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Mad Soul Beast City tells the story of a Soft Boned Rabbit named "Ribbit," who leaves her rural home to become a law enforcer in a big city. In this movie's world, there are no humans—only soul beasts.
All the soul beasts walk upright, speak fluently, and possess human-like intelligence. However, their varying sizes lead to a series of challenges, even though they've overcome the predator-prey relationships of the food chain. The city is not particularly kind to smaller soul beasts.
"Are you sure this isn't a rip-off of Zootopia?" Tang Luoya muttered, his eye twitching as long-buried memories from his previous life resurfaced. Ribbit? Isn't that just a phonetic translation of 'rabbit' in English? This is a bit too lazy! And the plot is almost identical.
Hawk responded, "It's not so bad. At least it's not a 3D animation; every frame is hand-drawn. Plus, the soul beasts in the movie are far more vibrant than ordinary animals."
"You just mentioned Zootopia?" A clear female voice interrupted. Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai approached them, observing the two.
"Are you also a transmigrant?" Hawk's expression shifted but quickly calmed as he realized there was no point in hiding it. He cautiously asked, "Are you two as well?"
"Yes," Xiao Bai nodded. "Let's talk outside."
"Good idea; it's too crowded here." Hawk glanced around before signaling Tang Luoya to follow Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing, who were dressed as maids, out of the theater.
"I never expected to meet fellow transmigrants here," Xiao Bai smiled. "When you mentioned Zootopia, I thought it was just a new movie in this world. But after asking you, you admitted it."
"I couldn't hide it even if I wanted to. My expression gave me away. If I denied it, you'd still be suspicious," Hawk laughed openly. "You two are maids for some wealthy family? That sounds rough."
"It's not so bad. Our master treats us sisters well," Xiao Bai replied with a smile.
Well then! Tang Luoya is of the same kind—assimilated by the natives! Hawk had a basic understanding of the two women and asked, "What does your master do? My brother and I have some skills; we hope to accomplish something big."
"We'll repay the favor afterward!"
Since they had decided to leave Spirit Hall City, it was wise to make some connections before leaving. Forming friendships here could be beneficial in the future. Ideally, they would have connected with Lou Gao and Si Long, but Tang Luoya's limited blacksmithing skills made that impossible. They couldn't even get an audience with those two. Those types only cared about forging and had no interest in anything else. Besides, they were too poor to even afford gifts...
As for inviting the two women to join the Transmigrants' Alliance, Hawk was against it. He didn't want people who might spill everything in bed, and their strength was only at the Soul Master level—too weak.
"Are you soul masters? What level?" Xiao Bai thought recruiting some security personnel for Martial Soul Manor might be a good idea. Who knows, the Holy Son might even reward them.
That is, if these two are strong enough. If not, she and Xiao Qing would at least help them find work to survive here since they were fellow transmigrants.
"We're both close to Soul King level," Hawk replied confidently.
"Soul King level?" Xiao Bai was surprised as she examined the two. "With your age and that level of strength, you're already geniuses..."
"...Could you be spies from some organization?" Xiao Qing interjected, becoming wary.
"Don't say that! If we were spies, Spirit Hall would have caught us by now," Hawk laughed, trying to steer the conversation away from this topic.
"True, if you were spies, you wouldn't escape Spirit Hall's scrutiny," Xiao Qing agreed, her attitude showing trust in Spirit Hall.
This made Hawk even more cautious, but he still asked, "Are we strong enough to work for your master?"
"More than enough," Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing exchanged a glance, both noticing the joy in each other's eyes. The Holy Son needed to build his own team, and these two, being transmigrants like them, could look out for one another in the future.
Thus, Hawk and Tang Luoya followed them into the inner city and were awed by the true Spirit Hall City. Just as rumored, nearly everyone on the streets had spirit power, and soul masters were everywhere.
The closer they got to the center and the Spirit Hall, the more they were overwhelmed, especially by the Douluo Hall at the top. Some mysterious force seemed to emanate from it, causing a slight sense of oppression in their hearts.
That place holds the Angel God's inheritance!
Without sufficient strength, standing before the true inheritance of a god filled them with an instinctive unease, dampening their earlier casual demeanor.
As for Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing...
They were already used to it. Living in Martial Soul Manor and being influenced by Tang San, they had become somewhat desensitized to the invisible pressure emanating from Douluo Hall. The weaker one's strength, the less sensitive they were to such forces.
