Lin Su

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Lin Su 3
Alias(es)	Lin Jian; Su Lin; Lord Liu; Zhuge Qingfeng 18 462 507 903
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male 343
Affiliation	Great Cang Kingdom; Great Cang Sword Sect; Sacred Hall Constant Walker 500 686
Occupation/Role	Great Cang Top Scholar; Inspector; Lingyun First Seat; First Grandmaster of Azure Lotus; King Wen; Literary King; Prince of One Word 229 358 511 519 816 951
Status	Alive and active during the Great Calamity of Heartlessness 1286
First Appearance	Chapter 3

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Great Literary Path of Ci	18	Opened the Great Literary Path of Ci with Butterflies Love Flowers, spreading Sacred Sound across the Nine Countries and Thirteen Continents.
Martial Ancestor	43	Reached the realm after absorbing the Black Flood Dragon’s Demon Core, which strengthened his true qi and meridians.
Thousand Degrees Pupil	101	Received after Jade Cup. Lantern Festival... became a timeless ci poem; grants minute visual perception.
Sword Azure Flower	462	Comprehended Sword Intent in one night and, after his Xizhou assignment, had attained the Sword Azure Flower.
Peak Peering into Humanity	496	Reached the peak through cultivation at Jade Pool, then shifted to absorbing Demon Cores for faster progress.
Late-stage Blue Flower Realm	507	His Sword Dao advanced rapidly on the Heavenly Ladder, reaching late-stage Blue Flower as he climbed past the 643rd step.
Sword Heart	511	Formed a Sword Heart while fighting Xumi Zi, winning Lingyun First Seat.
Peeking Void	594	Broke through in the capital, causing a public sensation.
Dao Realm	663	His public discourse on filial piety advanced his Dao Realm despite court officials supporting Jiang Ruyue.
Fourth-stage Un-Dao	840	Cultivated the Power of No Way to the fourth stage; the technique remained difficult to replenish.
Heavenly Dao Quasi-Saint	1025	Entered the ancient legendary realm and retained formidable Sword Dao even where Literary Way power was suppressed.
Myriad Phenomena / Eleventh Sword of Solitude	1235	Reached Myriad Phenomena and gained the ability to perform the Eleventh Sword of Solitude.

Background

Lin Su is the third young master of Great Cang’s Marquis of Dingnan Estate. His family had produced military generals for two centuries, while a Buddhist prophecy held that the estate’s three sons would avert its calamity by following three separate paths. His elder brother Lin Zheng represented the Martial Way, Lin Jialiang the Literary Way, and Lin Su became the unpredictable third pillar of the family. 3 5

Using the name Lin Jian, Lin Su opened the Great Literary Path of Ci with Butterflies Love Flowers. The achievement immediately drew the attention of Great Confucians across the Nine Countries and Thirteen Continents, while Lin Jialiang recognized the scale of his brother’s talent. 18

Appearance

Lin Su is consistently described as exceptionally handsome and refined despite his reputation as an unorthodox troublemaker. His scholarly composure contrasts with the martial presence of his build. 89 154

• Sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes. 154
• High-bridged nose and elegant, dashing features. 89 154
• Clear eyes with an autumn-water quality and a detached calmness. 154
• A balanced, martial artist’s physique beneath his scholar’s bearing. 154
• Can convincingly alter his presentation through attire and disguises, appearing as a scholar, jianghu swordsman, official, or other identities. 274 293 462 903

Personality

Lin Su is calm, irreverent, and difficult to intimidate. He confronts nobles, sects, foreign powers, and court officials without yielding to their status, often turning a hostile situation into an advantage through provocation, wit, or a carefully prepared stratagem. 148 229 575 663

His confidence is tempered by long-term thinking. He repeatedly pursues reforms, military preparedness, and projects that improve ordinary people’s lives, including river works, agricultural equipment, education, and relief for soldiers’ families. 260 423 592 1083

Although frequently accused of seeking power, Lin Su rejects the throne and states that he seeks a peaceful life. His loyalty remains rooted in Great Cang, its people, and the family and allies he protects. 399 540

Abilities & Skills

Literary Way

Lin Su is a peerless Literary Way talent whose poems, ci, debate, calligraphy, music, and written techniques can affect battlefields, political institutions, and the Sacred Path itself.

