The afterglow of the setting sun draped a golden veil over Shrek Academy. Furina and Huo Yuhao bid farewell to Bei Bei and Tang Ya, then proceeded slowly along the stone path.
The teaching buildings on both sides cast long shadows in the twilight. The white freshman teaching building and the black sophomore/junior teaching building formed a stark contrast, as if metaphorically representing the vastly different mindsets and experiences of students in different grades.
Passing through the teaching area, a towering building came into view. The dormitory building occupied a vast area, its six-story structure appearing exceptionally massive in the setting sun, yet, for that very reason, it also exuded a hint of oppression.
"The design of this dormitory is truly speechless." Furina stopped, hands on her hips, brows slightly furrowed. "Mixed-gender dorms, just simply divided by upper and lower floors? This is too outrageous!"
Huo Yuhao tilted his head in confusion: "Sister Furina, is there a problem with that?"
"Let me ask you, is Shrek Academy poor?" Furina turned around, her long blue hair gently fluttering in the evening breeze.
Huo Yuhao thought seriously for a moment and replied: "It shouldn't be. As the number one Spirit Master academy for ten thousand years, the tuition alone is ten gold coin, not including food expenses. And look at the decor of these buildings; they are quite luxurious."
"Exactly!" Furina snapped her fingers. "Since they are so wealthy, why insist on squeezing everyone into one building? No matter how large the footprint or how high the floors, it's not as practical as building a few more dormitories. Girls' dorms on top, boys' dorms below—this design is not only strange but also inconvenient."
Huo Yuhao nodded as if realizing something: "Now that you mention it, it is indeed strange. Sister Furina, I remember that the Jianan Academy you established has separate dormitory buildings, right?"
"Of course." Pride colored Furina's tone. "Male and female dorms must be separated; that is the most basic form of respect and convenience. My Jianan Academy would never imitate this approach of Shrek's. A true number one academy shouldn't be so sloppy with such basic configurations."
She sighed softly and continued: "Think about it, the whole building has only one entrance, and the number of restrooms must be very limited. Is it reasonable for thousands of students to share these facilities?"
The two chatted as they walked, and Furina's thoughts gradually drifted away. Perhaps the Shrek of ten thousand years ago was indeed tight on funds, but today, ten thousand years later, the academy was clearly wealthy yet still maintained excessive frugality in many details. Could this be a tradition left behind by the first dean, Flender? But after ten thousand years, any tradition should have kept pace with the times.
Unless... Furina mused to herself, unless it was the inherent conservatism and inertia of the people on the Douluo Continent at play. From the development of Martial Souls to spirit tool technology, the pace of progress on this continent was indeed agonizingly slow. If this were Earth, mere centuries would separate two technological revolutions, while here, thousands of years had passed without seeing any significant Breakthrough. Even in the Douluo III era ten thousand years later, humanity still hadn't broken through to the skies, only achieving interstellar colonization in the Douluo IV era. This speed of development was inextricably linked to the status quo-loving mindset of the Spirit Masters on this continent.
What was even more puzzling was that, after two ten-thousand-year periods, the population hadn't seen explosive growth, and they were still finding new continents to develop. Perhaps the existence of Evil Soul Masters did indeed "control" population growth to some extent... This thought...
"Forget it, forget it," she shook her head, as if to cast away these heavy thoughts. "This isn't something we should worry about. Let Shrek do as it pleases; the main purpose of our trip is to dig for talent."
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but chuckle: "Sister Furina, is it really okay to say that so bluntly?"
"I've already said it, can I take it back?" Furina winked playfully. "Besides, I'm telling the absolute truth."
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