Nine Provinces

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Nine Provinces
Original Name	九州
Type	Neutral Character (AI); regional player faction
Affiliation	Coordination Bureau; Nine Provinces players and civilian Constructors
Occupation / Role	Regional faction, dungeon ecosystem, and frontline defender
Core City	Chen Capital 182
Status	Active
First Appearance	117

Background / History

Following the world’s gamification, Nine Provinces was isolated from other regions physically and informationally; players could browse foreign regional forums but could not post or reply there. 129

Its dungeon ecosystem was initially unusually dependent on Lu Xiu. During the Vanguard Passage event, the system’s constructor-influence rankings showed Lu Xiu as Nine Provinces’ highest-influence Constructor, while Prison Rock displayed a more evenly layered constructor ecosystem. 118

Lu Xiu’s dungeons became a catalyst for local builders and players. Nine Provinces Constructors began adapting and combining ideas after studying a Prison Rock dungeon framework, while players developed a culture of discussing mechanics, combat systems, and dungeon design rather than merely copying existing instances. 136 137 This growth contributed to the system declaring a qualitative leap in Nine Provinces’ folk-dungeon ecosystem and closing system dungeons thirty days early. 159

Governance and Defense

• Coordination Bureau — The detected governing institution of Nine Provinces. It organizes the Strategy Group, manages intelligence and diplomacy, and represents the region in system-recognized negotiations. 256 257
• Strategy Group — A core-player force used for dungeon exploration, cross-region battles, and receiving foreign delegations. 191 267
• Frontline forces — Soldiers and Patrollers defend against real-world monsters, particularly around Jade Capital, a major coastal city and frontline position. 282 292
• Civilian dungeon ecosystem — Public and folk dungeons are treated as strategic infrastructure: they train players, distribute skills and equipment, and can be deployed to support the front lines. 159 187 314

Prison Rock’s visiting players were struck by Nine Provinces’ maintained public order, supply abundance, and defensive lines that protected ordinary people from monster incursions. 267

Dungeon Ecosystem

Lu Xiu’s Influence

Lu Xiu’s instances gave Nine Provinces players an extensive pool of practical skills and experience. Players cited repeated clears of Resident Evil, Sekiro, Outlast, and Witch as the source of their ammunition discipline, deflection training, survival instincts, and unconventional combat abilities. 190

During the Iron and Blood arena, these skills made Nine Provinces players exceptionally difficult to defeat: wounded fighters could trigger skills such as Ordinary Person’s Courage and Survival Instinct, while other rewards enabled counterattacks, defense-breaking, or continued resistance after apparent defeat. 224

Strategic Civilian Instances

• Arena defense maps — Defenders could draw scenarios from the Nine Provinces civilian-dungeon pool. Familiarity with Sekiro gave local players a major home-field advantage over Prison Rock. 182 184 186
• Dark Souls — Nine Provinces won the first-clear speedrun against Prison Rock, with 36 clears to Prison Rock’s 21; the victory transferred fifty districts of Obsidian City to Nine Provinces. 224
• Monster Hunter — Lu Xiu used Architect pre-placement to establish an offline entrance in Jade Capital. The dungeon supplied monster materials, equipment, and access to Astera’s crafting facilities. 281 282 298
• Left 4 Dead — Designed as a multiplayer survival-shooter dungeon for frontline training. Its entrance was placed at the border and initially restricted to frontline soldiers, later limited to Nine Provinces players. 310 314
• Witch Forest — An anomalous dungeon area that expanded toward Chen Capital. Lu Xiu arranged for its relocation to a remote border zone, where it became a living forest barrier along the Border Barrier. 319 320

Iron and Blood Conflict

Vanguard Passage

The Vanguard Passage opened a cross-boundary hunt between Nine Provinces and Prison Rock. Prison Rock sent twenty top players to Maple Leaf Avenue, prompting Nine Provinces players—including Jian Li, Wei Yidong, and Lu Xiu—to defend the region. 118 120

The event also exposed faction-transfer mechanics. Queenie defected from Prison Rock to Nine Provinces, while Strategy Group member Zhang Chongshan defected in the opposite direction. 126 127

