Great Zhou

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Great Zhou (大周)
Alias(es)	Great Zhou Dynasty
Affiliation	Ji Imperial Clan; imperial court
Occupation/Role	Human martial dynasty in the Western Region
Status	Extant; threatened by the Centennial Great Change, Demons, Exotic Beasts, Weird entities, and rival states 251 262
First Appearance	Chapter 71

History

The third emperor of Great Zhou suppressed religious practice, forcibly eradicated sects over ten years, elevated imperial authority, and promoted martial arts across the realm. The resulting period of military success, full treasuries, and domestic stability became known as the Anjing Reign 71.

Great Zhou later entered decline under successive incompetent rulers. By the time of Chen Mo's rise, signs of deterioration were already apparent despite the dynasty's large bureaucracy and martial infrastructure 71.

Eight hundred years before the arrival of Great Gan and Great Yu's delegations, the three states had belonged to the Xia Imperial Dynasty. Xia collapsed following a three-way partition, leaving the successor dynasties to wage recurring wars until a balance of power produced a comparatively stable peace in recent decades 198.

Government and Institutions

Institution	Function
Emperor and Ji Imperial Clan	The imperial clan rules Great Zhou and allocates cultivation resources according to aptitude, preserving its supremacy over major families and sects 207.
Commandery–county system	Great Zhou contains thirteen commanderies, each overseeing hundreds of counties through a large bureaucracy 71.
Martial Restriction Guard	An agency created to enforce the Martial Restriction Decree, led by a royal Grandmaster and staffed with recruited experts 143.
Martial Pavilion	Official martial academy that collects techniques from across the dynasty. Its teachers are at least Grandmasters, while Pavilion Master Ji Zhengcheng is a Great Grandmaster 186.

Martial Restriction Decree

Great Zhou formerly encouraged widespread martial practice, but reversed that policy by imposing the Martial Restriction Decree. Martial schools and sects were confined to approved areas and required to report their disciples and cultivation techniques to the state 143.

The decree enabled the Martial Pavilion to consolidate major sects' core inheritances, making it a central repository for martial arts within the dynasty 186. Its enforcement also drove former True Martial Sect Master Di Yun to leave Great Zhou for Great Yu 201.

Territory

• Lin Chang Commandery — Great Zhou's largest commandery by area and least populated; it is vast, sparsely settled, and comparatively poor in resources 71 104.
• Henei Commandery — A prosperous northwestern commandery whose distance from border threats allows it to focus on internal threats such as Demons, Exotic Beasts, and Weird entities 147.
• Guanghan City — Great Zhou's second-largest city, built amid resource-rich mountains containing earth fire, medicinal herbs, metal veins, and gold mines 246.
• Zhenhai City — The dynasty's largest port city, located on the northern coast 241.
• Capital City — A vast, rune-covered imperial city where the Power of Heaven and Earth is unusually dense and where the Martial Pavilion is located 192 195.

The three western dynasties are geographically isolated: the Hundred Thousand Mountains obstruct travel eastward, the Barbarian Tribe controls the west, a dangerous ocean lies north, and an immense desert lies south 206.

Foreign Relations

• Great Gan — A rival successor state of Xia. It sent Grandmaster-led delegations to Great Zhou and joined Great Yu in challenging Great Zhou's leadership before the Centennial Great Change 198 201. After Chen Mo became a Supreme Grandmaster, Great Gan exchanged 97 True Martial-grade techniques for his insights into the realm above Great Grandmaster 272.
• Great Yu — Another successor state of Xia and longtime rival. Its delegation was led by Di Yun, a former Great Zhou sect master forced out by the Martial Restriction Decree 201 202. Great Yu later sought Chen Mo's Supreme Grandmaster knowledge out of fear of falling behind Great Zhou and Great Gan 273.
• Demons — Demon incursions through light-curtain portals and Earth Caves became a growing threat during the Centennial Great Change 251 259. Great Zhou eventually negotiated with Demon representatives under Chen Mo's deterrence, agreeing to yield Lin Chang Commandery in exchange for peace 277.
• Barbarian Tribe — A hostile western power. The loss of Lin Chang Commandery to the Demons placed the Barbarian Tribe in greater danger 277.

Major Events

Three Kingdoms Martial Tournament

Great Gan and Great Yu proposed a martial competition to determine leadership among the three kingdoms during the approaching Centennial Great Change. Each state fielded five martial artists under fifty in a winner-stays-on format 202.

Chen Mo defeated ten opponents consecutively while using only part of his strength. Great Zhou won the tournament, securing leadership for the coming crisis, though the government concealed the specifics of Chen Mo's victory from the public 205.

Ancient Tomb Crisis

A ruin north of the Capital City, believed to contain the legacy of an existence beyond Great Grandmaster, drew nearly all of Great Zhou's Great Grandmasters into an Ancient Tomb 240 241.

The tomb's Formation Technique trapped its entrants in a repeating route. Their absence left the Capital City dangerously exposed to pressure from Great Gan, Great Yu, and the White Lotus Sect 246 253.

Chen Mo later entered the tomb, saved the trapped Great Grandmasters, received its recovered cultivation techniques, and remained behind to study its formations 258.

Centennial Great Change

As Demons, Exotic Beasts, and Weird entities intensified their attacks, Great Zhou's forces were stretched across border cities and light-curtain portals 262. Chen Mo destroyed or disabled numerous ancient Teleportation Arrays, swept through the commanderies to eliminate Grandmaster-level threats, and stabilized the dynasty's internal situation 268.

His reappearance as a Supreme Grandmaster repeatedly deterred hostile forces. His presence alone caused Demonic Anomalies and Exotic Beasts to curb attacks on Great Zhou 271 275.

Relationship with Chen Mo

• Chen Mo — Great Zhou's foremost protector during the Centennial Great Change. Emperor Ji Tianming requested that he guard the Capital City while Great Grandmasters were absent, granting him a residence inside the imperial palace 252.
• Ji Tianming — Emperor of Great Zhou. He treats Chen Mo as an indispensable strategic asset, supplies him with cultivation resources, and seeks to maintain goodwill rather than control him through force 205 253.
• Martial Pavilion — Chen Mo was granted access through a Golden Martial Token, allowing him to study the pavilion's True Martial-grade techniques 195.
• Great Zhou's Great Grandmasters — Chen Mo shared his understanding of Domain Power and the path toward the Supreme Grandmaster realm with them 263.
• Common people of Great Zhou — Chen Mo's elimination of Demons, Exotic Beasts, and Weird entities led some rescued communities to regard him as a god 246.

Trivia

• Great Zhou's Capital City is protected by enormous walls covered in Runes 192.
• The Capital City's dense Power of Heaven and Earth substantially improves cultivation efficiency 198.
• Although Great Zhou relies on powerful Great Grandmasters for deterrence, the disappearance of those experts during the Ancient Tomb crisis revealed how vulnerable the dynasty was without them 241 246.