Lu Zhen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Lu Zhen was once among the better students in Jingcheng Middle School's Martial Arts Class and had crossed paths with fellow student Xiao Yuqing. His martial path ended after his meridians were damaged, leaving him crippled for more than a decade. He survived by pulling a rickshaw in Ocean City's Outer City while supporting his family and repaying debt to the Black Snake Gang 1 3 71.

His circumstances changed when he acquired the Daily Settlement Panel. Rather than rely on charity from his elder sister Lu Fang, he used his recovered strength to seek formal training, enrolling at Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall despite Yan Tieqiao's poor initial assessment of his age and potential 1 2 6.

Lu Zhen rapidly rose from an Outer Sect apprentice to an Inner Sect disciple through the Coiling Dragon Stake and Iron Wire Fist. His performance as a ship guard and in the battle at Soul-Falling Gorge established his reputation within the hall, despite persistent dismissal from younger, more conventionally talented disciples 15 21 32.

After entering Bright Force, he joined the Garrison Bureau for resources and a more stable base from which to cultivate. His battlefield achievements, leadership, and connection to Xiao Yuqing led to advancement from Squad Leader to Garrison Commander, while his masked identity, Faceless, operated separately against powerful enemies and foreign forces 47 81 104 109.

Later, Lu Zhen traveled under the identity Gu Chen, entered Three Sects City, and became involved with the Mystic Sword Sect and Snow-Listening Cliff. He refused Jiang Li's demand that he disperse his existing cultivation, choosing instead to serve as a Judgment Envoy in the Punishment Hall 216 231 281.

By the time his identity as Gu Chen was exposed, he had become the Mystic Sword Sect's foremost direct disciple. His rise continued through the Great Wilderness, Nine Provinces Academy, the Hundred Realms League, and eventually the Mandate Army, which he seized after executing Wang Meng and his loyalists 351 407 439 479.

Following the Hundred Realms League, Lu Zhen entered the Supreme Unity Mystic Sect's Special Training Camp. His performance in the Black-Yellow Pagoda and subsequent training rapidly elevated him from a disregarded lower-world participant into one of the camp's principal contenders 488 490 502.

While cultivating in the Special Training Camp, Lu Zhen continues to influence the Ancient Star through an avatar named Ye Chen. Publicly presented as his sworn younger brother, Ye Chen commands the Mandate Army in Lu Zhen's place and prepares to exploit the Great Abyss Dynasty's weakening for resources, Ancient Jade, and territorial control 515 523 525.

Lu Zhen subsequently places second in the hundred-thousand-year grand examination and enters the first-rate Tai'e Sword Academy. His achievements include rapidly completing the Counterflow River challenge and ringing 115 ancient bells at Zhenhai Cliff with one sword strike 550.

Seeking stronger backing and means to rescue Senior Hongwu and Lord Yu from the Netherblood Sect, he returns toward the Nine Provinces Small World to challenge the Fallen Sky Dojo's direct-disciple assessment. His repeated battles there lead to further law mastery and his eventual breakthrough to the Rushing River Realm 551 559 564 566 572.

He later joins Leng Qiu on an expedition to the Primordial Ancient Star. There, Ji Yue brings them to the Royal Court and appoints Lu Zhen Head of the Heavenly Wind Residence. He uses the court's resources and contribution system to pursue life-extending medicine, a dynasty-granted title, and the wealth needed to purchase and protect the Nine Provinces Small World 578 592.

Lu Zhen also retains memories of a previous life. When learning the rules of Treasure Land exploration, he compares them to the “search, fight, extract” games he once played 229.

Appearance

Lu Zhen initially has the weathered, rough appearance of a manual laborer, with a broad frame and heavily callused palms from years of rickshaw pulling. His cultivation gradually replaces his former hunched, impoverished bearing with a sharp, steady presence 6 15.

• Broad-shouldered, muscular build strengthened through body refinement.
• Resolute features and a clean-cut buzz cut beneath his ordinary identity 104.
• Wears black, gold-trimmed Inner Sect attire after joining Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall's Inner Sect 15.
• Uses the Faceless mask to adopt the appearance and presence of a dangerous, arrogant swordsman 104.
• As Gu Chen, later wears a purple-gold robe embroidered with nine swords, marking his status as a foremost direct disciple 320.
• Has also appeared in a moon-white Grade Eight dharma robe and Grade Eight longsword for Heavenly Ark Commerce Guild promotions 446.
• His avatar, Ye Chen, has a noble, emperor-like bearing distinct from Lu Zhen's battle-hardened presence and carries the aura of the Golden Crow and Azure Dragon within Lu Zhen's Inner Landscape 515.
• After his Rushing River breakthrough, his unrestrained presence feels as vast and transcendent as a starry sky. He deliberately reins in this aura to avoid revealing his advancement 572.

Personality

Lu Zhen is pragmatic, cautious, and intensely focused on survival. His early experiences with poverty, debt, disability, and exploitation leave him unwilling to depend on empty promises or powerful patrons. He consistently values concrete resources, stable opportunities, and personal strength over status or rhetoric 31 63 476.

He is patient in cultivation and strategic in conflict. Lu Zhen conceals his full strength when useful, prepares escape routes and alternate identities, and avoids acting without evidence. At the same time, he can become extremely ruthless when authority, family, or principle is threatened, as shown when he executed two wavering head constables to stabilize his command 71 109 203.

