Dao Academy

Biodata

Background / History

Dragon Lake Dao Academy is an established immortal inheritance whose entrance examination attracts talented youths from throughout Nanli. Its reputation extends into mortal accounts of demon suppression: one record describes an academy immortal transforming into a dragon carrying a jade disc and destroying one hundred thousand soldiers of the Yinxiang Ghost Kingdom 1.

The academy occupies islands within Dragon Marsh Lake, a fifteen-hundred-li expanse rich in spiritual qi, spirit beasts, and unusual creatures—including flood dragons. Its island bases developed over generations as new mission teams formed and others were destroyed while fighting demons 5 31.

Organization

Courts and Leadership

Pavilions

Mission Teams

• Luodu Squad — Holds a firm place among the Outer Court’s top three teams. Recruits Zhang Jing and later supports his talisman production and cultivation 29 31 49 50 73.
• Coiling Dragon Squad — Supports Chen Xiandao with pills and cultivation guidance, seeking to bring him to the tenth layer of Qi Refining before Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven opens 40.
• Mistglow Squad — Recruits Shen Qingqing with cultivation resources, a superior cave abode, and inheritance benefits, asking for future assistance if the squad faces a crisis 18.
• Jiaya Squad — Attempts to recruit Zhang Jing after purchasing his talismans, but he declines because he already belongs to Luodu 39.
• Xunfeng Squad — Ranked seventh in the Outer Court 80.

Admission and Assessment

Candidate Selection

• Local academies select candidates for the entrance examination. Yong’an Academy sends students once every three years 2.
• Candidates selected through these academies must possess no cultivation before attending the assessment 4.
• Applicants are assigned to temporary academies. Zhang Jing’s group consists of sixty-five candidates from Hui Prefecture, placed in the Seventh Temporary Academy under Instructor Wang 5.
• Instructor Wang identifies talent, judgment, perseverance, and fortune as essential qualities, warning that no more than ten members of his group are likely to pass 5.

Visualization Assessment

Candidates receive the Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method and have thirty days to reach its introductory stage. Success grants entry into the Outer Court; failure results in the method-related memories being erased before the candidate is returned to their original school 6.

• Shen Qingqing reaches the introductory stage in one night, earning a Grade-A evaluation 8 9.
• Zhang Jing and Deng An qualify on the sixth day, earning Grade B 14.
• Assessment grade determines the initial reward, not a permanent limit: disciples may later purchase higher-grade inheritances with Dao Merit 9.

Final Ranking Competition

The assessment’s ranking format changes between intakes. For Zhang Jing’s cohort, the Inheritance Pavilion chooses spell-combat sparring because of disciple deaths during Demon-Suppression Missions, emphasizing the need to defend oneself on the cultivation path 17 24.

Zhang Jing’s intake contains approximately three hundred successful entrants, including twenty-nine Grade-B candidates and two First-Grade prodigies. Zhang Jing finishes third, while Ji Bochang finishes fifteenth 24 25 29.

Inner Academy Entry

• Reach the tenth layer of Qi Refining before forty 30.
• Pass the Flowing Light Immortal Wall’s trial 30.
• Choose a cultivation method with strong personal compatibility; Senior Brother Liu stresses this as crucial to progressing beyond the Outer Court 15.
• First-Grade prodigies ordinarily require roughly three to five years to reach the tenth layer and enter the Inner Academy, even without extraordinary resource investment 74.

Inheritances and Cultivation

Inheritance Access

The academy possesses the Seventy-Two Inheritances, which prospective disciples regard as a major reason to seek admission. Inheritance selection includes compatibility testing, allowing disciples to choose methods suited to them 4 15 23.

• Senior Brother Liu estimates that an ordinary Grade-D disciple may need roughly seventy years to save 1,500 Dao Merit after normal cultivation expenses 16.
• Upper-grade inheritances are generally affordable to Inner Academy disciples rather than ordinary Outer Court members 16.
• Zhang Jing believes academy inheritances are not available to yaoshou, at least through the Outer Court; this prevents him from simply purchasing a cultivation method for Lu Thirty-Eight 81.

Cultivation Paths

• True Dharma Path — Builds a Dao foundation from Dao rhythms reflecting principles of heaven and earth 84.
• Formation Talisman Path — Builds a Dao foundation from Source Talismans and talisman principles, ultimately forming the basis of a natal formation 84.
• Immortal Dao crafts — Arrays, pills, artifacts, and talismans are recognized as cultivation disciplines as well as sources of income 30.

The Thousand Techniques Pavilion’s chief disciple, Senior Brother You, possesses a supreme formation talisman Dao foundation and appears on the True Spirit Ranking. His strength underpins the pavilion’s exceptional standing within the Inner Academy 83 86.

Dao Merit and Resources

• Uses — Pays for inheritances, pills, talismans, crafting supplies, equipment, and other cultivation resources 15 35 39.
• Academy service — Instructors and disciples transporting candidates earn Dao Merit through their work 15.
• Demon suppression — Described as the fastest ordinary route for Outer Court disciples to earn Dao Merit, but requires dangerous combat 30.
• Craft production — Skilled disciples can sell their work. Zhang Jing’s talisman-making earns him promotion within Luodu and access to free production materials 39 49 50.
• Team rewards — The academy distributes rewards to its ten highest-ranked squads, with allocation supervised by an Inner Academy disciple. These rewards can include high-tier resources such as Origin Water Essence and Greenwood Spiritual Fluid 85 86.

Resource competition is permitted during recruitment. Mission teams offer pills, artifacts, cave abodes, and inheritances to promising newcomers, often hoping to gain future assistance once those recruits enter the Inner Academy 17 18.

Grounds and Facilities

Major Activities

Langya Demon Suppression

The academy deploys disciples to the demon uprising in Langya Commandery. Rogue cultivators estimate that several hundred academy cultivators have arrived, creating opportunities to exchange demon materials for guidance and scarce resources 40 48.

• Academy disciples operate in squads and establish temporary markets and shops 48 50.
• An internal trading gathering at Hidden Fragrance Pavilion auctions valuable resources and artifacts 61.
• As the conflict escalates, Senior Brother Li warns Zhang Jing that Inner Academy members will soon arrive and urges him to leave before Langya becomes a battlefield for stronger cultivators 64.

Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven

Dragon Lake jointly administers Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven with Divine Firmament and Profound Light. Normally opened only once every few hundred years, it contains unusual resources and immortal principles capable of improving the quality of a cultivator’s Dao foundation 40 74.

• The announced opening is scheduled for eighteen months after the initial notice 40.
• Inner Academy disciples are the principal participants; Outer Court cultivators under forty who reach the tenth layer of Qi Refining are also permitted entry 40 74.
• The opening supports preparations for Clear Firmament Mysterious Bright Heaven, due to open in five years, and competition for the True Spirit Ranking 40.
• The ranking has only 1,800 places across more than 1,300 Dao Academies in the Red Crow Great Tribe’s nations 40.

Competition for New Talent

Preparations for the opening intensify competition among teams and pavilions. Coiling Dragon and Mistglow concentrate resources on Chen Xiandao and Shen Qingqing, while Luodu seeks to prepare Zhang Jing for the same opportunity 73 74 79 80.

The Thousand Techniques Pavilion separately attempts to recruit Zhang Jing after recognizing his potential for a formation talisman Dao foundation. Senior Brother You sends him one tael and five mace of Origin Water Essence—more than twice the seven mace included in the academy’s combined reward allocation to the top ten squads 83 85 86.