Peerless: Auspicious Beast's Star Revival Plan

Chapter 178

Chapter 178

"Welcome to Moonshadow Trading Company Shrek City Branch."

The white-haired waiter bowed slightly: "The dining area is on the basement level. Clothing and daily necessities can be purchased on the first floor. For transactions involving pills, soul tools, and valuable cultivation resources, please go to the second and third floors. For large orders, please go to the fourth floor. For details, please refer to the floor plan on the right side of the corridor. If you wish to make a purchase, you can find the area manager to apply for a membership card, which will entitle you to shopping discounts, as well as various membership services offered by our store, such as home delivery, new product notifications, dedicated shopping guides, and birthday gifts."

The waiter bowed and gestured for them to enter, then said nothing more.

This was Wang Dong's first time visiting Moonshadow Trading Company. He hadn't really been to Shrek City much last year—after all, Jiang Lan was a referee in the Soul Arena, and he spent most of his time there, accumulating quite a few Soul Arena credits.

This time, Anwen asked him to exchange soul bones at the Moon Shadow Trading Company. Jiang Lan, the big spender who paid for the service, naturally came with him. However, Ma Xiaotao said she wanted to see the world and brought her good friend Chen Xiang along.

As a result, the four of them stood together at the entrance of the shop.

Wang Dong looked at the atrium that spanned four floors with some curiosity.

A massive black artificial mountain sculpture, two or three stories high, sits in the center of the courtyard. Dozens of wolf-shaped stone sculptures perch on the black rocks, each wolf in a different and remarkably lifelike posture. Beside the largest gray wolf sculpture at the top of the mountain stands a human figure with his hands behind his back. Judging from his build, he is a man with ordinary features, not handsome, but exuding a wildness. His coarse, short hair and beard are clearly defined, demonstrating the exceptional skill of the craftsman who created the sculpture.

A round, glowing soul tool hovered above the man and wolf at the highest point of the artificial hill, its silvery light falling on the dark marble floor of the hall, like a real moon.

But for some reason, the full moon gave people a vague sense of oppression—as if a pack of wolves might rush down the mountain like a torrent at any moment, tearing and devouring their enemies.

In stark contrast to the elegant decor, a soul-guided device, hidden somewhere, was playing a very festive and lively piece of music. The cheerful melody quickly took over his mind, and it was foreseeable that this music would continue to play in his mind for a long time after Wang Dong left the business.

The waiters walking through the crowd almost all had white curly hair, and they wore standardized smiles and looked equally indifferent, like uniform mannequins used to display clothing.

Wang Dong felt that the waiters were a bit... strange. Not in the sense that the business leader was a perverted white-haired fetishist—he wasn't saying he wasn't—but something else entirely.

He swore that when the white-haired waiter at the door looked at him, the pupils in his eyes were horizontal.

But his companions didn't seem to sense the strangeness of the trading company, or perhaps they didn't care.

Bai Chenxiang was analyzing the soul tool control system hidden in the building, and the senior was listening attentively, while Ma Xiaotao looked around listlessly.

Wang Dong suddenly felt a chill.

Logically, the staff of such a large trading company should be very welcoming, but the waiters at Moonshadow Trading Company didn't greet them once they entered. This was completely different from other high-end trading companies that enthusiastically provide services, introduce products, and even offer emotional support.

After all, he is the young sect master of the Haotian Sect, never lacking money, and has frequented many high-end merchant guilds—wait, have I really been there? I can't recall what other high-end merchant guilds are like.

“…Many of the lighting soul tools here are set up in hidden corners, so the light is very soft,” Bai Chenxiang said. She was perfecting her persona as a soul master, while also keeping an eye on the distracted Wang Dong.

Bai Chenxiang knew that the auspicious beast had always been wary of Wang Dong. From the dormitory arrangement requested by Wang Dong's family when Shrek Academy first opened, to that soul bone that clearly shouldn't have appeared in the lower realm, the auspicious beast's wariness was obviously not without reason.

Bai Chenxiang initially didn't pay much attention to the disciple of the Haotian Sect, but upon closer inspection, she could make out some familiar features in the boy's face. Although the auspicious beast hadn't spoken openly, Bai Chenxiang, who had been a human shrewdness and was now a bird shrewdness, wasn't stupid.

The God-King's reach is always very long, isn't it?

So it seems that Xiao Wu isn't doing too well either. She doesn't believe any mother would agree to send her eleven-year-old child to another world, but she and Xiao Wu aren't very close—it's possible that rabbits and birds are different.

She couldn't help but wonder what if she and Ma Hongjun had really left behind a child back then... Bai Chenxiang couldn't help but glance at Ma Xiaotao, who was lost in thought. Now, all she could do to think of her loved ones was look at the descendants left behind by others.

