Qinglan City

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Qinglan City (清澜城)
Alias(es)	“Pearl of the East” 131
Affiliation	Cangyun Empire; governed with unusual autonomy by the Qinglan City Lord's Mansion 28
Occupation/Role	Eastern coastal port, commercial hub, and strategic gateway to the Cangyun Empire 1 205
Status	Active; besieged during the Penglai invasion 294 343
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Geography and Districts

• Located on the eastern coast of the Cangyun Empire, facing the sea; the Black Dragon Mountain Range blocks its northern side, while a broad plain extends southwest. The empire's two busiest trade routes converge at the city. 35 36
• It is the largest city in the empire's eastern region and ranks among the top ten of the empire's 108 major cities. 35
• The city is divided into four districts. The eastern commercial district borders Qinglan Port, while the southern district contains over seventy percent of the city's major families and more than eighty percent of its wealth. 28 38 225
• The northern district includes extensive slums, whose residents later organize to support the city's defense. 222 285
• Beneath the city is an extensive network of underground passages used by outlawed organizations and illegal armed groups. 38

Economy and Commerce

Qinglan City is the Cangyun Empire's largest commercial port. Maritime cargo from across the Immortal Realm enters and exits through its harbor before being distributed to other cities, supporting an exceptionally active economy. 1 35 284

Qinglan Port and Market

• Qinglan Market is located in the eastern commercial district beside Qinglan Port, one of the empire's largest piers and among the most prosperous markets within a thousand-li radius. 28
• Merchants trade goods from the Cangyun Empire, the Immortal Kingdom of Penglai, and the Black Demon Islands; medicinal ingredients and pills are major commodities. 13
• The market contains tea houses, taverns, inns, pharmacies, pawnshops, government offices, medical services, fortune-tellers, and entertainers. 28
• Hundred Herbs Hall is a prominent three-story pharmacy known for a complete selection and reasonable prices. 13
• Li Mu's Qinglan Noblewoman Cream campaign distributed roughly one thousand free boxes throughout the city through Qinglan Academy students. 12

Major Establishments

Establishment	Description
Qinglan Academy	A talent-selecting academy founded by the city lord. Unlike Cangyun Academy, it does not require graduates to join a faction unless they threaten Qinglan City. 4
Cangyun Academy	An Imperial institution stationed in the city; its graduates traditionally enter government or military service, making it part of the Empire's check on the City Lord's Mansion. 28
Twin Phoenix Tower	A five-story entertainment house and Qinglan City's largest brothel. Its hidden controller is the City Lord's Mansion, and its staff collect intelligence for the city and the Eastern Military Region. 28 339
Hua Mei's Residence	The secluded home of Hua Mei, the Qinglan Medical Sage, who treats neighbors and impoverished residents as well as major figures such as Li Yubai. 58

Government and Society

The Li family is Qinglan City's foremost family. Its patriarch, Li Yubai, serves as City Lord, and the family holds decisive authority within the city. 1

• Qinglan City is one of the rare cities with a degree of autonomy; most of the empire's 108 major cities are governed by centrally appointed officials. 28
• Despite this autonomy, Imperial forces remain stationed in the city to restrain the City Lord's Mansion, with Cangyun Academy forming an important part of that presence. 28
• City gates are guarded by troops arranged by the City Lord's Mansion, who recognize members of the Li family. 58
• Li Yubai's reforms improved economic vitality and civilian living conditions. Qinglan Academy reserves hundreds of free annual places for impoverished children. 222
• Municipal relief measures include free pharmacies, vegetarian restaurants for the poor, and departments dedicated to renovating slum housing. 222
• The city's public regard for Li Yubai is expressed in the saying: “Qinglan City belongs to the Li family, and Li Yubai is the sky of Qinglan City.” 222

History

Five years before Nie Xiaoyu's treatment, Li Yubai fought the seven Nascent Soul Realm experts of the Vast Sea Gang over the East Sea for seven days and nights. He broke through to Nascent Soul Perfection during the battle, killed all seven opponents, and returned to Qinglan City poisoned and severely wounded. Hua Mei treated him for three days. 58

