Great Yan Dynasty

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Yan Dynasty (Dà Yān Wángcháo; 大燕王朝)
Alias(es)	Great Yan; Former Dynasty; Restored Great Yan
Type	Dynasty / mortal-world political power
Founder	Yan Grand Ancestor, who unified the world after a great calamity and restored order alongside the Immortal Sects 114
Ruling Heir	Zhao Huai, the last Crown Prince and bearer of the Great Yan bloodline 1 116
Capital / Base	Nanyu Prefecture, the restored dynasty's imperial city and political center 185
Status	Restored in the south; later entered a truce and cooperative arrangement with Great Xia 142 197
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background and Fall

Great Yan was once a unified dynasty whose rule extended across the Mortal World. Its imperial capital, later used by Great Xia, had been constructed at immense cost by Great Yan and served as the dynasty's capital for five centuries. 77 149

The dynasty's founding is credited to the Yan Grand Ancestor. During an age of chaos, he destroyed Demons and Monsters, defeated the Demonic Path, unified the realm, and led the Immortal Sects in restoring peace. The Heavenly Dragon became Great Yan's enduring national totem. 114 149

In its final years, Great Yan weakened under an ineffectual emperor and an unprepared crown prince. Rebel armies spread through the realm; Yu Daocheng then raised Great Xia's forces, with his daughter leading the campaign that pacified Jiangnan, marched on Yan Capital, and destroyed the old regime. The Great Yan emperor hanged himself, while the crown prince fled the palace. 1 73

Great Xia's conquest was followed by the slaughter of Great Yan's royal house and the suppression of resistance. Its national fortune was believed exhausted after the Battle of the Crossing River, and its surviving forces vanished into concealment. 114 116

National Fortune and Legitimacy

Symbol / Institution	Significance
Heavenly Dragon	Great Yan's national-fortune totem. Its reawakening was seen as proof that the dynasty's mandate had not fully perished. 114
Dragon Shaking Destiny	The dormant national fortune stirred when Zhao Huai's Fate Manifestation appeared, spreading its influence across the Great Xia Mortal World. 114
Great Yan Jade Seal	Zhao Huai used the seal to reveal a dragon-shaped national-fortune phenomenon and verify his identity before the old guard. 137
Ancestor Worship Hall	Houses the memorial tablets of past Great Yan emperors; it amplifies ancestral will and transmitted the Yan Lord's Edict across the world. 148 185
Reincarnation Mirror	A Great Yan Ancestor Artifact used by Zhao Huai during ancestral worship; it contains an inner Small World and helped produce a vast imperial apparition over Nanyu Prefecture. 141 148

The restoration's legitimacy rests on Zhao Huai's status as the last Crown Prince, the reappearance of Great Yan's dragon fortune, and the loyalty of its surviving civil and military institutions. 116 137

Great Yan's ancestral political ideal is described as placing the people first, the state second, and the ruler last. 148

Government and Forces

Old Guard

After the fall, Great Yan loyalists lived under false identities among the populace and waited for an opportunity to return. In Nanyu Prefecture, Tiger Yun Jiao's troops operated publicly as civilians and secretly as bandits, controlling key routes through both official and underground networks. 123

• Song Heqing — Former Great Yan prime minister and Grand Tutor; recognized Zhao Huai as the True Dragon and organized the restoration effort. 116
• Song Zhishu — Song Heqing's grandson; helped maintain Yan Hall and coordinated affairs during Zhao Huai's absence. 137 185
• Tiger Yun Jiao — Great Yan Protector-General and principal field commander of the remnants; preserved the old army's strength for years. 137
• Yin Nanyu — Military advisor during the restoration; rallied officials and officers behind Zhao Huai's coronation and activated Raven Sect operatives to support the southern campaign. 141 142

Great Yan Dragon Riders

The Great Yan Dragon Riders are an elite cavalry force established more than a century before the dynasty's fall. Their soldiers wear Bloodscale Jade Armor, ride dragon steeds, and use spears, crossbows, and shields. 137

• Recognized Zhao Huai immediately after he activated the Great Yan Jade Seal. 137
• Formed the core of Tiger Yun Jiao's campaign through the south. 142
• Their discipline and combat ability allowed numerous cities to be taken with little or no resistance. 142

Yan Generals

Ancient Yan Generals remained stationed across the world's borders rather than defending Yan Capital during the dynasty's fall. Their duty, assigned by the Yan Ancestor, was to guard the Heaven and Earth Altars against incursions from other worlds. 185

