Below are the biggest and most influential cities.
Each city contains NPCs, shops, culture notes, tensions, secrets, and hooks.
Type: Trade Capital
Population: Extremely large
Known For: Markets, neutral ground, sect envoys, massive tournaments
Tianshi City is the beating heart of the martial world.
It’s the only city considered neutral territory, protected by an old oath signed by the Founding Sects.
All sects trade here, gather here, spy here, and occasionally fight here (quietly).
Tall red-brick towers, grand stone plazas, and floating paper lanterns at night define its appearance.
Street vendors sell everything from beast meat skewers to low-tier pills.
Old, wise, calm.
Former disciple of Azure Lotus Sect (retired).
Keeps peace by using intel networks, not force.
Secret: He is dying; only a month left unless he finds a rare antidote herb.
Young prodigy guarding the city’s central gate.
Friendly but strict.
Trains every night on the rooftops.
Secret: She has a forbidden scroll from the Shadow Fang Clan.
Runs the largest merchant guild.
Knows everyone’s business.
Rumor: He is tied to an underground auction of stolen sect treasures.
This is the biggest bazaar in Murim.
You can buy:
low and mid-grade Qi pills
beast cores
manuals
armor
cheap weapons
shady artifacts
Notable stalls:
• The Silver Talon Forge (Blacksmith)
Makes sturdy weapons at fair prices.
The blacksmith is missing two fingers; story unknown.
Can secretly reforge demonic relics — for a price.
• Dewdrop Apothecary (Herbs & Pills)
Sells high-grade medicinal herbs.
Owner: Mei Cuihua, strict, no nonsense.
She despises the Obsidian Wolf Sect.
• The Twilight Nook (Secret Shop)
Location: shifts every week.
Sells illegal artifacts, spy tools, poison, stolen sect manuals.
Only accessible if you know the password that day.
Type: Military City
Population: Large
Controlled By: Obsidian Wolf Sect
Blackstone is a fortress-city carved directly into a dark mountain range.
Everything is stone and iron — even the houses look like bunkers.
Wolf banners hang everywhere.
Constant drills, marching soldiers, and heavy discipline make life tough.
Outsiders are tolerated but watched.
Huge, scarred, terrifying.
Leads military forces for the Obsidian Wolf Sect.
Killed a giant demonic beast alone.
Secret: He is afraid of dogs. (Traumatic childhood. Never speaks of it.)
Small, quiet, brilliant mind.
Handles city planning and troop strategy.
Secret: She sends letters to someone in the White Emerald Cult.
Half-demon rumors surround him.
Controls the outer defenses.
Secret: The rumors are true — he is slowly mutating.
• Wolfsteel Armory (Weaponsmith)
Specializes in powerful and heavy weapons.
Every blade forged with beast-blood quenching.
Owner: Garun, a retired elite cultivator.
Rumor: He once forged a blade that “ate” its wielder.
• Iron Snarl Tavern (Inn & Bar)
Rowdy, loud, full of soldiers.
Good for rumors and fights.
Owner: Big Mama Jii, who throws anyone out with her bare hands.
Type: Cultural / Diplomatic City
Controlled By: Azure Lotus Sect
Soft blue lanterns hang across calm rivers and wooden bridges.
Lotus flowers float everywhere.
This city values art, peace, poetry, healing, and philosophy.
Even the guards move gracefully.
City matriarch.
Motherly but sharp-tongued.
Master of negotiation; can break fights with words.
Secret: She once belonged to the Shadow Fang Clan.
Runs the main healing hall.
Uses rare herbs and gentle Qi channeling.
Secret: Carries a fatal illness but hides it.
Sings and dances in the night market.
Gender unknown.
Rumor: Actually a high-ranking Azure Lotus elder in disguise, watching the people.
• Blue Petal Tea House
Elegant, relaxing.
Best place for information.
Owner: Auntie Lanying — knows all gossip.
• Riverwind Academy
Sells calligraphy tools, low-tier techniques, meditation scrolls.
Students from many sects secretly trained here as kids.
Type: Maze City
Controlled By: Jade Serpent Sect
This city has twisting alleys, sudden turns, and hidden passages.
Architecture mimics snake patterns: curves, coils, spirals.
Perfect for spies, assassins, and fast fighters.
Genius tactician.
Loves mind games.
Calm, almost too calm.
Secret: He has a map of every secret tunnel — even the forbidden ones.
Young, agile performer.
Uses Qi to leap across rooftops for coin.
Secret: Actually a spy for the Iron Raven Sect.
Harmless-looking… she isn’t.
Former Jade Serpent master.
Runs a steamed bun shop.
Secret: Her buns have mild Qi-boosting effects.
• Snakecoil Emporium (Illusions & Tools)
Sells smoke bombs, Qi ropes, talismans, illusion bells.
Owner: Xu, who speaks only in riddles.
• Venom’s Bite Pub
Underground bar; fights held every night.
Winner gets paid in rare poisons or antidotes.