Ruan Qiong Establishes Dragon Quan Sword Sect

Overview

Following the collapse of the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven's protective barrier and its integration into the Great Li Dynasty as Longquan County, military sage and master swordsmith Ruan Qiong assumed the role of the local sitting sage. To govern the sudden influx of outside cultivators seeking fortunes and talented youths, Ruan Qiong established strict new laws, explicitly forbidding outside cultivators from recklessly flying on the wind within the territory without formal permission and specific sect tokens.

Transitioning from merely acting as a sitting sage to the master of a new sect, Ruan Qiong officially founded the Dragon Quan Sword Sect (龙泉剑宗) to establish a lasting lineage. He claimed Shenxiu Mountain as the site for the sect's ancestral hall. The ancestral mountain formed a strategic geographic layout with neighboring peaks like Tiaodeng Mountain and Hengshuo Peak, and the sect later expanded its territory by leasing additional mountains, such as Caiyun Peak and Xiancao Mountain, from the neighboring Luopo Mountain.

Despite becoming a sect master and serving as the chief enshrined cultivator of the Great Li Dynasty, Ruan Qiong remained primarily devoted to the solitary craft of forging swords. He largely ignored the mundane administrative duties of the sect, delegating the daily affairs and human relations of the Dragon Quan Sword Sect to his direct disciples, such as Dong Gu, Xu Xiaoqiao, and Xie Ling.

Outcome / Consequences

The establishment of the Dragon Quan Sword Sect marked the definitive transition of the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven from an isolated, hidden pocket dimension into an active, heavily regulated cultivation hub. As a powerful military sage and the Great Li Dynasty's chief enshrinee, Ruan Qiong and his sect served as a formidable deterrent against unruly outside cultivators, stabilizing the chaotic aftermath of the grotto-heaven's fall and permanently shifting the local power dynamic in favor of the Great Li Dynasty.

References

• 剑来14：江清月近人，第八章 — 自古饮者最难醉: Details Ruan Qiong establishing the Dragon Quan Sword Sect, ceasing to be just a sitting sage, and setting strict rules against reckless flying for outside cultivators.
• 剑来19：剑修如云处，第五章 — 落魄山祖师堂: Confirms the ancestral hall's location at Shenxiu Mountain and its geographic relationship with surrounding peaks.
• 剑来22：愿挽天倾者，第三章 — 朱敛问拳: Notes Ruan Qiong's devotion to sword forging and his delegation of sect administration to disciples like Dong Gu and Xu Xiaoqiao.