Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

When enemies meet, emotions run high. Shao Hu and the others already had old grievances with Shen An, and now they unleashed their soul power without reservation.

"I want to see just how much trouble you can stir up on your own!"

Shao Hu's eyes were filled with killing intent. Back then, he had been fooled by a cat and a mouse—today, he was determined to make Shen An pay the price!

Yufeng and Osler exchanged glances. Now that they had been relegated to the second team, if they couldn't even fight their way back onto the stage, their lives would have been lived in vain.

Injuring Shen An shouldn't be too hard—at least, that's what both of them thought. Battle intent surged in their hearts.

The powerful pressure from seven people's soul power surged toward Shen An. Yet Shen An stood there as if entirely unaffected, gazing at them calmly.

Meng Shenji frowned slightly. Shen An was overestimating himself. Achieving total victory without injury was unbelievably difficult.

Even a Soul Emperor wouldn't dare to say they could defeat five Soul Kings and two Soul Ancestors without a scratch—let alone Shen An, who was just a Soul Ancestor.

Xue Qinghe, however, watched with a calm smile. She had an unshakable confidence in Shen An, as if she trusted him as much as she trusted herself.

Shen An looked at the seven who thought he was underestimating them and casually plucked a blade of grass from the ground. "Let's start. No need to waste time."

Those words instantly enraged the seven. They roared and charged at Shen An in unison.

And then—

Shen An vanished from where he stood, as if he had never been there.

Zheng!

A crisp sword hum echoed through the air. The seven members of the second team simultaneously felt a cold chill on their necks, as if touched by water.

They all instinctively reached up to touch their necks—and found their hands covered in blood. Their expressions instantly twisted into incredulous horror, eyes filled with fear.

One after another, they collapsed to their knees, bodies trembling violently. They had just brushed against the edge of death.

"Were you trying to kill us?!" Shao Hu screamed in panic, his mind shattered.

Shen An casually tossed the blood-stained blade of grass onto the ground and turned to Meng Shenji. "Director Meng, can you agree to my request now?"

Osler and Yufeng stared in disbelief at the gently drifting blade of grass. They hadn't been hurt by a Martial Soul—but by an ordinary blade of grass.

Xue Qinghe's heart trembled. Such a fast sword…

Meng Shenji stood like a wooden statue. After a long pause, he finally returned to his senses. "Y-Yes."

He looked at Shen An as if he were a monster. Just now, Shen An's speed had definitely reached the level of a Soul Sage—that's the only way the seven had been rendered powerless.

But Shen An… was only fifteen. Such terrifying strength was unheard of.

Meng Shenji's eyes lit up with intense heat as he looked at Shen An like he was gazing at a priceless treasure.

He could already see it—the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was destined to win this year's Soul Master Tournament.

"Shen An, give me your and that little girl's information."

Shen An handed over the already-prepared sheet of paper. "Director Meng, don't tell Zhu Zhuqing or Ning Rongrong I'm going to the second team. Just say you made a mistake during registration."

Meng Shenji looked at him strangely. He really couldn't understand this kid. Not only was he insisting on joining the second team, he even wanted someone else to take the blame. If it were anyone else, he'd have told them to get lost.

But this was Shen An—for the championship, he would endure.

Opening the document, Meng Shenji felt his Soul Douluo-level strength falter slightly.

Shen An: Age 15, Soul Ancestor, Level 50.

Na'er: Age 6, Soul King, Level 34.

Even someone as worldly as Meng Shenji felt his legs go weak. Shen An's strength was already at the threshold of becoming a Soul King, and Na'er—only six years old—was already a Soul King?

He could already imagine how brilliant the expressions of the tournament judges would be when they saw this form.

I must bring Na'er into the Heaven Dou Royal family—no, recruit her. With talent like this, the future of Heaven Dou will be bright. Meng Shenji thought to himself.

Just as he was about to speak, Xue Qinghe coughed lightly. Meng Shenji instantly understood—His Highness was telling him not to say too much.

Of course. With the prince's intelligence and his close relationship with Shen An, he likely already had plans in motion.

"Rest assured, leave everything to me. But about the tournament rules—I still need to go over those."

Meng Shenji smiled.

"Please go ahead," Shen An nodded. This tournament was extremely important to him.

"The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament is hosted by the two empires and co-organized by Spirit Hall. It is the largest event in the soul master world."

"The participants must be under twenty-five years old. Each team must have seven official members. Killing is strictly prohibited."

Shen An nodded. The purpose of the tournament was to scout and recruit top talent—it made sense that killing would be banned.

"Also, contestants are forbidden from using any weapons other than their Martial Souls, and are not allowed to consume medicine or food unless it comes from a Food-type or Healing-type Soul Master."

Shen An grumbled inwardly. Even if he used soul power experience packs from the system, no one would find out.

But banning non-Martial Soul weapons—he nearly laughed out loud. He suddenly thought of that so-called chosen protagonist who looked like a walking hedgehog.

"There are over a hundred advanced soul master academies across the continent. Only thirty-three can enter the finals."

"The two empires and Spirit Hall each have one guaranteed spot, leaving only thirty left for the rest."

As he finished, Meng Shenji looked helplessly at Shen An. This little ancestor didn't want a guaranteed spot—completely unfathomable. Others begged for it and still couldn't get it.

"Heaven Dou Empire has six regional qualifiers. The Heaven Dou City division alone offers five spots, so Shen An, you only need to make the top five in your region to qualify."

"After the preliminaries, there's the advancement round, and then the finals. Their rules are—"

"Director Meng, stop, stop! My head is starting to ache. As long as I don't break the rules and win every match, it's fine, right?"

Meng Shenji froze for a moment, then slowly nodded. Technically, yes, that worked.

"Haha, then I'll leave the registration to you, Director Meng. I'm off—remember, don't let Zhuqing or Rongrong know!"

With that, Shen An picked up Na'er and ran off. What a pain… so many rules!

Anyway, he fully intended to crush the tournament with an undefeated streak. As long as he didn't kill anyone, it was all good.

——

More than a month flew by.

The population of Heaven Dou City surged by 50%. Every hotel was packed.

Countless dazzling talents from all over the continent had gathered for this grand event.

The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, Heaven Dou Empire Division—opened with great ceremony today!

And at that moment, a young man, a cat, a mouse, and a little girl stepped through the gates.