Zhu Kun

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhu Kun (烛坤)
Alias(es)	Dragon Emperor; Old Dragon Emperor
Species/Race	Ancient Void Dragon; recognized as possessing a True Dragon-class bloodline
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ancient Void Dragon Clan
Occupation/Role	Former Dragon Emperor; father of Zi Yan
Cultivation	Dou Di
First Appearance	Chapter 74 74

Power Progression

Period	Cultivation / Development	Details
Before and during his imprisonment	Late-stage, peak Nine-Star Dou Sheng	Zhu Kun was already one of the continent's three foremost experts before being sealed beside the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion 74 78.
After the introduction of Origin Qi	Dou Di	After more than a year of seclusion with ample Origin Qi, Zhu Kun successfully broke through to Dou Di. His pure Dou Di Bloodline subsequently nourished the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and more than doubled its overall strength 277 329.

Background / History

Zhu Kun was the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan before becoming trapped beside the entrance to the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion beneath Jia Nan Academy. Blinded by his desire for the Tou She Ancient God's inheritance, he entered the cave mansion and was sealed there for countless years. His disappearance fractured the clan and left its members searching the void for him for many years. His return was considered capable of ending the division among the Dragon Islands and restoring the clan's former strength 49 74 76.

During his confinement, Zhu Kun was unable to raise Zi Yan. When Ling Yuan and Zi Yan found him, he recognized her as his daughter and was deeply moved by her growth, but Zi Yan initially rejected him because of the hardship she had endured without a father 74 76.

His first meeting with Ling Yuan went poorly due to his arrogance and poor understanding of social interaction. After realizing that he had offended the person most important to Zi Yan, Zhu Kun apologized, humbled himself, and sought Ling Yuan's help in reconciling with her 76 77.

Ling Yuan ultimately released him from the seal. Zhu Kun thereafter returned to Dragon Island, summoned the Ancient Void Dragon experts hidden in the void, and supported Zi Yan's decision to relocate Dragon Island closer to the Ling Realm 77 78 81.

After Ling Yuan became a Dou Di, he destroyed the restriction binding Hun Tiandi at the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion. Zhu Kun then defeated the weakened Hun Tiandi in front of Ling Long and Ling Yao, finally reversing the circumstances of his own former imprisonment 273 274 275 325 327.

Zhu Kun later received abundant Origin Qi and secluded himself for more than a year, successfully advancing to the Dou Di realm. The resulting Dou Di Bloodline greatly strengthened every member of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and pushed Zi Yan from the initial Nine-Star Dou Sheng stage to its peak 277 329.

Personality

Zhu Kun is blunt, straightforward, and often unable to recognize social pleasantries or hidden intentions. This makes him vulnerable to probing by more calculating figures such as Hun Tiandi, though his directness can also disrupt their plans unpredictably 86 87 98 101 262.

He is exceptionally reckless and confident in his physical strength. He enters hostile realms without notice, pursues fights with other late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng, and initially favors direct assaults over careful planning 88 97 98 250 253.

Although naturally impulsive, Zhu Kun has become more willing to heed Ling Yuan's strategic advice. During the attack on the Ancient Realm, he remained wary of Hun Tiandi's attempts to exploit him and accepted Ling Yuan's instructions to prioritize self-preservation and retreat when necessary 224 226.

Despite his former arrogance, Zhu Kun is intensely devoted to his family. He repeatedly attempts to earn Zi Yan's forgiveness, provides an enormous dowry for her marriage, gives valuable resources to support her cultivation, and becomes doting around his grandchildren 77 85 86 173 186.

His desire to preserve his image before Ling Long and Ling Yao can overcome even his usual shamelessness. He was deeply relieved when Ling Yuan did not reveal that he had once spent over a thousand years trapped as the cave mansion's gatekeeper 273 325.

Appearance

Zhu Kun can appear as a man with a majestic aura or assume the form of an immense Ancient Void Dragon.

• His human form is that of a middle-aged man in purple-gold robes, with an imposing and regal bearing 74.
• His true dragon form is colossal enough to blot out the sky 172.
• He possesses an unmistakably dense Ancient Void Dragon royal bloodline pressure 78.
• His bloodline was later recognized by Ao Yin as belonging to the category of True Dragons 302 354.
• Even while trapped, he concealed the aura of his Nine-Star Dou Sheng cultivation from Zi Yan 76.

Abilities & Skills

Late-Stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng Cultivation

Before advancing to Dou Di, Zhu Kun was a late-stage, peak Nine-Star Dou Sheng and one of the continent's foremost experts.

• His aura greatly surpassed that of Seven-Star Dou Sheng Ling Mie 74.
• His return was perceived by Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi as the emergence of a third late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng 78.
• He could fight late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng Gu Yuan on even terms in attack intensity and soul strength 98.
• He overwhelmed Gu Yuan, Yan Jin, and Lei Ying in a three-on-one battle before Zi Yan recalled him 172 173.

