The morning sun had barely touched the spires of Cloud Mist Academy when a massive commotion erupted at the main gates. A luxurious carriage, embossed with the silver emblem of the Yue Merchant Clan, stood waiting.
Lu Chen walked out of the "Trash Class" dorms for the last time. He didn't carry much—just a small bag, his Origin Spirit Pen, and the Heavenly Lightning King cub perched arrogantly on his shoulder. Behind him walked Han Feng, whose back was now straight as a spear, and the young Yue Qi, who looked at Lu Chen with a mixture of awe and curiosity.
"Stop right there!"
A thunderous roar echoed across the courtyard. Elder Mo, the Academy's second-in-command and the man who had scammed Mo Feng with the fake saber, stood blocking the path. Behind him were ten elite guards and a man dressed in the formal, star-embroidered robes of the Master Teacher Pavilion.
"Lu Chen, you are under investigation!" Elder Mo sneered, his eyes darting greedily toward the tiger cub. "This is Inspector Wei from the Pavilion. We have reports that you used 'Demonic Sorcery' to temporarily trick the meridians of Han Feng. Also, you stole a precious 'Weight Stone' from a student!"
Inspector Wei, a man with a thin mustache and an aura of Stage 4: Perception Realm, looked at Lu Chen with disdain. "To use forbidden techniques to fake a student's recovery is a crime punishable by the destruction of your own cultivation. Lu Chen, surrender your 'demonic' pen and the beast, and submit to the Soul-Search."
Lu Chen stopped. He didn't look afraid; he looked bored.
[Architectural God-Interface: Scanning Inspector Wei...]
[Status: 1-Star Master Teacher. Soul Depth: 1.2.]
[Primary Flaw: His 'Perception Realm' is hollow. He used 'Qi-Boosting Incense' to pass his exam. His foundation is as shaky as a house made of cards.]
"Inspector Wei," Lu Chen said, his voice cold and clear. "A Master Teacher's first duty is to see the truth. If you can't even see that your own 'Perception Realm' is failing because of the cheap incense you've been inhaling for three years, how do you expect to judge me?"
The courtyard went silent. Inspector Wei's face turned from pale to a deep, angry crimson. "You... how dare you! My foundation is—"
"Your foundation is leaking from the 'Hui-Yin' point," Lu Chen interrupted, stepping forward. His Sovereign Architect's Pressure suddenly flared, making the guards stumble back. "Every time you try to use your 1-Star aura, you feel a sharp sting in your lower spine. You think it's a 'Saint's Blessing' of hard work. I tell you, it's a 'Sinner's Warning' of a collapsing Dantian."
Lu Chen turned to the crowd of students who had gathered to watch. "Han Feng, show them the 'Demonic Sorcery'."
Han Feng stepped forward. He didn't say a word. He simply drew his wooden sword and performed a basic 'Vertical Slash'.
BOOM!
The air split. A blade of pure, sharp Qi traveled ten meters, slicing a solid stone statue of the Academy's founder clean in half. The cut was as smooth as glass.
"That... that's not faked!" a student screamed. "That's Sword Intent! A Stage-3 cultivator shouldn't be able to manifest Sword Intent unless they are a genius among geniuses!"
Lu Chen looked back at Inspector Wei, who was now trembling. "Is that demonic, Inspector? Or is it just that your 1-Star eyes are too dim to recognize a masterpiece?"
"I... I..." Wei stammered. He was a 1-Star Master Teacher, but he knew he couldn't replicate that kind of teaching.
"We're leaving," Lu Chen said. He walked past Elder Mo, who tried to grab Lu Chen's arm.
Lu Chen didn't even look. He simply flicked his finger, sending a spark of Deadly Poison Qi into Elder Mo's wrist.
"Aaaargh!" Elder Mo fell to his knees, his arm turning a sickly shade of purple. "My hand! What did you do?"
"Just a small 'structural correction' for your greed," Lu Chen said without stopping. "It will wear off in a week... if you spend every hour of those seven days kowtowing toward the North."