Despite this pragmatism, Lu Zhen remains protective of those he considers family. He refuses to abandon fallen comrades' benefits, arranges martial training for Lu Wan and Shen Wan'er, and moves his household into the Xiao Family estate before facing Yang Chongwu alone 56 94 203.

His goals broaden over time. Initially driven by survival and cultivation resources, he comes to recognize the threat facing Huaxia's traditional martial arts and chooses to resist foreign exploitation rather than compromise his principles 43 124.

During Special Training Camp, Lu Zhen develops a firmer Dao heart. He refuses to abandon difficult cultivation paths merely because stronger figures consider them impractical, trusting his own judgment and treating adversity as an opportunity for comprehension 488 510.

His independence also appears in his refusal to marry into the Yun Clan despite its promise of patronage. He maintains his position even when the clan's pressure costs him his Heavenly Ark Commerce Guild contract 454 455.

His ambition increasingly extends beyond local recognition. After receiving the Spirit Moon Tier assessment, he seeks the attention of figures strong enough to help him confront the Netherblood Sect, rather than treating praise from Fourth Realm cultivators as sufficient 551.

Even under the Fallen Sky Dojo's potentially fatal deadline, Lu Zhen repeatedly challenges a stronger opponent and turns defeat into practical learning. Once he gains the advantage, he still pauses to recover and cultivate instead of recklessly entering the tower's most dangerous floors 564 566 567.

His caution persists after major breakthroughs. He acknowledges that his extraordinary Rushing River foundation does not make him ready to confront the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty's emperor, and he prioritizes escape treasures and concealing taboo techniques 571 572.

Abilities & Skills

Daily Settlement Panel

Lu Zhen possesses a system that records daily activities and converts them into silver, profession experience, martial experience, physique experience, and General Experience.

• Multiplies settlement rewards according to its level, beginning with doubled rewards and later reaching much higher multipliers 10 49 195.
• Allows General Experience to be assigned directly to physique, skills, techniques, and panel advancement.
• Records new techniques after he learns their principles and can replace inferior arts with compatible higher-grade methods 49 74 244.
• Preserves relevant martial foundations when replacing techniques, allowing him to skip much of the normal entry-level training process 49.
• At Level 15, undergoes a qualitative change and grants selectable characteristics rather than merely increasing rewards 406.
• Its monthly settlement and accumulated-cultivation functions permit explosive growth after sustained training; one such settlement raises it from Level 15 to Level 18 and grants an Epiphany opportunity 415.
• By the Special Training Camp period, the Panel reaches Level 24 and provides Epiphany opportunities alongside hundreds of billions of General Experience 493 519.
• A Level 24 monthly settlement combined with an upper sixth-grade evaluation produces a total 3,360-fold multiplier during his preparations for the grand examination 536.
• Reaches Lv.26 after his examination achievements, academy admission, gambling winnings, and initial mastery of the Star-Devouring Record are settled 550.
• Martial Plunder grants additional General Experience for powerful enemies killed during the settlement period. Ye Chen's kills also qualify: one settlement grants 5,600 billion General Experience from the avatar's victories over Upper Extremity experts, and another grants 1.85 trillion from its subsequent killings 550 564.
• Purchases made with wealth already multiplied by the Panel cannot trigger another wealth multiplier, influencing Lu Zhen's decision to conserve Spirit Crystals 550.
• A month of battles against Huyan Zhuo earns a Fourth-Grade Low evaluation, enormous experience rewards, a Fourth-Tier Supreme Taiyi Annihilation Sword Talisman, and a Fourth-Grade High Nine-Turn Soul-Recovery Herb 564.
• Is recorded at Lv.29 during his preparations for the Asura Tower's ninth floor 567.

Body Refinement

Lu Zhen's Physique is the basis of his overwhelming physical power and survivability.

• Progresses from Copper Skin Iron Bone to Blood-Qi Like a Furnace, Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound, Diamond Indestructible, See God Indestructible, Flawless Body, Glazed Jade Bones, and Pure Yang True Body 23 40 87 143 150 201 315 374.
• See God Indestructible grants internal vision, complete bodily control, and danger warning 150.
• Blood Drop Rebirth allows severe physical damage to be rapidly restored 336 388.
• His Pure Yang True Body supports a self-formed Inner Landscape and recovery of his divine image within it 374 388.
• He later develops Acupoint Star Transformation, opening twenty acupoints before reaching the Converging Stream Realm and further strengthening the physique to Lv.21 through General Experience 415 493 494.
• His Inner Landscape can be expanded and nourished by rare treasures, providing the foundation for the creation of an avatar 491 513.
• Acupoint Star Transformation subsequently reaches Lv.23 and Lv.25 512 522.
• His Physique trait supplies a forty-percent strength boost during his Middle Converging Stream breakthrough 495.
• Later develops Inner Landscape Starry Heaven, recorded at Lv.31 during the Fallen Sky Dojo trials 567.

Internal Cultivation

Lu Zhen progresses from Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall's external methods to increasingly advanced internal arts.

