Future City

Over on the Douluo Continent, at Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji both frowned.

Spirit Hall were the villains in the book, so they naturally wanted to change the ending the story had laid out. In other words, the butterfly effect was more favorable to them.

But they also hoped Qian Xunji would have a daughter to inherit the Angel God's position, which meant following the inertia of the plot.

That left them caught between a rock and a hard place.

The Clear Sky Sect was in the same predicament. After provoking the "sun," the sect had less than a tenth of its strength left, leaving it in an even worse state than when Spirit Hall had crippled it in the original story.

In the original story, five elders had at least broken through to become Titled Douluo in the end. Now, all five had been reduced to cripples.

They were pinning their hopes on the protagonist Tang San being born and leading the Clear Sky Sect back to its former glory, but they were also afraid the protagonist would act like a monster, devouring everything the sect had before kicking it aside.

After all, a traitor who had stolen his sect's secret manuals in his previous life could hardly be trusted.

Bibi Dong was even more confused now.

"Then when I go back, will it be the butterfly effect or the inertia of the plot?"

"Generally speaking, the two exist at the same time. It comes down to which one is stronger. But this is Blue Star. Since you've managed to come here, you naturally have what it takes to go head-to-head with the inertia of the plot."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Hearing Tang Fan's assurance, Bibi Dong visibly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again.

Tang Fan wasn't exactly deceiving Bibi Dong. After all, what transmigrator from Blue Star couldn't go head-to-head with the inertia of the Douluo Continent's plot? Bibi Dong could be considered half a transmigrator from Blue Star, couldn't she?

Meanwhile, the drone light show was reaching its climax. The images changed faster and grew more intricate.

A moment ago, ten thousand horses had been galloping across the sky. Now, a dragon and phoenix appeared together as an auspicious sign.

As they watched the dragon and phoenix circle and glide around each other, the cries of the two creatures rang in their ears.

It was perfectly normal for Tang Fan to hear the dragon's roar and the phoenix's cry, but when those sounds were transmitted to the Douluo Continent, it was a different story altogether.

Birds and beasts across the Douluo Continent all cried and roared along with them.

It was as though a hundred birds were paying homage to the phoenix and ten thousand beasts were prostrating themselves.

Everyone making a living in the Soul Beast forests fled in terror, afraid that the dragon's roar and phoenix's cry from the sky would set off a massive beast tide.

If a beast tide really did appear, they would be as good as dead. Even fleeing the forest would do them no good.

At the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest, even Di Tian and the other Ferocious Beasts were not spared. They too cried out in response, until the dragon's roar and phoenix's cry vanished from the sky.

"Alas, I wonder whether the appearance of this sky screen is a blessing or a curse for our Soul Beast Clan."

"People in that world seem quite fond of dragons and phoenixes. That should be a good thing for our Soul Beast Clan, shouldn't it?"

"But that world is still a human world. Humans can't be trusted."

Xiong Jun bluntly contradicted Bi Ji, and noticeably more of the other Ferocious Beasts sided with him.

Back with Tang Fan, the light show continued. After the dragon and phoenix, famous scenic spots and historical sites from across the country sprang to life in the sky.

There was the Great Wall, the flying apsaras of the Mogao Caves, Mount Tai of the Five Great Mountains...

Bibi Dong didn't recognize any of them, but judging from the reactions of the people around her, she could tell they were certainly extraordinary.

"Tang Fan, what are all these? Are they impressive?"

"They're all famous scenic spots and historical sites in my country. Let me put it this way: if a building personally constructed by the Angel God had survived, wouldn't you really want to see it?

"And if you saw an image of it, wouldn't you take a few extra looks?"

"Mm, I understand now that you put it that way. Are the people who built these things just as important to you?"

"The people who built them aren't important. The culture they represent is more important. Culture is the root of a people. You can lose anything, but you can't lose your roots.

"Let me criticize Spirit Hall again. You've almost lost every last bit of your roots."

"Stop talking about our Spirit Hall all the time. I'll find a way to change things when I get back."

Over on the Douluo Continent, Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji felt even more disgraced when Tang Fan singled Spirit Hall out for criticism again.

"Ji'er, get to work on this at once. Compile all the Angel God's great deeds and make the deacons and bishops everywhere commit them to memory. This will be an important part of their evaluations.

"The next time Spirit Hall sends people out to awaken children's Martial Souls for free, they must also spread word of the Angel God's great deeds in every village.

"We have to make them understand that awakening a Martial Soul is a blessing from the Angel God."

"Yes, Father. I'll see to it immediately, but I'm afraid we'll meet considerable resistance."

"Hmph, you're already the Pope. Do you still need me to teach you what to do? Your uncles' legs are nearly rusting from disuse."

How could Qian Xunji fail to understand? With Spirit Hall's worship elders stepping in, who would dare bare their teeth?

Back with Tang Fan, the light show had shifted from scenic spots and historical sites to modern skyscrapers.

Low-altitude aircraft darted between the towering buildings. Clearly, the light show was depicting a future city.

"I wonder how many years it'll take for a future city like the one we imagine to become reality."

"A future city?"

"Mm, an imagined future city where people fly aircraft when they go out, robots take over the heavy work, people's jobs become easier, and they have plenty of free time...

"Forget it, I won't go on. The more I say, the more it brings me to tears. A fantasy is a fantasy in the end. Workers today are still just beasts of burden."

Bibi Dong said irritably, "Your lives are already so comfortable, yet you're still not satisfied."

"Don't say that. Make you work 996 here for a month, and I guarantee you'd go mad.

"We beasts of burden were all forged in the hell of high school."

Bibi Dong's face was full of disdain. Clearly, she didn't believe him.

Tang Fan didn't argue with her. At the end of the day, she was just a visitor from another world, here on Blue Star as a tourist.

"Wait... what does 996 mean?"

"Nine in the morning to nine at night, six days out of seven."

"Are they mad?"

Bibi Dong looked stunned. Even people farming on the Douluo Continent didn't work like that, did they?

"No need to be so shocked. Every era has its own way of life. Even in our modern age, only a minority get to enjoy it to the fullest."

Tang Fan's words made the people on the Douluo Continent feel a little better.

"People over there have to work too, after all. It's not paradise, so there's no need to envy them too much."

Many ordinary people comforted themselves this way. People were always like that, finding all kinds of reasons to rationalize their suffering in order to keep living.

The light show changed again, becoming an adorably clumsy giant panda hugging a stalk of bamboo.

"What kind of Soul Beast is that? It looks so cute!"

It had to be said that giant pandas were lovable wherever they went, and people from another world were no exception.

"We don't have Soul Beasts here. That's a giant panda, our national treasure."

"National treasure?"

"Mm. Don't be fooled by its cute looks or the fact that it eats plants. At its core, it's a bear. An adult can face a lion or tiger head-on without a problem."

"Then can I catch one and take it back to raise?"

"Cough, cough, cough... What are you thinking? Catch our national treasure? You might as well take me back instead.

"Besides, you don't have your Martial Soul or Soul Power right now. It would only take one swipe to knock you out."