Zhu Xingguo

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhu Xingguo (朱兴国)
Alias(es)	Old Zhu; “Life Master”; “Universal Treasure Chest”; “Mosquito Collector”; “King of Scraping the Ground” 385
Gender	Male
Age	31 113
Affiliation	Wang Wen’s team
Occupation/Role	Tower Climber; Wang Wen’s direct disciple; Mechanism Art practitioner and team logistics specialist
Status	Erased during the Western Continent priests’ assault; Wang Wen later seeks a way to restore him 459 547
First Appearance	Chapter 83 83

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Wang Wen’s disciple	113	Formally begs Wang Wen to accept him as a disciple in order to study Mechanism Art. 113
500th-floor extraordinary skill: [Equal Exchange]	215	Gains the ability to sell any non-living object held in both hands to the World Tower and repurchase it at the same price without a use limit. 215
Enhanced [Equal Exchange]	236	Its upgraded effect allows an item sold to the Tower to be repurchased twice at the same price, effectively creating a duplicate. 236
Level 4 physique	236–238	World Power enhancement drastically increases his physical strength; he defeats a burly opponent with one kick. 236 238
Level 4 [Mosquitoes Must Die]	240	Triggers a massive explosion that collapses a metal passageway. 240
Level 5 [Fart Technique]	296	Applies an eight-hour affliction to President Lin. 296
Level 7 [Universal Advancement]	350	Can create six copies of an item that cannot be advanced; has a twelve-hour cooldown. 350
Level 7 [Ignite]	353	Uses the skill to set the Earth God ablaze after selling a damaged light gun. 353

Background / History

Zhu Xingguo initially climbs with Wang Wen and Ren Ruanruan. Built for stamina and direct combat, he continues through dangerous movement-speed mechanisms even when frightened, and assists Ren Ruanruan with puzzle-solving tasks. 84 85

After recognizing his own shortcomings, Zhu Xingguo kneels before Wang Wen and asks to become his disciple. Wang Wen accepts, while warning that his own Mechanism Art is not sufficient to provide complete instruction. 113 Zhu Xingguo thereafter consistently addresses Wang Wen as “Master” and treats his orders as absolute. 132 260

He develops Mechanism Art through field practice, including handling bandits left for him by Mo Ran and implanting experimental mechanisms into a captive opponent. 132 201 At the 500th floor, he obtains [Equal Exchange], which gradually turns him into the team’s indispensable supplier, scavenger, and item replicator. 215 216

By the higher floors, Zhu Xingguo can supply copied weapons, food, medicine, furnishings, and advanced Tower items. His support role becomes so important that Wang Wen later finds entering the Tower without him noticeably inconvenient. 281 334 350

During the Western Continent priests’ attack on The Academy, Zhu Xingguo is bound to Cheng Queyi through an extraordinary-skill connection that shares their injuries, life, and death. He is erased by Shi Yuanyuan; Cheng Queyi dies immediately afterward. 453 459 Wang Wen subsequently resolves to reach the thousandth floor to seek answers about restoring him. 547

Appearance

Zhu Xingguo is a large, rough-looking Tower Climber whose appearance sharply contrasts with Wang Wen’s scholarly build. 113

• Over 1.8 meters tall. 113
• Burly physique suited to physical combat. 113
• Dark brown, weathered skin from years of Tower Climbing. 113
• Unkempt stubble and a crude, rugged appearance. 113
• Often compared to a “wild bull” or an “honest old ox” because of his size and mannerisms. 84 168

Personality

Zhu Xingguo is straightforward, loyal, and unusually unconcerned with personal gain. He accepts Wang Wen’s decisions without questioning whether they benefit himself, including Wang Wen’s choice of the single-use [Invincibility Potion] as his 700th-floor reward. 260

He is enthusiastic about abilities, items, and Mechanism Art, even when their effects are bizarre or dangerous. He cheerfully uses random draws, conducts item-selling experiments, and becomes excited whenever he can test a new mechanism or weapon. 201 216 277

Despite his simple manner, he is resourceful in practice. He habitually strips stages of valuable materials, sells damaged or depleted equipment, and turns discarded goods into points or supplies. 233 281 350

Abilities & Skills

Mechanism Art

Zhu Xingguo’s primary technical discipline is Mechanism Art, pursued under Wang Wen’s guidance.

