Cloud City

Biodata

Geography and Notable Locations

Cloud City's administrative center is surrounded by the four great lineages, whose estates occupy the east, south, west, and north; their individual directions are not specified 8.

• Street commerce: Taverns, tailors, farm-tool stores, weapons shops, smithies, hawkers, and roadside stalls operate within the city 6 15.
• City gates: Tang Yan follows Zi Yun through the gates before their encounter with Bai Qing dozens of li outside Cloud City 25 26.

Government and Major Powers

City Lord's Residence

Lin Xiao governs Cloud City, while the City Lord's Residence maintains a policy of neutrality toward lineage disputes. Lin Xiao and Madam Lin prefer not to intervene unless those disputes go too far 16 31.

• The residence publicly presents itself as impartial and unwilling to tolerate insults or provocation from any lineage 4.
• Tang Yan invokes the city lord's authority when accusing Liu Quan of attempting to restrict his freedom in a public street 16.
• Lin Xiao presides over the Mid-Autumn Gathering and personally referees its martial competition 43 47.
• Qin Changdao handles the drafting and review of many residence documents; Zhou Ying is a renowned local man of letters 5 43.

Lineages

A local rule forbids the older generation from interfering in grudges between younger members. Rival family heads invoke it after Tang Ling protects Tang Yan from Qian Shenghu 32.

Independent Institutions and the Underworld

• Wonderful Elixir Workshop — Supplies the vast majority of Cloud City's pills. Its alchemical services and accumulated favors give it influence extending beyond the great lineages 3 43.
• Heavenly Treasure Auction House — Counted among the city's leading powers, but described as keeping out of worldly affairs 42 43.
• Four Seas Gang — Formerly Cloud City's largest underground force, led by Chen Dao. It accumulated wealth through gambling houses, brothels, and other entertainment businesses before its destruction 40 42.

Economy and Cultivation Resources

Cloud City's pill market is limited compared with that of the wider kingdom. First-tier high-grade pills rarely circulate locally, while even low-grade second-tier pills are considered precious 18 21.

Culture and the Mid-Autumn Gathering

The annual Mid-Autumn Gathering takes place at Bright Moon Lake and combines a literary competition with a martial contest. It draws residents of all ages, merchants, and the city's leading powers 42 43.

Prestige earned at the gathering affects lineage standing. The Tang Family fears that missing it for a third consecutive year would weaken its reputation and drive away subordinate lineages 39.

Literary Competition

• Eligibility: Cloud City residents aged thirty-five or younger 43.
• Format: Three rounds 43.
• Judges: Lin Xiao, Ge Ming, Qin Changdao, and Zhou Ying 43.
• Second round: A love-themed poem or lyric verse composed within half an hour; five contestants advance 45.
• Third round: At least one hundred characters on the young men of Cloud City. Once the first contestant finishes, the others have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea 45.

Literary achievement brings family prestige despite the dominance of martial pursuits. Established local talents include Wu Jin, Qin An, Liu Zhi, and Liu Hailian 44.

Martial Competition

Lin Xiao referees the competition, which rewards those who enter Cloud City's younger-generation top eight 47.

• Contestants other than the previous top eight enter a qualifying round.
• The top five qualifiers may challenge any incumbent.
• A successful challenger takes the defeated incumbent's place 47.

History

Tang Family Settlement

Sixteen years before Tang Ling's account to Tang Yan, the Tang Family lived in the Northern Spirit Realm. Following the upheaval surrounding Tang Yan's parents' marriage, it fled to Cloud City to hide from possible retaliation. Tang Ling subsequently established the family among the city's four great lineages 28 50.

Decline and Rivalry

By Tang Yan's rebirth, the Tang Family ranks last among the four great lineages. Rival families seek to divide its assets, but Tang Ling's fierce protectiveness makes a direct attack costly. Tang Yan identifies the possibility of open warfare between the lineages as a reason to rebuild the family's guards 3 12 13.

The scandal involving Lin Dongxue threatens relations with the City Lord's Residence. Tang Yan counters this danger by providing the Scarless Pill that heals Madam Lin's face. Her public thanks at her birthday banquet, followed by his gift of a Youth-Preserving Pill, earns the residence's goodwill and discourages immediate attacks on the Tang Family 17 34 35.

Destruction of the Four Seas Gang

The Liu Family secretly supports the Four Seas Gang in a scheme against a Tang-allied lineage. The intended confrontation instead reveals the Tang Family's strengthened forces: roughly 130 Yellow Tier experts destroy the gang in less than two hours 41 42.

The victory reassures wavering Tang allies and alarms the other three great families. The City Lord's Residence, Wonderful Elixir Workshop, and Heavenly Treasure Auction House are also surprised by the scale of the Tang Family's strength 42.

Tang Yan's Public Emergence

The following Mid-Autumn Gathering marks the first attendance of all four great families together in three years. The Wonderful Elixir Workshop conspicuously joins the Tang Family's seating area 43.

Tang Yan takes first place in the literary competition's second round, publicly reveals Yellow Tier Sixth Grade strength during the martial contest, and holds his own against Liu Zhi, a Yellow Tier Ninth Grade fighter. His performance overturns his reputation as Cloud City's foremost wastrel and strengthens interest in allegiance to the Tang Family 45 48 50.