Years of working overtime and slacking off have honed Bai Chenxiang's ability to multitask. No matter where her thoughts wander, it doesn't stop her from talking: "...I just don't know if it's controlled by a single massive soul array or by different soul tools working together. This building covers a huge area, and the technology inside..."

What was she mumbling? Ma Xiaotao stared blankly at her friend. She knew how to use a soul tool, but she couldn't understand any of the design theory. With her friend holding her hand, she could only nod helplessly like a desperate illiterate.

Sigh, I don't understand, but everything Xiangxiang said is right.

Have you ever seen a friendship that clicks instantly? Ma Xiaotao had only known Chen Xiang for a few months, but she found that the two of them were completely compatible in everything from their values ​​to their aesthetics, and even their fighting was incredibly coordinated—as if the other was a friend tailor-made for her.

The two could talk about anything, except soul tools.

Every time she thought about learning how to use soul tools, Yan Shaozhe would always say, "Forget it, a good man doesn't become a soldier, good iron isn't used to make nails, and a good soul master doesn't learn how to use soul tools," and in the end, nothing came of it.

Maybe I should learn it myself after the competition and ignore the old man's outdated thinking.

She was unaware that her fate had been sealed the moment she met Bai Chenxiang, and that she would ultimately miss out on this year's All-Continent Advanced Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.

Jiang Lan, standing to the side, remained expressionless. It was clear that although she didn't quite understand, she was very interested. Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong, who was contemplating his amnesiac life and looked quite lost, exchanged glances and immediately felt a sense of shared fate.

In an instant, even the blue-haired guy who was lighting will-o'-the-wisps downstairs seemed more pleasing to the eye.

Taking advantage of Bai Chenxiang's pause, Ma Xiaotao quickly interjected, "What time did you and your roommate agree to meet?"

Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong were in the same boat, but Wang Dong only felt like there were two large, glowing soul tools around him. Little Blue Hair thought to himself, "Senior Sister Xiaotao, don't you need to attend classes or do arduous training in the inner courtyard? At the very least, go shopping with Senior Sister Xiangxiang! I finally managed to go out of school alone with you, why do you insist on following me and you?"

But Wang Dong really didn't dare to say a word, since his strength was only about 30/70 against Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao punched him three times, like the kind of punch he took on his seventh day after death.

It might not even take three punches.

“We agreed to meet this afternoon, so we can take a walk around now,” Little Blue Hair replied honestly.

"That's not bad either." Ma Xiaotao nodded, then grabbed Bai Chenxiang's hand and said, "Xiangxiang, there are a few nice shops around here, shall we go take a look?"

Please stop giving lectures on soul tools.

She enthusiastically suggested, "Moonshadow Trading Company has a lot of things worth buying. Not to mention the resources needed for cultivation, the clothes and daily necessities they sell here are all quite good, much more cost-effective than what's sold at school. Members can also get a lot of discounts, and the membership benefits are valid across different branches. Since I'll be living on campus for several years, getting a card is definitely worthwhile."

So Ma Xiaotao led the group to the sales counter to get membership cards.

The employee in charge of processing membership cards also had soft white hair, red eyes, and wore a very realistic rabbit ear headband.

Wang Dong stared at the headband for a long time. The ears looked so real and cute. He remembered that he had loved rabbits since he was a child, and couldn't help but ask, "Where can I buy the same headband as you?"

"This is an internal staff design, not for sale to outsiders. The membership fee is three gold soul coins per year. Please fill out the form and then verify your martial soul~" The rabbit ears on the rabbit waiter's headband bounced as if they were real.

Okay, then it must be real rabbit ears. Wang Dong remembered the rumors he had heard before. It seemed that some employees of the Moon Shadow Chamber of Commerce had malignant martial soul mutations, or... had soul beast bloodlines.

Uh, but what kind of person would actually sleep with a rabbit?! You people from the Beast Sect are all perverts!

Suppressing his urge to complain, Wang Dong paid the membership fee almost without hesitation. Three gold soul coins were quite expensive for the average person, but no high-ranking soul master couldn't afford it. In fact, compared to the membership services offered by the guild, the Moonshadow Guild was completely losing money by charging three gold soul coins.

Wang Dong took the form and noticed that besides the standard fields like name, gender, age, soul power level, and martial soul, there were also optional fields, such as soul mentor certification level, certification location, and research direction. There was also some slightly more private information, such as soul power at awakening, contact address, affiliated faction, and other contacts. These were also optional, and thoughtfully, a small note followed: "If this business is unable to contact you, we will deliver birthday gifts, holiday gifts, quarterly new product catalogs, and ordered goods to your employer or the contact address you provided."

Without much thought, Wang Dong filled in his information.

"VIPs, this is for authenticating your martial soul~" The rabbit-eared waitress's smile seemed even more friendly as she took out a soul tool that looked like a crystal ball and handed it to the group.

