Is Shrek Academy an Academy of the Continent, or of the Nobles?

Tang Wulin listened, his gaze lingering on Xie Mu's face for a moment before he lowered his head and looked once more at the yellowed expulsion notice in his hand. The corner of his mouth curved slightly.

He reached into his sleeve and drew out a slender pen. The tip touched the blank margin of the paper, and with a light flick of his wrist, he wrote down his name.

The three characters "Tang Wulin" were not especially neat, their strokes carrying the crispness and carefree air unique to a youth. Still, the lines were controlled, and each stroke landed decisively.

Beneath his name, he added a smaller line: "Recommend placement in Class One."

After finishing, he tucked the pen back into his sleeve, folded the paper again, and handed it back to Xie Mu along with the writing on it. "Take this and go straight to the Academic Affairs Office to complete your enrollment. Settle your lodging tonight. Tomorrow morning, report to the tiered classroom on the first floor of the Outer Court teaching building. Someone will take you to Class One."

When Xie Mu took back the paper, his fingers trembled slightly.

He lowered his head and stared at the line on the paper for several breaths, as if repeatedly confirming that it was truly there and not some illusion his eyes had conjured.

Then he raised his head. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back. In the end, he merely nodded hard, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion. "...Thank you."

Tang Wulin waved a hand, his tone casual, as if this were a trivial matter not worth dwelling on. "No need to thank me. Just study properly from now on. Your martial soul is worth cultivating. If you can establish yourself at this academy a year from now, then you'll be qualified to become my teammate."

Clutching the paper, Xie Mu bowed to him once more. Then he turned around, his steps much faster than when he had arrived, and headed toward the still-lit building of the Academic Affairs Office.

His back was thin yet straight. His old bundle swayed lightly on his shoulder with each step, and he soon vanished into the light at the side entrance of the administration building.

Tang Wulin stood behind the iron gate, watching until that figure had completely disappeared through the doorway before withdrawing his gaze.

He turned and stepped onto the bluestone path leading to Sea God Island.

The night breeze swept in from the lake, carrying the damp scent of aquatic grass and scattering the dust from his cuffs and hem.

He returned to the small wooden cabin on Sea God Island. Pushing open the door, he did not light a lamp. He felt his way to the edge of the bed, sat down, then lay back and stared at the pitch-black ceiling, letting out a long breath.

He closed his eyes and felt as though a fine needle were lightly pricking his temples from within. His head was swollen and aching.

He lay in the darkness for a while, then rolled over and sat up. Crossing his legs, he settled into meditation with his eyes closed.

Soul power slowly circulated through his meridians for several cycles, sorting through the restless and exhausted energies that had accumulated in his body over the course of the day. Only after he felt somewhat clearer throughout did he lie down again, pull a corner of the blanket over his stomach, and close his eyes.

The next morning, the wooden doors of Sea God Pavilion were pushed open in the morning light.

Tang Wulin, dressed in a neat dark outer robe, stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the Sea God Pavilion elders already seated around both sides of the long table.

Mu En sat at the head of the table, holding a freshly brewed cup of tea that still steamed. When he saw Tang Wulin enter, he gave a slight nod.

Yan Shaozhe sat farther down the table, with a stack of organized documents and lists spread before him, his expression solemn.

Xian Lin'er sat opposite him. Her posture was more relaxed than during the past few meetings, but her back remained perfectly straight. Her gaze rested somewhere on the tabletop, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Xian Zi sat on a low stool by the window. Rarely, he was not gnawing on a chicken leg. Instead, he held a cup of tea and slowly blew at the floating leaves on its surface.

The remaining elders had also taken their seats, their faces solemn. The atmosphere in the wooden cabin was far quieter than during previous meetings. There were no whispers, no side conversations. Everyone sat upright, waiting for the moment to begin.

Tang Wulin walked to the vacant seat at one end of the long table and pulled out the chair.

The chair legs made an extremely soft scraping sound against the floor, yet it seemed especially clear in the silent cabin.

After sitting down, he looked around at everyone in the room before speaking in a calm, clear voice. "I asked everyone here today because I've been thinking about some things over the past few days. I may not be right about all of them, but I'll lay them out for everyone's consideration. If there are any issues, you may add to them."

Mu En nodded. "Wulin, go ahead. I believe everything you bring up has come from considering the matters before us. After all, old fellows like us have been away from the front lines for a long time."

Tang Wulin nodded. "First, there's a question I've always had. I acknowledge that our original intentions in doing this must have been good. It concerns the Shrek Supervisory Corps."

Tang Wulin slowly took out the casualty list of Shrek Academy's Inner Court disciples from his storage soul tool, covering all these years.

"These students were all geniuses. If they had not gone out to carry out these missions, they should have become powerhouses at least at the level of Titled Douluo by now." Tang Wulin sighed.

"But because of the Supervisory Corps rules, most of them died before they made it there. As for the current problem of evil soul masters running rampant, I think what we need to do is eliminate it at the root and dispatch elders at the Titled Douluo level to handle such matters—not shift these so-called responsibilities onto a group of children who have not even graduated." Tang Wulin's expression was exceedingly serious.

"But the problem of evil soul masters is extremely severe. We simply have no way to eliminate it at the root," one of the elders said with a frown.

Tang Wulin nodded. "That is why I want to gather the various academies and, following the example of Spirit Hall as recorded in historical accounts, awaken martial souls for the common people across the continent. Once martial souls with dark or evil attributes are discovered, their owners should be brought into special academy classes for training. If they go astray in the future, then kill them."

"But those nobles will never agree to that," Yan Shaozhe said after a moment of silence.

Tang Wulin let out a cold laugh. "Do you think Shrek Academy can't suppress those people?"

"I know what you want to say. More than ninety-five percent of our academy's students come from noble families. But what caused that? It's because ordinary people have never been given the chance to awaken their martial souls! Even a so-called letter of recommendation can block off their path entirely." Tang Wulin's expression was grave.

"That is the second issue I want to raise: letters of recommendation!" Tang Wulin rubbed his brow, his eyes carrying a few traces of severity.

"Only the lords of major cities are practically qualified to issue recommendation letters. So I want to ask: is Shrek Academy an academy of the continent, or a paradise for nobles? Are we trying to cultivate monstrous geniuses, or arrogant and overbearing nobles?"

"Have you forgotten why Ancestor Tang San and the others refused to join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy back then?" Tang Wulin said in a deep voice.

It really did feel pretty good to spout grand rhetoric!

If his biological father's death hadn't been connected to Tang San...