Qin Family
Sword Lord!
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Qin Family (秦家) |
| Alias(es) | Qin Clan; Qin Lineage; Longyuan Qin Clan 1 5 6 |
| Organization Type | Martial clan 1 |
| Headquarters | Dragon Abyss Mountain, outside Taibai City; formerly the territory of the Longyuan Sword Sect 1 2 |
| Origins | Qingliu County 2 5 |
| Affiliation | Pure Yang Sword Sect; the family pays tribute to the sect 11 14 |
| Leadership | Patriarch Qin An; Grand Elder Qin Lian, following the succession 11 |
| Regional Standing | Taibai’s foremost martial lineage, ranked among its leading powers alongside the Commandery Governor’s Office and Three Pure Ones Temple 1 2 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1 1 |
Power Progression
The family’s standing depends heavily on its strongest cultivators rather than a formal organizational rank 2 6.
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| County-level martial family | 2 5 | An ancestor’s attainment of the True Qi Realm established the family’s foothold in Qingliu County. Before Qin Lian’s rise, its strongest elder, Qin Lie, was seventh rank. |
| Taibai’s foremost martial clan | 1 2 | Qin Lian refined qi into astral force at thirty-three, attaining fourth rank. His strength elevated the family into Taibai’s highest tier and enabled it to take Dragon Abyss Mountain. |
| Second supporting True Qi expert | 1 5 | After receiving Qin Lian’s help comprehending true qi, Qin Daozhi reached the sixth-rank True Qi Realm, joining Qin An beneath the clan’s grandmaster protector. |
| Heaven Ranking backing | 12 | Qin Lian entered the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking, increasing the prestige of the family’s Grand Elder. |
| Third-rank Grand Elder | 18 | Qin Lian perfected the Pure Yang Qi Refining Art and achieved Weave Astral Qi into Armor, formally attaining third rank. |
| Second-rank Divine Intent protector | 41 | Qin Lian formed Divine Intent. This was his personal advancement; no corresponding breakthrough among the family’s other members is documented. |
History
Origins and Rise
The Qin Family developed over roughly two hundred years after a True Qi Realm ancestor secured its position in Qingliu County. Even ten years before the opening events, it remained a county-level family and was not among Qingliu’s strongest. Qin Lian’s rise transformed its fortunes: his fourth-rank cultivation allowed him to dominate Taibai and establish the family on Dragon Abyss Mountain 2 5.
Qin Lian demonstrated his strength during annual visits home while associated with Pure Yang, then settled on Dragon Abyss Mountain for the four years preceding the opening crisis. His reputation restrained neighboring factions, but the family’s younger cultivators had not developed enough to sustain its position without him 3 6 7.
The Blood Demon Crisis
While returning to their ancestral home, Qin Lian and his relatives encountered Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao. Qin Lian fought rather than abandon his family, killing the Blood Demon with thirty-three consecutive strikes of the Blood-Burning Sword Art. The technique devastated his foundations, leaving him near death for a month 1.
News of his condition encouraged rival powers to probe the family. Representatives of the Canglang Sword Sect, Taibai Xie Family, and Dragon River Gang arrived under the pretext of offering gifts and medical assistance. Qin Lian appeared healthy and dismissed them, later telling Qin An that he had exaggerated his injuries to expose hostile factions 1 2.
The visitors nevertheless interpreted his restraint as weakness. With encouragement from Zhou Tianji, an adviser to the commandery governor, the opposing factions prepared to move against the family 3 5.
Counterattack and Settlement
Qin Lian ordered the family’s ranked fighters to assemble, then departed alone to attack the Canglang Sword Sect before it could combine forces with the Dragon River Gang. Qin An followed with the clan’s mounted fighters. By their arrival, Qin Lian had killed the sect’s leaders and devastated its fighting strength 6 7 8.
The Qin forces then advanced to Longjiang Wharf, where the Dragon River Gang’s leadership had already fled. The Commandery Governor’s Office intervened to mediate, and Qin An negotiated compensation with Qin Lian remaining nearby as his military backing 9 10.
The family returned with captured supplies and deliberately publicized its victory to deter further challenges. Qin An estimated that the gains would cover several years of previous expenses 11.
Succession and Talent Development
After the crisis, Qin Lian transferred the patriarch’s position to Qin An and became Grand Elder so that he could concentrate on cultivation. He instructed the family to keep a lower profile, rebuild its foundations, and avoid creating further enemies 9 11.
Qin Lian later asked the family to select someone to send to Pure Yang, viewing the Jade Nectar Returning-Truth Pill as a means of producing a fourth-rank cultivator for the clan. Qin Daozhi and Qin Lingzhi subsequently became disciples on Cloudmist Peak; the provided account does not confirm that either received the pill or attained fourth rank 21 22.
