Great Dao Academy

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Dao Academy
Alias(es)	大道书院 (Dàdào Shūyuàn); Ye Huang Palace (name imposed on the Canglan academy after its fall) 477 478
Affiliation	Great Dao lineage founded by the Great Dao Master; maintains branches across the mortal world, Upper Realm, and other heavens 74 90
Occupation/Role	Cultivation orthodoxy, academy network, and regional authority responsible for recruitment, assessments, discipline, and resource distribution 86 269 297
Status	Its Canglan headquarters was destroyed and renamed Ye Huang Palace; its Upper Realm forces and other branches remain active 477 521 636
First Appearance	51

Background / History

Great Dao Academy was founded by the Great Dao Master, a legendary cultivator said to have risen from the mortal world to the Upper Realm and become invincible across the heavens. The academy spread in the founder's wake, becoming a major Dao lineage with branches throughout multiple realms. 74 90

The Central Province academy was one of Central Province's three most renowned powers, but was itself only one branch of the larger Great Dao Academy lineage. Nanzhou Academy, Lingzhou Academy, Fangzhou Academy, and other provincial academies operated beneath it. 51 90

Its provincial branches depended heavily on Central Province for teaching resources. Nanzhou Academy's allocation was tied to the performance of its disciples in the Central Province Grand Selection, making the competition crucial to South Province's future. 86

The academy's prestige rested on its ancient inheritance, cultivation grounds, powerful formations, and the sacrifices of past sages. Many predecessors underwent Divine Burial, merging into the Dao Pool to nourish later generations. 182 183

Organization

Leadership and Enforcement

• Head Dean — supreme authority of a branch or headquarters; could influence major disciplinary decisions from behind the scenes. 302
• Vice Deans — senior administrators, including Wang Song and Lou Bandao. 110 302
• Grand Arbiter / Grand Martial Officer — disciplinary authority responsible for enforcing academy rules and handling major internal incidents. 187 427
• Guardian Elders — protect the academy and participate in its internal governance. 300 318
• Inspector Envoys — black-clad overseers who inspect Great Dao Academies throughout the mortal realm; senior envoys may execute first and report later, or even dismiss a dean. 269
• Reception Hall and Reception Envoys — recruitment branch responsible for testing and admitting new disciples. 296 297

Associated Families

• Lou Family — a Meritorious Family descended from followers of the Great Dao Master; their ancient contribution granted them exceptional status and privileges within the academy. 268 520
• First Divine Race — connected to Lou Bandao and valued by parts of the academy leadership above an ordinary disciple's rights. 302
• Provincial academies — subordinate institutions such as Nanzhou Academy supplied and assessed through the Central Province branch. 51 86

Facilities and Holdings

Great Dao Tower

A towering cultivation structure established by Great Dao Academy and replicated across several provinces under Central Province. It contains training areas for body refinement, cultivation methods, and enlightenment. 51 52 74

Every Great Dao Tower held a fortune connected to the Great Dao Master. Ye Qiu discovered a hidden chamber on its highest floor containing a pitch-black statue of the founder. 74

Dao Pool

The Dao Pool is a major cultivation ground filled with golden mist and a golden river formed from the essence of past academy sages. Its tributaries lead to lakes containing accumulated Dao essence. 183

The pool has five levels. Only the top ten freshmen may enter its first level under normal regulations, while the deeper levels are core academy foundations maintained in part by ancestral heroic spirits and an ancient formation. 186

Great Dao Master's Statues

Statues of the Great Dao Master stood at academy gates and within Great Dao Towers. They represented both the founder's legacy and, in some cases, a remaining will or resonance in the mortal realm. 74 92 296

Lu Li shattered the Canglan headquarters' primary statue with one sword strike, an act regarded as a direct affront to the Great Dao Master and the academy's lineage. 317

Academy-Protecting Formations

• Dao Protecting Great Array — an ancient defensive array activated by Xiao Qingsong during Ye Qiu's lightning tribulation; a single activation reportedly cost hundreds of millions of Law Crystals. 273
• Academy-guarding grand formation — later shielded the Canglan headquarters behind a massive golden barrier and inflicted crushing pressure on intruders. 413 414
• The final formation was fused with academy heroic spirits and controlled by a Divine King from the Upper Realm, but Lu Li destroyed it with her third sword strike. 474

