Hidden Sword Manor

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Hidden Sword Manor
Original Name	藏剑山庄
Affiliation	Ye family
Occupation/Role	Sword-and-weapon forging power; martial institution; organizer of the Famous Sword Tournament
Status	Active; rebuilt after the Mountain-Holding Vulture assault 153 154 231
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Hidden Sword Manor is a major Azure River County power located outside Azure River City. It has stood for thirty years, maintains walls over ten feet high with constant guards and patrols, and is large enough to resemble a small city. The Ye family controls the manor and its monopoly on forging swords and weapons. 1

Its foundation combines weapons production, a large sword-art collection, and a layered system for training slaves, household retainers, disciples, and stewards. Its martial arts are designed as a broad, interconnected swordsmanship system that can support attack, defense, assassination, movement, and killing techniques. 18 84

The manor's conflict with Tyrant Blade Manor and the Mountain-Holding Vulture bandits casts a long shadow over its history. Ye Wei's past clash with Tyrant Blade Manor became a source of enduring hostility, while bandit raids repeatedly targeted Hidden Sword weapon transports and later attempted to isolate the manor by intercepting its messenger birds. 22 33 133

At Poison Dragon Pool, the Azure River aristocratic families attempted to exclude Hidden Sword Manor from a valuable opportunity. Their forces were defeated, allowing the Ye family to reclaim control of Azure River's political and martial situation. 114 123 164

Liu Bahe and the Mountain-Holding Vulture launched a full-scale assault while Ye Ying was weakened. The attack devastated the manor, killing and injuring many disciples and reducing much of its grounds to ruins. Li Mu, Ye Ying, and the surviving defenders ultimately repelled the attackers. 153 154 155

The manor was subsequently rebuilt. Its Tenth Famous Sword Tournament restored and expanded its prestige across the southwestern martial world, while Li Mu's later return further elevated its reputation. 167 171 231

Facilities & Operations

Five Towers

Tower	Function
Myriad Swords Tower	Stores and maintains swords; sword-wiping servants clean and manage its extensive weapon racks. 1 14
Forging Sword Tower	Produces swords and handles forging work. 14 28
Sword Canon Tower	Stores sword manuals, cultivation notes, and swordsmanship classics. 5 14
Sword Guard Tower	Guards secrets and restricted areas. 14 115
Night Watch Tower	Handles patrol duty. 14

Myriad Swords Tower

The nine-story Myriad Swords Tower contains more than one hundred black-iron sword racks per floor and stores tens of thousands of swords, including ancient swords, famous swords, and battle swords. The accumulated sword intent within the tower can shake the soul. 1

• Sword-wiping servants use spirit spring water to clean and preserve the stored weapons. 1
• Steward Leng Shuangyu administers the tower and its servants. 4
• The tower's sword racks, including lower-tier racks, are subject to official storage checks. 12

Sword Canon Tower

The Sword Canon Tower is an eight-floor pagoda-like archive: higher floors contain increasingly precious materials. Although it is said to hold eight thousand sword canons, much of its collection consists of theory, notes, and incomplete copies rather than complete manuals. 5 59

• Ordinary disciples may only access up to the fourth floor, while stewards can enter all eight floors. 5
• Complete sword manuals are tightly controlled; only stewards and higher-ranking members may copy and retain them. 35
• The tower preserves personal insights from past masters, including reflections written after breaking through all nine vitality-and-blood gates. 59

Thousand-Jun Cavern

Thousand-Jun Cavern is Hidden Sword Manor's sacred ground for sword Dao enlightenment and a forbidden area. It contains lingering sword intent and ultimate arts left by renowned swordsmen, including the legacies of the manor lords, the Five-Elements Sword Lord, and the Sword Saint Dugu Qianlou. 106

