Steadying His Realm, Morning Exercise

If he returned to the Star Luo Empire, he would face many troublesome trials that would drain his energy and take up a great deal of the time he could spend cultivating and improving his strength.

If that was the case, why should he return to the Star Luo Empire at all?

After all, neither his identity nor his talent had been exposed yet. Although the Heaven Dou Empire was a very dangerous place for a Star Luo prince like him,

the most dangerous place could very well be the safest.

By slipping deep behind enemy lines, he might escape the notice of the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall altogether, while his elder brother Dai Weisi's influence would also be beyond reach...

So if returning to the Star Luo Empire meant endless trouble, he would rather stay in the Heaven Dou Empire and develop in secret.

The lack of sufficient leverage to earn recognition and support upon returning to the Star Luo Empire was only one reason for his misgivings.

The second was that he wanted to take Shrek Academy, its teachers and students, with him when he returned to the Star Luo Empire.

Although the teachers at Shrek Academy had a fairly favorable impression of him at present, their favorability was not particularly high.

As for whether they would be willing to follow him away from their homes, "forsake" the Heaven Dou Empire, and join the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai had yet to ask Flender and the other teachers what they thought.

But even if they were truly willing, Dai Mubai himself still would not feel at ease.

That was because moving Shrek Academy to the Star Luo Empire and having its teachers and students go there was merely a matter of form and appearances.

What he truly wanted was to bring the teachers and his two exceptionally gifted schoolmates under his command, making them part of his camp and assets in his contest for the throne.

Until their favorability reached a level that satisfied him, whether he took them away and whether they were willing to follow him would have no value at all.

Therefore, before returning to the Star Luo Empire, he planned to spend more time and effort raising the favorability of the academy's teachers and students.

He did not expect to raise everyone's favorability to 100%, but he had to get it to at least 80%, with each person contributing a Favorability Treasure Chest, before he could truly feel reassured.

Besides that, there was another reason he was reluctant to return to the Star Luo Empire immediately.

There were still opportunities in the Heaven Dou Empire that he was unwilling to give up. If he gathered all those opportunities into his own hands,

they would increase the assets at his disposal, allowing him to gain more attention from his imperial father after returning to the Star Luo Empire and giving him a greater advantage in the contest to succeed to the throne.

And the opportunities Dai Mubai wanted to gather into his own hands, or the resources he could make plans to acquire,

were:

Liu Erlong, one of the Golden Iron Triangle, whom he had mentioned earlier and planned to help Dean Flender win over;

The Soul Bone dropped by the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin, Tang Hao's wife and Tang San's mother, in the cave behind the waterfall on the mountain behind Holy Soul Village;

And the many Immortal Herbs growing around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's medicinal garden, in the core region of the Sunset Forest.

These were all things Dai Mubai wanted to gather into his own hands.

If he acquired them, not only would his strength and the assets at his disposal increase,

but he could also greatly reduce the strength and opportunities of Tang San and other people or forces he disliked who might stand against him in the future.

He had considered that the imperial family would assign him guards after he returned to the Star Luo Empire.

But these so-called guards would most likely be secret guards who would only act when he faced a deadly threat. Ordinarily, he would most likely find it difficult to command them to do anything.

Secondly, if these imperial guards took action, those opportunities would belong not to him, but to the Star Luo Imperial Family. Even if he did acquire them, these matters would no longer be secret.

And Dai Mubai did not want other people to know these secrets.

Besides, acquiring some of the opportunities in the Heaven Dou Empire was only one reason he did not intend to return to the Star Luo Empire immediately.

The first two reasons were the most important.

Either of those reasons alone would make him more cautious about the decision to return to the Star Luo Empire and prompt him to make more preparations for it.

And now there were three reasons.

Dai Mubai was in no hurry to return to the Star Luo Empire.

Slowly, he cleared his mind and entered a state of deep meditative cultivation.

For the most urgent task at present was still to stabilize his Soul Power cultivation realm, which had recently soared. After that, he could begin improving his strength.

Whether he chose to stay in the Heaven Dou Empire or return to the Star Luo Empire, formidable strength was essential.

And Dai Mubai had some plans for improving his own strength.

Until he possessed formidable strength and a powerful protector, Dai Mubai had no intention of stirring up trouble for the time being. He would behave himself, keep a low profile, and develop in peace.

But even without going out to stir up trouble, Dai Mubai could still rapidly improve his strength by keeping a low profile and developing.

The Devouring ability of his god-level Second Martial Soul, the Demonic Weapon Tiger Soul, allowed him to rapidly raise his Soul Power Level.

He only needed to cultivate through meditation to consolidate and stabilize his Soul Power realm.

At the same time, he could explore, develop, and practice his Soul Skills, improving his control over his Soul Power, his proficiency with his Soul Skills, and his combat power.

He could also go to the Soto Great Soul Arena or spar with teachers such as Zhao Wuji and Li Yusong to gain practical combat experience and hone his fighting skills.

Immersed in meditative cultivation, Dai Mubai could neither feel time passing nor perceive much of the outside world. He did not even know when Ma Hongjun returned to the dormitory.

The night passed without incident, until dawn approached in the east and the first light appeared.

Dai Mubai, who had resolved to work hard from the moment he transmigrated, did not sleep until the sun was high in the sky as he usually did.

Instead, when he saw the eastern horizon turning pale through the window, he emerged from his meditative cultivation and woke.

After a night of meditative cultivation, his previously unstable Soul Power realm had indeed grown considerably firmer.

In particular, Dai Mubai had become more familiar with his powerful Soul Power cultivation and gained greater control over it.

Dai Mubai, who had been an ordinary person before transmigrating, was now gradually growing accustomed to his present identity, especially his identity as a Soul Master.

He had completed the transformation from an ordinary person into a Soul Master who wielded extraordinary power.

"Phew..." He opened his mouth and breathed out a breath of turbid air. The Soul Power that escaped stirred the dust on the room's windowsill.

He glanced at Ma Hongjun, who was fast asleep and snoring on the bed against the western wall of the dormitory room.

Dai Mubai got out of bed without waking him, then quietly closed the door behind him as he went out-

Shrek Academy was situated within the village, with no clear boundary between them. The village was Shrek School, and Shrek Academy was also part of the village.

In the early morning, the academy and the village were shrouded in a hazy mist. Compared with the bustling, prosperous Star Luo City, capital of the Star Luo Empire, in the original owner's memories, and Suotuo City, where the original owner had often spent his time over the past year,

the academy and village in the morning mist had a peaceful, tranquil beauty.

Gazing at the beautiful scene before him, Dai Mubai was even lost in a daze for a moment.