Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

The tournament was held at the Heaven Dou Grand Spirit Arena. For this event, the arena had merged its sub-arenas with the main battle arena.

It could accommodate as many as a hundred thousand spectators!

To Shen An, that meant at least a hundred thousand fame points to start with.

And that was just the number of people the arena could hold. Many others who couldn't get tickets were even willing to stand outside, just to hear what was going on inside.

On the field, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes suddenly narrowed. She tried to capture something she thought she saw—but in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

"Rongrong, I think I just saw Shen An and the others, but they disappeared the moment I turned back."

Ning Rongrong immediately looked around, but quickly gave up with a frustrated sigh. "So annoying. I don't know what the Heaven Dou folks were thinking. They even messed up Shen An's registration and ended up putting him in the second team."

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flickered. Was it really a mistake? Given the power of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, wouldn't it be easy to manipulate things from behind the scenes?

But soon, she let go of her doubts. It didn't matter—seeing Shen An was all that mattered.

"Hmph, when I see him, I'm definitely going to beat him up! My arm strength's no joke now—even a Soul Elder might not be able to take a punch from me," Ning Rongrong said proudly, raising her little fist.

The two girls had never stopped using their workout dumbbells. With an increase of three pounds a day and their already exceptional physiques, their strength had become downright terrifying.

Zhu Zhuqing nodded with a smile, drawing the attention of all the nearby men—she was just too beautiful.

"Let's go. As the face of the Heaven Dou Empire, Team One still needs to gather first."

"Mm, alright."

Meanwhile, Shen An brought his three little companions to the contestant lounge area.

Today was just the opening ceremony, with only one match scheduled—the second team of Heaven Dou had drawn an opponent for the first round of the round-robin.

After Xue Qinghe told him about it, Shen An became even more certain that choosing the second team had been the right decision.

But in the lounge area, he came across something rather amusing.

The familiar Shrek Academy, wearing laughably poop-green school uniforms, was in a standoff with another team whose robes bore the words "Canghui Academy."

Tang San was the first to sense Shen An's gaze and immediately turned his head. In his eyes, there was only Shen An—and Tom.

The rest of the Shrek group followed Tang San's line of sight and looked over as well.

Unlike Tang San's provocative and resentful expression, Tai Long's gaze was full of murderous rage—he looked like he wanted to eat Shen An alive.

Dai Mubai was a mix of angry and cowardly. He had already lost to Shen An once, and now that his fourth Soul Ring was only white, he felt even more humiliated.

Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Jing Ling had flickering gazes—they were all too scared of Shen An after being beaten.

Shen An gave them a bright smile. "Long time no see, weirdos."

Tang San's eyes turned icy. He was about to explode, but on second thought, it would be far more satisfying to crush Shen An during the match and throw him into an abyss of despair in front of everyone.

He, Tang San, had always been a thorough planner. After returning to Heaven Dou City, he had investigated Shen An's movements and discovered that Shen An always showed up at major events.

Adding to that, Shen An was frequently seen at the Spirit Arena, which led Tang San to a precise conclusion—this man was obsessed with fame and fortune.

So he would publicly humiliate Shen An in the most high-profile event.

"Long time no see, Shen An. I really hope we can face off in the tournament soon," Tang San said with a twisted smile.

"You punk, who the hell are you? Tired of living? Interrupting Canghui Academy's business?"

A member of Canghui Academy was irritated. They were confronting Shrek, and this guy just jumped in and stole the spotlight. Who did he think he was?

Shen An said coldly, "Scram."

The speaker froze in place, as if he'd seen countless blades flying at him. He was so frightened that he collapsed to the floor.

The remaining six from Canghui stepped forward, trying to salvage their pride—

"Young man, you've gone too far."

An aged but strong voice rang out. A sixty-year-old elder had stepped in.

On the side, Flender and Yu Xiaogang were smirking quietly. They knew exactly who this man was—Shi Nian, known for his viciousness and petty vengeance. Things were about to get tough for Shen An.

"Shi Nian, what are you trying to do?"

Meng Shenji arrived. Shen An was a precious talent in his eyes, so he had purposely come to the lounge to check on him—only to find someone stirring up trouble.

Others might fear Shi Nian, but he didn't. Whether in terms of soul power or Martial Soul compatibility, Shi Nian's Remnant Dream was completely countered by his Black Demon.

Shi Nian's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected Meng Shenji to show up.

Then his expression suddenly contorted. Damn, that hurt.

He looked down to see a cat and a mouse stomping furiously on his feet. He was about to lash out, but Tom and Jerry quickly ran behind Shen An again.

"Meng Shenji, these two soul beasts are causing a disturbance in the lounge and you're not going to do anything?" Shi Nian shouted, looking down at his unnaturally swollen feet.

Meng Shenji smiled calmly. "Oh? I don't see anything. Shen An is part of our Heaven Dou Second Team. You'd all better behave yourselves, or don't blame me for being impolite."

The Shrek group was slightly surprised. They hadn't expected Shen An to end up in Team Two. In their minds, with Shen An's strength, he should have been on Team One.

All eyes turned to their so-called "wise" Grandmaster. Yu Xiaogang couldn't quite figure it out either, but under everyone's gaze, he put on an inscrutable expression and said, "I'll explain later."

Shi Nian, seeing that Meng Shenji was clearly taking sides, angrily flicked his sleeves and said, "Let's go!"

The Canghui Academy members didn't dare make a sound and quickly followed him out.

The Shrek group, dressed in poop-green uniforms, also retreated into the corners of the lounge, too embarrassed by their own outfits to remain seen.

"Teacher, why did Shen An end up in the second team? I remember at the Soto Spirit Arena, he single-handedly defeated the Emperor Team. There's no way he'd be in Team Two," Tang San asked, his voice filled with confusion.

Yu Xiaogang, after racking his brain, confidently said, "I deduce that Shen An must've had some kind of accident during his cultivation, making his strength unstable or below the required standard for Team One. That's why he's in Team Two."

"Besides, he's probably only still here because of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Look at his aura—plain and dull, completely lacking the sharpness he once had."

Everyone looked over at Shen An, who was busy playing with a cat and some kids. Now that it was mentioned, it did seem like he'd lost his former edge.

"Grandmaster truly lives up to his name—he can see what we cannot," Ma Hongjun praised.

Yu Xiaogang wiped a bit of cold sweat but felt his deduction was most likely correct. Who wouldn't want to be in Team One? That team had guaranteed promotion spots.

His words ignited a fire in Tai Long's heart. If Shen An's strength had really dropped, did that mean he finally had a chance to take revenge?

The grudge for killing his master and crippling his father made Tai Long want to eat Shen An's flesh and drink his blood.

His own strength might not be enough—but now that the Grandmaster had said something so promising…

Just you wait, Shen An. Even if I have to break tournament rules, I'll make sure you die! Tai Long muttered to himself.

At that moment, tournament staff began organizing the participating academies for entrance. Team One had already headed out early—as the Empire's representative, they had that privilege.

"Honored Soul Master, are you really from Heaven Dou's Second Team? Are you and this six-year-old girl the only ones entering the field?"

The staff member looked troubled. He'd never encountered anything like this before. It was driving him mad—what was he supposed to do?

"Yes, don't worry. My teammates are just temporarily occupied," Shen An replied with a smile.

"…Alright then. Please follow me."