"Welcome to the Shrek City branch of Moon Shadow Trading Company."
The waiter with white curly hair bowed slightly.
"The dining area is on the basement level. Clothing, household goods, and daily necessities can be purchased on the first floor. For trading pills, soul tools, and valuable cultivation resources, please proceed to the second and third floors. Large orders can be handled on the fourth floor. For details, please refer to the floor guide on the right side of the corridor. If you wish to make purchases, you may apply for a membership card with the area supervisor to enjoy shopping discounts. Our company also provides multiple member services such as home delivery, new-arrival notifications, exclusive shopping guides, birthday gifts, and more."
The waiter bowed and made a "please" gesture, then said nothing further.
This was actually Wang Dong's first time visiting Moon Shadow Trading Company. During the past year he had rarely wandered around Shrek City—after all, Jiang Lan worked as a referee in the Soul Fighting Area, so he spent most of his time there. He had accumulated quite a lot of Soul Fighting credits.
This time An Wen had arranged to meet him at Moon Shadow Trading Company to hand over a soul bone. Jiang Lan, the big spender paying the bill, naturally came with him. Then Ma Xiaotao said she wanted to broaden her horizons and dragged her good friend Chen Xiang along.
So the four of them ended up standing together at the entrance of the trading company.
Wang Dong curiously looked around at the atrium that stretched through four floors.
A massive black artificial rock sculpture, two or three stories tall, stood in the center of the atrium. Dozens of wolf-shaped stone statues crouched on the dark rocks, each wolf in a different posture, extremely lifelike. At the very top of the rock stood the largest gray wolf statue, and beside it was a statue of a man standing with his hands behind his back. Judging from the figure it was a man; his features were quite ordinary and not handsome, yet there was a wild aura about him. His rough short hair and beard were carved strand by strand, showing the incredible craftsmanship of the sculptor.
A circular glowing soul tool floated above the man and wolf at the top of the rock. Silvery light like flowing mercury fell onto the dark marble floor of the hall, just like a real moon.
Yet for some reason that full moon brought a faint sense of oppression—as if the pack of wolves might at any moment surge down from the rocks like a flood, tearing enemies apart and devouring them.
Completely opposite to the elegant decoration style was the lively festive music playing somewhere from hidden soul-tool devices. The melody was extremely cheerful and quickly occupied his mind. It was easy to predict that after leaving the trading company, this tune would keep looping in Wang Dong's head for quite a long time.
Most of the attendants moving through the crowd had white curly hair. They wore standardized smiles on their faces, looking equally indifferent, like identical mannequins displaying clothes.
Wang Dong felt those attendants were a bit… strange. Not the kind of strange where the company boss is some white-haired fetishist—though that might also be true—but something else.
He swore that when the white-haired attendant at the door looked at him earlier, the pupils in those eyes were horizontal.
But his companions didn't seem to notice anything odd about the trading company—or perhaps they simply didn't care.
Bai Chenxiang was analyzing the hidden soul-tool control system inside the building. Jiang Lan listened seriously, while Ma Xiaotao looked around with little interest.
Wang Dong shivered for no reason.
Logically, the service staff of a large trading company should be very enthusiastic, yet after greeting them at the entrance the attendants of Moon Shadow Trading Company never approached them again. This was completely different from other high-end chambers of commerce that eagerly provide service, introduce products, and even offer emotional value.
After all, he was the young sect master of the Clear Sky Sect and had never lacked money. He had been to many high-end chambers of commerce—wait, had he really? Why couldn't he remember clearly what other high-end trading houses were like?
"…Many of the lighting soul tools here are installed in hidden corners, so the light is very soft," Bai Chenxiang said. She was reinforcing her persona as a soul engineer while keeping part of her attention on the distracted Wang Dong.
Bai Chenxiang knew that the Auspicious Beast had always been wary of Wang Dong. From the dormitory arrangements demanded by Wang Dong's family when Shrek first opened school, to that soul bone that clearly shouldn't exist in the lower realm—this caution from the Auspicious Beast was not without reason.
A disciple of the Clear Sky Sect. Bai Chenxiang hadn't paid much attention at first, but after looking closely, the boy's face seemed to reveal some familiar features. Although the Auspicious Beast never said it outright, Bai Chenxiang—once a clever human and now a clever bird spirit—was not stupid.
The hand of the God King always reached very far, didn't it?
Seen that way, Xiao Wu probably didn't have it very easy either. Bai Chenxiang couldn't believe any mother would agree to throw her eleven-year-old child into another world. But she and Xiao Wu weren't close—after all, rabbits and birds are different.
