Chapter 1168: They Need More Experience?

Furthermore, these people were exceptional talents such as Shrek’s Seven Monsters, Wu Siduo, Xu Yucheng, Luo Guixing, Yang Nianxia, and Zheng Yiran. All of them were going to be imperative to Shrek Academy's future revival.

Tang Wulin suddenly said, "Teacher Wu, I have a suggestion."

"Oh?" Wu Zhangkong turned toward him in an intrigued manner.

Tang Wulin continued, "Seeing as everyone is willing to give everything they have for the future of Shrek Academy, I don't think it would be in their best interest to stay here all the time."

Wu Zhangkong's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "What do you mean?"

Tang Wulin replied, "If they stay here in this isolated little bubble, all they'll experience are improvements in cultivation rank and nothing else. If we want to maximize their power in order to create a stronger foundation for the revival of Shrek Academy, they have to grow mentally as well, and they must also come into contact with the outside world; perhaps it'll even be necessary for them to go out into society in the future under all types of different identities. With their aptitude, they should quickly be able to make some substantial achievements and garner widespread support. When Shrek Academy steps into the limelight to announce its return, they'll have all reached high positions and can play major roles in the revival of the academy."

"No," Wu Zhangkong immediately rejected, "That won't work. With so many people, no matter how cautious everyone is, someone is inevitably going to let something slip. Besides, don't you think it'll raise suspicions for over 200 exceptional talents to suddenly appear? They're all students of Shrek Academy, and it'll be very likely that their covers will be blown if they get released into society like this. If they get exposed, all of the powers that are against Shrek Academy will work together to hunt them down, and they'll be in grave danger."

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "Your concerns are valid, but continuing to cultivate exclusively in this underground sanctuary where they can't even see the light of day is too detrimental to everyone's development. Our Douluo Continent is a huge place, and a war is most likely going to commence in the near future. All of the major powers will have their attention focused on this war, so even though there are more than 200 of us, if we spread everyone across different places, it won't attract that much attention. Besides, we can disguise them and change their identities as well."

Wu Zhangkong's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Tell me your specific plan."

These thoughts had also formulated very quickly in Tang Wulin's mind, and he had constantly been thinking about this matter since the destruction of Shrek Academy, so he was able to quickly devise a plan.

"Firstly, I suggest that everyone must attain better survival skills, so I think we should send them to the demonic island in batches to undergo military training. Once they successfully return from the demonic island, their survival skills will undoubtedly be significantly improved, and they'll also learn a series of disguise techniques that'll make it very easy for them to integrate themselves into society. As for alternative identities, that's even simpler to arrange; the Tang Sect may be coming under heavy oppression at the moment, but a sect that has stood at the pinnacle of the continent for 20,000 years isn't that easy to bring down.

"With the Tang Sect's assistance, fabricating new identities for everyone won't be a difficult task. I'll contact the Tang Sect to arrange this, and after that, everyone can be released into society. They can join the army or take on certain occupations or even join some sects. Of course, some of them have to remain here, and this will be the headquarters for our Shrek revival project, as well as the temporary Shrek Academy. We can even enroll more students through the Tang Sect, and when we decide to rebuild Shrek Academy in the future, all of these people will step forward to prevent the new Shrek Academy from collapsing."

Wu Zhangkong's eyes gradually glazed over as he listened to Tang Wulin's plan. He was quite elated at the prospect of this ambitious plan, but that elation was also tinged with a hint of bitterness.

It had been over a year since the academy had been destroyed, and during this time, he had been the strictest teacher, constantly urging the students to improve themselves with all their might. They were fighting against time every day, but he suddenly discovered that his thought process had been too dogmatic and narrow-minded. Compared to Tang Wulin, he was an old man, and this disciple of his was only becoming more and more mature. His thought processes and judgments had already exceeded that of his teacher.

"What do you think, Teacher Wu?" Tang Wulin asked.

Wu Zhangkong nodded in response. "You're right, I'm being overly cautious. Let's follow your plan. I'll select the first batch of students to be sent to the demonic island, and I'll make sure to select those who excel both in strength and willpower. Your plan is very sound, and I'll take care of the logistics from the inside, but I'll have to leave it to you to take care of all of the external matters, especially when it comes to contacting all of the different powers. At the same time, if we want to drastically enhance these children's abilities, we'll be needing more resources, especially when it comes to the battle armor department.

"You've shown us that five-ring Soul Kings can attain suits of one-word battle armor, and even four-ring Soul Ancestors can just barely satisfy the requirements as well, but the main problem we're currently facing is a lack of resources. Uncommon metals are very hard to come by, and the academy didn't leave behind enough wealth for us, so you'll have to address those matters as well. If I'm not mistaken, you're already a sixth-rank blacksmith, right? Can you get some uncommon metals from the blacksmith association to forge suits of battle armor for everyone? We'll take care of the final construction."

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "Leave it to me. Also, I'm already a seventh-rank Saint Blacksmith, so I can even forge metals required for suits of three-word battle armor. Wu Siduo and the others are all ready for suits of three-word battle armor, right? I can begin forging metals for them once I source the raw materials." 

Wu Zhangkong faltered slightly upon hearing this, immediately following which a smile appeared on his face for the first time in a long time. He was already a Saint Blacksmith!

A Saint Blacksmith was going to be very, very useful to Shrek Academy. The academy once had Blazing Dragon Douluo Feng Wuyu as their sole Saint Blacksmith, and he was enough to support all of Shrek Academy's forging needs. Now, Tang Wulin had also become a Saint Blacksmith; didn't that mean that he could take over Feng Wuyu's role?

In this current world, individual power was naturally very important, but in order to become a truly powerful being, battle armor was imperative. Among these 216 people, he was the only three-word battle armor master, and that was nowhere near enough. Now that Tang Wulin had become a Saint Blacksmith who was capable of soul refinement, he would be able to drastically minimize the time required to forge metals for everyone's suits of high-grade battle armor, and that was definitely fantastic news.

"What about you? Are you already a three-word battle armor master?" Wu Zhangkong asked in an expectant manner.

Tang Wulin replied, "I've already forged the metals required for my suit of battle armor, and only the final construction is required. I've already called up my friends, and once they return, I should be able to become a three-word battle armor master very soon."

Wu Zhangkong heaved a long sigh upon hearing this. Tang Wulin's arrival had ignited the flames of hope in his heart. Even though he had constantly been doing everything in his power and telling all of the students that Shrek Academy had to be revived, he knew just how difficult an undertaking this was going to be. However, Tang Wulin's return had given him something of the utmost importance; it was hope!

With hope, everything was possible.

With that in mind, Wu Zhangkong's smile instantly widened even further.

Tang Wulin said, "Send Wu Siduo and the others to the demonic island as part of the first batch. With that experience under their belt, they'll become even more mature. All of them had been oppressed for too long after the destruction of the academy; they need to go out and relax."

He was sure that if Xu Yucheng were to undergo the military training on the demonic island, it wouldn't be as easy to draw emotional responses out of him as it had been earlier today.