During the Qinglan Academy Grand Competition, the city became absorbed in discussion of the unprecedented class battle, with Li Mu, Hao Meng, and Fang Yan becoming widely known. 26

After Li Yubai was declared wanted by the Imperial Family, Qinglan City's City Lord's Mansion continued to control the city. Its troops allowed Li Mu's group to enter without revealing his identity, demonstrating their loyalty to the local administration over Imperial pressure. 222

Penglai Invasion

Mobilization and Political Crisis

When the Penglai Army advanced, the Imperial Family prohibited large-scale troop movements, preventing nearby cities from sending aid. Qinglan City's available forces numbered at most 300,000, while Eastern Military Region reinforcements required approximately fifteen days to arrive. 229

Li Yubai and Liu Ruoying placed pro-Imperial Family factions and troops under watch, while Liu Long sought mutual-defense support from nearby independent cities. The Imperial order disrupted plans to bring more than two million reinforcements to Qinglan City. 229

After Huangfu Qing's succession was announced, southeastern cities received an Empress's Decree authorizing them to support the southeastern military regions and Qinglan City's front line. 257

Citywide Preparations

• Qinglan Port was transformed from a trade hub into a military zone, with watchtowers, tents, trenches, bunkers, warships, and stockpiles of weapons, armor, medicine, and food. 284
• The City Lord's Mansion divided Qinglan City into four defense zones and implemented a token-based status, intelligence-sharing, and tiered reporting system. 284
• Liu Ruoying coordinated private soldiers, rogue cultivators, and other supporting forces arriving from across the empire. 284
• Li Family Hidden Sect cultivators, Liu family elders, the Misty Cloud Sect, and the Xuantian Sword Sect reinforced the city's high-level defenses. 284
• Qinglan Academy and Cangyun Academy suspended classes; many ordinary students enlisted, while businesses and residents volunteered labor, supplies, and medical assistance. 285
• Twin Phoenix Tower's dancers joined Hua Mei's medical team, and its laborers repaired defensive positions. 285
• A citywide curfew stopped wealthy families from fleeing with their assets. Ordinary residents could apply to leave, but nobles attempting to evade the defense effort faced confiscation and arrest. 285

Battle of Qinglan City

The Penglai Fleet attacked Qinglan City's naval forces, whose warships sacrificed themselves to deplete enemy energy reserves before the coastal battle. Mechanical cannon units prepared to engage the approaching fleet. 294

More than half of Qinglan City's available forces, including over fifty Immeasurable Realm cultivators, were deployed to defend the port. 296 Penglai forces eventually broke into the eastern city, occupying major buildings and supply points while constructing further fortifications. 343

The battle escalated with the arrival of Tribulation Crossing Realm combatants. The Li family's three Old Ancestors confronted seven of Penglai's strongest elders, while the Blood organization's Black Mist and Hundred Snakes Heavenly Kings entered the city. 322 323

Notable Residents and Factions

• Li Yubai — City Lord and Li family patriarch; a Nascent Soul Perfection cultivator whose administration and reforms underpin the city's autonomy and prosperity. 1 222
• Liu Ruoying — Li family matriarch who organizes reinforcements and establishes the wartime defense-zone system. 284
• Li Yue — Li Yubai's elder son and right-hand man, responsible for reporting the city's situation and strengthening defenses. 1 224
• Hua Mei — The Qinglan Medical Sage; treats the city's residents and joins its wartime medical effort. 58 285
• Mu Bai — Qinglan Academy teacher and mentor to Li Mu. 286
• Liu Long — Liu family officer who assists Qinglan City's defense planning and pressures wealthy families to contribute resources. 229 284
• Li Family Hidden Sect — The Li family's covert core, which dispatches cultivators to reinforce Qinglan City during the Penglai invasion. 224 284