Shrek Academy

Biodata

Facilities and Setting

• A dilapidated training ground outside Soto City serves as the academy's primary early viewing site for the Heavenly Curtain. 1
• The academy has a cafeteria/dining hall, where its members later gather to eat and watch the broadcasts. 50 52
• A square is shown on the grounds during the aftermath of Ning Rongrong's death. 81

Relationships

• Flender — Headmaster of Shrek Academy; he mourns Zhao Wuji's death and condemns Ma Hongjun's conduct during his exploration. 34 54
• Yu Xiaogang — Teacher whose repeated assessments of the cultivation world strongly influence the academy's early reactions to the Heavenly Curtain. 1 4 15
• Shrek Seven Monsters — The academy's central student group, initially assembled on its training ground when the Heavenly Curtain appears. 1
• Tang San — Academy member and frequent analyst of the broadcasts; he gradually recognizes the cultivation world's ruthlessness and power gap. 10 32 41
• Zhao Wuji — Academy-affiliated Rank 76 Soul Sage, the “Immovable Bright King”; selected as an explorer and killed in the Chaotic Star Sea. 26 32 34
• Ma Hongjun — Shrek Academy student selected for exploration; his recklessness and loss of control bring public humiliation upon the academy. 52 53 56
• Ning Rongrong — Present at the academy during Ma Hongjun's expedition; she threatens to revoke Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect support if he remains at Shrek. 55
• Zhu Zhuqing — Her abduction and subsequent refinement into a sword-path puppet devastate the academy, particularly Dai Mubai. 70 73

Story Role and Major Arcs

Heavenly Curtain Observers

When the Heavenly Curtain descends, the Shrek Seven Monsters and several teachers halt their training to watch it from the academy's grounds. Yu Xiaogang initially dismisses the existence of higher worlds and presents Douluo Continent as the unquestionable peak. 1

The academy's early confidence rises after Li Si defeats a giant tiger and Zhao Hei overwhelms low-level cultivators in a marketplace. Yu Xiaogang argues that soul masters possess superior instantaneous combat power and that the cultivation world's methods are slow and vulnerable. 2 4

That confidence repeatedly collapses as the broadcasts expose sword flight, Core Formation cultivators, Nascent Soul experts, and the Spirit Realm's dangers. The academy witnesses Huyan Lie's death, Zhao Hei's defeat and soul refinement, and Shi Nian's instant death at the hands of an eighth-rank Poison Flood Dragon. 2 5 7 15

Collapse of Earlier Assumptions

The High Heaven Sect's acceptance of Zhang Tiezhu—an ordinary person with neither soul power nor a martial soul—directly contradicts Yu Xiaogang's assertion that cultivation requires a martial soul and innate soul power. 8

The revelation of the Eternal Spring Technique further unsettles the academy. Tang San calculates that Zhang Tiezhu's rapid development and instant Fireball Spell make him comparable to a level-twenty Battle Soul Master after only three months of cultivation. 9 10

Fairy Nishang's description of the Covering Moon Sect, including tens of thousands of cultivators, dozens of Golden Core elders, Nascent Soul supreme elders, and more than thirty thousand cultivation arts, leaves the academy overwhelmed by the gap in resources and scale. 18 20

Zhao Wuji's Exploration

Zhao Wuji is selected as an explorer and transported to the outer waters of the Chaotic Star Sea. Confident in his Rank 76 Soul Sage strength and Vigorous Vajra Bear Martial Soul, he intends to test himself against the region's demonic beasts. 26 32

His Martial Soul Avatar is shattered during his confrontation with a giant turtle, leaving him severely injured. Poison Jiao later devours him, prompting Flender to collapse in grief on the academy's training ground. 33 34

Ma Hongjun's Exploration

Ma Hongjun is selected for a later descent and arrives in the cultivation world wearing his Shrek Academy uniform. Despite being a five-ring Soul King, he quickly finds himself outmatched after spending most of his soul power. 52 53

After a Covering Moon Sect cultivator saves him, Ma Hongjun abandons Han Yunzhi and agrees to serve the woman as a guard, blinded by attraction and ignoring the danger around him. 53 54

His evil fire subsequently loses control, and he is frozen by a Frost Centipede. The incident becomes a source of ridicule across Douluo Continent and sharp criticism within Shrek Academy. 55 56

Later Losses

The academy watches Zhu Zhuqing be taken by the Six Paths Heirs; she is later reduced to an obedient sword-path puppet, leaving Dai Mubai shattered. 70 73

Ning Rongrong's kidnapping, auction as a cultivation furnace, and eventual death also cause anguish at the academy, where Oscar is unable to accept her fate. 76 80 81

Trivia

• Yu Xiaogang repeatedly attempts to preserve his authority by explaining away the cultivation world's threats, even after his predictions are disproven. 3 5 15 24 39
• The academy's members initially ridicule Han Li's ordinary appearance and supposedly weak methods, but later recognize his caution and ruthlessness as survival skills suited to the cultivation world. 14 30 32
• Ning Rongrong openly threatens to end the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's support for Shrek Academy if Ma Hongjun remains her teammate after his disgraceful conduct. 55