Chapter 89 – Choosing the Dao Academy: Don't Initiate, Don't Explain, Don't Refuse!

“Both of you performed exceptionally well this time, especially you, Student Lu Chen. You’ve given us teachers quite a pleasant surprise!”

Hearing Chen Fugui’s words, Lu Chen neither agreed nor disagreed, merely nodding calmly.

This wasn’t because he enjoyed playing the silent expert.

But rather because there truly wasn’t much to say.

After all, how could he possibly tell Chen Fugui that the reason he could comprehend Sword Intent during the Qi Condensation Stage was entirely due to playing games?

Moreover, when it came to something like Comprehension Ability, what was there to explain?

Seeing the ‘aloof’ Lu Chen, Chen Fugui didn’t think he was being overly arrogant but found it completely reasonable.

After all, if you could comprehend Sword Intent during the Qi Condensation Stage and dare to confront a Golden Core Stage cultivator while still in Qi Condensation…

You’d be proud too!

Furthermore, Chen Fugui believed that Lu Chen’s current achievements were precisely because he possessed that kind of peerless arrogance.

Without such arrogance, how could he have dared to confront the Golden Core Stage Black Rock King?

Besides, if youth isn’t bold and ambitious, then what kind of youth is it?

However, Chen Fugui hadn’t called them over to discuss Lu Chen’s personality but rather to talk about their future plans.

“How much do you know about the Four Great Academies? Do you have any particular preferences?”

Hearing Chen Fugui’s question, Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye exchanged glances.

Then Lu Chen spoke: “We don’t know much about them. Could both teachers please enlighten us?”

Chen Fugui nodded and began explaining the detailed information about the Four Great Academies within the Immortal Alliance.

As for academies outside the Four Great Academies… they weren’t even worth mentioning.

Because there was no way Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye would consider them.

After Chen Fugui’s explanation, Lu Chen quickly understood the distinctive characteristics of each of the Four Great Academies.

The so-called Four Great Academies of the Immortal Alliance originally began as mortal arenas established by the Four Great Sacred Grounds within their respective spheres of influence.

This served two purposes: first, to expand the influence of the Four Great Sacred Grounds in the mortal realm within their territories, and second, to help their sects select talented individuals – killing two birds with one stone.

Over time, the Four Great Academies have become the primary places where various sects within the Immortal Alliance select disciples.

Many second-rate sects even specifically send their Protectors and Elders to serve as lecturers at the Four Great Academies just to get the opportunity to select disciples from them.

The Four Great Academies not only don’t oppose this practice but actually welcome it.

Because this unconsciously strengthens the connections between other sects and the various Sacred Grounds.

Further enhancing the influence of the Four Great Sacred Grounds throughout the Nine Provinces.

Based on this, the characteristics of the Four Great Academies can be easily summarized:

Clear River Dao Academy, located in the eastern part of the Nine Provinces, is backed by the Supreme Purity Dao Palace sacred sect, specializing in wood techniques and swordsmanship.

Lihuo Dao Academy, located in the southern part of the Nine Provinces, is backed by the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect sacred sect, specializing in fire techniques and alchemy.

Barren Wilderness Academy, located in the western part of the Nine Provinces, is backed by the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital sacred sect, specializing in metal techniques and body cultivation.

Profound Water Academy, located in the northern part of the Nine Provinces, is backed by the Vast Sea Profound Sect sacred sect, specializing in water techniques, earth techniques, talismans, and divination.Although the Four Great Academies each have their own specialties, it doesn’t mean that after being admitted to a particular academy, you can only cultivate in the direction that academy excels in.

You must understand that the so-called “main focus” merely indicates these academies are most proficient at teaching knowledge in that particular area.

It doesn’t mean they only possess knowledge in that field.

Take Bailing, who studies at Clear River Dao Academy, for example.

She is a standard Body Cultivator, yet she didn’t choose the Barren Wilderness Academy that specializes in body techniques, but rather Clear River Dao Academy.

