Zhang Mingshu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhang Mingshu (张铭舒)
Alias(es)	Ming Shu; Little Zhao
Species/Race	Human; a reborn individual whose soul entered the original body's final moment of life through the Fate Book 472
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Zhang Family of Baishi Village; affiliated with the Star Cult (formerly the Sky-Toppling Observatory) 184 241
Occupation/Role	Zhang Family Head; military commander; Huai Ren General and East Sea General 533
Status	Active; manages Mozhou City's recruitment, repairs, and supply work 736
First Appearance	Chapter 6 (formally adopts the name Zhang Mingshu) 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Gathering Realm — latent essence	28	After swallowing an Immortal Pill and activating the Fate Book, he passively absorbs ambient Spiritual Energy. This replenishes the small stone pagoda and gives him the essence of Qi Gathering, though he initially cannot consciously regulate it.
Body Strengthening Realm	70	Reaches the Martial Dao's Body Strengthening Realm after obtaining a Demonic Spirit.
Bronze Skin Iron Bones Realm	97	Begins formal martial training during recovery and rapidly advances after discovering that he has already cultivated internal energy and true qi.
Meridian Circulation and Qi Condensation Realm	97	Continues his rapid Martial Dao progress; accumulated power in his body allows him to open meridians and circulate true qi.
Foundation Establishment Realm	124	Practices the Green Pine Qi Circulation Method, reaches Foundation Establishment, and contracts the Demon Beast Spirit Little White.
Star Condensation Realm	403	Remains at this Sorcerer realm for an extended period; he considers his inability to advance a threat to the family's future momentum.
Hua Jin Gui Yuan Realm — fifth tier	604	At age sixty-one, possesses profound fifth-tier Martial Dao cultivation.
Star Yuan Realm — late fourth tier	604	Advances to the late fourth tier of the Sorcerer path; his three Demonic Spirits also develop fifth-tier combat capability.

Background

Zhang Mingshu was originally confined in the Cold Palace and was once a prince, but he did not dwell on that status or openly discuss his past. He endured his circumstances quietly before leaving for Baishi Village and beginning a new life. 78 182

His rebirth differs from possession: the Fate Book placed him into the original body's final instant, rather than allowing a stronger soul to erode and replace a living host. He has experienced multiple rebirths, and the Immortal Pill that activated the Fate Book may give him a path out of that recurring cycle. 472

While traveling east, he learned that his frail body could not initially cultivate Martial Dao. He adopted the name Zhang Mingshu and concealed his maturity behind an immature façade while studying the Fate Book and the world's cultivation systems. 6

By age twenty-three, he had risen from an unknown survivor to a leader controlling territory spanning more than two towns, tens of thousands of people, hundreds of cultivators, and thousands of soldiers. 182 He later established the Zhang Family as a regional power centered on Baishi Village and expanded its influence across multiple counties. 204 604

Appearance

Zhang Mingshu's appearance changes markedly across his long life. During a severe recovery, his face is described as pale as paper; by age twenty-seven, he is tall, bearded, and carries the bearing of a family head. At sixty-one, he still appears middle-aged despite his profound cultivation. 95 223 604

• Often cultivates in quiet, elevated places, including arrow towers by the sea. 78
• Fights with a short spear and fast, shifting footwork. 131
• His eyes are said to contain an unusually vast, star-like depth, and his body holds numerous star seeds. 652

Personality

Mingshu is reserved, enduring, and cautious. He rarely speaks of his Cold Palace past, focuses on practical work even around influential visitors, and recognizes that dependence on another person's goodwill is dangerous. 75 78 153

As a leader, he is strategic but conscious of his shortcomings. He personally assumes responsibility for campaigns, tests subordinate commanders before entrusting them with authority, and plans around logistics, reconnaissance, succession, and territorial development rather than seeking immediate gains. 163 173 425

He places lasting importance on personal strength, family continuity, and education. Even after becoming a powerful patriarch, he trains younger family members, preserves cultivation methods, and teaches his descendants that a family unable to progress will eventually fracture through internal conflict. 114 223 577

Abilities & Skills

Fate Book

The Fate Book is the foundation of Mingshu's rebirth, information advantage, and ritual practice.

• Records his experiences while his consciousness is separated from his body. 95
• Identifies useful information about plants, animals, and other objects when he projects their images onto it. 176
• Helps him store and retrieve large amounts of written material, assisting the Zhang Family's archival work. 420
• Supports his talisman crafting through accumulated knowledge from prior lives. 223
• Its activation lets him passively absorb Spiritual Energy; this energy can replenish his small stone pagoda. 28
• Mingshu does not regard it as a replacement for inherited cultivation methods and actively gathers other lineages for his descendants. 114

Spirit Initiation and Rituals

Mingshu conducts Spirit Initiation ceremonies and develops rituals through the Fate Book.

