Tang San's heart was filled with frustration. Even though he was a twin martial soul owner, born with full innate soul power, and trained in the Tang Sect's unique abilities such as Xuan Tian Gong and hidden weapons, why was his strength still so much weaker than Su Ming's? Why was he always being overshadowed?
Why?!
Su Ming: You really have no clue how you got that full innate soul power, huh?
Oscar, seeing Tang San's persistence, had no choice. After all, Tang San had helped him acquire his third spirit ring, almost exhausting his own soul power in the process. Although this spirit ability would only be useful in the early stages and practically useless later on, Oscar couldn't blame Tang San for his bad luck.
Since Tang San needed his help now, Oscar knew he had to repay the favor.
He also understood why Tang San wanted multiple flying mushroom sausages—Tang San's previous one-minute flight was too short. He needed more to sustain himself, or he wouldn't have asked Oscar in the first place, since Oscar had already given him one earlier.
So, Oscar quietly chanted his flying mushroom sausage incantation: "I have a mushroom sausage!"
As Oscar quickly produced several sausages, his sudden switch in spirit ability caught the attention of the others. After all, they needed big recovery sausages, not mushroom sausages.
Dai Mubai, who was closest to Oscar, immediately noticed and turned to ask, "Oscar, why are you making mushroom sausages now?"
Oscar felt awkward, knowing he'd been caught, but there was nothing he could do—his spirit abilities required chanting.
Before Oscar could explain, Tang San quickly grabbed three mushroom sausages from his hand, instantly consuming one.
Tang San's sudden action shocked everyone. Zhao Wuji opened his eyes and, seeing Tang San flying into the air, asked, "Tang San, what are you doing?"
Tang San, not caring about Zhao Wuji's rebuke, replied with a heavy heart, "Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry, but I have to go and bring them back, even if it's just their bodies!"
With that, Tang San flew off, heading back in the direction where the Titan Giant Ape had gone.
Everyone, except for Oscar who understood Tang San's emotions, was stunned by his actions. Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were puzzled. Since when was Tang San so close to Su Ming and Xiao Wu? And if he cared so much, why had he left them behind earlier?
Zhao Wuji, watching Tang San ignore his orders, was furious. Damn it, Tang San! If something happens to you, I'll be in big trouble!
Zhao Wuji thought: If Tang San gets hurt and Tang Hao finds out, I'm done for! But even though my soul power has recovered somewhat, my attributes have been halved because of using my Martial Soul Avatar. Right now, I'm only as strong as a Soul King, and it's too dangerous!
Zhao Wuji's Martial Soul Avatar, while powerful, had serious drawbacks. After using it, he would be weakened for seven days—basically a sitting duck if any more danger arose.
He turned to Oscar and demanded, "Oscar, explain this to me now! What's going on?"
Oscar, knowing time was of the essence, quickly explained everything as fast as he could.
After hearing the explanation, everyone's expressions became strange. They weren't foolish—they could all tell that Tang San only wanted to save Xiao Wu, and Su Ming was just an afterthought. Tang San's feelings for Xiao Wu had been hidden quite well, it seemed.
But it wasn't that Tang San had deliberately hidden his feelings. He had been a cold-blooded assassin in his previous life, numb to emotions. It wasn't until the moment Xiao Wu was taken by the Titan Giant Ape that he fully realized what he had been feeling all along.
Meanwhile...
Sitting on Er Ming's left hand, Xiao Wu adopted a bossy tone, "Er Ming, let go of my brother! You're squeezing him too hard; he's in pain!"
Er Ming, obediently following orders, released Su Ming. After stretching a little on Er Ming's right hand, Su Ming jumped over to sit next to Xiao Wu.
With a playful glint in her eye, Xiao Wu asked, "Brother, why did you ask Er Ming to take you with us?"
Su Ming replied with a mysterious smile, "Why don't you guess, Xiao Wu?"
Huffing in mock annoyance, Xiao Wu said, "I guess you want to spar with Er Ming, and there are some trump cards you don't want the others to see. Like… those eyes of yours?"
Having already learned everything from Su Ming's diary, Xiao Wu answered with ease.
Su Ming, surprised, reached out to feel Xiao Wu's forehead, joking, "No fever. How did you suddenly get so smart, Xiao Wu?"
At first confused by Su Ming's gesture, Xiao Wu quickly grew irritated by his teasing. She chomped down on his arm—though only gently, just enough to leave a mark.
"Ouch!" Su Ming didn't dodge, knowing that Xiao Wu wouldn't really hurt him. He allowed her to bite down on his unprotected arm, the muscle beneath flexible enough to be either soft or hard at will.
Thanks to his cultivation and the years of refining his body with spirit power, his physical strength was comparable to that of a Soul Douluo.
But of course, Xiao Wu didn't really bite him hard. It was just playful teasing, with a hint of affection between them.
Rubbing his arm, Su Ming chuckled. "Ow, Xiao Wu, does that mean you're mad at me?"
Xiao Wu looked up with a pout, her large, round eyes filled with mock hurt. "So, Su Ming-ge, you really do think I'm a fool, huh?"
Su Ming patted her bunny ears, laughing heartily, "Of course not. Our Xiao Wu is the smartest!"
Although his words were a little perfunctory, Xiao Wu still liked hearing them.
If it hadn't been for the diary, Xiao Wu would never have guessed why Su Ming wanted to accompany her to Star Lake.
Seeing Xiao Wu's cute expression, Su Ming could no longer hold back. He leaned in and planted a firm kiss on her blushing cheek!
Shocked, Xiao Wu's mouth hung open, unable to process what had just happened. Her heart raced—Su Ming had caught her completely off guard!