Chapter 371: Shrek Academy from Ten Thousand Years Ago
At the front of the square stood three statues. The central figure was an elderly man wearing glasses, with a gentle, smiling expression. His body was slightly plump, giving off the impression of a kind and friendly teacher.
Bei Bei turned to Huo Yuhao and explained, "The man in the middle is Flander, the founder of Shrek Academy and its first headmaster. To his left is one of my ancestors, Yu Xiaogang, known as the Grandmaster. He established the foundational Wuhun education system used at Shrek Academy today and developed the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. My mother is one of his direct descendants.
To the right is Liu Erlong, another one of my ancestors and also the Grandmaster's wife. These three formed the legendary Golden Iron Triangle.
If Flander created Shrek Academy, then Grandmaster was its true soul, as he was the one who personally trained the Shrek Seven Devils standing behind them."
The Grandmaster's statue depicted a slender middle aged man, while Liu Erlong's was that of a graceful and charming woman.
Behind them stood seven additional statues the legendary Shrek Seven Devils.
At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind.
"Interesting, very interesting. I never expected that, in this world, these people's lives took such a completely different path."
'Elder Ye, do you know the founders of Shrek Academy?' Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.
"In my world, these same people existed, and there was also a Shrek Academy. Tang San and the others were indeed students there… but as far as I know, that so called academy was nothing more than an overrated joke."
'A joke? But wasn't it supposed to be an elite academy that trained geniuses?' Huo Yuhao asked, confused.
"Hahaha, Yuhao, you're still too young. You don't understand how things truly work. Let me show you what Shrek Academy was really like in my world."
Before Huo Yuhao could react, a flood of memories surged into his mind.
From Elder Ye's perspective, he witnessed firsthand the so called "legendary" Shrek Academy, its Shrek Seven Devils, and its so called wise and noble teachers all completely different from what history had recorded.
Shrek Academy only accepted 'monsters', but in truth, that just meant they only took in talented students. However, aside from having some strong teachers, the academy was woefully incompetent at actual education.
Instead of nurturing their so called genius students, they simply threw them into the fighting arenas, forcing them to battle daily under the pretense of "training through real combat".
That wasn't even the worst part.
The academy's facilities were utterly pathetic.
The students ate nothing but steamed buns and pickled vegetables, lived in small village houses that leaked when it rained, and had no access to even the most basic resources.
Ever since its founding, Shrek Academy had enrolled only a few dozen students before Tang San's group arrived. Out of those, only a handful actually graduated.
The rest?
Most either died in the arena, self destructed while absorbing spirit rings, or at best, ended up crippled.
Shrek Academy only accepted geniuses but it had no actual ability to cultivate those geniuses into true experts.
Instead, it led countless prodigies to their deaths.
Its reputation as a "Monster Academy" was nothing more than a fraudulent scam, a third rate school built on deception.
'T This… this is…!'
After processing Elder Ye's memories, Huo Yuhao stared in disbelief at the statues before him.
The legendary Shrek Academy the one glorified throughout history had originally been such a miserable joke?!
And the so called "noble figures" immortalized in these statues…
They were nothing like what he had imagined.
Then, something else caught his attention.
'Elder Ye… you were actually the teacher of my ancestor, Zhu Zhuqing?!' Huo Yuhao exclaimed. 'But in my world, she ascended to the God Realm!'
"That's to be expected. While our worlds share many similarities even having the same people certain details have developed differently."
Elder Ye explained, "Back in my world, I took an interest in that child. She had extraordinary willpower and a strong conviction. Seeing her potential, I accepted her as my student."
"She later proved herself, becoming a Titled Douluo. After that, she returned to the Star Luo Empire, annulled her arranged marriage, and somehow ended up becoming Empress. She even abolished the tradition of princes fighting each other to the death for the throne."
'And what about my ancestor, Dai Mubai?' Huo Yuhao asked. 'What happened to him?'
"Dai Mubai?" Elder Ye sounded slightly confused, as if he had barely remembered the name.
"Oh, him. I'm not entirely sure. Based on his talent at the time, if he didn't have some miracle encounter or a god choosing him, he would have, at best, become a Titled Douluo. There was no way he could have become a god."
"Perhaps he died of old age… or maybe he was wiped out when the Abyssal Demons invaded. Who knows?" Elder Ye said indifferently.
'The differences between our worlds… are truly massive…'
The more he learned about the alternate reality, the more shocked Huo Yuhao became.
Then, a sudden thought struck him.
'Wait… if the old Shrek Academy was such garbage, then could this Shrek Academy… be the same?'
However, he quickly dismissed the idea.
While he hadn't enrolled yet, he could already tell that Shrek Academy in his world had far greater prestige than its counterpart in Elder Ye's world.
Its resources were abundant, and it held significant influence across the continent.
It simply couldn't be the same useless institution that Elder Ye described.
…Right?
For now, he would reserve judgment.
Although he hadn't seen the inner workings of the academy yet, Elder Ye's memories had already begun to change his mindset.
He no longer viewed Shrek Academy as a sacred, untouchable legend.
His blind admiration had started to crumble.
Even the statues of Flander and the others figures he once idolized now seemed slightly ridiculous in his eyes.
Exactly as Elder Ye intended.
After all, if Huo Yuhao didn't start questioning Shrek Academy's true nature, if he became too emotionally attached to it, then that would be… annoying.
Their conversation had taken place entirely on a spiritual level, meaning that, in reality, only a brief moment had passed.
To anyone watching, it simply looked like Huo Yuhao was attentively listening.
Meanwhile, Bei Bei continued to passionately explain the "greatness" of the statues detailing the "glorious history" of Shrek Academy and its founders.
But now, with the truth in his heart, Huo Yuhao could barely hold back his laughter.
These people had no idea.
They worshiped legends that weren't even real.
How… pitiful.
(End of Chapter.)
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