The Legend of the Dragon King

Panda Novel

“When Shrek Academy was targeted by the Godkiller-ranked fixed soul ammunition, the esteemed institution vanished into thin air. However, according to our latest reports, Shrek Academy wasn’t completely destroyed in that explosion. During that surprise terrorist attack, Shrek Academy’s teachers sacrificed their own lives to protect their students. The students were sent to a shelter. After enduring much hardship, Shrek is finally being rebuilt.”

“The greatest academy on the continent is sacred ground for many soul masters. Its reconstruction means that the continent’s soul masters could welcome its return. It has always been a mystery as to why Shrek City was hit by Godkiller-ranked fixed soul ammunitions back then, and the federal government has been unable to get to the bottom of this mystery until now. One wonders if Shrek Academy’s survivors know more about the truth behind this than the officials.”

“Moments ago, Shrek Academy’s reconstruction was challenged.”

The scene changed, and blaring sirens were heard. A dozen police cars entered the construction site, and the captain’s shouts were clearly heard through the screen’s speakers.

As that played out on the screen, the captain was sitting beside the lieutenant colonel. The color drained from his face as he watched the report.

An hour! It had only been an hour!

Even the lieutenant colonel’s mind went blank. What control over public opinion! What was happening?

“Why would a sheriff with the rank of captain have the authority to question Shrek’s reconstruction? We all have a huge question mark above our heads. Shrek City is autonomous, as it has been this way since ancient times. It’s tradition. Now that Shrek is being rebuilt, does this mean that this tradition is no longer in effect? If so, we’ll have to ask, on whose orders was this captain acting? Why would they want to go against Shrek Academy? We don’t have any proof, but this may be a clue to uncovering the truth behind the tragedy.”

This news report did not implicitly state that they were the culprits, but every word was razor-sharp!

The captain’s expression was extremely sour. He had no way of imagining the situation that he would have to face after he had returned. Shrek Academy had incredible influence while he was only a captain, a nobody.

“Soon after the captain left, a lieutenant colonel arrived.”

The reporter’s voice was like a giant hammer that struck the lieutenant colonel’s heart. At that moment, he found that it was difficult for him to breathe.

This was too quick. It had been less than ten minutes since the affair. Could it be that the news channel was broadcasting this live?

Then, he saw with extreme clarity the title deed burning in his own hands, after which he haughtily said that it no longer existed.

The captain had only started a squabble, but he had also burned Shrek Academy’s title deed.

‘It’s over. It’s all over.’

At Shrek Academy’s construction ground Yue Zhengyu exclaimed, “I had wanted to pretend for a bit in the beginning, but I thought better of it. That’s how kind a person I am.” As he said this, he produced a title deed from his pocket. It looked identical to the one that was burned. Everyone of them had one or two copies with them.

They had been well prepared for Shrek’s reconstruction.

Tang Wulin smiled faintly. “Let’s see how long it’ll take until they send someone else over.”

Xie Xie guffawed. “When the water rises we use earth to keep it back. When the soldiers arrive, we use a general to keep them off. Let the storm rage with even more ferocity!”

Tang Wulin’s eyes flickered. ‘That’s right! Let them all come. I’d like to see who can stop Shrek’s reconstruction.’

The media’s tracking of news was too swift. It was so quick that the Federation did not even have the time to send out a gag order before news of Shrek’s reconstruction had already spread across the entire continent.

When the recording of the two sheriffs going to give trouble to Shrek’s reconstruction came out, the emotions of the people flared up even more for a time.

The first place where problems arose was inside the federal army.

Whether it was from the middle or higher ranks, hard questions were raised and spread quickly. When Shrek Academy was destroyed, everything had happened so fast that the elites who graduated from Shrek Academy did not even have the time to react.

Now that Shrek’s reconstruction was faced with such unjust treatment, the Shrek alumni who were initially overjoyed at the news decided to quit.

For a time, various federal departments received countless angry calls. The soldiers and high-ranking government officials had voiced out their suspicions.

By that point, some parties realized that it would be difficult to stop Shrek Academy’s reconstruction through official channels.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Shrek Academy had started its reconstruction under seemingly impossible conditions!

Under pressure from all sides, the federal government dared not issue a gag order. Reports about Shrek Academy’s reconstruction started to spread like wildfire.

However, there were some differing voices as well. For example, there was hazardous radiation on the land beside the ruins on which Shrek Academy was being reconstructed. How could they allow students to study in such a location? Their lives would be at risk. Also, Shrek Academy’s faculty members had been practically wiped out, so how would they cope with teaching duties?

There were also those who opined that the current Shrek was no longer the great academy it once was. The great disaster had destroyed everything Shrek had, and so on.

However, at the same time when such skeptical voices were voiced out, the banks of the Sea God Lake saw a spike in human traffic.

The first ones to arrive were the family members of the students who “came back to life”. Nobody cared more about Shrek’s reconstruction than them. Their children still being alive was more important than anything else.

Sounds of people crying could be heard on Shrek Academy’s construction site practically every day. Shrek Academy took three days to erect the first large-scale isolation barrier. The barrier covered the area where the three teaching blocks were. Within that area, there was no need to wear protective attire, and people could go about their daily activities as usual.

The wire mesh net was still being expanded as they continued to cover the periphery. At the same time, Shrek Academy had also announced that Shrek City’s original location was Shrek Academy’s private property. Nobody was to enter without permission.

The people who came after the students’ family members were those who came to deliver goods.

Various items, whether they were useful or not, swarmed to the construction site in great numbers. All of it came from Shrek Academy alumni.

The alumni had also established a fund for Shrek’s reconstruction, and there were many who contributed to it every day. The funds would be directly accessible by the academy.

The effects of the clarion call were starting to show.

Tang Wulin left Xu Xiaoyan and Tang Yinmeng in charge of connecting with the graduates. Such a network did not exist in the old Shrek, but it was of paramount importance to the new Shrek Academy.

Everything progressed well and wen according to their plans.

What intrigued Tang Wulin and his companions was that there were no actions taken by the Spirit Pagoda after the first day. The Spirit Pagoda had sent a flower basket to congratulate Shrek on its reconstruction. After that, they heard nothing more from them.

Over the next few days, everything was calm. Even the swarm from the media coming to do interviews thinned. It was as though everyone was expecting something while it felt as if the rising winds were warning of the coming storm.

The Sea God Lake was enormous. Its surface area was equivalent to the former Shrek City. After half a month, the wire mesh net had only covered roughly a third of the circumference. On the other hand, the progress of Shrek Academy’s teaching blocks was something to celebrate. After the initial protective soul devices were in place, Shrek Academy’s students were all focused on the auxiliary construction works. Mo Lan had sent two more batches of smiths over. If they kept this up, the building would be more or less finished within two months. Then, they would begin readying the interior.

The installation of various soul devices was carried out amid a din of drums and gongs. After the protective barrier was set up, the second large-scale soul device installed was the interference wave which would hinder radar and satellites trying to monitor them.