Douluo Continent: Starting with a Tom Cat

Tom nodded, then released his grip at the opportune moment, picked up a walnut from the table and ate it. The heavy hammer slammed down on the marble tabletop, and "Boom!" the table collapsed.

Yu Tianheng and the others nodded in agreement. Yes, yes, yes, the hammer that smashed the marble tabletop when it fell was definitely not the Haotian Hammer. It was just an ordinary Meow Meow Hammer.

In the distance, Tang San, in Yu Xiaogang's arms, let out another painful groan. The soul power he had gathered in his body was once again exhausted, and his limbs trembled weakly.

Chapter 155 Tang Xiaosan in Despair

"This is just a simple battle with Soul Fighters. Not only have you spent all the gold Soul Coins I gave you, but how come the children are all injured like this?"

Looking at his group of students, Flander felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, as if he couldn't breathe at all.

Xiao Wu's abdomen was covered in blood, Dai Mubai's left cheek was disfigured with a hideous scar, Tang San remained unconscious, and the others, except for Oscar, were not in much better condition.

Yu Xiaogang looked gloomy, unsure how to broach the subject with Flander.

Qin Ming explained the whole story with a wry smile.

"What? A cat single-handedly defeated all seven of us Shrek Seven Devils?" Upon hearing this, Flander lay back in his office chair, looking somewhat dejected.

"Xiao Gang, Xiao Gang, we don't have any mortal enmity with this cat, so why do you always try to provoke it or even kill it?"

"Look at this cat, it seems to be our nemesis, nothing good ever comes of it."

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. He was being criticized in public. Didn't he have any pride?

“What’s the point of saying all this now that it’s already happened?” he said curtly.

Flander gave a wry smile. There was a knock at the door, and it was Shao Xin who came in.

Flander had no choice but to abandon what he wanted to say to Yu Xiaogang. "Shao Xin, come and check on the children's injuries, especially Tang San. Why is he still unconscious?"

After a while, Shao Xin gave the group different kinds of candy, and they gradually woke up, their eyes filled with undisguised resentment.

Tang San was still unconscious, but in the distant VIP room of the Soul Fighting Arena, Tom had already piled up a small mountain of walnuts.

This action forcefully squeezed out more energy from Tang San's depleted soul power.

If a person has no soul power left, it is impossible to maintain their martial soul, but the Clear Sky Hammer is still there.

So, according to the law of conservation of energy, what is consumed when soul power is gone?

Shao Xin frowned and said uncertainly, "Tang San doesn't have a single trace of soul power in his body right now. Every time new soul power is generated, it mysteriously disappears."

"I don't know why this is happening. Logically speaking, this only happens when a Soul Master overdraws their Soul Power. But once it's overdrawn to a certain limit, the body will protect itself and can no longer overdraw."

"But Tang San is different. He seems to be overdrawing his energy and soul power without limit. If he continues like this, not only will his future cultivation become extremely difficult, but his lifespan will also be shortened."

Yu Xiaogang immediately panicked. How could this be allowed? Tang San was his most prized disciple. If he became a cripple, how could he prove his flawless theory in the future?

Yu Xiaogang grabbed Shao Xin's collar, his eyes bloodshot, and gasped, "I don't care what method you use, you must make my disciple get better!"

Shao Xin frowned. Even though he was only a support-type Soul Saint, when did it become the place for a Great Soul Master to point fingers at him?

With his arm muscles bulging, he pushed hard, and Yu Xiaogang, a level 29 Great Soul Master, fell to the ground with a thud.

Yu Xiaogang sat on the ground in disbelief, trembling with anger and cold. How dare he? I'm Flander's good brother!

Flander's eyelids twitched. Shao Xin was no ordinary person. He was a food-type Soul Saint, and his popularity was no less than that of a Soul Douluo. If it weren't for their brotherhood, Shao Xin would have run away long ago.

But he also had to take care of his old brother, Yu Xiaogang, a human.

He first dismissed the other trainees, leaving only Yu Xiaogang and Shao Xin, not wanting the trainees to laugh at him.

Although Xiao Wu was worried, she knew that there was no use in staying. She just looked at Tang San with concern and then walked out.

As Flander helped Yu Xiaogang up, he said with a wry smile, "Shao Xin, please think of a way to cure Tang San. I'm begging you."

Shao Xin's expression returned to normal. He had to give Flander face, so he hesitated and said, "Alright, then I'll try it with my Martial Soul True Body."

Using the True Form of a Martial Soul requires a great deal of Soul Power from the Soul Master, and may even cause some weakness.

If Flander hadn't spoken up, Shao Xin really wouldn't have wanted to use him.