• Coiling Dragon Stake — Builds rooted stance, lower-body stability, and circulation of qi and blood 6 10.
• Three Yang Breathing Technique — His first major internal art after joining the Garrison Bureau; replaces the Coiling Dragon Stake on the Panel 49.
• Great Sun Pure Yang Technique — Dark Force-grade internal cultivation suited to his immense blood-qi; replaces Three Yang Breathing Technique 114 115.
• Bright God Martial Canon — Higher-grade cultivation art later recorded after entering Three Sects City 244.
• Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art — A brutal qi-and-blood secret art that begins at Blood Ignition and later reaches Burning Meridians 345 356.
• Bright God Martial Canon (New Chapter) — A refined Great Wilderness successor cultivation art recorded at Nine Provinces Academy 410 493.
• Taiyi Star-Inducing Art and Taiyi Star-Congealing Record — Grade Six arts used to cultivate his Star Vortex and support his Converging Stream Realm foundation 493 519.
• Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique — A perfected blood-burning method that can increase his strength by fifty percent; used alongside physical and spiritual amplification before his later secret-art progression 170 180 275 299.
• Divine Treasury — A trait gained when the Bright God Martial Canon reaches Lv.10, increasing his base strength by one phase 299.

Lu Zhen follows the rare Inner Landscape Lineage. Unlike External Arts practitioners who borrow the momentum of heaven and earth, he draws power from a world within himself. His original Inner Landscape contains a great sun, Golden Crow, and Azure Dragon, and its formation gives him a foundation exceeding ordinary Spirit Fusion cultivators 374.

His Star Vortex foundation develops from 118 transformed vortices during his first Black-Yellow Pagoda challenge to 128 at his Middle Converging Stream breakthrough and 380 before the Fallen Sky Dojo assessment. He attributes the unusually high quality of his vortices to his Star Abyss trait rather than relying on their number alone 486 495 551 559.

His Inner Landscape's supported power grows from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand streams, then to sixty thousand and eighty thousand. At his Rushing River breakthrough, one thousand Star Vortexes are connected by rivers of law and each contains a Void Core, creating a foundation of 118,800 River Tribulations 550 564 567 572.

Blade Arts

Lu Zhen specializes in powerful blade techniques, combining physical force, refined control, and later Profound-level insight.

• Iron Wire Fist — His foundational hard-bridge martial art, capable of generating resonance through explosive force 6 15.
• Army-Breaking Eight Slashes — Garrison Bureau saber art that replaces Iron Wire Fist on the Panel 49.
• River-Severing Blade Art — Advanced blade art granted by Xiao Yuqing; it exceeds Army-Breaking Eight Slashes' Force Extreme Fifth Layer limit 71 74.
• Great Execution Tribulation Blade — Reaches Profound Entry after intensive cultivation and enables him to defeat a peak mid-stage Transformation Force Abyss Beast puppet 287.
• Great Wilderness Formation-Breaking Saber — Great Wilderness martial art later recorded at Nine Provinces Academy 409 410.
• The Great Wilderness Formation-Breaking Saber eventually reaches the second level of True Intent, substantially improving his saber combat power 519 522.
• At Profound Penetration, his Great Execution Tribulation Blade expresses martial intent rather than technique alone. A casual test leaves a crack in his Gilded Armor, which had previously endured Old Demon Chiba's full-power attack 357.

Mental Cultivation and Sword Control

Lu Zhen's spiritual arts let him control weapons remotely and wield large-scale sword formations.

• Nameless Spirit-Refining Art — Strengthens his spirit, allows mental control over throwing knives, and later enables communication attempts with animals 87 143.
• True Manual of Sword Control — Received from Jiang Li through Yan Kuan; enables refined flying-sword control through spiritual threads 259 260.
• Lesser Thousand Sword Formation — Controls up to a thousand flying swords; its completed third level forms an azure dragon capable of killing Military Shadow 321 326.
• Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword — Great Wilderness sword art through which Lu Zhen demonstrates “using profundity to wield Intent” and defeats dozens of refined iron puppets 409 422.
• His sword-control skill later reaches Ultimate Profound level, producing a major increase in attack power 399.
• Star River Sword Art — Lower Grade Eight sword art acquired through Heavenly Ark Commerce Guild; Lu Zhen refines it through the Black-Yellow Pagoda's life-and-death battles and uses it as a foundation for True Intent 446 488.
• Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record — Mid Grade Six sword art based on the division and convergence of Sword Qi, soul manipulation, and True Intent. Its first killing technique, Star Lotus, condenses hundreds of Sword Qi strands into a destructive sword lotus 510.
• His mastery of the Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record advances from Touching Law to Weaving Law, allowing him to form a Sword Qi Star Lotus from woven Light Law strands and unleash a rain of swords 522 523.
• Black Heaven God-Subduing Record — Upper Grade Six soul cultivation art that manifests and strengthens a Black Heaven Demon God in his sea of consciousness, reinforcing his soul and suppressive power 519 523.
• Domain — The third move of the Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record. Used with Weaving Law and his seventy-two Purple Firmament Thunderstrike Swords, it creates a vast light-based sword domain capable of reducing a thousand-zhang snow mountain to dust 536.
• Law Domain — His third Law Realm attainment grants control over half the Light Law within a hundred-mile radius 551.
• Radiant Thunder — Combines light and lightning through the seventy-two-sword Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder Sword Formation. His first Law Domain test annihilates a hundred-mile area and receives a six-trillion-stream assessment 551.
• Conformity — His fourth Law Realm attainment, recorded on the sword record at Lv.9, allows vastly stronger application of fused light and thunder. Further cultivation raises his law amplification to one millionfold 566 567.
• Primordial Origin Light / Great Dao Tribulation Light — Later offensive powers associated with his great dao comprehension. By the Royal Court arc, his comprehension of a great dao branch embryo in the Third Realm is acknowledged as exceptional 572 592.