At the gates of Martial Soul Manor, Hawk and Tang Luoya marveled at its vastness, comparable to the estates of imperial princes in Tian Dou City. Clearly, it belonged to someone significant.
However, Tang Luoya began to worry. After all, he was born in the Haotian Clan... Although Spirit Hall City didn't seem particularly hostile to Haotian disciples at the moment, who knew how their master felt about them? The inner city and outer city of Spirit Hall are fundamentally different, with the inner city housing many of Spirit Hall's upper echelon families...
"Where have you two been?" Gu Yuena tracked them down by scent. "As my attendants, you should report your whereabouts even on your day off."
"We went to see Mad Soul Beast City," Xiao Bai said flatteringly. "Miss Na'er, your script was excellent."
Did she write the script for Mad Soul Beast City? Hawk and Tang Luoya exchanged glances. Could she be a transmigrant too?
In reality, Gu Yuena had written the script for Mad Soul Beast City as a hobby, inspired by Xiao Wu's novel-writing during her free time. Unlike Xiao Wu, who described the habits of soul beasts, Gu Yuena pondered what would happen if soul beasts possessed human-like intelligence, could use tools, and build homes without transforming into human forms.
In the end, she discovered that even if soul beasts overcame the contradictions between prey and predator, they couldn't coexist perfectly. The problems arising from size differences alone would cause constant conflicts among them.
The "madness" in Mad Soul Beast City lies in this—it's a fantasy, something impossible to achieve in reality.
However, Gu Yuena only wrote the script. She left the filming entirely to others and didn't participate, merely enjoying her share of the profits.
After spending a lot of time with Tang San, she realized one thing: she needed money and couldn't rely solely on Tang San, her "caretaker," or she would truly become a pet, even if she wasn't one now.
"Nice flattery," Gu Yuena responded to Xiao Bai's compliment without much reaction, her gaze falling on Hawk and Tang Luoya. "Who are these guys? Your boyfriends? Looks like you've given up..."
"No, not at all!" Xiao Qing quickly waved her hands. "They're our fellow transmigrants, looking for work."
"Work?"
Gu Yuena, mimicking Tang San, rubbed her chin thoughtfully and began circling the two men.
"Spirit energy fluctuations near the Soul King level. Not bad for talent. One of you is an extreme water element user, while the other has a faint trace of destructive attributes. If I wasn't paying attention, I might have missed it," remarked the girl.
"So, who do you serve?"
Hawk didn't dare to underestimate the refined girl before him. He couldn't sense her spirit energy fluctuations, yet she could effortlessly gauge their power levels. The difference between them was clear. This "girl" was certainly not as simple as she appeared.
"Greetings, esteemed miss. I'm a free soul master, and this one here is from the Haotian Sect," Hawk replied without hesitation, immediately selling out Tang Luoya—better his fellow traveler than himself. If this person bore no grudge against the Haotian Sect, all would be well, and they could proceed with their plan to form connections with this estate's master. But if she harbored any hostility, Hawk would have no qualms about betraying Tang Luoya to save his own skin. After all, isn't that what fellow travelers are for?
"The Haotian Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects, right?" The girl nodded, her tone casual. "I've heard the people there tend to have some... issues in the head."
Tang Luoya frowned, but Hawk quickly interjected, "Indeed, the people of Haotian are a bit... single-minded. He's not as bad though... May I ask, are you the owner of this place? Or perhaps the young miss of the household?"
The girl placed her hands on her hips, a smug smile playing on her lips. "Of course, I'm the master of this place!"
Hawk was certain now—this person wasn't as young as she appeared. She might very well be centuries old, skilled in maintaining her youthful appearance, or perhaps she had reached a level of cultivation where she could preserve her youth indefinitely.
"If you want to work here, that's possible. I'll take you to meet my subjects; they'll handle your arrangements," the girl offered, preparing to lead the two to Tang San. After all, these two were wild Soul Elders, and it wouldn't be right to dismiss them too casually. Besides, she had no authority to hire new staff for the estate.
The two men followed the bouncing, cheerful girl through the middle layers of the Martial Soul Estate, eventually arriving at the residential area where Tang San was sitting cross-legged, meditating beside a tall Blue Silver Emperor.
"We have some uninvited guests," Tang San remarked as he opened his eyes, looking at Hawk and Tang Luoya, then casting a glance at the innocent-looking girl. He sighed, "It seems fate has brought us together again. We just met not long ago, and now you've come looking for me... Honestly, you don't have to be so polite."
Hawk forced a smile, bowing slightly as he said, "We didn't mean to disturb you."