• Received Water Breathing Technique after sacrificing a fish-type Demon Beast Spirit in a Spirit Initiation ritual. 66
• Gained slight enhancement to previously acquired abilities and rituals through an offering of twelve Blazing Sun Fruits and other goods. 66
• Created a new Spirit Initiation ritual using a Winged Shadow Bat Ray Demon Beast Spirit; Zhang Yu became its first successful recipient. 408
• Teaches later generations how to conduct rites, while emphasizing that Spirit Initiation does not have a guaranteed success rate. 603

Demonic Spirits

By his later years, Mingshu possesses three Demonic Spirits with fifth-tier combat power, allowing him to contend with fifth-tier cultivators. 604

• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King — grants defensive and spear-based capabilities, including Pagoda Protection and Spear Stab to Break the Enemy. 131 491
• Heavenly Leisure Star Entering Cloud Dragon — provides agile movement through Treading the Dipper and Riding the Wind and can invoke rain with Upholding Heaven and Commanding Rain. 131 491
• Heart Moon Fox — possesses mid-fifth-tier combat power; Mingshu can employ Moon Bewitching Fox: Domination. 491 604
• Can operate the power of multiple Demonic Spirits simultaneously in combat. 131

Martial Arts and Spear Combat

Although he initially failed to cultivate Martial Dao, Mingshu later develops into a fifth-tier Martial Artist.

• Uses a short spear with rapid, precise thrusts that exploit openings in an opponent's defense. 131
• Combines Martial Dao with Demonic Spirit techniques, making his movement difficult to track and his attacks difficult to block. 131 491
• Is capable of confronting ordinary fifth-order Martial Artists directly after acquiring three Demonic Spirits. 172
• Defeats eight Evil Cultivators in East Sea County through spearplay, rain manipulation, defensive skills, formations, and Demonic Spirit abilities. 491

Sorcery, Talismans, and Formations

Mingshu follows the Sorcerer path alongside Martial Dao cultivation.

• Cultivates the Star Scripture at night and the Kuiyang Nine Forging Scripture at dawn. 326
• Uses a Spirit Gathering Array and an east-facing cultivation platform to temper his body with the Kuiyang Nine Forging Scripture. 326
• Crafts low- and mid-tier talismans efficiently with the Fate Book's assistance, including Qi Gathering and Spirit Gathering Talismans. 580
• Has not yet mastered high-tier talisman crafting due to limited time and the difficulty of advanced methods. 580
• Can borrow power from formations in battle. 491

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fate Book — supernatural book tied to his rebirth, rituals, information gathering, and cultivation. 28 472
• Small stone pagoda — an external object housing Demonic Spirits; replenished through Mingshu's passive absorption of Spiritual Energy. 28 124
• Short spear — his principal close-combat weapon. 131 491
• Storage sachet — a Storage Magic Tool obtained through Xiao Lingying's connections and worn concealed beneath his clothing. 176
• Soul Suppressing Stone — given by Zhou Buding to control Yin and death energy in the Qushan Secret Realm. 492
• Spirit Gathering Array — installed in North Mountain Valley to support his Kuiyang Nine Forging Scripture cultivation. 326

Relationships

• Zhao Siqi — wife and the Zhang Family's matriarch; they jointly manage the family, discuss cultivation and political strategy, and raise their children together. 66 172 192
• Lü E — concubine arranged by Zhao Siqi; mother of Zhang Yu. 172 192
• Zhang Wushuang — daughter; Mingshu supports her cultivation, helps guide her Five Elements Spiritual Root awakenings, and respects her eventual choice to return to serve the family. 419 613
• Zhang Xi — son; Mingshu worries over his aptitude, protects him, and later entrusts him with territorial and family affairs. 241 336 425
• Zhang Yu — son; Mingshu recognizes his potential in martial arts, sorcery, and Spirit Initiation, regarding him as a future pillar of the family. 403 408
• Zhao Xiaojie — trusted aide, military commander, and long-time companion from the Cold Palace; Mingshu entrusts him with armies and strategic responsibilities. 185 220 495
• Chong Li / Zong Buli — protector and mentor associated with the Sky-Toppling Observatory and Star Cult; she protects Mingshu, assists his family, and advises on Spirit Initiation. 75 224 585
• Zhou Buding — Star Cult senior disciple and important supporter; heals Mingshu, offers cultivation guidance, and provides key items such as the Soul Suppressing Stone. 95 492
• Xiao Lingying — allied noblewoman and long-standing confidante; they share a bond shaped by family alliances, fate, and mutual recognition of their secrets. 182
• Ren Yuan — personal guard and combatant who remains with Mingshu during dangerous missions. 75 220
• Little White — contracted Demon Beast Spirit and the Zhang Family's strongest direct combat force by the East Sea County conflict. 124 491

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Cold Palace survivor and eastern migration — adopts the Zhang Mingshu identity, investigates the Fate Book, and begins building a life outside the Imperial Palace. 6
• Baishi Town development — organizes refugees, land reclamation, waterworks, spiritual fields, guard training, and local industry. 66 118
• Martial and Sorcerer cultivation — overcomes his original physical limitations, gains martial internal energy, and develops multiple Demonic Spirit powers. 97 131
• Huai Ren campaigns — commands troops against the Zhu Family and later in Guanyun Territory; takes responsibility for battlefield organization and the lives of his soldiers. 163 173
• Secret Realm expeditions — enters the Mount Lao Secret Realm alone, confronting the resource gap between his family and established cultivator clans. 175 176
• Rise as a regional patriarch — expands the Zhang Family's territory, trains successors, appoints officials across its towns, and constructs a durable military-administrative structure. 192 425 604
• East Sea defense and Qushan strategy — personally destroys Evil Cultivators, prepares to enter the Qushan Secret Realm, and manages the family's response to Yin energy and external threats. 491 492
• Later governance — serves as Huai Ren General and East Sea General, then manages Mozhou City's wartime logistics while teaching younger generations the realities of rule. 533 736