Douluo Continent: Starting with a Tom Cat

Shen An remained silent, pointing quietly to the still steaming water stains on the ground.

Ning Rongrong immediately fell silent, revealing an awkward yet polite smile.

First his tail got burned, then he was scalded with boiling water, and Tom could still endure it for half a day. He only went out to bark after putting headphones on Zhu Zhuqing. It's amazing.

-

The next day, at noon.

Inside the Soto Martial Soul Main Hall, in a grand room with a dome twenty meters high, the interior was resplendent in gold, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.

Cardinal Feld looked at his kneeling subordinates with a grim expression.

"Useless trash! You don't even bother to do your research before you act. How dare you threaten the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's sect leader!"

Upon hearing this, his subordinates trembled even more and dared not reply.

"Hmph, step back."

As a cardinal, he was angry, but after reprimanding his subordinates, he had to consider the underlying meaning.

Once he calmed down, Feld murmured:

"Why is the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School here, and with a genius boy whose second soul ring is a thousand years old?"

In the brightly lit room, Feld's expression was unpredictable, as if he were plotting something.

Soto City is located in the Kingdom of Barak. The Kingdom of Barak appears to be a vassal kingdom of the Heaven Dou Empire, but it is actually quite independent. There are conflicts and gaps between the empire and the kingdom, which is inseparable from the efforts of the Spirit Hall.

The appearance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's little princess in Soto City is a very strange signal. You know, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has always been a supporter of the Heaven Dou Empire. Could it be that the Heaven Dou Empire is secretly trying to win over the Barak Kingdom?

Feld felt a chill run down his spine.

A completely unified Heaven Dou Empire possesses unimaginable strength, which will inevitably impact the authority of the Spirit Hall.

"No, I must report this to His Excellency the Platinum Bishop!"

Chapter 81 Soul Master Achieved! Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

Chef Tang still prepares all three meals a day. Despite his injury and the fact that his tail is wrapped in bandages, Chef Tang's culinary skills remain impeccable.

After dinner, Shen An brought up the matter of the Spirit Hall from the previous night.

"What? A mere white-robed deacon is actually trying to kill me? I'll smash his head in!"

"My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is a major sect on par with the Spirit Hall. How dare he?"

At the dinner table, Ning Rongrong stood with her hands on her hips and spoke arrogantly.

Shen An stood to the side, laughing, finding it all incredibly amusing.

What's this? You dare to talk tough and mess with me? You're arrogant and conceited. Fighting me is a life-or-death struggle for you—Little Witch Ning Rongrong.

When Zhu Zhuqing heard that Shen An was being targeted by the Spirit Hall, her heart tightened instinctively, and she clenched her fists under the table.

Only when Shen An mentioned that Pang Tao had come to the rescue did her tense nerves relax.

Upon hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes dimmed even more. Compared to Ning Rongrong's confidence, she had nothing, which made her feel inexplicably unbalanced.

It wasn't that she was jealous of Ning Rongrong; they had spent some time together and their relationship was fairly good.

Compared to Ning Rongrong, who was showered with love and affection, her loneliness and helplessness made her feel somewhat inferior.

At this moment, Tom was applauding Ning Rongrong; he loved his protective female owner the most.

What? Not now? No problem, with me, Tom, around, she'll be my mistress sooner or later.

After clapping for Ning Rongrong, Tom ran over to Zhu Zhuqing and playfully nuzzled her, which made Zhu Zhuqing quite happy.

"This family will fall apart without me," Tom thought to himself as he was being petted and stroked.

When Shen An asked to borrow the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's Dao Tiger Skin, Ning Rongrong readily agreed, and even asked if she should call her Sword Grandpa over to make a trip to the Spirit Hall.

Shen An's eyelids twitched at the words. It was terrifying. They would call the parents at the drop of a hat. Who could handle that? Luckily, it was one of their own.

Ning Rongrong is a bit arrogant, but she is a good person. She spends money when she needs to, and she stands up for others when things happen. She is a domineering little rich woman.

Shen An even sighed, if Ning Rongrong were not a support-type Soul Master, but a Battle Soul Master with unparalleled combat power, wow! This Douluo Continent would really have one more little tyrant.

However, the incident involving the Spirit Hall made Shen An realize that the Douluo Continent was not like the Blue Star of his previous life, and that the powerful could act recklessly.

