Li Mubai

Biodata

Power Progression

His recorded Soul Ring configuration is yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red 127 133.

Background / History

Li Mubai lived a previous life in the twenty-first century, where he received compulsory education and attended university. After transmigrating, he retained knowledge of the Douluo world’s original course of events, including Spirit Hall’s eventual destruction 9 11 55.

His early life in the new world was impoverished; he sometimes did not know where his next meal would come from. Becoming a Soul Master improved his circumstances and abruptly changed the attitudes of villagers who had previously looked down on him 60.

He spent twenty-one years cultivating to secure a comfortable life. His sword training included a million punches and a million sword swings, continuing until he could release crisscrossing sword Qi with a wave of his hand. After becoming a Titled Douluo, he also spent months hunting Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest for a Soul Bone, without success 6 76 77.

Li Mubai joined Spirit Hall as its Tenth Elder because of the system’s rewards, particularly the temptation of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring—not because he wanted political authority 2.

Appearance

• Build: Slender and lightly muscled in appearance, despite extensive physical training 6 76 77.
• Face: Fair skin, sharply defined features, sword-like eyebrows, dark eyes, and a little stubble rather than a full beard 8 21 100.
• Hair: Initially described with long hair coiled atop his head; he later deliberately cuts it short to suit his preference 21 84.
• Clothing: Wears a black robe embroidered with gold patterns, white robes during the public spar, and a pale-blue robe at the merchants’ gathering 75 84 118.
• Youthful appearance: After attaining the Titled Douluo realm, he looks like a man in his early twenties 119.
• Disguise: Alters his appearance for the public spar so strangers will have difficulty recognizing him afterward 114.

Personality

Li Mubai’s apparent laziness follows years of relentless work. Having cultivated primarily to escape hardship, he now prefers good food, wine, music, companionship, and a quiet home to dangerous expeditions or political ambition. He offers Bibi Dong advice when it interests him but resists becoming her full-time strategist 11 28 59 75.

He is cautious about coercion and fiercely protective of his independence. Threats make him consider resigning from Spirit Hall rather than submitting, while appeals to reputation fail because he openly refuses to value “face” over his own comfort and safety. Tangible rewards, however, can change his mind immediately 9 73 76 77.

His respectful speech often conceals sarcastic, irreverent thoughts. He is also vain about his looks, flirtatious, and quick to complain internally. Despite this, he readily forgives Hu Liena’s initial disrespect and does not dwell on minor slights 5 18 59.

He dislikes officials who abuse their authority and does not use his elder position to squeeze wealth from ordinary people. His concern for wrongfully imprisoned citizens, protection of Sister Zhao and Xiao Yu’er, and refusal to waste food reveal values shaped by his own difficult upbringing 11 31 41 53 60.

Abilities & Skills

Sword Martial Soul

Li Mubai’s Martial Soul manifests as an ink-black longsword. His fighting style combines swordsmanship with attacks on Spiritual Power rather than relying exclusively on physical cutting force 83 96 126.

• Sword Qi: Can release precise ranged strikes; he uses one to castrate Scarface 33.
• Enlarged blade: Widens his sword from three fingers to half a meter to shield his body against Golden Crocodile’s attack 89.
• Physical conditioning: Trained his body to its limits to support his sword’s power 77.
• Other recorded skills: His system panel lists Draw-Sword Slash and Awe-Inspiring Sword Intent, without explaining their full mechanics 127.

Sword Control Technique

His second Soul Ring grants flight aboard his Martial Soul sword 83.

• Channels Soul Power through his feet into the blade while standing on it.
• Uses the technique to descend into the arena before his spar with Golden Crocodile 83.

Gale Sword Intent

His fourth Soul Ring grants a flame-based skill that coats both his blade and released sword Qi. Its flames burn the target’s Spiritual Power, progressively weakening their fighting ability 86 87.

• Repeated use stacks and refreshes its short-duration effects 86.
• Successfully affects Golden Crocodile despite his formidable physical defenses 87.
• Comes from a purple Soul Ring; Golden Crocodile can suppress its pain through willpower, although he is still weakened 87.

