Hamster Huo Yuhao

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy was the only top-tier academy on the continent in terms of soul tool technology. Correspondingly, Shrek Academy was the only top-tier academy on the continent in cultivating martial souls. Its illustrious record could be glimpsed from its results in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament.

Ever since Shrek Academy was formally established and the First Generation Shrek Seven Devils claimed the championship of that All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament, Shrek Academy had nearly swept every championship title in the tournament over the past ten thousand years. It could be said that the champion of nearly every All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament was Shrek Academy's private property.

Compared with the Soul Tool Department, which was still in the slow process of catching up, Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department was truly unrivaled Under Heaven. Over eighty percent of Shrek Academy's top experts in the past four thousand years had come from the Martial Soul Department, while the Soul Tool Department accounted for less than twenty percent. This showed that although Shrek's annual admissions slogan claimed to place equal emphasis on the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department, there was clearly a preference both within the academy itself and in the hearts of its students.

The relationship between Shrek Inner Courtyard and the Outer Court was not one of complete succession. In fact, the vast majority of Shrek students received their graduation certificates and left Shrek Academy after completing their studies in the Outer Court. Only a very small number of students were qualified to enter Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard for further study.

It was worth mentioning that over seventy percent of Shrek Academy's teachers came from the Shrek Inner Courtyard, while over ninety percent were graduates of Shrek Academy itself. At the same time, without exception, the governing body within Shrek Academy known as the "Sea God Pavilion" was selected from outstanding students who had graduated from the Shrek Inner Courtyard. In other words, to truly become a member of Shrek, entering Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard for further study was an unavoidable path.

Besides being responsible for their own studies, Shrek Inner Courtyard students were also entrusted with a special mission: the "Shrek Inspection Group." Every Shrek student promoted from the Outer Court to the Inner Courtyard was considered to have accepted the role of inspector by default. They had to complete thirty inspection missions before they could graduate successfully. The essence of their mission was to crack down on Evil Soul Masters appearing across Douluo Continent. At the same time, mountain bandits, drifters, and thieves also seemed to fall within the Shrek Inspection Group's jurisdiction.

Huo Yuhao slowly set the intelligence in his hand aside. Even his mouth, which had been eating a meat pie, stopped moving as Left Hand stroked his chin in thought.

The owner of Muddled Treasure Pavilion had written a sentence at the very beginning of the intelligence sheet: "To a certain extent, Shrek Academy can be regarded as a monster-like political group." At the time, Huo Yuhao had not felt the weight of those words. But after seeing the Shrek Inspection Group's scope of operations, he suddenly felt that the Muddled Treasure Pavilion owner's description of Shrek had been remarkably apt.

Apart from the Sun Moon Empire, members of Shrek Academy's Inspection Group could strike at Evil Soul Masters anywhere and arrest drifters roaming across different regions. This alone reflected Shrek Academy's terrifying political influence. After all, regardless of whether Shrek Academy's actions were good or bad for ordinary people, to a nation with independent sovereignty, Shrek Academy's conduct was no different from shitting on their heads.

For a sovereign nation, the most important thing was stability. Yet this stability was NOT the peaceful prosperity imagined by common people, but the ability to control every aspect of the empire. This control included land, taxes, armies, and everything else. So long as these major aspects remained firmly in hand, then for an empire, even if its people lived in miserable conditions, it was still stable enough.

But precisely because of this, what Shrek Academy did was practically a challenge to the bottom line of the Three Great Empires. The moment they received intelligence, they would organize a group of powerful soul masters and send them out to make arrests. This was tantamount to telling the public that an empire's security forces were inferior to an academy's private army. Moreover, if this force developed other intentions—such as killing innocent people to claim credit, maliciously framing their personal enemies as Evil Soul Masters, bandits, or criminals, then executing them on the spot—it would put any empire in an extremely passive position.

"Shrek Academy truly deserves to be called a monster academy. Even its political status on Douluo Continent is monstrous. That really is astonishing."

After only a brief analysis of Shrek Academy's political standing, Huo Yuhao could not help clicking his tongue. Although Shrek Academy and the Three Great Empires appeared inseparable on the surface, once the external threat of the Sun Moon Empire was removed, Shrek Academy would likely be besieged by all sides at once.

At its core, Shrek Academy's relationship with the Three Great Empires was probably not one of mutual support. It was more like a parasite clinging to the bone. No wise ruler would allow a force with such transcendent political status to sit atop an empire's authority. Even if no direct conflict erupted, they would inevitably try every possible means to weaken Shrek Academy's influence. This had nothing to do with whether Shrek's actions were righteous or Evil; it was simply the natural struggle between ruling groups and massive special powers.

After comparing and analyzing the intelligence, Huo Yuhao's understanding of Shrek Academy no longer remained purely superficial. The Muddled Treasure Pavilion owner's intelligence on Shrek was quite comprehensive, covering its history, political status, geographical location, and organizational structure. Though there was not much truly secret information, it was already more than enough for Huo Yuhao.

"Shrek Academy. Inner Courtyard. Sea God Pavilion."

Huo Yuhao tapped the tabletop rhythmically with his fingers as his mind raced.

Shrek Academy was the best choice for investigating the secrets of ten thousand years ago because the majority of Shrek's books would certainly be open to students. That was the difference between an academy and a sect-based power. Huo Yuhao could uncover many secrets from ten thousand years ago himself without drawing any attention.

But Huo Yuhao also knew that those truly priceless secrets could not possibly be displayed openly in the public borrowing section of Shrek's library. To freely browse those precious secrets, he would most likely need to join Shrek's Inner Courtyard, perhaps even enter the leadership core known as the "Sea God Pavilion." Therefore, he still needed to prepare early and determine the specific requirements for joining Shrek's Inner Courtyard.

After organizing his thoughts for the coming period, Huo Yuhao sat down cross-legged and began cultivating Soul Power without wasting a second. Absorbing the First Soul Ring had opened many of the meridians in his body, increasing his cultivation speed by twenty percent out of thin air. Rather than making Huo Yuhao slack off, this only made him cultivate even more diligently.

After all, the more Soul Power he cultivated now, the more he gained compared to his previous cultivation speed. This hamster-like habit of hoarding made Huo Yuhao endlessly enthusiastic.

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