Shen An still left. After having a meal at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, he departed.
Patriarch Ning was quite generous—before Shen An left, he handed him a black card containing five hundred thousand gold soul coins.
With an air of nonchalance, Patriarch Ning said, "Just some trivial worldly possessions. I hope it can alleviate some unnecessary expenses in your life so you can focus more on cultivation."
Before Shen An could even refuse, Tom snatched the black card and clutched it to his chest, his eyes turning into the shape of gold soul coins—like a true money-loving little cat.
In Tom's view, Shen An had been injured, so what was wrong with taking some money? Consider it compensation for recuperation.
In the end, Shen An could only accept it with a smile.
"Shen An, why didn't you want to stay at my place?" Ning Rongrong asked curiously.
"Like you said, it's your home, not mine. I prefer my own little nest—and I'm sure Tom does too," Shen An replied with a chuckle.
Tom nodded seriously beside him. Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was grand, he still preferred his own little den.
A golden nest, a silver nest—none beats your own cat nest.
"By the way, Zhuqing, shouldn't you go back to school soon?" Shen An suddenly asked.
Zhu Zhuqing, who had been silently nodding along, stiffened. Ugh, why bring this up now?
"I'll go back… later. I don't want to return yet," she said evasively.
She wanted to improve her strength, but she also didn't want to leave Shen An's side. Yet Shen An wasn't willing to go to school with her, leaving her in a dilemma.
After returning home, Shen An flopped onto his bed with satisfaction. Ah, nothing beats the comfort of your own place.
"But my injuries seem to have completely healed. Even with the treatment from an auxiliary-type Soul Sage, this recovery speed is way too fast. Maybe it's because of my diluted Tom constitution," Shen An muttered to himself.
Well, no point overthinking it. At least it was beneficial.
He casually checked his fame points and was pleasantly surprised.
Fame Points: [97,692]
Shen An grinned. After being unconscious for half a day, my fame points have already climbed this high again? Nice!
Without hesitation, he went straight for the draws—ninety consecutive pulls!
Ding! Congratulations on obtaining: Small Soul Power Experience Pack ×9!
Ding! Congratulations on obtaining: Tom's Kung Fu Headband!
Ding! Congratulations on obtaining: Tom's Bully-Picking Rifle!
Curious, Shen An inspected the new items.
[Tom's Kung Fu Headband: When worn, Tom temporarily masters all Chinese martial arts. Duration: Two hours. (Tom: "I can take on ten at once!")]
[Tom's Bully-Picking Rifle: A formidable firearm far surpassing ordinary pistols. Comes with ten bullets. However, when facing a powerful enemy, the barrel might go soft from fear.]
(Note: Tuffy's Arsenal can replenish the rifle's bullets.)
Shen An stared blankly at his new acquisitions. This batch is… hard to judge.
A headband that lets Tom temporarily master all Chinese martial arts? The problem was, the system didn't specify the upper limit of those martial arts, making it hard to gauge its true potential.
As for the rifle… based on the description, it was strong against the weak but weak against the strong. In short… pretty damn useless.
Shen An stuffed both items into his diaper inventory.
Now, it was time for the fun part—leveling up!
One-click upgrade to 999? Hah, not happening.
He still had twenty-five small soul power experience packs left after using some earlier.
Previously, he'd used twenty to jump from Level 32 to Level 36. This time, he estimated he could reach Level 40.
He decided to use them one by one, since these packs not only boosted his level but could also rapidly restore his soul power in battle. If he had any left over, even better.
The higher the level, the more soul power was needed for each subsequent upgrade.
This time, Shen An used twenty-four packs before finally reaching Level 40.
This feeling of cheating your way to strength is just too good.
Shen An flexed his revitalized body, a confident smirk appearing on his face.
"If I had to take Sword Douluo's strike again now, I'd at most cough up some blood—no way I'd pass out on the spot."
Tom, watching from the side: "..."
Shen An then opened his system panel as usual. Sure enough, a small line of text appeared.
[System Soul Ring: Exchangeable for 2,000,000 fame points.]
The moment he saw that number, Shen An felt his vision darken. He clutched his chest in despair.
That's daylight robbery! How long will it take to save up that much?!
The staggering fame value requirement suddenly made Shen An feel like slacking off.
After lazing around for eight or nine days—well, not exactly lazing, since he'd been busy ever since arriving in Heaven Dou—he decided to take a short break and enjoy some carefree downtime before getting back to work.
Finally, the diligent Master Shen, eager to earn more fame points, headed to the Great Spirit Arena early. This time, Zhu Zhuqing accompanied him, while Ning Rongrong was still lazing in bed, unable to get up.
The students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy were too weak for Zhu Zhuqing. The instructors had arranged several opponents at the Soul Grandmaster level for her, but without exception, none could defeat her.
After all, Zhu Zhuqing had been trained by Tom. How could a bunch of greenhouse flowers ever hope to match her?
Her decision to go to the Great Spirit Arena with Shen An was also to test and improve her strength through combat.
"Shen An, what a coincidence running into you here!"
As soon as he entered, Shen An heard a familiar voice. Turning, he saw Dugu Yan—but her aura was vastly different from before. Gone was the previous gloominess, replaced by a radiant, almost majestic presence.
"Miss Dugu, what a coincidence. Here for a fight too?" Shen An greeted the girl who had almost become his goddaughter.
Dugu Yan nodded. "Yes. I heard that Shrek's group has been making quite a name for themselves here in the arena, so I wanted to… meet them."
Her tone carried a faint chill.
Shen An chuckled. "From the sound of it, you don't think too highly of them."
Tom, meanwhile, looked at Dugu Yan approvingly. As a petty cat, anyone who badmouthed Shrek was automatically his friend.
Dugu Yan's expression darkened. "My former teacher, Qin Ming, was someone every member of our team admired. Yet he abandoned us without hesitation for the sake of his so-called alma mater, Shrek Academy."
"So Tianheng and I are here to crush Shrek's momentum—to show him who the truly outstanding ones are."
Suddenly, her lips curled into a smile. "Speaking of which, I should thank you. The immortal herb my grandfather brought back—after consuming it, not only did my martial soul evolve, but my soul power also increased significantly. I'm now at Level 43."
At that moment, Yu Tianheng arrived as well, his gaze toward Shen An complicated. He had thought he'd already overestimated Shen An, but he never expected him to defeat his cousin—a Soul Ancestor.
"Shen An, thank you for what you did for Yan'er," Yu Tianheng said sincerely.
"No need for thanks," Shen An waved it off. "But this Shrek group—are they really that famous in the arena?"
"Extremely," Yu Tianheng confirmed. "Lately, they've been unstoppable. No ordinary team can defeat them—they've maintained a winning streak in team battles. That's why the Great Spirit Arena specially invited us to face them."
Shen An's eyes lit up.
"In that case… count me in! I love beating up Shrek!"
If they're this famous, then defeating them would surely rake in a ton of fame points, right?