Great Cloud Dynasty

Biodata

Background / History

The Great Cloud Dynasty has existed for approximately thirteen thousand years. Its long history, combined with the extended lifespans of high-level martial artists, has produced an unknown but considerable number of marquises and crowned kings. Its Imperial Capital is reputedly so full of nobles that one may encounter a marquis or king in the street. 55

The dynasty faces the Endless Sea, whose offshore regions contain numerous hostile and competing factions. Its three frontier prefectures of Glaze, Xuanyang, and Baoshan are especially vulnerable to incursions from overseas forces. 104 130

A thousand years before the war with the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Cloud Emperor used an object refined from beyond the heavens to annihilate tens of millions of invading evil cultivators with one palm strike. The strike nearly reduced the Evil God Sect’s Heavenly Evil Child to ashes, forcing the sect into a millennium of seclusion. 168

Government and Institutions

Military and Territorial Authority

• Military merit can be exchanged for rare cultivation resources from the dynasty’s treasury. 68
• The Cloud Firmament Army’s First Army is a world-renowned elite force that fights hostile powers year-round. 68
• Dynasty army formations require tens of thousands of warriors and can combine their strength to reach power comparable to the sixth or seventh level of the Spirit Platform Realm. 169
• The dynasty deployed a top-tier sixth-rank grand formation as its final defensive reserve during the later foreign invasion. Maintaining it consumes vast quantities of spirit stones, while its outer defensive lines had already fallen. 193
• The Cloud Sky Secret Realm lies roughly a thousand miles from the dynasty and opens to the younger generations of the Great Cloud Dynasty and surrounding powers. 66

Relations with Major Powers

• Mystic Blade Sect — One of the dynasty’s three top-tier sects; its Great Elder supports Su Yun and participates in the imperial campaign against the Heavenly Sword Sect. 92 169
• Heavenly Sword Sect — A major overseas rival that secretly recruited disciples within the dynasty, formed a hostile camp with other overseas factions, and fought a decisive war against Great Cloud. 128 132 169
• Cloud-Extinguishing Alliance — Coalition of overseas forces aligned with the Heavenly Sword Sect, formed with the stated aim of destroying the dynasty. 132
• Evil God Sect — Western Regions evil-cultivator hegemon; previously devastated by the Cloud Emperor and later considered a potential ally of the Heavenly Sword Sect. 168
• Extreme Nether Spear Sect — An overseas sect pacified rather than annihilated after Shen Qing pledged allegiance to Su Yun and the dynasty. 150 153
• Starry Sky Races — External tribes that occupied overseas territories, broke multiple Great Cloud defensive lines, and placed the dynasty under escalating pressure. 184 187
• Spirit Refining Sect and allied invaders — Foreign powers that sought Su Yun’s surrender and worked to breach the dynasty’s sixth-rank grand formation. 192 193

Major Conflicts

Overseas Sect Purge

As overseas sects near its borders became increasingly hostile, the dynasty began a broad pacification campaign. Su Yun received authority over Glaze, Xuanyang, and Baoshan Prefectures, including the power to command internal factions and noble marquis families there—a degree of delegated authority unprecedented for a marquis. 130

The campaign rapidly destroyed or subdued multiple overseas forces. King Wanyang personally led the assault that eradicated the Red Dragon Fist Sect, after which the major prefectures and counties bordering the Outer Sea were declared pacified. 140

War against the Heavenly Sword Sect

The Heavenly Sword Sect and allied overseas factions formed the Cloud-Extinguishing Alliance to oppose the dynasty. Their conflict escalated into a full-scale war, as Great Cloud’s armies surrounded the Heavenly Sword Sect with coordinated formations and tens of thousands of imperial warriors. 132 169

The Heavenly Sword Sect countered with a Tier 6 grand formation and at least thirty Dao Palace Realm experts, placing the dynasty’s forces at a severe disadvantage. 170 171 The Cloud Emperor intervened directly, eventually defeating and killing the Heavenly Sword Ancestor after awakening the Human Emperor Body. 180

Following the victory, Su Yun was crowned the King of Absolute Blade, becoming the dynasty’s tenth crowned king. 183

Outer-Heaven and Starry Sky Crisis

The dynasty’s ancestors and disciples of the Great Yun Former Emperor have fought foreign tribes on the Outer-Heaven Battlefield to prevent them from invading Great Cloud territory. The Purple Ape, Golden Peng, and Red Snake Tribes breached the dynasty’s first line of defense, killing numerous Dao Palace and Dragon Mansion Realm experts. 184

After the Cloud Emperor’s death, Starry Sky Races intensified their attacks. Overseas factions were wiped out or compelled to surrender, defensive lines fell, and the dynasty became increasingly isolated. 187

Cloud Emperor’s Death and Apparent Resurrection

The Cloud Emperor’s health deteriorated for an extended period due to the death energy and extraterrestrial object within him. He eventually died, leaving the Great Cloud Dynasty temporarily leaderless. 183 187

Before his death, the Cloud Emperor permitted the artifact spirit of the Holy Source Grotto-Heaven to inhabit his corpse through a secret technique. This “resurrected” Cloud Emperor can wield roughly seventy percent of the original emperor’s strength and temporarily repelled invading Dragon Mansion Realm experts. The truth is known only to a small number of senior dynasty officials. 193

Notable Members

• Cloud Emperor — The dynasty’s former ruler; defeated the Heavenly Sword Ancestor and later died after prolonged deterioration. 180 183 187
• “Resurrected” Cloud Emperor — The Holy Source Grotto-Heaven’s artifact spirit inhabiting the former emperor’s corpse. 193
• Yun Wuya — Former Evil-Suppressing King and a Dao Palace Realm expert who fought in the war against the Heavenly Sword Sect. 170
• King Wanyang — Powerful king who sought talented recruits for the dynasty and later wiped out the Red Dragon Fist Sect. 30 140
• Prince of Northern Suppression — Prince whose path to a breakthrough was previously obstructed by the Heavenly Sword Sect; later warned the dynasty about the Evil God Sect threat. 105 168
• Lin Canglong — Azure Dragon Divine General of the Cloud Firmament Army. 74
• Su Yun / King of Absolute Blade — Former Marquis of Absolute Blade and later crowned king whose victories were central to the dynasty’s triumph over the Heavenly Sword Sect. 130 183