The Titan Giant Ape's sudden return caught everyone off guard. Zhao Wuji and the others, who had just barely escaped death, didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief before tension gripped them once more.
But Tang San's expression was completely different. Moments ago, he was still blaming himself for failing to protect Xiao Wu's safety and was ready to chase after her alone. Unexpectedly, the Titan Giant Ape actually came back.
Without a trace of hesitation, Tang San charged toward Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, I'm coming to save you right now."
At this moment, Xiao Wu, gripped in the Titan Giant Ape's hand, urgently shouted:
"Ge, go back quickly!"
Xiao Wu wanted to tell Tang San that she was fine, but she couldn't say it outright in front of everyone. She had the Titan Giant Ape turn back purely to give Su Xiaoqi a bit of a lesson.
Whether it was the name he gave Zhu Zhuqing last time at the Great Spirit Arena, or the words he'd spoken two days ago about spirit beasts, both had made Xiao Wu extremely angry.
Seeing the Titan Giant Ape charge directly toward him and ignore Tang San entirely, Su Xiaoqi immediately understood—Xiao Wu was using the ape to deal with him.
"Teacher Zhao, I didn't really contribute earlier. I'll go lure this big guy away now—leave things here to you."
Leaving those words behind, Su Xiaoqi dashed into the forest. Since trouble had come looking for him, he would simply use it to further his own plan.
Other than Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, the rest of the Shrek students were baffled by Su Xiaoqi's 'self-sacrificing' act. What shocked them even more was that the Titan Giant Ape ignored them completely and went straight after Su Xiaoqi.
Ma Hongjun exclaimed, "Su Xiaoqi is such a good guy. I misunderstood him before."
"Fatty, shut your mouth," Dai Mubai barked. He then turned to Zhao Wuji:
"Teacher Zhao, what do we do now?"
The situation was already chaotic: the Titan Giant Ape holding Xiao Wu was chasing Su Xiaoqi, while Tang San was chasing the Titan Giant Ape.
Zhao Wuji's face darkened like iron. He roared:
"What else can we do? Recover your injuries as quickly as possible, then follow them."
In his mind, it didn't matter if Su Xiaoqi died. He'd feel guilty if Xiao Wu died, but under no circumstances could Tang San be harmed. If Tang San had an accident, not only he, but every teacher in Shrek Academy would be finished.
Ning Rongrong whispered to Zhu Zhuqing:
"Zhuqing, what should we do?"
"Wait," Zhu Zhuqing replied flatly.
This was the message Su Xiaoqi had sent her before leaving—wait for his signal before acting.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Su Xiaoqi was already caught up to by the Titan Giant Ape. Even though he was running at full speed, each of the ape's leaps covered over a hundred meters.
"The distance is far enough. Tang San probably still needs some time to catch up. I'll use this chance to try my full strength."
Su Xiaoqi clenched his fists tightly, spreading his arms into a stance and shouting loudly:
"Heah!"
In that instant, a white aura erupted from his body, expanding outward with him as the center.
Back in his own world during training, Su Xiaoqi had already tried "powering up" with aura. Even if his current combat power wasn't very high, as long as he could freely control his aura, he could still "power up." The stronger his combat power grew, the more intense the aura he could release.
"What is this?"
Before Xiao Wu could figure out what was happening, Su Xiaoqi suddenly vanished from sight.
With a loud *bang*, Su Xiaoqi appeared in front of the Titan Giant Ape and landed a heavy punch to its face.
"Er Ming!" In her anxiety, Xiao Wu blurted out the Titan Giant Ape's nickname.
The ape roared in pain, swinging its massive right palm toward Su Xiaoqi.
In his powered-up state, Su Xiaoqi's speed and reflexes were incomparable to normal. He flashed to the side, dodged the attack, and countered with a flurry of ferocious blows.
*Bang bang bang bang!*
A barrage of punches rained down on the Titan Giant Ape, forcing it to stagger backward step by step.
"Xiao Wu!"
Hearing a shout from behind, Su Xiaoqi immediately stopped his assault. In the next moment, he flashed away from the ape, calmed his breathing, and dispersed his aura.
From that brief exchange, Su Xiaoqi concluded that while his attacks had looked fierce, with his current strength he couldn't kill the Titan Giant Ape in normal conditions—unless he could erupt in fury like last time and unleash greater power, which might give him a chance.
"Third Brother…"
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, who had just caught up, eyes blood-red with rage, her face filled with worry.
Seeing that Xiao Wu was unharmed in the ape's grasp, Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and said soothingly:
"Xiao Wu, don't be afraid. I'll save you right now."
While they spoke, Su Xiaoqi took the opportunity to send Zhu Zhuqing a message, then turned to Tang San:
"Tang San, from what I just observed, this Titan Giant Ape is male, and your Xiao Wu's spirit is a rabbit. By the laws of animal mating, it might have taken a liking to Xiao Wu, which is why it deliberately chose to capture her."
"And look—it still hasn't hurt her. It probably wants to take her back to its lair and keep her there."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Tang San's eyes turned even redder. At any other time, he might have doubted Su Xiaoqi's words, but right now his mind was completely consumed by the thought of saving Xiao Wu—he couldn't think about anything else.
On the other hand, Xiao Wu's eyes widened. She wanted to explain to Tang San but didn't know how. She couldn't reveal the truth to her dear Third Brother now, especially with Su Xiaoqi present.
As for the Titan Giant Ape, it let out a strange cry. The human had just hurt it badly, but surprisingly, he'd voiced its inner thoughts exactly.
Su Xiaoqi pointed at the ape:
"See? See? It called out—that means it admits it."
The Titan Giant Ape, very cooperative, let out another strange cry.
"Let Xiao Wu go!" Tang San roared, launching his attack on the ape.
Aside from the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San unleashed every offensive skill he currently had.
Normally, such attacks would be like scratching an itch for the Titan Giant Ape. But now, Tang San was aiming all his strikes at its lower body, thoroughly enraging it.
In its fury, the Titan Giant Ape forgot everything Xiao Wu had said to it earlier and lunged at Tang San.
Xiao Wu was nearly in tears, desperately trying to use her special way of communicating with the ape to calm it down and get it to take her away immediately.
Seeing the moment was right, Su Xiaoqi shouted:
"Tang San, I'll help you!"
He charged forward—only to be sent flying backward the next second by the Titan Giant Ape.
The ape stared at its own hand in confusion. It hadn't even touched the human—so why had he gone flying?
Tang San and Xiao Wu, however, paid him no mind. Tang San kept attacking frantically, while Xiao Wu issued a stern warning to the ape: if it didn't take her away now, she would never acknowledge it again.
At the same time, Su Xiaoqi, using his flight technique, left the battlefield and met up with Zhu Zhuqing. After exchanging a few words, they separated again.
Next, Zhu Zhuqing would secretly follow Tang San, and if they encountered the Man-Faced Demon Spider, she would 'help' him out. Su Xiaoqi, on the other hand, began preparations for his hunt.