But does this affect her?

To be honest, yes.

But not significantly.

Because within Clear River Dao Academy, there are also great Body Cultivators present.

Although their instruction in body techniques may not be as top-notch as those in Barren Wilderness Academy, it is still sufficient to guide all her cultivation before reaching the Golden Core Stage.

As for cultivation beyond the Golden Core Stage, it matters even less.

Because when cultivators reach this Realm, all cultivation depends entirely on the cultivator themselves.

External forces can hardly provide assistance.

Therefore, in a certain sense, although the Four Great Academies each have their strengths and weaknesses, the gap between them is not substantial.

If we compare each academy’s most specialized areas to a perfect score of 100 points,

then in other areas where they are less specialized, they can still achieve around 90 points.

The gap with the other three academies remains within 10 points.

Thus, regardless of what students specialize in, theoretically, as long as they enter any of the Four Great Academies, they can receive the most top-notch training.

After all, the Four Great Academies gather resources from the top Sects of the entire Immortal Alliance, along with countless cultivation Families.

Even in fields where they are not specialized, they completely crush academies outside the Four Great Academies.

Therefore, a saying has long circulated within the Immortal Alliance:

Young cultivators in the Immortal Alliance are only divided into two types – those from the Four Great Academies, and those rejected by the Four Great Academies.

For most students within the Immortal Alliance, being admitted to the Four Great Academies is not just a reflection of ability, but also relates to their future.

However, nothing is absolute. Throughout the Immortal Alliance’s long history, there have been some students from outside the Four Great Academies who achieved accomplishments that even made the Four Great Academies take notice.

Though such examples are not numerous.

From an objective perspective, the most suitable academy for Lu Chen is undoubtedly Clear River Dao Academy, which specializes in Swordsmanship.

After all, only there can his Sword Path potential be maximally developed.

As for Mu Xiaoye, Lihuo Dao Academy is undoubtedly the most suitable for her.

This is not only because Lihuo Dao Academy specializes in fire techniques, but also because Lihuo Dao Academy, or rather the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect behind it, possesses a very complete cultivation method for the ‘Crimson Phoenix Calamity.’

The founder of Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect was the first-generation Phoenix Calamity Cultivator.

Subsequent generations of Phoenix Calamity Cultivators have all been groomed as future Sect Masters by Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect.

So although Mu Xiaoye may seem to be at the same starting point as everyone else now,

once she enters the academy, the gap between her and others will instantly widen.

This gap manifests in multiple aspects, including Legacy, resources, system compatibility, and more.

Because of Mu Xiaoye’s special significance to Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect, over the years, the sect has repeatedly sent people to visit both her and her father.They wanted Mu Xiaoye to report to Lihuo Dao Academy early and not waste time on high school studies.

But due to Mu Xiaoye’s strong opposition, the matter always ended up being dropped.

Although Mu Xiaoye had no official ties with the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect on the surface,

in the eyes of others, she was practically the undeniable future successor of the sect—the young Sect Master of Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect.

So when the young Sect Master loudly proclaimed, “Flowers may bloom again, but youth never returns,” insisting on spending her entire youth in high school,

what could the cultivators from Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect who came to persuade her do?

Oppose her?

Oh, you dare to oppose, do you? Well, get ready to be noted down in the young Sect Master’s little black book!

For now, the young Sect Master hasn’t fully risen to power, so you might still enjoy a few peaceful days.

But once she fully ascends, every single one of you who defied her will be sent straight to the boiler room of Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect!

Thus, the people from Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect ultimately chose to respect Mu Xiaoye’s personal wishes, allowing her to complete her final three years of high school in Luocheng.

However, considering Mu Xiaoye’s safety, Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect still requested the Supreme Purity Dao Palace to protect their young Sect Master.

In the end, Supreme Purity Dao Palace assigned this task to the Golden Core Stage cultivator, Yu Tianqi.

