Si Ming

Biodata

Power Progression

Technique ceilings, temporary empowerment, and physical combat strength are distinguished from attained Internal Cultivation levels.

Background and History

Previous Life and Transmigration

Si Ming’s previous life was that of a middle school teacher. A later childhood account states that he was struck by a car while saving a child crossing the road, after which his soul entered an infant on the Eastern Sea Continent 124.

The opening chapters present him receiving the memories of an orphaned body associated with Minggui Orphanage. Initially dizzy and detached from his surroundings, he recovers as the souls fuse and his bloodline’s comprehension power awakens 1 2.

Born with severed meridians, he cannot cultivate conventional internal martial arts normally. Rather than abandon martial arts, he resolves to pursue external cultivation and eventually generate True Qi from the outside inward 2.

Childhood in the Si Clan

The childhood flashback places Si Ming in an annex outside Water Mirror Manor. The clan restricts his contact with his elder twin sister and requires physical examinations every three days, ostensibly to treat his meridians. He suspects his grandmother is wary of him and that his household servants are watching him 124 126.

He conceals his extraordinary martial talent, first pretending to learn slowly and later cultivating the image of a harmless child who entertains the clan’s girls with stories. The latter disguise noticeably reduces the scrutiny of his examinations 125 126.

Although materially privileged, he regards a life confined to the clan as a cage. He later realizes that his mother’s apparent distance had been intended to protect him, correcting his earlier belief that she disliked him 127 132.

The clan’s restrictions also provide a plausible explanation for his previously undiscovered talent. Its rules forbid men from practicing martial skills, while his severed meridians prevent ordinary internal cultivation. When Yan Jinghong investigates his aptitude, Si Ming encourages him to reach that explanation independently rather than reveal his deliberate concealment 131.

Chosen Home

Si Ming considers the orphanage a genuine home and feels reassured upon returning after two months away. He later rejects the idea that formally returning to the Si Clan would improve his life: his friends, master, and housemates already provide the bonds he values, while clan membership would impose restrictions 155 394.

Later Ascendancy

His achievements in the human-demon war change how established experts regard him. After he and his companions kill twelve Demon Generals, Spirit Transformation Grandmasters recognize him as a powerhouse on their own level rather than merely a gifted junior whose combat strength exceeds his Internal Cultivation 931.

Following his battle with Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor, Si Ming comprehends the mysteries of Extreme Essence and transforms his True Qi without yet being able to refine Extreme Essence itself. Several years later, he completes Tathagata’s Indestructible Body. His combined accomplishments in Qi, technique, and body make him unrivaled even without the Sacred Sword. He subsequently dispatches descending Devil Masters, ritually summoned evil gods, and fallen, mutated Heavenly Venerables with a few punches and kicks, earning recognition as the strongest Grandmaster in history 1280.

Appearance

• Early appearance: Handsome, delicate, and outwardly frail; he jokes that his face suits a “pretty boy” better than a rugged hero 1 2.
• After body refinement: Develops more rugged facial features, a muscular body beneath his clothes, and a fierce gaze, losing his earlier effeminate impression 307.
• Formal clothing: A Si Clan-tailored white outfit combines a writer’s refinement with a wandering swordsman’s bearing 365.
• Temporary changes: Loses his hair during an interrupted cultivation breakthrough; Tang Jing later knocks out clumps of it during another battle 147 696.
• Metal contamination: At one point, invading metal cells turn the skin of his right hand silver, requiring bandages 313.
• Formation tattoos: Later bears the Thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa Formation tattooed on his body, enabling him to sustain Tathagata’s Indestructible Body in combat 1267.

Personality

Si Ming’s central ambition is to become a hero who punishes evil and upholds good. This is not effortless fearlessness: during the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad incident, he nearly flees before forcing himself to return and save Murong Qing. He later identifies his deepest wish as seeing good rewarded and evil punished 10 11 80.

He is pragmatic about both morality and survival. He neither considers himself wholly selfless nor refuses to share useful martial arts. He avoids testing his conscience unnecessarily, declines to judge family disputes without sufficient knowledge, and values friends according to their character rather than ancestry 84 275 659 681.

