Murong Zhige

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Murong Zhige (慕容止戈)
Alias(es)	Murong Tianyou (original name); Old Patriarch; former Grand Marshal of Xili
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Murong Clan; former Xili Empire; guardian of the Dragon Fall Secret Realm and most of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range; supporter of the Spirit Hall Empire
Occupation/Role	Former Grand Marshal; founder of the Black Flame Army's predecessor force; military-formation researcher; demigod powerhouse
Martial Soul	Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon
Status	Active 316
First Appearance	Chapter 84

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Spirit Douluo, Rank 81	85, 87	At age thirty-five, he entered the Dragon Fall Secret Realm with eight Spirit Rings and confronted the Mountain Dragon King.
Title Douluo	87	Cultivated the Dragon Body Secret Technique to minor success over ten years, advancing from Rank 81 and obtaining a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring by killing a soul beast in the Cangwu Desert.
Demigod / Rank 99 Limit Douluo	86, 151	Reached the level above Peak Douluo and was regarded as the continent's strongest person beneath godhood.
Spirit Ring enhancement	89	The Mountain Dragon King upgraded his rings to seven black and two red rings; his cultivation rose slightly, though the enhancement was stated to offer little practical benefit at his realm.
Bloodline Soul Core	216	Condensed his first Soul Core in five days by combining his battle-tempered bloodline energy, Soul Power, and spiritual power.

Background / History

Murong Zhige was originally named Murong Tianyou. After joining the military and traveling the continent, he renamed himself “Zhige,” expressing his ambition to suppress conflict through overwhelming force and end war through martial strength 84.

He became the Grand Marshal of the Xili Empire and commanded thirty thousand soldiers described as invincible. When Heaven Dou and Star Luo joined forces against Xili amid internal disorder and betrayal, his troops fought through more than five hundred thousand enemy soldiers during a two-day battle; only the original thirty thousand ultimately broke out of the encirclement 84.

Martial Soul Hall rescued the survivors at great cost, intending to use Zhige's military expertise to build its own elite army. Though he had sworn to serve only Xili, he accepted the alliance to save his soldiers. Rather than serve Martial Soul Hall directly, he trained his son Murong Chayue, transferred the thirty thousand troops to him, and established them as the Black Flame Army under exclusive Murong Clan command 84.

While fleeing powerful soul beasts in his youth, Zhige entered the Dragon Spine Mountain Range and accidentally discovered the Dragon Fall Secret Realm; four companions died during the ordeal, leaving him the sole survivor 85. Inside the realm, he challenged the Mountain Dragon King with his full power as a Spirit Douluo but could not injure him 85. The Mountain Dragon King instead offered him access to one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings' secret techniques. Zhige chose the Dragon Body Secret Technique, later remaining in the range as the realm's guardian 86 87.

After mastering the technique to minor success, he received authority over most of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range. He subsequently taught the Dragon Body Secret Technique to Murong Chayue and Murong Fuhai 87.

Appearance

Murong Zhige is depicted as a powerful, imposing man whose bearing immediately identifies him as an exceptional combatant. In later appearances, he may present as an elderly man in plain robes, though his black hair, deep eyes, and overwhelming presence remain striking 84 286 303.

• Handsome, resolute facial features and sharp, domineering eyes 84
• Possesses an aura described as “grand as a rainbow” 84
• Often wears black robes; his black hair is described as lustrous as ink 286
• His eyes can carry crimson-black flames when he releases his power 286
• His demigod pressure manifests alongside the phantom of a massive Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon 151 287

Personality

Zhige combines an old marshal's discipline and ruthlessness with a notably shameless sense of humor. When trapped in the Dragon Fall Secret Realm, he feigned resignation, refused to listen to the Mountain Dragon King's history, and later badgered the Dragon King into compensating him for decades of “grave guarding” 86 88.

He is intensely protective of his family, especially Murong Huai. His cold and tyrannical demeanor toward enemies immediately becomes doting when speaking to his great-grandson; during the Cangwu Desert incident, he let Huai decide the beasts' punishment 151. When Murong Huai was believed dead, Zhige publicly vowed vengeance against whoever had killed him 303.

As a military leader, he values practical strength, preparation, and formations that enable ordinary soldiers to fight alongside soul masters. He also recognizes talent and encourages Huai's growth even while decisively defeating him in sparring 131 287.

Abilities & Skills

Demigod Physique and Pressure

Zhige's cultivation stands above ordinary Limit Douluo. His Dragon Body Secret Technique grants him an exceptionally powerful body, allowing him to dominate opponents through physical strength and demigod-level Soul Power 151 286.

• Suppressed an entire Cangwu Desert beast horde with dragon might alone, pinning spirit beasts to the ground 151
• Forced a hundred-thousand-year Sky-Splitting Void-Shattering Eagle to sacrifice itself as Murong Huai's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone 151
• Received Murong Huai's Limit Douluo-level final attack without injury 287
• Overpowered Murong Huai in close combat despite Huai's dragon-level physique 286
• His strength is described as infinitely close to godhood 285

Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon

Zhige's martial soul is a crimson-black dragon associated with destructive flame, overwhelming physical force, and oppressive dragon might.

• Heavenly Dragon Rampage — Sixth Soul Skill used during his first battle with the Mountain Dragon King 85
• Heavenly Dragon True Body — Seventh Soul Skill that forms red-and-black True Body Armor around him 85
• Blood Wave Surge—Blood Dragon Swallows the Heavens in Fury — Eighth Soul Skill; his strongest Spirit Douluo-era attack 85
• Magic Dragon Breath — Fifth Soul Skill that releases a torrent of crimson-black dragon fire 287
• Heavenly Dragon Devours the Sun — Used to counter Murong Huai's Immortal Lord True Body attack 287

Dragon Body Secret Technique

The technique granted by the Mountain Dragon King dramatically accelerated Zhige's cultivation and strengthened his physique 86 87.

