Blood-Clad Army

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Blood-Clad Army (血衣军)
Species/Race	Human military force
Affiliation	Great Qin
Occupation/Role	Elite army; assault, cavalry, reconnaissance, and special-operations force
Key Commanders	Zhao Cheng (founder and Supreme General); Zhang Han; Meng Tian
Status	Active; deployed in the final battle against the Holy Palace’s forces 597
First Appearance	Chapter 74

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Blood-Clad Army Body Refinement Technique established	78	Zhao Cheng creates a six-volume body-refining method: Blood, Flesh, Tendon, Bone, Skin, and Viscera Refining. Blood Refining is taught universally, while further volumes are awarded for military merit.
Aperture Opening cultivators	347	The first batch of Blood-Clad soldiers has almost entirely reached Aperture Opening, allowing them to draw in Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and reinforce their already formidable bodies with it.
Expanded 30,000-man division	458 494	A new division is formed from descendants of Zhao Cheng’s veterans and selected Central Army elites. The new force is trained by veteran Blood-Clad soldiers and deployed under Meng Tian to integrate its enhanced physiques and specialized methods in battle.

Background / History

The Blood-Clad Army’s identity originated with Zhao Cheng’s pledge to remember soldiers who died under his command and protect their surviving families. Its name represents both the blood of enemies and a promise that fallen comrades will continue marching with the army through their names and banners 74.

Zhao Cheng established the force around the veterans of his Light Cavalry and reorganized the Iron Eagle Elite into its ranks. Though the Iron Eagles initially resented losing their old name, Zhang Han and his men accepted after Zhao Cheng promised that their fallen would be commemorated on the Blood-Clad banner and their families protected 78.

The army’s transformation accelerated with the Blood-Clad Army Body Refinement Technique. Its painful, resource-intensive training demanded immense food and medicinal-herb supplies, but gave qualified soldiers a path to greatly enhanced physiques and later cultivation 78 87 88.

Traditions

• Every Blood-Clad Elite embroiders their own name in blood-red thread inside the chest of their tunic. The name is both a vow to die in battle and proof that the army will care for the soldier’s family if they fall 74.
• Fallen soldiers’ names are preserved on the Blood-Clad banner, allowing their “heroic spirits” to continue campaigning with the army 78.
• Recruits swear an oath while touching the banner: “Wearing this blood-stained cloth, I take up the spear you left behind!” 74.
• Advancement within the body-refining curriculum beyond the foundational Blood Refining method is tied to military merit 78.

Appearance

The Blood-Clad Army is distinguished by blood-marked banners and exceptionally heavy, refined armor. Its coloration is described variously as black armor with red cloaks, crimson armor, and later black plate armor scarred by battle 186 436 544.

• Banners bear the character “Blood” and memorialize fallen comrades 78 186.
• Soldiers carry longswords, spears or long ge, powerful bows, and crossbows 262 494.
• Their armor is repeatedly shown resisting blades, arrows, burning oil, and heavy impacts that would disable ordinary troops 443 509 544.
• Scouts use fitted black garments and light armor for silent infiltration missions 504 505.

Personality

The army is defined by severe discipline, collective loyalty, and an acceptance of death grounded in its memorial traditions. Soldiers follow orders without disorder even under corrosive formation attacks, ambushes, and mass-casualty engagements 350 519.

Against hostile forces, the Blood-Clad Army is relentlessly aggressive and specializes in annihilating formations, pursuing routed enemies, and striking officers. Against civilians, it has shown restraint: during the Lieren City riot, its soldiers first disarmed and pushed back attackers rather than killing them, then attempted to seize the hidden agitators responsible for inciting the crowd 262 263.

Abilities & Skills

Blood-Clad Army Body Refinement Technique

A six-volume body-refining system created by Zhao Cheng to make large-scale physical cultivation practical for elite soldiers 78.

• Enables rapid physical improvement for warriors with sufficient willpower.
• Requires major food and medicinal-herb consumption, limiting who can afford to practice it 78.
• Produces soldiers with immense strength, speed, endurance, and resilience.
• Aperture Opening soldiers can channel Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into their bodies to amplify physical force 347.

Close-Quarters Combat

Blood-Clad soldiers use direct, lethal battlefield techniques rather than ornamental martial arts.

• A single soldier can defeat several ordinary opponents in close combat 161 272.
• Sword strikes are described as fast, precise, and directed at vital points 518.
• Small squads can breach cavalry formations by severing horses’ legs, opening gaps, and protecting their own flanks 545.
• Dismounted cavalrymen can rapidly resume combat and fight effectively on foot 542 545.

Cavalry and Formation Warfare

The army combines elite horsemanship with unusually strict formation control.

• Riders maneuver through caltrops, trenches, forests, and rough terrain without losing cohesion 164 499.
• The Blade Formation was used under Zhang Han to charge directly into a Qi force while Zhao Cheng was trapped inside the Red Water Formation 349.
• Meng Tian employed the Iron Net Enemy-Locking and Blade-Splitting Pocket formations to surround and destroy the Jizhou Tribe 497.
• The Blood-Clad Thunderbolt Enemy-Breaking Formation shattered Xiongnu remnant forces with a single decisive charge 542.