• Each step deeper into the cavern brings heavier sword-intent pressure, giving the location its name. 106
• A Sword Pavilion formation within the cavern helps disciples temper their bodies, calm their minds, and comprehend the Dao. 153
• Ye Ying's secret chamber inside the cavern contains a ginkgo tree transplanted from Sword Pavilion that assists Dao comprehension. 153

Inner Courtyard and Forge

The inner courtyard contains Mirror Lake, a tower at its center, major halls, training grounds, residences, and heavily guarded forbidden areas. By Chapter 114, Li Mu's status grants him access to every restricted area in the manor. 21 114

• A restricted area within Sword Guard Tower contains an earthfire spring and an ancient forging platform used to process Golden Profound Jade Crystal for divine weapons. 115
• Hidden Sword Manor forges not only swords but also sabers, spears, bows, and staffs for Azure River City's military orders. 42

Organization

Rank / Group	Role
Sword-wiping slaves	Perform weapon maintenance and receive basic swordsmanship training. 1 2
Household servants and guards	Free commoners assigned to tower duties, guard work, forging, patrols, or transport assignments. 21 22 28
Formal disciples	Gain access to more advanced sword arts and may borrow materials from the Sword Canon Tower. 35 59
Core disciples	Senior martial members with access to higher-level arts and greater authority. 18 90
Stewards	Oversee individual towers and may access all floors of the Sword Canon Tower. 4 5
Manor lords	The Ye family's highest leadership and Hidden Sword Manor's foremost martial authorities. 167

Leadership and Notable Members

• Ye Ying — Grand Manor Lord and Hidden Sword Manor's foremost fighting force; a former Sword Pavilion outer disciple who later returned to lead the manor. 31 138
• Ye Wei — Third Manor Lord; oversees major decisions and accepts Li Mu as his final disciple. 21 91
• Ye Zhiqing — Second Manor Lord; participates in the manor's defense and administration. 147 160
• Ye Zhixuan — Fourth Manor Lord; assists in the manor's high-level affairs and defense. 147 167
• Leng Shuangyu — Steward of Myriad Swords Tower; an exceptionally talented inner-court disciple favored by Ye Wei. 4 14
• Ye Wanqing — Steward involved in internal administration and the Famous Sword Tournament. 14 167
• Ye Puyuan — Core disciple who supports Li Mu and grants him access to the inner court and Sword Canon Tower. 41 42
• Li Mu — The manor's senior disciple and later its central defender; his rise restores Hidden Sword Manor's standing after the bandit war. 155 167 171

Famous Sword Tournament

Hidden Sword Manor hosts the Famous Sword Tournament, a major martial gathering that attracts contestants, instructors, elders, and sect representatives from across Jiangnan Commandery. More than thirty counties attended the Tenth Tournament. 167

• The tournament is held with the manor lords presiding over matches. 167
• Main-event contestants are early Second-Realm martial artists; matches are one-on-one and prohibit secret arts or medicines that excessively drain strength. 167
• Hidden Sword Manor forges a divine weapon from Golden Mystic Jade Iron for the event each year. 85
• The Tenth Tournament ended with Li Mu defeating the top ten challengers and providing them guidance, making the event a landmark success for the manor. 171

Sword Stele

After returning from Sword Pavilion, Li Mu chose to establish a Sword Stele at Hidden Sword Manor to share his sword insights with its disciples. 232

• The stele was erected at Spirit Ravine Peak. 233
• Li Mu uses it to grant sword techniques and turn manor members into sword disciples. 234
• Zhao Tuo successfully comprehends pinnacle-level Dripping Water Swordsmanship and Thirteen Bone-Setting Swords through Li Mu's guidance. 234

Trivia

• Hidden Sword Manor's weapons are so feared in Azure River City that local thugs avoid provoking its convoys. 42
• The manor is famously protective of its members, a reputation acknowledged even by Azure River's chief constable. 56
• Li Mu's comprehension of the Supreme Heart Sword caused swords throughout the manor—including those in Myriad Swords Tower—to ring in unison. 166