Sword Qi Great Wall

Overview

The Sword Qi Great Wall (剑气长城) is a monumental fortress and independent city-state positioned at the boundary between the Haoran Heaven (浩然天下) and the Manhuang Heaven (蛮荒天下). For ten thousand years, it has served as the absolute vanguard defending humanity against the endless invasions of the Monster Race (妖族). Populated almost entirely by generation after generation of battle-hardened sword cultivators, it is renowned as a place where absolute martial merit reigns supreme, and where the most lethal swordsmen in the world reside. Following a catastrophic final war, the city portion of the Great Wall was ascended to the newly formed Five Colored Heaven (五彩天下) as Feisheng City (飞升城), while the physical wall was broken in two and remained as an eternal monument.

Geography & Demographics

The Sword Qi Great Wall acts as a physical and metaphysical barricade preventing the Monster Race from flooding into the Haoran Heaven. The complex is divided into the immense southern wall itself—whose top path (走马道) is ten li wide—and the sprawling city to its north. Further north lies Daoxuan Mountain (倒悬山), a Daoist enclave functioning as the sole gateway and trade hub connecting the Great Wall to the rest of the Haoran Heaven.

Demographics & Culture: The population consists predominantly of sword cultivators, who are culturally distinct from and highly prejudiced against outside Qi Refiners from the Haoran Heaven. The environment is so thoroughly saturated with pure, ancient sword qi and sword intent that ordinary Qi Refiners find it excruciating to practice here, often facing realm suppression or severe injury. Conversely, the local pure martial arts destiny (武运) was historically monopolized by the Sacrificial Official lineage, causing the Great Wall to produce remarkably few high-tier pure martial artists.

Culturally, the Great Wall is brutally meritocratic. Family status means nothing without battlefield merit; even scions of the wealthiest clans must travel to the southern battlefield to kill demons. Death in battle is viewed as the ultimate honor, and dying of old age behind the wall is seen as a disgrace.

History & Formation

The origins of the Sword Qi Great Wall date back ten thousand years to the aftermath of the ancient wars against the divine pantheon. After humanity claimed the world, an internal ideological schism arose. The sword cultivators—who possessed the highest killing power and had slain the most gods—were deemed too dangerous and uncontrollable by the rest of humanity. As a result, they were labeled as "criminals" (刑徒) and exiled to the desolate southern border to act as a permanent meat shield against the banished Monster Race.

For ten millennia, the Great Wall endured countless sieges, largely held together by the supreme power of the Eldest Sword Immortal, Chen Qingdu, and the sacrificial bravery of local and visiting sword cultivators.

During the apocalyptic Haoran-Manhuang War, facing an overwhelming invasion orchestrated by the mastermind Zhou Mi (周密), Chen Qingdu enacted a final, supreme gambit. He cleaved the sky open with a single sword strike, allowing the city and its younger generation of sword cultivators to ascend to the newly forged Five Colored Heaven, ensuring the survival of their lineage. The physical wall was subsequently smashed in half by the Tuoyue Mountain Great Ancestor. The remaining half was fused with the Dao by the Last Hidden Official, Chen Ping'an.

Ruling Factions

The power structure of the Sword Qi Great Wall was traditionally divided between the supreme leader and three ancient offices.

• Eldest Sword Immortal (老大剑仙): Chen Qingdu (陈清都). The absolute authority and spiritual pillar of the Great Wall. As long as he sat upon the wall, the Monster Race could not breach it.
• The Hidden Official (隐官): Headquartered at the Summer Retreat Palace (避暑行宫), the Hidden Official lineage acts as the tactical brain of the city, managing intelligence, espionage, troop deployment, and penal squads. The penultimate Hidden Official, Xiao Xun (萧愻), famously betrayed the Great Wall and fled to the Manhuang Heaven. She was succeeded by the outsider Chen Ping'an (陈平安).
• The Penal Official (刑官): Tasked with internal punishments and executing traitorous or cowardly cultivators. The last Penal Official of the Great Wall was the immensely powerful but largely absentee sword cultivator Hao Su (豪素). The lineage operated out of the Winter Hiding Palace (躲寒行宫).
• The Sacrificial Official (祭官): The most secretive of the three offices, whose records were actively erased from the archives. The lineage secretly hoarded the martial destiny of the Great Wall. The last Sacrificial Official, Yan Guo (燕国), left the Great Wall and eventually became the top martial artist of the Qingming Heaven under the name Lin Jiangxian (林江仙).
• Major Clans: The elite families of the city reside on five major streets (such as Taixiang Street and Yuhu Street). The most prominent surnames include Chen (陈), Dong (董), Qi (齐), Ning (宁), Yao (姚), Nalan (纳兰), and Yan (晏).

