Furina withdrew her hand and said in a firm tone, "But once the continent is unified, taking action against Shrek will be a matter of time. Because your strength and power are too great—so great that they exceed the tolerance range of any ruler."
Yan Shaozhe remained silent, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the armrest of his wheelchair—once, twice, three times.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head.
"...You are right."
He frowned deeply: "The power Shrek possesses is indeed great. But for us to compromise and give up this power is unlikely. Even if Elder Mu and I agreed, what about the others? Would those old veterans agree?"
He sighed, his voice revealing an indescribable weariness and helplessness: "Traditions that have continued for ten thousand years cannot be changed just by saying so. Moreover, many things concern the glory of Shrek and cannot be easily compromised."
Furina nodded, indicating her understanding: "Yes, I know that too. But I can only say this is the best choice. Since it is an academy, it should look like an academy—not an... organization that possesses such a massive armed establishment."
She chose a relatively neutral word.
Shrek had indeed exceeded the scope of an "academy"—it had its own city, its own army, could research and sell spirit tools, and had a Supervision Team running all over the continent. With power, influence, and money, it was no exaggeration to call it a state within a state.
Elder Mu nodded slightly, then immediately asked: "Thank you for your answer. Besides this, what other opinions do you have about Shrek?"
Furina smiled helplessly, put down her crossed legs, leaned forward, and rested her elbows on her knees.
"You really want to hear a lot of things. However, for the sake of your Face, I am still willing to talk about it."
She held up one finger: "Let's start with education. I won't say too much; you already know my opinion. Shrek's education is too rigid. And to be honest, your initial guiding principle was wrong from the start."
She gestured with two fingers: "If Shrek is a Monster Academy, it shouldn't just recruit monsters; it should be about training ordinary people into monsters. Teaching a Genius to become a Genius—who can't do that? If I don't teach them anything and just provide resources, they can become Geniuses on their own."
Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Furina raised her hand to interrupt him, pressing her palm down in the air: "Alright, alright, I know what you want to say. Even if you reformed the education plan according to my suggestions, I actually still feel something is missing."
Elder Mu sat up a little straighter, his gray eyebrows raising: "Oh? What is missing?"
Furina looked at him, putting away her earlier casual expression, and said seriously: "Moral character. Educating students on moral character is very important. The people you train might truly be powerhouses, but is the moral character of the vast majority of them really good?"
She pursed her lips toward the Soul Fighting Area: "Take Dai Huabin for example. What is the point of letting him have power? People like him, without good guidance, will only become worse and worse, forever immersed in their own world, unable to get out."
"And Ma Xiaotao." Furina turned to look at Yan Shaozhe, her tone calm yet direct, "In some aspects, she could be called a selfish person. Knowing full well that she is at risk of Qi Deviation, she still continues to Cultivate. Isn't this harming others and herself?"
Yan Shaozhe fell silent.
He lowered his eyes, staring at a spot on the ground, motionless. He was Ma Xiaotao's teacher and knew better than anyone how serious her situation was. Yet, as her teacher, he had no way to stop it, let alone solve it.
He could only watch helplessly as she walked step by step toward the abyss.
Furina continued: "Without good guidance at the beginning, the result later is just a Cultivation maniac. I don't expect everyone to be raised into some great saint, but at least don't harm others, and don't become a bad person, right?"
She shook her head: "In this regard, you at Shrek didn't do well from the beginning. As the number one academy, what you need to train is not just powerhouses and monsters."
She paused, then threw out an even sharper topic.
"And regarding the definition of Evil Soul Master."
She looked at Elder Mu and Yan Shaozhe, tapping her fingers lightly on her knees: "You cannot directly define someone as an Evil Soul Master just because their Martial Soul is naturally a so-called evil Martial Soul. Weren't there possessors of evil Martial Souls among the reserve members of the Original Shrek Seven Devils ten thousand years ago? I remember it was a Skeleton Martial Soul, right? By today's standards, he would probably be branded an Evil Soul Master too."