Otherwise, even if Yu Tianqi needed to investigate the Black Lotus incident from ten years ago in Luocheng, there would be no need for him to specifically open a humble little noodle shop near Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye’s home.

Did you really think a Golden Core Stage cultivator had so much free time to run a small noodle shop in one place for ten years?

Investigating the Black Lotus incident was Yu Tianqi’s personal pursuit, but protecting Mu Xiaoye was his actual duty.

And this duty would soon come to an end as Mu Xiaoye was about to graduate from high school.

So, while Chen Fugui and Li Youquan appeared to be providing guidance on future Dao Academy choices for both Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye,

in reality, the only person who truly needed guidance from start to finish was Lu Chen alone.

As for Li Youquan, he was there to counsel Mu Xiaoye!

He was deeply concerned that if Mu Xiaoye found out Lu Chen hadn’t chosen Lihuo Dao Academy but went elsewhere instead,

she might impulsively follow him to another Dao Academy.

If that were to happen, things would become extremely complicated.

After all, the young Sect Master of the prestigious Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect studying at another Holy Land’s Dao Academy—

never mind whether other Holy Land Dao Academies would dare to teach her, even if they did, Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect would absolutely never allow such an absurd situation to occur!

What if the young Sect Master got brainwashed by another Holy Land?

Wouldn’t that plunge the future of Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect into darkness?

So, in a way, Lu Chen’s choice of Dao Academy this time was related to the relationship between Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect and other Sects and Holy Lands.

One misstep, and the entire Nine Provinces… could descend into chaos!

Just thinking about this, Chen Fugui and Li Youquan felt an inexplicable and immense pressure.

Back when Lu Chen hadn’t yet displayed such terrifying talent, they hadn’t felt much pressure.

They had assumed that Lu Chen wouldn’t get into any of the Four Great Academies anyway.

At that time, Mu Xiaoye could simply use her influence within Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect to get Lu Chen into Lihuo Dao Academy under their jurisdiction—easy enough, right?

But after Lu Chen demonstrated his Sword Intent, the situation became far more complicated.No one understood better than Chen Fugui and Li Youquan what it truly meant for someone to cultivate Sword Intent during the Qi Condensation Stage.

To put it simply, if Lu Chen were willing to join Clear River Dao Academy, he stood a significant chance of competing for the position of Dao Child in the Supreme Purity Dao Palace.

And advancing from Dao Child would lead him to become the Sect Leader of Supreme Purity Dao Palace.

Although Clear River Dao Academy hadn’t sent investigators to observe this Three-School Joint Exam, Chen Fugui and Li Youquan were certain they had already received the news and would soon arrive to persuade Lu Chen to choose their academy.

“So, young Lu, have you decided which Dao Academy you want to attend?”

Chen Fugui and Li Youquan watched Lu Chen deep in thought, maintaining calm expressions while feeling intensely anxious inside.

They had already prepared for the scenario where Lu Chen would choose Clear River Dao Academy, and they would then work together to convince Mu Xiaoye to select Lihuo Dao Academy.

Though persuading her would undoubtedly be challenging, it was far better to extinguish the spark of conflict in this small office than to face a full-blown rivalry between the two academies later.

Lu Chen had a rough idea of what Chen Fugui and Li Youquan were thinking.

However, what they didn’t know was that Lu Chen had never considered joining Clear River Dao Academy from the very beginning.

While Clear River Dao Academy specialized in Swordsmanship, Lu Chen had no need to learn sword techniques within a Dao Academy.

After all, no Dao Academy could surpass the Azure Cloud Sect from the game.

Not to mention that he could advance his Sword Path Rank simply by gaining experience points.

Even if he wanted to genuinely cultivate swordsmanship, wouldn’t it be more convenient to learn from the Elders of Hidden Sword Peak in the Azure Cloud Sect rather than from teachers at Clear River Dao Academy?

Keep in mind that ten days in the game equated to just one day in reality.

Therefore, in terms of cultivation efficiency, learning swordsmanship within the game was significantly faster than in the real world.

