Imperial City

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皇城
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Entity Info
Original Name:皇城Gender:NeutralScope:Novel-specificStatus:ActiveSource:AIOccurrences:1134Chapters:318
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Context UptoCh. 684
Wiki ModelGPT-5.6 Terra
Image ModelGPT Image 2
Updated3 weeks ago
Novel Codex

Biodata

Feature Details
Name Imperial City (皇城)
Alias(es) The Eleven Imperial Cities
Affiliation Dark Realm 162 223
Occupation/Role Dominant Authority-bearing power bloc; controls major territories, Border Armies, and resource operations in the Sky City Battlefield 223 479
Status Active; its Venerable Lords later entered a shared deep slumber, creating a major succession and security crisis 498 500
First Appearance Chapter 137, through the ruins of Phoenix Imperial City 137

Constituent Imperial Cities

Imperial City Documented characteristics
Tiger Imperial City Regarded as the foremost combat-oriented Imperial City; its royal palace is exceptionally vast, and its Tiger Might Sequence reached Sequence Eight in its early history 277 298 570
Sheep Emperor City Maintains a broad network of connections among the Imperial Cities, though it still faces covert opposition and internal succession struggles 277 223
Rat Emperor City Possesses a massive population and a chaotic Theater; relies heavily on grain and conceals its royal family among the wider population 277 290 298
Phoenix Imperial City Its original city was destroyed in an undisclosed catastrophe; its royal family later pursued a plan centered on the Nirvana Imperial City Sequence 137 270
Serpent Emperor City Has poor relations with many peers but controls the Dark Realm's only poison-attribute mental power, discouraging open hostility 277
Horse Imperial City Direct and forthright in its dealings, but known to retain grudges for extremely long periods 277
Ox Emperor City Straightforward in disposition and among the Imperial Cities with major grain-production capability 277
Monkey Emperor City A major grain producer; known for pursuing maximum profit and frequently overreaching as a result 277
Rabbit Emperor City Usually low-profile, but considered especially dangerous when provoked beyond its limits 277
Dog Emperor City The only Imperial City stated to continue cultivating a Fantasy System Sequence alongside its Imperial City Sequence; it has not produced a Fantasy System Transcendence 277
Pig Emperor City Low-profile but not weak; later participated in negotiations over trade routes 277 319

Power Structure

Position / institution Function
Venerable Lord The core of an Imperial City's Authority. An Imperial City without its Venerable Lord is considered fundamentally incomplete and vulnerable 499 500
Great Venerables High-end figures who direct major strategy, defend their cities, and fight in large-scale Authority conflicts 499 513
Grand Elders / Elder Council Senior governing figures who manage internal decisions, succession matters, and responses to external crises 499 510
Sole Highness The selected heir of an Imperial City. A Highness can mobilize a phantom of the Venerable Lord's Authority Weapon without reducing the Venerable Lord's own combat power 392
Border Armies Core military forces whose losses are tightly restricted during succession disputes; they are treated as vital Imperial City combat power 245 506

Succession

The selection of a Sole Highness is a central Imperial City concern. Under Decree No. 11, competing candidates are effectively exiled into a one-on-one struggle, with the survivor becoming the Sole Highness; major factions are not permitted to waste Border Army strength in the process 506.

The position of Highness is also a political bargaining piece. During disputes over whether Venerable Lords should attempt an Ultimate Leap, opposing factions may target heirs to prevent a successor from inheriting the city afterward 400.

Venerable Lord succession is tied to abdication and carries a cost: their true forms are nearly immortal, but their True Spirits possess a limited lifespan 569.

Authority and Military Power

Imperial City Sequences

The eleven Imperial City Sequences stand above ordinary or “wild” Sequences and are regarded as some of the Dark Realm's most unfair advantages 162 197.

  • Imperial City-level Sequence Users possess powerful Beacon Skills, control effects, and durability beyond ordinary Sequence Users 197.
  • Sequence Four is a crucial threshold because its Beacon can preserve the user's mind against the influence of their Role, laying a foundation for Transcendence 245.
  • A newly formed Imperial City is expected to stand alongside the existing eleven and share in the Dark Realm's territory and resources 263.