Bai Chenxiang was the first to receive the crystal ball.

After consuming the elixir made primarily from the Acacia Heartbreak Red, her essence remained that of a soul beast, but her humanoid form was now perfectly formed. Aside from the feathers around her ears, no trace of a ferocious beast could be detected on her, and the mimicry of her martial soul in human form was flawless. A phantom swift surrounded by six points of light flashed past inside the crystal ball. The white rabbit scribbled a few lines on the form, indicating that she should pass the crystal ball to the next person.

She shoved the soul tool into Wang Dong's hand without giving him a chance to refuse.

Thus, the Goddess of Light Butterfly and the Haotian Hammer appeared simultaneously inside the crystal ball.

Bai Chenxiang raised an eyebrow.

"Holy crap, twin martial souls!" Ma Xiaotao suddenly turned her head. "You're something else! Your talent is pretty good!" Twin martial souls are a decent match for Xiao Lan, who has the ultimate attributes.

She noticed that Wang Dong ignored her and instead looked at Jiang Lan like a peacock spreading its tail feathers. The smiling girl patted her head and praised her, "You're very capable, Xiao Dong."

Then he proudly said, "Don't tell anyone, senior sisters, my second martial soul is a secret weapon."

Damn it, this wicked little blue-haired guy, what a perfect match for him.

Jiang Lan took the crystal ball from Wang Dong.

Bai Chenxiang stared intently at the soul guide device.

However, the highly accurate soul-guided detector seemed to be stuck in Jiang Lan's hands, only showing a cloud of black mist and a bolt of purple lightning that pierced through the black mist—something that looked like lightning—a bamboo joint? A vine?

"Ah." The purple-haired girl looked at the swirling patterns in the crystal ball in her hand, which had turned into a jumble of gibberish. She was a little confused and at a loss, and stared blankly up at the sky.

"I'm sorry, sir, it seems our soul tool has malfunctioned. Ah! It must be because your martial soul is too powerful." Rabbit was also a little flustered; she had never seen this situation before.

After all, she was just a half-human, half-rabbit who had only been receiving human socialization training for less than a year, and was not very smart because one of her parents was not highly skilled.

But there were no other colleagues around, so Rabbit could only try to calm herself down. "The martial soul you registered is... uh, Thunderous Hell Vine? This must be a very powerful martial soul that has never appeared before and is not in the database that was entered beforehand, which is why this malfunction occurred. I'll just record it here and consider your authentication successful. We'll also give you a small gift."

The garbled characters on the soul tool weren't due to a martial soul outside the database being entered—in fact, unfamiliar martial souls could also be displayed on this soul tool crystal ball. But her excuse was excellent; it could only be said that a life of a corporate slave greatly improved a half-soul beast's adaptability.

She rummaged through the drawer for a moment and took out a small paper bag containing a very delicate little box with several good-looking spiritual fruits inside.

"Take it if it's yours." Ma Xiaotao took the paper bag without a care in the world and handed it to Jiang Lan. "Anyway, we've already got the membership, let's go shopping."

Bai Chenxiang, who was half a step behind them, had a somewhat solemn expression.

She had observed Jiang Lan for a long time, but as the holder of the ultimate lightning attribute, Jiang Lan mostly used lightning attribute energy directly and did not use her martial soul when she did not need to go all out.

Bai Chenxiang was never able to figure out what Jiang Lan's martial soul was.

And what she wrote when registering was "Thunderous Hell Vine"...

Bai Chenxiang didn't know if Jiang Lan's martial soul was some other plant similar to the Thunderous Hell Vine, or if Shrek Academy had used some special methods to make Jiang Lan's martial soul become the Thunderous Hell Vine, but the fact that she could write this name showed that Shrek Academy was completely unaware of this kind of soul beast.

Because the Thunderous Hell Vine cannot become a martial soul.

Thunderous Hell Vine is a plant-type soul beast that shares the same origin as the Thunder God.

That Thor was originally a vine from ancient times. He cultivated by comprehending the laws of the destructive lightning tribulation brought down by the God of Destruction. Because he was also a non-human and followed the Dragon God, he was later killed in that catastrophe.

To this day, the position of the Thunder God in the divine realm remains vacant, and for a long time to come, no one will be able to wear this crown.

Therefore, the entire Thunderous Hell Vine clan suffers divine punishment, inevitably suppressed by the rules of heaven and earth, and dies before breaking through 100,000 years of cultivation. They have no possibility of being reborn as humans or transforming into human form from a ferocious beast. Humans will not possess this kind of martial soul, and it is even more impossible for a human martial soul to mutate into the Thunderous Hell Vine.

