Tianyu Academy

Biodata

Organization and Influence

Tianyu Academy possesses influence that reportedly surpasses Great Yan's imperial family. Its disciples are embedded across the realm; Chixiao City's lord, Zhao Wuya, is one such disciple. Old Ancestor Tianyan characterizes this network as mutually protective and deeply entangled in local abuses. 15

Relations with Tianyan Academy

Tianyu Academy and Tianyan Academy are longstanding rivals. Tianyan's disciples state that Tianyu's suppression has left their academy impoverished: Yanjing merchants refuse to trade with Tianyan, and Tianyan disciples are obstructed even when hunting outside the capital. 16

Tianyan originally possessed thirty-six Martial Dao Will statues, but eighteen were lost. Tianyu disciples later wager statues in challenges against Lu Chen; after Lu Chen defeats Xiao Chen and Wan Tong, Tianyan has twenty-seven statues restored and activated. 17 19 20

• Tianyan Academy — Rival academy subjected to repeated challenges, resource pressure, and disputes over Martial Dao Will statues. 16 17 19
• Old Ancestor Tianyan — Tianyan's founder-level protector; warns Tianyu elders not to intervene in conflicts among younger cultivators. 14
• Lu Chen — Principal adversary. His victories against Tianyu disciples restore Tianyan's standing and expose Tianyu's conduct before Great Yan. 20 24 49 50
• Lu Ran — Core disciple and the Dean's personal disciple. His theft of Lu Chen's bloodline becomes the central cause of the two academies' conflict. 14 17 24
• Great Yan royal family — Nominally supported by the Imperial Loyalists but politically threatened by the Radical Faction. Tianyu later pays Great Yan 100,000 low-grade spirit stones following the Wolf Court affair. 18 46
• Heavenly Dao Academy — Its envoy publicly orders Tianyu Academy to reflect on its educational conduct during the Four Nations tournament. 49

Conflict with Lu Chen

Lu Chen's conflict with Tianyu Academy originates with Lu Ran, who stole Lu Chen's bloodline and was subsequently accepted into Tianyu as the Dean's personal disciple. When Lu Chen reveals the Lu Family's actions, Tianyu elders defend Lu Ran and accuse Lu Chen of slander. 14 17

After joining Tianyan Academy, Lu Chen is made to face Tianyu challengers as part of his entrance trials. He defeats Zhuo Jiuyou, then later defeats Xiao Chen and Wan Tong in statue-wagering duels, recovering nine Will statues for Tianyan. 17 19 20

Lu Chen subsequently challenges Lu Ran at Tianyu's gates, accusing both Lu Ran and the academy of enabling the bloodline theft. Tianyu cultivators intervene in Lu Ran's absence, but Lu Chen defeats ten Golden Core experts in succession before departing for the Blood Fiend Battlefield. 22 23 24

Major Story Arcs

Suppression of Tianyan Academy

• Tianyu Academy's hostility toward Tianyan is revealed after Lu Chen joins the latter academy. Tianyan is economically isolated and regularly harassed by Tianyu disciples. 16
• Zhuo Jiuyou, a second-level Golden Core disciple from Tianyu's dark division, is sent to test Tianyan and is defeated by Lu Chen. 17
• Tianyu visitors Xiao Chen and Wan Tong wager Martial Dao Will statues against Lu Chen; both lose, allowing Tianyan to activate twenty-seven statues. 19 20

Lu Ran and the Bloodline Dispute

• Lu Ran's status as Tianyu's favored disciple shields him after he strips Lu Chen's bloodline. 14 17
• Following his Double Heavenly Tribulation, Lu Ran becomes known as the “Son of Heavenly Dao,” reaches the Golden Core Realm, and forms a Martial Dao True Form under Tianyu's protection. 21 22
• Lu Ran continues refining Lu Chen's stolen bloodline while preparing to confront him at the Four Nations tournament. 24

Political Intrigue in Great Yan

• The Radical Faction is identified as the dominant force within Tianyu Academy and is described as seeking Great Yan's overthrow. 18
• The Little Yan King claims to have reached a preliminary alliance with Tianyu Academy as part of a plan to assassinate King Yan and seize control of Yanjing. 46
• After the Wolf Court's treachery is exposed, Tianyu Academy pays 100,000 low-grade spirit stones to Great Yan's royal family to settle the matter. 46

Four Nations Year-End Martial Arts Tournament

• Tianyu disciples Zhu Jiuyin and Xiao Chen challenge Lu Chen and self-destruct after losing, apparently to preserve Lu Ran's pride and eliminate Lu Chen. 47
• Further Tianyu disciples use suicidal tactics against Lu Chen during the selection rounds, but he defeats ten of them while advancing to the top ten. 48
• Tianyu's Nascent Soul contender Miao Yuan fails to defeat Lu Chen and has his Nascent Soul absorbed by the Myriad Manifestations Furnace. 49
• The Heavenly Dao Academy envoy rebukes Tianyu Academy publicly, asking how it educates its disciples and ordering it to reflect on its conduct. 49
• Lu Chen ultimately challenges Lu Ran and refines him into a furnace; the purple-robed elder withdraws when Old Ancestor Tianyan intervenes. 50

Known Disciples and Associates

• Lu Ran — Core disciple and the Dean's personal disciple; stole Lu Chen's bloodline, survived a Double Heavenly Tribulation, and became known as the Son of Heavenly Dao. 14 21 22
• Zhuo Jiuyou — Dark division disciple; a second-level Golden Core cultivator defeated by Lu Chen outside Tianyan Academy. 17
• Xiao Chen — Wielder of the Seven Star Sword Array; loses a Will-statue wager to Lu Chen and later self-destructs during the tournament. 19 47
• Wan Tong — Martial Dao cultivator with a body tempered to spirit-artifact resilience; killed by Lu Chen in a statue-wagering duel. 19 20
• Wutu — Leader of Radical Faction spies who infiltrated the Imperial Loyalists; killed and refined by Lu Chen. 23
• Miao Yuan — Nascent Soul cultivator fielded as Tianyu's tournament trump card against Lu Chen; defeated and absorbed. 49
• Yang Sheng — Tianyu prodigy drawn into Lu Chen's public questioning over the proposed marriage alliance involving Great Yan's heir. 39 42