Clear Sword Heart

His fifth Soul Skill, granted by a black Soul Ring, clears his mind and maintains absolute calm 89.

• Prevents outside influences from disturbing his thoughts.
• Grants immunity to most Spiritual Power attacks.
• Has no direct offensive effect 89.

Icy Forbidden Land

His sixth Soul Skill creates a freezing domain centered on himself 89.

• Radius: 500 meters.
• Suppression: Reduces the strength of enemies in the same realm by 20%.
• Environmental effect: Its cold reaches the spectators, chilling their limbs and causing stiffness.
• Has no direct offensive power 89.

Forgetting Both Self and Things

A killing move obtained from his system-granted Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Li Mubai names it himself and regards it as perfectly suited to his Martial Soul 79 92.

• Requires no proficiency training; he can use it as naturally as an innate ability 92.
• Activates without a spoken announcement, consistent with his belief that shouting skill names unnecessarily warns an opponent 91 92.
• Its full activation requirements and defenses remain unclear to Bibi Dong after the spar 98.

Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly

This skill appears in his system panel. During the Golden Crocodile spar, Li Mubai places his opponent in a boundless ink-wash world 93 127.

• Golden Crocodile experiences himself as a powerless elderly human, without his crocodile body or Soul Power.
• The experience includes physical sensations: losing his balance and falling causes him genuine pain 93.

Soul Power Treatment

Li Mubai can channel Soul Power through massage to accelerate recovery 100.

• Treats Sister Zhao’s scalded fingers with cold water and Soul Power, restoring them in about a quarter of an hour 100.
• Also treats her bruising; Xiao Yu’er credits him with curing her illness 101 102 134.

Sign-In System

Li Mubai possesses a private system that awards Soul Rings, items, and cultivation resources 2 127.

• Its interface is visible only to him 127.
• Automatically conceals all system-related information, including relevant thoughts, from Bibi Dong’s mind-reading 104.
• After his first official sign-in, displays a personal panel and a Random Missions page 127.
• Lists bloodline and divine-ability fields, but no acquired abilities are identified in those fields 127.

Modern Knowledge and Administration

His previous-life education and knowledge of the original story inform his proposals for Spirit Hall 11 55 132.

• Government: Emphasizes public welfare, popular support, and investigating corruption at its lowest levels 5 40 53.
• Finance: Proposes mortgages and merchant-funded development rather than requiring Spirit Hall to finance construction directly 106.
• Urban planning: Draws plans and organizes land sales for Spirit City’s eastern expansion 114 115 121.
• Weapon concepts: Believes he could eventually make a Gatling gun and later plans a firearms-equipped Guard Corps; neither is shown completed in the supplied chapters 57 132.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ten-Thousand-Year Right Hand Soul Bone — Bibi Dong’s payment for accepting the Golden Crocodile spar; fused into his sword arm. Later system panels label it a Right Arm Soul Bone 77 127 133.
• Mount Sumeru Mustard Seed — A growth-capable, spirit-grade spatial Soul Tool. Stores inanimate objects, with storage expanding alongside its master’s strength and no stated upper limit 127.
• Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring: Ancient Flood Dragon Python — An additional, unused ring received at the monthly assembly; remains in his inventory after reaching Level 95 127 133.
• Cultivation Enhancement Card — A single-use reward containing ten years of cultivated Soul Power; consumed to advance from Level 93 to Level 95 127 133.
• Guard Corps command token — Receives the token’s upper half on becoming captain; that half alone carries authority to command the corps 130.

