Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

At this moment, the Silver Dragon King simply couldn't understand—why, as the sovereign of soul beasts and the inheritor of the Dragon God's power, she couldn't defeat a mere cat.

What's more, let alone divine power—she couldn't even detect a trace of soul power from this cat. Yet she was being beaten so badly she couldn't even fight back.

"This isn't right… no matter how I think about it, this shouldn't be possible… what breed is this cat anyway?" the Silver Dragon King muttered, her face bruised and swollen.

"Hmph!"

Tom let out a disdainful snort through his nose. Tch, he was in top form right now—even on the toilet, he feared no one.

Just as Tom was preparing to taste whether the Silver Dragon King was salty or bland, he suddenly noticed that his grasp of Chinese Kung Fu was fading from his mind.

The immense power in his body was gradually retreating. Tom pulled out a mirror, only to see that his Kung Fu headband had turned nearly translucent.

Tom's face instantly twisted in panic. What to do, what to do? Once the headband's effect wore off, wouldn't that dragon beat him to death?

Tom shoved his paw into his mouth, trembling with anxiety.

Curled up in a corner, the Silver Dragon King was bewildered. What's the cat afraid of? It had just beaten her to a pulp.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Tom. He rushed in front of the Silver Dragon King, staring intently into her big, purple, sparkly Cassilan eyes.

Chinese Kung Fu: Bewitching Soul Art!

It was one of the few techniques still lingering in his fading memory.

The Silver Dragon King suddenly felt her mind spinning—everything that had just happened seemed to slip from her memory.

Seeing the dazed look on her face, Tom knew it was working. Not only would he make her forget what had just happened, he would also awaken her deepest desire and plant a subconscious command to act on it immediately.

That way, she'd have no time to bother with him—and he'd have a chance to escape.

Crack.

The Kung Fu headband shattered into dust and vanished into the air. The soul-bewitching technique, still mid-process, was forcefully interrupted, resulting in some… interesting changes.

Tom looked at his now weak and powerless body, grief written all over his face. Damn it… the ultimate mode time-limited trial just expired.

The Silver Dragon King's eyes suddenly snapped open. Though she had woken from the illusion crafted by the Bewitching Soul Art, her gaze remained vacant.

"My injuries… have mostly healed. I've awakened."

"Now that I've awakened… the day of humanity's destruction draws near."

"To destroy them… I must first understand them. I must conquer their world."

As she muttered these lines to herself, her massive form began to shrink, glowing with shimmering light.

From the corner, Tom saw this transformation and couldn't help himself—his paw reached out to poke her.

The glow on the Silver Dragon King's body came to an abrupt halt. The process of sealing her memories and turning into a human suddenly malfunctioned… and she turned into an egg instead. A tiny dragon claw had already poked through the shell.

Tom's eyes lit up wickedly. Weren't you all high and mighty just now? What now? Turned into an egg?

He smashed a fist down on the egg, and a little silver dragon popped out.

The little dragon was exquisite and beautiful, with wide, innocent eyes. She blinked at Tom, then affectionately snuggled up to his leg.

She looked up with her babyish voice and said:

"Mommy, you're my mommy!"

Tom raised an eyebrow, pulled out two twigs, set up a fire with practiced ease, and tied the little silver dragon to a stick—preparing to enjoy some roasted dragon meat.

The little silver dragon spun slowly over the fire, looking up naively.

"Mommy, are you warming me up?"

Tom nodded in a gentle, motherly way… while sprinkling cumin and chili powder.

Just then, Jerry burst through the entrance. The moment he saw the scene, he jumped into the air. What kind of cat would eat such a cute little silver dragon?! Eat a fish instead, would you!

Jerry quickly rescued the little silver dragon, but instead of thanking him, she spat a mouthful of saliva into his face.

"Don't interrupt my bonding time with my mommy!"

Jerry, wiping his face, pulled out a book. On the left side of the book was a mother-and-daughter picture of a cat family—with Tom as the model. On the right side was the silver dragon family.

The little silver dragon looked left… then looked right. She found the right side oddly familiar—but then turned and nuzzled against the cat drawing on the left.

"Mommy, this is my good mommy."

Tom smugly flicked Jerry away with a finger and grabbed the little silver dragon, bolting away from the cave. He rushed out of the Lake of Life—he was going to enjoy this meal all by himself.

Meanwhile, all the ferocious beasts in cultivation opened their eyes simultaneously. Each of them sensed something foreboding.

For them to feel this kind of ominous premonition, there was only one explanation: something had happened to the Silver Dragon King.

Di Tian's face turned grim. "Follow me to the Lake of Life, now!"

None of the beasts dared hesitate. They exploded with powerful soul energy and flew at full speed.

"Mommy, are you cooking?" the little silver dragon asked seriously as she watched Tom boiling a pot of soup.

Tom was reading a cookbook while stirring the soup base with a ladle, flipping to a recipe on how to cook dragon meat.

Hearing the question, Tom turned back with his motherly smile and nodded gently, eyes filled with love. This was going to be a feast.

"My good mommy, you sit down and rest. Give me the ladle, I'll cook dinner for you," the little silver dragon said, her tiny body bursting with strength as she pulled Tom aside.

Tom stared at her blankly. So… cooperative?

The little silver dragon looked at the recipe cutely and read aloud in her childish voice:

"Put a small silver dragon into a pot of boiling water…"

She paused. "Hmm… Mommy, where can we find a small silver dragon?"

She thought hard, then suddenly brightened. "Ah, right! I'm a small silver dragon!"

The more she spoke, the more frightened she looked. She recalled the book Jerry had shown her. She was the small silver dragon.

Her expression grew tragic. Tears welled in her eyes. Her babyish voice quivered:

"I understand now… I am the little silver dragon…"

"If Mommy wants to eat little silver dragon… then… farewell, Mommy… I love you…" she leapt into the pot using the ladle as a springboard.

Tom's hardened heart softened in an instant. He caught her midair, held her close to his cheek, and tears flowed like a river.

Silver Dragon King was Silver Dragon King. Little silver dragon was little silver dragon. As long as the little silver dragon treated him well, then he'd treat her well too.

That was Tom's simple worldview.

At that moment, Jerry, who had been flicked away, returned once again. He always had a way of finding Tom.

Suddenly, multiple colossal figures loomed from the sky—the fire Tom had lit was just too obvious.

Di Tian took one look at the scene before him and flew into a rage.

"Cat! Hand over the Silver Dragon King, or I will tear you to pieces!"

The other soul beasts also glared at Tom, emitting murderous intent.

The Silver Dragon King was their sovereign, the hope of soul beasts' future. Even though she'd turned into this… whatever it was, they absolutely would not allow her to be harmed.

But Tom, without the Kung Fu headband now, didn't cower as he once did. He instead shielded the little silver dragon behind him and fearlessly faced off against the true kings of the Star Dou Forest.

"Mommy, I'm scared," the little silver dragon whispered timidly.

Tom gently patted her, comforting her—and reaffirming his decision not to hand her over. These creatures looked like villains just from their faces.

Jerry stared at Tom, and for some reason, a line popped into his head:

A woman may be weak—but a mother is strong.

But… wasn't Tom a male cat?!

Jerry was filled with question marks.