Yuan Lake

Biodata

Geography

Yuan Lake spans seven thousand li and is the third-largest lake in the Min River water system. Its waters contain countless islands, submerged terrain, aquatic clans, demons, monsters, and competing local forces. Its size and complexity made a systematic search necessary before its new administration could safely establish itself. 368 369 370

• Seal Mountain Island — A small island, less than twenty li across, named for its seal-shaped peak. It served as Lu Qingfeng’s first temporary base after he took office. 370 372
• Changshan Archipelago — More than a hundred islands south of Seal Mountain Island, scattered like a ribbon through the lake. It became the main recruitment and training ground for Yuan Lake’s expanding forces. 372 373
• Yuan Lake Water Palace — The administrative seat built after the lake was secured; construction was underway within eight months of Lu Qingfeng’s arrival. 371

Divine Authority

The Yuan Lake Water Lord governs the lake’s aquatic clans and exercises authority over a hundred-thousand-li surrounding region. The office controls rain, thunder, floods, tides, cool weather, seasonal changes, snow, hail, frost, and ice. 368

The position is one of the Min River Dragon Palace’s seven major fourth-rank water offices. Unlike the Dragon Palace’s idle titles, it grants its holder substantial autonomy as a frontier governor. 368

History

The Yuan Lake Water Deity office had been vacant for a long period before the Min River Dragon Lord secured an imperial edict appointing Lu Qingfeng, under the name Guangyuan, to the post. The appointment elevated him from Dragon Palace prince consort to an independent regional ruler and immediately granted power comparable to a peak third-realm cultivator. 368

Lu Qingfeng reached Yuan Lake after a two-month journey with Ao Le, Lan Feihu, Yuan Bi, and three thousand Min River naval troops. Yuan Bi led the initial reconnaissance, while Lan Feihu defended Seal Mountain Island and Lu Qingfeng began laying the foundations for an independent domain. 369 370

Military Expansion

Lu Qingfeng developed Yuan Lake into a military power rather than relying only on its original three thousand troops. He recruited forty-eight human officers to train local spirit monsters and aquatic tribes, offering advancement according to the quality of the forces they produced. 372

In one day, thirty thousand mountain spirits and one hundred thousand aquatic tribes joined Yuan Lake’s forces. They were organized into forty-eight battalions and trained in rudimentary Fate Dao methods. After a century, most had reached the Second Realm, though none had advanced to the Third Realm. 373

The Tianxin Inheritance Incident

When Bai Ziyue, Zhu Xuanji, and Gongyang Yu entered Yuan Lake territory seeking Sword Venerable Tianxin’s cave abode, Lu Qingfeng publicly accused them of stealing its inheritance. The accusation was a calculated deception: Lu Qingfeng had arranged the incident to distance himself from the inheritance, redirect suspicion toward Yuan-you Divine Communion Palace, and make himself appear impulsive and politically harmless. 378 381

The resulting conflict brought the Min River Dragon Lord into a three-day battle with Daoist Xuanjue of Yuan-you Divine Communion Palace. In the aftermath, Luo Fuzi led Yuan Lake Water Palace in expanding across a hundred-thousand-li region, establishing a century of uncontested dominance. 381

Dismissal of Guangyuan

Lu Qingfeng later used Yuan Lake’s divine authority to summon seven days of rain over South Pass Circuit, retaliating against Circuit Commissioner Pei Zhi after demons were allowed to enter Yuan Lake territory. He anticipated that this act would cost him his office. 384 385

The Min River Dragon Lord dismissed Guangyuan as Yuan Lake Water Lord and initially assigned Yuan Bi to manage the position. Zhang Shu—an early Yuan Lake officer who had been entrusted with the Three Thousand Fire Crow Soldiers—eventually succeeded formally as Water Lord. 385 413

Administration and Forces

• Zhang Shu — Fourth-rank Yuan Lake Water Lord. Originally a frustrated South Pass Circuit officer, he rose under Guangyuan’s patronage and later became one of the Min River faction’s foremost commanders. 413
• Lan Feihu — Former fifth-rank Yuan Lake Water General. A brave, experienced third-realm warrior who commanded 1,500 Min River naval troops during Yuan Lake’s founding period. 369
• Yuan Bi — Former fifth-rank Yuan Lake Water General. A strategist and troop trainer who commanded 1,500 naval soldiers and organized the lake’s initial reconnaissance. 369 370
• Three Thousand Min River Navy Soldiers — The initial military grant from the Min River Dragon Lord, divided equally between Lan Feihu and Yuan Bi. 368 369
• Forty-Eight Battalions — Units formed from Yuan Lake’s recruited mountain spirits and aquatic tribes during the large-scale training campaign. 373
• Three Thousand Fire Crow Soldiers — Zhang Shu’s elite force, used to defeat Demon Marsh troops and publicly execute the captured demon vanguard commander Zhu Shan. 384