Movement Techniques

Lu Zhen possesses exceptional speed, evasion, and aerial mobility.

• Floating Light Gliding Shadow Method — Raises his speed by twenty percent at its second layer; after mastering the third layer, he can match Transformation Force Grandmasters in speed 149.
• Eight Wastes Wandering Dragon Step — Higher-grade movement art acquired in Three Sects City 243 244.
• Treading Air — Lets him evade constriction techniques and maneuver in the air 326.
• Wandering Dragon Sky-Treading Step — Great Wilderness successor technique used to evade high-speed assassin puppets at close range 410 422.
• The Wandering Dragon Sky-Treading Step later reaches the second level of True Intent 519 522.
• Leng Yan provides Lu Zhen with an encrypted sixth-grade movement technique after he identifies mobility as the principal weakness of his current cultivation 524.
• Floating Light Shadow — A sixth-grade movement art later recorded at Lv.8 and the Law Domain stage 567.
• His Eight Wastes Wandering Dragon Step can produce Shrinking the Earth into an Inch, allowing abrupt movement across short distances that appears to ignore ordinary spatial separation 244.

Disguise and Concealment

Lu Zhen maintains separate identities to prevent enemies from connecting his actions.

• Faceless — The mask suppresses his blood-qi and presence enough to evade patrols at close range 104.
• Faceless Asura — His feared assassin persona, associated with the death of Zheng Qianqiu and attacks on foreign enemies 184 203.
• Gu Chen — His independent-cultivator identity in Three Sects City and the Mystic Sword Sect 231 351.
• Uses altered appearance, masks, and cautious cover stories to compartmentalize his enemies and allies 120 334.
• The Faceless mask can alter his hair as well as his face; his original swordsman disguise has long ink-black hair instead of his ordinary buzz cut 100.
• His Flawless Body can lock away blood energy and vitality, supplementing the mask's concealment 205.
• After entering Rushing River, he suppresses his aura and keeps the Voidlight Shuttle and other trump cards secret. He also refuses to demonstrate the taboo War Canon of Martial Mu even in the Void Realm because it can be traced 572.

Avatar

Lu Zhen uses the fourth-grade Creation Taiyi True Liquid and a portion of his soul origin to nurture a second incarnation in his Inner Landscape.

• The avatar is named Ye Chen and contains the auras of Lu Zhen's Inner Landscape Golden Crow and Azure Dragon 513 515.
• Lu Zhen publicly introduces Ye Chen as his sworn younger brother, allowing the avatar to command the Mandate Army while Lu Zhen's true body cultivates elsewhere 515.
• After Lu Zhen's soul advances through the Black Heaven God-Subduing Record, Ye Chen safely fuses eighteen Purple-Gold Star-Core Ancient Crystals and becomes an Eighteen-Pole Ancient Martial Artist 523.
• Ye Chen can manifest five flesh-and-blood Ancient God phantoms through his Gravity Field and intends to use the Great Abyss Dynasty's turmoil to seize its resources 523.
• Ye Chen's kills count toward Lu Zhen's Martial Plunder, allowing campaigns on the Great Abyss Ancient Star to directly supply General Experience to the main body 550 564.

Ancient Star Divine Ability

Before creating Ye Chen, Lu Zhen directly refines Ancient Crystals into his own body, gaining an Ancient Star divine ability that serves as a hidden resource beyond his conventional physical and True Intent power. Leng Qiu criticizes this refinement as dangerously reckless 486 490.

• Gravity Field — Strengthens as he fuses additional Ancient Crystals. After absorbing three more crystals, it can crush earth and walls and contains three enormous figures capable of independently striking enemies 495.
• The field remains useful against stronger opponents: in the Asura Tower's seventh floor, Lu Zhen briefly slows a Heavenly Wolf royal-bloodline commander and uses the opening to deliver a fatal sword strike 566.

Star-Devouring Record

The Grand Luo Myriad Phenomena Star-Devouring Record uses the reverse rotation of the Star Vortex to forcibly absorb external power. Lu Zhen learns its operating principle from a gray-robed elder's projected demonstration and records the technique on his Panel 550.

The record contains seven progressive stages; the stages explained to Lu Zhen include:

Lu Zhen raises the record through second-level Spirit Devouring to third-level Source Devouring using General Experience. At the Fallen Sky Dojo, he actively draws in light and thunder laws to strengthen his affinity and understanding of their fusion, cultivating for more than twenty days before clearing the Asura Tower's eighth floor 551 566 567.