She couldn't help imagining that if she and Ma Hongjun had left behind a child back then… Bai Chenxiang glanced at the absent-minded Ma Xiaotao. Now, if she wanted to reminisce, she could only look at the descendants left behind by others.
Years of slacking off at work while multitasking had given Bai Chenxiang the ability to divide her attention. No matter how far her thoughts wandered, it didn't stop her from speaking:
"…I just don't know whether they're controlled by one massive soul-tool array or by interconnected devices. This building occupies a huge area, and the technology involved…"
Ma Xiaotao stared blankly. She could use soul tools, but she understood none of the design theories. With her friend holding her hand, she could only nod helplessly like an illiterate person.
Sigh. She didn't understand, but everything Xiangxiang said must be right.
Have you ever seen that kind of instant friendship where two people immediately click? Ma Xiaotao had known Chen Xiang only a few months, yet from worldview to aesthetics they matched perfectly. Even in fights they coordinated flawlessly—as if the other person had been tailor-made as her friend.
They could talk about anything.
Except soul tools.
Every time she thought maybe she should study soul tools too, but every time Yan Shaozhe would say forget it—good men don't become soldiers, good iron isn't used for nails, good soul masters don't study soul tools. In the end nothing ever came of it.
Maybe after the competition she should try learning anyway and ignore that stubborn old man.
She didn't yet know that from the moment she met Bai Chenxiang, her fate had already been sealed. She would ultimately miss this year's Continental Advanced Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.
Nearby, Jiang Lan watched expressionlessly. It was obvious she didn't fully understand but was very interested. Ma Xiaotao exchanged a look with Wang Dong, who looked confused as if contemplating his lost memories, and the two suddenly felt a sense of shared misery.
For a moment even the blue-haired guy who parked a ghost-fire motorcycle downstairs looked more agreeable.
Taking advantage of Bai Chenxiang pausing, Ma Xiaotao quickly cut in:
"What time did you say you were meeting your roommate?"
Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong felt like fellow sufferers, but Wang Dong only felt as if two giant lighting soul tools were glowing beside him. The blue-haired boy thought: Senior Xiao Tao, don't you have classes or cultivation in the inner court? Or at least go shopping with Senior Xiangxiang. I finally got a chance to leave school alone with senior sister—why do you have to follow us?
But Wang Dong didn't dare say anything. After all, his strength compared to Ma Xiaotao was about three to seven.
Three punches from Ma Xiaotao, and he'd be heading for his own seventh-day funeral rites.
Maybe it wouldn't even take three punches.
"We arranged to meet in the afternoon. We can walk around first," the blue-haired boy replied honestly.
"That works." Ma Xiaotao nodded and grabbed Bai Chenxiang's hand. "Xiangxiang, there are some good shops here. Want to take a look?"
Anything to stop the soul-tool lecture.
She enthusiastically suggested: "Moon Shadow Trading Company has lots of worthwhile things. Not just cultivation resources—clothes, daily items, all sorts of things here are good. Much better value than what the school sells. Members also get good discounts, and membership benefits apply across different branches. Since we'll be living on campus for years anyway, getting a card is worth it."
Thus the group was dragged to the membership counter.
The employee responsible for membership cards also had soft white hair and red eyes, with an extremely realistic rabbit-ear headband on her head.
Wang Dong stared at the headband for a long time. The ears looked very real and cute. He remembered he had loved rabbits since childhood and couldn't help asking:
"Where can I buy one like that?"
"Employee-only style, dear. Not for sale. The membership fee is three gold soul coins per year. Please fill out the form and verify your martial soul, dear~"
The rabbit ears on the attendant's headband bounced slightly like real ones.
Alright, then they must actually be real rabbit ears. Wang Dong recalled rumors he had heard: some employees of Moon Shadow Trading Company had malignant martial soul mutations, or… beast bloodlines.
But what kind of person would actually mate with a rabbit?! You Beast Sect people are perverts!
Suppressing the urge to complain, Wang Dong paid the fee almost without hesitation. Three gold soul coins might seem expensive for ordinary people, but no successful soul master couldn't afford it. In fact, compared to the membership services provided, Moon Shadow Trading Company was practically operating at a loss charging only three gold soul coins.
Wang Dong took the form. Besides regular items like name, gender, age, soul power level, and martial soul, there were optional fields such as soul engineer certification level, certification location, and research direction. There were also some slightly private details: awakened soul power, contact address, affiliated organization, other contacts, and so on. They were optional, followed by a small line of text:
"If we are unable to contact you directly, birthday gifts, holiday gifts, quarterly new-product catalogs, and ordered goods will be delivered to your affiliated organization or the contact address you provided."
