Bureau of Military Affairs

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Bureau of Military Affairs (枢密府)
Alias(es)	Jingji General Office; Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs
Affiliation	Da Qi; later identified as part of the Seven Stars alliance 491
Occupation/Role	Special state agency overseeing Fangshi, Evil Spirit suppression, intelligence, diplomacy, governance, and military strategy 47 51
Status	Active; weakened by internal defections and at war with Jinxia City’s faction 388 492 627
First Appearance	Chapter 3 3

Background

The Bureau became independent from the Six Ministries after the fall of the Yong State. Its internal affairs were thereafter beyond the Six Ministries’ jurisdiction; only the Emperor could formally interfere. 47 139

In the decades following Yong’s collapse, the Bureau contained widespread Evil Spirit outbreaks at the cost of nearly thirty percent casualties. Its independence gave it greater resources and authority, but prolonged growth also turned it into a powerful institution burdened by internal interests and a widening divide between local branches and the Capital Region. 80 86

Although publicly associated with exorcism, the Bureau regards Fangshi as assets for national security. Its higher-ranking members participate in intelligence work, diplomacy, governance, and strategic planning. 27 51

Organization

Fangshi ranks

Rank and position are separate within the Bureau: rank is earned through merit, while posts such as instructor or department head are assigned duties that do not themselves grant merit. Fangshi may advance by destroying Evil Spirits, developing Sorcery Arts, improving talismans or materials, or making other major contributions. 50

Rank	Notes
Chukai	Entry rank.
Shouxin	Second Fangshi rank.
Wen Dao	Sixth rank; field casualties at this level are treated as significant losses. 62
Shifeng	Fifth rank. 62
Myriad-Edge	Fourth rank.
Sentinel	Equivalent to a third-rank official of the Six Ministries. 6
Azure Blade	Equivalent to a second-rank official; second only to Feathered Garments. 21
Feathered Garment	First-rank Fangshi and the highest standard rank. 270

Local departments

Department	Primary responsibility
Command Department	Handling Evil Spirit incidents and field operations.
Ministry of Education	Training Fangshi and teaching Sorcery Art.
Finance Department	Coordinating supplies and resources.
Record Department	Managing documents, secret orders, magical-art records, and intelligence.

The four-department structure is used by local Bureaus, though the Capital Region maintains deeper personnel and institutional resources. 47 270

Core members

Core membership is distinct from ordinary rank advancement. Xia Fan was considered eligible for the core because of his potential and performance despite formally being only a Myriad-Edge. 274 288

The organization’s core was severely destabilized by the Wanjing Building conflict, later defections, and losses among high-ranking Fangshi. 296 388 492

Duties and Authority

Evil Spirit suppression

The Bureau’s traditional duty is the detection, containment, and elimination of Evil Spirits. It categorizes lesser Sha Night entities as Mei and larger ones as Mo, while treating their unpredictable emergence from buried remains as a major threat to settlements. 22

• It imposed construction and sanitation rules after becoming independent, including prohibitions on cemeteries within city walls and uncontrolled disposal of animal corpses. 22
• It trains Fangshi to identify Evil Spirits, exploit their weaknesses, and use standardized spell-casting movements and equipment storage. 52
• Its priorities favor severe incidents and national security over every individual report of supernatural danger. 51
• Teaching Sorcery Art to demons is treated as a violation of Bureau decree. 11

Recruitment and training

The Scholar Examination recruits new Fangshi. Candidates are ranked into eight grades after the examination, but their initial grade does not permanently limit later promotion. 35

• New Fangshi register with the Bureau, receive official badges and robes, and undergo instruction. 45
• Fangshi report each morning for assignments and training. 52
• Sixth-rank Fangshi and above may apply directly for cultivation materials through the Bureau. 50
• Under the Seven Stars’ policies, the Scholar Examination was planned to shift from once every three years to once every year. 388

Records, research, and intelligence

The Record Department stores magical arts, artifact catalogs, secret orders, and other restricted knowledge. Its mechanisms and records are deliberately withheld from non–Qi Sense Users. 275 278