Notable Sites

• The Wall (城头): The primary battlefield and ultimate graveyard for the sword cultivators. It bears eighteen massive characters carved by supreme sword immortals over millennia, including: "道法" (Dao Methods), "浩然" (Haoran), "西天" (Western Heaven), "剑气长存" (Sword Qi Lasts Forever), "雷池重地" (Thunder Pool Heavy Ground), "齐" (Qi), "董" (Dong), "陈" (Chen), "猛" (Fierce - carved by A Liang), and "萍" (Duckweed - carved by Chen Ping'an).
• Summer Retreat Palace & Winter Hiding Palace: The respective headquarters of the Hidden Official and Penal Official lineages.
• Mirage (海市蜃楼): Located in the northern section of the city, it was historically a bustling, chaotic commercial hub where merchants from the Haoran Heaven traded. In truth, it was an imitation Ascension Platform (飞升台) secretly built over thousands of years to facilitate the city's eventual escape.
• The Three Smithies: The strictly controlled logistical centers of the city. The Sword Smithy (剑坊) was managed by the Dong family, the Clothing Smithy (衣坊) by the Qi family, and the Pill Smithy (丹坊) by the Chen family.
• The Prison (牢狱): A fractured grotto-heaven beneath the city managed by the old demon sword immortal, the Deaf Old Man (老聋儿). It holds powerful captured demons.
• Diezhang's Liquor Shop (叠嶂酒铺): A humble street-side shop famous for selling cheap Zhuhai Dongtian wine and for its "Peace Plaques" (无事牌), where passing sword cultivators and immortals would carve their names and final words before dying in battle.

Related Events

• The Thirteen Duels (十三之争): A historical gamble where thirteen peak human cultivators fought thirteen peak demons to determine the fate of the Great Wall. Humanity narrowly won, largely due to the final unexpected victory by the swordsman A Liang.
• The Final War: The apocalyptic siege where half of the Manhuang Heaven's forces assaulted the wall. It resulted in the city's ascension to the Five Colored Heaven and the physical destruction of the wall itself.

References

• 剑来5：山水有相逢, 第一章 — 我是一名剑客: Supports the location of the wall, its purpose as a defense against the demon race, and the story of the Thirteen Duels where A Liang secured the final victory.
• 剑来20：隐者留其名, 第二章 — 天下剑术天上来: Supports the ancient origins of the Sword Qi Great Wall, detailing how early sword cultivators were designated as criminals and exiled to the border after the ancient heavenly wars.
• 剑来20：隐者留其名, 第九章 — 左右教剑术: Supports the existence of the three forbidden smithies (Sword, Clothing, Pill) controlled by the Dong, Qi, and Chen families, as well as the Prison managed by the Deaf Old Man.
• 剑来21：皆是笼中, 第六章 — 新一任隐官: Supports the transition of the Hidden Official title to Chen Ping'an following Xiao Xun's betrayal, and details the role of the Summer Retreat Palace.
• 剑来23：人生梦复梦, 第二章 — 去而复还: Supports the secret nature of the Mirage (Hai Shi Shen Lou) as an imitation Ascension Platform forming a grand array alongside the Summer Retreat and Winter Hiding Palaces.
• 剑来23：人生梦复梦, 第十章 — 何处不问剑: Supports the final fate of the Great Wall, detailing Chen Qingdu opening the sky to allow the city to ascend, and the subsequent breaking of the physical wall by the Tuoyue Mountain Great Ancestor.
• 剑来33：城头刻新字, 第六章 — 刻字: Supports the final list of the eighteen giant characters carved into the top of the wall, culminating in Chen Ping'an carving the character "Ping" (萍).
• 剑来41：山青花欲燃, 第一章 — 山青花欲燃: Supports the secret history of the Sacrificial Official (祭官) lineage and their monopolization of the martial destiny, which prevented the rise of pure martial artists in the city.