Zhuang Jin

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhuang Jin (庄瑾)
Alias(es)	Little Mute; Martial Maniac; Lucky General; Venerable Artisan 2 66 99 243
Species/Race	Human; transmigrator from another world 1
Gender	Male 88
Affiliation	Shen Family; Sky Hanging Division; Shangguan Family by marriage 159 221 261
Occupation/Role	Martial Instructor; Town Garrison Commander; Attendant; White Deer Academy dean 57 114 159 262
Status	Alive; Yang God Realm martial practitioner 307
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Condensation / One Meridian Realm	18	Completed his first Inner Breath cycle and became a formal Martial Practitioner after bypassing the expected bottleneck.
Two Meridian Realm	39	Confirmed that his cultivation advancement lacked ordinary bottlenecks.
Three Meridian Realm	57	Became a Three-Insignia Servant and began openly settling old scores.
Four Meridian Realm	76	Reached Minor Accomplishment in the Black Fiend Palm and defeated several lower-realm attackers.
Five Meridian Realm	91	Opened the Hand Yangming Meridian without obstruction.
Six Meridian Realm	99	Concealed his true realm while using Great Accomplishment Black Fiend Palm as a trump card.
Seven Meridian Realm	104 105	Gained covert force and greatly enhanced speed; delayed registering the breakthrough to conceal his strength.
Eight Meridian Realm	123	Opened the Foot Shaoyin Meridian and surpassed many established Town Garrison Commanders.
Nine Meridian Realm	138	Planned to register publicly as a lower-ranking guard to mislead opponents about his true strength.
Ten Meridian Realm	145	Reached Minor Accomplishment in Swift Wind Steps after opening the Foot Taiyin Meridian.
Eleven Meridian Realm	146	Defeated the Eighth Meridian Flying Squirrel Bandit with a single palm strike.
Twelve Meridian Realm	155 156	Revealed Twelve Meridian cultivation while killing Zhu Xi and fighting Fu Honggang.
Meridian Opening Realm — First Meridian	157	Opened the Chong Meridian, integrated the Twelve Principal Meridians, and gained Transforming Strength and Martial Intuition.
Meridian Opening Realm — Second Meridian	169	Concealed his advancement with the Turtle Breath Technique.
Meridian Opening Realm — Third Meridian	179	Refined the Black Fiend Palm further and created the killing move “Three-Fold Wave.”
Meridian Opening Realm — Fourth Meridian	183	Continued advancing toward the Fetal Breath and Innate Realms.
Meridian Opening Realm — Fifth Meridian	187	Used the Swift Wind Steps ultimate move, “Startling Swan’s Glance,” to defeat Sikong Rui.
Fetal Breath Realm	189	Inner Breath began transforming into unstable but highly lethal Gang Strength.
Innate True Qi Realm	199	Manifested a three-foot Qi Wall and could empower small objects with True Qi to pierce stone.
Innate Gang Qi Realm — First Layer	237	Formed Innate Gang Qi Body Protection and could levitate while maintaining a protective energy sphere.
Innate Gang Qi Realm — Second Layer	244	Advanced during a major Qi Tide while exploring the Funiu Mountain Range.
Innate Corpse Slaying Realm	256	Gained external spiritual power, slain the Upper Corpse Worm Green Worm, and developed an energy shield.
Corpse Slaying Realm — Three Corpses Perfected	277	Perfected the accumulation of the three corpse-severing stages alongside the Eighth Revolution of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Art.
Yin God Realm	281	Opened the Sea of the Soul and overwhelmed Xuanyuan Zhengji’s domain with his own.
Yang God Realm	307	Passed the Yang God trials, developed Spirit Illumination, and transformed his Yin Extreme Golden Core into a Yang Extreme Golden Core.

Background / History

Zhuang Jin originated from another world and arrived after the original owner of his body froze and starved to death. The original owner’s father had died during conflict between the Shen Family and the Medicine King Gang; afterward, Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong sought the family property and intended to sell the boy and his mother. His mother helped him escape in disguise, then took her own life to preserve her chastity. 1

He survived as a beggar under the name “Little Mute,” hiding the original body’s identity behind dirt, altered clothing, and false facial moles. After taking tribute money from the beggar organization and resisting Tan San’s extortion attempt, he abandoned the beggar life and entered the Shen Family’s external Martial Student recruitment. 2 3 4

Zhuang Jin became a formal Martial Practitioner in seventeen days. His first breakthrough revealed his defining advantage: he could circulate Inner Breath through his meridians without encountering the bottlenecks that stopped other cultivators. 18 21