"And the Ghost Douluo from back then, if placed today, would undoubtedly be an Evil Soul Master."
She spread her hands, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness: "You define them from the beginning as the Incarnation of evil Martial Souls, don't let them Cultivate, and even directly cripple their cultivation base; isn't this pushing people toward becoming Evil Soul Masters? If it were you, being treated as a bad person without having done anything bad, what would you think?"
Yan Shaozhe remained silent.
These words pricked his heart like needles, one after another, stinging painfully.
Especially the matter regarding Ma Xiaotao.
He raised his head, his lips moving, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Furina, regarding Ma Xiaotao..."
He paused, seemingly organizing his words, or perhaps struggling to suppress some emotion: "You are right. She is indeed... indeed very dangerous. As her teacher, I..."
He clenched his fists: "Do you have any way? Can you solve that problem on her?"
He looked at Furina, his eye sockets slightly reddened, his gaze carrying an unprecedented earnestness and plea: "Ma Xiaotao... she is not a bad person. She is just too competitive, too eager to become strong. I, as a teacher, cannot help her, and can only watch helplessly as she step by step..."
He couldn't continue, turned his Face away, and raised his hand to vigorously rub the corners of his eyes.
Elder Mu watched quietly from the side, not interrupting.
After a moment, he slowly spoke, saying gently: "That child Ma Xiaotao, I have also watched her grow up. Her talent is excellent, and her Heart-Nature is not bad either. It's just this Evil Fire that is truly difficult to deal with."
He looked at Furina, his gaze carrying a hint of anticipation: "If you have any solution, feel free to say it. Shrek will not let you help for nothing."
Yan Shaozhe hurriedly nodded along, his voice still trembling a little: "Yes, yes, yes, whatever conditions you have, feel free to raise them. As long as Ma Xiaotao can return to normal, everything is negotiable."
Furina looked at the two of them, silent for a few seconds.
She leaned back, tapping her fingers lightly on her knees twice, as if thinking about something.
"A solution... it's not that there isn't one."
She tilted her head, her tone becoming a bit lighter: "However, this is a long story. And it depends on whether Ma Xiaotao herself is willing to cooperate. If she is unwilling, no matter how much I say, it will be useless."
Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up, his whole body leaning forward, and he hurriedly pressed: "What does she need to do? I can convince her!"
Furina waved her hand, signaling him not to rush: "Don't rush. This matter cannot be rushed. Let's wait until Ma Xiaotao returns from the Extreme North Land. At that time, have her come find me, and I will talk to her personally."
She added: "However, you must be mentally prepared. This process might be very long, and it might not necessarily be completely solved. But at least... it can make her less dangerous."
Saying this, she was actually very clear in her heart.
Both she and Huo Yuhao had Ultimate attributes; one had Ultimate Water, the other Ultimate Ice. Joining forces to purify her was more than enough. But she couldn't reveal her trump cards directly right now; she had to leave some leeway.
Of course, purification was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. The fundamental problem was still to let her Martial Soul evolve and shake off the entanglement of the Evil Fire. For example, going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to find some Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower or something similar.
However, she didn't intend to tell Shrek about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for the time being. She would send people to scout the path later and occupy that treasure land first.
She stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and casually added: "Of course, Shrek will have to bleed a little at that time. After all, my Axis Cult is not a charity."
Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, the wrinkles on his Face smoothing out: "It should be! It should be! Whatever you need, just ask! Spirit Bones, spirit tools, Cultivation resources—as long as Shrek has them, you can choose whatever you want!"
Elder Mu watched this scene, the corners of his mouth slightly rising, revealing a hint of a smile on his aged Face.
He said softly: "Shaozhe, learn more from Furina. This girl sees things much more clearly than you do."
Yan Shaozhe gave a bitter smile and did not refute. He just looked at Furina, his eyes full of gratitude.
Over at the Soul Fighting Area, Elder Xuan's lecture finally ended. Huo Yuhao and the other six were walking outside, their Faces carrying a bit of excitement and weariness, chatting about something as they walked.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"