Other Martial Techniques

• Formation-Breaking Overlord Spear — A higher-grade spear art whose force-generation principles overlap with the River-Severing Blade Art, allowing Lu Zhen to transfer his existing foundation and rapidly improve it through the Panel 243 244.
• Iron-Blood Battle Formation — Lu Zhen trains and transforms the formation at the Mount Tai military camp, earning the soldiers' respect 368.
• War Canon of Martial Mu — Yue Canghai's first-grade attack technique, recorded after Lu Zhen leaves the Fallen Sky Dojo. Its enormous experience requirements and taboo, traceable nature lead him to reserve it as a last resort 572.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Faceless mask — Suppresses blood-qi and presence while transforming his appearance 104.
• Black Gold Long Blade — Heavy Garrison Bureau saber suited to his Bright Force strength 48 49.
• Nine Nether — Custom-made flying sword forged by Xiao Yuqing's Seventh Great-Uncle 150.
• Gilded Armor — Defensive treasure that initially weakens ninety percent of incoming force; later disperses ninety-nine percent 288 297.
• Black Mystic Horse-Slaying Blade — Extremely sharp heavy saber that can cut bluestone with physical force alone 297.
• Azure Frost Flying Swords — Weapons used with the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation 326.
• Space Ring — Stores weapons, medicinal herbs, Ancient Jade, and other resources 232 476.
• Hongmeng Seal — A treasure capable of simulating countless possible paths for his martial techniques up to the threshold of Subtle Intent 428.
• Clear-Mind Pill — Seventh-grade supreme-quality pill exchanged for 20,000 Special Training Camp points; Lu Zhen delays consuming it in anticipation of a month-end critical-hit transformation 490 491.
• Creation Taiyi True Liquid — Fourth-grade treasure used to nurture Ye Chen as Lu Zhen's avatar 513 515.
• Purple Firmament Thunderstrike Swords — Seventy-two fifth-grade flying swords containing lightning origin. They greatly amplify his sword formation even before he fully comprehends their embedded Lightning Law 536.
• Void Terminal — Provides access to the Void Realm, rankings, communications, and expedition forums. It continues working on the Primordial Ancient Star and enables coordination and information trading between factions 473 578.
• Supreme Taiyi Annihilation Sword Talisman — Fourth-Tier Supreme talisman received through the monthly settlement following his battles with Huyan Zhuo 564.
• Nine-Turn Soul-Recovery Herb — Fourth-Grade High herb received in the same settlement 564.
• Calamity-Substitute Puppet — Second-grade exotic treasure selected from the Fallen Sky Dojo's first-level treasury as a survival-oriented reward 571.
• Voidlight Shuttle — Top-tier second-grade exotic flying vessel chosen after his Rushing River breakthrough. It offers exceptional speed and resistance to soul attacks; Lu Zhen intends it as a concealed escape resource against powerful enemies and karmic pursuit 572.
• Star-Piercing Talisman — Provided by Lei Wanche for passage through the Void Sea to the Primordial Ancient Star; essential for both entering and returning 578.
• Wind-Chasing Thunder Shadow Boots — Chosen from Ji Yue's private treasury. They greatly improve movement speed and can briefly tear through the void 592.

