After hearing Li Xiaoyao's outrageous scheme—
Dai Mubai was completely dumbfounded.
Hide away and quietly build up his strength, wait until he broke through to become a Titled Douluo, then return to the Star Luo Empire in force and reclaim everything he had once lost?
What kind of thought process was Li Xiaoyao working with?
Was his usual approach always this wild?
This outrageous idea sounded a little absurd.
But—
For some reason, it also felt unbelievably reliable!
Dai Mubai opened his mouth and could not close it for a long while. His mind was filled with phrases like "Titled Douluo," "return in force," and "no one would dare stop him."
All his life, he had received the Star Luo Imperial Family's education of "the weak are prey to the strong, fight until death." On the path of succession, one either won or died. He had never considered that there could be an option like "lying low and making a comeback later."
Yet Li Xiaoyao's words were like a sheet of window paper—one poke, and it broke through.
That was right! Douluo Continent had always been a place where the strong reigned supreme. As long as one's strength was great enough, could not so-called failure and rules be overturned and rewritten?
The more he thought about it, the more his blood boiled. The shadow of death that had loomed over him because of his possible defeat by Dai Weisi was now completely scattered by this wild plan.
Although "hiding for ten years" sounded somewhat humiliating, compared to dying on the spot or living under Dai Weisi's shadow for the rest of his life, this was clearly a deal with nothing to lose!
"Brother Xiaoyao... this idea of yours..."
Dai Mubai swallowed, his voice filled with incredulous excitement.
"It's just... far too unexpected!"
"Now that I think about it carefully, this is practically a brilliant plan for surviving a dead end!"
Dai Mubai looked at Li Xiaoyao with blazing eyes. His earlier hesitation and concerns had long since vanished, leaving behind only longing and urgency for the future.
"Ten years! What's ten years?"
"As long as I can break through to Titled Douluo, forget ten years—even twenty years, I can wait!"
"When that time comes, I'll make the entire Star Luo Empire understand who its true master is!"
Douluo Continent, at its core, was a world where the strong reigned supreme.
The deterrence of a Titled Douluo was enough to rival an army of a hundred thousand, far more tangible than an emperor.
An emperor could be replaced after he was gone, but a Titled Douluo was not something one could have just because one wanted one.
As long as he, Dai Mubai, broke through to Titled Douluo, the Star Luo Imperial Family, the military marshals, and the court officials would surely cast aside all grudges and fight to invite him back.
Even if Dai Weisi had firmly secured the throne, he could only suppress his fear, greet him with a smile, and voluntarily relinquish power in the hopes that Dai Mubai would stay.
By then, it would not be Dai Mubai begging to return. It would be the Star Luo Empire begging him to remain.
If he wanted power, all the officials would support him. If he wanted revenge, the military would follow him. If he wanted freedom, the empire would provide for him.
The strong never needed to bow to rules, because they themselves were the rules.
Strength could erase all that had happened and bring supreme honor.
Seeing that Dai Mubai had come around, Li Xiaoyao merely smiled without speaking. His fingers lightly tapped against the table, while a knowing slyness flickered in his eyes.
Tang San and Oscar, on the other hand, wore expressions as strange as though they had swallowed flies.
The two of them had their mouths slightly open, wanting to speak but stopping themselves.
They looked at each other and saw the same shock in the other's eyes.
Good lord. Seriously, good lord.
You two—
One of you really dared to say it, and the other really dared to believe it!
Tang San raised an eyebrow and grumbled inwardly.
"Hide away until he becomes a Titled Douluo, then return?"
"This plan sounds utterly fantastical, yet coming from Li Xiaoyao's mouth and combined with Dai Mubai's situation, it somehow leaves no room for rebuttal... But would enduring ten or twenty years really be so easy?"
Oscar directly sucked in a cold breath and said to Tang San.
"Little San, listen to that. Is that even a path a normal person could come up with? Dai the Boss is usually so headstrong, yet he was actually persuaded?
"Brother Xiaoyao's thought process is even more outrageous than my sausage Soul Incantation!"
Though they said that, neither of them stepped forward to dissuade him.
They understood Dai Mubai's desperate situation and also understood the logic behind Li Xiaoyao's "wild approach."
Douluo Continent had always been a place where strength called the shots.
Rather than let Dai Mubai risk his life in a direct confrontation, it was better to gamble on the possibility of quietly building up his strength.
Li Xiaoyao seemed to sense their thoughts—
He raised his eyes and smiled.
"Tang San, Oscar!"
"Do you think my plan won't work?"
Tang San pondered for a moment before giving his answer.
"Your plan... isn't impossible, but... it's too risky, and it would be far too tormenting."
The Tang Sect had always operated by one principle: they might not repay kindness, but they repaid grudges on the spot.
Making him change his identity and endure for ten or twenty years—how was that any different from killing Tang San?
Oscar, beside him, nodded as well.
"Yeah, Brother Xiaoyao. Ten years is too long, and there are too many variables! What if Dai the Boss encounters a bottleneck midway, or people from the Star Luo Empire discover him..."
Dai Mubai's gaze sharpened as he said in a deep voice.
"There are no what-ifs! I've already made my decision. Even if the road ahead is filled with thorns, I'll walk it to the end!"
Between accepting his fate and slowly waiting for death, or quietly building up his strength before returning in force, Dai Mubai could still tell which choice was better.
Who would want to die if they could live?
Before, there had been no other way. The iron laws of the Star Luo Imperial Family had stood before him like an impassable chasm. Failure in the struggle for succession meant a dead end, so he could only force his way through despair, even knowing he might be smashed to pieces.
But now it was different. Li Xiaoyao's words were like a thunderbolt, splitting open the dead end in his understanding—there was another road beyond desperation.
Compared to becoming a sacrifice in the whirlpool of power, compared to living freely and happily for the rest of his life, what did a mere ten years of endurance matter?
Dai Mubai drew a deep breath. What churned in his chest was no longer despair, but burning obsession.
He looked at Li Xiaoyao, his gaze as firm as iron.
"Brother Xiaoyao, thank you for waking me up."
"From today onward, I, Dai Mubai, am no longer a prince trapped by the Imperial Family's rules. I'm a dreamer who will cultivate desperately in order to survive and reclaim everything!"
After a pause, Dai Mubai continued.
"Brother Xiaoyao, do you like Zhuqing?"
Li Xiaoyao: Σヽ(ﾟДﾟ;)ﾉ
Tang San: Σ(っQДQ;)っ
Oscar: ∑(O_O;)
"Brother Mubai, what are you..."
Li Xiaoyao's mouth hung slightly open as he stopped himself from speaking.
What was Dai Mubai trying to pull?
Faced with everyone's stares, Dai Mubai smiled instead.
"Brother Xiaoyao, to be honest!"
"Ever since I found a second path, I've completely thought things through."
"I know myself. I won't be able to spend the rest of my life with only one woman."
"Rather than completely ruin things with Zhuqing, it would be better to find her a good home."
"And you, Li Xiaoyao, are the best choice."
Li Xiaoyao: ∑(ΦдΦlll)
Good lord. Seriously, good lord.
Dai Mubai was planning to give Zhu Zhuqing to him?
As for such an act of extreme disrespect toward women, Li Xiaoyao naturally—
Before you continue