• Opened the Great Literary Path of Ci with Butterflies Love Flowers. 18
• Produced timeless and World-Passing Azure poems and ci, including Man Jiang Hong, Prelude to the Water Melody. Mid-Autumn Festival, and One Cut Plum. 193 519 803
• Created the first recorded War Ci and used it to break Li Li’s Ghost Domain Map. 193
• Uses Literary Way power offensively through sword techniques, poetry, Sacred Sound, and manifestations such as golden moons. 496 877
• Defeated literary opponents through Dao debates on filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, rites, and loyalty. 663 886 891
• Literary Way activation is comparatively slow when he has no time to mobilize it. 328

Thousand Degrees Pupil

A perception ability granted by a timeless ci poem.

• Sees the world in minute detail, including hidden formations, spiritual traces, and physical irregularities. 101 520 791
• Allows him to identify weaknesses in incomplete formations and discern details missed by ordinary cultivators. 791
• Its scrutiny contributes to his ability to see through disguises and observe opponents closely. 601

Sword Dao

Lin Su’s Sword Dao is his primary Cultivation Way trump card. He combines extraordinary technique, Sword Intent, Sword Fruits, and later Time and Space Laws.

• Learned the first two Dugu Nine Swords forms—Drawing Sword and Formlessness is Superior to Form—through the Sword’s Cry trials. 236
• Learned the middle three forms from Li Zexi and later mastered the first six forms with Dugu Shi’s guidance. 482 953
• Uses Drawing Sword, Breaking Sword, Returning Sword, and Heavenly Sword stances in battle. 496 508 576
• Possesses three Sword Fruits, enabling him to defeat opponents with significantly higher cultivation. 576 781
• Formed a Sword Heart during his victory over Xumi Zi. 511
• Developed Time and Space Sword Dao, using its Laws to defeat an enemy Sage with one strike. 1097
• Sword technique alone cannot always overcome a severe gap in cultivation. 496

Martial Way and Cultivation

Lin Su cultivates both physical and spiritual methods, maintaining an unusually strong foundation by fighting above his displayed realm.

• Uses the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle for evasive, near-unpredictable movement. 496 791
• Cultivates with the Minor Heavenly Cycle Creation Art and Demon Cores. 496
• Uses his Primordial Spirit to cultivate martial arts, accelerating his comprehension of true qi and technique. 629
• Can solidify his foundation by reducing his apparent realm while retaining or exceeding his former combat power. 486 505
• Opened his Daoist Sect against Su Rong, revealing immense suction power, though she escaped. 556

Spiritual Power

Lin Su possesses and studies rare spiritual techniques capable of bypassing conventional cultivation defenses.

• Measured his spiritual power at level 28 after obtaining a Spiritual Power Secret Technique. 350
• Survived Du Jin’s attempt to erase his consciousness, recognizing that spiritual power can threaten even stronger cultivators. 358
• Uses the Spirit Splitting Technique to resist mental control, kill spiritual-power cultivators, and absorb their power. 770
• His Spirit Splitting Technique is considered a major reason he is difficult to kill. 1219

Power of No Way

Lin Su secretly cultivates the Demonic Way’s Power of No Way.

• Revealed the technique on Wudao Mountain, where normal cultivation was suppressed, and used it to overwhelm Winged Race opponents. 837
• Reached the fourth stage of Un-Dao and practiced the technique Cosmos No Dao within his Literary Mountain. 840

Military Strategy and Formations

Lin Su is an exceptional strategist who treats military, political, literary, and social tools as parts of the same battlefield.

• Uses the Thirty-Six Stratagems in campaigns and in personal cultivation. 423 469
• Took Qiyang Pass and Liehuo City with small forces through deception, illusions, and layered stratagems. 468 469
• Created the Peerless Killing Formation, ordinarily requiring thirty-six cultivators, and later reproduced it alone inside his Literary Realm. 764 849
• Developed and taught Integrated Warfare, Military Soul, guerrilla warfare, and the use of terrain, supplies, weather, water, and fire as military assets. 1083

Literary Realm of Broadness

Lin Su’s Literary Realm allows his three Daos to operate together as a personal battlefield.