The Blue Lotus Estate
An hour later, the carriage arrived at the Blue Lotus Estate. It was a massive territory on the edge of the city, surrounded by a lake filled with glowing blue lotuses. The Qi here was three times denser than at the Academy.
Madam Yue was waiting at the entrance. She had changed into a lighter, silver-threaded robe, looking less like a mourning widow and more like a powerful matriarch.
"Welcome home, Teacher Lu," she said, her eyes lingering on his face. She felt a strange pull toward this man—a sense of safety she hadn't felt since her husband passed away.
"It will do," Lu Chen said, looking at the main hall.
[Architectural God-Interface: Analyzing Estate...]
[Status: Ancient Spirit-Well located beneath the North Pavilion.]
[Optimization: If the lotuses are rearranged into a 'Sovereign Lotus Array', Qi density will increase by 10x.]
"Madam Yue, tell your servants to move these lotuses exactly three feet to the left," Lu Chen commanded. "And tell them to plant 'Spirit-Fire Grass' in the gaps."
"But... that would ruin the aesthetic!" a servant protested.
"Do as he says," Madam Yue snapped. She had seen enough miracles to trust him blindly.
The Void-Spirit Awakening
Lu Chen took Yue Qi into the central courtyard. The young girl was nervous, her small hands shaking.
"Master... everyone says I'm a 'Void'. That I can never be a cultivator," she whispered.
"Empty space is not a weakness, Yue Qi," Lu Chen said, pulling out the Origin Spirit Pen. "A building is defined by its empty space—that's where people live. Your body is not meant to 'store' Qi like a tank; it's meant to 'channel' it like a grand cathedral."
Lu Chen began to draw on the ground around her. He wasn't drawing a circle, but a complex 3D blueprint that seemed to float in the air.
"This is the 'Void-Architect Manual'. It has 0 flaws because I just synthesized it from 4,000 books of formation and soul-theory."
He tapped Yue Qi's forehead with the pen.
[Activating: Void-Spirit Constitution...]
[Inverting Meridian Logic... 100% Success!]
Suddenly, the dense Qi of the Blue Lotus Estate began to swirl. It didn't enter Yue Qi's body; it flowed through her. Her small hands began to glow with a brilliant blue light. She pointed her finger at a nearby rock.
Whoosh!
The rock didn't break. It transformed. The molecules rearranged themselves into a perfect, small stone chair.
Madam Yue, who was watching from the balcony, nearly fell over. "She... she didn't just use Qi. She used Matter Manipulation! That's a Rank-7 Saint skill!"
"No," Lu Chen said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "She just redesigned the stone's blueprint. She is my second Sovereign—The Architect of Formations."
The First Gathering
That evening, as the sun set, the Blue Lotus Estate was glowing with a divine aura. Lu Chen sat at the head of a long spirit-wood table. To his left was Su Lan (Xun'er vibe), who was serving tea. To his right was Madam Yue (Older Love), who was looking at him with deep admiration.
Han Feng and Yue Qi stood respectfully behind their chairs.
"Tonight, we are only five," Lu Chen said, his voice echoing with the Sovereign Architect's Pressure. "But soon, there will be fifteen disciples and seven masters of this house. We are not just a school. We are the Sovereign All Path. And our first goal is simple."
Lu Chen looked toward the center of the city, where the Master Teacher Pavilion's tower stood tall.
"In three days, the 1-Star Master Teacher Exam begins. I will not only take the exam... I will rewrite the very rules of the Pavilion. Anyone who stands in our way will find their 'Blueprints' erased from history."
Suddenly, the tiger cub on the table let out a roar, and the blue lotuses in the lake bloomed all at once, releasing a golden mist that covered the entire estate.
[System Notification: First Base Established.]
[Reward: Unlocking 'Halo of Epiphany'.]
[Warning: A 3-Star Master Teacher from the Capital has been dispatched to 'Correct' the Cloud Mist City branch...]
Lu Chen smiled, his eyes glowing with golden light. "A 3-Star? Good. I was running out of high-rank books to scan."