Myriad Dao Academy flourished above the East Sea, its literary radiance dazzling and its presence magnificent. It had already become a sanctuary that could not be ignored.
Yet the grand tide of the Primordial Era was like an endless river of fate. It would not alter its established course merely because one corner of the world prospered.
Above the Nine Heavens, at the edge of Chaos, stood Purple Firmament Palace.
Its gates opened once more, and Dao resonance filled the air.
This was Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third—and final—lecture on the Great Dao! Unlike the previous two, the threshold for this lecture was even higher. Those who could enter these gates—
were all among the Primordial World's foremost innate gods and demons, individuals blessed with immense fortune and unwavering resolve. The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhun-ti, Dijun, Taiyi, Kunpeng, Minghe...
One Great Power after another, figures who would stir the winds and clouds of later ages, sat solemnly upon meditation cushions, listening as the Dao Ancestor expounded the Primordial Saint Dao and the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat high upon a Cloud Bed, his form becoming ever more ethereal, as though he were merging ever more closely with Purple Firmament Palace and the unseen Heavenly Dao.
The Dao he taught was no longer a specific cultivation method or divine ability. Instead, it pointed directly to the fundamental laws governing the operation of the Heavenly Dao.
It touched upon fortune, karma, calamities, and even the mysterious opportunity of the Saint Position!
The sound of the Great Dao thundered. Golden Lotuses Springing from the Earth appeared, Celestial Maidens Scattering Flowers danced through the air, and Purple Qi Coming from the East stretched thirty thousand miles.
The Great Powers listened in rapt fascination. Some came to sudden realizations, some furrowed their brows, some revealed delight, while others could not hide their greed.
Especially when Dao Ancestor Hongjun mentioned the limited number of "Saint Positions," the atmosphere within Purple Firmament Palace became subtle and tense.
All the Great Powers understood that after this lecture, the structure of the Primordial Era would be completely established, and the authority of the Heavenly Dao would be gathered into one body.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the Ancestor of the Mystic Gate, would Unite with Dao through his own body and complete the Heavenly Dao. From then on, the Heavenly Dao would be Hongjun.
Hongjun would not be the Heavenly Dao. He would become part of it—or rather, the Heavenly Dao would become an extension of his will.
For All Beings of the Primordial Era, this meant the establishment of order and the perfection of rules.
But for an Anomaly like Wanhua, who pursued the path of attaining the Primordial Chaos Realm on his own rather than relying on Heavenly Dao merit,
whose Dao lineage concepts potentially differed from the Mystic Gate Immortal Path and even the Heavenly Dao Order that was about to reach completion, this was undoubtedly an unprecedented and immense challenge!
After Hongjun Unites with Dao, his will would become the Heavenly Dao Will.
Then, would Wanhua's Confucian Dao—a system emphasizing "putting people first," "strengthening the heart and nature," and "principle above destiny"—
be regarded as a challenge to the authority of the Heavenly Dao? Would it suffer the Heavenly Dao's rejection and suppression?
Could this sanctuary of Myriad Dao Academy continue to exist and develop in the new era soon to come, an era completely dominated by the Heavenly Dao?
The Academy Watches Calmly, While Undercurrents Surge
News of Purple Firmament Palace's third lecture, along with signs that Hongjun was about to Unite with Dao, naturally reached Myriad Dao Academy as well.
At the level Wanhua and Xuanjizi had reached, they could already faintly sense the oppressive force brought by that invisible great power between heaven and earth, one that was contracting, condensing, and about to reach perfection.
"Teacher, Dao Ancestor Hongjun is about to Unite with Dao. When the Heavenly Dao reaches completion and order is reshaped, what will become of our Academy...?"
Xuanjizi wore a worried expression as he sought guidance from Wanhua, who sat quietly within Chaos Space. His cultivation had grown ever deeper, and he could better appreciate the immensity and irresistible force of the Heavenly Dao's grand tide.
Wanhua slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm, as though he had long seen through everything.
Rather than directly answering Xuanjizi's question, he asked, "Xuanji, having cultivated the Confucian Dao to this day, do you know what foundation our Dao stands upon?"
Xuanjizi pondered for a moment before answering respectfully, "Teacher, the foundation of our Confucian Dao lies in the 'human' heart, in self-strengthening, and in the universality of 'principle.'
It seeks not outwardly, relies not on destiny, but only strives to Clear Heart, See Nature, investigate things to attain knowledge, let literature carry the Dao, and control methods with reason."
"Correct." Wanhua nodded slightly. "Hongjun Unites with Dao and completes the Heavenly Dao. That is borrowing external power to regulate heaven and earth, establishing order to bind All Beings.
That is one path, not the only path. Our Confucian Dao seeks to shape heaven and earth from within and establish its own order.
The Heavenly Dao is constant; it does not endure because of Yao, nor perish because of Jie. The principles of our Confucian Dao should be the same—they should not increase or diminish because the Heavenly Dao is complete or incomplete, nor waver because the external world changes."
His words carried absolute confidence and detachment. "After he Unites with Dao, the Heavenly Dao Will will manifest. It may reject concepts that differ from those of the Mystic Gate; that is inevitable.