• Can turn his writings into weapons and Smiling Proudly in the Jianghu into a battle song. 849
• Can deploy military formations and the Thirty-Six Stratagems within the realm. 849
• Recreates the Peerless Killing Formation alone by drawing on his combined Dao power rather than external forces. 849

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Long sword — his principal weapon for the Dugu Nine Swords, Sword Fruits, and Heavenly Sword Stance. 236 576
• Treasure Brush — used to continue his War Poem duel after his ordinary brush broke. 193
• Jade pendant containing the Spiritual Power Secret Technique — lets him assess spiritual power and study its applications. 350
• Sacred Hall Constant Walker Token — confirms his Sacred Hall standing and permits instantaneous travel through Confucian Temples. 686 946
• Heavenly Brocade Cloud Silk Robe — woven from Heavenly Brocade Cloud Silk and Dragon Sinew; weapon-resistant and size-changing. 652
• Earth-Covering Butterfly — a Quasi-Saint-level wondrous artifact capable of catastrophic area effects, though its strength can be exhausted. 764 1088

Relationships

• Lin Zheng — elder brother and border general. Lin Su supports his military command, helps secure his reunion with Hong Ying, and funds the families of fallen soldiers. 39 386 592
• Lin Jialiang — second brother and fellow Jinshi. He was among the first to recognize Lin Su’s literary brilliance and later became Prefectural Governor of Hengshan Prefecture. 18 393 780
• Luyi — wife; Lin Su’s relationship with her family helped connect him to Li Qingqiu and Dark Fragrance. 202 462 720
• Sister Chen — wife and trusted companion who investigates threats around the Lin family. 202 308
• Cui Ying — lover and later accepted member of Lin Su’s household; he assists her brother Cui Yanzhou’s Literary Way studies. 260 449
• Qi Yao — wife and Cangshan ally whose relationship with Lin Su is openly affectionate. 343 1083 1286
• Long’er — Dragon Princess who meets Lin Su annually; both remain devoted despite opposition from the Dragon Lord of No Way. 269 1011
• Bi Xuanji — close ally and romantic partner who supports him with Dark Fragrance cultivators and shares his strategic burdens. 468 886
• Zhang Yiyu — Sword Sect Saintess, friend, supporter, and recurring rival in both poetry and cultivation. 43 507 511
• Cai Zhulian — Wushan Sect cultivator and close companion who supports him through the Jade Pool trials and later journeys. 293 500 516
• Dugu Xing — Sword Sect mentor who guides Lin Su’s Sword Dao and recognizes his extraordinary potential. 236 462
• Li Zexi — former Sword Sect leader who teaches Lin Su Dugu Nine Swords forms despite their complicated history. 482 946
• Li Guihan — traveling companion and political ally who repeatedly warns Lin Su about foreign schemes. 384 386
• Su Rong — Saintess of Medicine King Mountain and former mortal enemy. Both conceal their knowledge of the other’s identity while using their ambiguous relationship strategically. 556 617 659

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Ci Path pioneer — opens the Great Literary Path of Ci and becomes a figure sought by Great Confucians. 18
• Imperial Examination and literary conflict — wins the Provincial Examination, becomes a Jinshi and Great Cang Top Scholar, and repeatedly confronts entrenched literary and official factions. 39 358 393
• War-poetry innovator — defeats Li Li with Man Jiang Hong, creating the first War Ci and demonstrating that ci can be used as a decisive weapon. 193
• Inspector and reformer — challenges corrupt officials, protects commoners, develops Haining and Nanshan, and uses wealth for infrastructure and soldiers’ families. 229 592
• Sword Sect revival figure — passes Sword’s Cry, inherits Dugu Nine Swords, wins Lingyun First Seat, and restores attention to the Sword Sect after a thousand years without a Heavenly Talent. 236 507 511
• Military commander — leads the Helan Remnants, captures enemy cities through stratagems, and later teaches Great Cang a complete military doctrine. 468 469 1083
• Political power broker — becomes King Wen, Literary King, and Prince of One Word while reshaping Great Cang’s court, military, and foreign alliances. 816 951
• Defender against demonic and foreign threats — destroys Medicine King Mountain, counters foreign races, and helps prepare Great Cang for the Great Calamity of Heartlessness. 837 951 1083
• Higher-realm combatant — develops Time and Space Sword Dao, reaches Myriad Phenomena, and becomes capable of killing True Manifestation opponents with a single sword. 1097 1235 1258

Notable Quotes

“Because... my roots are ultimately in Great Cang!” 399

“My elders told me that if one chooses Imperial Power, then Imperial Power is supreme, and one should not be bound by any martial world rules.” 1151

Trivia

• Lin Su’s fate cannot be divined; an old Daoist found his destiny “blank.” 250
• His public image as lazy and dissolute conceals extraordinary persistence when studying rules, cultivation, and dangerous techniques. 804
• He prefers straightforward people and often ignores Luo Wuxin’s deliberately cryptic attempts at friendship. 686
• His aliases and disguises have repeatedly allowed him to infiltrate hostile groups, including Wenxin Pavilion and enemy military camps. 770 903