Imperial Court

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Imperial Court
Alias(es)	Imperial Court; Prefectural Office (regional enforcement arm)
Affiliation	Northern Yan Imperial Family; Southern Qi Imperial Family
Occupation/Role	National governing authority; military command; law enforcement; resource administration
Status	Active
First Appearance	78

Authority and Administration

• The Northern Yan Imperial Court is the country's dominant power, maintaining rule for several centuries and overshadowing sects, aristocratic families, and local powers. 78 169 200
• Its authority is exercised through regional institutions such as Prefectural Offices, which act as instruments of force and conduct investigations, arrests, asset seizures, and recruitment. 206 211 212
• It maintains a practical balance with powerful sects and families: cities such as Yuanyang City may be effectively ruled by local sects, but only through an imperial compromise rather than true independence. 124 204
• The Myriad Sect Alliance was formed by sects and families of at least the Bone Transformation realm to restrain the court from destroying factions without cause. 213
• The court can draw on substantial intelligence capabilities; Lin Sheng considers its ability to track people, investigate secrets, and uncover hidden assets a major threat. 260

Bounty Lists and Recruitment

• The court publishes the Black List and Red List, offering silver, pills, martial arts techniques, and other rewards to mobilize martial artists against wanted targets. 114
• Wanyan Bei, the Black List's first-ranked fugitive, carries a reward exceeding 100,000 taels of silver, with further rewards potentially including access to techniques from the national treasury. 114
• Pei Er's wanted reward reaches 50,000 taels; successful hunters may also gain entry to the Dragon Demon Army. 169
• Joining a Prefectural Office grants protection from retaliation by ordinary sects, helping the court recruit Blood Circulation and Muscle Forging martial artists away from local factions. 211
• Lin Sheng is listed under the codename “Flame Demon,” later becoming the court's highest-ranked threat assessment target. 417

Military and Enforcement Arms

Organization / Office	Function	Notes
Prefectural Office	Regional law enforcement and political enforcement	Destroyed Crimson Whale Hall, seized its assets, and later eliminated the White Dragon Gang. 199 200 212
Constables	Field agents serving the Prefectural Office	Include Silver Badge, Gold Badge, and Golden Seal Divine Constables. 199 230 417
Dragon Demon Army	Elite military force	Recruitment is offered as a Black List reward. 169
Beast Taming Army	Army of beastified martial artists	Recruits widely with generous terms; its beastification methods risk erasing human nature. 256 258
Sky Rainbow Pavilion	High-level Northern Yan institution associated with demonic-blood experimentation	Its special envoy Gongsun Yuanzhou operates in Tiannan Prefecture; it treats beastified martial artists as strategically vital. 269 423
Imperial Guards	Southern Qi imperial security force	Raided the Gongsun family mansion after its collusion with Heart of Thorns was exposed. 405
Crimson Feather Army	Southern Qi imperial army stationed at Hai He Valley	Officially subordinate to the Imperial Family, though controlled by the Gongsun family for roughly fifty years before Lin Sheng's appointment. 393 394

Northern Yan Campaigns

Intervention in Wanhua City

The court's renewed intervention in Wanhua City begins with Gold Badge Divine Constable Zhang Songbai's annihilation of Crimson Whale Hall, one of the city's four major powers. Constables subsequently seize the hall's assets and suppress its remnants. 199 200

It occupies Great Cui Peak, takes control of beast ore resources, imposes financial demands on major local factions, and conducts large-scale mining at Yunshui Mountain. These measures place the Seven Forms Sect and other established powers under severe economic pressure. 201 204 209 211

The Prefectural Office later destroys the White Dragon Gang after uncovering its attacks on merchants and wealthy households. With Crimson Whale Hall and White Dragon Gang gone, Wanhua City's local balance of power collapses. 206 212

