Yama Gate

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Yama Gate
Original Name	阎王门
Alias(es)	“Yama” organization; Decapitation Blade lineage
Type	Martial-arts school, executioner lineage, and covert intelligence organization
Headquarters	Blade-Casting Town, Shiwu County
Founder	Chen Delu, also known as Yama Blade
Leader	Liang Qisheng
Affiliation	Public front for the surviving lineage of the Seven Kill Sect
Status	Active; operating covertly under Liang Qisheng’s leadership
First Appearance	Chapter 22

Background / History

Yama Gate was established by Chen Delu after he survived the destruction of the Seven Kill Sect. While living in seclusion in Blade-Casting Town, Chen created the Gate as a public-facing institution; its concealed core preserves the remnants and inheritance of the Seven Kill Sect. 52 53

On the surface, Yama Gate became Blade-Casting Town’s principal executioner school. Chen Delu’s decades of work and official connections allowed its executioners to nearly monopolize beheading work throughout Shiwu County and its nine towns. 31 57

Liang Qisheng entered Yama Gate by paying its hundred-tael fee to learn the Decapitation Blade Technique and qualify as an executioner. His rapid attainment of Mind-Blade Unity earned him access to the Inner Courtyard, the Decapitation Ghost Blade trial, and eventually Chen Delu’s personal tutelage. 23 27 28 31 32

After Liang comprehended the Seven Kill True Intent, Chen revealed Yama Gate’s connection to the Seven Kill Sect and named him the sect’s sole true disciple. 52 53 Chen later transferred control of the “Yama” organization, its personnel, and its core Yin-Yang Qi-Transforming Hand to Liang, while the organization withdrew into concealment rather than expanding openly. 83 84

Organization

Public Structure

Yama Gate publicly operates as a paid martial-arts school centered on the Decapitation Blade.

• Admission requires 100 taels of silver rather than an investigation of background, aptitude, or formal oath-taking. 22 23
• New entrants register their identities and receive iron identity tokens. 23
• Its Outer Courtyard teaches paying students the Decapitation Blade Technique; the Inner Courtyard is restricted to selected disciples. 28 32
• The Decapitation Blade emphasizes decisive execution: hand-eye coordination, unusual angles, speed, and severing the head in a single stroke. 22 27
• Yama Gate retains 60% of an executioner’s earnings. 34

Inner Courtyard

The Inner Courtyard is Yama Gate’s guarded core, staffed by elite disciples and centered on an ancestral hall containing the Decapitation Ghost Blade. 28

• Disciples who reach the Realm of Mind-Blade Unity with the Decapitation Blade within three years may seek entry to the inner sect. 27
• Prospective inner disciples undergo the Decapitation Ghost Blade’s spiritual trial; those unable to endure it can be stopped by Zhao Hu. 29
• Inner disciples may receive advanced inheritances, including the Ghost Slaying Blade Art. 32
• Knowledge of the Decapitation Ghost Blade and Seven Kill Blade Intent is forbidden from disclosure under penalty of “Three Blades Nine Holes.” 32

Covert Organization

Behind its executioner-school façade, Yama Gate maintains an extensive covert network known as the “Yama” organization.

• Its intelligence network extends across Shiwu County and its nine towns. 57
• The organization employs surveillance, infiltration, disguises, assassination methods, and intelligence gathering. 57 66
• The Heavenly Net and Shadow Assassins operate under Yin-Yang Blood Talismans. 64 84
• Yama Gate’s influence is sufficient that city guards defer to holders of its token, recognizing its connections with both official authorities and the underworld. 91
• Liang Qisheng used the network to investigate Jade Monk Kui Mojiu, the demon-human organization, the rat plague, and suspicious activity within Shiwu County’s government office. 96 100

Operations

Executioner Trade

Yama Gate’s public influence is built on its executioners and its cooperation with local government offices.

• Executioners are Gate disciples rather than government officials; they cooperate with the authorities but cannot be otherwise deployed by them. 24
• Most executioners in Shiwu County originate from Yama Gate due to its specialized Decapitation Blade training. 25
• Beheading assignments are priced according to the condemned person’s cultivation: Skin Refining prisoners cost ten taels, Flesh Refining fifteen, Tendon Refining thirty, and Bone Refining at least one hundred. 26
• The organization’s execution work provides a legitimate route for its members to kill convicted criminals. 25 26

Martial Resources

Yama Gate possesses a martial library containing accumulated secret manuals and provides cultivation resources to Liang Qisheng as Chen Delu’s disciple. 57 79

• The library includes methods such as the Toad Breath Technique and Spirit Snake Coiling Silk Force. 57 94
• The Gate supplied Liang with pills and medicinal resources, including timely daily deliveries during his cultivation. 57
• Its Martial Armory contains hard-body techniques such as Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Shield. 97

Leadership

• Chen Delu — Founder of Yama Gate, retired executioner patriarch, survivor of the Seven Kill Sect, and Liang Qisheng’s master. He created Yama Gate as a front during his seclusion in Blade-Casting Town. 31 53
• Liang Qisheng — Chen Delu’s sole true disciple and successor. He received leadership of the Yama organization, its core techniques, and authority over its members. 52 83 84
• Zhao Hu — Chen Delu’s childhood disciple and representative within Yama Gate. Formerly the foremost senior brother and manager of external affairs, he serves Liang after the succession. 27 65 84

Relationships

• Seven Kill Sect — Yama Gate is its public façade and preserves the sect’s surviving lineage, ancestral legacy, and Seven Kill blade inheritance. 52 53
• Shiwu County yamen — Cooperates with Yama Gate for executions; the Gate’s long-standing official connections support its monopoly over the trade. 22 24 57
• Liang Qisheng — Joined as a paying student, became Chen Delu’s disciple and sole true disciple of the Seven Kill Sect, then assumed control of Yama. 23 32 52 84
• Chen Delu — Founder and former leader who handed his life’s work to Liang Qisheng. 83 84
• Zhao Hu — Inner-disciple senior brother who administers Gate affairs and follows Liang Qisheng’s orders after the transfer of power. 27 65 84

Trivia

• The plaque above Yama Gate’s entrance bears the words “Decapitation Blade” and retains the chilling killing intent of the executioner who wrote it. 22
• The Gate’s name reflects the executioner’s saying: “When Yama calls for you at the third watch, he will not keep you until the fifth.” 25 53
• Despite its outwardly loose admission policy, Yama Gate uses its paid Outer Courtyard as a foundation for identifying exceptional candidates for its hidden inner inheritance. 27 32