Far away, ten kilometers from the scene...

  On a warm, densely vegetated meadow...

  A massive ape was lying deep within the grass, sleeping soundly.

  This ape was as rge as a mountain. Its pitch-bck fur shimmered under the bzing sunlight with an enchanting luster.

  Suddenly—

  Its tightly shut eyes snapped open. The giant ape rose to its feet, eyes fixed intently in one direction.

  Even though it stood on all fours, its shoulders were over seven meters high. Its form resembled a mix between a giant ape and a goril.

  Aside from its ntern-sized eyes that glowed with a crystal-like yellow light, its entire body was a deep bck.

  Not only was it massive, but every inch of its body was packed with terrifyingly strong muscles—far tougher than granite—bulging like small hills beneath its skin.

  A hint of confusion fshed across the giant ape's face. Then, with a leap, it disappeared into the forest within a few breaths.

  Inside the Zerg Hive Cluster.

  Within the depths of the Hatchery, Lin Fan stretched zily, murmuring to himself:

  "Didn't expect the Queen of Bdes to be this strong... Looks like I should stock up on energy and create a few more of her."

  After all, the original series had no shortage of high-quality female characters...

  Zhu Zhuqing, Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong...

  Just thinking of them stirred something in Lin Fan's heart.

  What kind of transformation would occur once one of these titled queens was assimited and evolved into a new Queen of Bdes?

  Suddenly, the Overmind's voice rang out in Lin Fan's head:

  [Warning! A 100,000-year soul beast is approaching the Queen of Bdes.]

  [Warning!]

  [Warning!]

  Lin Fan's expression changed drastically as he quickly connected to the vision of a Overlord.

  At that very moment, Xiao Wu, who had been preparing to board the Overlord for return, paused and raised her hand.

  The Overlord immediately ascended, vanishing into the cloud yer more than ten thousand meters above the ground.

  Meanwhile, the rest of the Zerg—Zerglings and Hydralisks—burrowed underground in an orderly retreat, entering a small hive located 500 meters below the surface.

  In an instant, the vast forest was left with only Xiao Wu standing alone.

  Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked into the distance.

  From afar, startled birds shot into the sky. The earth trembled as if some colossal creature were charging through the forest.

  "Hmph. Interesting."

  A charming smirk curled on Xiao Wu's lips.

  Lin Fan also wore a strange expression as he observed through the Overlord's surveilnce.

  A jet-bck giant ape was charging rapidly through the forest, its thick body marked with va-like brown stripes.

  A giant ape... and a 100,000-year soul beast at that.

  In the entire Star Dou Great Forest, there were only two true overlords.

  The identity of this beast was unmistakable—

  The Titan Giant Ape!

  "It's actually him..."

  Lin Fan frowned slightly. Why did this guy suddenly show up?

  The Titan Giant Ape barreled through the forest, leaping high and kicking off a towering tree to unch itself even farther.

  Its copper bell-like eyes scanned the surrounding forest warily.

  Why does it feel like something's been watching me...?

  It shook its head. Probably just my imagination.

  Besides, aside from a Titled Douluo, who would dare spy on a 100,000-year soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest?

  And even if it were a human or soul beast, could it really hide its presence from him?

  The Titan Giant Ape continued charging forward. What truly piqued its curiosity was the agonizing roar it had heard earlier.

  This area clearly belonged to that devious 90,000-year-old serpent.

  Cunning and mentally powerful, even most Titled Douluo struggled to deal with that snake.

  So why would it let out such a miserable scream?

  Could it be...

  The Spirit Hall soul masters are making moves again?

  At that thought, the Titan Giant Ape accelerated, a chilling killing intent fshing in its eyes.

  BOOM—!

  The ape leapt high and smashed down onto the ground, shattering the earth with a powerful impact.

  Looking around, its senses were immediately drawn to an intense aura.

  Sure enough!

  The old snake's corpse y sprawled on the ground, its eyes mutited and flesh torn.

  Above the serpent's body floated a thick bck soul ring streaked with faint crimson light, glowing ominously.

  Clearly, it hadn't been dead for long.

  Upon seeing the snake's gruesome end, the Titan Giant Ape was overcome with rage.

  "ROAR!!"

  A deafening roar shattered the silence.

  "Hehe~ Such a loud monkey."

  A pyful, feminine voice entered the Titan Giant Ape's ears.

  Only then did it realize—there was a strange woman standing nearby.

  A human?

  The Titan Giant Ape hesitated.

  Xiao Wu looked human, but the massive bone-like wings on her back and the floating, swaying tail behind her didn't seem human at all.

  Even if it were a martial soul manifestation, he couldn't sense any soul power from her, nor see any soul rings.

  That could only mean—this was her true form!

  A puzzled look crossed the Titan Giant Ape's rugged face.

  Is this a soul beast gone astray, or a drunk human?

  Is this the distortion of nature... or the colpse of morality?

  The Titan Giant Ape gnced at Xiao Wu with a strange mixture of sympathy and confusion—but deep inside, something felt eerily familiar.

  In fact, the sense of familiarity was incredibly strong.

  Xiao Wu frowned slightly. What's with this dumb monkey's weird look?

  "Human! Did you kill the old snake?"

  A thunderous voice echoed in Xiao Wu's mind.

  Soul beasts couldn't speak, but those over 100,000 years old could project their thoughts as human speech via mental transmission.

  Xiao Wu covered her mouth and giggled, "Who else? Do you see anyone else around?"

  Hearing this, the Titan Giant Ape growled angrily, "You think I'm stupid? How could you possibly kill it alone?"

  BZZT—!

  Right before the Titan Giant Ape's disbelieving eyes—

  Six blood-red soul rings rose from Xiao Wu's back.

  Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red.

  All of them were 100,000-year soul rings!

  "ROOOOAR!!!"

  He didn't know how she did it—but having this many 100,000-year soul rings meant she had sin six soul beasts of that level!

  As one of the Star Dou Great Forest's overlords, the Titan Giant Ape couldn't tolerate this!

  With a thunderous roar, it swung a fist charged with destructive power straight at Xiao Wu!

  Her expression grew solemn as the fourth soul ring behind her lit up—

  "Spiked Defense!"

  A torrent of bck soul power surged from her body like a waterfall, enveloping her in a shimmering bck energy shield.

  The shield bristled with countless energy spikes!

  The Titan Giant Ape's massive fist smmed directly into the barrier!

  BOOM—!!

  A deafening explosion rang out!

  The shield dented for a moment—then violently rebounded!

  "ROAR!!"

  The Titan Giant Ape howled in pain, jerking its fist back. It was now covered in countless bloody punctures.

  The energy shield around Xiao Wu shattered at the same time.

  Her stunning face remained cold and emotionless.

  The sixth soul ring behind her began to shine even more brilliantly.

  ****

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