"No need to be in such a rush. Have some tea first." Tang San stood up and headed toward the living room, but the two men found their bodies moving involuntarily, following him as if they were marionettes.
Tang Luoya gritted his teeth, but it felt like his body no longer belonged to him. He was a puppet, his steps stiff and mechanical.
Why could Tang San control their bodies? The answer lay in his recent discoveries about the interplay between spirit, energy, and essence.
Tang San had realized that the resonance between the Golden Core of blood energy, the Core of spirit power, and the Soul Seal during the conversion and circulation of these three forces created a unique synergy. This synergy was akin to the expansion of the universe, continuously refining every organ, every cell, creating a deeper connection to the greater cosmic rhythm. From this perspective, even if Tang San never enhanced or modified his Golden Core, Spirit Core, or Soul Seal, one day, his three cultivation techniques would naturally harmonize.
But how long that would take was anyone's guess.
By recording this resonance frequency, Tang San discovered that all living beings had a similar resonance. By finding the correct frequency, he could manipulate another's spirit, energy, and essence.
The result was the ability to control another's body, making them his puppets.
However, this required a tremendous amount of calculation.
Although Tang San had cultivated a nascent soul, controlling two people simultaneously was no easy task. If he were to attempt this on a Titled Douluo, he might even need the assistance of the Heavenly Dao's computational power. But merely disrupting a person's spirit, energy, and essence was much simpler and required far less effort.
Once inside the living room, Hawk and Tang Luoya regained control of their bodies, but they didn't dare utter a word. Beads of sweat formed on their foreheads as they stared at Tang San, their fear palpable.
What kind of bizarre technique was this?
A soul skill?
Impossible! Even if his control over spirit power was refined to the point where he could use soul skills without releasing his martial spirit or soul rings, they should have sensed some fluctuation of spirit power.
Could it be spiritual power? Had Tang San just hypnotized them? That didn't seem right either. They could clearly feel their spirit power circulating, their blood flowing—sensations more vivid than ever before.
Tang San smiled as he handed them tea, "Relax, have a drink."
The two men were too terrified to refuse, nervously accepting the cups, hoping Tang San would let them off. This was too bizarre! They could not afford to offend this man.
"So, what brings you here?" Tang San asked, taking another sip of tea. He gestured toward the girl sitting next to him, casually eating peanuts. "Surely you're not here to kidnap her, are you?"
The girl frowned, displeased. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I'd be so easily kidnapped? Besides, do you know these two?"
"We've met before, at Yue xuan," Tang San replied, setting his cup down and crossing his legs as he looked directly at the two men.
"You misunderstand, we're just looking for a decent job," Hawk said awkwardly, "as the saying goes, 'Master your arts and offer them to the emperor.' Who would have thought we'd run into you here? It must be fate."
"Your flattery needs work—too stiff," the girl commented, taking a sip from Tang San's cup before quickly pulling a face. "A bit bitter, a bit astringent—not very good."
"You're too young to appreciate tea," Tang San chuckled, refilling her cup with hot tea before turning his attention back to the two men. "So, how many of you are there?"
Hawk glanced at the girl, hesitant. "Can we speak freely in front of her?"
"Isn't it just about being from another world?" the girl scoffed. "What's there to hide? In the vast universe, it's not uncommon for temporal rifts to transport beings from one world to another."
Hawk's respect for her grew. Realizing she was indeed a powerful figure, he asked cautiously, "May I know your name?"
"Gu Yuena."
"Impressive!" Hawk immediately gave Tang San a thumbs up, admiring how bold he was for seemingly aiming to take in his future daughter-in-law as well. If he had the chance, Hawk would do the same!
"We have three people—myself, Tang Luoya, and Feng Ming. Feng Ming didn't come; he's in Tian Dou City, the second son of a small family there..." Hawk had decided to cozy up to Tang San.
If you can't beat them, join them—it's that simple!
After living this long, he had learned his lesson.
Tang Luoya couldn't believe what he was hearing. His leader had just sold out the entire Transmigrator Alliance. This alliance had no future!
He wouldn't submit to Tang San so easily.
As a transmigrator, he was confident he could rival this "protagonist"!
Tang San sipped his tea, observing the contrasting expressions on their faces. He thought to himself: Hawk isn't bad, he's perceptive and not overly arrogant; as for Tang Luoya, his mind has been completely corroded by the Haotian Sect's "pride," and it's unlikely to change anytime soon.
"And you?" Tang San directed his gaze at Tang Luoya.
(End of Chapter)