Authority Weapons

Authority Weapons are artifacts capable of unleashing a single devastating attack and can bypass restrictions that normally prevent Transcendence-level intervention 277.

  • Sole Highnesses can summon phantom Authority Weapons as part of their city's combat power 392.
  • Ten Venerable Authority Weapons were deployed against Sky City's twelve Venerable Machine Souls during a major confrontation 456.
  • Imperial City-level Sequences can use their own Sequence power to activate the aura of the Time Sequence and glimpse part of the future 337.

Border Armies

Border Armies protect Imperial City interests in the Dark Realm and the Sky City Battlefield.

  • They rotate through battlefield deployments, where they profit by supplying and sheltering independent Sequence Users 245.
  • Imperial City resources allocated to Border Armies are immense, making large unnecessary losses politically unacceptable 245.
  • During wars of extermination, Border Armies prioritize preserving combat units over holding exposed garrison cities 511.

Economy and Control

The Imperial Cities monopolize many resources and extract value from the Sky City Battlefield. Spoils gathered by independent Sequence Users are commonly collected by Imperial City forces in exchange for Military Merit or used directly in refinement 223.

  • Military Merit — A digitized form of favor, separately held by each of the eleven Imperial Cities; sufficient merit can be exchanged for demands made of an Imperial City 222.
  • Battlefield missions — Imperial City-issued missions grant Military Merit but are notably difficult 222.
  • Orthodox Sequence recruitment — A City Lord advancing toward Transcendence is expected to choose an Imperial City partner; completely neutral Orthodox Sequences are not permitted to remain independent 188.
  • Sequence seedlings — The Sixth Floor maintains information on talented wild Sequence Users, making them targets for Imperial City recruitment 194.

The Imperial City's governing model is explicitly elitist: only the royal family and those close to it are treated as people within the system, while others are treated as provisions; competing elites, elders, and Border Armies divide the resulting resources 479.

Relations

  • Sky City — Principal rival for control of the Sky City Battlefield, Authority resources, and the wider Dark Realm 499 511.
  • Great Xia — Recognized by the other eleven Imperial Cities and the Dao Lineages as a twelfth Imperial City, despite its incomplete internal structure 500.
  • Dao Lineages — Subordinate powers compelled to pay tribute after the Imperial Cities consolidated control; refusal can lead to destruction 363.
  • The Sixth Floor — A major logistical and information partner that built teleportation gates during the Prince's Sweep and profited from their use 506.
  • Abyssal Sequences / Ghouls — Long-standing hostile or competing forces in the Dark Realm and Sky City Battlefield 223 511.

History

Event Details
Destruction of Phoenix Imperial City Phoenix Imperial City was destroyed in a past catastrophe, leaving a high-altitude expanse of shattered walls and ruins; the cause remains secret 137
An City succession conflict Imperial City princes gathered around An City's City Lord during his Pathbreaking Battle, seeking to recruit him before his potential Transcendence 188 194
Zhang Qing becomes an Imperial City Seedling Zhang Qing's emergence as a Seedling drew Grand Elders and major figures into the Sky City Battlefield, while the eleven Imperial Cities ultimately stood against Sky City and the Abyssal Sequence 261 262
Recognition of Great Xia Great Xia came to be treated throughout the Dark Realm as a twelfth Imperial City, despite lacking the conventional strength and structure expected of one 500
Shared Venerable Lord slumber After Zhang Qing was erased from memory, the Imperial City Lords entered an inexplicable deep slumber, forcing the cities to lock down their Sky City Battlefield garrisons 498
Sky City offensive Sky City exploited the information gap surrounding the slumber and attacked Imperial City garrisoned cities, causing the Imperial Cities to contract their front lines 499
Imperial City counteroffensive The eleven Highnesses led their armies to recover lost Sky City Battlefield territory over three months while Sky City's Great Venerables remained weakened 510
Fall of the garrison cities Sky City's twelve Mechanical Heavenly Courts later forced the Border Armies to abandon all eleven Imperial City garrisoned cities in the lower Sky City Battlefield 511
Battlefield recovery The Imperial City gradually expanded again, with the lower Sky City Battlefield becoming largely inaccessible to Sky City Sequence Users 547