For Shandar Academy, it would naturally be better to establish the academy under a Lich Lord's influence. Most Lichs were obsessed with research, and their forces leaned toward the path of civilized exploration. They possessed many academic resources unavailable to outside factions, which was exactly what Shandar Academy lacked most right now.
A single Martial School suffered greatly in comprehensive rankings. If Shandar Academy could make up for its academic shortcomings, it could greatly deepen its foundation and develop into a comprehensive academy. That had also been the direction the previous Headmaster had always worked toward.
Of course, choosing either of the other two factions had its advantages as well. The Chaos Knight faction controlled a large number of pioneering legions. If Shandar Academy pledged itself to them, it could directly transform into a Military Academy, providing high-quality warrior students for the Knight Lord and fully utilizing the advantages of a Martial School!
For the students, graduating from a Military Academy provided employment opportunities, which was also a highly effective way to attract quality applicants!
However, this choice had one drawback. Just like when it had originally pledged itself to the Black Duke Lord, the students Shandar Academy attracted were all commoners. The benefit of military employment was not very appealing to the children of Great Clans.
Transforming into a Military Academy would allow it to rise rapidly, but the drawback was becoming too deeply tied to a faction. Once something happened to that faction, Shandar Academy would end up like it had under Black Duke Lord. Even after so many eras, it had still failed to recover.
After that experience, the higher-ups at Shandar probably would not want to take the Military Academy route again. It relied far too heavily on an individual faction. In this universe, even a