Super First-Class Academy

Thus, after ruling out the many factions that were either troublesome or impractical—factions best approached only after he had gained formidable strength—the best option left for Huo Yuhao was Shrek Academy, which had been passed down for just over ten thousand years. Among the many forces with ten-thousand-year legacies, Shrek, as an academy, imposed the fewest restrictions on those who joined it. This suited Huo Yuhao's needs perfectly.

After spending several days on the road, Huo Yuhao quickly returned to Star Luo City. Huo Yun'er was exceptionally delighted by the First Soul Ring that appeared beneath his feet. She looked at it from every angle, unable to get enough, while faint glimmers welled up in her eyes.

When Huo Yuhao saw the pride in Huo Yun'er's eyes, he could not help but feel joy from the bottom of his heart. Though the process of obtaining the Soul Ring had been winding and even somewhat fantastical, seeing how proud Huo Yun'er was of him made it all worthwhile.

After spending several days at home resting properly with Huo Yun'er, Huo Yuhao sat down with a stack of intelligence on Shrek Academy. As he ate the stuffed pancakes Huo Yun'er had just taken out of the oven, he began reading through the information on Shrek.

Shrek Academy. Founder: Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flander. The academy's original location was a small village south of Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom. Its name came from a monster known as a "Shrek," and its motto was: "We only accept monsters, not ordinary people."

Shrek's glory originated from the first Shrek Seven Devils ten thousand years ago. They were seven truly unprecedented Heavenly Prides, beings who had broken through the Level 99 shackles of Soul Masters and attained Hundred-Level Godhood. These seven Heavenly Prides were respectively—

Shrek Academy now held a pivotal position on the continent. To a certain extent, it could be regarded as a monstrous political group, and its political influence could even rival that of an empire.

Although Shrek Academy usually devoted itself solely to cultivating outstanding Soul Master talent, its fame and exceptionally gifted student body meant that, whether Shrek intended it or not, the large number of Outstanding Graduates it sent into the Soul Master world every graduation season further consolidated Shrek Academy's transcendent status within that world.

Shrek's transcendent status was once again recognized by the Three Great Empires because of the Sun Moon War four thousand years ago. In the early stages of the war that followed the collision between the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent, the Three Great Empires suffered defeat after defeat. Shrek Academy's president at the time personally took command, climbed to a high place, and called out, "Brothers may quarrel within their walls, but they must defend against outside insult. Today, the Three Kingdoms are bound by the truth that the cart and its wheels rely on one another, and that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. I raise my voice in urgent appeal, hoping the Three Kingdoms will see this clearly!"

The Shrek president's resounding call immediately exerted tremendous influence. At his call, hundreds answered. Shrek Academy graduates, dissatisfied that the Three Great Empires were still attacking one another while facing a formidable enemy, responded one after another. They then spurred on graduates from other academies, forcibly binding the Three Great Empires to the united front against the war.

Nearly sixty Titled Douluo emerged, setting aside their interests and prejudices to join forces against the Sun Moon Empire. Shrek Academy's president at the time oversaw the three armies, bypassed the Three Great Empires' internal scheming altogether, became the Commander of the Three Armies commanding the Three Great Empires' military forces, and ultimately dealt a crushing defeat to the Sun Moon Empire's forces.

After the Sun Moon War ended, Shrek's transcendent status was fully recognized by the Three Great Empires. Of course, perhaps it was also because of fear. At a single call, nearly sixty Titled Douluo had responded, including many Imperial Venerables from the various empires. Nearly all the leaders of the Three Great Empires' armies were Shrek Academy graduates. With his own strength, Shrek Academy's president at the time had united the power of the Three Empires and ended the Sun Moon War.

Outstanding Shrek Academy graduates flowed into every field like flowing water, and the fact that they could swiftly become leaders in their respective fields was beyond dispute. Perhaps there were reasons beyond the exceptional talents of Shrek graduates themselves. For instance, when new graduates first entered a field, they were already naturally seen by older alumni as people worthy of support and trust, allowing them to rise smoothly through the ranks. Yet it could not be denied that throughout the Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent, nearly every profession contained this special Shrek faction, including the military.

For this very reason, after the Sun Moon War ended four thousand years ago, Shrek Academy did not claim credit. Instead, it further withdrew and signaled to the outside world that it was focusing on teaching and nurturing talent. Although the Three Great Empires' royal families had become wary of Shrek to the utmost degree, the Sun Moon Empire's deterrent remained, while Shrek's network of connections spread through every industry. Unless they truly intended to fight to mutual destruction, no one dared act against Shrek. After all, Shrek was like salt dissolved in water; to find them, one would first have to boil away all the water.

For the same reason, rumors had once circulated outside, declaring that as long as the Sun Moon Empire remained, Shrek would not fall, and that this was a case of nurturing bandits to strengthen oneself. However, such rumors were quickly extinguished. After all, no matter how much the Three Great Empires' royal families might agree with such statements, they did in fact need Shrek's power. Thus, over the past four thousand years, the Three Great Empires' relationship with Shrek had actually become markedly closer than it had been four thousand years ago. They even frequently sent members of their royal families to study at Shrek Academy.

Setting the intelligence aside, Huo Yuhao rubbed his eyes, surprise appearing in them. He had spent two hundred Gold Soul Coins to hire the proprietor of Muddled Treasure Pavilion to gather this information. He had originally thought that price would only buy some ordinary intelligence, but he had not expected it to be so detailed. In particular, information regarding Shrek Academy's political stance and the Three Great Empires' attitude toward Shrek was highly sensitive and ordinarily would not have appeared at this price.

Shrek was divided into two areas: the Inner Court and the Outer Court. New students could only enter the Outer Court. Shrek Academy admitted around one thousand new students each year, yet its total number of students had never exceeded five thousand. This alone showed that its elimination rate was far from low. Shrek Academy's Outer Court held at least one assessment every year, and students who failed were directly expelled from the academy. Thus, the number of students remaining at Shrek had long formed a pyramid-like distribution.

Shrek Academy's Outer Court was divided into two major factions: the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department. The Martial Soul Department was Shrek Academy's traditional faction, while the Soul Tool Department was born from the Sun Moon War four thousand years ago. Its original purpose was to catch up to and surpass the Soul Tool technology level of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy. However, even today, Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department still lagged far behind the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy.

In terms of Soul Tool technology alone, Shrek Academy could only be considered second-rate across the entire Douluo Continent. Without exception, all first-rate Soul Tool academies were located within the Sun Moon Empire, while the Soul Tool technology level of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy could be called the only super first-class academy on the entire Douluo Continent.

Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy? The only super first-class academy in Soul Tool technology on the entire continent?

Huo Yuhao was somewhat surprised when he saw this information and silently committed it to memory.