes glowing with a faint, silver light as his Observation Haki swept the forest for miles. "I know. Within a three-mile radius, I can offer the young mistress three superior choices."
He raised three fingers.
"First, a 1,300-year-old Black Earth Viper. Its venom is slower but far more corrosive, and its hide would grant a significant defensive boost. Second, a 1,200-year-old Poisonous Iron Vine. For a tool-spirit master using a staff, a plant-based ring offers superior flexibility and binding power. Or third..."
Bai Ming's eyes sharpened.
"The 1,500-year-old Abyssal Viper. It is currently nesting in a hollowed-out ironwood tree to the north. It matches your granddaughter's combat style perfectly. It would grant her a skill that enhances both the piercing power and the lethality of her venom strikes, making her staff truly inescapable."
The Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandma exchanged a shocked look. The boy spoke with such absolute certainty that it was impossible to doubt him.
"If you find this Abyssal Viper," Meng Shu said, his tone softening slightly, "I will spare the boy."
At that moment, Tang San let out a ragged, agonizing scream. He had successfully name-dropped Grandmaster and secured the Duke's permission, but the true battle had just begun.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider's ring was over 2,000 years old—far beyond the 1,700-year limit for a third ring. As Tang San absorbed it, the energy became a violent, thrashing beast within his meridians. His skin began to crack, blood oozing from his pores. Small, needle-like protrusions began to erupt from his spine as the spider's malicious energy attempted to tear his soul apart from the inside out.
"He's over the limit!" Oscar cried, horrified.
Bai Ming watched silently, his arms crossed. "He chose this path for his sister. Now, he must survive the weight of his own desperation."