Radiance Cult

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Radiance Cult (明教)
Alias(es)	Great Radiance Church
Affiliation	Former state religion of Great Xia; secretly allied with the revived Heavenly Martial Alliance 113 439
Occupation/Role	Hidden martial organization preserving the Great Radiance Church’s inheritances and opposing Great Xia
Status	Active and resurgent; engaged in war against the Court-backed Demon-Suppressing Alliance 465 507
First Appearance	Chapter 113

Background / History

The Great Radiance Church arose during the chaotic final years of the Yong Dynasty, when seventy-two rebel armies fought across the future Nineteen Provinces of Great Xia. Led by Qin Wuye, the “Radiant Venerable,” it supported Great Xia’s founding ancestor, helped overthrow Yong, and became Great Xia’s state religion after the dynasty was established. Qin was appointed Imperial Preceptor, and later emperors required the Church’s coronation to ascend legitimately. At its height, the Church stood above the imperial court and suppressed the Daoist, Buddhist, and demonic lineages. Even the name Great Xia was linked to the Church’s “great radiance.” 113

A century after Great Xia’s founding, Qin Wuye claimed to have found the secret of shattering the void and departed for the Kunlun Ruins. He never returned. Three years later, the Great Xia Court joined the Daoist, Buddhist, and demonic lineages in destroying the Church’s headquarters. It was declared heretical, its disciples were hunted across the realm, and nearly all records of its existence were erased. 113 126

The surviving members preserved their teachings through scattered halls, hidden inheritances, and secret identities. Pang Xizhen, master of Heavenly Flame Hall, was among the hunted survivors; his inheritance later produced Chen Yuan, restoring a lineage believed lost for centuries. 113 126 147

As Great Xia weakened, the Cult gradually recovered enough strength to emerge again in the martial world. Its renewed visibility, acquisition of divine weapons, and Chen Yuan’s rise as Qin Wuye’s successor prompted Great Xia to organize a second large-scale campaign against it five centuries after the original purge. 155 393 461 463

Creed

“Heaven and earth are overturned, and our faith shall create a new world. When the tribulations of all living beings are ended, the sun and moon shall serve as our lamps.” 113

A recognition phrase used between hidden members is:

“Heaven and earth reversed, our cult’s new dawn; when the tribulations of all living beings end, sun and moon shall rise!” 147

Organization

The Cult has no official Cult Master. Its three Vice Cult Masters jointly lead scattered halls, while no successor is considered worthy to inherit Qin Wuye’s title. 148

Position / Faction	Leaders and affiliated halls	Notes
Lu Beiming’s faction	Lu Beiming; Azure Wood, Houtu, and Heavenly Pivot Halls	Smaller in numbers but controls high-potential Five Elements and Seven Stars inheritances. Chen Yuan’s Heavenly Flame Hall is politically aligned with this faction. 273 294
Yuan Longxi’s faction	Yuan Longxi; Mystic Metal, Heavenly Jade, Rakshasa, and Yaksha Halls	Yuan’s branch once advocated abandoning the Great Radiance Church name and founding a separate sect. 294 299
Dantai Zhaorong’s faction	Dantai Zhaorong; Open Sun, Shaking Light, Soaring Clouds, and Flying Shadow Halls	Dantai’s loyalties were initially politically unclear, though she later supported Lu Beiming’s defense of Chen Yuan’s rights to the Corpse-Soul Path. 294 440
Neutral halls	Apothecary Hall, Thousand Mechanisms Hall, Heavenly Weapon Hall	Primarily provide medicine, formations, weapons, and other logistical support. 294

Surviving Hall Lineages

Division	Surviving halls / condition
Five Elements Hall	Azure Wood, Houtu, Mystic Metal, and restored Heavenly Flame Hall remain active. Cold Water Hall is formally severed, though fragments of its techniques survive. 147 291 294
Seven Stars Hall	Heavenly Pivot, Heavenly Jade, Open Sun, and Shaking Light remain. 294
Ten Great Battle Halls	Soaring Clouds, Rakshasa, Yaksha, and Flying Shadow remain. 294
Six Auxiliary Halls	Apothecary, Thousand Mechanisms, and Heavenly Weapon Halls remain. 294

Membership and Operations

• The Cult operates through concealed identities; members commonly maintain separate public personas to avoid exposing the organization. 147 218
• It cannot recruit openly. Prospective disciples must be proven loyal, and even loyal candidates may lack the talent necessary to cultivate its high-level arts. Some halls have dwindled to only a master and one successor. 147
• Hall masters are generally Origin Pill Realm grandmasters or stronger. Several reached the Eighth-Level Divine Altar Realm, while the three Vice Cult Masters were Ninth-Realm Heavenly Profound experts. 148
• Members use communication jade pendants to seek aid within one hundred li. Assistance is governed by reciprocity: the beneficiary must repay help with favors, gifts, or a fair division of gains. 148 218
• The Cult maintains hidden branch altars, including a former underground altar beneath Misty-Wave Lake that was reopened after Lu Beiming’s return. 294
• Its informants are embedded throughout the martial world, including within aristocratic clans and sects, allowing it to learn enemy plans rapidly. 472

Martial Inheritances

Radiance Cult martial arts combine elements associated with Daoist, Buddhist, and demonic traditions. Their techniques are considered extreme because they pursue ultimate destructive power rather than conforming to any one orthodox path. 138

