The trio led by Gu Rong didn't deploy their Martial Souls or soul power; instead sprinting toward the source of the disturbance. The fact that Gu Rong could sense a vague approximation of its strength proved that the 100,000-year soul beast wasn't far away.
The moment Gu Rong mentioned it was a 100,000-year beast, Gu Xuan already had a suspicion brewing. In this era of the continent, there were only two 100,000-year soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest that had made appearances: the Sky Azure Bull Python, hailed as the Forest Emperor, and the Titan Giant Ape, the King of the Forest.
While there might be other hidden 100,000-year dwellers in the depths, the only one likely to appear in the outer regions at this specific time was the Titan Giant Ape. According to the "original plot," this massive ape appeared right about now because Shrek Academy had come to the forest to hunt for soul rings. The Titan Giant Ape had sensed Xiao Wu's presence and ventured out to see the "Sister Xiao Wu" it so dearly missed.
If that was the case, Gu Xuan's trip wouldn't be in vain.
To put it simply, if the original timeline held, Tang San would lose his mind after Xiao Wu was carried away. In the heat of passion, he'd actually try to pursue the Titan Giant Ape, only to encounter a 2,000-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider. Killing it would grant him his first major "cheat": the Eight Spider Lances. Meanwhile, Xiao Wu would return safely on her own after obtaining her third soul ring. The entire sequence was essentially a setup to hand Tang San his first external advantage.
Before the Blue Silver Grass evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, it was truly weak; only with the Eight Spider Lances did Tang San's strength truly see a qualitative leap. In the original story, he only defeated the Emperor Team because of those lances; otherwise, the Emperor Team would have absolutely demolished the Shrek Seven Devils.
Gu Xuan's hidden excitement didn't just stem from the possibility of intercepting the 2,000-year Man-Faced Demon Spider and giving the Eight Spider Lances to Li Li. There was also the matter of Xiao Wu, a walking 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone. Even though she had taken human form to cultivate, Gu Xuan genuinely lacked any fondness for her. In his eyes, turning Xiao Wu into a soul ring carried zero psychological burden. After all, "spicy rabbit head" was quite a delicacy.
In the original story, Xiao Wu was portrayed as both foolish and pretentious. Upon entering the human world, she didn't know the meaning of discretion; instead, she provoked others at every turn, her mouth often spewing nauseating insults. One of the most vivid examples for Gu Xuan was when she and Tang San met Dai Mubai at the Rose Hotel on their way to Shrek. Setting aside Dai Mubai's "scumbag" attributes, that room was indeed reserved for him; the waiter had simply forgotten. Dai Mubai hadn't even been particularly offensive—he was just stating facts. Yet Xiao Wu jumped out to stir up trouble, judging him just because he was with two beautiful women.
In the world of Douluo, such behavior was common even among minor nobles, let alone high-level Soul Masters. Had Xiao Wu been so "pure and noble" when she was just a rabbit? Gu Xuan could list similar instances for a day and a night.
Of course, he wasn't trying to whitewash Dai Mubai; Gu Xuan found him equally repulsive. To Gu Xuan, Shrek Academy wasn't an academy for "monsters"—it was a dumping ground for the insufferable. In twenty years, they had recruited sixty or seventy students, but only a dozen had graduated; many others had died while hunting soul beasts. Gu Xuan couldn't fathom how such an academy, with such high requirements, could be so negligent with student lives. Given Shrek's standards, those students were all Soul Saint candidates if they had just been allowed to cultivate safely.
Simply put, if they crossed paths, Gu Xuan wouldn't show any mercy. He even planned to find a way to poach Oscar—how could a trash academy deserve a talent like that?
Li Li had only just reached Rank 30, but as a Man-Faced Demon Spider, being in the forest was like coming home. She had a natural advantage in this terrain, so her speed was not lacking.
An hour later, they caught up with the trail of the Titan Giant Ape. It was already night. The beast had stopped near a Soul Master camp, its eyes—like two massive lanterns—scanning the area. Gu Rong and the two youngsters stayed a short distance away, suppressing their soul power. From here, they could finally see the beast in its entirety.
It was a mountain of a creature. Its pitch-black fur shimmered faintly under the starlight. Even on all fours, its shoulders stood over seven meters high. If it stood upright, it would easily exceed fifteen meters. It looked like a cross between an ape and a gorilla, entirely black except for its yellow, crystal-like eyes. In the darkness, it was nearly invisible unless it moved. It was so incredibly robust that every inch of its body was covered in muscles tougher than granite, bulging like small hills. Ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts couldn't even be compared to it; it was on a completely different level of existence.
Seeing it, Gu Xuan confirmed it was the Titan Giant Ape. The camp could be none other than Shrek Academy's. Why else would the King of the Forest venture to the outer regions?
Validating his theory, one of the figures in the camp—the shortest but most burly man—suddenly lost his smile. He grabbed a young man's shoulder and pulled him back. A chilling aura erupted from the burly man as he summoned his Martial Soul, the Vigorous Vajra Bear.
"Everyone out of the tents, NOW!!" the man roared, his voice thick and resonant. Several figures scrambled out.
"Teacher Zhao, what is it?" A blond youth with heterochromatic eyes rushed to his side.
Zhao Wuji didn't answer. "Get behind me! If anything happens, don't worry about me—leave the forest immediately. Mubai, while I'm not here, the responsibility of protecting everyone falls to you."
These were the Shrek students, out to hunt for rings. Zhao Wuji's visible panic and the sheer pressure of his Martial Soul left Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others bewildered. What could make the usually arrogant Zhao Wuji this tense?
Then, they saw it. Two massive trees were shoved aside, and a gargantuan shadow stepped out silently. Everyone's breath hitched. They finally understood Zhao Wuji's fear.
Tang San was the first to recognize it, thanks to the knowledge "Grandmaster" had drilled into him. "It's the King of the Forest... the Titan Giant Ape." Even the usually composed Tang San's voice trembled.
The Titan Giant Ape was an absolute hegemon in any forest. No soul beast dared provoke it; doing so meant certain death. Even a hundred-year-old Titan Giant Ape could allegedly hold its own against ten-thousand-year beasts. They possessed peerless strength, defense, and even speed—they were nearly flawless. Most terrifyingly, they could use skills similar to soul skills. No human who had seen those skills lived to tell the tale.
Among soul beasts of the same age, the Titan Giant Ape stood at the very top of the pyramid. It was a nightmare for Soul Masters and soul beasts alike. Many had coveted its power, hoping to make it their soul ring, but all who tried had vanished from the world. In known history, only one person had ever successfully hunted one.
The beast wasn't just powerful; it possessed human-level intelligence. In the forest, it was the absolute monarch. Tang San and Zhao Wuji couldn't fathom why this King of the Forest, which should reside in the deepest core of the Star Dou Great Forest, was standing right in front of them.
(End of Chapter)
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Hey Guys, First of All Thank You all from the bottom of my heart for your support both here and on my Orange Page and specially on my Orange Page and special thanks to those who continue to support me from the start of my Journey.
It's a new month and I just released a new Douluo Dalu Fanfic:
Douluo Dalu: Star Slaying Demon Sword.
Go check it out.
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