• Reached minor success in ten years 87
• Enabled his rise from Rank 81 to Title Douluo during that period 87
• Became a hereditary Murong Clan cultivation method after Zhige taught it to Chayue and Fuhai 87
• Forms the physical foundation behind the Murong Clan's attack-and-defense Soul Core concepts 215

Bloodline Soul Core

Zhige condensed a Bloodline Soul Core by compressing bloodline energy, Soul Power, and spiritual power in his dantian 216.

• Produces golden-red energy marked by dragon-scale patterns 216
• Enhances and releases his bloodline power with destructive force 216
• Destroyed a target stone thirty meters away immediately after its formation 216

Military Formations

Zhige spent much of his life developing military methods that allow ordinary soldiers to contribute power beyond their individual limits 131.

• Sun-Eroding God-Killing Formation — Combines the spirit power, mental strength, and physiques of many participants, allowing the Black Flame Army to unleash multiplied force 131
• Authored Martial Soul Fusion and Military Formation Theory 117
• Directed the deployment of the Seven-Star Heaven-Connecting Array, assigning elite combatants to its star positions so their strength could merge 316

Equipment / Items

• Mountain Dragon King's brocade pouch — Given to Zhige before the Mountain Dragon King's departure; later contained the Mountain Dragon King Inheritance 209 305
• Mountain Dragon King Inheritance Crown — A white-gold crown intended to allow Zhige to inherit the position of the Bloodline God King after fully absorbing its energy; completion of the inheritance has not been stated 305
• Spirit Bone collection — Possessed more than a dozen spirit bones above ten thousand years old, which he described as part of his personal fortune 92

Relationships

• Murong Huai — Great-grandson. Zhige is protective, affectionate, and willing to intervene personally against anyone who threatens him 84 151 286.
• Murong Chayue — Son and successor to Zhige's military legacy; Zhige transferred the Black Flame Army to him and taught him the Dragon Body Secret Technique 84 87.
• Murong Fuhai — Grandson; also learned the Dragon Body Secret Technique from Zhige 87.
• Murong Wanyue — Great-granddaughter, who turns to him in distress when Murong Huai goes missing 299.
• Mountain Dragon King — Mentor, former employer, and frequent target of Zhige's shameless bargaining. The Dragon King granted him the Dragon Body Secret Technique, territorial authority, and eventually the Bloodline God King inheritance 86 88 305.
• Gu Changfeng — Former close friend and brother-in-arms from Zhige's military years; Gu Changfeng later became an Evil Soul Master and disappeared after battling Zhige 127.
• Qian Daoliu — A fellow supreme powerhouse who recognizes Zhige's seniority and relies on his deterrent power during threats to the Spirit Hall Empire 299 305.
• Black Flame Army — Descended from the thirty thousand Xili survivors Zhige once led; their formations preserve his military doctrine 84 131.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Xili Legacy and Dragon Fall Secret Realm

Zhige first meets Murong Huai and reveals the Murong Clan's Xili military history, his original identity, and the founding of the Black Flame Army 84. He then recounts his first encounter with the Mountain Dragon King and explains how the Dragon Fall Secret Realm became central to his cultivation and later life 85 87.

Dragon King Affairs

After Murong Huai points out that he has received little compensation for guarding the Dragon Fall Secret Realm, Zhige confronts the Mountain Dragon King and secures Spirit Ring upgrades for himself and Murong Chayue 87 88 89. He later assists Huai in retrieving the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' remnant souls from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well 92.

Cangwu Desert Intervention

Zhige arrives when Murong Huai is threatened by the Cangwu Desert beast horde. He suppresses the beasts, imposes additional reparations, massacres tens of thousands of spirit beasts, and forces the Sky-Splitting Void-Shattering Eagle's sacrifice for Huai's seventh ring 151. His return also restores his standing as the Murong Clan's Old Patriarch and as Xili's former Grand Marshal 152 153.

Guidance and Sparring

Zhige identifies attack-and-defense complementarity as a possible path for Soul Core cultivation, leading to his successful formation of the Bloodline Soul Core 215 216. He later spars with Rank 96 Murong Huai, testing Huai's full strength while confirming his great-grandson's exceptional growth 286 287.

Spirit Hall Empire Deterrence

Following reports of Murong Huai's death, Zhige publicly rebukes sects that gather with hidden agendas at Huai's memorial. His demigod pressure compels every faction present to pay proper respects and deters rebellion against the Spirit Hall Empire 303.

Bloodline God King Inheritance

The Mountain Dragon King leaves Zhige an inheritance intended to elevate him beyond demigod status. After opening the brocade pouch, Zhige receives the Bloodline God King inheritance crown and resolves to absorb its power in preparation for the coming divine conflict 305.

Notable Quotes

“Your great-grandfather's original name was Murong Tianyou, but after roaming the continent and joining the military, I hoped that one day I could lead a great army to suppress everything and stop war with force, which is why I changed my name to Murong Zhige.” 84

“Huai'er, tell Great-Grandfather, how do you wish to deal with them?” 151

“I, Murong Zhige, am not dead yet. Forget about you small fry; even when the two great empires were combined, This Seat did not fear them in the slightest.” 303

Trivia

• Zhige's original name, Tianyou, was changed specifically to reflect his ideal of ending war through force 84.
• Despite being a demigod, he repeatedly complains that the Mountain Dragon King made him guard a grave for decades without adequate compensation 87 88.
• He is the author of a military-theory text that combines martial soul fusion principles with military formations 117.
• The Black Flame Army originated as the thirty thousand surviving soldiers who escaped Xili's destruction under Zhige's command 84.