Seven days passed very quickly.
Within these seven days, the news of Shrek Academy's impending reconstruction had spread across the entire continent, sparking a frenzy of discussion in every corner.
However, just as Huo Yuhao had anticipated, the interior attitude of the Federation towards this was not unified.
Although no one openly stepped forward to oppose the reconstruction of Shrek Academy, many high-ranking officials clearly expressed their concerns.
They were unwilling to see an academy that surpassed the Federation's rules rise again, nor did they wish to see that prestigious institution, which once possessed enormous influence, stand at the center of power once more.
By the day Shrek Academy announced its reconstruction, quite a few people had gathered around the Shrek ruins early in the morning.
Some of them were ordinary citizens who rushed over from nearby, purely to watch the excitement.
Others were spies dispatched by various factions, wanting to gather firsthand intelligence at the very first moment.
However, there were no peerless powerhouses among these people; Spirit Douluos were in the majority, and Titled Douluos could hardly be seen.
This subtle lineup itself already explained many problems; the major factions did not pay much attention to this soon-to-be-rebuilt Shrek Academy.
In their view, Shrek Academy currently had only "a few kittens and puppies", and there were no powerhouses worth noting.
Although Long Yeyue was a Limit Douluo, she was advanced in age after all, and probably didn't have many years left to live.
If Shrek Academy truly still had a sufficient number of powerhouses, it should have been rebuilt long ago; why drag it out until today?
The wind blew through the ruins, kicking up wisps of dust and fine gravel.
The onlookers stood together in twos and threes, conversing in low voices, their gazes falling on the temporarily cleared open space in the center of the ruins, waiting for the protagonist of this ceremony to appear.
As the sun gradually rose, sunlight crossed the broken walls at the edge of the ruins, illuminating the entire open space brightly, and the people of Shrek Academy finally appeared.
When everyone saw figures emerging from the water surface of Sea God Lake, many people couldn't help but widen their eyes; only then did they realize that these people from Shrek had been hiding right here all along.
Someone roughly counted that there were about two hundred plus Shrek people appearing on the ground today, among whom the lowest cultivation had already reached the Spirit King level.
Such a lineup could be considered impressive in any academy, let alone that most of these people were still very young.
But compared to the past glory of the number one academy on the continent, it was naturally still much inferior.
Whispering sounds began to rise within the crowd, starting with a few scattered sentences, and then rapidly spreading out like ripples brushed by the wind on the water's surface.
"These people are all so young, and their strength doesn't seem weak at all."
"I know that person! His parents always thought he was dead, but who would have thought he's still alive, and hasn't even contacted home all these years."
"I didn't expect that besides Long Yeyue and Cai Yue'er, Shrek Academy actually still has Titled Douluos?"
"That seems to be Wu Zhangkong, who is also a teacher of the academy, but I don't have much impression of the other two."
"That is Shrek Inner Court Senior Brother Lan Muzi; he actually made a Breakthrough to Titled Douluo? The other one should be called Tang Yinmeng."
...
These scattered murmurs fell into Long Yeyue's ears, yet she found them quite enjoyable, because the vast majority of the voices she heard were expressing shock.
The crowd was shocked that Shrek actually had so many survivors, shocked by the cultivation of these youths, and shocked by the foundation buried beneath those ruins.
Yet perhaps she had long forgotten that the past Shrek Academy didn't need others' shock to manifest its existence, because the name itself represented strength and confidence.
But nowadays, although those discussions were lively, they ultimately lacked a bit of that taken-for-granted awe from back then.
As the current strongest person of Shrek Academy, Long Yeyue stood on that cleared open space, with her back to the ruins and facing the crowd.
Her gaze slowly swept across the unfamiliar faces around her, and she said in a steady voice: "First of all, thank you all for coming to observe the ceremony and witness Shrek Academy seeing the light of day once again."
"Five years ago, the Holy Spirit Cult used despicable means, employing two 12th-rank Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shells and over a hundred high-tier Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shells, to attack Shrek Academy."
"The academy was reduced to ruins, and outsiders all thought that Shrek Academy had thus perished."
She paused, a trace of sorrow on her face, and her voice deepened slightly: "But back then, it was the teachers of Shrek Academy who protected these Student today at the cost of sacrificing themselves."
"And they did not let the academy down; now they have grown up and become the fire seeds for Shrek Academy to reignite the fire of hope."
As she spoke, Long Yeyue's gaze involuntarily swept past the crowd and landed on the towering Spirit Pagoda in the distance.
Her mental force had quietly swept across the surroundings just now, yet she didn't find anyone from the Spirit Pagoda present.
How the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult transported those Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shells into Shrek City back then—Long Yeyue's greatest object of suspicion was Qiangu Dongfeng.
A year ago, she received news that Qiangu Dongfeng had been secretly executed by the Federation for colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult.
Although the main culprit was already dead, her hatred towards the Spirit Pagoda did not dissipate because of this.
If not for the fact that the reconstruction of Shrek Academy was the top priority now, she probably couldn't help but rush up to the Spirit Pagoda, give Old Tower Master Qiangu Dieting another slap, and ask him how on earth he taught such a son.
But in the end she didn't do that; she merely withdrew her gaze, looked back at the crowd in front of her, and pressed those surging emotions back deep into her chest.
With Shrek Academy rebuilding, while some opposed it, naturally others supported it.
After all, over so many years, Shrek had cultivated countless graduated Student who had now entered various strata and factions of the Federation, and naturally, quite a few of them always had their hearts turned toward Shrek Academy.
It was precisely because she received these voices of support that Long Yeyue became even more determined that Shrek Academy could recreate its past glory.
After a passionate and stirring speech, Long Yeyue's voice raised slightly, announcing: "During this one year, Shrek Academy will undergo reconstruction, and after one year, Shrek Academy will officially resume enrollment."
When these words fell, in most people's hearts, the core content of this reconstruction ceremony should probably have ended here.
However, just as everyone was ready to leave, Cai Yue'er stepped forward, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
She slowly opened her mouth, her clear voice piercing through the noise in the crowd: "After years of accumulation, our Shrek Student are not afraid of difficulties and cultivation hard; today two Student are about to Breakthrough to Titled Douluo, please witness this here."
This sentence was like a stone thrown into the center of the lake, instantly stirring up a ripple in the crowd.
Those people who were originally preparing to disperse regained their interest in their hearts, not expecting that there would still be such a segment at the end.
After Cai Yue'er finished speaking, she pointed her hand, and two figures quickly walked forward from the Student queue.
Na'er walked in the front, her silvery-white long hair emitting a soft luster in the morning light.
Yuanen Yehui followed closely behind, that head of wine-red short hair swaying slightly in the wind, her gaze resolute, carrying a kind of eager-to-try sharpness.
The surrounding onlookers couldn't help falling silent for a moment, their gazes landing on them with a trace of surprise.
They didn't expect that the two Student of Shrek Academy about to Breakthrough to Titled Douluo would be so young, and unexpectedly two girls.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.