More than two weeks later.
Balak Kingdom, Soto City, the dilapidated-looking Shrek Academy...
Hidden behind the shadows, Salas watched a handsome young boy running toward the square excitedly.
The young, handsome boy with peach blossom eyes was none other than Oscar, the sausage master.
He had finally broken through to level 30 today. Upon arriving at the square, he excitedly shared this good news with the four-eyed Flender and his new companions.
"After waiting for a few days, this scene finally happened..." Salas muttered in his heart.
He had been waiting patiently for Oscar's breakthrough. Now that it had finally happened, the group would naturally head to Star Dou Forest to hunt for a soul ring.
Of course, Salas could directly go and search the Star Dou Forest with his mental power to find that Man-Faced Demon Spider. But Salas didn't want to. First, he wasn't sure if he could find it quickly; second, he feared that because of his involvement, the situation in the forest might change unexpectedly and push events in a different direction.
After all, if he went there earlier and disturbed the beasts in the forest, the spider might move in a different direction.
From his novel knowledge, Salas remembered that the Man-Faced Demon Spider came to the periphery of Star Dou Forest because of the Titan Giant Ape's presence.
So it was best to keep the timing the same... For that, Salas didn't even interact with people in Soto City or with the main characters of the world, afraid that it would affect Oscar's breakthrough timing.
Even if Oscar's breakthrough were delayed by a single day from the original timeline, they might not encounter the Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent or the Man-Faced Demon Spider...
As for luck or destiny correcting the events?
Salas didn't believe in that.
"If luck could influence this, how did I absorb the Mirror Image Beast's soul ring? Heh. If my knowledge of the novel is correct, the so-called 'opportunities' were arrangements made by the Plane Spirit..." Salas thought.
He remembered when Tang Hao became the Douluo Plane Master by refining the Plane Spirit...
There were also many signs that pointed to the Plane Spirit being in a weakened state whenever it arranged opportunities for the sons of destiny.
"If the Plane Spirit had strength now, wouldn't it try to bring me bad luck? Heh. Could it be that it didn't notice? Of course, it only means that it's weak and can't influence me—or it really didn't see Salas's changes because it's in retreat, trying to recover its strength..."
"So what's there to worry about? I'll just take whatever I want..." Salas was completely cool-headed.
Would the Plane Spirit kill him just because he foiled its plans?
Impossible. The Plane Spirit must have its constraints and must be unable to interfere right now.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to just kill Bibi Dong with its power and provide Tang San a smooth journey to godhood? Wouldn't that reduce any unexpected variables in Tang San's path?
...
Soon, Flender called Zhao Wuji and arranged for him to take the new students out to gain experience.
Salas watched everything unfold silently.
His Mirroring Stealth soul skill was truly OP when it came to stealth and hiding.
With his current soul power level of 83, it only cost him 5% of his soul power to activate the skill.
Once activated, it would consume just 5% of his soul power per hour. Literally, he could stay in stealth mode for nineteen hours straight before running out of soul power.
Of course, every time he reverted back to his normal form, the skill would enter a five-hour cooldown.
So if he wanted to use this skill to its full potential, it was best to stay in that state continuously. It would take the same five-hour cooldown whether he used it for nineteen hours or just a few minutes.
Turning stealth for a few minutes but then having to wait five hours to use it again... that was just too wasteful.
...
Once Zhao Wuji and the Seven Devils hit the road, Salas deactivated his skill, even though he still had nearly 30% of his soul power remaining.
"Since I only have this soul skill... if any danger comes, it's my only method of escape. So it's necessary to have full control over when I can enter the mirror state," Salas mused.
Since he had to take action and might need to use soul power while dealing with the Man-Faced Demon Spider, he had two choices. First, he could follow the group continuously in stealth mode and be forced to revert when fighting the spider.
Second, he could follow them without stealth, kill the spider, then activate the skill to escape if anything unexpected occurred.
"Between the two, I prefer the second. But from what I remember of the plot, it seems I may need to use my soul skill earlier... I'll assess the situation and decide then," Salas muttered to himself.
Getting onto a carriage, Salas headed in the direction of Star Dou Forest.
After all, there was no need to run behind them. Isn't it better to travel comfortably in a carriage?
...
As time passed, night fell.
A small city outside Star Dou Forest.
Inside a restaurant, Salas—wearing a hood and black robe—ate his food leisurely as he watched the events unfold with interest.
It was the same plot of Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun teasing the Blue Sunshine Academy girl.
"I must say... the girls in this world are really beautiful... Even normal girls are on par with Earth's celebrities," Salas thought as he glanced at a Blue Sunshine Academy girl.
She was on the same level as that lady who had served Salas's snake that day.
But Salas only looked at her once before turning his head away.
He wasn't interested anymore. If it had been a few days earlier, he might have been captivated by her looks and figure.
But after arriving at Shrek Academy and meeting the three—Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing—he was no longer short-sighted.
These three girls were at least several levels above the ordinary beauties the original Salas had slept with.
From his memories, Salas could tell that the original Salas had only seen such beauty in Bibi Dong until now.
Even Tang Yuehua and Hu Liena, from the memories, weren't as good-looking.
These three girls were unbelievably beautiful, with pink-white skin that looked like it would drip with juice if bitten, and delicately carved features like seductive art.
Among them, Salas's eyes stayed the longest on Zhu Zhuqing's big melons. He had the urge to pounce on her without caring about anything.
"Sigh... it must be the original Salas's memories corrupting me that I'm having these perverted thoughts," Salas shook his head, trying to rid himself of those unhealthy thoughts.