Xiao Court

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Foundation

After taking over the Eight Gates, Xiao Yu allowed its remaining personnel to leave. None did: they respected strength rather than their former leadership and could keep their existing positions. He then dissolved the Eight Gates and declared the establishment of Xiao Court 129.

The grounds were refurbished, damaged structures replaced, and traces of Yuan Yi and Yuan Yong removed. Xiao Yu received an extravagant palace and began introducing rules, placing the prohibition against unprovoked aggression first 130.

Reform into a Sect

Early enforcement exposed the court’s dependence on its founder. Ordinary troublemakers could be handled by subordinates, but powerful outsiders beyond Xue You’s ability required Xiao Yu’s intervention. He therefore planned a competitive cultivation system inspired by Jia Nan Academy, using resources he no longer needed to strengthen his followers and free himself to cultivate 141.

The Treasure Pavilion, Mission Hall, points system, and Desolate Spirit-Gathering Tower turned those plans into a functioning institution. Members competed for resources through missions, while elders handled facility maintenance and protection. By Xiao Yu’s subsequent return, their loyalty had shifted from the former Eight Gates’ submission to strength into genuine gratitude and cohesion 142 153.

Development During Xiao Yu’s Absences

Expansion initially strained pill supplies. Xiao Yu could not meet the entire court’s needs alone, and fourth- and fifth-rank alchemists were heavily sought after by rival factions. A fourth-rank alchemist later joined, followed by fifth-rank alchemist Li Xiuyi; by Xiao Yu’s return after a year underground, the court had a fully established Alchemy Department capable of supplying pills below the sixth grade 143 184 202.

Xue You continued managing the court through Xiao Yu’s longer journeys. Recruitment eventually became selective enough that growing interest did not produce a large increase in membership. When Xiao Yu returned after several years, the court had joined the Northwest Alliance, whose backing supplemented its own strength and deterred established powers such as the Black Emperor Sect 205 246 348.

Governance and Rules

• Delegated administration: Xiao Yu entrusts routine affairs to Xue You, while elders maintain and protect the principal cultivation facilities 142 143.
• No unprovoked aggression: Members who provoke others without cause face the crippling of their Dou Qi and expulsion 130.
• No fighting within the city: Even enemies with deep grievances cannot fight inside Black Seal City. The court does not regulate their disputes once they leave 142.
• Enforcement against powerful offenders: Xue You attempted to arrest Cheng Hong for killing someone in the city, despite Pang Yuan’s intervention. Xiao Yu later stopped an attempted robbery involving the Poison Emperor and Sea Emperor and refused Han Feng’s offers to buy their release from punishment 139 164 166.
• Applicant screening: Xue You approves prospective members. Yan Mo’s recommendations spared Li Xiuyi and Zheng Cong the otherwise lengthy vetting process 184 202.
• Selective admission: Few residents of the Black-Corner Region met the court’s later entry requirements 246.

Points System

• Points function as the court’s internal currency, purchasing both Treasure Pavilion goods and cultivation time in the Desolate Spirit-Gathering Tower 169.
• Mission postings specify requirements and rewards, which always include points; additional rewards can be offered to attract participants 142.
• Members can both post and accept missions rather than merely carry out assignments from the leadership 169.
• Medicinal ingredients can also earn points: Xiao Yu awarded Zi Yan seventy thousand points for a collection of herbs 172.
• Members use dedicated points tokens, including elder-level tokens 158.
• Tower access depends on obtaining a place and having sufficient points. The court allows members to remain inside for extended cultivation if they can afford it 183.

Facilities and Resources

Treasure Pavilion

• Stores cultivation methods, combat skills, pills, and weapons for redemption with points 169 184.
• High-grade cultivation methods became its most sought-after goods because of their effectiveness when combined with tower cultivation 142.
• Xiao Yu personally constructed its protective restrictions using a method obtained from Senior Fei Huang’s Storage Ring. At the time, forcibly breaking them would likely have required a Dou Zong 157.
• Access is restricted by floor: Xiao Yan and Elder Huo could inspect the first floor but lacked permission to enter the second 169.

