Heavenly Supervision Department

Biodata

Mandate and Jurisdiction

The Heavenly Supervision Department takes orders from Phoenix Perch Prefecture City, supervises Gao Liu City's departments, and assists the Prefectural Governor's Mansion with cases. Its stated duty is to monitor the city inside and out, prevent injustice, and preserve the balance of order. 9 120

• Investigates corruption, abuse of power, embezzlement, and collusion among local authorities. 26 125 127
• Handles threats from Malevolent Spirits, Demonic Evils, Jie Jin, and other dangers arising during the Eerie Night. 9 176 319
• Supports city defenses when wards near the city wall face emergencies. 9 15
• Prevents any one faction from becoming powerful enough to cover up its own crimes or monopolize authority. 308
• Retains authority to supervise the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, making close lineage ties between the two offices politically improper. 248
• In later eras, investigates suspected reincarnated deities, Old Gods disguised as human cultivators, and ideological infiltration within the Human Race. 749 765

Organization

Command Structure

A standard local department is led by one Banner Bearer, with twelve Junior Banners and one Chief Clerk. 12 The Gao Liu City headquarters also maintains rotating patrol units, each led by a Banner Bearer and twelve Junior Banners. 119

Intelligence Network

The Department's strength is not limited to martial force. It embeds informants across trades, districts, and factions, then consolidates their reports through its clerks. 66

• Hidden operatives submit intelligence to the Chief Clerk, who organizes it for the Banner Bearer's decision. 66
• Informants may receive money, Merit Points, medicinal baths, and eventual promotion to Junior Banner status for reliable information or exceptional service. 66
• Intelligence is used to identify corruption, follow criminal networks, judge the truth of reports, and direct countermeasures. 26 66 114 119
• The Department's later work includes verifying newborns and cultivators to prevent reincarnated deities from infiltrating human society. 749

Equipment and Identification

• Order flag / token — Identifies a Banner Bearer and serves as proof of office. 9 98 119
• Black official robe — Banner Bearer uniforms are woven from Three-Patterned Golden Silkworm Silk and blessed at Wutong Temple. 9
• Chest protector — Made from Hundred-Refined Fine Steel and inscribed with Exorcism Runes. 9
• Small crossbow — A portable weapon issued with twelve bolts. 9
• Sabers — Regularly carried by Department officers and associated with their enforcement authority. 8 124 125

History

The Heavenly Supervision Department was brought to Gao Liu City roughly sixty years before Lin Yan's rise, after the city recognized that the division between the inner and outer cities had contributed to betrayal and the growth of Jie Jin. 120

Its strict oversight earned it widespread fear among influential figures, but also deep resentment. Powerful local interests portrayed it to common citizens as harsh and wicked while attempting to restrain its investigations. 120

When Lin Yan's actions exposed large-scale embezzlement tied to Gao Liu City's expansion, the Department mobilized without warning. It executed seventy-two key figures and captured more than 120 others in less than an hour, overturning the city's existing power structure. 127 The Commander accepted responsibility for the operation and used its aftermath to pursue broader investigations. 125 127

The Department's authority is not absolute. Its commanders note that corrupt factions have become adept at exploiting legal loopholes, making it difficult to secure conclusive evidence even when wrongdoing is apparent. 319

Notable Operations

• Lin Jiang Ward defense — Maintained responsibility for the outermost southern ward of Gao Liu City, near the city wall, where city guards frequently disappeared to Malevolent Spirits. 9
• City-expansion purge — Conducted coordinated arrests and executions against officials and influential figures implicated in corruption and material embezzlement. 125 127
• Ancient Ruins expedition — Sent selected personnel into dangerous ruins while accounting for the possibility of Jie Jin infiltration among its own ranks. 176 286
• Skyhawk City emergency — Responded to a suspected beyond-rank Malevolent Spirit after Skyhawk City lost contact with Phoenix Perch Prefecture City. 644
• Reincarnation screening — Investigated cases of suspected Emperor Realm reincarnation and Old Gods assuming human identities. 749
• Formation warfare — Formation master Song Ling's arrays enabled more than a hundred Department members to destroy a mountain and kill over ten thousand Demonic Creatures and Evil Spirits. 766

Internal Problems

The Department is vulnerable to the same corruption it is meant to suppress. Some officers manipulate evidence and use official power to advance themselves. 766

Hong Xiao, a Banner Bearer and later Deputy Commander of Destiny City, rejects this conduct when colleagues attempt to frame the Gao Family with a poisoned Fish Demon. He argues that harming an innocent family to secure a conviction would make the Department no different from the criminals it pursues. 766

Related Institutions

• Phoenix Perch Prefecture City — The Department's Gao Liu branches take orders from the prefectural city. 9
• Prefectural Governor's Mansion — Cooperates with the Department on cases but remains subject to its oversight. 9 248
• Wutong Temple — Blesses official uniforms and operates alongside the Department in Gao Liu City. 9 316
• Night Illuminators — Work alongside the Department and may guide martial artists without forcing them into formal service. 331
• Demon Suppression Division — A later institution with similar intelligence, monitoring, and suppression functions. Its highest Commander states that “Heavenly Supervision Department” is an older Human Emperor-era name whose jurisdiction extends over all beings, including the Human Race itself. 468 482
• Heavenly Mechanism Sacred Land — Assesses the reliability of intelligence gathered by the Demon Suppression Division through divination and calculation. 468

Trivia

• The Lin Jiang Department became a revered site within the wider Heavenly Supervision Department because the Sacred Master originated there. 655
• The Department's original name is associated with the Human Emperor era, when it was charged with supervising “all beings in heaven and earth,” rather than only suppressing demonic threats. 482
• In the Upper Realm's Ancestral Realm, a Heavenly Supervision Department was established to patrol all territories, punish deserters, and prevent any individual from seizing absolute authority. 504