This is confidential knowledge preserved by Di Tian from the divine realm during the Dragon God era. It was personally recorded by the auspicious beast and kept in the true core of the Beast Sect, namely the so-called "Training Class for Common Sense of Ferocious Beasts and Reconstructed Soul Beasts"—Ark City.

If Bai Chenxiang hadn't specifically researched a lot of information related to thunder-attribute soul beasts and martial souls in order to investigate Jiang Lan's secrets, even she wouldn't have known the secret of the Thunderous Hell Vine, let alone humans.

It's one thing if Jiang Lan's martial soul is fake, but if her martial soul is the real Thunderous Hell Vine, where did it come from?

When the soul-guided device was in Jiang Lan's hands, the outline of the black mist was clearly a four-legged beast, but it vaguely looked more like a... tiger or leopard, or some other feline.

Jiang Lan appeared four years ago, and the martial spirit of the female student who was originally guaranteed to enter the inner academy but dropped out midway was the Lightning Leopard.

What did Shrek do?

Ma Xiaotao doesn't have many close friends, and she doesn't want...

"Hey, Xiangxiang, look, I think this dress suits you really well, want to try it on?"

"Oh, okay," she said with a smile.

More than 10,000 years later, a small spark of ordinary life rekindled in the heart of the swift trapped in the past.

But this spark may not last long, because Bai Chenxiang always remembers what she wants.

……

Unlike the Moonshadow Trading Company in Dragon City, the Shrek City branch mainly operates on the principle of "willing customers get ripped off."

Whose money is the easiest to earn?

Students!

Other chambers of commerce focused on cultivation resources for Soul Masters, selling pills, Soul Guidance Devices, rare and precious materials, and even Soul Bones.

The Shrek City branch of Moonshadow Trading Company takes a different approach, selling various small businesses that other merchants would not consider worthwhile on the first floor, such as clothing, jewelry, daily necessities, and small household soul tools.

This is actually quite insidious.

Logically, Soul Masters should spend most of their money on cultivation resources, but in reality, which student would want to go shopping just to look at supplementary teaching materials?

It's perfectly normal for young people with extra money to buy fancy little gadgets that have no practical use.

Even if students who usually live on campus originally came out to buy some resources to aid their cultivation, after wandering around on the first floor, there's no guarantee that they'll find something extra in their storage soul tools.

Bai Chenxiang didn't think much of it when it was a bird, but now that it's a human, she has to admit that the auspicious beast's move is really insidious.

Even though she was a veteran with over 10,000 years of experience, she couldn't resist buying a phoenix soul guide desk lamp with a red flame light effect when she saw those exquisite products.

It's true that it's expensive for New City to support so many human and half-human soul masters, but the returns are quick too!

Beware of consumer traps set by auspicious mythical beasts (building, swift, run.jpg)

Ma Xiaotao now has a dozen different perfumes, which she says help calm the mind during cultivation. However, these perfumes do not actually contain any precious medicinal ingredients. Bai Chenxiang personally suspects that she just likes the scents. Perhaps she should talk to Cui Danxing and research some perfumes that are actually beneficial to cultivation, which might have a market.

Wang, from the Haotian Sect who was even more flush with cash, bought a bunch of trendy little junk items that weren't expensive individually but had an astonishing total price, and also bought a large quantity for Jiang Lan.

For example, there are some small trinkets that he really likes but is too embarrassed to buy, like cute plush toys. It would be weird for a guy to buy those, but he can buy one for his senior and then buy one for himself, and no one will say anything.

Anyway, my senior likes it too!

For some reason, Chen Xuejie's gaze towards him became increasingly strange throughout the journey.

The voice of the soul-guided broadcasting system came from above: "Wang Dong, Wang Dong, if you hear this broadcast, please go to the service desk on the fifth floor. Your parent, Anwen, is waiting."

After wandering around for most of the day, the group finally remembered what their real business was.

The broadcast played three times on a loop, and a tic-tac-toe pattern popped out on Wang Dong's head.

It's time to rekindle our "roommate love" and drag Anwen to the Soul Arena. Wang Dong thought through gritted teeth, his third soul skill is super awesome, it can definitely teach this bastard who took advantage of him a lesson and redefine who is the father and who is the son!

　Half-dead, I managed to get up and update one chapter. (Image)

　　The hospital is cracking down on medical ethics and conduct, so why are they targeting low-level medical professionals like us? The most precious gift a patient ever gave me was a huge bag of Red Bull he bought from a vending machine outside the hospital. He gave me a can out of sympathy because he saw me working overtime at 1 a.m., but I insisted on pushing it back...

　　They even demand that we provide smiling service; can't the higher-ups come and try out the workload and pay to see if we can actually manage to smile...?

　　What are you arresting us for...? Do I even deserve it? What the hell do I deserve?

　　(This does not mean that superiors should not be investigated.)

(End of this chapter)