Facing a behemoth like the Spirit Hall, a slight misstep could result in being swallowed whole, leaving not even bones behind.

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School as her backing, Ning Rongrong naturally had no taboos.

But I'm different. There's no one behind me. Well, like I said, cats don't count as people.

Originally, I just wanted to live a carefree life and develop slowly, but now it seems I have to put in some effort.

Shen An glanced at the two women and Tom, then muttered to himself, "Only in this way can I better protect you."

The teahouse was still very popular and quickly sold out. Shen An had originally set a three-hour operating time, but in reality, it closed in less than two hours.

During these times of the week, Shen An would usually be relaxing, playing video games, petting his cat, reading books, and snacking.

But the two women found Shen An unfamiliar. For the first time ever, Shen An was practicing swordsmanship, refining each move repeatedly, and maintaining focus even when distracted.

Sometimes, when things get interesting, he'll even challenge Tom to a sword fight. Tom, who was originally just lazing around, is forced to start working. Life is tough, so the cat has to work.

When Ning Rongrong saw this, she thought Shen An was intermittently going mad, because she herself had once been determined to cultivate her soul power, although she couldn't persist for more than two days.

Surprisingly, Shen An's enthusiasm wasn't just fleeting; he continued on the second, third, and fourth days.

The teahouse originally only had Zhu Zhuqing, a cultivation fanatic, but now Shen An has joined the fray.

Ning Rongrong exclaimed that she was so annoyed, and then, adopting an attitude of "out of sight, out of mind," she dragged Tom out to have some fun.

During this time, a purple-robed bishop from the Spirit Hall came and personally apologized to Ning Rongrong and Shen An.

The purple-robed bishop said:

“Miss Ning, Ma Shan, who offended you and Mr. Shen that day, has been dismissed and expelled by our Spirit Hall, and has also been given 5,000 gold soul coins as an apology.”

Ning Rongrong ignored him and instead looked at Shen An, meaning that Shen An should have the final say on what to do next.

This made the purple-robed bishop look at Shen An with more respect. For the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to obey him, this young man was no ordinary person.

Shen An gently shook his head: "Take the gold soul coins back, and let's consider this matter settled."

-

As Shen An watched the purple-robed bishop's departing figure, he thought to himself, "Is the Spirit Hall really over just like that? I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Shen An shook his head slightly. Never mind, no matter what the Spirit Hall does next, Shen An only needs to focus on improving his own strength.

Weakness is the original sin. This time, we exposed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's weakness, but we can't keep doing that.

Shen An looked at the reputation points on the system panel, which had reached 500,000, and smiled. Tonight was the moment for him, Shen, to advance to Soul Venerable.

That night, Shen An sat on the bed and complained a little. Everyone else absorbs soul rings in the wild, but I'm doing the same thing every day in my own bed.

"Whoo~"

Shen An took a deep breath, adjusted himself to his best state, and silently recited in his heart without hesitation.

"System! Give me some points, I mean, give me a chance to exchange for a Soul Ring!"

The seven-colored light still enveloped Shen An. This was the purest and most powerful energy, and it was inexhaustible, depending only on the limit that Shen An could withstand.

Shen An skillfully guided the seven-colored light into his body, which absorbed the energy like a sponge.

With the experience from the previous two times, Shen An appeared more skilled. The white spirit ring suddenly appeared, turned into bright yellow, and then turned purple, changing layer by layer from light to dark.

Seven thousand years, eight thousand years, nine thousand years!

This time, the change was different from before. Shen An's aura gradually rose, making it almost suffocating. Fortunately, Shen An sent Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong out to buy some daily necessities, otherwise, it would have been impossible to cover it up this time.

There were pedestrians outside the teahouse. As they passed by, they suddenly had a terrifying feeling that they were being stared at by a prehistoric beast, and they all took a detour.

The spirit ring is nine thousand years old, and ink spots have appeared on the deep purple spirit ring, but this is still not the limit!

Shen An gritted his teeth and continued to absorb the energy. Soon, as the color of the soul ring continued to deepen, drops of blood seeped from Shen An's skin, a sign that his meridians had reached their limit.

The spirit rings have now reached ten thousand years!

The black spirit ring was fully formed, radiating an indescribable sense of awe. At the same time, Shen An felt as if something was growing stronger in his mind.

Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly perceive everything in the room. This was the soul amplification brought about by absorbing a soul ring for over ten thousand years, Shen An realized.

Unlike ordinary spirit rings, the system's spirit rings will only bring benefits to Shen An.

Ordinary people would have to risk soul tremors to obtain a soul ring that is over ten thousand years old, but Shen An would not, and would instead receive an amplification.

Only in this way can one be worthy of the high amount of 500,000 reputation points. The strengthening of his mental power allows Shen An to better control his body.

A sinister smile appeared on Shen An's lips. "Since that's the case, then let's continue absorbing. I haven't reached my limit yet!"

The aura of the ten-thousand-year soul ring continues to rise, one hundred years, five hundred years, eight hundred years, and even one thousand years!

The third spirit ring, eleven thousand years!

Chapter 82: Painting Soul Rings, anyone interested?

Inside the room, three soul rings—one yellow, one purple, and one black—pulsated silently.

Shen An suddenly opened his eyes, and his originally clear black and white eyes turned into a vast and boundless azure color, which was awe-inspiring.

Upon closer inspection, the pupils deep within are all shaped like swords, surrounded by nine vertical sword-shaped lines, exuding a sharp and piercing aura.

The surging sword intent converged and exploded from Shen An's eyes, a clearly visible azure sword light flew out, illuminating the entire room.

Two deep sword marks instantly appeared on the wall in front of Shen An, and this was merely a subconscious action by Shen An.

"Whoo~"

Shen An closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. When he opened them again, his eyes had returned to their original clear, warm, and jade-like appearance, as if the person who had just been as indifferent as heaven and earth yet full of sharpness was not him at all.

Shen An suppressed his joy. There was no way around it; every time he acquired a spirit ring, his strength would increase dramatically, which naturally made him happy.

Shen An's body has now fully recovered after absorbing the soul ring, but his clothes are covered in blood, which is the blood that seeped out when he challenged his limits.

After putting all his clothes, sheets, and bedding into his storage space, Shen An immediately went to take a bath.

Calculating the time, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong should be back soon, so Shen An naturally had to hurry up and deal with the scene, including the bloodstains on his body.

While washing the blood off his body, Shen An took stock of what he had gained from absorbing the spirit ring.

His soul power was boosted to level 33, his body was greatly enhanced, his soul power was amplified, and he gained the soul skill "Azure Sword Eyes!"

Azure Sword Eyes: Passively enhances Shen An's visual perception ability; once activated, it will turn azure in color.

When Shen An is in the Azure Sword Eye state, his observation, reaction and agility will be multiplied, and he can even use the sword eye to unleash sword energy to injure enemies.

It can even use its mental power to assist the unique sharp sword intent of the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass to launch a mental attack on the enemy, just like an unparalleled sword cutting through the enemy's mental world!

A smile appeared on Shen An's lips. This improvement was huge, awesome!

The fact that his second spirit ring was a thousand years old had already attracted the attention of the Spirit Hall, and Ma Shan's deliberate revenge was just the trigger.

I don't have the protection of any powerful force behind me, so I can't be too high-profile about the age of my martial soul, otherwise I'll easily attract unwanted attention.

To surpass ordinary people by even a little is genius, many are monsters, but if it's like me, multiplying by a factor of two, then that's prodigy.

Shen An rubbed his temples, looking slightly troubled. If only the black spirit ring could turn purple or yellow, but how could he do that? He couldn't just paint the spirit ring, could he?

Shen An laughed at himself. Soul rings are tangible but intangible; trying to paint them is such an absurd idea.

"Only something far more outrageous than common sense could accomplish something like this," Shen An muttered to himself, looking up.

Wait, what?! Something even more outrageous...

Tom?! Isn't an immortal, all-powerful cat outrageous enough? Shen An's eyes gleamed. It really seemed feasible. He'd ask Tom if he could do it when Tom returned.

If you can do it, you'll be rewarded with lots of dried fish and ham.

-

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong brought Tom back, and Zhu Zhuqing even said in surprise:

"There are usually quite a few people on the streets, but for some reason today, there are very few."

"Haha, maybe everyone has something to do today, so they're not taking this route."

Shen An chuckled. He couldn't very well say that because the age of the soul ring he absorbed was too great, he lost control and his aura leaked out, making ordinary people afraid to approach him.