Douluo Continent: Starting with a Tom Cat

Page 143

Originally, each team would only receive a reward of 10,000 gold soul coins, but in order to win over geniuses, Emperor Xueye gave each team leader the noble title of viscount.

Shen An was the most special case, as he was given the title of Earl.

This is just the preliminary round, yet Shen An's title has jumped from commoner to earl.

There will be qualifying rounds and the finals later on. What kind of reward should Shen An receive then?

Shen An didn't care about the Earl's power; after all, strength determines everything.

However, Emperor Xueye promised to grant Shen An a fiefdom after the competition.

A viscount's territory is already equivalent to a small city, while an earl's territory is even larger.

A vast territory represents a large population and a huge amount of fame points!

Salas, standing to the side, had a deep, unfathomable look in his eyes that held a mocking gaze upon Emperor Xueye.

I laughed at that old man in the snowy night for being blind. What use are all those promises? Shen An has already been won over by my young master.

Oh, right, I almost forgot, my young master is your crown prince, and from now on, your vast fortune will all belong to my Spirit Hall.

Emperor Xueye found it rather strange that Salas hadn't caused any trouble this year in the Soul Master Competition, whereas he had in previous years had certainly stirred things up.

"By the way, the next qualifying round will be held in the Imperial Playground. At that time, in addition to your five academies, the top ten teams from the five duchies will also come to compete with you."

"I wish you all the best in the qualifying rounds, so that you can rank among the top in the finals."

"The qualifying rounds will be held in a month. Okay, the qualifiers are over."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After the preliminary rounds ended, Shen An and his friends held a celebration banquet.

Xue Qinghe, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Tom Jerry are all present.

The huge table was filled with all kinds of delicious food, including food that Shen An had redeemed from the system.

"Shen An, congratulations! Now everyone in the entire Tiandou City knows your name." A strong and powerful voice rang out.

A gray figure flashed before everyone's eyes, looking slightly disheveled, but Dugu Bo seemed extremely happy.

"Senior Dugu." Everyone greeted Dugu Bo.

Shen An smiled and said, "Senior Dugu seems to be very happy."

Dugu Bo said triumphantly, "These past few days I've been going to find an old rival of mine. In the past, I was always suppressed because of my lack of poison skills."

Xue Qinghe remained expressionless. There were few secrets about the Spirit Hall that she didn't know, and her so-called old rival was Yue Guan.

However, judging from Dugu Bo's appearance, even if he didn't win, he was not at a disadvantage, which surprised Xue Qinghe.

Dugu Bo is known as the weakest Title Douluo, so how could he possibly defeat Yue Guan, whose soul power is over level 95?

Dugu Bo continued chuckled:

"But Jerry healed me, so I was free from future troubles. What made me even happier was that my old rival was injured."

"This time, I completely thrashed him, and it gave me a chance to break through to level 93. Awesome!"

"I just got back to Tiandou City and heard that you won the preliminary round, so I came to congratulate you."

Dugu Bo, without any airs of a powerful figure, put his arm around Shen An's shoulder.

For him, who was a loner, Shen An was the benefactor who saved his whole family and a close friend who could talk freely with him despite their age difference. Of course, he had to share the joy of winning the victory at Yueguan with him.

Xue Qinghe was horrified. Tom Jerry helping the Poison Douluo, whose name was associated with poison, to detoxify? This sounded like a complete fantasy.

Shen An laughed and said, "It's just the preliminary round championship. Next, I'm aiming for the overall championship."

As he spoke, Shen An was filled with anticipation, as just one preliminary round had brought his fame value to a staggering seven million.

He couldn't even imagine how happy he would be after winning the championship; the fame he would gain would be immense.

Dugu Bo sighed: "Shen An, don't be too optimistic. To be honest, I don't think you have a good chance of winning the final championship."

Shen An raised an eyebrow: "Why? Don't you trust my strength?" At the same time, a fighting spirit appeared in Shen An's eyes.

Given his current situation, participating in the Soul Master Tournament is like a top-tier player going to a newbie village to fight pets—it's utterly unchallenging.

He did hope to encounter some formidable opponents, since sometimes fighting can be a form of enjoyment.

Dugu Bo slowly shook his head: "Strength is one aspect. This generation of Spirit Hall has produced some outstanding young talents, known as the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall. Even if you face them, your chances of winning are at most fifty-fifty."

