Great Li

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Great Li
Alias(es)	Da Li
Affiliation	One of the Divine Dynasties
Occupation/Role	Divine dynasty and sovereign state
Status	Active; ruled by Emperor Li, formerly the Crown Prince 490 491
First Appearance	Chapter 21

Governance

Great Li is jointly administered through its imperial court and the Eastern Palace. Emperor Li delegated extensive authority to the Crown Prince: the Eastern Palace manages state affairs, appoints its own officials, and may appoint or dismiss certain lower-ranking officials independently. 55

The Crown Prince earned her position through military and cultivation achievements rather than inheritance alone. She served in the army for thirty years, fought Great Zhen and Great Gan, reached the Ninth Tier, recovered the Xuantian Sword Sect's lost Xuantian Sword Seed from a great forbidden land, and gained the allegiance of Great Li's nation-guarding Vermilion Bird Soul. 55

The dynasty's political stability is stronger than Great Gan's, but court factions still seek opportunities during moments of weakness. Duke Lin's qi deviation prompted internal scheming against the Northern Army, while instability in the Shadow Division exposed the danger posed by ambitious officials and infiltrators. 73 80

After Emperor Li's apparent failure to advance to the Tenth Order, the Crown Prince formally succeeded him as the new Emperor Li. Her first major order was a comprehensive purge of evil cultivators within Great Li's borders. 490

National Destiny

Great Li's national destiny manifests as an intelligent firebird bearing the ancient character “Li.” The avatar can act independently, recognize powerful figures, and communicate with Great Li's rulers. 399

• Great Li reveres fire; Lihuo Palace is Emperor Li's usual place of cultivation, rest, and work. 80
• The national destiny strongly favored the Crown Prince even before her accession, increasing as she formally assumed its burden. 490
• The new Emperor Li's compatibility with Great Li's national destiny exceeds even that of Emperor Li. 490
• Great Li has no direct connection to the True Phoenix, but its national destiny is connected to one of the True Phoenix's blood descendants. 496 498
• During the effort against the Great Shock, Old Emperor Li awakened and empowered Yu Ziqing's artifact with the character “Li.” 533

Military and Security

Armed Forces

• Northern Army — Guards the border with Great Zhen and was placed on high alert during King Qi's attempted war. 208 209
• Western Desolation Army — Great Li's principal mobile force; it rapidly stabilized Xinyu City, purged criminals, and organized refugee resettlement after taking control of the city. 61
• Shadow Division — Great Li's intelligence and internal-security organization. Its officials answer directly to Emperor Li's will, though the division has suffered from internal spies and factional strife. 80 91 160
• Imperial Guard and court experts — Great Li can deploy elite cultivators for major threats; it committed nine Ninth-Tier powerhouses under Wen Lingyou for the expedition through the archway. 195

Flame Dragon Horses

Great Li employs Flame Dragon Horses as both war mounts and post horses. Their hooves burn with flame, they hover above the ground while running, and they possess exceptional speed and endurance due to a trace of Dragon race bloodline. 21

Mature Flame Dragon Horses serving in the postal system are treated as officials. Killing one is a serious crime, and a post-horse official can deliver letters across vast distances in as little as three days. 57

Territory and Defenses

Great Li lies between Great Zhen, Great Gan, the eastern sea tribes, and the Abyss Rift. Maintaining sufficient forces at each front is essential: weakening a defensive position risks inviting immediate incursions. 195

The largest Abyss Rift lies within Great Li's western territory. It was historically protected by the Western Desolation Army, a thousand-li uninhabited zone, and a further three-thousand-li buffer region between the rift and the heartland. 203

• Great Li could not fully seal the rift because doing so would require work on both sides, immense resources, and still risk demonic forces reopening it through blood sacrifices or brute force. 203
• The presence of hungry ghosts in the rift allowed Great Li to begin developing and settling its western regions. 203
• Even after western development, the three-thousand-li zone surrounding the rift remained sparsely populated as a buffer; markets and small towns later emerged beyond it. 457
• The Crown Prince later ordered every Abyss Rift inside Great Li sealed, with all entry and exit prohibited. 402