Yet rejection is not destruction, and suppression is also tempering. The key is whether our Confucian Dao itself is resilient enough, whether its principles are flourishing enough.
Can we preserve our Original Heart beneath the grand tide of the Heavenly Dao and carve out a sky of our own?"
He looked at Xuanjizi, his gaze profound. "This is a calamity, but also an opportunity.
Only by surviving this calamity can the Confucian Dao truly lay down unshakable roots in the Primordial Era. Only then can its ideals withstand the test of heaven and earth's ultimate principles and truly earn the right to shine alongside eternity."
Preparing for Rain, Making Plans on Many Fronts
Wanhua was not merely speaking of principles. He had long since begun making arrangements in secret.
First, he consolidated their foundation. He further strengthened the instruction given to the Academy's disciples, especially emphasizing the tempering of the Literary Heart and the independence of principle.
He taught more methods and concepts involving the tempering of will, guarding the Original Heart, and resisting external evils.
At the same time, he accelerated the refinement and deepening of the Academy's own Literary Dao Laws, making the Literary Radiance Order formed within it ever more self-contained.
Like a state within a state, it would reduce its reliance on the external rules of the Heavenly Dao as much as possible.
Second, he cultivated goodwill broadly and dispersed potential pressure. He tacitly permitted, even encouraged, his disciples to engage in exchanges at the level of Knowledge and Action with other Primordial forces outside the Mystic Gate's core.
For example, they discussed the Earth Immortal Dao and the Principle of Benevolence and Generosity with Zhenyuanzi; they explored the difference between slaughter and Righteous War with Minghe of the Sea of Blood;
he even released limited information to Dijun and Taiyi of the demon race regarding Order Governance.
This demonstrated that the Confucian Dao did not blindly oppose conquest, but instead sought a higher level of order and stability, attempting to reduce the demon race's future hostility.
Third, they deeply studied the principles of Change, searching for variables within the Heavenly Dao. Wanhua instructed Xuanjizi to lead the Academy's elites in fully researching the principles of The Unchanging Change.
Though the Heavenly Dao might reach completion, the Dao of Change emphasized Change, constancy, and Simplicity. Might the completed Heavenly Dao also possess "gaps," "cycles," or, in other words, "variables" within its laws of operation?
Could they use the Principles of Change to find the vital opening through which the Confucian Dao could survive and develop beneath the Heavenly Dao Order's shroud? This was an exceptionally difficult yet crucial deduction.
Fourth, they prepared for the worst. Wanhua himself began using the Primordial Chaos Realm to deduce the Heavenly Dao's operational patterns after Hongjun Unites with Dao.
He assessed the level of pressure it might impose upon the Academy and quietly set down deeper contingencies around the Academy and throughout the East Sea, contingencies involving protection at the conceptual level.
These measures were not intended to oppose the Heavenly Dao. They were meant to buy the Academy time to buffer and maneuver should the Heavenly Dao's rejection reach a certain degree.
The Wind Filled the Tower Before the Mountain Rain
Within Purple Firmament Palace, the lecture was nearing its end. Dao Ancestor Hongjun's aura became ever more vast and ethereal, and his resonance with the Heavenly Dao reached its peak. Every Great Power knew that the moment of Uniting with Dao was at hand.
Throughout the Primordial World, an invisible sense of restraint began to spread, as though all things were about to be drawn into predetermined tracks.
Many Great Powers with keen senses felt that their connection to heaven and earth had become clearer, yet also more... passive.
Above Myriad Dao Academy, the Aura of Literary Splendor soaring into the sky seemed to feel an invisible pressure beneath the pervasive grand tide of the Heavenly Dao.
Its radiance had not dimmed, yet it had lost some of its former unrestrained brilliance, gaining instead a measure of reserve and steadiness.
Xuanjizi stood before the Academy's mountain gate, gazing at the increasingly lofty and increasingly majestic heavens. His fist tightened slightly within his sleeve.
He knew that the "calamity" and "opportunity" his teacher had spoken of were about to arrive.
The Academy's future would depend on whether they could uphold their own principles during this silent collision with the Heavenly Dao Order.
Within Chaos Space, Wanhua's gaze pierced through the void, as though he were meeting the Dao Ancestor's eyes across the vast distance within Purple Firmament Palace.
"Uniting with Dao... is merely Drawing a Circle to Make a Prison.
Heaven and earth are the board, and All Beings are the pieces. Yet we seekers of the Dao must become the players. Even within the game, we must fight for that sliver of opportunity to transcend it."
"Fellow Daoist Hongjun, your Dao is order.
My Dao is civilization. Let us see, in the Primordial Era to come, whether order swallows civilization, or civilization... illuminates order."
Beneath those calm words lay the silent contest between two Primordial Chaos Realm existences over the future path of the Primordial Era.
A vast game concerning the survival of Dao lineages and the rise and fall of ideals officially began as the day Hongjun Unites with Dao drew near.
The storm was coming. Wanhua and his Myriad Dao Academy were already prepared for battle.
Before you continue