Relationships

• Bibi Dong — Pope and superior. Secretly hears his nearby thoughts and uses them to discover his origins, obtain advice, and judge his sincerity. Li Mubai remains unaware of her ability; their relationship grows more comfortable after a 50% raise and permission to call her “boss” outside assemblies 11 12 25 55.
• Demon Bear Douluo — Close friend and drinking companion. Their friendship begins with lunch at Li Mubai’s home and develops through shared outings. Demon Bear defends him against Golden Crocodile’s challenge and worries about his safety during the spar 6 70 73 85.
• Xiao Qian — Maid and lover. Shares his domestic life, cooks for him, and worries during his Soul Bone fusion and before his spar. Her use of “Master” initially causes Hu Liena to misjudge him 12 17 59 77 79.
• Zhao Shuran / Sister Zhao — A neighboring tofu seller whom he protects from the Wild Wolf Gang. He treats her injuries and comes to regard her and her daughter as more than outsiders; by Chapter 111, both are staying in his home 31 59 100 101 111.
• Xiao Yu’er — Sister Zhao’s daughter. He buys her candied hawthorn, teaches her lessons, and considers her “half his disciple.” She affectionately calls him Brother Mubai 31 32 101.
• Hu Liena — Initially assumes he mistreats women after hearing Xiao Qian call him “Master.” Later admires his defiance and analyzes his spiritual attacks during the spar. Bibi Dong initially considers fostering romance between them to secure his assistance 14 17 18 83 96 97.
• Golden Crocodile Douluo — Challenger and senior Spirit Hall figure. Publicly concedes their spar, later explaining that the challenge investigated Li Mubai’s background and that his surrender served as an apology. Subsequently supports his appointment as Guard Corps captain 98 126 130.
• Qian Daoliu — Takes an early interest in recruiting Li Mubai after observing his association with Demon Bear 6.
• Li Fengheng — Founder of Sili Trading Company. Visits Li Mubai with gifts and later accompanies the carriages carrying the eastern district’s land-sale proceeds 111 121.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Spirit Hall’s Reluctant Adviser

At his first high-level meeting, Li Mubai privately criticizes Spirit Hall for prioritizing powerful Soul Masters over ordinary people’s livelihoods. Bibi Dong’s ability to overhear him exposes the gap between his polite answers and actual opinions, prompting repeated visits to his home 2 5 6.

After discovering that he knows Spirit Hall’s original fate, Bibi Dong seeks his help in changing it. He initially refuses deeper involvement, preferring to preserve the comfortable life he spent years earning 9 11.

Wild Wolf Gang and City Guard Corruption

Li Mubai rescues Sister Zhao and Xiao Yu’er, punishes Scarface, and defeats the Wild Wolf Gang. He then willingly submits to arrest to investigate the City Guard Office and see whether Bibi Dong will act against its corruption 31 33 35 39 40.

After Bibi Dong arrives, he asks her to reopen prisoners’ cases and release those wrongly jailed. His advice also informs the public punishment of corrupt officials, turning the incident into an opportunity to win popular support 47 53 66.

Spar with Golden Crocodile

Li Mubai initially refuses the challenge, dismissing the idea that he must fight to protect his reputation. A compatible Soul Bone persuades him to participate 73 76 77.

The public match reveals his flight technique, spiritual-burning sword attacks, freezing domain, and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Golden Crocodile ultimately concedes; his later explanation makes clear that the surrender was also an apology following his investigation of Li Mubai’s background, rather than proof that Li Mubai simply overpowered him 83 87 89 92 98 126.

Eastern District Development

Li Mubai proposes financing Spirit City’s expansion through mortgages and advance sales of planned plots to merchants and local gentry. Bibi Dong places him in charge of preparing the development plans 106.

He initially estimates land-sale revenue of at least 6.5 million gold coins, then sells the plots for 26 million. Bibi Dong is astonished: Spirit Hall’s annual income is only about eight million gold coins 115 121.

Guard Corps Command

His financial contribution helps secure his appointment as Guard Corps captain. Demon Bear warns that the soldiers remain loyal to their former commander and may reject his authority 130.

Li Mubai intends to reorganize the corps’ 3,000 Soul Masters into a firearms combat unit, drawing on his knowledge of the original story’s Hidden Weapon-equipped Tang Family Army. During this period, he uses his cultivation card and reaches Level 95 132 133.

Notable Quotes

“The ruler is a boat, and the people are water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.” 5

“Face? How much does it cost per pound? As long as I don’t care about face, no one can hold me hostage with it!” 73

“I don’t usually make promises lightly. Since I’ve made one, I’ll do my utmost to keep it.” 77