Relationships

• Lu Fang — Elder sister. She tries to support Lu Zhen during his impoverished years, though he refuses her money out of pride 1.
• Lu Wan — Younger sister. Lu Zhen is protective of her and later arranges for her martial training and relocation to the Xiao Family estate 1 94 203.
• Shen Yun / Shen Wan'er — Widow whom Lu Zhen protects and brings into his household; their relationship develops into a tender domestic bond 10 23 45.
• Yan Tieqiao — Master of Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall. Initially dismissive of Lu Zhen's prospects, he later recognizes his growth and relies on him to protect the hall's legacy 6 33 44.
• Gu Yanzhi — Former fellow disciple and loyal friend. Gu Yanzhi provides resources, business opportunities, and support, while Lu Zhen respects his integrity despite his privileged background 16 31 45.
• Xiao Yuqing — Former schoolmate, Director of the East City General Bureau, and Xiao Family heiress. She recruits Lu Zhen, gives him the River-Severing Blade Art and an Inner City residence, and later agrees to marry him as part of an alliance 71 142 203.
• Chu Yunshu — Trusted ally who offers Lu Zhen resources and protection. She confesses her feelings for him; Lu Zhen tells her that she is family and entrusts his household to her protection 149 203.
• Jiang Li — Mountain Lord of Snow-Listening Cliff. She provides Lu Zhen with the True Manual of Sword Control and later offers him a place as a direct disciple, which he declines 253 259 281.
• Lei Zhen — Fellow martial artist and traveling companion in Three Sects City. He becomes one of Lu Zhen's dependable acquaintances despite initially doubting his confidence 216 233.
• Guga — Small demonic beast companion capable of mental communication and locating spirit herbs after consuming them 222.
• Qin Wei — Core disciple and later close subordinate. She offers herself to Lu Zhen in an effort to secure her future, then manages Mandate Army logistics and internal affairs after Ye Chen assumes command 362 525.
• Leng Qiu — Lu Zhen's Special Training Camp team leader and mentor. She identifies his weakness in True Intent, personally trains him in the Mystic Icefire Vein, and later guides his study of the Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record 490 491 510. She accompanies him to the Primordial Ancient Star and is appointed Deputy Head of the Heavenly Wind Residence alongside him 578 592.
• Leng Yan — Fourth Realm elder of Tai'e Sword Academy and Leng Qiu's cousin. Interested in recruiting Lu Zhen after his Weaving Law breakthrough, she provides him a sixth-grade movement technique in advance 523 524. He later enters her academy and requests permission to leave the sect for external tempering 550 558.
• Ye Chen — Lu Zhen's avatar and publicly acknowledged sworn younger brother. Ye Chen acts in Lu Zhen's stead as commander of the Mandate Army 515.
• Zhao Han / Zhao Jincheng — Long-standing enemy responsible for crippling Lu Zhen's leg meridians. After fleeing north and adopting the name Zhao Han, he becomes Heavenly Pool Sect Master and enters the Great Wilderness with further ambitions 120 502.
• Li Changgeng — Imprisoned critic of the Zhou Family whom Lu Zhen visits and assists by bribing the prison supervisor to protect his safety and living conditions 66.
• Yan Shanshan — Fellow disciple whom Lu Zhen secretly rescues while disguised as Faceless. He later asks Gu Yanzhi to persuade her to leave the dangerous Iron-Blooded National Salvation Society, but accepts that her involvement has become a matter of conviction 104 106.
• Jiang Yun — Snow-Listening Cliff's internal affairs steward. Initially scheming and dismissive, she revises her assessment of Lu Zhen after witnessing his strength. He in turn respects her courage in defending Plain River City against Eastern Island forces 305 351 357.
• Pei Yuan — Myriad Stars Tower contact who rewards Lu Zhen's achievements, trades rare materials with him, and reveals information about the gray mist, other worlds, and remnants 312 353 354.
• Liu Bowen — Senior Nine Provinces patron who arranges Lu Zhen's entry into Nine Provinces Academy, advises him after the Yun Clan dispute, and later receives updates about his plans to rescue the captured elders and secure their home world 407 455 592.
• Liu Jingshu and Liu Jingyi — Academy companions and Hundred Realms League teammates. Lu Zhen protects them during the second round; his later Special Training Camp success also raises their standing among other trainees 407 439 476 488.
• Shen Qing — Nine Provinces Academy elite-class teacher. Initially suspects favoritism in Lu Zhen's placement, but later supplies him and his teammates with detailed opponent intelligence and tactical advice 407 428.
• Qin Xiao — Feng City administrator and Mandate Army logistics aide, distinct from Qin Wei. Lu Zhen praises her management of Feng City, while she seeks closeness and emphasizes her dependence on his patronage; she later reports the army's readiness and accumulated Ancient Jade 479 493 495.
• Dantai Ming — Admires Lu Zhen's examination prospects and explains the historical rarity of top-hundred and top-ten results 536.
• Xu Jiao — Inner Sect disciple of the Alchemy Dao Academy who initially dismisses Lu Zhen and cuts ahead of him at the Flying Crane Platform. Later selected to accompany and serve him aboard the Void-Piercing Shuttle, she apologizes and becomes increasingly deferential as she learns his status and strength 558 559 572.
• Qi Xuan — Senior disciple and direct descendant of the Qi Family with whom Lu Zhen signs a Life-and-Death Contract. Its approaching three-month deadline influences Lu Zhen's return from the Fallen Sky Dojo 558 572.
• Xuanyang — Fallen Sky Dojo mentor and observing phantom who recognizes Lu Zhen's potential, advocates giving him time during the trials, and later explains the treasury and a sealed opportunity requiring the Fourth Realm, Calm Lake Realm 564 566 571 572.
• Hongfu — Fallen Sky Dojo guardian who initially intends to enforce the assessment deadline even by killing Lu Zhen. His later victories change her judgment, and she acknowledges his right to challenge for the final inheritance 564 566 567.
• Li Bashan and Xue Qinghou — Martial Hall phantoms who grow to admire Lu Zhen's persistence and support Xuanyang's hope that he can avenge their lord and fallen comrades 564 566 567.
• Senior Hongwu and Lord Yu — Captured elders whose rescue from the Netherblood Sect becomes one of Lu Zhen's central goals. He seeks stronger patronage, political standing, and resources to secure their release 551 572 592.
• Lei Wanche — Martial Punishment Hall Master who advises Lu Zhen about purchasing the Nine Provinces Small World, promises to monitor threatening applications, and provides passage and practical guidance for the Primordial Ancient Star expedition 578.
• Ji Yue — Royal patron on the Primordial Ancient Star. She takes Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu to her private treasury and appoints them Head and Deputy Head of the Heavenly Wind Residence 592.
• Seventh Imperial Princess — Views Lu Zhen's great dao talent as a potential threat and orders his covert assassination, intending to frame the First and Third Princes 592.
• Blood Butcher Old Fiend — Netherblood Sect enemy responsible for capturing Lu Zhen's elders. Lu Zhen fears he may also target the Nine Provinces Small World 578.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rise in Ocean City

Lu Zhen begins as a crippled rickshaw puller burdened by gang debt. The Daily Settlement Panel restores his path to martial arts, leading him to Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall, the Inner Sect, and combat work as a ship guard 1 2 6 15.

Garrison Bureau and Faceless

After becoming a Bright Force Martial Master, Lu Zhen enters the Garrison Bureau, earns Xiao Yuqing's patronage, and rises through its ranks. In parallel, he uses the Faceless identity to strike at threats without exposing his family or official position 47 71 104 109.