Wang Dong didn't think much and filled in his information.
"Please verify your martial soul here, honored guest~" the rabbit-eared attendant smiled more warmly. She took out a crystal-ball-like soul tool and handed it to them.
Bai Chenxiang took it first.
After taking a pill made mainly from Acacia Heartbreak Red, although her essence was still that of a soul beast, the human form she manifested was already perfect. Aside from the feathers near her ears, no aura of a ferocious beast could be sensed from her. Even the simulated martial soul in human form had no flaws. A phantom swift surrounded by six points of light flashed inside the crystal ball. The rabbit made a few notes on the form and gestured for her to pass the ball to the next person.
She stuffed the soul tool directly into Wang Dong's hands without giving him a chance to refuse.
Thus the Bright Goddess Butterfly and the Clear Sky Hammer appeared simultaneously inside the crystal ball.
Bai Chenxiang raised her eyebrows.
"Holy crap, twin martial souls!" Ma Xiaotao whipped her head around. "Kid, you're something else! That talent is impressive!"
With twin martial souls, he was barely a good match for Xiao Lan with her ultimate attribute.
She saw Wang Dong ignore her and instead look at Jiang Lan like a peacock showing off its feathers. The smiling girl patted his head and praised him, "Very impressive, Xiao Dong."
Only then did he smugly say, "Seniors, don't tell anyone. My second martial soul is my secret weapon."
Damn that evil little blue-haired brat. A good match, my ass.
Jiang Lan took the crystal ball from Wang Dong.
Bai Chenxiang stared closely at the soul tool.
However, the highly precise detection soul tool seemed to freeze in Jiang Lan's hands. Only a cloud of black mist could be seen, along with a streak of purple lightning tearing through it—something like lightning—bamboo joints? vines?
"Ah." The purple-haired girl looked at the chaotic symbols swirling inside the crystal ball and raised her head blankly. "Sorry."
"Sorry, dear customer. It seems our soul tool malfunctioned. Ah! It must be because your martial soul is too powerful." The rabbit looked flustered; she had never seen such a situation.
After all, she was just a half-human, half-rabbit who had only begun receiving human social training less than a year ago. One of her parents had low cultivation and wasn't very intelligent either.
But there were no other colleagues nearby, so she tried to stay calm.
"The martial soul you registered is… uh… Thunder Hell Vine? That must be a very powerful martial soul that has never appeared before and isn't in our database, which is why this malfunction happened. I'll record it directly and count it as verified. We'll also give you a small gift as compensation."
The soul tool showing garbled symbols wasn't actually because the martial soul wasn't in the database—unknown martial souls could still appear in the crystal ball. But her excuse was excellent. One could only say that years of working life greatly improved a half-soul-beast's improvisation ability.
She rummaged through a drawer and took out a small paper bag containing a delicate little box with several decent spiritual fruits.
"Just take it," Ma Xiaotao said carelessly, grabbing the bag and handing it to Jiang Lan. "Anyway we got the membership done. Let's go shopping."
But Bai Chenxiang, half a step behind them, looked somewhat solemn.
She had observed Jiang Lan for a long time. As a wielder of the ultimate lightning attribute, Jiang Lan usually only used lightning energy unless she needed to go all out, rarely using her martial soul.
Bai Chenxiang had never been able to determine what Jiang Lan's martial soul actually was.
And the Thunder Hell Vine she had written on the registration…
Bai Chenxiang didn't know whether Jiang Lan's martial soul was some other plant similar to Thunder Hell Vine, or whether Shrek had used some special method to turn it into Thunder Hell Vine. But the fact that she wrote that name meant Shrek Academy had no understanding of that soul beast.
Because Thunder Hell Vine could not become a martial soul.
Thunder Hell Vine was a plant-type soul beast sharing the same origin as the Thunder God.
That Thunder God had originally been a vine in ancient times. After comprehending the laws within the Destruction Divine Lightning Tribulation released by the God of Destruction, he cultivated into godhood. As a non-human race he followed the Dragon God, and later was slain during that great calamity.
To this day the position of Thunder God in the God Realm remains vacant, and for a very long time no one will wear that crown again.
Therefore the entire Thunder Hell Vine race suffers divine punishment. They are inevitably suppressed by the laws of heaven and earth and die before reaching one hundred thousand years of cultivation. They cannot rebuild cultivation as humans or transform into humanoid ferocious beasts. Humans cannot possess such a martial soul, nor can a human martial soul mutate into Thunder Hell Vine.
