Zhao Yao's attention was first brought to Ares's abilities. The two ability branches were:

Tenacity Increase: Increase the tenacity of the deflective field, hence allowing the user to disperse the impact of the attack.

Shock Blow: Any opponent which comes into contact with the field would be dealt with a shocking blow, hence increasing its strength.

These two skills were the exact opposite. One would increase the defensive capability of deflective field while the other would increase the offensive capability.

Zhao Yao whispered to himself, "Tenacity increase will improve my defense significantly." Zhao Yao had always preferred to err on the side of caution, prompting him to go for the safer option. Furthermore, it would be recommended to stay on the defense during the upcoming compet.i.tion to prevent any opponents from exposing his powers.

Also, he knew that the government was heavily involved in this compet.i.tion from Inspector Ho's words. It was not advisable if he exposed all his powers in front of everyone.

A thought crossed his mind, "Actually, I think I'm already capable of producing a shock." Zhao Yao raised his hand in the air, with his palms facing skyward. With a squint of his eyes, a swirling deflective field had appeared alongside numerous sword auras, sending a slight tremor in the surroundings.

Zhao Yao understood that an ordinary tremor would be rather insignificant to his offensive a.r.s.enal. he must produce a high-intensity vibration to deliver a potent attack.

He pondered about it and concluded that it was something achievable through sheer practice and hence decided to take a gamble with tenacity increase, improving his defense once again.

With Ares's ability settled, he flipped to Lucifer's page. The new powers were:

Regeneration speed increase: Increase the speed of regeneration by one fold.

Regeneration of wound: The more severe the injuries, the tougher the body becomes.

Zhao Yao closed his eyes shut as he began weighing the possibilities. The first power was extremely straightforward. It simply increased the rate of regeneration. Lucifer's current rate of regeneration was already bordering on insanity, increasing it by one fold was simply unbelievable.

The full potential of the second ability

could only be unleashed in dire circ.u.mstances when his body was plagued with injuries. This would put Zhao Yao in a precarious position – something he would avoid at all cost.

Hence, there was no hesitation as Zhao Yao tapped on the first skill.

With both Ares and Lucifer upgraded, Zhao Yao felt so much safer coming into the compet.i.tion.

At the same time, Dust Ball had already buried herself in Zhao Yao's arms somehow. She stared at him with a pair of Puss-in-boots eyes before pleading, "Zhao Yao! Can I please have some supper?"

"Alright," Zhao Yao obliged with a smile on his face as he made his way to the kitchen before preparing their cat rice.

Half an hour later, all the cats gathered at the dining table before devouring the bowl of cat rice lying in front of them.

Zhao Yao could not help but cackled when he saw just how happy they were with the food, "Oh yes, tomorrow will be the start of the compet.i.tion. Remember to give your best. Whenever I call you via Dust Ball, do not hesitate to give your all. Understood?"

Meow!

The supercats obliged obediently with the delectable cat rice sliding down their throat. Even the maverick, Cat Rice, dared not refute Zhao Yao's words while gobbling down the food.

She whispered to herself, "Hmph, I shall just obey your instructions on the account of today's food."

Naturally, Uncle Egg was the happiest one amongst them all. He could not help but shut his eyes after every bite before moaning. He could feel every grain of rice dancing between his teeth before sliding their way down his throat.

"A tinge of catmint infused within the bed of meat. This has completely brought out the freshness of the ingredients! It's simply too good!"

Lightning completely buried his head in the bowl as all sorts of silly ideas ran through his head, "It's futile to follow under Hanako. I should spend the rest of my life with Zhao Yao. I get good food and water under him. Also, I stand a chance to increase my power …"

With the thought at the back of his head, he raised his head and commented, "Zhao Yao, do not worry. I will be there in an instant the moment you ask for me."

Zhao Yao reciprocated with a condescending glare, "Who said I needed your help?" Immediately, Lightning was drowned with grief. He decided to numb himself with another bowl of delicious cat rice.

Zhao Yao surveyed the cats which had completely submitted to his rule, "The legendary cat rice is not only delicious but rakes in lots of experience points. It also makes these brats more contented with their lives."

With this thought, Zhao Yao had returned to the belly with the remaining cat rice.

"Time for supper!"

Dozens of shadows had instantaneously bolted next to Zhao Yao the moment he entered the extradimensional belly. They stared at this delicacy before stretching open their mouths and devouring it in mouthfuls.

Zhao Yao had brought it here a few days ago to their delight.

Zhao Yao beamed from ear to ear when he saw just how much they enjoyed his cooking. Sphynx Cat could not help but lick his lips when the fragrance poured into his nostrils, "Zhao Yao, faster. I also want some."