• Granny Su Li — A senior Great Yan guardian associated with the Twelve Sword Servants. 185
• Yang Biao — One of the Yan Ancestor's Thirty-Six Generals and guardian of the Western Continent. 185
• The Yan Generals answer only to Great Yan's recognized master. 185

Restoration

Revival of National Fortune

Zhao Huai's Fate Manifestation awakened Great Yan's dormant national fortune, appearing as a dragon in the heavens. The event shocked cultivators and political powers alike, as Great Yan had been presumed extinguished for years. 114

Song Heqing and other loyalists subsequently identified Zhao Huai as the surviving Crown Prince. His bloodline, cultivation talent, and possession of the Dragon Seal made him the focal point for the dynasty's restoration. 116

Securing Nanyu Prefecture

Zhao Huai traveled to Nanyu Prefecture, where Tiger Yun Jiao initially doubted his identity. After Zhao Huai activated the Great Yan Jade Seal and manifested the national-fortune dragon, Tiger Yun Jiao, Wang Meng, and the Dragon Riders pledged themselves to him. 137

Nanyu Prefecture had long been prepared as Great Yan's hidden stronghold. The old guard possessed influence over its officials, merchants, military personnel, and underground factions before openly seizing the city. 137 142

Southern Campaign

At Yan Hall, Yin Nanyu argued that Great Xia's drought, internal unrest, and northern invasion created the ideal moment to restore Great Yan. Zhao Huai accepted a coronation as Crown Prince, and Tiger Yun Jiao began the campaign. 141

The takeover of Nanyu Prefecture marked the open restoration of Great Yan. Local officials, gentry, and commoners across the south frequently surrendered or assisted the Dragon Riders; Tiger Yun Jiao took more than twenty cities during the early advance. 142

The campaign's momentum was strengthened by:

• Great Xia's famine, grain crisis, and unpopular birthday levies. 142
• Discontent among local noble families after Great Xia replaced officials and compelled food donations. 142
• Raven Sect agents spreading news of Great Yan's return and assisting its forces in seizing cities. 142
• The Northern Wolf Empire's invasion, which prevented Great Xia from concentrating its armies against the south. 138 142

Ancestral Worship and Northern Advance

Before marching north, Zhao Huai conducted ancestral rites at Yan Hall. The Reincarnation Mirror and the will of Great Yan's former emperors produced a towering image of Zhao Huai visible across Nanyu Prefecture and beyond, greatly raising morale. 148

The restored army then departed Nanyu Prefecture under Great Yan banners for the northern campaign. 148

External Relations

• Great Xia Dynasty — Great Yan's successor state and principal rival after the fall. The two sides later agreed to a truce, withdrew border forces, restored much north–south trade, and cooperated against foreign threats. 1 197
• Northern Wolf Empire — Its southern invasion of Great Xia created the strategic opening used in Great Yan's restoration. 138 141
• Divine Luo Empire — A hostile power whose envoy, the Western Evil Sable Monk, publicly provoked Great Yan in Nanyu Prefecture. Zhao Huai defeated him, escalating tensions between the states. 186 187
• Raven Sect — Yin Nanyu's sect supported Great Yan's southern expansion through intelligence work, propaganda, and covert assistance. 142
• Immortal Sects — Closely watched Great Yan's revived national fortune and sought influence over its Ancestor Artifacts and Incense. 114 119 126

Yan Lord's Edict

When the Western Continent's Heaven and Earth Altar came under imminent threat, Zhao Huai issued the Yan Lord's Edict. The proclamation recalled idle Great Yan loyalists, announced the coming Great Era, and called for unity against Demons, Monsters, and invasions from other worlds. 185

The Ancestor Worship Hall carried the edict's golden characters across the world, allowing holders of Yan Ancestor's tokens to sense the summons. 185

Later Developments

• Nanyu Prefecture grew into a prosperous cultivation center, with developed spiritual veins and a growing population of cultivators. 185
• Zhao Huai's return strengthened Great Yan's national fortune, whose Incense fed back into his cultivation. 185
• Internal tension emerged after Song Heqing's death, as civil and military factions debated whether Great Yan should continue southward into conflict with Great Xia. 184
• Under Great Yan rule, Nanyu Prefecture was described as stable and prosperous, with people living and working in peace. 234