Chapter 148: Temporary Member of the Imperial Fighting Team, Tom, Requests to Beat Up Shrek

As early as the third day of Shen An's battle against Dugu Bo, a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School disciple named Kong Fei found an excuse to leave the sect.

After taking many detours, he arrived at the Spirit Hall's Supreme Temple in Heaven Dou City.

"Reporting to the Bishop, a young Soul Elder from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School recently withstood a first soul skill attack from Sword Douluo without dying."

"According to my inquiries, this youth is named Shen An. Though not a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he seems to have a close relationship with Ning Rongrong, and has received high praise from Ning Fengzhi and others."

Salas doubted his own ears. What nonsense was this? A Soul Elder could withstand Sword Douluo's first soul skill? This sounded like a fairy tale.

"Are you serious?" he asked again.

Kong Fei, kneeling on the ground, broke out in cold sweat. His superior didn't trust him.

"This subordinate witnessed it personally. Other disciples also saw him walking out of the sect alive and well the next day, though Tan Jing the Soul Sage did provide treatment."

Salas's face darkened like still water. He was sinister, cunning, and lustful, but his loyalty to Spirit Hall was unwavering. Kong Fei was one of the spies he had planted in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

Their mission was to identify any talented youths early so they could be eliminated, ensuring Spirit Hall's unshakable dominance.

Yet, after all this time, he had never heard of any outstanding talents from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Now, the first report he received was this explosive news.

What kind of Soul Elder could withstand a strike from a Titled Douluo? And that was Sword Douluo, renowned for his offensive power!

"Very well. Go to the finance department and collect ten thousand soul coins. Continue monitoring the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's movements. When you return to Spirit Hall in the future, I guarantee you three promotions."

If you wanted a horse to run fast, you had to feed it well. Salas was not stingy, and he was generous with his promises.

Watching Kong Fei leave, Salas muttered to himself, "Shen An... is there really such a prodigy?"

"Not a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, yet closely connected... I wonder if there's a chance to recruit him for Spirit Hall. If not... then such a person should not exist."

"Someone, investigate this person named Shen An. Within three days, I want all his information."

Back to the present day at Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.

Upon hearing Shen An's request to join, Yu Tianheng instinctively wanted to refuse.

After all, this battle against Shrek was, on one hand, an invitation from Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena. On the other hand, it was meant to prove to Qin Ming that they were far superior to Shrek. Why would they let an outsider like Shen An participate?

But then he suddenly remembered—Shen An had once defeated them single-handedly, and he frequently participated in spirit battles. His spirit battle rank was probably quite high by now.

After some quick calculations, Yu Tianheng smiled and said, "Of course you can join. But Shen An, what's your current spirit battle rank?"

Shen An answered without hesitation, "Gold rank. Aren't you all the same?"

Shen An thought this was basic—just don't lose a single match. Could the geniuses of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect not manage that?

What he didn't realize was that even though Yu Tianheng had few rivals among Soul Elders, Silver-rank Soul Elders were already rare. Most cherished their reputations and were unwilling to fight recklessly.

Even Yu Tianheng himself had only reached Gold rank by participating in cross-rank challenges.

Though he had suspected as much, Yu Tianheng still felt his breath hitch. A Gold-rank Soul Elder? Do you think everyone is a freak like you?

"Then I'm afraid it won't work. The Gold rank is too high. The highest rank in Shrek is only Silver. If you join, we won't be able to fight them under the arena's rules."

Shen An was disappointed. Just then, he felt a tug at his pants. He didn't need to look to know it was Tom.

Tom excitedly pointed at itself, then rolled up its sleeves and flexed its arms. A small blue bulge popped up, though it hardly resembled muscle.

"You want to go fight Shrek?"

Tom nodded its little head vigorously. If Shen An couldn't participate, then Tom would fight in his stead!

Shen An fell silent. It wasn't that he doubted Tom's combat ability—Tom's strength was always a mystery—but he hadn't expected Tom to be so bold today, showing no fear of humans at all.

Little did Shen An know, as a cat that bullied the weak and feared the strong, Tom had never suffered any losses in its previous encounters with Shrek. This had made it overconfident.

"Miss Dugu, Tom's spirit battle rank is very low—practically nonexistent. How about letting it take my place?" Shen An said seriously.

Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng both fell silent. Had the spirit arena ever allowed a cat to participate before?

"Should I go ask?" Dugu Yan said hesitantly.

Yu Tianheng looked at her with disbelief, as if saying, Yan'er, do you realize what you're suggesting?

Shen An had cured her congenital poison and helped her soul evolve into the Emerald Phosphorus Divine Dragon. She owed him too much to refuse, even if his suggestion was utterly absurd.

"What? You want to temporarily replace a member—no, replace a person with a cat?"

The person in charge of Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena couldn't believe his ears.

Dugu Yan replied with slight hesitation, "Yes, we want to replace a member with a cat. But don't worry, this cat is very weak. It's just symbolic."

"I recall the arena's rules allow weaker participants to fight stronger ones, right? This cat is less than a hundred years old and definitely won't affect the outcome."

"Besides, I guarantee we will win this match."

The manager, Gao Hao, said helplessly, "Miss Dugu, this isn't really in line with the rules. And with one less member, your chances of winning will decrease."

Dugu Yan said calmly, "I stake the reputation of the Imperial Fighting Team on this—we absolutely will not lose. And I hope you'll consider my grandfather's status and allow this cat to participate."

Gao Hao's eyelids twitched. Even though the Great Spirit Arena had formidable backing, they still had to show some deference to a Titled Douluo. Such was the influence of top-tier powerhouses on the Douluo Continent.

Though Dugu Bo was known as the weakest Titled Douluo, he was still not someone they could afford to offend casually.

With a bitter smile, Gao Hao said, "Fine. But can I take this cat for a quick inspection? Even though it looks weak, we still need to follow procedure to avoid violating the rules."

Dugu Yan nodded. "Of course."

Gao Hao turned to Tom. "Miss Dugu, could you ask this... cat gentleman to extend its paw?"

Before Dugu Yan could speak, Tom obediently stretched out its paw. The manager's eyes flickered with surprise—this cat was far too intelligent.

As a Soul Sage, Gao Hao only needed to lightly squeeze Tom's paw to confirm it was soft and weak—clearly incapable of even restraining a chicken.

He then channeled soul power through Tom's body for a quick check.

Good, just a clever house cat with zero combat ability.

"Inspection complete. This is a cute and intelligent cat with no fighting capability. It is permitted to participate."

Dugu Yan made a slight amendment: "Soul power level—forty-three."