Appearance

Zhuang Jin initially appeared as a filthy, underfed young beggar, his face obscured by a false mole made from grease, glue, and mud. After washing, trimming his neglected hair, and changing into clean second-hand clothing, he could pass for a scholarly youth from a farming-and-reading household. 1 4

• His early beggar disguise included mud-darkened skin and false moles. 1 4
• His transformed appearance was sufficiently different that Zhu Bin nearly failed to recognize him. 4
• After reaching the Innate Realm, his aging slowed; he retained a youthful appearance and was described as a handsome young man in white. 218

Personality

Zhuang Jin is disciplined, pragmatic, and exceptionally difficult to provoke. He endures ridicule, rumors, and challenges without outwardly losing composure, preferring to observe motives and act only when action benefits him. His calm response to Zhou Chao’s public challenge exemplifies his refusal to waste energy on minor slights. 8 14 57

He values favors and remembers both kindness and betrayal. He treats genuine supporters such as Ping Yongfeng, Chang Hetong, and Chen Yun with respect, while he handles irreconcilable enemies decisively and often conceals his intentions until he can strike safely. 60 134 145

His pursuit of power evolves from a desire for dignity, wealth, and security into a determination to protect the people he considers his own. 134 160

Abilities & Skills

Bottleneck-Free Cultivation

Zhuang Jin’s greatest advantage is his ability to advance after completing the necessary accumulation without encountering ordinary cultivation bottlenecks.

• He first discovered this trait while breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm. 17 18
• The Black Fiend Art normally consumes a practitioner’s potential, but Zhuang Jin’s rapid advancement continually replenishes his deficiencies before the drawbacks can overwhelm him. 131
• His lack of bottlenecks does not remove all danger: higher-realm transformations still require sufficient physical resilience and preparation. 301
• At the Twelve Meridian limit, the Black Fiend Art continued refining essence even without advancement, risking depletion and uncontrolled Inner Qi accumulation. 157

Black Fiend Palm

Zhuang Jin’s primary offensive martial skill is the Black Fiend Palm, cultivated alongside the Black Fiend Art.

• Reached introductory level through persistent nightly practice. 51
• Reached Minor Accomplishment by the Four Meridian Realm, allowing Manifested Strength to project several inches from his body. 76 78
• Reached Great Accomplishment, producing explosive palm force extending six inches and pulverizing leaves. 99
• Reached Peak Perfection and later the third level of perfection, where every ordinary movement could function as an ultimate technique. 152 194
• Developed the personalized killing techniques Three-Fold Wave and Frost Poison Kill. 179 182

Movement Martial Skills

Zhuang Jin uses movement techniques to control distance, conceal strength, and overwhelm opponents with speed.

• Swift Wind Steps — mastered after intensive practice; later reached Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and the third level of perfection. 113 145 155 196
  • Its Great Accomplishment stage lets him sense and exploit wind and airflow. 155
  • Its perfected state allows him to manipulate rain and airflow, greatly increasing his speed in suitable terrain. 196
• Startling Swan’s Glance — a Swift Wind Steps ultimate move that can temporarily amplify his speed and control the direction of his Wooden Luan. 187
• Carefree Wind Riding — an Innate movement skill selected as a successor to lower-level movement techniques. 208
• Ice Spirit Flash — a Yin God movement skill that reached Minor Accomplishment. 281 286

Concealment and Perception

Zhuang Jin repeatedly hides his true realm to preserve strategic advantage.

• Turtle Breath Technique — adjusts his apparent cultivation presence, allowing him to appear weaker than he is. 169
• Dormant Dragon Technique — disperses his presence into the surrounding environment, making him difficult to detect through Martial Intuition for a limited time. 189 190
• Martial Intuition and spiritual power — gained after opening the Chong Meridian; later evolved into prolonged “super-perception” after reaching the Yin God Realm. 157 282

Sword Arts and Yin God Martial Skills

As his realm rose, Zhuang Jin expanded beyond palm techniques.

• Yin Yang Two Forms Palm — an Innate palm art compatible with the Black Fiend Palm. 201 202
• Void Sword Art — Innate swordsmanship obtained from the Shen Family. 206
• Severing Meridian Divine Sword — Gang Qi attack martial skill redeemed through accumulated Contribution Points. 239
• Eight Gates Sword Array — Yin God offensive skill whose swords damage both body and soul. 285
• Thousand Mile Ice Seal — a domain-based control skill capable of freezing unconventional movement techniques. 281 285
• God Slaying Thorn — a soul-targeting martial skill added to his Yin God combat repertoire. 285

Mechanisms and Artifice

Zhuang Jin applies knowledge from his previous life to mechanisms and energy-storage tools.

