The next day, news of Shrek's defeat spread across the continent.
Xu Jiujiu looked at the report in her hands and could not help marveling: the finest academy on the continent had fallen overnight to a rising power.
The event set off a chain reaction, bringing sweeping changes.
And because Xuan Zi had made countless enemies while running Shrek Academy, everyone rushed to push down the crumbling wall.
For a time, Shrek Academy found itself at the center of a storm.
Xuan Zi, both its current Dean and the Sea God Pavilion Master, was forced to step forward.
Only after he apologized publicly before the entire continent did the uproar die down.
Yet the aftershocks still rippled across the land.
Withdrawals from Shrek Academy reached an astonishing high, exceeding even the number of students who had left over the past several centuries combined.
What a shame. The continent's foremost academy had come to this through mismanagement, misplaced trust, and an inability to recognize talent.
"I can hardly imagine how terrifying Shrek Academy would be now if Jiang Hao had received its finest training back then, with the Fatui's help."
Xu Jiujiu spoke from her seat.
Across from her sat Owl Bro, who had come from the Far North.
Looking down at the passing carriages and crowds below the pavilion, he could not help sighing.
"Perhaps this was simply a calamity they were fated to face."
"But Princess Jiujiu, shouldn't you be pleased by all this?"
Owl Bro went on.
"Shrek's defeat has made Cassell College, the new academy built by the Star Luo Empire, famous overnight."
"Shrek Academy used to stand neutral among the three nations. It belonged to none of them, yet held the power to monitor and oversee them all."
"Now that mountain weighing on everyone's hearts is