Soon, a candy bean was condensed, which could remove most of the negative effects, heal injuries, and incidentally restore 70% of Shao Xin's consumed soul power.

The soul power of a level 70 Soul Saint was enough for Tang San to make up for it. After Tang San took it, his originally pale cheeks quickly regained color, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking at the familiar surroundings.

"Am I back?" he asked, bewildered.

Yu Xiaogang squeezed in and grabbed Tang San's hand: "Xiao San, you're finally awake! Your teacher was so worried. You should get a checkup."

Tang San felt a warm current surge in his heart when he heard Yu Xiaogang's concern. This master, although he was a weakling, truly cared about him.

However, Tang San did not check his own body first. Instead, he turned around and asked, "Xiao Wu, how is she?"

Yu Xiaogang reassured him, "Don't worry, I brought you and Xiao Wu back together. She's awake now and waiting for you outside."

"Together?"

“Yes, you and Xiaowu are both unconscious, so I can only hold you in one arm and Xiaowu in the other. Don’t worry, I’m not tired,” Yu Xiaogang said with a calm smile.

At that moment, he felt a great deal of support from his mentors and friends.

A hint of savagery lurked deep in Tang San's eyes. How could any other man be holding Xiao Wu besides him?

The warmth I felt instantly transformed into a chill colder than ten thousand years of ice.

Yu Xiaogang suddenly felt a chill run down his spine: "Xiao San, check if you have any problems. Shao Xin said you've been constantly overdrawing your soul power and energy."

Tang San gave Yu Xiaogang a deep look, then used his Xuan Tian Gong to examine his own physical condition.

Before long, disbelief flashed in his eyes, and he said in a daze, "My soul power has been downgraded! I'm only level forty-one now!"

"How could this be?" Yu Xiaogang said, his face paling. How much overdraft would it take for one's soul power to be downgraded?

Tang San didn't have time to reply to Yu Xiaogang. He could feel his soul power being constantly consumed, sometimes slowly, but sometimes suddenly at a faster pace.

Tang San's eyes were empty. He suddenly remembered that Tom had hit him with the Clear Sky Hammer, but he couldn't take it back.

"Yes, the Clear Sky Hammer, my Clear Sky Hammer," Tang San murmured, calming himself down to sense his other martial soul.

But from beginning to end, it was as if he only had Blue Silver Grass and had never had twin martial souls.

In an instant, all the color drained from Tang San's face, leaving him lifeless. His greatest trump card, the Clear Sky Hammer, which he would rely on to become an invincible powerhouse in the future, was gone.

"Xiao San, what's wrong? Tell me quickly." Flander noticed that Tang San was acting strangely and asked in a deep voice.

"I can't sense my Clear Sky Hammer anymore," Tang San said hollowly, like a puppet on a string.

"What?! How is this possible!" Yu Xiaogang and Flander exclaimed in unison, one with an extremely grim expression and the other with an extremely panicked expression.

Chapter 156: Let Tom stay at the Great Soul Arena permanently?

Yu Xiaogang's face was grim. Without the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San was at best a genius on par with Oscar and others. How could he possibly live up to his great theories?

Flander looked extremely panicked. "Holy crap!" he thought. "Zhao Wuji only beat up Tang San, and then Tang Hao beat him up for half the night."

But now, his son has lost a martial soul right under his own nose. If Tang Hao finds out, he'll probably raze Shrek Academy to the ground.

"Mistress, do you know why?" Flander asked nervously.

Tang San ignored him, looking dazed and confused. The loss of the Clear Sky Hammer, the downgrade of his soul power, and the continuous depletion of his soul power all dealt him a great blow.

Under Flander and Yu Xiaogang's persistent questioning, Tang San finally turned his lifeless eyes.

He said angrily, "It must be that dead cat. I couldn't take it back when it was holding my Clear Sky Hammer, and my soul power was being consumed continuously, almost the same as when I summoned the Clear Sky Hammer."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted between light and dark. Was that cat really that magical? In the entire Douluo Continent, there had never been a case of a cat being able to steal another person's martial soul.

"We need to find a way to get Xiao San's martial soul back. Flander, you come with me to find Shen An now."

Flander's face twitched. He was protective of his own and liked to bully others, but he usually only targeted the weak.

He sought out Shen An twice, once encountering Sword Douluo and once encountering Bone Douluo. Both powerful figures were very enthusiastic in helping Shen An vent his anger.

Yu Xiaogang is now sending Flander to cause trouble for Shen An, but how dare Flander?

"Xiao Gang, I think this matter needs further consideration." As he spoke, Flander looked at Shao Xin, knowing that there were some things he didn't want Shao Xin to hear.

Shao Xin wisely left the room.

Flander used his soul power to prevent others from eavesdropping.