• Bureau research has included controlled experiments into changing a person’s hexagram attribute through environmental and psychological influence. 50
• Capital archives contain magical-artifact blueprints, offensive and defensive designs, and formation diagrams. 281
• The Capital Record Department was expanded from a passive archive into an active intelligence service that recruits and directs secret agents. 406
• The Bureau maintains secret record-transfer sites in Shangyuan City, some unknown even to the Emperor. 298

Military operations

The Bureau fields Fangshi as elite wartime personnel and develops formations for combat as well as Evil Spirit suppression. 264 470

• The Immortal-Binding Formation combines Qian Art with Kan and Gen techniques to restrain large Yao; it was developed for potential conflict with Western Pole nations. 470
• Capital headquarters can mobilize its own guard force in addition to Fangshi. 312
• The Bureau favors cultivating powerful individual Fangshi over mass-producing magical artifacts, believing a Sentinel can overwhelm hundreds of entry-level artifact users. 624

Identifiers and Facilities

Bureau officials wear pitch-black, high-collared robes and half-silver masks. Shoulder embroidery identifies status: Ba Xingtian’s three red lines marked him as a Sentinel, while double-striped insignia identify Azure Blades. 6 212

The Jinxia Bureau compound contained more than a dozen buildings surrounding a central stone-paved plaza, with a large red-brick, gold-roofed main hall. 45

Major Arcs

Arc	Bureau involvement
Qingshan Scholar Examination	Inspectors oversee recruitment, evaluate candidates, and investigate possible Listeners among the examinees. 6 23 35
Jinxia internal conflict	Xia Fan becomes Lingbu Official and rebuilds the depleted Command Department with reservists and temporary personnel, provoking opposition from the other departments. 83 84 107
Jinxia General Affairs transition	The Jinxia Bureau is repurposed into the Jinxia City General Affairs Bureau, then formally renamed the Department of Military Affairs under the wider Affairs Bureau. 183 340
Capital Region crisis	The Capital Bureau’s headquarters is caught between the Imperial Guard and internal intrigue; its Record Department becomes a target because of its restricted knowledge and artifacts. 275 276 278 281
Seven Stars consolidation	Under Ning Qianshi, the Bureau seeks to unite the Six States, replace local officials with Bureau-trained personnel, centralize Qi Sense User training, and reduce the imperial court to a symbolic institution. 290 388 457
War against Jinxia City	The Bureau mobilizes a Ten-State Allied Army exceeding 150,000 troops to eliminate Jinxia City, but its numerical advantage is undermined by Jinxia’s communication, weapons, mobility, and Fangshi support. 459 477 504
Postwar division	Qian and Yu Linglong break from the Bureau and join Jinxia, while Jinxia’s Department of Military Affairs later suspects the Seven Stars Bureau of renewed activity in Shenzhou. 492 627

Relationships

• Da Qi imperial court — Formally autonomous from the Six Ministries and answerable only to the Emperor; later supplants much of the court’s practical authority through Bureau-trained replacements. 47 457
• Seven Stars — The Da Qi Bureau is one component of the wider Seven Stars organization, whose stated objective is unifying the Six States against external threats. 291 491
• Jinxia City General Affairs Bureau / Department of Military Affairs — The former Jinxia branch is transformed into a local civil-administrative institution and ultimately becomes a hostile rival to the Capital Bureau. 183 340 492
• Noble families — The Seven Stars’ centralization program seeks to strip noble families of their private influence over Qi Sense Users and local government. 388
• Imperial Guard — Clashes with Bureau forces during the Capital Region power struggle and temporarily seals the Bureau headquarters during the ensuing crisis. 276 290

Notable Personnel

• Ning Qianshi — Second Prince and head of the Bureau; leads the Seven Stars’ unification program and the campaign against Jinxia City. 316 459
• Qian — Feathered Garment Envoy and former core member who ultimately joins Jinxia City’s cause. 270 492
• Fei Nian — Senior Bureau official who directs Record Department intelligence operations and recruits secret agents. 406 428
• Yan Qing — Lock Weaver who defects from the Bureau; later heads Jinxia’s Department of Military Affairs. 388 626
• Ba Xingtian — Sentinel and high-ranking inspector active during the Qingshan Scholar Examination. 6 11