Dou Di Cultivation

After receiving Origin Qi, Zhu Kun secluded himself for more than a year and successfully broke through to Dou Di 277 329.

• His pure Dou Di Bloodline nourished the entire Ancient Void Dragon Clan, raising its members' bloodline purity and cultivation foundations and more than doubling the clan's overall strength 277 329.
• Following his breakthrough, Zhu Kun immediately challenged Ling Yuan to a spar, but could not withstand more than three moves against the stronger Ling Yuan 277 329.

Peerless Physical Body

Zhu Kun's body is his greatest combat advantage, combining extraordinary offense and defense.

• Gu Yuan judged that Zhu Kun's physical body gave him the advantage in their battle and that he would lose in a fight to the death 98 99.
• Attacks from Yan Jin and Lei Ying could not break his defenses 172.
• His strikes can force high-level Dou Sheng opponents back and shatter the Void 172 252.
• Before his breakthrough to Dou Di, his defense was described as the closest to a Dou Di's, though the Emperor-Slaying Array could still severely injure him 113 253.
• Even while suppressed by the combined formations of the Gu, Yan, and Lei Clans and the Ancient Emperor's remnant soul, his physical body remained uninjured 226.

Spatial Travel and Mobility

As an Ancient Void Dragon, Zhu Kun excels in spatial movement.

• He can intrude directly into guarded pocket realms, including the Ancient Realm 97.
• His speed allowed him to rapidly catch the fleeing Nihility Devouring Flame 108.
• His mobility and ability to escape make him a threat that other clans struggle to contain 90.

Dragon Combat Skills

Zhu Kun possesses powerful inherited techniques of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.

• He can manifest two major dragon killing moves simultaneously 172.
• His dragon techniques forced Gu Yuan, Yan Jin, and Lei Ying to use their strongest clan skills in defense 172.
• He considers the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's Dou Skills superior to those of the Dou God Clans 173.
• He employed the Divine Dragon Claw and Dragon Emperor Dimensional to bombard the triple defensive formation around the Ancient Realm 224.

Emperor-Slaying Array Suppression

Zhu Kun helped dismantle the Soul Clan's imperial-grade Emperor-Slaying Array.

• He tested the formation with a full-force dragon-claw strike 254.
• Working with Ling Yuan, he broke its array cores and nodes within moments 254.
• He recognized that the array's blood-colored blade posed a genuine threat even to his peak Nine-Star Dou Sheng body 253.

Equipment / Items

• Dragon-pattern storage ring — Used to present Zi Yan's wedding dowry 85.
• Ancient Void Dragon Clan treasury resources — Provided as Zi Yan's extravagant dowry, including Origin Blood Grass, Soul Nourishing Dew, Soul Origin, and medicinal herbs 85 86 90.
• Dragon Pregnancy Pill — Commissioned alongside Ling Mie from Yao Dan to safeguard Zi Yan's pregnancy 124.
• Ninth-Grade Profound Pill — Seized from the Danta Ancestor and given to Zi Yan for future refinement after childbirth 172 173.
• Tou She Ancient God Jade — Entrusted with safeguarding Ling Yuan's jade fragment 113.

Relationships

• Zi Yan — Daughter and current Dragon Emperor. Zhu Kun's absence caused her deep resentment, but his persistent efforts, gifts, and care gradually repaired their relationship. He consistently places her wishes above his own battle lust, and his advancement to Dou Di substantially enhanced her cultivation through their shared bloodline 76 77 87 88 173 277 329.
• Ling Yuan — Son-in-law and rescuer. Zhu Kun initially offended him, then became grateful after Ling Yuan freed him and helped mediate with Zi Yan; he later protects and follows Ling Yuan's strategic guidance. After Ling Yuan became a Dou Di, their former dynamic reversed, with Ling Yuan becoming Zhu Kun's overwhelming protector and benefactor 76 77 106 224 253 273 325.
• Ling Long and Ling Yao — Grandchildren. Zhu Kun is notably doting toward them, looks after them on Dragon Island, and eagerly displays his strength to earn their admiration 186 275 327.
• Qingshan — Ancient Void Dragon Clan elder loyal to the Dragon Emperor. Qingshan helped identify Zi Yan's heritage and assisted after Zhu Kun's return 49 78.
• Gu Yuan — Rival late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Zhu Kun repeatedly challenges him, defeats him in a spar through superior physical strength, and later clashes with him over the Ninth-Grade Profound Pill 98 99 172 173.
• Hun Tiandi — Rival and temporary collaborator. Hun Tiandi feared Zhu Kun's strength, relocated the Soul Realm to avoid him, then proposed cooperation to gather the Ancient Jade fragments. Zhu Kun later defeated the trapped and weakened Hun Tiandi after Ling Yuan broke the cave mansion's seal 88 97 108 109 275 327.
• Nihility Devouring Flame — Enemy pursued after the destruction of the Shi Clan. Zhu Kun killed two Soul Clan Seven-Star Dou Sheng and attempted to capture the flame as a gift for Zi Yan 106 108.
• Ao Yin — Eighteenth Elder of the Dragon Clan and a Heavenly Sovereign expert. Ao Yin recognized Zhu Kun's bloodline as True Dragon-class and sought to recruit Zi Yan into the Dragon Clan; Zhu Kun was tempted by the offer and hoped his daughter would accept it 302 303 354 355.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Imprisonment beneath Jia Nan Academy

