Chapter 1595: Competing For Students
Meanwhile, the entire Shrek Academy was also undergoing rapid changes. There was something new almost every day.
A month passed.
“What?” Tang Wulin was utilizing a rare moment of free time. He was having tea with the Amorous Douluo by the lakeside when he suddenly received a soul communicator call from Xie Xie.
Zang Xin blew on the perfectly clear tea in the porcelain bowl in his hands and took a sip. Tang Wulin’s expression had turned unpleasant as he looked at him.
Tang Wulin hung up the call and spoke in a deep voice, “Spirit Academy founded by the Pagoda del Espíritu has announced its enrollment date, which is the same day as ours.”
Zang Xin raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. “I was about to say that it’s too peaceful recently. So it turns out they have come up with a plan hoping to waver Shrek’s foundation.”
What was the foundation of an academy? It was not luxurious academic buildings, perfect facilities or even outstanding teachers. It was the students.
An academy, especially a Maestro del Alma academy, was utterly meaningless without students of adequate rank.
The pool of students was the most important issue for the academy at this point.
The reason Shrek Academy was known as the number one academy on the continent in the past was that they had proved themselves after countless generations worked hard to cultivate the most outstanding Maestros del Alma on the continent. As a result, numerous outstanding youths, geniuses and monsters, sought enrollment in the academy. The cycle went on and on. Generations of powerhouses had all originated from Shrek and this had established Shrek Academy’s influence over the continent.
Shrek’s glory was its generations of the Shrek Seven Monsters. The academy was supported by the strength of generations worth of students.
On the other hand, a large batch of outstanding teachers had fallen when Shrek Academy was destroyed. The first enrollment of the newly reconstructed Shrek Academy, the first intake of new students and the launch of a new academic semester would undoubtedly be the most important things for the academy.
Aside from the teacher issue, the shortage of students due to the lack of suitable candidates in addition to their harsh entry requirements would certainly result in a crushing blow to the reconstructed Shrek.
At that point, the Pagoda del Espíritu would be able to claim that the number one academy on the continent had ended up in the gutter. Tang Wulin was very worried about this.
In an attempt to strike Shrek down, the Pagoda del Espíritu had officially announced that they would be carrying out the enrollment on the same day. What a beastly thing to do!
Judging on combat strength, Shrek was by no means less proficient than the Pagoda del Espíritu at this point. Even so, the act of enrollment was not a battle. In terms of inner secrets, Shrek was not equal to the Pagoda del Espíritu after the explosion. The Pagoda del Espíritu had the upper hand, most clearly in their financial ability and spirit souls.
“I’m worried that the Pagoda del Espíritu will spare no effort in competing against us for students.” Tang Wulin frowned deeply.
Zang Xin nodded. “I would surely do so if I were Qiangu Dongfeng. This is because the academy will be only rendered utterly meaningless by breaking Shrek’s foundation. Then, it will set up a vicious cycle. For the next few years, Shrek won’t manage to take in new students which will result in increased pressure from the public. In fact, even the alumni that support Shrek will begin to become suspicious. Wulin, you are about to face this trial and you must be well-prepared.”
Tang Wulin nodded ever so slightly. The expression on his face turned solemn.
When two academies were competing against one another for enrollment of students, what would be compared? Would it be its inner secrets, favors for its students, or something else?
What should they do at this point?
He found himself caught in a dilemma. Since the Pagoda del Espíritu was doing this, they would certainly come prepared.
Shrek Academy’s temporary Sea God’s Pavilion was built on a rather quiet location by the lakeside. The plot of land bulged out slightly into the Sea God Lake and looked rather similar to a small-scale peninsula.
In remembrance of the Sea God’s Pavilion in the past, the entire building was built with wood. Only the elders of Sea God’s Pavilion were allowed to enter.
The Holy Spirit Douluo Yali and the Luz Oscuro Douluo Long Yeyue were both living inside it.
The members of the Sea God’s Pavilion for this generation included Pavilion Master Tang Wulin, Elder Long, Yali, the rest of the Shrek Seven Monsters, Wu Zhangkong, Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng. There was a total of twelve people.