His caution is strongest when he lacks power. As a child, he hides his talent to survive clan scrutiny; once sufficiently strong, he openly acknowledges his ability to learn martial arts almost instantly 125 126 1008.

He is also irreverent, theatrical, and fond of showing off. His jokes can dissolve a grim atmosphere, while his taunts deliberately provoke hostile opponents. Despite his vanity, Yu Shuying recognizes that he can accept criticism and learn from advice 362 759 935.

Si Ming treats cooperation as a practical source of strength rather than a compromise of heroic dignity. He openly favors bringing trusted companions and overwhelming dangerous enemies together over insisting on solitary combat 520 1104.

His modern outlook also makes him comfortable using technology and equipment in martial combat. He regards Profound Armor as a weapon no different in principle from a saber or sword, while distinguishing such tools from coercive tactics such as taking hostages 32.

Repeated victories gradually give him exceptional confidence and a refusal to yield before powerful opponents. Rather than instinctively fear a ruler’s rank or political authority, he increasingly judges whether that person could withstand his strength at close quarters 1002.

He accepts that allies need not share identical values or become personally close. Regarding the conflict between Yu Shuying and Murong Qing, he argues that different methods need not prevent cooperation toward the same destination, especially against common enemies 953.

His heroic reputation on the Barbarian Continent eventually becomes more idealized than the image held by his longtime companions. They recognize his willingness to risk himself for friends, but are less convinced that he would endure mortal danger for any stranger. Si Ming himself remains alert to the dangers of pride when confronted with the Glazed Temple monks’ worship 1177 1180.

Abilities and Skills

Sudden Enlightenment

His defining talent lets him understand and master systematic martial arts with extraordinary speed.

• Learns from observation, descriptions, and written manuals; Soul Intent Diagrams offer him little additional benefit 126 396 1097.
• Identifies weaknesses while fighting, as demonstrated against Yu Shuying’s Auspicious Snow Abundant Spirit Palm 246.
• Works on complete systems, not isolated fundamentals: mastering a sword art does not automatically give him equally advanced basic swordsmanship 303.
• Does not remove the need to accumulate Internal Cultivation or refine his body over time 975.
• Cannot make a method viable if it has no theoretical chance of successful cultivation. Incomplete methods remain learnable when some possibility survives 1008.
• Knowing an advanced move does not mean he has enough cultivation to execute it 150.
• Initially requires access to all, or nearly all, of a technique’s important components. Unseen True Qi circulation prevents him from fully copying an internal martial art through outward movements alone, although he can still analyze its weaknesses 80.
• Demonstrates increasingly effective combat learning, reproducing Xiang Donglai’s Sea-Subduing Leg Technique and Mad Lion Palm Technique with superior strength and control 1097.
• Ultimately masters billions of sword techniques, making technique one of the three foundations of his final supremacy alongside Qi and body 1280.

External Cultivation and Divine Strength

His fighting power rests primarily on Jing Essence, physical refinement, and divine powers rather than orthodox internal cultivation.

• Uses the Supreme Plain Decay True Scripture, Jade-Clad Dharma Body, Vajra Demon-Subduing Divine Ability, Brahma Sea Asura Art, and Tathagata Dharma Body 309 480.
• The Jade-Clad Dharma Body combines toughness with flexibility and resists extreme temperature differences 277 309.
• Coordinates Vajra and Asura power instead of merely applying them independently 495.
• Demonstrates ninefold divine strength without Solar Prominence Eruption and identifies eighteenfold divine strength as his strongest physical weapon at that point 792.
• Can exceed Spirit Transformation limits in sheer force without having attained that cultivation realm 574 752.
• Shennong’s Three Fists draws out bodily potential rather than functioning primarily as an offensive art. Continued practice improves Qi and blood, muscles, bones, flesh, speed, defense, and spirit 808 875.
• Eventually completes Tathagata’s Indestructible Body, making bodily cultivation a fully developed pillar of his final combat strength 1280.

Blazing Yang Battle Art and Energy Supply

His unconventional cultivation produces Blazing Sun True Qi and can draw on solar energy.