Mission Hall

• Serves as the center for posting and accepting tasks, including searches for resources and information 142 143 169.
• Became the court’s liveliest facility shortly after opening, driven by demand for points 142.
• Demand increased further as members competed for prolonged cultivation in the Spirit-Gathering Tower 183.

Desolate Spirit-Gathering Tower

• Concentrates worldly energy to accelerate cultivation, with access purchased through points 141 169.
• Its upgraded 2.0 version uses Xiao Yu’s Returning-to-Truth Lightning to purify energy, making it readily absorbable with little refinement 169.
• Maintaining the upgraded purification consumes more of Xiao Yu’s Dou Qi 169.
• Elders with large point reserves could effectively move into the tower for extended seclusion. Xue You’s administrative duties prevented him from doing the same 183.

Alchemy Facilities

• Treasure Medicine Vault: Stores medicinal ingredients separately from the Treasure Pavilion. Its customers are chiefly the court’s alchemists, and Xue You oversees its management 184.
• Alchemy Department: Supplies pills below the sixth grade once fully established 202.
• Xiao Yu’s private Alchemy Room: Used for his personal refining work, including seventh-grade pills whose completion could trigger lightning tribulations above the court 172 203.

Auction and Transport

• Black Seal Auction: Offers Xiao Yu’s pills and treasures, including cultivation methods and combat skills inherited from the Eight Gates. Xue You supervises its operation 132 161.
• Growing auction reputation: Reliable access to rare pills increased the auction’s influence, credibility, and appeal to experts 135 142.
• Space wormhole: Connects Xiao Court to the Jia Ma Imperial Capital. Xiao Yu inspected and repaired unstable points while using it 348.

Notable Members

• Xiao Yu — Founder and Court Master; established the rules, cultivation infrastructure, and resource system. His personal strength and alchemy remain major sources of the court’s prestige 129 142 174.
• Xue You — Former Eight Gates elder, later First Elder and chief administrator. Reached Seven-Star Dou Huang by Xiao Yu’s later return 137 246 348.
• Yan Mo — Fifth Elder. Joined to settle in Black Seal City and later recommended Li Xiuyi and Zheng Cong for admission 141 202.
• Zi Yan — Sixth Elder. Initially obtained an elder-level token after defeating several elders; Xiao Yu allowed her to stay but forbade theft and troublemaking. She later reached the sixth rank 158 202.
• Li Xiuyi — Joined as a Six-Star Dou Wang and Fifth-Rank Alchemist through Yan Mo’s recommendation 202.
• Zheng Cong — Joined as a Seven-Star Dou Wang through Yan Mo’s recommendation 202.
• Sun Yi — New elder who joined at Five-Star Dou Wang during Xiao Yu’s year-long absence 202.
• Unnamed fourth-rank alchemist — A Peak Dou Ling who joined out of admiration for Xiao Yu’s sixth-rank alchemy 184.

External Relationships

• Jia Nan Academy — Model for Xiao Court’s cultivation reforms and a source of friendly contacts. Su Qian praised its facilities, while Xiao Yu insisted Zi Yan obtain his permission before returning to avoid conflict between the organizations 141 172 174.
• Northwest Alliance — Later affiliation providing protection beyond the court’s own military strength 348.
• Xiao Yan — Xiao Yu’s cousin and a guest of the court; toured its facilities with Elder Huo after confirming the Court Master’s identity 165 169.
• Su Mei — Commissioned Xiao Yu to refine the Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Pill and Emperor’s Extreme Pills 151 169 174.
• Han Feng — Hostile rival who attempted to negotiate away the punishment of the Poison Emperor and Sea Emperor. He subsequently excluded Xiao Court while contacting first-rate factions for his coalition 166 174.

Influence on Xiao City

• The ban on violence made Black Seal City a refuge for fugitives and weaker people who could not safely remain elsewhere in the Black-Corner Region 142.
• Residents came to regard court members with reverence rather than fear because offenders were punished regardless of their standing 139.
• During Xiao Yu’s year underground, Xiao City remained prosperous and unusually safe: residents could walk the streets without fearing murder or predation 202.
• By his later return, Xiao Court was described as the region’s most peaceful place aside from Jia Nan Academy 348.