Dugu Bo said somewhat guiltily that he only knew Shen An had won the championship, but Wu Wukai was just to encourage Shen An. In fact, he believed that Shen An had no chance of winning at all.

Xue Qinghe chuckled inwardly. What golden generation? That's because she hadn't stood in the light. Otherwise, she would be the most amazing person in the history of the Spirit Hall.

Seeing Dugu Bo's well-intentioned reminder, Shen An didn't continue speaking. He couldn't very well say that he had been suppressing his strength, could he? That would be too pretentious.

Fearing it might dampen Shen An's confidence, Dugu Bo continued, "Of course, most importantly, the Spirit Hall has offered three spirit bones as prizes for the competition."

"You know the significance of a soul bone. If you had a soul bone, your strength would definitely increase to another level. If you weren't absolutely certain, why would the Spirit Hall bring it out?"

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong had strange expressions. Shen An had given each of them a soul bone, and the one given to Zhu Zhuqing was even more enormous, reaching 100,000 years.

Dugu Bo continued, "Even if you were to win, I wouldn't recommend that you actually confront the Spirit Hall."

"Because the Spirit Hall will definitely kill you for these three spirit bones, that is the biggest crisis. The current Pope Bibi Dong is not a merciful person."

"She dares!" Xue Qinghe immediately shouted, startling the others.

Shen An's safety undoubtedly touched a nerve with her, especially since the person who did this might be Bibi Dong.

The group all looked at Xue Qinghe, who appeared somewhat agitated.

"Ahem, what I mean is, with the Heaven Dou Royal Family here, how dare the Spirit Hall act so recklessly? Shen An is my best friend, and I will definitely protect him."

Xue Qinghe realized that he had been a little too excited just now, and immediately explained.

Dugu Bo didn't say anything directly, but he sighed at the naivety of the Crown Prince.

The Spirit Hall is now so powerful that if it were to target someone without regard for the cost, that person would have no chance of escape, no matter where they went.

Here's a report to all our readers on our work and update schedule.

Kuang kuang kuang, first of all, I want to kowtow to all my dear readers.

Talking Tom was my first creation, and I'm quite satisfied with its current success. Of course, I also have some regrets, as it could have been even better.

The current average daily subscription is 1,500. Just between us, thanks to the amazing support of our readers, the initial subscription was actually 1,000.

Actually, considering the initial subscription of Talking Tom, this average subscription rate is only average. Its trend should have been better, but I just didn't grasp it.

I will learn from all the lessons I've learned and the feedback I've received from my readers, and strive to make continuous progress.

I won't go into the previous chapters, but I'll work on the later chapters and update them more often, making the story more complete and interesting.

I read all the comments from readers, whether they are on Qidian or QQ Reading. I will write the Talking Tom story that everyone likes. After all, a novel is meant to serve everyone.

I also hope that readers will support my next book.

Regarding the update issue.

From now on, my daily updates should be over 8,000 words. I'll get used to it for a while and see if I can reach 10,000 words a day.

However, I'll join Da Zhang because I want to improve my average score and get more recommendations in the future to raise my grades.

I'd also like to ask you readers, is it better to have two chapters of 8,000 words each or one chapter of 8,000 words? You can leave a comment below.

Chapter 254 Seize the Day, Become a Soul King, Refine Soul Bones (8000)

"The three soul bones are of great importance, so Shen An, it would be good enough to get the runner-up this year. You are still young and will have plenty of opportunities."

Dugu Bo said earnestly that he truly cared for Shen Anhao.

No one knows better than these Title Douluo how strong the Spirit Hall is. The two great empires and the three upper sects seem to be among the top forces on the Douluo Continent, just like the Spirit Hall.

In reality, the Spirit Hall is far superior to them. Don't you see, in the past, these forces would have loved to beat the other side so badly that their brains would come out?

But now, the situation on the entire continent has become more stable, which is because the Spirit Hall has already gained a dominant position.

"Ten thousand years is too long, seize the day." Shen An laughed, "I am determined to win the championship."

Having tasted the sweetness of the qualifiers, how could Shen An possibly give up? Reputation is what he needs to secure his livelihood.

If he wins the championship, the massive accumulation of fame points will be enough to push his cultivation level to Soul Emperor.

