One month later.
"What?" Tang Wulin was taking a rare break, enjoying some tea with Zang Xin beside the Sea God's Lake, when he suddenly received a call from Xie Xie.
Zang Xin took a sip of his tea as he cast his gaze toward Tang Wulin, whose brows had suddenly become tightly furrowed.
After ending the call, Tang Wulin said in a grim voice, "The Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Academy has announced its enrolment date to be on the same day as ours."
Zang Xin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "I was wondering why they'd been so quiet recently; they're trying to shake the foundation of our Shrek Academy by doing this."
What was the foundation of an academy? It wasn't the facilities and teaching resources; it wasn't even the teachers. Instead, it was the students.
Without a sufficient number of good students, an academy wouldn't be able to develop in a meaningful way.
Shrek Academy had become the number one academy on the continent as the efforts from countless generations of people had proven that the academy was the best place to nurture exceptional Soul Masters. As a result, more outstanding young talents flocked to the academy each year, and a positive reinforcement loop was formed, thereby granting Shrek Academy the influence that it went on to attain.
The glory of Shrek Academy had been carried on the shoulders of generations of Shrek Academy students, particularly Shrekâs Seven Monsters.
In the wake of the academy's destruction and the deaths of so many exceptional teachers, it was imperative for this first enrolment of the rebuilt Shrek Academy to go well.
Shrek Academy's enrolment criteria was very rigorous to begin with; if it couldn't take in enough students, then the academy would be dealt a massive blow.
If that were to happen, the Spirit Pagoda would be able to claim that the number one academy on the continent had fallen from its lofty pedestal. This was what Tang Wulin was most worried about.
The sinister intent behind the Spirit Pagoda's decision to set their enrolment date on the same day as Shrek Academy was plain to see.
In terms of high-end power, Shrek Academy wasn't inferior to the Spirit Pagoda. However, enrolment wasn't a battle, and in terms of resources, the rebuilt Shrek Academy couldn't compare with the Spirit Pagoda, particularly when it came to wealth and soul spirits.
"The Spirit Pagoda is most likely going to steal students from us at all costs," Tang Wulin said with furrowed brows.
Zang Xin nodded in response. "I would do the same thing if I were Qiangu Dongfeng. Only by severing the foundation of Shrek Academy will he be able to create a negative reinforcement loop that will herald the downfall of our academy. If we're unable to enrol new students in the next few years, then the weight of controversy will pile up against us, and even the academy's supporters will begin to have their doubts. This is going to be a stern trial for you, Wulin; you have to be prepared."
Tang Wulin nodded with a grim expression.
What was the focus when it came to competing for students? Was it wealth and resources, the benefits they could offer the students, or was it something else?
What should he do?
Tang Wulin was at a complete loss. The Spirit Pagoda was definitely well prepared.
The temporary Sea God's Pavilion of Shrek Academy had been constructed on a peaceful part of the Sea God's Lake bank. This plot of land was protruding slightly into the Sea God's Lake like a small island.
In order to commemorate the past Sea God's Pavilion, the entire building was constructed from wood, and only the elders of the Sea God's Pavilion were granted entry.
Holy Spirit Douluo Yali and Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue both lived there, and there were currently 12 members in the Sea God's Pavilion, comprised of Elder Long, Yali, Shrek's Seven Monsters, Wu Zhangkong, Lan Muzi, and Tang Yinmeng.
The spacious conference hall had been constructed to match the construction style of the old Sea God's Pavilion as much as possible, and all of the seats around the long table were currently filled.
Tang Wulin sat on the main seat with Yali and Elder Long on either side of him.
The most important occasion in Shrek Academy was undoubtedly Sea God's Pavilion conference, and Tang Wulin was holding one today for only one objective: to discuss how they were going to compete with the Spirit Pagoda in the enrolment battle.
"The Spirit Academy is situated right beside the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, and the academy's area is even larger than ours. According to the information we've gathered, Spirit Academy has two branches: the Soul Master academy and the mecha academy. Their enrolment is on the same date as ours, and they haven't announced what they're going to do, but it's clear that they're going to try and target us in many ways. The Spirit Pagoda is extremely wealthy, particularly after the creation of the Myriad Beast Platform, so we won't win in a competition of resources. Does anyone have any good ideas for how we can compete against them?"
The current Spirit Academy was still shrouded in mystery. There was only a month left until the enrolment date, but they still hadn't released their enrolment conditions.
The main issue was that no one knew anything about the academy, nor what it planned to do on enrolment day. However, it was clear that the academy was going to be targeting Shrek Academy.
Lan Muzi's brows were tightly furrowed as he said, "This is a very troubling issue. I'm worried that the Spirit Pagoda will employ tactics such as granting students soul spirits or even opportunities to enter the Spirit Ascension Plane and Myriad Beast Plane as an unfair advantage over us. In terms of soul spirits, they hold the absolute advantage, and soul spirits are inexpendable to all Soul Masters. Ever since the creation of artificial black soul spirits, the Spirit Pagoda has been on a meteoric rise, and many powers have become subsidiaries to them.
"Even major organizations like the mecha pilot association have become very close with the Spirit Pagoda, so we're definitely in for a stern battle. Most of our alumni will be willing to send their children to our academy, but if the benefits offered by the Spirit Pagoda are too alluring, then it'll be very difficult to say whether they'll be swayed or not."
Elder Long said in a grim voice, "We're all aware of this; what we need now is a plan. We need solutions, not a list of problems."
Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng exchanged a glance, then both shook their heads to indicate that they didn't have any ideas.
Meanwhile, Wu Zhangkong was seated in silence with his usual cold expression.
Unfortunately, it seemed that they had no choice but to admit that Shrek Academy didn't hold any advantages.
The past Shrek Academy was the number one academy on the continent, but even in its heyday, it would've struggled to contend with this new Spirit Academy. It was just that at the time, Shrek Academy was too powerful, and the Spirit Pagoda wouldn't dare to target the academy like this.
However, the Spirit Pagoda had clearly thrown all caution to the wind and were going for the jugular. The calm period that had preceded this turned out to be the calm before a lethal storm.
If they couldn't find a good solution to this problem, then Shrek Academy's foundation really would be shaken.
"Zhangkong, you're the outer court principal; what do you think of this?" Elder Long asked.
Wu Zhangkong turned to her, and replied, "Theoretically speaking, this is indeed a very difficult issue to face. We're at an absolute disadvantage, and I'm sure the Spirit Pagoda will have a whole host of ways to lure good students to their academy. I can't think of any solutions."
Elder Long's expression darkened even further upon hearing this. It seemed that this was an impossible problem to resolve.
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