Ancestral Cemetery

The academy cemetery housed the graves of generations of Great Powers and concealed a key method of communicating with the Upper Realm. It was devastated when the academy's defensive formation collapsed. 474

Admission and Discipline

• Prospective disciples were tested for at least Divine Grade talent using a Detection Tablet. 297
• The academy's stairways tested potential and cultivation through increasing pressure; Ye Qiu ascended ninety-nine steps in thirteen breaths. 298
• Provincial academies used similar stairways, such as Nanzhou Academy's Heavenly Ladder, where reaching the summit qualified an applicant as a disciple. 6
• The academy publicly presented itself as an institution that accepted students and followed rules, though Ye Qiu's case exposed internal favoritism and uneven enforcement. 300 302
• External factions interfering in academy affairs were considered to be violating its internal sovereignty, even when acting on behalf of affiliated guest elders. 269

Conflict with Ye Qiu

Great Dao Academy initially recognized Ye Qiu's potential. The Great Dao Master's Resonance appeared in connection with him, and his status was considered significant enough that some feared the consequences if the matter reached Divine Province. 274 278

However, when Ye Qiu killed a Gong Family descendant in a life-or-death battle, academy leadership became divided. Lei Gong argued that the academy's principles required protecting Ye Qiu if the other party initiated the conflict, while several vice deans and the Head Dean prioritized the academy's reputation and Lou Bandao's standing. 300 302

Ye Qiu was ultimately expelled and blacklisted. In response, Wu Xiaokai, Yuan Gang, Luo Ling, Lin Xiaoyu, Chen Luolan, Li Zhenzhen, and others withdrew from the academy in solidarity. 280 311

Lu Li retaliated for Ye Qiu's treatment by attacking the Canglan headquarters, killing Inspector Envoys, shattering the Great Dao Master's statue, and declaring that the academy would be renamed. 317 318

Fall of the Canglan Headquarters

Ye Qiu and Lu Li later returned with Great Snow Mountain, Pill Tower, Sword Sect, Beast Valley, Divine Alliance, Star Pavilion, and other allied forces. Rather than immediately assaulting the academy's guardian formation, they gave its defenders seven days to prepare. 412 414

Great Dao Academy withdrew its formation and announced a grand competition to recruit across Canglan, apparently intending to draw its enemies into a prepared confrontation. Ye Qiu's coalition entered the academy despite the suspected trap. 449

The plan failed. Invited factions turned against Great Dao Academy, its defenses were breached, and half of the academy was cleaved apart during the battle. 462 474

After the destruction of the guardian formation, the ancestral cemetery, and the Canglan headquarters' foundations, Lu Li proclaimed the end of Great Dao Academy in Canglan and renamed it Ye Huang Palace under Ye Qiu. 474 477 478

Upper Realm Response

The academy's Upper Realm arm remained a major force after the fall of its Canglan headquarters. When Lu Li killed Lou Sheng and three Great Dao Academy Saints, the academy treated the incident as an attack on its Dao lineage's authority. 520

Its Upper Realm leadership deployed Dao soldiers led by Saint Kings, sent a Saint Emperor, placed branch academies on maximum readiness, and prepared to summon ancestors if necessary. 521

Despite this hostility, Nalan Xiu later stated that many within Great Dao Academy were dissatisfied with the Lou Family and offered to mediate Ye Qiu's return as a guest elder. 636

Relationships

• Great Dao Master — founder and ultimate source of the academy's lineage, prestige, statues, and inherited fortunes. 74 90
• Nanzhou Academy — subordinate South Province academy dependent on Central Province resource allocations. 51 86
• Lou Family — privileged Meritorious Family tied to the academy through ancestors who followed the Great Dao Master. 268 520
• Ye Qiu — former disciple whose expulsion, blacklisting, and subsequent retaliation precipitated the Canglan headquarters' downfall. 280 311 477
• Lu Li — Ye Qiu's ally who led the attack on the Canglan headquarters, shattered the Great Dao Master's statue, and imposed the Ye Huang Palace name. 317 477
• Lei Gong — Grand Arbiter who acknowledged the academy's wrongdoing but remained bound to act against Ye Qiu by duty. 302 427
• Xiao Qingsong — Canglan-era dean who activated the Dao Protecting Great Array and later faced the consequences of the academy's actions. 273 280
• Dao Guardian Alliance — an outside force protecting Lu Li; its intervention shifted the broader balance of power against major Upper Realm factions. 503 505