"Elder Bai, you must uphold justice for me! I've spent half a lifetime on this Beast Battle Arena, with annual costs of at least twenty to thirty million gold soul coins! Now they're slashing the budget—am I supposed to pay for everything myself?!"
Elder Gong was furious.
He had gone to sleep, only to wake up and find Shrek Academy turned upside down.
The headmaster resigned. Budgets were halved. Even this year's applicants were far fewer than those for the Soul Tool Department. The top talents had been snatched away, leaving the Martial Soul Department completely uncompetitive...
The Soul Tool Department, which used to be on the sidelines, was now trying to become the master?!
Why?!The Martial Soul Department had supported Shrek's millennia-long glory. Sure, it was expensive—but weren't they the undefeated number one for ten thousand years?Even if other empires had the same funding, could they have produced even a single champion?
Now they wanted to kick them to the curb just like that? As the person in charge of the Beast Battle Arena, he absolutely refused to accept it.
"Cough, cough... Xiao Gong, this was a decision made by the Sea God Pavilion's elders. I had no say..." the elderly white-haired man sighed helplessly.
He was already half in the grave, but was still dragged back by Song Yunzhi to lead the Martial Soul Department. If it had been the old Martial Soul Department, fine—but now it was a total mess, and clearly, he was just here to take the blame.
If not for his youthful indiscretions... sigh, such a headache.
"…"
After complaining for a while and seeing that Elder Bai was unmoved, Elder Gong felt disheartened. "Fine, then. If that's the case, I'll resign from the Beast Battle Arena as well. Shao Zhe has already been forced out by her. What use is it if I stay?"
Once Elder Gong left,
Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er arrived at the Martial Soul Department's office.
"The teachers' salaries and the budget for nurturing core students, including spirit bones, must be maintained. That's my bottom line. Do what you want with the rest," Elder Bai said, waving them off.
"Of course. We understand completely," Qian Duoduo nodded quickly.
"Elder Bai, the Soul Tool Department is Shrek's future. I hope you can understand…" Xian Lin'er added earnestly.
"That's enough. You can go now." Reading Elder Bai's expression, Qian Duoduo noticed he had closed his eyes—clearly signaling that the meeting was over. The Soul Tool Department had already taken enough advantage; pushing further now would be overstepping.
Once everyone had left,
Elder Bai finally picked up the Martial Soul Department's enrollment list to examine it.
"This year, only 823 students met the admission criteria. Compared to the usual 1,000 or so, it's not a huge drop, but…"
His brows furrowed as he looked at the top of the list.
Not a single Soul Elder!
Of the 823 admitted students, fewer than 70 had even reached level 20, the rank of Grand Soul Master.
That said a lot. Take the previous batch as an example:
One Soul Elder, and roughly 300 students above level 20—even after Shrek failed to win the Continental Tournament and suffered internal chaos!
The year before that? Two Soul Elders, and over 500 Grand Soul Masters!
While the base requirement was officially level 15, with only 1,000 admissions allowed annually, even the lowest-ranking ones usually had level 18 or 19. But now... they couldn't even fill the quota.
"...Sigh."
Elder Bai let out a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair.
To be honest, he wasn't interested in the rivalry between the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments. It was just the left hand passing something to the right—internal matters within Shrek Academy. The real problem now was that the whole academy was declining.
How could they possibly compete with the Sun and Moon Empire like this?
Meanwhile, under storm clouds at Shrek,
things were very different in the Sun and Moon Empire.
Jing Hongchen was all smiles.
"Hahaha! This year's enrollment list is something I couldn't have dreamed of!"
"We've secured Xingluo, treated it as a vassal, and had Xu Jiawei issue a formal decree encouraging commoners to apply to our various academies. The Sun and Moon Royal Academy has officially stated there will be no discrimination against Xingluo citizens..."
Xu Cheng sipped his tea with a smile.
This series of actions had gone so far that even teachers from Xingluo Royal Academy—Xingluo's most prestigious school—were looking into transferring to the Sun and Moon Empire.
"This isn't just biting a piece off Shrek," Jing Hongchen said, eyes glued to the enrollment list. "It's like gnawing off half their body."
"Two Soul Elders. Six hundred and twenty-three students above level 20. This year's expanded admissions total 2,000, and even the lowest ranked are at level 18!"
"In the past, because we only recruited from the Sun and Moon Empire, our student quality wasn't even close to Shrek's. Getting 70 or 80 students above level 20 was already considered good…"
He smacked his lips, still feeling like it was a dream.
"Damn, no wonder Shrek dominated the Continental Tournament for ten thousand years—they always had the best talent!"
"Student quality has always been the true battleground," Xu Cheng said calmly.
He recalled a story from his past life:
There were two middle schools in a small county. Just because the principal of No. 3 High promoted it well, most parents believed it had better teachers than No. 4. As a result, many top students transferred to No. 3.
That year, No. 3 High's test scores crushed No. 4.
And for several years afterward, No. 3 continued to dominate.
But was their teaching actually better?
Not really. They were about the same. But top students were like high-quality seeds—they adapted better, absorbed more from the environment, and grew stronger…
"Should we block off the Star Dou Forest too?" Jing Hongchen asked, having sobered a bit.
Should they strike while the iron was hot or play it safe?
After all, after this campaign, the Clear Sky Clan was in ruins, and Shrek was overwhelmed. If they sealed that last path now, Shrek's very foundation could be shaken.
"Let's wait a bit..." Xu Cheng said thoughtfully.
Now that Xingluo's base was stable, and even corrupt officials had handed over border control to the Sun and Moon Empire's troops, there wasn't much left to worry about.
Shrek's only remaining allies were the Heaven Soul and Dou Ling Empires, and maybe—just maybe—the Star Dou Forest. If they cut off that final route too quickly, Shrek might pull off something desperate.
After all, a cornered rabbit will bite.
"There's no need to force it. The Clear Sky incident already served as a warning to others. Until we're absolutely sure we can take down Shrek, we'll stick to the current strategy—boil the frog slowly."
Xu Cheng smiled.
As Shrek Academy continued to weaken and the Sun and Moon Empire grew ever stronger...
In three and a half years, the next Continental Soul Master Tournament would decide everything.
After enjoying the benefits of top-tier talent for ten thousand years, it was time for the world to see what Shrek would become without it.
(End of Chapter)