His assault on the Zheng Family's machinery factory uncovers human trafficking and live experimentation. He frees captives, including Li Qingyue, and reports the findings to Xiao Yuqing, earning access to a Dark Force-level cultivation method while provoking the Huo Family's hostility 112.

Defender of Traditional Martial Arts

The three-year pact and foreign pressure against traditional martial arts shift Lu Zhen's focus beyond survival. He resolves to protect Huaxia's martial legacy while targeting foreign experimentation and collaborators 43 124.

He later defeats more than fifty Dark Force Grandmasters and forces back an Eastern Island army, turning his reputation into a citywide phenomenon. His family struggles to reconcile his familiar domestic presence with the extraordinary feats attributed to him 177 179.

Gu Chen and Three Sects City

Disguised as Gu Chen, Lu Zhen joins the Longwind Chamber of Commerce caravan, reaches Three Sects City, enters the Mystic Sword Sect, and serves in the Punishment Hall while investigating smuggling connected to the Lin Family 216 231 281 282.

His Treasure Land expeditions with Lei Zhen and Qin Wei bring resources, contribution points, and entry into the Mystic Sword Sect's Inner Sect. Their shared survival establishes a durable alliance 235 239.

Sect Prodigy and National Conflict

Lu Zhen becomes the Mystic Sword Sect's foremost direct disciple, develops Profound-level blade and sword-control arts, and openly confronts Eastern Island forces under the Faceless Asura identity 335 351 357.

At Fallen Soul Ravine, he absorbs the Azurewood Dragon Vein's vitality and forms his Inner Landscape. After advancing to Spirit Fusion, he intervenes in the struggle at Mount Tai, publicly condemning Western-aligned martial artists and Huaxia collaborators and asserting the Hongwu Emperor's martial legacy 374.

Great Wilderness and the Hundred Realms League

After reaching the Great Wilderness, Lu Zhen joins Nine Provinces Academy's elite class. He overturns expectations by scoring 892 points against refined iron puppets, then leads his squad through the Hundred Realms League with overwhelming individual strength 407 422 439.

During the second round, he reveals Subtle Intent and eliminates nine peak Profound Extremity attackers who surround him and the Liu sisters. Other squads subsequently avoid direct conflict with the Nine Provinces team 439.

His success also attracts attempts to control his future. The Yun Clan offers patronage through marriage to Yun Jiaojiao, with demands concerning their children and clan registration. Lu Zhen refuses, and the clan pressures Heavenly Ark Commerce Guild into terminating his contract 454 455.

Mandate Army

Lu Zhen rejects the White Lotus Sect's political and romantic offer in favor of Ancient Jade resources. When Wang Meng turns hostile, Lu Zhen kills him, purges his loyalists, and claims command of the Mandate Army as its Grand General 476 479.

After crushing Chu Xuanting and the Dragon-Steed Iron Cavalry at Horse-Blocking Pass, Lu Zhen transforms the Mandate Army from a scattered rebel force into a credible power contending for the Great Abyss Dynasty. He subsequently installs his avatar Ye Chen as acting commander while preserving his influence over the army from afar 515 525.

His advancement to Middle Converging Stream gives him Super-First-Rate power on Ancient Star. At Tianshui City, he orders an encirclement without a direct assault and secretly approaches alone to eliminate its leader, avoiding a prolonged and costly siege 495.

Ye Chen's continued campaigns later benefit more than territorial expansion: the avatar's killings supply the main body with trillions of General Experience through Martial Plunder 550 564.

Special Training Camp and Law Comprehension

Lu Zhen's Black-Yellow Pagoda performance raises him to twenty-eighth overall in Special Training Camp and establishes him as a rival to the Seven Ancient Clans' descendants. Under Leng Qiu's instruction, he refines his True Intent, studies the Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record, and advances from Touching Law to the Second Law Realm of Weaving Law 488 490 510 523.

His Weaving Law breakthrough earns the attention of Leng Yan of Tai'e Sword Academy, who considers him a first-class sword-path prospect and begins cultivating an early connection before the grand examination 523 524.

Before that breakthrough, his third-floor Black-Yellow Pagoda challenge already overturns the instructors' judgment. After presenting second-layer Manifestation, he reveals third-layer Self-Contained Realm and kills the seventh trial's Asura Commander with a hundredfold burst 505.

Grand Examination and Tai'e Sword Academy

Lu Zhen tests his newly acquired Purple Firmament Thunderstrike Swords in the Void Realm before the major examination. Combined with Weaving Law and the sword record's Domain move, they produce an attack assessed at approximately 59 billion streams 536.

He places second in the hundred-thousand-year grand examination and enters Tai'e Sword Academy. His system later settles these achievements alongside his gambling gains of 3.7 million Spirit Crystals and his acquisition of the Grand Luo Myriad Phenomena Star-Devouring Record 550.

Advancing to Law Domain, he combines light and lightning in the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder Sword Formation. The resulting Radiant Thunder strike receives the Spirit Moon Tier assessment from the Great Luo Celestial Pivot Institute, prompting a notice that astonishes Hidden Dragon Pavilion Master Mo Changfeng 551.