The spacious meeting room had also maintained the architectural style of the old Sea God’s Pavilion. The decorations were all modelled after the past as much as possible. At the moment, the seats at both sides of the long table were taken.
Tang Wulin sat on the main seat with Yali and Elder Long at either side of him while the rest were arranged in the following seats.
The most sacred affair in Shrek Academy was the Sea God Pavilion Meeting. Tang Wulin called for the Sea God Pavilion Meeting today for a singular purpose. It was to discuss how to fight against the Pagoda del Espíritu in the upcoming enrollment program.
“So this is the case. The Pagoda del Espíritu’s Spirit Academy is built beside their headquarters. The academy occupies a slightly larger area than our academy. According to the latest intelligence we’ve gathered, the Pagoda del Espíritu is opening two fields within the academy which is the Maestro del Alma academy and the mecha academy. They will be organizing their enrollment on the same day as us. Though they have yet to announce their enrollment method, I imagine that they will certainly be targeting us in many places. The Pagoda del Espíritu is rich. Indeed, they have even become the wealthiest organization on the continent thanks to the Ten Thousand Beast Platform. I’m afraid that we will be at a disadvantage if we were to compete against their financial resources. Thus, I would like to hear your opinions and see if we can figure out a way to compete against them.”
The Pagoda del Espíritu’s situation remained quite well hidden. There was still a month until the final enrollment date. They had only released the news and the date without explaining the requirements. It was already feeling like the coming events were casting long shadows before they arrived.
The biggest issue was their lack of knowledge of the Spirit Academy. They had no idea what the academy had up its sleeves, but there was no doubt that the academy would have Shrek in their sights.
Lan Muzi frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, “ThisThis is a very troubling matter. I’m worried that the Pagoda del Espíritu will compete against us by foul means. For example, they might be offering spirit souls and even the opportunity to enter the Ten Thousand Beast Platform to the students. We can’t compete against those. They genuinely have a clear advantage when it comes to spirit souls. No Maestro del Alma can afford to be without a spirit soul. The Pagoda del Espíritu has been very influential ever since they invented the original black spirit soul. There are many small and medium-sized Maestro del Alma forces that are dependent on them.”
“Even big organizations like the Mecha’s Association have close ties with them now. The situation is not very optimistic for us this time. Although the majority of our alumni are willing to send their descendants to Shrek, it’s very hard to tell if that will be the case if the Pagoda del Espíritu’s offer is more attractive.”
Elder Long frowned and spoke in a deep voice, “We are aware of this. Now is the time for everyone to figure out a way and give some ideas. We are here to discuss the countermeasures, not for you to discuss the difficulties.
Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng exchanged looks. They shook their heads to signify that they had no idea.
Wu Zhangkong sat upright, looking quite stern. He had an icy cold expression, but he also said nothing.
One had no choice but to admit that Shrek did not have any advantage in this situation regardless of how it was analyzed. In fact, the chances were slim.
Shrek was genuinely the number one academy on the continent once upon a time, but it was not that easy for Shrek time to compete against the Spirit Academy founded by Pagoda del Espíritu at the moment. It was only because Shrek had been so powerful that the Pagoda del Espíritu dared not go against them so recklessly in fear of offending Shrek.
The situation had changed, and the Pagoda del Espíritu had nothing to worry about anymore. Moreover, their plan was obviously targeting Shrek. All the calm and peacefulness from before we’re meant to deliver a fatal blow to Shrek at this point.
Never mind the Shrek Seven Monsters, even Long Yeyue and Yali had found that it was a very tricky situation. If this matter was not managed properly, it could cause Shrek’s new foundations to falter.
“Zhangkong, you’re the outer court president. Why don’t you give some ideas about this?” said Elder Long in a deep voice.
Wu Zhangkong nodded. He shifted his gaze toward Tang Wulin and said, “Theoretically speaking, it’s genuinely difficult to handle this manner. We are at a disadvantage in our enrollment program and we can be sure that the opposing side will use all sorts of tricks to disrupt it. I can’t think of any good counter-measures either.”
Elder Long’s face fell at once. They really could not think of anything at the moment.