"Xiao Gang, Shen An has the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School backing him up. How can we afford to mess with him?"

Flander then turned to Tang San and said, "San, is His Majesty Haotian still here? Why don't we have him step forward?"

Since Tang San returned that day, he revealed to Yu Xiaogang and Flander that he already knew about his background, so everyone could speak freely, which was also the reason why Shao Xin was allowed to go out.

Tang San's face turned pale as he said, "My father went to stay with my mother and said he would be back in a month."

As he spoke, Tang San quickly activated his Mysterious Heaven Skill to regulate his soul power, which caused the loss of soul power to accelerate again.

Flander hesitated: "You two just had a conflict today. Going to ask for it now will only provoke Shen An's hostility. How about we go tomorrow? But the purpose is not to cause a conflict, but to pay the price and make him return the Haotian Hammer."

"We can't afford to offend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School," Flander said dejectedly.

Yu Xiaogang angrily slammed the door and left. In his opinion, Flander did not act like a Soul Saint at all, always looking back and forth.

"Come on, Xiao San, your teacher will think of a way to help you get the Clear Sky Hammer back today."

......

The Royal Fighting Team has already left. Before leaving, they invited Shen An to visit the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy sometime. Shen An agreed, saying he would definitely do it next time.

Zhu Zhuqing had just stepped onto the stage to compete in the Soul Battle. Although her opponent was two levels higher than her, Shen An was certain that her opponent had no chance of defeating her.

Even Shen An was quite surprised by the speed of the evolved Night Moon Cat.

In the VIP room, Tom was still cracking walnuts, occasionally handing some to Shen An.

Seeing how easily Tom was using the small hammer, Shen An couldn't resist coming over to play with it himself.

The Haotian Hammer—or rather, the Meow Meow Hammer—felt incredibly heavy as soon as Shen An put it down. At 600 jin (300 kg), it was no joke.

Tom struggles to lift even a 20-pound dumbbell, yet he wields this hammer with seemingly no effort.

Shen An asked, "Tom, don't you think this hammer is very heavy?"

Tom tilted his head in confusion, gesturing with his hand to show the size of the Haotian Hammer, indicating that this hammer was so small, how could it be so heavy?

Shen An... How could I ask Tom such a stupid question? Tom isn't a materialist, he's an idealist!

Schrödinger's cat would get slapped twice if it came to Tom; that's the strongest cat in the family.

Zhu Zhuqing won, and although there were some twists and turns, she still won without any major incident.

Gao Hao, a Great Soul Master from the Heavenly Dou Realm, also knocked on the door and arrived. As a Soul Saint, he grabbed Shen An's hand:

"I am Gao Hao, the person in charge of the Heaven Dou Grand Soul Arena. I have long admired your name. Brother Shen is the only person in the Heaven Dou Empire to possess a Gold Soul Badge."

Shen An looked at Gao Hao with a puzzled expression: "Oh, Brother Gao, is there something you want to say?"

Gao Hao laughed heartily and said, "Brother Shen is indeed a smart man. To be honest, I came here today because I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Tom's appearance this time directly ignited the emotions of the entire audience. We hope that Brother Shen can bring Tom to participate in Soul Fighting more often in the future."

Shen An's lips curled up. So, he came for Tom after all.

“I have no objection, but it depends on Tom’s mood. I don’t want him to do things he doesn’t like.”

Shen An said this, knowing that Tom usually only had a three-minute attention span for anything he did, except for catching Jerry.

"Oh, so, would this Mr. Cat be willing to come to my Great Soul Arena in the future?" Gao Hao saw that Shen An respected Tom's opinion very much, so he turned to ask Tom.

Tom looked at Shen An and then at Gao Hao. It knew that Shen An liked to go out, and that as Shen An's cat, participating in the competition should bring Shen An a lot of fame.

Seeing the way Tom looked at him, Shen An guessed what Tom was thinking, and he smiled and patted Tom's head.

"Don't force yourself. You won't be able to handle playing Soul Fighting every day. Here's what we'll do: I'll bring you here whenever you want to play in the future."

Tom nodded his little head quickly. Since Shen An had said so, he would definitely listen.

“Brother Gao, I will continue to bring Tom in the future, but it will probably be irregular.”

Gao Hao was slightly disappointed; Tom's fighting style was just too outrageous, making everyone laugh throughout the entire match.

This is extremely popular, with many nobles specifically requesting to see the cats make an appearance.

But since Shen An had said so, he had no choice but to nod.

The members of the Royal Fighting Team, all of whom have extraordinary backgrounds, are very respectful to Shen An. He would never do something as foolish as forcibly taking a civilian cat.

"Alright, then welcome to visit us in the future, Brother Shen."