Thus, among the Four Great Academies, Clear River Dao Academy was the first one Lu Chen ruled out.

Simply because this academy’s advantages were completely overshadowed by the game.

This left Lu Chen with three options: Barren Wilderness Academy, Profound Water Academy, and finally, Lihuo Dao Academy.

Barren Wilderness Academy focused on Body Cultivation. Although Lu Chen planned to dabble in this area, his main efforts would undoubtedly remain on the Sword Path, so Barren Wilderness Academy could also be excluded.

Profound Water Academy specialized in Talismanship, divination, and other esoteric arts. While Lu Chen had some skill in Talismanship, he didn’t intend to delve deeply into this field either.

After careful consideration, the most suitable place for him… turned out to be Lihuo Dao Academy!

Lihuo Dao Academy emphasized Alchemy, and Lu Chen was already diligently studying pill refining within the Azure Cloud Sect.

Moreover, Lu Chen needed a legitimate reason to openly use his alchemy skills in the real world.

In this regard, Lihuo Dao Academy aligned perfectly with his goals.

By joining Lihuo Dao Academy, he could not only fuse his alchemy experiences from both worlds to benefit his in-game self but also further elevate his status within the Azure Cloud Sect in the game.

And with higher status, he would gain even greater benefits from the Azure Cloud Sect.

Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, Lihuo Dao Academy was his best choice—bar none.

Having reached this conclusion, Lu Chen announced his decision to Chen Fugui and Li Youquan.”Two teachers, I… want to go to Lihuo Dao Academy.”

“Ah?!”

Three exclamations of surprise immediately echoed through the office.

Chen Fugui, Li Youquan, and Mu Xiaoye all looked at Lu Chen with complex expressions in their eyes.

Chen Fugui was shocked, seemingly unable to understand why Lu Chen would make such a choice.

Li Youquan was impressed, as if he felt Lu Chen’s choice represented a certain degree of sacrifice.

As for Mu Xiaoye… she was purely delighted.

Although Lu Chen choosing Lihuo Dao Academy would make everyone happy, Chen Fugui couldn’t help but ask: “Little Lu, the Sword Cultivator department at Lihuo Dao Academy is the weakest among the four Dao Academies. Are you really sure about going to Lihuo Dao Academy?”

Lu Chen nodded and said seriously: “Yes, Teacher Chen, I’m certain about going to Lihuo Dao Academy.”

Chen Fugui remained silent for a moment before asking: “Why?”

A peerless Sword Cultivator who had comprehended Sword Intent during the Qi Condensation Stage, not going to Clear River Dao Academy which was known for producing great Sword Cultivators, but instead choosing Lihuo Dao Academy which was famous for producing Alchemists.

No matter how you looked at it, this didn’t make sense!

You couldn’t possibly say that this kid Lu Chen not only had outstanding talent in swordsmanship, but also possessed astonishing talent in alchemy!

Don’t be ridiculous!

Sword Cultivators and Alchemists were completely different paths!

Moreover, he had never seen or heard of Lu Chen having any special talent in alchemy.

So aside from the word “love,” Chen Fugui couldn’t think of any other reason for Lu Chen’s choice.

As for alchemy?

What did Lu Chen know about alchemy!

If he had to believe Lu Chen could practice alchemy, he’d rather believe Lu Chen was a reincarnated Immortal!

At least the latter was slightly more plausible.

Looking at the shocked Chen Fugui, Lu Chen said with a serious expression: “Teacher Chen, I think my talent in the path of alchemy… might not be much weaker than my talent in the Sword Path.”

“Ah?!”

As if guessing that the three of them didn’t believe what he said, Lu Chen immediately took out from his Storage Bag some ingredients that could be used to refine Qi Gathering Pills.

These ingredients were clearly what Lu Chen had privately purchased during this period.

As for the money… naturally, it came from the cultivation resources Chen Fugui had given him earlier.

“I’ve tried refining pills privately before, and I found that pill refining… isn’t that difficult.”

