[Transmigrated as Dai Mubai]

"Hiss..."

"My head hurts."

"Where am I?"

As consciousness returned from the muddled haze, 'Dai Mubai' found his head heavy and foggy, his entire body weak and aching, as though he were suffering from a hangover.

He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a shabby old wooden cabin, with an old wooden frame bed against the wall on each of its eastern and western sides.

He was lying on the wooden frame bed on the eastern side of the room.

Before 'Dai Mubai' could give it much thought, he suddenly felt a swelling pressure in his head.

The swelling sensation grew into a splitting headache.

A flood of memories burst forth in his mind.

Dai Mubai clenched his teeth and endured as the memories fused with his own. After digesting them, he finally understood what had happened to him.

"I actually transmigrated!"

"And I transmigrated into the world of Douluo Continent."

"I became the leader of the protagonist's team, the Shrek Seven Devils-the Evil Eye White Tiger, 'Dai Mubai,' whose name is so similar to mine!!!"

'Dai Mubai' held his forehead and rubbed his temple with his thumb, his eyes wide as he absorbed the shocking situation.

After all, he had grown up in a world where the supernatural had vanished, a world known as the Dharma-ending Age, where materialism prevailed.

Something like transmigration was simply too miraculous.

Fortunately, 'Dai Mubai' had a good mentality. He soon collected himself, calmed down, and accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.

From now on, he was Dai Mubai, and Dai Mubai was him.

He also felt that transmigrating as Dai Mubai wasn't such a bad thing.

Quite the opposite.

At that moment, what he felt most about this marvelous thing that had happened to him was joy and excitement.

Though he had a refined name like 'Dai Mubai,' one with a cultured meaning and a sense of style, appearances could be deceiving.

In truth, he had been an orphan with no parents in his previous life, and the name had been casually chosen by the orphanage director, who loved reading romance novels.

Life had been hard in his previous life. After growing up and entering society, he had no connections or background, and no exceptional talent of his own, so his days remained difficult.

By contrast, the Dai Mubai whose place he had taken after transmigrating...

He was the third prince of the Star Luo Empire, one of the two great empires on Douluo Continent.

Compared with his status as an orphan in his previous life, the two were as far apart as heaven and earth, as different as clouds and mud.

The original owner was also engaged to a beautiful fiancée like Zhu Zhuqing, who was both coolly beautiful and sexy. That was something he wouldn't have dared dream of in his previous life.

Now that he had transmigrated and taken Dai Mubai's place, inheriting everything the original owner had, including his status and engagement, how could he not be happy?

Although certain things in the past had caused a rift between the original owner and his fiancée, and Zhu Zhuqing had yet to truly accept him,

he knew the original story well and knew that, after the two went through certain things together in the future, Zhu Zhuqing would ultimately still end up with Dai Mubai;

And although the Star Luo Imperial Family's system for choosing an heir to the throne was cruel,

those who lost the competition would have their Soul Power cultivation crippled and be confined for life.

They could even be eliminated outright.

The original owner also had an older brother who was six years his senior and far stronger than him.

Under normal circumstances, the original owner's chances of winning the competition to inherit the throne were essentially zero.

The original owner had seen his own fate and ending clearly.

That was why he had fled all the way from the Star Luo Empire into the territory of the hostile Heaven Dou Empire.

He had grown dispirited, given himself over to indulgence, and become engrossed in pleasure, venting the resentment, unwillingness, and despair in his heart.

It was as though he were indulging in one last revel before fate brought down the executioner's blade.

But he knew the original story well.

As the plot unfolded, the Shrek Seven Devils would gradually come together.

With the help of a group of friends and companions who could support, trust, and rely on one another, Dai Mubai would ultimately succeed in changing his desperate fate.

Although he was beset by difficulties now, with all kinds of hardships and dangers ahead,

as long as he knew there was hope of turning things around, he would not feel too despairing.

It also made it easier for him to accept his transmigration, and the fact that he had transmigrated as Dai Mubai, this dissolute prince.

Life had been hard for him in his previous life because he was an orphan, because he had no resources or opportunities, not because he hadn't worked hard enough.

Now that he had transmigrated as Dai Mubai, although the danger and pressure were greater, his status as a prince of the Star Luo Empire also gave him more resources and opportunities.

He believed that, through his own efforts, he could certainly achieve the success he had always yearned for.

At the same time, he would certainly be able to rewrite the fate and ending that had left the original owner dispirited and despairing.

"Since I've taken your body and received and inherited everything you had,

"I'll make sure to live well for your sake as well as my own."

With that thought, Dai Mubai felt much more at ease.

It was as though the original owner's lingering obsession within this body had completely dissipated.

At the same time, it was as though his soul had completely become one with this body.

Turning his thoughts back...

Dai Mubai began sorting through the memories in his mind and making plans for the future.

First of all, at this point in time, the original story had yet to officially begin.

Or rather, the story of the original protagonist, Tang San, had already begun, but he, a supporting character, had yet to get involved in the protagonist's storyline.

That was because the original owner's memories contained no information about the Shrek Academy admissions from the original story.

He was only thirteen years old and had been at Shrek Academy for less than a year.

At present, aside from the original owner, the only students at Shrek Academy were Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

The other four members of the Shrek Seven Devils-Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and the original owner's fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing-had yet to arrive.

Based on the fact that he had been fifteen when Shrek Academy recruited students and Tang San and the others arrived, he could make a rough estimate.

"There should be about two years left before the Shrek Academy storyline begins."

"I need to make good use of those two years and work hard to increase my strength. I can't let myself sink into dejection and depravity like the original owner."

Dai Mubai thought to himself.

Growing stronger and achieving success and distinction were not only what his ordinary, mediocre self had yearned for in his previous life;

they were also required by his present status.

He was now the third prince of the Star Luo Empire, and the Star Luo Imperial Family's cold-blooded, cruel system for choosing an heir to the throne was there for all to see.

Although, according to the original story,

in the future, the Shrek Academy Team would defeat the Star Luo Royal Academy Team, of which his older brother Dai Weisi was a member, in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament,

and he would emerge victorious in the competition to become the Star Luo Imperial Family's heir to the throne,

the original story was the original story, and reality was reality.

He could use the original story as a reference, but he couldn't trust it completely.

If he took it for granted that he too could change his fate simply because the original owner had succeeded in breaking free of its shackles in the original story, and grew complacent as a result,

then even if the ending awaiting him wasn't elimination, or having his cultivation crippled and being confined for life, it definitely wouldn't be much better-