Flying Spirit City

Biodata

Geography and Local Life

• Regional isolation: Flying Spirit City is the only city within a thousand miles 16.
• Kongsang Mountain: Located 720 kilometers outside the city; the discovery of a suspected heaven-grade Insect Prison Site there draws local families, factions, and adventuring teams 16 17.
• Heavenly Meridian population: Nearly everyone living in the city belongs to the Heavenly Meridian, which specializes in flying spirit insects 16.
• Transportation: Riding flying spirit insects is customary. Travelers cover the several-hundred-kilometer journey to Kongsang Mountain in roughly two or three hours 16.

Government

City Lords

Administrative Offices

• Deputy city lords: Under Flying Locust, two Second Grade Sovereigns each controlled substantial forces. Both sought the lordship after his death 29 30.
• Inspector: Tian Qu, Heavenly Insect’s father, previously held this office. Tian Fu later serves as Flying Spirit City’s Inspector 35 36.
• Delegated administration: Heavenly Insect grants the Spirit Butterfly Tribe Chief and her people authority over city affairs while he focuses on cultivation 35.

Obligations to the Flying Salamander Domain

• Annual dues: Heavenly Insect pays 1,000 units of supreme spirit liquid on the city’s behalf at the domain assembly 38.
• Arena defense: Each city lord must defend an assigned arena. A defeated lord who cannot reclaim it before the contest ends loses their city 38.
• Heavenly Insect’s defense: He defeats Xu Qing and receives no further challenges during the remaining contest, retaining control of Flying Spirit City 39 40.

Military and Local Factions

Flying Spirit Army

The Flying Spirit Army is the city lord’s principal military force, cultivated by Flying Locust to enforce his authority 30.

• Strength: Approximately 5,000 soldiers; it remains the city’s third-largest faction even after losing two commanders 30.
• Original command: Qingyan, Red Bee, and Black Jade are Heaven Transformation Realm Spirit Insect Masters, each possessing a heaven-grade spirit insect 19.
• Battle intent: Its military power cannot be judged solely by its soldiers’ individual cultivation. Battle intent makes the army a valuable force in the succession struggle 30 34.
• Surviving commander: Black Jade takes sole command after Qingyan and Red Bee die during the ruins expedition 24 25 29.
• Change of allegiance: Black Jade initially withholds support from the rival deputy city lords, later agrees to remain neutral against Wu Xiao, and ultimately leads the army in recognizing Heavenly Insect 30 31 34.

Other Factions

Military Merit

Flying Spirit City uses five classes of military merit, with first class the lowest and fifth class the highest. Third-class merit can provide promotion, substantial spirit stones, and a heaven-grade spirit insect; the guards who report the new Insect Prison Site receive this reward 16.

Notable Locations and Resources

City Lord’s Estate

• Central palace: An enormous palace at the center of Flying Spirit City, containing the ruler’s throne hall 32.
• Rear garden: Includes a reception pavilion where Heavenly Insect discusses his family and the significance of his lordship with Tian Fu 35.
• Cultivation courtyard: Heavenly Insect’s secluded cultivation produces a spiritual-energy pillar and vortex visible throughout the city 36 37.
• Treasury: Holds extensive collections, though its best spiritual arts are only high-grade and it contains no powerful sword artifacts 36 37.
• Spirit Attachment: A secret art recovered from the lord’s collection that temporarily grants its user one of a spirit insect’s abilities 39.

Flying Spirit Army Camp

• Fortified layout: Resembles a small military city, with towering walls and numerous patrols 31.
• Command halls: Three halls stand at its center. After the expedition, only Black Jade’s rightmost hall remains illuminated; it is constructed entirely from black jade 31.

Insect Prison Sites

• Expansion resources: Sites discovered and occupied during the city’s outward expansion become controlled sources of spirit insects 16.
• Recorded grades: Flying Locust’s account lists four discovered insect prisons around the city: three heaven-grade and one ordinary, with none reaching divine grade 16.
• Kongsang discovery: The newly announced site proves to contain the Spirit Butterfly Fairy’s ruins, making it far more significant than its initial classification suggests 16 23.

History

Founding and Expansion

Flying Spirit City expands outward from its founding for more than a century before reaching its present size. Numerous powerful Spirit Insect Masters die during that expansion, but the city also acquires valuable Insect Prison Sites 16.

Heavenly Insect’s parents earn distinguished merits while following Flying Spirit on campaigns. After their unexplained disappearance, the first city lord continues supporting their son with cultivation resources. That support ends when Flying Locust inherits the lordship 16. Tian Fu later reveals that investigators linked the parents’ disappearance to the previous city lord, but obtained no answers before that ruler died 35.

Kongsang Mountain Expedition

Flying Locust publicly opens the newly discovered site to interested Spirit Insect Masters despite its unknown dangers. Exploration teams form throughout the city, and Heavenly Insect leaves to investigate independently 16.

The expedition exposes conflict between the City Lord’s Estate and local factions. Flying Scorpion Inkstone accuses the estate of using explorers as cannon fodder, while Qingyan’s army attempts to monopolize access to Sword Peak 19 20. Flying Locust enters the ruins’ core himself; his subsequent death triggers a struggle for control of the city 25 26 29.

Succession Crisis

The two deputy city lords compete for factional support, particularly that of the Flying Spirit Army. Wu Xiao eventually kills his rival through an encirclement that costs many lives, leaving his own forces weakened 30.

The Spirit Butterfly Lineage strikes before Wu Xiao can consolidate his rule. Other city factions refuse to support him, preferring to await the outcome. Heavenly Insect arranges a best-of-three contest outside the city, but Wu Xiao rejects his side’s defeat and orders an attack 31 32 33.

Heavenly Insect’s Administration

Heavenly Insect and the Spirit Butterfly Lineage defeat Wu Xiao’s forces. Black Jade unexpectedly recognizes Heavenly Insect as city lord, and Blue Butterfly follows with her lineage. Heavenly Insect accepts only after Tian Fu privately urges him to do so 34.

His administration is largely hands-off: Blue Butterfly manages the city while he uses its resources for cultivation 35. After defending the lordship at the domain assembly and obtaining Tian Yuan’s support for his Insect World ambitions, he nominates Demon Butterfly to replace him, fulfilling his promise to help her lineage rise 38 39 40 41.