Tang Yuehua walked calmly to the door, her appearance immediately drawing exclamations from the crowd.
Beautiful women were common, but those with true elegance were rare. Many citizens and knights' eyes changed upon seeing Tang Yuehua.
Li Xun also nodded inwardly. He had seen many beautiful women, and if he wanted, countless beauties would throw themselves at him. But someone like Tang Yuehua was indeed rare.
However, beauty was beauty, and it wasn't enough for Li Xun to give her special treatment. This wasn't because Tang Yuehua was a waste with only level nine soul power, but because she seemed to be in love with her own brother.
Remaining unmarried for life because of loving someone she shouldn't - ordinary people might find such emotions touching, but in a world where strength reigns supreme, Li Xun found it quite outrageous.
"Sir, do you have any evidence that my Moon Pavilion is harboring disciples of the Clear Sky Sect?" Tang Yuehua's gaze swept over the group, immediately recognizing Li Xun as the leader.
"Aren't you the evidence?" Li Xun said with a half-smile.
"Sir must not joke with me. How could a humble woman like myself bear such an accusation?" Tang Yuehua's heart skipped a beat, her expression instantly turning aggrieved.
"I can arrest people without evidence, let alone with it."
Seeing those noble youths being escorted away, Li Xun smiled, "Tang Yuehua, sister of Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, am I right? You don't need to deny it. I'm not interrogating you now."
"Take her away."
"How can you arrest people without solid evidence?" Beads of sweat instantly appeared on Tang Yuehua's forehead, but before she could argue further, she was taken away by the knights.
"Commander Luo, keep her secure. No need for interrogation or torture, just keep her as bait." Li Xun thought for a moment, "Have you found the location of those Shrek people?"
"We haven't traced Yu Xiaogang's whereabouts yet, but we've found the others. Led by Flender, Zhao Wuji and the rest have gathered again in Suotuo City, reopening Shrek's old site. I hear they're currently preparing for student recruitment," Roxsen said cautiously.
"Recruitment? Still the same old method?" Li Xun found it quite surreal.
Roxsen was used to it: "Yes, the requirements for talent and tuition are the same as before."
Li Xun frowned in thought: "The empire should start implementing compulsory education. In the future, such garbage academies won't need to exist."
Two and a half months later.
Suotuo City remained prosperous. Thanks to the empire's current policies, the economy, which had declined due to the suppression of rebellion, had grown again.
Now, with Yang Qianjun as the highest official in Barak Province, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's support for this area was much greater than for other regions.
But how could ordinary people know about the changes and decisions at the top? Even a powerful figure like Flender, without connections, was just a commoner. He had no access to certain intelligence.
At this moment, Flender was lying in the courtyard of Shrek, basking in the sun.
Liu Erlong had disappeared, his proud disciple had died, and the Soul Master Competition two years ago had been full of twists and turns. Now he seemed to have lost interest in everything.
Half a year ago, Flender had returned here in a daze, found Zhao Wuji and others who also had nowhere to go, and then decided to put everything behind him and start anew.
"Headmaster, should we lower our requirements a bit? Many people have come to inquire, but their aptitudes are just slightly below our standard," Zhao Wuji said in a muffled voice. "We have no income at all this way!"
Although Shrek's performance in the last Soul Master Competition wasn't great, it had shown enough prowess compared to some academies. Therefore, some commoners who couldn't afford good academies came here out of admiration.
"Quality over quantity for students," Flender said, swaying in his rocking chair, unmoved.
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji grimaced but had no solution.
Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something: "Headmaster, there's one more thing. The Clear Sky Sect has become the guardian sect of Star Luo Empire now, and there are rumors that Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire have been having some friction lately. It seems things might become unstable soon."
"Our area is right at the gateway of Heaven Dou Empire. Isn't it a bit unsafe?"
Flender's rocking chair paused, his eyes hidden behind his glasses slightly widened: "Let's see how the situation develops. With our strength, we can escape at any time."
Now there were many miscellaneous rumors in the streets, most of them judgments about the continent's situation. They often compared the strengths of the two great empires.
Originally, Star Luo Empire was at a disadvantage because Heaven Dou Empire not only had the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School but also had an ambiguous relationship with Spirit Hall. However, all of this became uncertain with the emergence of the Clear Sky Sect.
Not to mention that the empire's current policies greatly suppressed the soul master community, causing many scattered soul masters to flee to Star Luo Empire seeking protection. Although no one knew the exact numbers, with this ebb and flow, most people who didn't know the truth thought that the strength of the two great empires should be roughly equal now.
"Who are you people!"
Just as Flender and Zhao Wuji were chatting idly, sudden shouts came from Shrek's main gate. The two immediately recognized it as the voice of the academy's teacher.
"We are from the newly established Education Department of the empire. We're here to check if you have the qualifications to run an academy," a bespectacled civil servant said softly. "First, I will inspect your basic facilities. If they don't meet the standards, please make improvements. Otherwise, according to the empire's newly issued policies, we will have to shut down Shrek Academy."
He then handed a document to Shao Xin.
Flender and Zhao Wuji heard this and walked out from inside the academy: "When did this happen? How come there wasn't any wind of it beforehand?"
"The empire issued the order two months ago. It's just that this place is a bit far, so it was delayed. I heard that even Heavenly Dou Royal Academy has changed its name to Imperial Capital Academy because of this," the civil servant pushed up his glasses.
Flender carefully examined the document in his hand, his face darkening. It clearly stated the empire's plans for the future education of children, saying that as long as a six-year-old awakened soul power and chose to enter an academy established by the empire, the child would receive free education until the age of sixteen.
For ordinary people who hadn't awakened soul power, there would also be special academies open for enrollment, and these academies would teach more skills.
Although it was a beneficial policy for the people, the empire also had requirements. The condition for entering these two types of academies was that after graduation, one must serve in the military or in institutions belonging to the empire.
"How will other academies survive after this?"
Because of the existence of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, a money-making powerhouse, Flender had no doubt about whether the empire had the financial power to implement such a large-scale beneficial policy.
"The empire issuing such a policy will affect the survival of so many soul masters. What is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School doing? Aren't they afraid?" Flender clutched the document tightly, muttering.
Everyone present was a soul master with keen senses. The civil servant heard this and narrowed his eyes: "I don't know if those above are afraid, but given the current tense situation, for your own safety, I advise you to stay put. Otherwise, you might be labeled as a traitor."
"Thank you for the advice," Flender nodded, his expression grave.
The civil servant smiled without saying more, and began to inspect Shrek's basic facilities and qualifications.
After inspection, although Shrek had strong teaching staff, it didn't meet the qualifications for a high-level academy, and its fee system was too expensive. They were ordered to make improvements.
Flender wasn't surprised by this result. After the civil servants left, the Shrek group gathered together to discuss their future development.
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