Demon-Slaying Hall

Biodata

Organization

• The Hall is not subordinate to local government or noble families; it reports directly to the royal capital and serves the emperor 31.
• It is not a sect and historically operated outside the Martial Examination system 45.
• Its ranks are, from highest to lowest:
  1. Heaven Guard
  2. Earth Guard
  3. Profound Guard
  4. Yellow Guard 45
• Its lowest-ranking members are required to be at least in the Martial Practitioner / Meridian-Opening Realm, as demon hunting ordinarily requires a martial adept capable of killing demons alone 31 45.
• Entry is ostensibly open regardless of background or cultivation history, provided an applicant has personally hunted a true demon 45.
• The Hall's formal rules bar members from entering sects, while sect disciples are not accepted into the Hall 45.

Resources and Discipline

• The Hall has accumulated an extensive collection of fist, saber, sword, movement, internal-cultivation, and ancient fragmented techniques over several centuries 45.
• Its members receive court-supplied pills, techniques, and weapons unavailable through ordinary channels 31 45.
• These resources are conditional: members who accept techniques or consume pills are expected to fight on the front lines against demons 45.
• Surrendering before defeat or showing fear in battle is punishable by immediate execution 45.
• Heaven Guards are exceptionally rare; they are said to be capable of defending entire cities against demon tides alone 45.

History

The Hall was regarded as Great Xia's “sharpest spear” against demons. Its agents rarely appeared before ordinary citizens, but their strength was feared throughout the martial world 31. In one account from the northern border, two young Hall members killed a Third-Tier Demon Beast that had resisted a garrison for three days; the fight lasted less than the time needed for an incense stick to burn 31.

When a dangerous demon appeared near Qinghe City, two Hall members arrived at night, reviewed the government’s search records, located the target, and killed it by the following morning. They departed before local authorities could meet them 32.

By the Northern Frontier crisis, the Hall had deteriorated severely. Survivors reported that recruitment and missions had become dependent on silver, background, and connections rather than demon-slaying ability, while some guards pursued contribution points and abandoned threatened settlements 51 55. Yellow Guards Yan Feng and Ma Kui exemplified this corruption by attempting to steal Zhou Yan’s Pig Demon trophies for a deacon’s son and admitting to murdering the twenty-three civilians Zhou had freed 52.

At Northwind Pass, Heaven Guard Shen Qingtang rejected an imperial withdrawal order and executed the official delivering it, choosing to defend the pass instead 53. She subsequently dissolved the Northern Frontier branch of the Demon-Slaying Hall and incorporated its guards, territory, and resources into the independent Northwind Army 56.

Known Personnel

• Shen Qingtang — Heaven Guard and one of the Hall’s foremost Northern Frontier fighters. She saved Zhou Yan from three Fox Demons, later defied the court’s withdrawal order, and led the dissolution of the Northern Frontier Hall 37 53 56.
• Yan Feng — Yellow Guard who attempted to seize Pig Demon tusks and claim Zhou Yan’s demon-slaying credit; killed by Zhou Yan after confessing that he and Ma Kui murdered refugees 52.
• Ma Kui — Yellow Guard and Yan Feng’s accomplice; used a bow and short staff and was killed by Zhou Yan during their ambush 52.
• Gu Changshan — Former Hall guard who later held a nominal position in the Northern Frontier allied army 62.
• Meng Cang — Xue Zhenshan’s junior brother; joined the Hall after reaching Meridian Opening at eighteen and died during a borderland demon tide in his third year of service 45 46.

Reputation

• Historic reputation — An elite imperial force whose members possessed superior techniques and weapons and could resolve demon incidents beyond the ability of local armies 31 32.
• Northern Frontier reputation — Widely seen as compromised by corruption, profiteering, and flight from duty during the demon calamity 51 55.
• Remaining loyalists — Despite the institution’s decline, some members, particularly Shen Qingtang, continued to fight for civilians and uphold its original anti-demon mandate 53 55.