Zhao Gongming

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhao Gongming (赵公明) 3
Alias(es)	Senior Brother Gongming; God of Wealth 3 50
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jie Sect 2 3
Occupation/Role	Chief Outer Disciple; Head of the Jie Sect External Affairs Hall; Vice Chair of the Three Realms Process Standardization Management Committee; Director of the Three Realms Strategic Cooperation and Public Relations Department 2 33 35 45
Status	Active 102
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Background

Zhao Gongming is one of Sect Leader Tongtian's favored disciples and holds exceptional standing within the Jie Sect. Before Chen Changsheng's rise, he is regarded as an elusive, highly placed senior brother whose personal appearance at an outer disciple's cave dwelling causes immediate speculation across Golden Ao Island. 3

Chen Changsheng's foreknowledge identifies Zhao as a pivotal figure in the coming Investiture of the Gods Tribulation: formidable and chivalrous, but traditionally impulsive. In that foreseen future, Zhao becomes involved in the affairs of the Three Xiao, is cursed by Lu Ya through the Seven Arrows Book of the Nail Head, and loses both his life and treasures. 3

His meeting with Chen becomes a turning point. Initially investigating Chen's suspiciously convenient absence from the Flowing Fire Meteor Abyss expedition, Zhao is deeply affected by Chen's argument for preserving one's life rather than dying needlessly. He leaves Chen with his personal token and begins to reconsider the Jie Sect's culture of reckless contention. 3

Appearance

Zhao Gongming presents himself as a resolute and heroic Daoist, dressed in an embroidered Daoist robe and carrying himself with the confidence expected of a senior Jie Sect figure. 3

• Bright, piercing eyes and a resolute expression. 3
• Often stands with his hands behind his back. 3
• Later carries the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls at his waist. 71

Personality

Zhao is initially characterized by chivalry, boldness, and a quick temper; Chen's foreknowledge specifically considers these traits part of the danger that leads Zhao toward tragedy. 3 He is nonetheless observant and open-minded enough to seriously consider Chen's unorthodox survival philosophy rather than dismissing it as cowardice. 3

He is fiercely protective of fellow Jie Sect disciples. After Chen publicly refutes Daoist Duobao, Zhao privately warns him that Duobao may hold a grudge, then urges Chen to be careful. 7 When Chen is summoned to the Jade Palace, Zhao can only offer a worried warning to “be careful... in everything.” 8

As the Calamity Aversion Department reshapes the sect, Zhao becomes increasingly disciplined, professional, and committed to procedure. He enforces Chen's harsh survival training, leads census work without being provoked into battle, and gains confidence from the successful Dragon Clan operation. 11 35 39

Abilities & Skills

Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Cultivation

Zhao is a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal and one of the Jie Sect's most powerful senior disciples. His presence and status make him a central figure in both sect affairs and later Three Realms projects. 2 3

• Possesses a Dao heart hardened through extensive combat and cultivation. 43
• His cultivation is still strained by the supreme Dao presence of Grand Supreme Elder Lao, demonstrating the vast gap between a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal and a Sage. 41 42
• Uses his power and authority to enforce Calamity Aversion Department discipline during the Cycle Mirror training. 11

Sea-Calming Divine Pearls

Zhao possesses the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, treasures he considers foundational to his Dao path. 3

• He keeps the pearls at his waist and instinctively grips them when Old Ancestor Minghe's application alarms the Calamity Aversion Department. 71
• Chen's dream account—describing a beloved pearl taken by black flies into blood-colored mist—indirectly warns Zhao of their foretold loss. 3
• The pearls are associated with the future tragedy Chen seeks to avert by changing Zhao's Dao heart. 3

Leadership and Procedural Enforcement

Zhao adapts from a traditional combat-oriented senior disciple into a major executor of Chen Changsheng's Process Dao. 33 35

• Calls disciple rosters and sends trainees into the Cycle Mirror after Chen's orders are issued. 11
• Mobilizes formation specialists for the Dao Ancestor Form-Filling Special Seat and its Ten Thousand Immortals Auspicious Array. 32
• Selects three hundred elite Calamity Aversion Department disciples for the Golden Ao Island Census Pilot Working Group. 34
• Leads the East Sea Dragon Clan census under the principle of “follow the procedure,” refusing to be drawn into intimidation or negotiation. 35
• Directs external messaging as head of the Three Realms Strategic Cooperation and Public Relations Department. 45

Financial Administration

Zhao displays strong aptitude for calculation, resource management, and financial matters, making him a natural fit for the God of Wealth Department envisioned in the Investiture evaluation. 46

• Calculates large Merit expenditures for examination materials and related supplies. 91
• Is later recognized as the True Lord of the Golden Dragon Ruyi Zhengyi Dragon-Tiger Xuantan, responsible for the Three Realms' financial sources. 102
• Supports procedural approvals so long as matters comply with established rules. 102