This was secret knowledge preserved by Di Tian from the God Realm of the Dragon God era, recorded personally by the Auspicious Beast and stored in the true core of the Beast Sect—namely the so-called "Common Knowledge Training Class for Ferocious Beasts and Reincarnated Soul Beasts Living as Humans": Ark City.
If Bai Chenxiang hadn't deliberately researched many lightning-attribute soul beasts and martial souls to investigate Jiang Lan's secret, even she wouldn't know the secret of Thunder Hell Vine—let alone humans.
If Jiang Lan's martial soul was fake it would be one thing.
But if it was truly Thunder Hell Vine, where did it come from?
When the detection soul tool was in Jiang Lan's hands, the outline of the black mist clearly resembled a four-legged beast—vaguely more like a tiger… or a leopard, some kind of feline.
Jiang Lan appeared four years ago. And four years ago, the female student who should have steadily entered the inner court but dropped out midway had the martial soul Lightning Leopard.
What had Shrek done?
Ma Xiaotao didn't have many friends. She didn't want…
"Hey, Xiangxiang, look! I think this dress suits you. Want to try it?"
"Ah, sure." She smiled.
Ten thousand years later, the rain swallow trapped in the past felt a small spark of ordinary life rekindle in her heart.
But that spark might not last long, because Bai Chenxiang still remembered what she truly wanted.
…
Unlike the Moon Shadow Trading Company in Dragon City, the Shrek City branch focused on one thing: willingly letting customers be fleeced.
Whose money is easiest to make?
Students!
Other chambers of commerce focused on cultivation resources for soul masters—selling pills, soul tools, heavenly treasures, even soul bones.
Moon Shadow Trading Company Shrek City branch took a different path. The first floor sold all sorts of small businesses that other chambers of commerce looked down on: clothes, jewelry, daily goods, small household soul tools.
This was actually very cunning.
Logically, soul masters spend mostly on cultivation resources. But which student wants to browse study materials when going shopping?
Young people with money buying flashy little things with no practical use is completely normal.
Even if a student came out intending to buy cultivation resources, after wandering around the first floor who knows what might end up inside their storage soul tool.
When she was still a bird, Bai Chenxiang didn't feel anything about it. Now that she was human, she had to admit the Auspicious Beast's tactic was truly sinister.
Even as a bird over ten thousand years old, she couldn't resist buying a phoenix soul-tool desk lamp with red flame light effects after seeing the exquisite goods.
Maintaining so many human and half-human soul engineers in the new city was expensive—but the profits returned quickly!
Beware of the consumption trap set by the Emperor Auspicious Beast (building, swift, run.jpg)
Meanwhile Ma Xiaotao ended up holding a dozen different perfumes. According to her they helped calm the mind during cultivation, though they actually contained no precious medicinal ingredients. Bai Chenxiang suspected she simply liked the scents—perhaps she should ask Cuidan Hall to research perfumes that genuinely aided cultivation; they might sell well.
The wealthy Clear Sky Sect young master Wang bought piles of fashionable little trinkets—cheap individually but astonishing in total price—and bought a bunch for Jiang Lan too.
Some were things he personally liked but felt embarrassed to buy himself. For example, cute plush dolls might seem strange for a boy to buy, but if he bought one for senior sister and another for himself, no one would say anything.
After all, senior sister liked them too!
Though for some reason Senior Chen's gaze at him was becoming increasingly strange along the way.
Suddenly a voice came from the soul-tool broadcast system above:
"Wang Dong, little friend Wang Dong, please come to the fifth-floor service desk when you hear this announcement. Your guardian An Wen is waiting for you."
Only after wandering around for most of the day did the group remember what they had originally come here for.
The broadcast repeated three times. A vein bulged on Wang Dong's forehead.
Time to rediscover "roommate love" and drag An Wen to the Soul Fighting Arena, Wang Dong thought through gritted teeth. His third soul skill was amazing—he'd definitely teach that freeloader a lesson and redefine who's the father and who's the son.
—
Author's Note:
Barely crawling up to update a chapter.jpg
The hospital is strictly enforcing medical ethics and conduct. Why are they targeting small fries like us? The most valuable gift a patient ever gave me was a big bag of Red Bull he bought from the vending machine outside. Seeing me still working overtime at 1 a.m., he felt sorry and gave me a can— which I forced him to take back…
They even require us to serve with smiles. Why don't the higher-ups come try this workload and salary first, then see if they can still smile…
Why are they targeting us… do I deserve it? Do I deserve shit!
(No intention of saying the superiors shouldn't be investigated.)
(End of chapter)