“Enroll in your Dao Academy?” the demon god sneered. “That would brand me as your disciple and subject me to the mercy of your whims!”

“Hahaha!” Lu Yun couldn’t contain his boisterous laughter. “As the headmaster of the academy, I educate all lives on behalf of the immortal dao. All of you live under the immortal dao and bear its brand. Does that put you at the mercy of its whims?”

He looked around. The true Dao Flower had emerged above Mount Xuanhuang. With its power, Lu Yun could scan all denizens of the nine majors, ten lands, four immortal seas, and four great oceans with a single glance.

“Educate all lives on behalf of the immortal dao? Your pompousness knows no end!”

The statement came from a newcomer—an elderly man of impressive grace and stature. With his hair tied and capped and donning a long crimson robe, he walked down from the clouds toward Lu Yun.

“Grandmaster Gu Xun, known as the Pill Sovereign of the world of immortals!” Some were visibly stunned to see him.

Known simply as the Pill Sovereign, Gu Xun was the greatest pill master in the current era. His cultivation had reached peak arcane dao immortal realm, and his name was known all over the world. Master Gu Zun, who had competed with Lu Yun for the Ten Orientations Stone back in Xiankan, was in fact Gu Xun’s descendent.

Gu Xun had long removed himself from the matters of the secular world to study pill dao and prepare to pluck his origin dao fruit. Until Lu Yun established the Dao Academy, that was.

Yuying looked on with a serious expression from Dao City; Gu Xun had achieved a great many feats in his lifetime. Although he didn’t rival Qi Hai of the Primordial Era, it was a near thing. His mastery over pill dao dwarfed even hers.

Upon Gu Xun’s declaration, another three figures emerged in the sky. They were sovereigns of the other three supplemental paths: Zhurong Die, sovereign of treasure dao, Formation First, sovereign of formation dao, and Venerated Talisman, sovereign of talisman dao.

Their cultivation rivaled that of Gu Xun’s as they were all peak arcane dao immortals. Gathering here in person meant concentrating the greatest achievements of the supplemental paths in a singular spot!

The demon god’s expression turned grave at their emergence. While the four masters were stuck as arcane dao immortals due to the current state of the immortal dao, they’d never stopped advancing in their pursuit of their respective supplemental path. In certain respects, the four of them had reached the heights of the primordial masters.

“Lu Yun greets the four seniors.” Lu Yun bowed his head in deference.

“Hmm?” The sovereigns were ready to fly into a rage, but to their surprise, Lu Yun didn’t preempt them by losing his temper.

“You say that you will establish an academy to educate all lives on behalf of the immortal dao, Lu Yun, but you have not obtained our approval first.” Formation First appeared as a young man. Layers of formations faded in and out of existence around him, and he looked at Lu Yun with a half smile. “Supplemental paths were your starting point. You refined a Heaven Descent Pill, restored primordial pill recipes, and claimed many lives with formations. Today, the four of us have come to challenge your mastery over the supplemental paths. If you can’t defeat us...”

“Then you can still educate all, but not with the supplemental paths,” finished Zhurong Die, a red-haired and red-bearded old man wearing a long fiery-red robe. His tone was as brash as his appearance suggested, and he pulled no punches. He was the most powerful immortal of the Zhurong Clan and the greatest master refiner in the world of immortals.

Lu Yun didn’t deem that worthy of a response. Instead, he turned to the man dressed in dark cyan robe, Venerated Talisman.

The man smiled diffidently. “I didn’t want to come, but I couldn’t turn down my three good friends. So here I am, supporting their cause and seeing for myself how good the young man who believes in the superiority of supplemental paths is.”

Lu Yun nodded and smiled in return. “I await your examinations, seniors. Besides, there is always wisdom to be found in collective intelligence. The four seniors are the four supplemental masters in the world of immortals. I am sure to benefit greatly from your challenges.”

He gestured his acceptance as he spoke.

“Hmmph!” the demon god huffed suddenly. With his eyes on Lu Yun and the four sovereigns, he said coldly, “You say you’re establishing a dao academy to educate all, Lu Yun, but is this academy of yours a sect, or a clan? Will all students become yours to command once they enter your academy and learn from you… just like what happened to the top clans that joined Dusk Province?

“Hahaha!” He laughed before Lu Yun could answer. “I know the answer already. Once the academy is established, no immortals will be able to resist the temptation to attend. All the treasures and cultivation methods you’ve sold in Dao City were merely setting the stage for your academy, weren’t they?

“How insidious. Your academy will undermine the foundations of the ancient factions of the world as soon as it opens,” he laughed as he turned to leave.

The senior council of the top factions shuddered and looked on with visible concern.

“Ancient factions… what difference is there between them and tribes of a primitive society?” Lu Yun looked in the direction the demon god left in. “These peak ancient factions are the ones who have held back the pace of progress in this world. It’s been eighty thousand years, high past time for their influence to be curbed.”

His murmuring made all four sovereigns frown.

“Lu Yun has the heart of a wolf alright, the four of us must stop the academy from being established.” They exchanged a look and read the same determination in one another’s gazes.

“The peak factions are the foundation of the world of immortals,” said Gu Xun. “We need them to excavate tombs and develop the immortal dao… Lu Yun wants to enlighten all and advance the immortal dao all on his own? What a joke.”

None of them had lowered their voices to stop Lu Yun from hearing their conversation. However, he appeared entirely unfazed.

“If the seniors defeat me in the supplemental paths, I will give up establishing an academy just as you wish.” Lu Yun smiled. “If I win, however, I would like you to put aside your prejudices and join the academy, passing down your legacy to the world.”

Minute changes flickering over their faces, the four sovereigns gave his words some thought before nodding in agreement.

“That is acceptable. If we lose, we will join the academy. If you lose, you will never again mention establishing your Dao Academy or a sacred land in Dusk Province.”

“Let’s start with me,” offered Formation First. “I will set up a formation, and I don’t need you to break it. You win as long as you can walk out of it.”

With a wave of his hand, the power of heaven and earth gathered and consolidated into a concrete formation, lodged firmly in the air. Such was the ultimate height of formation dao—formations without foundation.

Formation First had mastered the technique at supreme heights. Unlike regular formations without foundation that drifted about untethered, he was able to root his solidly in the air.

Nodding, Lu Yun turned and entered the formation.

“Dao Brother Formation First,” Zhurong Die spoke up hurriedly, “Lu Yun has in his possession the connate-grade treasure Formation Orb. If he uses it...”

“If he does, he automatically loses in mentality,” Formation First said faintly with his hands behind his back. “Someone like that doesn’t deserve to be the master of a sacred land.”