So even if a Title Douluo attacks him, he can't say he'll be able to win, but at least he'll be able to protect himself.

With the help of the system's various magical items, he will be able to roam freely throughout the vast world.

Dugu Bo was stunned by the light shining in Shen An's eyes. "Shen An, are you out of your mind? Those soul bones are not something you can covet."

"To be honest, I was just trying to comfort you when I said you could go toe-to-toe with the Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall."

"I heard on the way here that you only sent three people to defeat the opponent in the finals, but in reality, the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation could definitely do it too. Each of them is a level 50 Soul King!"

Shen An fell silent, his sharp sword aura emanating from his body, along with his four great spirit rings: yellow, purple, and black.

"In this month, I will become a Soul King. Senior Dugu, I said I would definitely win the championship."

Not only Dugu Bo, but Xue Qinghe and the others were also stunned. Shen An's cultivation speed was too fast. From Soul Sect to Soul King, it didn't even take a year.

Zhu Zhuqing remained silent. She knew Shen An's background best. From a Soul Master to the current Soul King, Shen An seemed to have achieved this in less than three years.

Dugu Bo silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva; this soul ring configuration was simply outrageous.

Also, wasn't Shen An's third spirit ring purple? How could it turn black?

"Haha, thanks to your two immortal herbs, my cultivation speed has improved so quickly." Shen An attributed all the credit to the immortal herbs without changing his expression.

Dugu Bo nodded slightly. Dugu Yan had also eaten the immortal herb, and her soul power was rising rapidly. This made sense.

Xue Qinghe then said at the opportune moment, "Senior Dugu, rest assured, Shen An is my close friend. If the Spirit Hall really decides to kill, my Heaven Dou Empire will certainly not stand idly by."

Looking at Shen An, who was determined to win the championship, and then at Xue Qinghe, who had expressed his support, he glanced at Shen An.

Dugu Bo nodded slowly: "Alright, since you've made up your mind, then go ahead. At least on the surface, the Spirit Hall won't dare to offend the world by taking action."

"As for the underworld, Heaven Dou City is still relatively safe for now. I'll accompany you after the promotion tournament. I'm a Title Douluo after all."

"I have received information that the finals will be held in Wuhun City, hosted by the Wuhun Hall."

In short, it's best to be extra careful.

Xue Qinghe looked at Dugu Bo with considerable surprise. Everyone said that Dugu Bo had a strange and eccentric personality, but after interacting with him today, she felt that he was a man of genuine character.

Shen An raised a cup to Dugu Bo: "Then thank you very much, Senior Dugu."

Dugu Bo also sat down, and the group chatted happily in a cheerful atmosphere.

Two days later, at Dugu Bo's residence, a place Dugu Bo usually disliked visiting, preferring to live in the mountains and forests.

So the keys to the mansion were handed over to Shen An, supposedly to help him manage it, but in reality, it was a gift.

In a quiet room, Shen An opened his eyes, and a glint of sword light illuminated the entire room.

His sword intent soared into the sky, but it was all gradually suppressed back into Shen An's body under the use of the Unbound Soul Skill.

The fifth spirit ring has been successfully formed. Its eerie crimson light exudes boundless power, as deep as an abyss, suppressing people's minds.

As Shen An felt the surging power within his body, a look of intoxication involuntarily appeared on his face.

He obtained a 100,000-year soul ring, which even a titled Douluo might not necessarily possess, when he was a Soul King.

Once a Soul Ring's age exceeds 100,000 years, the boost it brings to a Soul Master is simply unimaginable. This is a qualitative change, and more importantly, it will grant the Soul Master two skills!

Shen An also showed a hint of doubt. Wasn't it said that a 100,000-year soul ring would bring two skills? Why did he only sense one?

However, when Shen An focused his mind on sensing the information of this fifth soul skill, an undisguised excitement naturally welled up in his eyes.

No wonder there's only one.

The strength of this soul skill is simply astonishing; its power is equivalent to the fusion of two 100,000-year soul skills.

If Shen An were to fight Flander again, he would believe he could defeat Flander even if Flander revealed his true martial soul form, and might even be able to take Flander's life.

However, I still need Tom to paint my fifth spirit ring.

Otherwise, if I were to reveal myself, I would likely be assassinated by a titled Douluo-level expert that very night.

-

The next day, at this time the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was extremely high.