• Uses Mechanism Art against bandits as practical training. 132
• Constructs and tests mechanisms on enemies, though Wang Wen must prevent him from killing his test subject. 201
• Stores blueprints for divine-power tools and energy-conversion devices for future study. 287
• His status as Wang Wen’s direct disciple becomes a recognized credential within the Insect Chamber. 385

[Equal Exchange]

An extraordinary skill gained upon reaching the 500th floor. 215

• Sells any non-living object that can be held in both hands to the World Tower. 215
• Repurchases sold items at their original sale price with unlimited uses. 215
• Its enhanced form permits two repurchases of the same sold item, enabling duplication. 236
• Cannot be used outside the Tower, significantly restricting Zhu Xingguo during external battles. 253
• At a later level, can copy a firearm roughly fifteen times on average. 281

[Universal Advancement]

A high-value item-support skill used to improve or duplicate supplies.

• Advances one item every twelve hours when the item has a higher-tier form. 288
• Creates advanced items such as Healthy Body Water. 280
• Produces six copies of items that cannot be advanced at Level 7. 350
• Lets Zhu Xingguo generate and sell twelve units of Spirit Grain per day, worth a total of 18 billion Points. 350

[Fart Technique]

A seemingly absurd skill with lethal potential.

• Used against Explosion Man during the 600th-floor conflict. 239
• Causes the scepter-wielding old monster’s head to explode after forcing him to release gas. 253
• At Level 5, can maintain its effect for eight hours. 296

[Mosquitoes Must Die]

A destructive area-of-effect skill.

• Drawn as one of Zhu Xingguo’s 600th-floor abilities. 235
• At Level 4, produces an explosion powerful enough to collapse a metal passageway. 240
• Its reputation becomes sufficient to frighten major consortium figures. 295

[God’s Protection]

A protective extraordinary skill connected to Cheng Queyi.

• Prevents Cheng Queyi from immediately dying after a black-robed priest severely wounds her. 453
• Links Zhu Xingguo and Cheng Queyi so that they share injuries, life, and death. 459
• Leaves Zhu Xingguo unable to use his other techniques while maintaining the protection. 453

[Ignite]

A Level 7 offensive skill.

• Ignites the Earth God after Zhu Xingguo fails to hit him with a light-gun beam. 353
• Forces the Earth God to surface from underground while engulfed in flames. 353

Equipment / Items

• Thor’s Hammer — Used in close combat against one of Tiansheng’s old monsters. 253
• Invincibility Potion — A single-use 700th-floor supreme treasure chosen for him by Wang Wen; grants one hour of immunity to all damage from World Tower items up to the 700th floor. 260
• Godslaying Cross — Carried during the effort to clear river channels and irrigate drought-stricken land. 371
• Spirit Grain — Copied with [Universal Advancement] and supplied to Wang Wen for recovery. 288
• Light guns and ammunition weapons — Frequently acquired, replicated, expended, and resold through [Equal Exchange]. 239 281
• Divine-power tool blueprints — Stored for later Mechanism Art research. 287

Relationships

• Wang Wen — Master and captain. Zhu Xingguo formally becomes Wang Wen’s disciple and follows his judgment with near-total trust. 113 260
• Ren Ruanruan — Teammate and romantic partner. They cooperate on skill upgrades, weapons testing, and logistics before becoming a couple. 236 281 288
• Cheng Queyi — Fellow disciple of Wang Wen. Their lives become bound through an extraordinary skill during the Western Continent attack; Cheng Queyi dies when Zhu Xingguo is erased. 453 459
• Mo Ran — Temporary teammate during the high-floor stage involving demons and war. Mo Ran leaves defeated bandits for Zhu Xingguo’s Mechanism Art practice. 132
• He Jiong — Zhu Xingguo’s disciple. He Jiong earns the right to study under him and gains access to Cheng Queyi’s Micro Mechanism Art course through Zhu Xingguo’s connections. 385

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Early Tower Climbing — Serves as Wang Wen and Ren Ruanruan’s physically capable teammate through movement-speed mechanisms and puzzle stages. 84 85
• Discipleship — Becomes Wang Wen’s direct disciple and begins specializing in Mechanism Art. 113
• 500th-Floor Rewards — Obtains [Equal Exchange], beginning his evolution into the team’s central logistics provider. 215 216
• 600th-Floor Superhuman Conflict — Uses [Fart Technique] and [Mosquitoes Must Die] against superpowered opponents. 239 240
• Tiansheng Conflict — Battles Tiansheng’s high-floor old monsters with Thor’s Hammer and kills the scepter wielder with [Fart Technique]. 253
• High-Floor Logistics — Uses [Universal Advancement] and [Equal Exchange] to become a mobile supply network for Wang Wen’s expanding teams. 288 350
• Western Continent Attack — Protects Cheng Queyi through [God’s Protection] before being erased by Shi Yuanyuan. 453 459
• Restoration Objective — His absence becomes one of Wang Wen’s reasons for climbing toward the thousandth floor. 547

Notable Quotes

“Master, you're amazing! You made friends in such a short time!” 132

“Who would dare refuse to acknowledge my master as emperor? I'll send them a whole sack of mosquitoes!” 296