Old and New Compared
What is true education? It's about turning ordinary people into successful individuals—that's called skill.
Shrek Academy, on the other hand, welded the threshold shut, so that only geniuses could even get a foothold in the door. Then, when they produced a few outstanding students, they took all the credit and patted themselves on the back.
That's not all; the real problem is the double standards in the rules. They say there are strict standards for admissions—you won't be accepted if your Soul Power isn't high enough or you're too old—but when they encounter someone truly powerful, they break those rules without hesitation.
Putting aside the fact that Shrek Academy's rules are like child's play now, the original Shrek Academy actually had much more lenient rules than it does now.
When the First-Generation Seven Monsters entered school, which one followed the rules completely?
Dai Mubai entered the academy early on and caused trouble outside, but he wasn't expelled.
Tang San, needless to say, he only has the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul on the surface, so why did the academy, which claims to only accept monsters, recruit him? It's really hard to guess!
Isn't it because Tang Hao went to see Flender back then?
Otherwise, given Flender's personality back then, even if he had recruited Tang San, he would have easily found an excuse to kick Tang San out later.
To put it bluntly, the rules are set for ordinary people. If someone is so talented that they can bring honor to the academy, any rule can be waived.
And then there's the entrance exam—they have one ridiculously complicated set of methods to make things difficult.
Running laps, practical exercises, and tests of character—all ostensibly to select qualified trainees—are actually just ways to make things difficult for people.
If having a strong will were enough to become a master, then which of the laborers on the street who don't have a strong will wouldn't become Titled Douluo?
Ultimately, talent comes first, then everything else. The assessment is just a formality, a way to give admissions a veneer of "fairness," making those who get in feel they passed based on their own merit and feel more grateful to the academy.
This marketing strategy would be top-notch even in other contexts.
And that saying "Shrek never graduates" sounds quite humane, but what's the reality?
If you become Titled Douluo, the academy will definitely recognize you and treat you as a renowned alumnus. They will even invite you back to speak at the school's anniversary celebration.
If you don't do well after graduation and live an ordinary life, who will remember you're from Shrek? To put it bluntly, alumni status is earned through hard work and ability.
Having discussed the original Shrek, let's now talk about the current Shrek.
Compared to the original Shrek, the current Shrek is undoubtedly much stronger and has abundant resources, but resource allocation is a major problem.
Shrek has plenty of resources on the surface: Soul Bone, Soul Tool, pills, training grounds—it seems to have everything.
But when it comes down to each individual student, the difference is far from what's expected.
Needless to say, the Core Disciple of the Inner Court receive all the best things.
Soul Bone are given away without hesitation, custom-made Soul Tool can be chosen at will, and there are dedicated mentors providing one-on-one guidance. The training grounds are all places with the most abundant spiritual energy.
What about ordinary students in the Outer Court? They're lucky if they can get the lowest-level resources; if they want to use better training grounds, the price they have to pay is even higher.
As for wanting Soul Bone and Soul Tool? You either have to work yourself to the bone to earn them, or your family has to pay for them.
It's called fair competition, and more work, more pay. But the problem is, the starting point is completely different.
When aristocratic children enroll in school, their families prepare Soul Tool and elixirs for them in advance, giving them a significant advantage over commoner students from the start.
There are also teams to help you complete tasks, so you can easily earn credits.
What about ordinary students? They're all alone, with no resources or connections. Even doing a low-level mission is risky. They might accumulate credits for half a year, but that might not even be enough for someone else to exchange for a single pill.
Is this what you call fair? Is this what you call allocating resources according to talent?
To put it bluntly, it means the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker; it's like bringing the law of the jungle directly into the academy.
In addition, before I came back, I heard that the teachers in the Inspection Office investigated for a long time and finally went to the infirmary to find Huo Yuhao, a freshman in the One-Ring.
I laughed when I saw it.
If you're so capable, go investigate the traces outside the city, find out who the deceased's enemies are, and keep an eye on the movements of the Evil Soul Master.
What kind of skill is it to act tough in front of a freshman with no background or ability? It just means they think freshmen are easy to bully, and if they can get a confession out of them, the case is closed.
Although it was indeed Huo Yuhao who did it, nobody knew. If you go and question a freshman when nobody knows anything about it...
All I can say is that Shrek Academy is so perfunctory in its enforcement of discipline, trying to find any scapegoat to get away with it. It's utterly rotten.
To be frank, that's all the Inspection Office can do.
If you don't dare to confront the tough opponents, then pick on the easy ones.
If it were a nobleman's son who had died, they would have searched the whole city long ago, instead of dragging their feet and repeatedly probing Huo Yuhao.
As for those so-called alibis, if they really wanted to investigate, how could they not find out? They're just too lazy to bother.
Anyway, the two who died weren't Core Disciple, so they were insignificant. We can just make up some excuse to get by.
Shrek's fairness has always been reserved for the minority.
And then there are all those messy school rules, like not being late or leaving early for class, not being allowed to fight in the college—they sound nicer than they actually are.
But if the Core Disciple actually fight, they'll just give a few words of criticism, and then go back to doing what they always did.
If a regular student gets into a fight, they will receive a demerit; serious cases will result in expulsion.
Their double standards are written all over their faces, yet no one dares to say anything.
Shrek Academy, Inner Court Office.
Zhang Lexuan's brows furrowed as she read the diary, "The people in the Inspection Office always follow the rules. What do you mean by picking on the weak? Investigating a case means investigating all relevant personnel. Huo Yuhao had a conflict with the deceased, so what happened?"
That's what she said, but she also knew in her heart that the academy's resource allocation was indeed biased towards the Inner Court.
The resources available to ordinary students in the Outer Court are vastly different from those available to disciples in the Inner Court.
Although she is the Senior Sister, that cannot be changed, after all, the Inner Court is indeed the core of the academy.
The students of the Outer Court, or Shrek Academy students in a nice way, are really just a bunch of reserve soldiers.
First, you have to go through a screening process to enter Shrek, and then you have to level up one level at a time.
There are assessments from freshman to first grade, first grade to second grade, second grade to third grade, all the way up to sixth grade. It's like you have to climb six steps in a row.
That's not all; there's an even bigger hurdle: the Inner Court Assessment.
The difficulty of the Inner Court Assessment is greater than the combined cumulative difficulty of all the Outer Court ' years of study.
Given such numerous challenges, it's understandable that there are few Inner Court disciples.
Since there are fewer disciples in the Inner Court, but their quality is very high, it is normal for Zhang Lexuan to receive some extra resources and support.
But what Lin Ye said actually makes a lot of sense.
If resources were allocated, even if not equally, to the Outer Court disciples, wouldn't more Outer Court disciples become Inner Court geniuses?