Equipment / Items

• Personal Gongming Token — Given to Chen Changsheng after their first meeting; allows Chen to seek Zhao's protection against trouble in the outer sect. 3
• Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls — Zhao's cherished Dao treasure and a key element of his foretold fate. 3 71
• Official Letters and Census Documents — Used in his duties as an external-affairs representative, including the delivery of the Eight Views Palace letter and East Sea registration notice. 35 40
• Abacus — Used to calculate Merit costs during the sect's examination-material operation. 91

Relationships

• Chen Changsheng / Wuwei — Junior brother and the person who redirects Zhao toward the Dao of Survival. Zhao grants him protection, warns him about danger, carries out his orders, and ultimately regards him with profound gratitude. 3 7 34 99
• Sect Leader Tongtian — Zhao is one of Tongtian's favored disciples and later shares the same master-disciple lineage as Chen after Chen becomes Tongtian's eighth personal disciple. 3 29
• Daoist Duobao — Fellow senior Jie Sect disciple and collaborator in the Calamity Aversion Department, census administration, and Investiture project work. 11 33 39
• Ao Guang — Zhao leads the census team that compels the East Sea Dragon King to complete registration, settle service fees, and submit a satisfaction survey. 35 38 39
• Grand Supreme Elder Lao — Zhao delivers Chen's official letter to Eight Views Palace and accompanies Chen during the Sage's examination of the Process Dao. 40 42
• Shen Gongbao — Works alongside Shen in the Jie Sect's expanding talent-recruitment system; Zhao receives Lü Yue after Shen successfully recruits him. 69

Story Role / Major Arcs

Influence of the Dao of Survival

• Visits Chen Changsheng to investigate the Flowing Fire Meteor Abyss incident, then accepts Chen's argument that preserving a useful life is preferable to dying pointlessly. 3
• Gives Chen a personal token and asks how Jie Sect disciples should conduct themselves in the approaching turmoil. 3
• Warns Chen that publicly defeating Daoist Duobao may invite retaliation, showing concern for his junior brother's safety. 7
• Supports the Calamity Aversion Department's life-preservation doctrine, reacting enthusiastically to plans for concealment formations, escape techniques, and substitute-death treasures. 9

Cycle Mirror Training

• Attempts to maintain discipline among disciples who dismiss escape training as cowardly or useless. 10
• Personally threatens dissenters with a thousand simulated deaths and calls trainees into the Cycle Mirror by roster. 11
• Initially worries that Chen's brutal methods will shatter disciples' Dao hearts, but comes to accept that temporary suffering is necessary to prevent annihilation. 11

Three Realms Census

• Becomes vice chair of the Three Realms Process Standardization Management Committee after Chen is appointed Flow Official. 33
• Organizes the Golden Ao Island Census Pilot Working Group and leads three hundred disciples to the East Sea Crystal Palace. 34 35
• Subdues Ao Guang through official notices, regulations, and procedural indifference rather than force. 35
• Returns from the Dragon Clan mission with ninety-eight thousand Merit and a blood-written “five-star” satisfaction survey, gaining confidence in the power of the Process. 38 39

Eight Views Palace and the Investiture Project

• Delivers the official letter to Eight Views Palace, despite being unnerved by the prospect of confronting Grand Supreme Elder Lao with procedural paperwork. 40 41
• Accompanies Chen during the meeting with Lao and is overwhelmed by the Sage's Wuwei Dao. 42 43
• Helps Chen and Lao reframe the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation as a project requiring an approved process, feasibility report, and risk controls. 44
• Is appointed director of the Three Realms Strategic Cooperation and Public Relations Department during preparation for the Purple Firmament Palace meeting. 45 46

Recruitment Era and Later Administration

• Represents the Jie Sect at Chentang Pass with a flood-control project proposal offering three governance plans. 67
• Works with Chen and Duobao as the Jie Sect expands its Project Office into the Three Realms Talent Exchange and Heavenly Court Position Certification Service Center. 69
• Operates the Talent Center's examination-material sales point, promoting official textbooks, practice questions, and related supplies to prospective candidates. 88
• Prevents a system overload by submitting Huyun Cave's Great Dao-level service request to the pending queue, then calls Chen his “reborn parent.” 99
• Continues into the Investiture era as a financial authority responsible for budget approvals and the Three Realms' financial sources. 102

Notable Quotes

“Today, hearing your words surpasses a hundred years of my bitter cultivation.” 3

“Junior Brother Wuwei, from now on, anyone who dares cause you trouble is causing me, Zhao Gongming, trouble!” 29

“Disciple obeys!” 34

Trivia

• Chen's intervention is explicitly recognized as having implanted the Dao of Survival into Zhao's Dao heart, creating an incalculable effect on the Jie Sect's future. 3
• Zhao's successful Dragon Clan census becomes an example studied even by Guangchengzi as a way to overwhelm a powerful opponent without using magical treasures. 65
• Although once associated with bold combat, Zhao eventually treats procedural work with the same seriousness as a major battle. 32 35