• Solar absorption eventually extends ten zhang around him 670.
• Solar Prominence Eruption releases a powerful combat state, often combined with his other enhancements 362 500.
• The Vacuum Zero-Energy Furnace supplies continuing True Qi and later replenishes Primal Qi during prolonged combat 912 1191.
• A plentiful supply does not compensate for inadequate energy quality: level-twelve True Qi cannot rapidly purge the scorpion demon general’s poison 912.
• Solar Prominence Eruption can consume True Qi faster than the Vacuum Zero-Energy Furnace replenishes it, imposing a time limit on his strongest sustained output at that stage 747.
• Can devour and transform sufficiently weakened Sinful Qi into Blazing Sun True Qi, rapidly increasing his Internal Cultivation 367.
• Later acknowledges overcoming the level-twelve and level-fourteen bottlenecks through dual cultivation 1071.

Divine Sight Illusory Observation Art

This art adjusts his bodily performance through the circulation of Qi and blood.

• At major accomplishment, can triple his strength 327.
• Can reinforce bodily resistance or triple agility instead 362 914.
• Combined with his physique, enables acceleration beyond the sound barrier 914.

Soul Cultivation

His initially weaker soul becomes a separate area of development.

• Before sufficient training, soul limitations restrict techniques despite his top-tier Spirit Transformation combat strength 752.
• Later sustains three consecutive calamity-form attacks 764.
• The Divine Firmament Soul Body provides recording-like memory and strong resistance to mental assault 865 1002.
• Its Spirit Essence is described as more solid than that of a Spirit Transformation master, rendering Gu Xinglie’s Killing Intent Surprise Attack ineffective 884.
• Uses the Heart Devil Secret Sword to disrupt Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor’s mind and make a ninefold soul attack recoil against its user 1267.

Force Redirection and Appropriation

Si Ming can supplement brute force with techniques that absorb, transform, and return an opponent’s power.

• Uses the Water Moon Precious Mirror to receive incoming power, erase its attached intent, and channel it into his own counterattack 786.
• His physique lets him tolerate backlash from power exceeding his Internal Cultivation 786.
• The Great Yin-Yang Heaven-Severing Hand allows him to seize opposing force; he applies it during sword exchanges 995 1003.
• Switches freely between Vajra hardness, yielding cloud-like palm force, scorching attacks, and Si Clan redirection techniques 1156.
• Refines the Ethereal Cloud and Mist Palm into a version suited specifically to his own defensive body. Against the Netherworld Insect Princess, he uses it to plant lingering force in her chest, then activates that force to delay her defense against a nuclear explosion 1191.

Martial Repertoire

The True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber is an intangible saber art that releases saber Qi from his empty palms, rather than requiring a physical blade. Learning it does not automatically confer proficiency with heavy battlefield sabers, for which he receives the Spring and Autumn Saber Art 318.

His later sword repertoire also includes techniques that interfere with an opponent’s own defensive power. Against Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor’s Heavenly Silkworm Force cocoon, his first four numbered sword moves make the force within the cocoon turn against itself 1267.

Nuclear Techniques

• Channels borrowed True Essence into violent particle rays during his early battle with the eagle-winged opponent 150.
• Uses a Nuclear Divine Fist combination to trigger prepared nuclear material against the Netherworld Insect Princess 1191.
• Combines the explosion with previously planted palm force to disrupt her defensive timing, rather than relying solely on the blast’s raw power 1191.
• Begins a second attack using Neutron Plutonium Transformation before the first explosion’s mushroom cloud has fully formed 1191.

Divine Arts and Formations

• Activates the Si Clan’s exclusive divine seal to summon its patron deity, a small girl with ice-crystal wings 696.
• Uses Crystal Talisman: Heaven and Earth Reversal to have the deity form an ice wall that reflects incoming concealed weapons 768.
• Converts absorbed solar and vacuum zero-point energy into True Qi, then into divine power through his Cultivation Body while performing divine arts 696.
• Bears the Thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa Formation as bodily tattoos, using it to sustain Tathagata’s Indestructible Body during his fight with Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor 1267.

Extreme Essence

After fighting Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor, Si Ming grasps the mysteries of Extreme Essence. This is an insight rather than the attainment of actual Extreme Essence refinement: his cultivation is explicitly insufficient to refine it. Nevertheless, the insight transforms his True Qi and leaves him strong enough to take on a hundred opponents alone 1280.

