"No — let Xiao Wu go!" The moment Tang San saw Xiao Wu fall into the Titan Giant Ape's grasp, his eyes turned red. Before his body had even steadied on the ground, he kicked off the earth and launched himself into the air. Using a nearby tree as a springboard, he vaulted forward, both hands sweeping past his waist like lightning. Over a dozen streaks of cold light rose simultaneously, shooting straight toward the Titan Giant Ape's eyes.
The eyes were one of the few vulnerable points on the Titan Giant Ape's body.
At this moment, Tang San's heart had sunk to the depths. He knew all too well that with the Titan Giant Ape's strength, the slightest pressure from its hand would mean Xiao Wu had no chance of survival. No matter how flexible her body was, she would not survive.
Zhao Wuji had finally landed as well, and the sight of Xiao Wu in the Titan Giant Ape's grip had been seared into his eyes.
At a moment like this, Zhao Wuji would no longer hold anything back. He threw his head back and roared toward the sky. The seventh Soul Ring around him — a deep, abyssal black — erupted with sudden violence. Intense black light instantly spread across Zhao Wuji's entire body. Then, his figure began to undergo a tremendous transformation.
After the Vigorous Vajra Bear had already possessed him, Zhao Wuji's already imposing frame swelled like a balloon being inflated. In the blink of an eye, his height had exceeded five meters, every muscle expanding to an exaggerated degree. Brownish-gold fur sprouted wildly, and his entire body transformed into that of a true giant bear.
The moment his body completed its transformation into a bear, the brownish-gold fur shifted color in an instant, blazing with brilliant golden radiance. Now fully manifested as the bear, Zhao Wuji lunged without hesitation toward the arm with which the Titan Giant Ape held Xiao Wu.
All Soul Masters with beast-type Martial Souls who reached the seventh ring after level seventy possessed a similar seventh Soul Skill — the Martial Soul Avatar. Just as level thirty represented a bottleneck for Soul Masters, so too did level seventy. A beast-type Soul Master who had attained the Martial Soul Avatar would see a massive boost in strength. Moreover, this skill was their ultimate trump card, the one they risked everything to deploy.
What Zhao Wuji was now using was precisely his seventh Soul Ring skill — the most domineering and most punishing of all Soul Ring skills: the Martial Soul Avatar. What he displayed was the true original form of the Martial Soul, the Vigorous Vajra Bear itself.
Once the Martial Soul Avatar was activated, the user could freely employ any Soul Skill below the seventh ring without restriction for thirty minutes, at one hundred and fifty percent of its original power. The Vigorous Vajra Bear's Martial Soul Avatar further carried a terrifying two hundred percent boost to defense. This was Zhao Wuji's final resort.
Of course, every time a Soul Master used the Martial Soul Avatar, their own attributes would be reduced by fifty percent, requiring seven full days to recover. For this reason, Soul Masters above level seventy would never lightly resort to their Martial Soul Avatar unless there was absolutely no alternative.
With the Martial Soul Avatar unleashed, Zhao Wuji immediately drew the Titan Giant Ape's attention. After all, in this state, Zhao Wuji was now capable of posing a genuine threat.
At the same time, the Titan Giant Ape performed a single simple motion that completely neutralized Tang San's full-power barrage of Hidden Weapons. It closed its eyes.
Tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink… Amid a rapid succession of crisp, metallic sounds, every Hidden Weapon aimed at the Titan Giant Ape's eyes was deflected by its eyelids. Simultaneously, the Titan Giant Ape's body suddenly straightened upright. The massive hand gripping Xiao Wu dodged Zhao Wuji's pounce, while its other powerful arm collided head-on with Zhao Wuji's body.
BOOM —
Zhao Wuji, with his Martial Soul Avatar active, was indeed formidable. With defense boosted by two hundred percent and bearing the true body of the Vigorous Vajra Bear, he was not simply sent flying this time. Even so, as a strength-type Soul Master, he was still far too outmatched against the Titan Giant Ape's power.
Amid the thunderous impact, Zhao Wuji staggered back seven or eight steps before barely managing to steady himself, while the Titan Giant Ape appeared utterly unaffected. It let out another furious roar.
The black shockwave caught Tang San — who was still unleashing Hidden Weapons at full force — and hurled him, along with his projectiles, flying through the air. He smashed heavily into the trunk of a great tree.
"Don't!" Xiao Wu cried out in alarm, watching Tang San get blown away.
The Titan Giant Ape lowered its head to look at Xiao Wu in its grip and let out another deep growl. This time, it ignored Zhao Wuji, who was charging in again. It leaped upward abruptly, and in a single bound was already over a hundred meters away, vanishing into the forest.
"Xiao Wu — !" Zhao Wuji shouted, desperate to give chase, only to realize that his speed was incomparably slower than the Titan Giant Ape's.
Moreover, the violent shockwave the Titan Giant Ape had just inflicted had nearly shattered his Martial Soul Avatar. With his Soul Power drastically depleted, he knew that even if he caught up, it would already be too late.
When Tang San slid down from the tree, his mouth was stained with blood — clearly, he had sustained a serious injury.
Fatty Ma Hongjun stood up looking disheveled, rubbing the backside that Tang San had kicked.
Ning Rongrong had regained consciousness from her faint and was standing with Oscar's support, though her head was still somewhat groggy, half her body hanging off of Oscar's arm.