Great Zhou Dynasty

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Zhou Dynasty (大周皇朝)
Species/Race	Human Race-led dynasty; later governs a multi-racial realm under Human Race dominance 141 512
Affiliation	Zhou imperial family, Imperial Court, Great Zhou’s civil and military institutions
Occupation/Role	The principal Human Race state on the Ancient Life Star; a bulwark against demon invasions and a source of official martial cultivation 15 141
Status	Survives the Demonkin Race war, incorporates the Demon Domain, unifies the Ancient Life Star, and later decentralizes imperial authority 511 512 520

Background / History

Founding

The dynasty was founded more than ten thousand years ago by the Great Zhou founder, a human who rose from the Demon Domain. After attaining the Terrestrial Immortal Realm, he gathered humans, led them across the Demon Beast Mountain Range, and established Great Zhou beyond the Demon Domain. 282

Its founding purpose was not solely the Zhou clan’s rule, but the survival of the Human Race. Great Zhou provided a protected homeland from which humanity could resist demon incursions rather than remain prey in the Demon Domain. 141 210

The founder established the dynasty through military force. In one foundational campaign, he used the Six Ding Six Jia Formation with 120,000 Divine Transformation Realm soldiers and 120 Divine Tribulation Realm generals to kill twelve Terrestrial Immortals. 193

Rise under the Martial Emperor

Great Zhou’s early stability was threatened during the later reign of Emperor Jing, whose pursuit of longevity led to neglected governance, rampant corruption, poverty, and demonic disasters. 96 226

The Martial Emperor, Zhou Wu, reversed this decline after taking the throne. He built official roads, fought demons in the north, resisted southern barbarians, curbed sects and aristocratic families, and broadened ordinary people’s access to martial cultivation. His reign produced roughly five hundred years of prosperity and a major increase in martial talent. 96 319

By this era, Great Zhou had become stronger than the major ten-thousand-year families and sects within its sphere of influence. Joining its government, army, or privileged departments—especially the Brocade Guard—was considered the most reliable route to cultivation techniques. 15

Succession Crisis and Yuanding Reforms

When the Martial Emperor was believed to have died while attempting a breakthrough, Crown Prince Zhou Cheng exploited the lack of an abdication decree to seize the throne and establish the Yuanding era. 213 269

Yuanding Emperor Zhou Cheng attempted to secure a weak imperial position through institutional division and checks and balances. He disbanded the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Factories, retaining loyal personnel in the Inner Factory; established the Imperial Court Division and Mirror Reflection Bureau; created the Nameless Temple to assume surveillance of aristocratic families and sects; and split the Brocade Guard’s Dark Guard into the Embroidered Envoy. 275

These reforms reduced the Brocade Guard to demon-slaying duties while limiting the power of other privileged departments. However, Zhou Cheng’s inability to command the dynasty’s Terrestrial Immortal Realm experts remained a major weakness. 275 462

Demonkin Race War and Beast Tide

Believing the Martial Emperor dead, the Heavenly Demon Emperor Lord launched a major invasion. The conflict escalated into a three-year race war in which Great Zhou lost Cloud Province, most of You Province, and millions of soldiers before the Human Race achieved a costly victory at Nine Nether City. 318 452 478

The victory did not end the crisis. The Heavenly Demon Emperor Lord used the Demon Refining Pot to unleash an unprecedented beast tide across Great Zhou, devastating settlements and threatening the Central Capital. 481 483

The Martial Emperor returned after more than three hundred years away, revealed that he had been delayed by a Demonkin Divine Saint’s Dao, and defeated the Heavenly Demon Emperor Lord with a single punch. Great Zhou then mobilized its remaining strength to suppress the beast tide, though the war left its army and civilian population severely depleted. 491 496

Sun-Moon Empress and Unification

After Zhou Cheng’s death and Zhou Rui’s resignation as regent, the Martial Emperor selected his granddaughter, Princess Mingyue Zhou Zhao, as Crown Princess and successor. 496 497

Zhou Zhao ascended as the Sun-Moon Empress, the first female emperor of Great Zhou. Under her reign, the dynasty reorganized its civil, military, educational, religious, and privileged institutions. 498

Great Zhou subsequently counterattacked into the Demon Domain. Conquered territories were garrisoned, settled, and administered by the dynasty, while cooperative local forces were permitted to retain parts of their ancestral lands. 508 510

Following the destruction of the Demonkin Race’s remaining resistance, Great Zhou incorporated the Demon Domain and became the sole power on the Ancient Life Star. 511 512

Government and Institutions

Imperial succession and nobility

• The Zhou clan traditionally follows the founder’s succession principle: establish the legitimate heir when one exists; otherwise, establish the eldest heir. 247
• Non-Zhou individuals were historically forbidden from taking the title of King; the founder ordered that anyone outside the Zhou surname claiming it be jointly attacked. 478 479
• Great Zhou’s five standard noble ranks are Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. Duke titles became especially prestigious during peacetime because they were associated with civil officials, while marquisates were awarded through military merit. 229 479
• The Martial Emperor later created an exception for honorary King titles: those with peak Terrestrial Immortal-level strength and exceptional military achievement could be granted the rank, though it was non-hereditary and carried no direct governing authority. 498

