Notting City

Biodata

Background / History

Notting City is a small city with a comparatively small Spirit Hall branch. Li Long lived in the branch members’ dormitory after joining Spirit Hall, and was regarded as the branch’s most outstanding young Soul Master when he reached rank 10. 1

The city’s branch hall became the base of Li Long’s early advancement. Fanolan, then its white-robed chief deacon, personally approved and accompanied Li Long’s first soul hunt rather than assigning lower-ranked Soul Masters to the task. 1

After Li Long became Pope Qian Shengyuan’s personal disciple, he requested recognition for Fanolan’s support. Qian Shengyuan appointed Fanolan chief hall master of the Notting City branch and exceptionally promoted him to Purple-Robed Deacon. The appointment was delivered personally by Platinum Bishop Zhao Ze under the ceremony appropriate to a chief hall master. 26

The Notting City branch remained part of Li Long’s publicly recognized background after his departure. At his enthronement as Spirit Hall’s Holy Son, Qian Shengyuan explicitly introduced him as originating from the Notting City branch hall before announcing his age, cultivation, and unusually advanced soul rings. 33

Locations and Infrastructure

Spirit Hall Branch Hall

• Includes member dormitories, a deacon’s office, a rear training courtyard, a mission counter, and a plaza before the main hall. 1 4 7
• Formally registers Soul Masters, issues branch badges, distributes stipends, and manages mission completion and point records. 4 7
• Li Long’s first bronze registration badge carried the code Notting-037. 4
• The branch initially offered Li Long a monthly stipend of 12 Gold Soul Coins after his rank-10 breakthrough. 4
• That stipend comprised a 10-Gold-Soul-Coin base salary, a one-Gold-Soul-Coin incidental allowance, and an additional one-Gold-Soul-Coin monthly subsidy for outstanding performance. The branch also provided food and lodging. 4
• Its mission system provided D-rank and C-rank assignments, with points exchangeable for cultivation-related resources through Spirit Hall channels. 5 7 9
• The branch did not directly stock medicinal-bath ingredients, keeping standardized supplies such as soul tools and basic cultivation techniques instead. Access to Spirit Hall’s internal purchasing channel required 50 points; Li Long used it to order older medicinal ingredients that arrived within three days. 7 9
• The rear courtyard served as a sparring ground for branch members. Li Long trained against one-ring Soul Masters there and later sparred with a rank-21, two-ring Grand Soul Master whose martial soul was a short sword. 4 10
• Following Fanolan’s promotion, the branch is headed by a Purple-Robed Deacon and receives resource treatment equivalent to that of a prefecture-level branch hall master. 26

City Districts and Businesses

• A main street connects the branch hall with the western part of the city, where Old Zhou operates a medicinal-herb shop. 5
• Old Zhou is a retired herbal farmer known for honest dealings. Li Long had patronized his small shop for three and a half years by the time he began his probationary deacon missions. 5
• The western suburban woodland was troubled by a pack of ten-year Gale Wolves that raided nearby villages. 6
• A mining district west of the city later became the site of abnormal soul beast activity involving an injured century-old cave spider. 12
• A typical family of four in Notting City was said to spend about one and a half Gold Soul Coins per year. 4
• High-age cultivation materials were difficult to obtain locally. Li Long considered buying thousand-year Whale Rubber in Notting City almost impossible and eventually obtained a nearly thousand-year piece through merchants with Eastern Sea trade connections during an escort mission to Soto City. 10 12

Nearby Routes and Wilderness

• The Soul Hunting Forest lies near the city; Area Three is southeast of Notting City, roughly an hour and a half away on foot. 8
• The forest is a fenced area jointly patrolled by the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall, though powerful soul beasts can sometimes enter through overlooked gaps. 2
• A plaza stands at the entrance to Notting City’s Soul Hunting Forest. Li Long later compared its size with the much larger Heaven Dou Division preliminary arena. 76
• Notting City maintains a trade route to Soto City, used for shipments of medicinal herbs, valuable goods, and ore. 5 6 8 12
• Branch patrols helped protect villages along the forest’s edge by clearing out ten-year soul beasts that had strayed from deeper areas. Li Long participated in one such support mission shortly after his formal registration. 4
• On a road near Notting City, Li Long encountered a damaged carriage from the Soto City Merchant Association carrying three wounded men. He escorted it twenty li to a town with a clinic and received 100 Gold Soul Coins; the reported beast attack was unusually powerful for a road so close to the city. 7
• Li Long departed the city for Spirit City by official road; even Spirit Hall’s fastest horse required six days of travel. 12

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Li Long’s early cultivation base: The city is where Li Long spent three and a half years raising his innate rank-three soul power to rank 10, trained with his Iron Rod, and received his first 500-year soul ring. 1 3 4
• Headquarters assessment: After Fanolan reported Li Long’s unusual first soul ring, Special Envoy Ling Su arrived at the branch on a large blue-gray bird to retest his soul power and martial soul. Ling Su’s assessment led to Li Long being offered either academy enrollment or advancement through probationary deacon missions. 4 5
• Probationary deacon missions: From the branch hall, Li Long chose the probationary deacon route over enrollment in Spirit City Intermediate Soul Master Academy. He completed escort, extermination, patrol, and C-rank assignments in and around the city. 5 6 7 8 12
• Formal probationary registration: After completing three qualifying missions, Li Long accumulated 65 points and formally registered as a probationary deacon with a monthly stipend of 22 Gold Soul Coins. Around this time, two headquarters deacons visited the branch, where Li Long overheard discussion of disturbances in Sunset Forest. 9
• Advance to ordinary deacon: Li Long’s six C-rank missions and continued cultivation elevated him to ordinary deacon status, doubling his monthly salary from 22 to 44 Gold Soul Coins. 9 12
• Expanded resource authorization: Upon his ordinary deacon promotion, Li Long’s bronze badge was replaced with a silver-plated iron deacon badge, and his authorization rose sufficiently to request transfers of goods from higher-level branch halls. 12
• Departure for the Youth Soul Master Tournament: Upon reaching rank 20 at age ten, Li Long left the Notting City branch for Spirit City with Fanolan’s letter of introduction. 12
• Representation at the tournament: Li Long registered as a contestant from the Notting City branch and drew attention through decisive victories, including defeating two-ring opponents while possessing only one soul ring. Observers recorded his branch of origin alongside his unusual combat achievements, and his last-day registration and rapid cultivation progress renewed Qian Shengyuan’s interest in him. 13 14 15 18 19 20
• Fanolan’s promotion: Li Long’s later request for repayment of Fanolan’s kindness resulted in the Notting City branch receiving a newly appointed chief hall master and a Purple-Robed Deacon. 26
• Recognition at the Holy Son ceremony: Qian Shengyuan publicly identified the Notting City branch as Li Long’s origin when establishing him as Holy Son at age ten and a half and rank 34. 33
• Lasting point of origin: During his later travels and cultivation, Li Long reflects on the nine years he spent in Notting City and recognizes that, without his later opportunities, he might have remained a branch-hall worker living on his 12-Gold-Soul-Coin stipend. 49 76