488. Wounded Tang San

"Ice Empress, it's time to go," Qian Renjue called out to her from the side.

"Got it!"

The Ice Empress nodded and turned around, walking over to stand beside Qian Renjue and Xiao Wu.

Her face flushed slightly as she glanced at Xiao Wu.

Then, to Qian Renjue's surprise, she boldly grabbed his hand that had been resting on Xiao Wu’s head and placed it on her own, as if declaring her dominance.

"Huh?"

The little rabbit covered her now cool head in confusion, pouting in dissatisfaction.

“Jue, your two pets are fighting for your attention,” Qian Renxue teased with a chuckle, leaning close to his ear.

"I... I’m not a pet!"

The Ice Empress’s face turned bright red as she hastily transformed into a flash of emerald light and disappeared.

"Heh, what a tsundere," Qian Renjue remarked with a soft laugh.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu tugged at his sleeve pitifully, twisting her delicate body as she whined,
"Your Highness, Xiao Wu is your true pet!"

"Alright, but you’re a person now," Qian Renjue retorted, flicking her forehead gently before holding her hand.
“It’s time to go. Rong Rong said she misses you.”

With that, Qian Renjue wrapped his arm around Xiao Wu’s slender waist, and the dark hooks behind him gleamed as he activated his spirit bone skill, disappearing with the two girls.

Boom!

As soon as Qian Renjue and his group vanished, the Titan Giant Ape leapt out of the pit and roared furiously at the lake.

"You foolish little brother..."
Sky Blue Bull Python shook its head before shooting another blast at Er Ming.
Boom! Er Ming was flipped over again.

A deep and distant voice echoed in his ears,
"Whether it’s heaven or hell, we have no say in the matter."

"If you still acknowledge me as your big brother, follow me closely."

Splash—Splash—
With those words, Sky Blue Bull Python slowly sank into the Lake of Life, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Boom!

The Titan Giant Ape crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. With its head buried in the dirt and its rear in the air, it lay there dazed, staring at the inverted world.
Of course, it trusted its elder brother completely.


---

Star Dou Forest, Mixed Zone

The valley occupied by the Swift Demon Wolf pack reeked of blood and decay.
White and red fluids were splattered across the muddy ground.

Tang Hao’s mouth and nose dripped with white froth, while his Clear Sky Hammer was smeared with crimson blood.
The entire pack had been pulverized by his hammer. The corpses of the wolves were beyond recognition, many reduced to mere chunks of flesh.

“Huff, huff!”

Tang Hao panted heavily, his body covered in wounds with no intact part remaining.
The nine spirit rings beneath him dimmed, and his Clear Sky Hammer disintegrated into nothingness.

"Pfft—!"
Suddenly, his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, vomiting a mixture of white, viscous blood.

“Ugh!”
He gagged violently, retching for a while before expelling a large quantity of frothy white fluid.

It took him a long moment to slowly rise again. The fierce battle had left him stripped of everything.

Staggering slightly, he pulled out a piece of cloth and tied it around his waist to cover himself, concealing his battered lower body.

His eyes burned with hatred as he stumbled toward the forest’s edge.

He felt like he was about to fall apart.
Behind him, in the valley, countless purple and black spirit rings hovered ominously.

There were even ten-thousand-year spirit beasts among them!

Had he not regained his senses in time, he might have become the first Titled Douluo to die from overindulgence in battle.

“Damn those fallen ones! Just wait… Cough, cough...”

Tang Hao barely managed to finish his threat before his throat clogged, forcing him into a fit of dry coughing.

The footprints he left in the forest were all white, exuding the stench of the battlefield behind him.


—————

On the Other Side

At dawn, Zhao Wuji and the others, who had rescued Tang San, successfully helped Oscar acquire a spirit ring.
The ring came from a 1,400-year-old Devil Pepper Tree, granting Oscar a spirit ability called Excitement Chili Sausage.

After consumption, it could induce an excited state, boosting attack and speed by 10% while increasing resistance to negative effects.

It sounded impressive, but for Ma Hongjun, who tried it, it was a nightmare.

Sweat poured down his face as he endured the fiery effect of the chili sausage. It wasn’t just spicy in the mouth—it burned all the way through, even causing severe discomfort afterward.

For someone like Ma Hongjun, whose primary attack method involved breathing fire, this was a particularly cruel experience.

After obtaining the spirit ring, Zhao Wuji led Zhu Zhuqing and the others to retreat.
Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t find Xiao Wu.

At that moment, the Shrek group had stopped for a brief rest.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong sat together, whispering.

“Zhuqing, is it true that Brother Holy Son has returned?”

“Yes, it’s true,” Zhu Zhuqing nodded gently.
“Teacher said that once Xiao Wu finishes absorbing the gift he gave her, she’ll return to us.”

“A gift from Brother Holy Son?”
Ning Rongrong pouted in jealousy, gulping water as if drinking wine.


---

Meanwhile, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun carefully set Tang San down.

“Xiao San, be good—open your mouth,” Oscar said, continually producing sausages and feeding them to Tang San.

Dai Mubai unscrewed a water bottle and asked the bandaged, mummy-like Tang San,
“Xiao San, do you want some water?”

In response, Tang San lay on the stretcher with lifeless eyes and shook his head.
The events of the previous night were too surreal to believe.

He still couldn’t accept that his spirit rings had truly changed—his Blue Silver Grass martial spirit now had three white spirit rings, while his second martial spirit had a purple first ring and a white second ring.

It was absurd.

He had disobeyed his teacher's orders and risked his life hunting spirit beasts, only to end up as a joke.
To make things worse, the one responsible for his humiliation might have been his own mother!

In just one night, he had lost Xiao Wu, his talent, and even his father’s respect.
He had almost been killed by his own mother.
Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

The only consolation was that Tang Hao turned out to be a powerful Titled Douluo.

“Sigh, Xiao San, cheer up. There are plenty of other fish in the sea,” Ma Hongjun said, wiping his sweat and offering comfort when he saw Tang San’s teary eyes.

“When we get back to Soto City, I’ll take you out for some fun. You’re a man, after all—"

"Once you let it all out, everything will make sense.”

Tang San closed his eyes, letting two tears slip down to his ears as he whispered in pain,
“You don’t understand…”

“No worries. If I don’t understand, Boss Dai here, the love expert, surely does,” Ma Hongjun said cheekily.

Before he could finish, Dai Mubai smacked him on the head, cursing,
“Shut up, fatso!”

“Ow! Boss Dai, you’re the one who said it yourself,” Ma Hongjun muttered, rubbing his head, his earlier bravado vanishing under Dai Mubai’s glare.

Dai Mubai snorted coldly, glancing at Zhu Zhuqing, and declared with feigned dignity,
“True love is something your blockheaded brain will never understand.”

Ma Hongjun lowered his head and muttered under his breath,
“What a pretender. Acting noble while being worse than Oscar’s sausages. Disgusting.”

Just then, a rustling sound came from the surrounding bushes.

“Something’s happening!”
Zhao Wuji immediately raised the alarm, his soul power ready for battle.