Fallen Sky Dojo and the Asura Tower

Seeking the Fallen Sky Dojo's direct-disciple assessment, Lu Zhen travels toward the Nine Provinces Small World aboard a hired Void-Piercing Shuttle, with Xu Jiao attending him. He leaves her aboard and enters the dojo alone 559.

On the Asura Tower's fourth floor, Huyan Zhuo repeatedly defeats him. Over a month, Lu Zhen improves from failing to endure a single attack to exchanging dozens of blows. The observing Martial Hall phantoms recognize his promise, but Hongfu remains bound to enforce the deadline and preserve the dojo's secrecy 564.

His monthly settlement doubles his Inner Landscape's supported power and supplies further experience through Ye Chen's kills. After attaining fourth-realm law mastery and fusing light with thunder, he instantly defeats Huyan Zhuo, clears the fifth and sixth floors, and uses Gravity Field to create a decisive opening against the seventh-floor commander 564 566.

Lu Zhen then withdraws to strengthen his law affinity with Source Devouring rather than rushing into the lethal eighth floor. After more than twenty days of cultivation, he kills its peak Rushing River Demon Centurion in one Radiant Thunder strike. Hongfu acknowledges his eligibility for the inheritance, and he prepares further before entering the ninth floor 566 567.

The subsequent treasury rewards include the Calamity-Substitute Puppet and, after his breakthrough to Rushing River, the Voidlight Shuttle. Xuanyang also reveals a sealed opportunity requiring the Calm Lake Realm. Lu Zhen leaves with the intention of gaining sect support, rescuing the captured elders, and protecting his home while concealing his most dangerous techniques and treasures 571 572.

Primordial Ancient Star and the Royal Court

Lu Zhen consults Lei Wanche about purchasing the Nine Provinces Small World. The process requires substantial wealth, a dynasty-granted title, and years of review. Lei reassures him about the Blood Butcher Old Fiend's current limitations and promises to monitor relevant applications 578.

Using Lei's Star-Piercing Talisman, Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu cross the Void Sea to the Primordial Ancient Star. They study its visible laws, join expedition forums, and learn that even ordinary local hunters possess cultivation comparable to the outsiders' first realm 578.

Ji Yue later takes them into the Royal Court, rewards them with treasures, and appoints Lu Zhen Head of the Heavenly Wind Residence, with Leng Qiu as Deputy Head. The institution handles intelligence, major investigations, and meritorious assignments. Its three existing early Fourth Realm deputies greet him politely despite having competed for the position themselves 592.

Lu Zhen identifies life-extending treasures in the Royal Court's catalog as a possible means of negotiating for a title and resources from the Great Luo Divine Dynasty. He informs Liu Bowen that a practical route toward buying their home world and rescuing Senior Hongwu's group is taking shape. Meanwhile, the Seventh Imperial Princess orders his secret assassination because of his great dao talent 592.

Notable Quotes

“Only by keeping my life can I be qualified to talk about the future.” 10

“You... are family, too.” 203

“Those who surrender will not be killed.” 479

Trivia

• Lu Zhen and Xiao Yuqing were classmates at Jingcheng Middle School and had not met for twelve years before their reunion at Shiliupu Pier 3.
• He was thirty years old during his initial rise in Ocean City and thirty-one by the time he reached the Transformation Force stage 12 315.
• His thirty-first birthday passes during three days and nights of life-and-death cultivation; he notices the change when reading his Panel 307.
• Shen Hao idolizes Faceless Asura without realizing that the masked hero is Lu Zhen himself 225.
• Lu Zhen names his small beast companion “Guga” after unsuccessfully trying to determine its rank through mental communication 222.
• After acquiring 9,850 Ancient Jade Coins from the White Lotus Sect, he rises to 412th among 15,000 Special Training Camp trainees 476.
• After clearing the seventh stage of the Black-Yellow Pagoda's second floor, he reaches 215th in Ancient Jade rank, 11th in Mystic Tower rank, and 28th overall 488.
• Lu Zhen later rises to ninth overall in the Special Training Camp rankings, alarming team leaders who had expected entrenched candidates to dominate the top positions 502.
• The creation of Ye Chen allows Lu Zhen to maintain an active presence on the Ancient Star and within the Mandate Army despite his true body's Special Training Camp obligations 515.
• Transforming 118 Star Vortexes during his first month of training breaks a record that had stood for ten thousand years 486.
• His Black-Yellow Pagoda rise inspires the saying, “All those on the golden list are immortals of heaven; only one man comes from the mortal world!” among supporters from the 108 small worlds 488.
• The Purple Firmament sword test contains inconsistent amplification figures: an initial statement gives fifty percent, while the later finalized calculation gives a fivefold increase and approximately 59 billion streams 536.
• His later Radiant Thunder test is assessed as equivalent to ten thousand newly advanced Rushing River cultivators, earning the designation Myriad-Tribulation River-Rushing Might 551.
• He pays Heavenly Passage Pavilion one million Spirit Crystals for the journey on the Void-Piercing Shuttle 559.
• Lu Zhen prioritizes survival treasures over additional weapons when choosing from the Fallen Sky Dojo treasury, reasoning that stronger weapons cannot save him from an enemy beyond his ability to fight 571 572.