The theory class teacher had always been Lu Qibin. His knowledge was extensive, and it seemed that he had once belonged to some powerful force. For unknown reasons, after coming to Shrek Academy, he stayed there permanently.
Oscar didn't really care to find out, so he never asked. In his opinion, Lu Qibin's knowledge was far more practical than the socalled "Grandmaster."
After all, the Grandmaster's so called theory of the "Ten Core Competencies" wasn't very useful in Lu Qibin's view, and most of the knowledge within it could be found in books.
But one thing the Grandmaster did do well was to organize and categorize all that information so that others didn't have to search for it themselves.
Oscar felt that perhaps the Grandmaster did have some real skill, but the main value of his "Ten Core Competencies" was simply summarizing and compiling the work of predecessors to make it easier for ordinary soul masters and commoners to look up.
The problem was, the Grandmaster shamelessly claimed all of that as his own theory, which was rather offputting.
And if he didn't have the status of being the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect master's son, how could a mere Grandmaster level soul master with only two spirit rings dare to call himself a "theory master"? If that weren't the case, someone would have beaten him to death already.
There are hundreds of thousands of soul masters on the Douluo Continent. While 99% of them pride themselves on their strength, a small number choose to study theory to contribute to development.
Lu Qibin, however, studied theory purely out of personal interest. To him, Yu Xiaogang (the Grandmaster) was simply putting on a show.
Because of Flender's presence, and due to his own personality, Lu Qibin simply ignored Yu Xiaogang.
Even in the original story, Lu Qibin and Yu Xiaogang had almost no interaction, for exactly this reason.
In the original, the only reason Lu Qibin didn't interfere with Yu Xiaogang's teaching of the Shrek Seven Devils was because, with their natural talent, they wouldn't fade into mediocrity anyway.
Otherwise, with Yu Xiaogang's teaching style, if not for Tang San being the protagonist, he might have ruined the Seven Devils within two years.
After all, training methods like carrying rocks and running as the main exercises were indeed a bit laughable.
Still, Oscar didn't comment too much, as long as Yu Xiaogang didn't interfere with him.
In the morning theory class, Oscar sat with Dugu Yan, while Ma Hongjun sat with Dai Mubai.
Oscar no longer needed to supplement his theory knowledge whatever Lu Qibin knew, Oscar already knew.
He mostly sat there working on his own things, only answering Dugu Yan's questions when she had doubts.
He was only there to keep her company, and once she was focused, he left the classroom and went to find Gai Yue.
By now, Oscar had fully mastered both ice and fire elements. But to completely integrate them into his swordsmanship and unleash their full potential, he still needed training.
In this, Gai Yue was undoubtedly an exper this Frost Moon Sword was an ice attribute sword martial soul, and the ice attribute played an indispensable role in his swordsmanship.
Gai Yue was not at all stingy with Oscar, teaching him every detail of how to perfectly integrate elemental attributes into swordsmanship.
Besides swordsmanship, Oscar also trained with Zhao Wuji, mainly using Zhao's gravity control to strengthen his body.
This soul skill was not only formidable in combat, but also greatly aided Oscar and Ma Hongjun's training.
In the afternoon, Oscar would bring Dugu Yan and Dai Mubai to train under Zhao Wuji's gravity control, practicing skill coordination.
Dugu Yan, at 16 years old and at peak level 35, wasn't as talented as Oscar or Ma Hongjun, but her foundation was solid and she worked hard.
Dai Mubai now fully obeyed Oscar, never slacking in training and sometimes exceeding expectations.
A month passed, and after spending time together every day, Oscar's opinion of Dai Mubai greatly improved.
This Dai Mubai was different from the playboy of the original story. Maybe due to Ma Hongjun's earlier discipline and Oscar's guidance, Dai Mubai was now ambitious and goal driven, not decadent.
Oscar once asked him why, as a prince of the Star Luo Empire, he had come to the Heaven Dou Empire, and to such a small, remote academy.