He left a tiny bowl of cat rice by Sphynx Cat's cage before explaining Ares's and Lucifer's upgrade to them all. Power and food were the two keys to command respect from these obnoxious cats.

"Ares, your deflective field has grown stronger. Lucifer, your rate of regeneration has become even faster."

A commotion broke out amongst the cats when they heard the news. All of them stared at Ares and Lucifer, green with envy.

Ares maintained his cool and continued polis.h.i.+ng off the remaining food. On the other hand, Lucifer had already dashed to Rakshasa before exclaiming, "Rakshasa, come and test my new power!" Lucifer's eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with excitement.

Rakshasa slid Lucifer a disdainful look before muttering, "You pervert!"

"I always knew that you have belittled me! You can continue abusing me with words or even your punches or kicks! I will not fight back! I will move you with my love!" Lucifer sat on the floor, with his forehead creased together.

"So you enjoy getting bullied? You are a true psycho!" Rakshasa acceded to the request with a punch straight to Lucifer's body, sending him flying into the air. However, Lucifer had already recovered during his fall. By the time he landed, he was already unscathed! He simply let out a soft whimper.

"Do … do not stop! Rakshasa, do not suppress your brutality! Vent it all on me!"

Zhao Yao stared speechless at this astounding scene before commenting, "Stop playing and have your supper. This is bad for your health."

"Zhao Yao?" Lucifer suddenly broached the topic, "Have you managed to find Xiao s.h.i.+ Yu? I owe my life to her for taking care of me before I was awakened. I want to repay her kindness by lending her my power."

Zhao Yao curled his lips together and remarked, "That's an extremely dangerous idea to have."

"Don't you agree that this is the strongest power? No attack could possibly hurt me! It simply gives me joy and happiness! I will use my love to change the world!" Lucifer pounced on Zhao Yao's shoe and demanded, "Use your foot and trample me! Abuse me!"

Zhao Yao just sent Lucifer flying into a corner with a simple kick. He let out a few awkward coughs before continuing, "Everyone, you should learn from Ares and Lucifer. Continue to train relentlessly and do your part for cat nation's future! Your hard work will be rewarded with superior cat rice and an upgrade to your powers."

Diana rolled her eyes when she noticed Lucifer moaning in the corner of the room, "Maybe it's not such a good thing to upgrade our power."

"Really?" Caesar thought with his brows knitted together, "I find Lucifer's power extremely interesting."

Sphynx Cat who was resting in the cage stared curiously at Lucifer and thought, "The power of regeneration has truly improved. Does he really have the power to improve my strength? If I can improve my power …" A tinge of hesitation flashed across his eyes.

After prepping all the cats, Zhao Yao returned to the apartment for Baiquan. Zhao Yao handed him a special collar which would instantly turn him into Zhao Yao. This was a backup solution when both Elizabeth and Zhao Yao were busy.

When Zhao Yao was gone alone, Elizabeth was responsible for conjuring the illusions and preparing the meals for Old Man Zhuang.

A cat's palate differed greatly from a human's. Also, Old Man Zhuang had so many new requests every single day. It was impossible to satisfy him with the collar. Zhao Yao prayed that Elizabeth could somehow manage the situation.

With everything settled, Zhao Yao collapsed on his bed as he eagerly awaited the start of the compet.i.tion.

He immediately switched on his superphone for any updates the following morning.

Naturally, he was greeted with a text.

All contestants were required to reach x.x.xxx by 2359hrs.

Zhao Yao read the address and knew that it was a beach on the southern end of Jiangmen City

"There's enough time for me to go to work and reach there before 2359, but why did they choose a beach?"

Zhao Yao, Matcha, and Roly Poly were five kilometers away from the destination as they made their way through a housing estate at 2200hrs.

With the car stashed within his belly, Zhao Yao had donned on his favorite black robes with Roly Poly hidden inside it. Meanwhile, Matcha was just resting on top of his head.

Zhao Yao would prefer to conceal his ident.i.ty from this compet.i.tion. However, if forced to divulge, he would choose to reveal the ident.i.ty of the headless horseman.

The trio made their way towards the beach as Zhao Yao's acute senses quickly picked up all the movements up ahead.

"There are … so many cats."

With 'four is better than three', Zhao Yao made it through the sandy beach comfortably to a place teeming with humans and cats.

Some were hiding in a corner observing the situation. Some chose to stand in the middle and began chatting with the other partic.i.p.ants.

Those in the middle were either hugging their cats, chatting, using their phones or playing with sand. He could not help but shake his head at this scene. They were either too confident or completely oblivious to the danger lurking around. They must have thought that this was a simple gathering.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted when he noticed a familiar figure standing amongst the crowd.