Archery and Crossbows

The Blood-Clad Army fields powerful bows and Mohist Pavilion repeating crossbows.

• Their modified bows outrange and overpower Xiongnu horn bows 495.
• Massed volleys can suppress fortified positions and break cavalry formations before close combat begins 436 542.
• Soldiers prioritize officers and vanguards when conserving ammunition during prolonged engagements 450.
• Repeating crossbows are standard equipment for the newly formed 30,000-man division 494.

Reconnaissance, Infiltration, and Mechanism Arts

Blood-Clad scouts conduct silent reconnaissance and targeted assassinations before the main force moves.

• Scouts map enemy positions, eliminate isolated sentries, and return with consolidated intelligence 504.
• Three thousand soldiers infiltrated an ambush position on foot through hidden routes, neutralizing the enemy before its bows could be used 505.
• Training under the Mohist Pavilion made trap identification, disarming, and alteration routine skills 510.
• Soldiers use climbing tools, hooks, ropes, and compact mechanism devices to cross cliffs and forests 508.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blood-Clad banner — inscribed with the names of fallen warriors; the focal point of enlistment oaths and memorial traditions 78.
• Blood-red name embroidery — sewn inside each elite soldier’s tunic as a death vow and family-protection pledge 74.
• Heavy refined-steel armor and shields — withstand arrows, blades, boulders, and burning oil with limited damage 443 509 544.
• Longswords, spears, and long ge — the army’s primary close-combat weapons 262 438 494.
• Mohist Pavilion powerful bows and repeating crossbows — used for long-range volleys and rapid suppression 494 495.
• Mohist artillery and mechanism weapons — used to breach Lulong Pass and devastate Donghu cavalry before the army’s counterattack 420 425.

Relationships

• Zhao Cheng — Founder and original Supreme General. He created the body-refining technique, established the memorial traditions, and pledged protection to the families of fallen soldiers 74 78.
• Ying Zheng — Qin’s ruler supports Zhao Cheng’s family-care policy, grants the army institutional backing, and authorizes a dedicated camp at Shanglin Park 74 88.
• Zhang Han — Former Chief Commandant of the Iron Eagle Elite. He accepts the reorganization into the Blood-Clad Army and later commands Blood-Clad detachments in Donghu 78 436.
• Meng Tian — Initially experiences the army’s brutal training firsthand; later commands its 30,000-man new division in the Xiongnu campaign 87 494.
• Mohist Pavilion — Supplies Mechanism Arts training, advanced crossbows, artillery, and related battlefield equipment 458 494 510.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Founding and Reorganization

Zhao Cheng turns the army’s name into a pact between commander, soldier, and fallen comrade. The Light Cavalry and Iron Eagle Elite become the foundation of the Blood-Clad Army, while the new body-refining system establishes its path toward superhuman military power 74 78.

Zhao State Campaign

The army secretly gathers and marches by night toward Yingchuan before striking through Zhao territory. It flanks Dai Commandery’s ambush force, breaks defensive formations, and establishes a reputation so fearsome that both Qin and enemy troops regard it with awe 133 161 164 186.

Lieren City Unrest

While protecting Chen Hui amid a manipulated civilian uprising, the Blood-Clad Army attempts to restrain the crowd and capture the hidden instigators. Unknown attackers frame the soldiers for murder, forcing them to retreat while protecting officials and avoiding mass civilian casualties 262 263.

Wei-Qi War

With its first cultivator cohort nearing Aperture Opening, the army enters the Red Water Formation campaign as a body-refining force capable of overpowering conventional cultivator armies. Despite formation casualties, its soldiers retain formation discipline and later slaughter the Wei-Qi Allied Army’s rear guard before pursuing the rout 347 350 352.

Yan and Donghu Campaigns

The Blood-Clad Army storms Ji City after mechanical beasts breach its walls, breaks Lulong Pass with Mohist weaponry, annihilates Donghu cavalry, and sweeps through Donghu territory in multiple independent columns 416 419 420 435 438.

Xiongnu Penetration Campaign

Meng Tian leads a newly formed 30,000-man division into Xiongnu territory. The force destroys the Xubu, Jizhou, and Gaolin tribal forces, counters layered forest ambushes through scouting and trap warfare, and defeats the Black-Armored Guard despite being outnumbered 494 497 499 504 518 542 545.

Final Battle

The Blood-Clad Army remains a core Qin force at the war’s end, arrayed around the Thunder Battalion and Sharp Edge Battalion as Meng Tian orders rifle fire against the Holy Palace’s disciples 597.

Notable Quotes

“Wearing this blood-stained cloth, I take up the spear you left behind!”
— Blood-Clad Army enlistment oath 74 78

“We are the Blood-Clad Army. Our lord is Lord Wuwei of the Qin State.”
— A Blood-Clad soldier to Mo Tu 545