Before, Dai Mubai would have deflected with smooth words. But after living with Oscar for a while, his mindset had changed.
When Oscar asked, Dai Mubai smiled and told the truth.
His elder brother was seven years older. Though less talented, his brother had the advantage of age, and since childhood, Dai Mubai had lived under his shadow.
Although he had not yet been threatened with death, the oppressive environment kept him on edge. At 12, he chose to escape.
What he hadn't expected was that just a year at Shrek would change his mindset entirely.
He regretted running away, because he hadn't been alone since birth he had a fiancée who had fought alongside him.
Because of his cowardice, he left her to face that pressure alone and she was two years younger than him.
That night, after Oscar asked, Dai Mubai stayed up all night talking to him.
In the end, he said that if possible, he wanted to go back not to die, but to bring his fiancée here.
At Shrek, he had found genuine friendship, untainted by anything else.
If he could bring her here to grow together, maybe they'd have the courage and confidence to face their fate.
Oscar was happy for him, but didn't want to disrupt the original plot. Also, going to Star Luo now would take time.
So Oscar didn't agree to accompany him he advised him to leave things to fate.
Dai Mubai hesitated, but decided to go anyway. Even if he couldn't return, he couldn't keep running especially knowing Zhu Zhuqing faced his brother and sister in law alone.
Seeing his resolve, Oscar agreed to help, reasoning that the worst outcome was simply that they wouldn't be at Shrek.
If Dai Mubai could make such a decision, it meant he had truly grown, and having such a partner would be an honor for Oscar.
Before setting out, they decided on one last power up. With Flender's approval, Dai Mubai was given Whale Glue.
But he had to keep this secret if word got out, Shrek would blacklist him and hunt him endlessly.
Oscar told him this directly. Though shocked by the effects of Whale Glue, Dai Mubai agreedhe had no choice.
After taking Whale Glue, Dai Mubai's physical strength improved noticeably, and his spirit power rose from level 29 to 30a huge boost.
He now needed only one more spirit ring to become a Soul Elder, and his confidence in rescuing Zhu Zhuqing grew.
While he took Whale Glue, Oscar took the "Water Piercing Autumn Eyes Pill" he had prepared earlier.
It had been over a year since he took the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Fiery Apricot, and he had fully absorbed them. Now, the pill posed no side effects.
This elixir greatly boosted his spiritual power, which was already near Soul Emperor level. By level 40, both his body and mind might surpass level 60.
If so, his fourth spirit ring could reach 30,000 yearsa massive increase in power and talent.
After a month since returning to Shrek, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Zhao Wuji set off for Star Dou Forest to get Dai's third spirit ring.
After that, they would head straight to the Star Luo capital to secretly rescue Zhu Zhuqing.
Gai Yue and Flender didn't come too many people would draw attention.
Star Luo was not like Heaven Dou it had stronger military and soul master forces, including Title Douluo, and the royal family and Zhu clan possessed a terrifying martial soul fusion skill.
Rescuing someone from under their noses was risky, and Oscar wasn't fully confident.
But in the original plot, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's escape was likely tacitly allowed by the emperor. Otherwise, two 20 something Grandmasters could never leave the capital.
If that was true, then they only needed to send the right signal the emperor wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
Oscar and Zhao Wuji would act in the shadows, with success depending mainly on Dai Mubai and how the emperor viewed the brothers' rivalry.
If events followed the original, the emperor might even secretly facilitate their departure.
If so, Oscar had little to worry abou the just had to ensure no mistakes and get her out safely.
It wouldn't even change the plot muchjust bring Zhu Zhuqing to Shrek over a year earlier.
That might even strengthen her bond with Dai Mubai and speed up their growth.
If Dai Mubai could be cultivated into a reliable ally, then one day, with him on the throne, Oscar could use his power for greater plans.
If successful, Oscar's future ambitions would be much easier to achieve.
With that thought, Oscar became even more inclined to train Dai Mubai as long as he didn't revert to his playboy ways, he could become a major asset.
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