Zhu Kun is discovered sealed beside the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion beneath the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower. His reunion with Zi Yan reveals both his identity as her father and the damage caused by his long absence 74 76.

Release and Return as Dragon Emperor

Ling Yuan frees Zhu Kun from confinement. Zhu Kun returns to Dragon Island, confirms his identity through royal bloodline pressure, summons scattered clan experts, and helps consolidate the Ancient Void Dragon Clan around Zi Yan 77 78 81.

Zi Yan's Wedding

Zhu Kun attends Zi Yan and Ling Yuan's wedding, publicly reveals his late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng strength, and supplies an extravagant dowry drawn from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's wealth 85 86.

Conflict with the Gu Clan

Seeking information about the Tou She Ancient God Jade, Zhu Kun enters the Ancient Realm unannounced and forces Gu Yuan into a spar. His victory causes the other Dou God Clans to place their Ancient Jade fragments under their patriarchs' personal custody, complicating the Soul Clan's collection plans 97 98 99 100 101.

Pursuit of the Soul Clan

Zhu Kun arrives at the devastated Stone Realm with Ling Yuan, pursues Nihility Devouring Flame, and reluctantly enters a temporary arrangement with Hun Tiandi concerning the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion 106 108 109.

Battles for Resources and Factional War

Zhu Kun seizes a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill for Zi Yan and withstands the combined assault of Gu Yuan, Lei Ying, and Yan Jin. Later, he fights alongside Ling Yuan in the assault on the Ancient Realm and serves as Ling Yuan's principal protection against Gu Yuan 172 173 225 239 240.

Soul Realm and the Emperor-Slaying Array

After the Soul Clan's defeat, Zhu Kun follows Ling Yuan to the Soul Realm. His usual confidence is shaken by the Emperor-Slaying Array, whose dormant power threatens even his formidable body; he then joins Ling Yuan in breaking the formation 253 254.

Holy Heaven Palace

Zhu Kun accompanies Ling Yuan and the Bodhi Ancient Tree to the Holy Heaven Palace but is barred from entering by an invisible barrier. He waits outside in anticipation of Ling Yuan obtaining an opportunity that could help him and Zi Yan advance to Dou Di, then inadvertently confirms Ling Yuan's entry to Hun Tiandi 262.

Return to the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion

After Ling Yuan's breakthrough to Dou Di, Zhu Kun travels with Ling Yuan and his grandchildren to the former site of Jia Nan Academy. There, they find Hun Tiandi imprisoned beside the cave mansion in a fate mirroring Zhu Kun's own former confinement; Zhu Kun defeats Hun Tiandi after Ling Yuan shatters the seal 273 274 275 325 327.

Ascension to Dou Di

Zhu Kun receives Origin Qi and enters seclusion for more than a year, ultimately breaking through to Dou Di. His advancement strengthens the Ancient Void Dragon Clan as a whole through the nourishment of his new Dou Di Bloodline 277 329.

Dragon Clan Recruitment

In the Great Thousand World, Zhu Kun encounters Ao Yin, an Eighteenth Elder of the Dragon Clan. Ao Yin's attempt to recruit Zi Yan appeals to Zhu Kun's desire for greater power and status for his family, though Ling Yuan intervenes protectively due to Ao Yin's Heavenly Sovereign strength 303 355.

Trivia

• Zhu Kun's straightforward responses nearly allowed Hun Tiandi to extract intelligence about the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, forcing Ling Yuan and Qingshan to intervene 87 88.
• He considers social pleasantries binding promises, which contributed to his forced spar with Gu Yuan 98.
• His eagerness for battle stems partly from the thousands of years he spent sealed without an opponent 88 99.
• Although feared as a near-unstoppable powerhouse, he is readily restrained by Zi Yan's wishes 173.
• Zhu Kun was embarrassed for Ling Long and Ling Yao to learn that he had once been trapped at the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion for over a thousand years 273 325.
• After defeating Hun Tiandi, Zhu Kun eagerly sought praise from his grandchildren and was delighted by their admiration 275 327.