• Replicated and developed Qi Concealing Stones capable of storing True Qi or Gang Qi. 243
• Created wooden birds, Wooden Oxen, and Flowing Horses powered by stored Gang Qi. 243
• Designed Gang Qi Bombs and energy-storage weapon cores. 245 246
• Earned the title Venerable Artisan for his work with mechanisms. 243

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Profound Grade Top-tier Exotic Beast Leather Armor — worn beneath his clothing; neutralized attacks from stronger opponents during the southern-front fighting. 149 150
• Azure Lotus Sword — an Innate divine weapon forged from Essence Gold and rare materials; produces an Azure Lotus shadow when unsheathed. 206
• Ice Soul Divine Sword — a Gang Qi weapon with an energy-storage core capable of up to three overload bursts. 246
• Sacred Spirit Pearl — improves his concealment, cultivation acceleration, energy purification, and aptitude; strengthened by absorbing Spirit Pearls. 253 274
• Purple Kangaroo Rat — tamed exotic beast used for treasure seeking and danger detection; later reached the Five Viscera Realm. 229 243
• Eight Gates Sword Array swords — eight divine-gold swords corresponding to the Eight Gates, forged for combined Yin God-level combat. 288

Relationships

• Chen Yun — First wife; accepted Zhuang Jin’s proposal after he openly explained his circumstances, then became his principal source of household support and companionship. 87 88 96
• Mu Qing — Equal wife from the Mu Family; intelligent advisor who assists Zhuang Jin in navigating conflicts between the Shen and Mu families. 202 206 212
• Shen Xujun — Equal wife connected to the Shen Family marriage alliance. 202 206
• Shangguan Yun Chang — Wife and political ally from the Shangguan Family; their relationship began as a strategic marriage arrangement and developed through mutual cultivation and support. 256 261 290
• Ji Tongxiu — Transactional companion and intermediary between Zhuang Jin and the Ji Family; received a Mystic Serpent Token sub-card from him. 218 226
• Ping Yongfeng — Early instructor and mentor who recognized Zhuang Jin’s diligence, offered guidance, and remained emotionally invested in his future. 21 23 216
• Shen Xianhong — Shen Family Patriarch; identified Zhuang Jin as a reliable pillar for the family and supported his advancement with resources and techniques. 160 201
• Chang Hetong — Shen Family overseer who investigated Zhuang Jin’s background and invested in his potential. 23 42
• Tang Wentao — Former martial instructor who later became Zhuang Jin’s subordinate; their reversed positions remain marked by mutual respect. 39 115
• Xiong Lei — Early training companion and dormmate; their relationship became strained after Xiong Lei intervened on Xiang Qichen’s behalf. 17 41 51
• Gao Shi / Little Stone — Zhuang Jin’s former beggar partner; their shared past remained significant even after their lives diverged. Gao Shi later died amid the Shen Family–Medicine King Gang conflict. 3 69 120
• Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong — Paternal uncle and granduncle who targeted the original body’s family. Zhuang Jin ultimately killed both while resolving the inherited grievance. 1 76 80
• Miao Lun — Initially a grateful ally and fellow Street Guardian; later attacked Zhuang Jin over a Beast Treasure and was killed in self-defense. 104 106 111

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Beggar and recruitment arc — Escaped the beggar organization, adopted a new appearance, and entered the Shen Family’s Martial Student selection. 2 4
• Outer Courtyard arc — Became a formal Martial Practitioner, trained under Ping Yongfeng, and established a reputation for relentless cultivation. 18 66
• Revenge arc — Rose through the Shen Family’s ranks, killed Hou Yong, eliminated Zhuang Yuyong, and personally executed Zhuang Yutang after exposing his crimes. 59 76 80
• Medicine King Gang conflict — Served as a Street Guardian and Garrison Commander, accumulated Battle Merit, concealed his strength, and helped turn the war against the Medicine King Gang. 99 114 150 155
• Diannan Innate arc — Reached the Innate True Qi Realm, aided in Shi Yong’s downfall, and became an important figure in the balance between the Shen and Mu families. 199 201 203
• Cang Prefecture arc — Entered the Sky Hanging Division system, cultivated through the Innate Gang Qi and Corpse Slaying Realms, married into the Shangguan Family, and became a Yin God Realm power. 221 256 261 281
• Yang God arc — Acquired high-level resources through negotiation with Yuwen Shentong, passed the Yang God trials, and began planning a cultivation territory in Pine Ridge. 305 306 307

Notable Quotes

“Compared to the bitterness of martial arts training, I fear more the bitterness of facing difficulties, being unable to control myself, and not being able to master my own destiny!” 160

“At least for this current stage, I pursue power to protect those I wish to protect.” 134