Several years later, this transformed Qi, his completed Tathagata’s Indestructible Body, and his enormous sword repertoire establish him at the pinnacle of Qi, technique, and body. His final supremacy does not depend on wielding the Sacred Sword 1280.

Regeneration and Defensive Limits

• The Mercury Alloy Body improves endurance and recovery and protects him against attacks that would strip an ordinary martial artist to the bone 663 938.
• Tathagata’s Indestructible Body withstands ordinary attacks and limits penetrating ultimate moves to internal injuries he can often heal within breaths 1191.
• He is not invulnerable: accumulated internal force later erupts after his defensive body dissipates, leaving him unconscious and severely injured 1193.
• His Cultivation Body can counter magnetic pull enough to get airborne, but this is not sustained flight and cannot be maintained indefinitely 914.
• With formation support, later resists Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor’s Celestial Person’s Eternal Decay while maintaining Tathagata’s Indestructible Body 1267.
• The later completion of Tathagata’s Indestructible Body marks a further advancement beyond its condition during these earlier battles 1280.

Other Skills

• Writing: Publishes novels whose royalties eventually provide lifelong financial security 348 841.
• Music: Plays harmonica, though a more advanced instrument requires new study and practice 558. Later takes up the flute to cultivate No-Emptiness Sound Flow and improves during a single evening to a standard Yuezheng Qiong compares to five or six years of experience 575.
• Teaching: Gives martial guidance without always demanding formal discipleship 681.
• Planning and leadership: Keeps reserves for emergencies, delegates command, and avoids forcing unwilling participants into a group 658 914.
• Machine operation: Quickly learns armor and flight controls. His refined control over his muscles lets him rapidly adapt to unfamiliar equipment, including demagnetization leg armor 13 916.

Equipment, Weapons, and Items

• Heaven-Soaring Armor No. 2 — Supplied by Yan Jinghong for the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad battle. Its Guardian Edict Circuit protects Si Ming from the beast’s Yao Qi counterattack 13.
• High-Frequency Vibrating Particle Sword — Used with the armor to sever most of the toad’s neck, causing fatal blood loss 13.
• Vermilion Bird Profound Armor — Controls nearby air currents to reduce drag and provide thrust 406. Its miniature Spiritual Origin Crystals provide stored True Qi that he channels into his sword during combat 407.
• Vermilion Flame Sword — Gives his released Sword Qi scorching heat 406.
• Wheel-Turning King Sword — Buddhist weapon that empowers its wielder, promotes surrounding growth, and can accelerate hair regrowth. Its Nirvana Sanskrit Seal is used to purify the God of Law 500 510 696.
• Purple Primal Emperor Slash — Evil saber obtained after the Purple-Pupilled Spirit King battle; survives an explosion that destroys the Crimson Blood Divine Blade 510.
• Aniruddha Heavenly Eye — Temporarily used at Glazed Temple to contact his family before being returned to its statue 467.
• Demon-Slaying Astral Saber — Wielded against demon forces with a forty-meter blade of gathered True Qi 917.
• Dragon Scale Sword — Received from Xiao Xuan alongside the Imperial Dragon Heaven-Defying Sword Art; contains five streaks of Sword Qi 1008.
• Demagnetization leg armor — Enables actual flight through its formations. Si Ming judges its maneuverability inferior to Mohist Profound Armor but considers its flight speed sufficient 916.
• Nuclear-material cases — Prepared black cases used to supply material for successive nuclear attacks against the Netherworld Insect Princess 1191.
• Sacred Sword — A later trump card he deliberately withholds against Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor while probing for the opponent’s stronger hidden move. By his final development, he no longer needs it to remain unrivaled 1267 1280.