Saying this, Lu Chen began refining Qi Gathering Pills barehanded right in front of the three people.

With his current attainment in alchemy and his understanding of Qi Gathering Pills, he could easily refine them even without an Alchemy Furnace.

Watching Lu Chen’s skilled movements and his relaxed, effortless expression, the three quickly realized this wasn’t Lu Chen’s first time doing this.

Under their astonished gazes, Lu Chen used less than two hours to actually refine ten Qi Gathering Pills.

Lu Chen took out a medicine bottle, placed the ten Qi Gathering Pills inside, and set it before Chen Fugui and Li Youquan, saying calmly: “Two teachers, you should understand now why I want to go to Lihuo Dao Academy, right?”

“Alchemy is… indeed a good cultivation direction for me.”

“…”

After exchanging glances with each other, Chen Fugui and Li Youquan both nodded, as if having reached some kind of understanding.Chen Fugui then looked at Lu Chen with a serious expression and said, “Xiao Lu, as your teacher, I hope you’ll find an appropriate opportunity after going out to spread the word that you know Alchemy.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen was momentarily stunned before realizing Chen Fugui’s reasoning behind this request.

With a peculiar expression, he replied, “Teacher Chen, isn’t this… inappropriate?”

“Inappropriate?” Chen Fugui immediately stood up, excitedly adjusting his glasses as he said, “What’s inappropriate about it! In business, it’s all about commerce – only fools pass up easy advantages!”

“Right now, Clear River Dao Academy definitely assumes you’ll choose them first, so even to win you over, they probably won’t offer their best terms.”

“But if they learn you know Alchemy, it becomes completely different. Coupled with your relationship with Little Yezi, Clear River Dao Academy would surely feel tremendous pressure.”

“After all, just having Little Yezi as this generation’s Phoenix Calamity Cultivator at Lihuo Dao Academy is already giving other academies headaches.”

“If another peerless Sword Cultivator comparable to a Dao Child like you appears, then in the upcoming inter-academy competition, Lihuo Dao Academy – that perpetual fourth-place finisher – would truly shake off its longstanding slump and rise powerfully!”

“So to prevent this scenario, Clear River Dao Academy would absolutely present exceptionally generous offers to try and win you over. The same would naturally happen with Lihuo Dao Academy.”

“When that time comes, as long as you don’t rush to declare your choice and keep both academies guessing, they’ll desperately try to curry favor with you to secure your allegiance.”

“Your approach should be simple: don’t take initiative, don’t offer explanations, don’t outright refuse – accept all Gifts, but give… no commitments!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle receiving the gifts and take the blame – you’ll reap the benefits without any concerns!”

“Xiao Lu, you absolutely mustn’t feel any psychological burden about this! Both these academies are incredibly wealthy – these things mean nothing to them!”

“Besides, in this world, there are many things that only they can provide – others simply can’t offer them.”

“With such a perfect opportunity before us, if we don’t squeeze them dry, it would waste all the family education I received as the heir of the Chen fortune!”

“Alchemy, haha! Who would have thought that a Genius who developed Sword Intent during the Qi Condensation Stage would secretly also be an Alchemy prodigy!”

“A rare commodity indeed – this is truly a rare commodity worth hoarding!”

Watching the thoroughly excited Chen Fugui, Lu Chen momentarily found himself at a loss for words.

If he actually followed Chen Fugui’s plan, wouldn’t he be purely playing Clear River and Lihuo Dao Academies for fools?

But just as Chen Fugui said, there were many things in this world that couldn’t be bought with money.

And as Chen Fugui pointed out, as long as he didn’t take initiative, offer explanations, or outright refuse…

The academies would be giving gifts voluntarily – no one said accepting gifts required making commitments.

Admittedly, Lu Chen’s fishing tactic was somewhat unethical.

But fortunately, flexible moral standards had always been among Lu Chen’s many virtues.

Thus, the minimal psychological burden Lu Chen had been feeling… completely vanished!

(End of Chapter)