Lihuo Academy

Lihuo Academy is Great Li's foremost academy and a major pillar of the dynasty's power. It acts alongside the imperial court in public policy, cultivation affairs, and responses to forbidden techniques. 179 195

• Wen Lingyou — A Lihuo Academy head, permanent duty officer, high-ranking administrator, and the Crown Prince's Grand Master. He led Great Li's nine Ninth-Tier expedition members. 195
• Great Li and Lihuo Academy publicly declared the Langya Avatar Technique an evil art, recognizing that its “avatars” are complete people sacrificed for the main body's benefit. 179
• Lihuo Academy later circulated historical material concerning the origins of Spirit Refining and the God King's lost path, placing political pressure on those connected to the Faceless Men and Bai Shuidan. 271 272

History

Early Border Conflicts

Great Li had fought Great Qian repeatedly for at least a century; the years without conflict totaled fewer than twenty. Its border with the Wasteland was already militarized when Flame Dragon Horse riders entered the region in pursuit of a major disturbance. 21

Expansion into Xinyu City

Great Li seized Xinyu City and stabilized it with remarkable speed. The Western Desolation Army removed criminals, welcomed refugees, and resettled the population with the efficiency of a force that had prepared in advance. 61

The Langya Avatar Crisis

Rumors accused the Crown Prince of cultivating the Langya Avatar Technique and treating Gu Tianxin as her avatar. The accusation threatened to turn an internal incident into a conflict between Great Li and Great Gan, but Great Li's court moved decisively against the technique itself. 172 174 179

The joint proclamation by the imperial court and Lihuo Academy classified the technique as evil magic and affirmed that purported avatars were victims rather than expendable extensions of a main body. 179

Intervention in the Earth Deity Crisis

Great Li sent Wen Lingyou and nine Ninth-Tier experts into the archway connected to Emperor Dui's Earth Deity crisis. The deployment represented a major commitment from both the court and Lihuo Academy, as withdrawing so many high-level defenders weakened Great Li's other fronts. 195

Conflict and Accommodation with Great Zhen

When King Qi maneuvered Great Zhen toward war, Great Li's Northern Army prepared for combat while the Western Desolation Army secretly repositioned its effective strength southward. 209

Through Yu Ziqing's mediation, the Crown Prince agreed to return half of Great Zhen's previously lost territory, preventing a full-scale three-dynasty war. 208 213

Succession and Purge of Evil Cultivators

Emperor Li's Tenth Order breakthrough appeared to fail, but Great Li's national destiny remained intact. The Crown Prince then took the throne, supported by a national destiny that continued to grow rather than decline. 490

The new Emperor used the alleged sabotage of Emperor Li's breakthrough as grounds to begin an uncompromising extermination campaign against evil cultivators. The Western Desolation Army became the campaign's primary force. 490

Relationships

• Emperor Li — Great Li's former emperor; his apparent failed advancement concealed an unresolved transformation involving both vigorous life force and Yang Demon death aura. 490 491
• New Emperor Li / former Crown Prince — Current ruler and former head of the Eastern Palace; she inherited Great Li's national destiny with exceptional compatibility. 490 491
• Lihuo Academy — Great Li's leading academy and an institutional partner of the imperial court in major political and cultivation matters. 179 195
• Great Zhen — Northern rival and recurring military opponent; the two states have fought over border territories but also negotiated to avert larger wars. 208 209 213
• Great Gan — Southern rival whose internal instability repeatedly creates military and political pressure on Great Li. 195 490
• Da Dui — A neighboring Divine Dynasty led by Yu Ziqing; Great Li has cooperated with it against major threats despite the possibility of future territorial conflict. 491 533
• Mountain Lord / Emperor Gen — Ancient Great Gen figure recognized with deference by Great Li's national-destiny firebird. 399
• Yu Ziqing / Emperor Dui — Ally and influential external power consulted by the new Emperor Li regarding Emperor Li's condition and Great Li's strategic position. 490 491