Consolidation of Northern Yan

• The court destroys sects accused of treason and enemy collusion, including the Sea Moon Sect, prompting smaller factions to flee, hide, or launch desperate attacks. 334
• It dismantles the Myriad Sect Alliance before the alliance can effectively oppose the mass cultivation of beastified martial artists. 411
• By this period, nearly half of Northern Yan's sects and aristocratic families have been eliminated; most surviving factions have openly or covertly submitted. 411
• Dark Star remains one of the court's principal enemies and is subjected to a nationwide pursuit. 78 291 411
• The court dispatches elite constables against Dark Star cells, including more than ten late Bone Transformation Silver Badge Constables in one Tiannan operation. 280

Beastification Program

The court recruits martial artists into the Beast Taming Army under unusually generous conditions and minimal assessment requirements. Lin Sheng concludes that the program uses a method that beastifies martial artists to grant combat power beyond their original realms. 256

This program is linked to the remains of the Thousand-Eyed Nether Lord, a Void Beast with potent corrupting properties. Lin Sheng believes the court is risking widespread loss of humanity among its experts in pursuit of greater strength. 258 290

The Sky Rainbow Pavilion and Emperor Jingyuan are described as nearly fanatical about demonic blood, with experiments extending to Grandmaster martial artists such as Xia Houqi. 420

Southern Qi Imperial Court

Southern Qi's Imperial Family does not possess Northern Yan's absolute dominance, but its close alignment with the Military Department makes it Southern Qi's foremost power. 381

Emperor Jing of Southern Qi is a Divine Form peak martial artist and governs from the Imperial City alongside powerful officials and court experts, including multiple Grandmasters. 392

Imperial City and Treasury

• The Southern Qi Imperial City is protected by specialized defensive formations powerful enough that ordinary Grandmasters may be unable to breach them. 392
• The Imperial Palace contains numerous Divine Form martial artists and at least three detectable Grandmaster-level presences. 392
• The Imperial Family's treasury contains divine weapons, Demon Beast materials, essence blood, cultivation methods, and Void Beast remains. 405
• Security around the treasury includes late Divine Form cultivators, Grandmasters, and an ancient dragon-shaped defensive formation. 405

Crimson Feather Army Reclamation

Emperor Jing appoints Lin Sheng as Second-Rank General of Cavalry and Commander of the Crimson Feather Army, using the appointment to reclaim an army long controlled by Grand Councilor Gongsun's family. 393 394

Grand Councilor Gongsun opposes the appointment on grounds of Lin Sheng's youth and Northern Yan origins, but Emperor Jing overrules him by citing Lin Sheng's impending marriage to Princess Lingyu and Tang Chong's endorsement. 393

Following Lin Sheng's suppression of the army's defiant centurions and the exposure of the Gongsun family's collusion with Heart of Thorns, the Imperial Guards raid the Gongsun residence. 397 405

Relationships

• Dark Star — Long-standing enemy; Dark Star was founded by members of the Former Dynasty Royal Family, and the court maintains wanted lists and sustained suppression against it. 78 291 411
• Myriad Sect Alliance — Coalition created to restrain imperial overreach; later dismantled during Northern Yan's consolidation campaign. 213 411
• Seven Forms Sect — A Wanhua City sect pressured by the court's resource seizures, demands, and recruitment efforts. 201 204 211
• Crimson Whale Hall — Destroyed by Gold Badge Divine Constable Zhang Songbai, triggering Wanhua City's political upheaval. 199 200
• White Dragon Gang — Eliminated by the Prefectural Office after attacking merchants and wealthy households. 206 212
• Heart of Thorns — Opposed by Southern Qi's Imperial Family after the Gongsun family colludes with the organization. 404 405
• Lin Sheng — Northern Yan marks him as “Flame Demon” and pursues him; Southern Qi later makes him Princess Lingyu's future consort and commander of the Crimson Feather Army. 417 393

Trivia

• The Northern Yan court's strength is regarded as sufficient to deter even long-established sects and aristocratic families from openly opposing it. 78 229
• Imperial bounty rewards are intentionally valuable enough to tempt independent martial artists, including Lin Sheng himself. 114
• In Northern Yan, local factions commonly invoke the court's authority as a deterrent even when they lack the strength to confront an enemy themselves. 413