• Five Elements Hall techniques — Source-based cultivation arts with exceptionally high talent requirements; practitioners must comprehend the power of origins rather than merely learn the forms. 294 295
• Blazing Heavens, Scorching the Plains Manual — Heavenly Flame Hall’s complete inheritance, combining Daoist foundations, Buddhist explosive force, and demonic unpredictability. Chen Yuan inherited it directly from Pang Xizhen. 138 147
• Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art — Azure Wood Hall’s inherited art, cultivated by Bei Tianya. Its aura can identify a legitimate member of that lineage. 147
• Sun-Moon Manual — Qin Wuye’s core legacy, formed from a fragment of his Dao source. Chen Yuan’s comprehension of it elevated him from Heavenly Flame Hall successor to Qin’s direct heir. 378 393 439
• Sun and Moon Sharing the Sky — Lu Beiming’s secret technique, which combines sun, moon, yin, and yang into overwhelming Great Radiance power at immense personal cost. 393

Divine Weapons and Treasures

• At its peak, the Cult possessed five Divine Weapons or Demonic Arms. One was carried away by Qin Wuye, one became uncontrollable and was sealed, and three remained under the control of the Vice Cult Masters. 273
• Sun-Piercing Sword — Seized from the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance. Liu Bai endured its sword qi, earned its recognition, and became its Weapon Lord. 289
• Radiance Heaven-Slaying Sword — Captured from Radiance City after the latter’s repeated failures to seize the Jambudvipa Six Paths. 439
• Communication jade pendant — Alerts members to nearby calls for aid and guides them toward the requester. 148 218
• Void grotto-heaven treasury — A hidden treasury requiring the combined authority tokens of all three Vice Cult Masters to open. 298

Key Figures

• Qin Wuye — Founding Cult Master, “Radiant Venerable,” former Great Xia Imperial Preceptor, and creator of the Sun-Moon Manual. He disappeared while seeking the Kunlun Ruins. 113 393
• Lu Beiming — Senior Vice Cult Master and former commander of the Divine Punishment Guard. Frozen after the Cult’s fall, he returned centuries later, recovered lost inheritances, and became the principal defender of the Cult’s identity. 291 299
• Bei Tianya / Gou Mang — Azure Wood Hall Master who publicly operates as the master of Horizon Sea Pavilion. He recognized Chen Yuan’s Heavenly Flame Hall inheritance and later broke through to the Ninth-Realm Heavenly Profound. 147 507
• Yuan Longxi — Vice Cult Master known as the “Dragon-Slayer Hand.” He favors survival through abandoning the Great Radiance Church identity and frequently opposes Lu Beiming’s policies. 294 299
• Dantai Zhaorong — Vice Cult Master known as the “Moon Palace Mystic Maiden.” She leads four halls and later supported Lu Beiming against attempts to seize Chen Yuan’s Corpse-Soul Path. 294 440
• Chen Yuan — Direct inheritor of Pang Xizhen’s Heavenly Flame Hall, later recognized as Qin Wuye’s direct successor through the Sun-Moon Manual. His emergence is treated as the Cult’s greatest chance to restore its former glory. 147 393 439
• Liu Bai — Kaiyang/Open Sun Hall Master and Weapon Lord of the Sun-Piercing Sword. 273 289
• Wan Guiyuan — Heavenly Pivot Hall Master; his recovery and support strengthened Lu Beiming’s faction. 148 273
• Yu Hanmei — Lu Beiming’s liaison and a practitioner of surviving Cold Water Hall fragments. 291

Relationships

• Great Xia Court — Once the Church’s patron and political beneficiary; later orchestrated its destruction and again authorized a campaign to cripple the revived Cult and kill Chen Yuan. 113 461 463
• Daoist, Buddhist, and demonic lineages — Joined Great Xia in the original purge because they could not accept the Church’s dominance or its status as state religion. 113 126
• Radiance City and Peerless City — The Northwestern Twin Cities were historically suppressed by the Church at its peak. Radiance City became a leading enemy after losing Si Bai, Yang Hui, and the Radiance Heaven-Slaying Sword to the Cult. 309 438 463
• Heavenly Martial Alliance — Secretly became a vassal of the Cult after the Martial Suppression Hall’s revival. Publicly, both sides maintain the fiction that the Cult betrayed the alliance. 439
• Demon-Suppressing Alliance — Court-backed coalition formed by Zhao Wuji to suppress the Cult, seize its treasures, and bring back Chen Yuan’s head. 461 465

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Rediscovery of the Heavenly Flame Hall — Chen Yuan finds Pang Xizhen’s inheritance, gains the complete Blazing Heavens, Scorching the Plains Manual, and is recognized by Bei Tianya as an orthodox Heavenly Flame Hall successor. 126 147
• Return to the martial world — Chen Yuan formally returns to the Cult, receives a communication pendant, aids fellow members, and becomes publicly known as the Heavenly Flame Hall inheritor. 148 155 218
• Restoration of influence — The Cult gains the Valley God Scripture and the Sun-Piercing Sword, while Chen Yuan’s contributions earn recognition at the Misty-Wave Lake alliance gathering. 289 294 295
• Qin Wuye’s legacy — Chen Yuan obtains the Sun-Moon Manual, develops the Chaos-Reversing Yin-Yang Spirit-Brightening Art, and is acknowledged as Qin’s true direct successor. 377 379 393
• Open resurgence — The Cult forms a covert alliance with the Heavenly Martial Alliance, openly resumes its opposition to Great Xia, and becomes the Court’s foremost martial-world target. 439 461
• War against the Demon-Suppressing Alliance — Lu Beiming leads a surprise raid on the alliance’s Yongzhou assembly, temporarily returning to his Martial Extremity peak through the Time-Reversing Cicada. The Cult inflicts severe losses before withdrawing. 467 471
• High-stakes counteroffensive — While the alliance attacks its peripheral forces, the Cult relies on Liu Suifeng’s formations, Lu Beiming’s strategy, Bei Tianya’s Ninth-Realm breakthrough, and Chen Yuan’s advance against Zhao Wuji to reverse the war’s momentum. 472 507