Sun-Moon Empress’s reforms

Institution	Responsibility
Hall of Letters	Replaced the Hall of Political Affairs; eighteen Grand Academicians and thirty-six Academicians assist in civil administration. 498
Hall of War	Commands the nine directly subordinate legions through nine powerful marquises. 498
Nine Gates	Criminal cases, investigation, and trial. 498
Heavenly Craft Institute	Alchemy, weapon refinement, talismans, formations, and related crafts. 498
Dragon Protector Guard	Guards the Imperial Capital and serves as the Imperial Court’s guard and ceremonial force. 498
Brocade Guard	Subdues demons, eliminates devils, and enforces the Demon Subjugation Edict. 498
Suppression Guard	Monitors and registers aristocratic families and sects; oversees the Imperial Prison. 498
Imperial Academy	Operates civil and military education from the capital to local districts, selecting talent for the Hall of Letters and Hall of War. 498
Celestial Observatory	Maintains astronomy and the calendar. 498
Dao Palaces and Buddhist Temples	Gather Daoist and Buddhist sects under state-recognized leadership. 498

Later political structure

The reformed government separates civil and military affairs between the Literary and Martial Halls, leaving the sovereign to resolve only matters those bodies cannot decide. 499

After unifying the Ancient Life Star, Chen Fan and Zhou Zhao gradually relinquish direct imperial control. The emperor becomes increasingly symbolic, while a broader decision-making body drawn from the civil and military halls is intended to preserve long-term stability. 512

Military

Force structure

• Nine directly subordinate legions — Great Zhou’s core field forces, later placed under the Hall of War. 387 498
• Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Battalions — legions led by the Thirty-Six Divine Generals. 387
• Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Battalions — border armies defending the dynasty’s frontiers. 387
• Vassal guard legions and local forces — personal guards of vassal kings, plus prefectural, county, and township troops. 387
• Brocade Guard — an elite privileged department responsible for demon suppression; its members received progressively stronger reforged Embroidered Spring Blades based on rank. 505
• Suppression Guard — a smaller elite force with fewer than two hundred members, all at least Divine Tribulation Realm, including eight Terrestrial Immortal Realm deputy commanders. 506

Military formations

Military formations are central to Great Zhou’s ability to defeat individually stronger enemies. Formations can amplify ordinary soldiers and enable weaker human forces to challenge Terrestrial Immortals. 193 387

The dynasty’s War Gods are defined by their ability to use military formations to kill Terrestrial Immortals. During the Demonkin Race war, the three active War Gods—Lu Ding, Han Qi, and Li Yue—commanded the nine core legions through flags and battlefield signals rather than verbal formation instruction. 193 462

War against the Demonkin Race

Great Zhou ultimately fielded tens of millions of soldiers against the Demonkin Race coalition. The three War Gods led the main armies, supported by marquises, Divine Generals, and border troops. 478

The victory at Nine Nether City was strategically decisive but devastating. Nearly ten million Great Zhou elite soldiers were sacrificed to break the Demonkin army, and the dynasty’s military reserves were severely exhausted. 471 476 481

Territory

• Great Zhou was originally founded south of the Demon Beast Mountain Range after humans fled the Demon Domain. 279 282
• During the Demonkin Race war, Cloud Province and most of You Province were occupied before the Human Race recovered the strategic situation. 452 478
• The Martial Emperor declared that the Demon Domain north of the Demon Beast Mountain Range would be incorporated into Great Zhou territory. 497
• After the counteroffensive, Great Zhou became the only ruling power on the Ancient Life Star. 511 512
• The capital was later relocated into the Demon Domain, and the realm was reorganized into thirty-six provinces. 520

Associated Figures

• Great Zhou Founder / Emperor Taizu — A human from the Demon Domain who founded the dynasty after leading humanity across the Demon Beast Mountain Range. 282
• Martial Emperor Zhou Wu — Restored Great Zhou from decline, led its greatest era of prosperity, returned to save it from collapse, and later became Supreme Emperor in seclusion. 96 491 497
• Yuanding Emperor Zhou Cheng — Former Crown Prince and regent who seized the throne during the Martial Emperor’s absence; reorganized the court through institutional checks and balances. 269 275
• Sun-Moon Empress Zhou Zhao — First female emperor of Great Zhou; implemented sweeping state reforms and directed the dynasty’s later expansion. 498 511
• Chen Fan — Martial Marquis, Overlord King, Lord Protector of the Brocade Guard, and later Martial Emperor; led campaigns that enabled Great Zhou’s unification of the Ancient Life Star. 498 511
• Jiang Wang — Heavenly Blade King and master of the Suppression Guard; an important Terrestrial Immortal-level defender of Great Zhou. 498 506

Notable Quote

“The Great Zhou wasn’t the Great Zhou of his Zhou family, but the Great Zhou of the world, the Great Zhou of the human race.”
— Great Zhou’s founding ideal 141