Leadership and Members
Governance
- Patriarch — Selected by the council of elders. Qin An assumes responsibility for the family’s affairs after Qin Lian steps down 9 11.
- Council of elders — Before the succession, its seven members are Qin An, Qin Ping, Qin Yue, Qin Lie, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng, and Qin Hong 5.
- Grand Elder — Oversees the council and may veto any of its resolutions. Qin Lian receives this position during the succession 11.
Notable Members
| Member | Position and Significance |
|---|---|
| Qin Lian | Former patriarch and subsequent Grand Elder; the principal force behind the family’s rise and its strongest protector 1 2 11. |
| Qin An | Qin Lian’s elder brother and Qin Daozhi’s father; a sixth-rank True Qi cultivator who manages the family during Qin Lian’s illness and later becomes patriarch 1 2 5 11. |
| Qin Daozhi | Younger-generation True Qi expert. Vows to defend the family and later joins Cloudmist Peak 1 5 22. |
| Qin Lingzhi | Cares for Qin Lian during his illness and delivers his instructions before the Canglang campaign; later joins Cloudmist Peak 1 6 22. |
| Qin Lie and Qin Ping | Senior elders who accompany the family’s leadership during the crisis and oversee inspection of the Canglang battlefield 2 5 9. |
| Qin Yue | Council elder who arranges accommodation for Pure Yang visitors and explains Qin Lian’s retirement from the patriarch’s position 5 12. |
Territory and Resources
| Asset | Details |
|---|---|
| Dragon Abyss Mountain | The family owns the mountain, spanning dozens of li. Hundreds of buildings extend from the summit to the mountainside 2 3. |
| Resident population | At least one thousand family members, attendants, retainers, and craftsmen occupy the mountain complex. Including dependent servants and tenant farmers at its foot, the population exceeds ten thousand 2. |
| Headquarters facilities | Include training grounds, equipment rooms, a council hall, and a reception hall. The summit residence is reserved for Qin Lian 2 5. |
| Commercial interests | Involvement in salt, iron, medicinal materials, and grain. Rival factions resent the family’s expanding influence over Taibai’s industries 3. |
| Mind-Cleansing Spring | Taken from the Xie Lineage; described as necessary for cultivating Clear Spirit Tea 3. |
| Annual revenue | Approximately one hundred thousand taels of silver before the campaign’s gains. Daily expenses and tribute to Pure Yang leave little surplus 11. |
| Canglang spoils | Supplies and Canglang Mountain are counted among the family’s gains after the sect’s destruction 11. |
| Dragon River spoils | Abandoned goods worth approximately thirty to forty thousand taels of silver 11. |
| Compensation | Twenty bottles of Qi Refining Pills: ten supplied by the Xie Lineage, six by the Dragon River Gang, and four by the Li Family. Together they contain two hundred pills, valued at two hundred thousand taels 10. |
Martial Strength and Traditions
- Limited depth beneath its strongest fighter: Before Qin Daozhi’s breakthrough, Qin An was the only sixth-rank True Qi cultivator beneath Qin Lian. Several elders, including Qin Ping, were seventh-rank Heavenly Circuit cultivators 2.
- Core fighting force: The secret mobilization against Canglang assembled fewer than one hundred core members and closely aligned ranked martial artists, mostly eighth or ninth rank. The family’s attendants were not summoned 6.
- Five Elements Fist: A familial fist technique practiced familiarly by all Qin Family members. Qin Lian perfects it while training at Dragon Abyss Mountain 3.
- Cultivation resources over cash: Qin Lian directs Qin An to seek pills rather than silver as compensation, emphasizing the weakness of the family’s supporting cultivators 10.
- Planned reinforcement: Qin An expects the twenty bottles of Qi Refining Pills to help produce two additional True Qi experts within several months to a year; this remains a forecast rather than a confirmed advancement 11.
External Relations
- Pure Yang Sword Sect — The family’s major sect connection and recipient of its tribute. Qin Lian’s standing within Pure Yang supports this relationship, while Qin Daozhi and Qin Lingzhi later enter Cloudmist Peak 11 14 22.
- Commandery Governor’s Office — A political rival seeking to recover authority held by local clans and sects. Its adviser encourages the anti-Qin coalition before the office intervenes as mediator 3 10.
- Canglang Sword Sect — A neighboring rival destroyed after preparing to attack the family during Qin Lian’s apparent decline 5 6 8.
- Dragon River Gang — Joins the hostile coalition; its leaders flee after Canglang’s defeat, leaving supplies behind and later contributing compensation 9 10 11.
- Taibai Xie Family — Resents the loss of the Mind-Cleansing Spring and participates in the plot against the Qin Family. Pays half of the twenty-bottle settlement 3 10.
- Li Family — Participates in the coalition and supplies four bottles of Qi Refining Pills as compensation 10.