Relationships

• Yan Jinghong — Master and principal mentor. Supplies equipment, cultivation resources, instruction, and access to further teachers; Si Ming deeply respects his willingness to protect the country 13 80 86 309.
• Murong Qing — Initially the girl he saves from the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad; later his intimate partner and Dao companion. Their contrasting Cultivation Bodies produce mutual cultivation benefits 18 38 994 1105.
• Liu Qingqing — The original body’s childhood friend and later Si Ming’s lover. She trusts his kindness and works with him to help Xie Xiaomei 2 842 851.
• Si Jingyu — Elder twin sister. He supports her in clan disputes and protects her when injured; their sibling identity is publicly confirmed through the clan genealogy 124 325 328 362.
• Si Jingyue — Mother. Her apparent emotional distance initially confuses him, but he later understands it as protection 124 132.
• Si Huaruo — Childhood friend and later protection assignment. He refuses to let their elders’ political rivalry determine their friendship 126 344. Later fights beside her and Ying Zhou in the coordinated hunt for Demon Generals 931.
• Hongdou — Close friend and housemate who calls him “Xiao Ming”; accompanies him into the Tower of Sealing and watches over him after his later collapse 396 468 1193.
• Yu Shuying — Fellow martial artist and trusted collaborator. He encourages her to rely on friends; she later handles Heavenly Martial Alliance business and advises him 519 520 935 1177.
• Zhao Jiaren — Personal disciple accepted on the Barbarian Continent. By the later alliance meeting, he is a Quasi-Grandmaster willing to give Si Ming frank advice 1177.
• Xiao Xuan — Martial uncle who teaches him body refinement and later provides the Dragon Scale Sword and its manual 142 143 624 1008. Also temporarily lends him primordial Qi and divine sense during the eagle-winged opponent’s attack 148.
• Xilai — Sparring partner who helps prepare his Buddhist disguise and later plays music before the anticipated final battle 468 495.
• Abbot Fahong and Abbot Faji — Glazed Temple allies who facilitate contact with his family and entry into the Tower of Sealing 467 468.
• He Qichang — Former classmate and fellow operative. Si Ming values their compatibility over He Qichang’s human-demon ancestry 658 659.
• Chen Shimi — Self-proclaimed close friend whose theatrical behavior exasperates Si Ming; their later horseplay reflects genuine familiarity 313 984.
• Yun Jinzang — Highly learned senior who spars with him and freely answers his martial questions 1003 1004 1006.
• Ying Zhou — Battlefield ally who works with Si Ming and Si Huaruo to kill Demon Generals, delivering finishing attacks after Si Ming’s assaults and Si Huaruo’s freezing techniques 931.
• Yuezheng Yao and Yuezheng Qiong — Yao commissions him to help preserve Qiong’s band and gives him the Nine Shao Pitch-Setting Art Body Refining Chapter as a deposit. Qiong later witnesses his rapid improvement on the flute 558 575.
• Sima Liang — Dinghu Sect disciple who recognizes him as Yan Jinghong’s personal disciple. Si Ming has no interest in competing for the sect’s leadership, relieving Liang’s concern while also provoking mixed feelings about an opportunity Si Ming regards as unimportant 1073.
• Myriad Gu Witch Ancestor — Later opponent whose decay, soul attacks, and Heavenly Silkworm Force Si Ming counters through his defensive body, Heart Devil Secret Sword, and numbered sword techniques. Their battle precedes his insight into Extreme Essence 1267 1280.

Story Role and Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“The hero is about to make his entrance!” 10

“My heart’s desire is to be a hero who punishes evil and upholds good.” 80

“If you can gang up on someone, never fight them one-on-one.” 520

“There’s no need to take me as your master. If you want to learn, I’m willing to teach you, but how far you can progress will depend on you.” 681

“My body has been tempered a thousand times, my martial arts are inexhaustible, and I have fought a hundred battles without a single defeat!” 1134

Trivia

• His preferred fighting image comes from Liu Zhenhan of Beast Blood Boils: a roaring, heavily armed bruiser. He initially finds his own delicate appearance poorly suited to that ideal 307.
• His alias Sima Liang causes embarrassment when he meets an actual Dinghu Sect disciple with that name 1073.
• Despite his martial reputation, Auntie Liu still demands his next manuscript; being his prospective mother-in-law makes her particularly difficult for him to refuse 976.
• Glazed Temple monks interpret even his casual remarks about preserving a favorable impression through distance as profound Chan wisdom 1177.
• He jokingly presents himself as a “mage” when using divine arts, dismissing Shang Yu’s distinction between divine arts and spells as largely irrelevant to their practical use 768.
• He refuses to treat cultivation compatibility as the deciding factor in choosing a life partner, even after considering whether Hongdou might have offered greater cultivation benefits than Murong Qing 994.