City Confrontation War

The Iron and Blood version opened a thirty-day Cross-Realm Arena between Nine Provinces and Prison Rock. Chen Capital became Nine Provinces’ core city, with the system generating combat zones throughout it. Defeated players risked losing skills, equipment, items, and Survival Points, while lost territory could be occupied and plundered. 182

Nine Provinces dominated early arena rankings largely through familiarity with its own dungeon scenarios. Yan Fushou described Lu Xiu’s dungeons as having turned the expected cross-world confrontation into an opportunity for Nine Provinces players to gain Survival Points and skills. 187

Lu Xiu later initiated repeated recapture battles despite being only Sequence 2, defeating high-Sequence Prison Rock guardians and reclaiming nine cities in succession. 191 194

Dark Souls Group Battle

In the first-echelon group battle, Nine Provinces’ core players fought through Dark Souls maps and lit core bonfires before Prison Rock. 243 Lu Xiu’s Mythic-tier Lord of Cinder domain granted nearby Nine Provinces players defense-ignoring flame attacks, a full-health revival, and immunity to several forms of interference. 248

Nine Provinces ultimately won the first-echelon group battle and seized ten additional districts of Obsidian City. Lu Xiu was named its star player. 252

Settlement with Prison Rock

After the arena, Nine Provinces players voted on how to settle the occupied Prison Rock territories. Representative Negotiation Mode won with 67% of the vote, automatically granting the Coordination Bureau negotiating authority. 256 257

The system required the signature of the battle-merit leader for any agreement to take effect; as the number-one player, Lu Xiu held effective veto authority. 256 She declined to use this position for personal benefit and instead proposed that Prison Rock’s Survival Points be redistributed to help all Nine Provinces players meet future dungeon costs. 257

The final agreement required Prison Rock to surrender half of its total Survival Points for equal distribution among Nine Provinces players and guaranteed every Nine Provinces player one randomly selected A-rank skill from Prison Rock’s player skill pools. 269

Foreign Relations

• Prison Rock — Enemy faction during the Vanguard Passage and Iron and Blood arena; later entered a truce, exchange period, and compensation negotiations after Nine Provinces’ victory. 118 256 269
• Franca — One of the two regions that won the Hunt and Watch special event alongside Nine Provinces. Cross-region contact became possible through the multiplayer-dungeon update. 128 255
• Red Tide, Franca, and Canaan — These regions planned delegations to Nine Provinces after observing its dungeon rewards, crafting capacity, and frontline strength. 303 319
• Old Sea — Its players were blacklisted from entering Monster Hunter, leading their leadership to seek information on Lu Xiu through system multiplayer matchmaking instead. 292

Major Arcs

Arc	Events	Outcome
Vanguard Passage	Prison Rock’s top players descended into Nine Provinces; local players repelled the incursion. 118 126	Nine Provinces survived the hunt, though faction defections exposed internal security risks.
Iron and Blood Arena	Chen Capital and Obsidian City became combat-zone centers for cross-realm warfare. 182	Nine Provinces gained a decisive advantage through its dungeon library and player training.
Dark Souls Race and Group Battle	Nine Provinces won the speedrun and later the first-echelon group battle. 224 252	Fifty districts, then ten more districts, of Obsidian City were transferred to Nine Provinces.
Postwar Settlement	Players selected representative negotiations rather than direct collective plunder. 256 257	Prison Rock accepted major compensation terms, including Survival Point and skill transfers. 269
Fire and Song Expansion	Multiplayer dungeons, professions, attribute resets, resistance attributes, and cross-server friends were introduced. 277	Nine Provinces’ dungeon and equipment infrastructure became increasingly relevant to global players.
Frontline Expansion	Monster Hunter, Astera, and Left 4 Dead were integrated into Jade Capital and border defense planning. 282 298 314	Dungeons became military training grounds, production centers, and border deterrents.
Witch Forest Relocation	The expanding Witch Forest threatened Chen Capital before being moved to the frontier. 319 320	A dangerous anomaly became a forest barrier along the national border.