Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

"Di Tian, are you done yet? You said the formation would be broken in three hours, but it's been half a day already. That's the Silver Dragon King we're talking about—we need to find her as soon as possible."

Xiong Jun complained with a clasped fist, his tone filled with discontent.

"If you think you can do it, be my guest. Quit your damn whining."

Di Tian shot back, equally frustrated. His heart was burning with anxiety as well, but the formation set up by the Silver Dragon King was simply too complex to unravel.

"Just give me three more days, I swear I can do it."

Di Tian said again, then buried himself once more in studying the formation.

—

Star Dou Great Forest

The Golden Generation of Spirit Hall was clearly in bad shape. Hu Liena looked pale and disheveled. Xie Yue wasn't doing much better, and Yan was in the worst condition—his limbs were all bandaged, and a massive wound spanned his chest.

When Hu Liena saw Shen An, her eyes lit up with joy. The three of them had terrible luck—they ran into a small beast tide while fleeing.

Xie Yue and Hu Liena had fused their Martial Souls and barely held on, but Yan had it the worst. Already severely injured by Shen An before, he stood no chance against soul beasts, some of which were over ten thousand years old.

If the soul beasts hadn't been too busy fleeing for their lives to bother killing humans, Yan might've perished on the spot.

Hu Liena spoke somewhat awkwardly,

"Li Feiyu, Yan is seriously injured and can't move well. My brother and I have also suffered some losses in strength. Why don't we travel together?"

She lowered her head in embarrassment. She still felt guilty about Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo trying to force Shen An into joining Spirit Hall.

Shen An was slightly stunned. He actually had a good impression of Hu Liena—she was a kind-hearted girl.

Shen An nodded. "I can go with you, but do you even know the way through the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Hu Liena looked at him in delight. "Yes, yes! Each of us has a rough map of the forest."

She hadn't expected Shen An to agree so readily and generously.

Even the heavily bandaged Yan had a flicker of shame in his eyes.

Once Xie Yue hoisted Yan onto his back, the group set off again. This time, Tom drove slower to accommodate the others' pace.

As for letting Yan ride in the car? Not a chance.

Hu Liena walked briskly alongside, curiously eyeing the vintage car. A little girl poked her head out of the window and waved at them.

"Who's this little girl?" Hu Liena asked curiously.

"Tom picked her up along the way. The forest's too dangerous, so she's been traveling with us," Shen An explained.

"She's so pretty. Does she have a name?" Hu Liena continued chatting.

"Her name is Na'er."

Hu Liena suddenly blushed. Na'er? Could that name have been chosen by Li Feiyu? And my name is Hu Liena... What are the chances?

Off to the side, Yan—eavesdropping—started squirming violently. Any guilt he had toward Shen An vanished instantly.

This guy's trying to steal my goddess! he fumed.

In his flailing, the wounds that had just begun to scab reopened, making him suck in a cold breath from the pain.

—

Several days passed, and the group was still stuck in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Almost there! According to the map, at our current speed, we should be out in two more days at most."

Hu Liena smiled as she spoke to Shen An beside her. Her foxy beauty carried an unspoken allure.

But Shen An didn't look at her. Instead, his eyes had turned into a vast, deep sky-blue as he stared straight ahead at a distant soul beast.

It was a black tiger, massive and entirely jet-black. Its blood-red eyes radiated malice. It was eight meters long, and its most striking feature was its tail—made of countless bones ending in a huge barbed hook that gleamed with a chilling light.

Shen An felt pressure from this soul beast that rivaled, even exceeded, what he felt from the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python.

Despite the distance, if that soul beast decided to charge, Shen An would have no choice but to deploy his super battle suit.

He was extremely tense, but his expression remained calm as he stared down the Dark Devilgod Tiger.

In the beast's crimson pupils was the reflection of a single small human—Shen An. How dare such a puny creature meet its gaze directly? Unforgivable.

The tiger had wandered the outer forest for several days. After sensing the Titan Giant Ape was dead and the Sky Azure Bull Python missing, it had returned to the inner forest, intending to devour other soul beasts to cultivate.

Yet this human… gave it an instinctual sense of immense nourishment. The Dark Devilgod Tiger licked its lips and prepared to charge and swallow Shen An whole.

Fear? That wasn't in its vocabulary. It had never lost to a human.

Dark energy surged from its body, muscles rippling as it prepared to leap—

Then it froze.

Its eyes widened in horror as a silver-haired little girl—one he had completely overlooked—climbed playfully onto a cat and followed Shen An's gaze toward him.

That single glance sent a chill through the Dark Devilgod Tiger's very soul.

To it, the girl wasn't human at all—she was a dragon. A colossal dragon that looked down upon even the gods.

Without another thought, it turned tail and ran, fleeing the Star Dou Great Forest once again. This place is cursed.

"Li Feiyu, what's wrong?"

Hu Liena waved her hand in front of Shen An's face.

She had no idea they had just dodged a crisis.

Shen An let out a small breath of relief as he watched the inexplicably retreating tiger. He hadn't expected to run into such a terrifying soul beast in the outer regions.

Why it fled, he didn't know. But it was good news nonetheless.

"Nothing. Let's keep going." Shen An smiled, still mulling over the black tiger in his mind.

Maybe one day, when I'm strong enough… I can hunt it for Zhuqing.

—

Two days later, they emerged from the forest. The terrain leveled out, and in the far distance, plumes of smoke rose.

"Finally out! Man, I'm beat!" Shen An exclaimed.

Yan, who could now walk again, gnashed his teeth at those words. You're tired? You've been sitting in that damn soul tool car the whole time—how dare you complain?

Hu Liena glanced ahead, then at Shen An. After these days together, she'd grown very fond of him and felt reluctant to part.

"Let's go our separate ways here… Oh, and where are we now?" she asked.

Shen An smiled. He was genuinely happy to be out of the wilderness. Life out there had been hell—bugs everywhere, soul beast ambushes, and no comfy bed.

"This is the southeastern edge of the Barak Kingdom. A tiny part of the Star Dou Forest borders it," Hu Liena explained.

Shen An's eyes lit up. Perfect. I can head to the capital and settle that score with that Soul Sage.

"Alright then. Until we meet again," Shen An said with a smile.

"Li Feiyu… Can I ask you one more time? Will you join Spirit Hall? With your talent, you'd receive the best possible training."

Hu Liena looked at him earnestly.

Shen An smiled faintly. "I still prefer my freedom. But thank you for the offer."

Hu Liena looked a bit disappointed. Shen An's potential and combat strength were unlike anything she'd ever seen.

He could slice through thousand-year soul beasts like vegetables, and even ten-thousand-year ones were forced to retreat—not because he couldn't fight them, but because he didn't want to.

—

In the Spring of Life secret realm—

"Di Tian, it's been seven days! If you're not gonna save the Silver Dragon King, just say it outright!"

Xiong Jun raged. In his eyes, this so-called Beast God was totally unreliable.

"Shut up! Just give me one more month, I swear I'll crack it!"

Di Tian snapped back, bloodshot eyes glaring as he shouted in fury.