Shen Chu

Biodata

Name	Shen Chu (沈初)
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Li Family; Sword-Forging Courtyard; Sun Ping's workshop
Occupation/Role	Blade-forger; formal bladesmith; Sun Ping's apprentice; former procurement officer for the Sword-Forging Courtyard
Status	Alive as of Chapter 39
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
D-grade middle bone structure	1	Tested while applying to become a Li Family guard; rejected from the guard position.
Thousand Hammer Refinement lv1; D-plus bone structure	2	Awakens the Blade Forger profession's initial skill. The skill improves stamina, strength, endurance, and bone structure through forging.
Formal bladesmith	3	Promoted after forging an ordinary short blade with a completion value of 40/100 on his first attempt.
Martial Artist; Stone-Shattering Fist: Novice (1/100)	5	Completes all eight forms of the Stone-Shattering Fist and gains the initial skill Twice the Result with Half the Effort lv1.
Cultist; Nether Ghost Control Technique (1/100)	15	Learns Han Tieshan's technique and gains Incense Offering to All Living Beings lv1 and Breath Concealment.
Stone-Shattering Fist: Minor Achievement (1/100)	16	Breaks through after Incense Offering to All Living Beings absorbs Han Tieshan's residual essence.
Stone-Shattering Fist: Minor Success (15/100)	27	Advances after killing and absorbing Zhao Dezhu.
Thousand Hammer Refinement lv2; constitution raised from upper Ding to lower Bing	32	Achieved upon forging a Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron longsword. His strength and endurance also increase.

Background / History

Shen Chu was originally a recently graduated modern-day game designer. After losing his job, he transmigrated into the body of a refugee sharing his name and exact appearance, arriving in a world where martial artists, demons, and rebel armies exist. 1

Seeking food, shelter, and safety, he applied to join the Li Family as a guard in Changping County. His D-grade middle bone structure failed the guard standard, but a woman in white offered him a place in the Li Residence's Sword-Forging Room instead. 1

Assigned under Master Sun—later identified as Sun Ping—Shen Chu began as a blade-forging apprentice. While performing manual work, he awakened Thousand Hammer Refinement and recognized that forging could improve both his craft and physical aptitude. 2

He rapidly became a formal bladesmith, then learned the Stone-Shattering Fist to improve his stamina. Completing its forms qualified him as a Martial Artist, allowing his forging and training to progress simultaneously. 3 5

Appearance

Shen Chu first appears as a thin, rag-clothed refugee, exhausted from flight and manual labor. 1 2

• Initially has a frail build and poor stamina. 1 3
• Has an appearance described as decent and honest-looking by the woman who recruits him. 1
• His body becomes visibly stronger through forging and martial training. 2 32

Personality

Shen Chu is pragmatic and survival-oriented. He accepts difficult work without complaint when it offers security, and he consistently chooses self-improvement over status disputes. 1 2 21

He is notably cautious about exposing his abilities. Despite being capable of producing much higher-quality work through Thousand Hammer Refinement, he deliberately restrains himself to avoid attracting dangerous attention. 6

Shen Chu avoids factional conflicts whenever possible, refusing both the old workers' request to lead opposition against Zhao Dezhu and Zhao's own attempts to recruit him. 21 22 23 However, when directly threatened, he acts decisively and lethally, killing both Han Tieshan and Zhao Dezhu after they attempt to harm him. 15 27

Abilities & Skills

Thousand Hammer Refinement

A Blade Forger profession skill that enhances Shen Chu through repeated forging.

• Improves his stamina, strength, endurance, and bone structure. 2
• Raises the completion progress of forged weapons with hammer strikes. 3
• Can be leveled through forging proficiency; it reaches lv2 after he forges a Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron longsword. 32
• At lv2, it improves his constitution from upper Ding to lower Bing. 32

Weapon-Appraisal Interface

Shen Chu can see a numerical completion display above blade blanks and weapons.

• Identified Master Sun's work as a low-grade short blade in progress. 2
• Allowed him to track the quality of his own forging, including the 40/100 short blade that earned his promotion. 2 3
• Let him recognize that Sun Ping could reach 98/100, while Shen Chu's prepared material enabled the final breakthrough to a low-grade weapon. 9

Stone-Shattering Fist

An entry-level guard martial art that serves as Shen Chu's primary martial discipline.

• Qualifies him as a Martial Artist after he completes its eight forms. 5
• Develops from Novice to Minor Achievement after the absorption of Han Tieshan's essence. 5 16
• Reaches Minor Success after Zhao Dezhu's death. 27
• Enables martial qi and blood circulation during combat and physical training. 11 17

Twice the Result with Half the Effort

The initial skill gained from Shen Chu's Martial Artist profession.

• Shortens the time required to complete tasks. 5
• Doubles experience gained from training and work. 5
• Supports both his martial progress and unusually high forging output. 5 23 39

Spirit of Blood and Courage

A passive Martial Artist ability.

• Activates automatically against evil entities. 14
• Steadies Shen Chu's mind and strengthens his courage when confronting supernatural threats. 14
• Can be infused into a weapon; Shen Chu used it to give a low-grade short blade a crimson glow and kill a ghost. 14

Nether Ghost Control Technique

A Red Lotus Sect evil art acquired from Han Tieshan's manual.

• Produces a cold yin energy that coexists with Shen Chu's martial qi and blood. 15
• Grants access to cultist abilities despite Shen Chu's lack of allegiance to the sect's goals. 15 27
• Its aura resembles the unusual presence Shen Chu later detects in Vitality Pills. 39

Incense Offering to All Living Beings

A cultist skill that absorbs the residual essence of slain demons, ghosts, and wicked practitioners.

• Converts absorbed essence into progress that can break cultivation bottlenecks. 15
• Absorbs Han Tieshan's corpse after Shen Chu beheads him, enabling the Stone-Shattering Fist breakthrough. 15 16
• Absorbs Zhao Dezhu after Shen Chu kills him, raising Stone-Shattering Fist to Minor Success. 27
• Removes the bodies of suitable targets, helping Shen Chu conceal evidence. 16 27

Breath Concealment

A passive skill gained alongside the Nether Ghost Control Technique.

• Hides Shen Chu's cultivation and aura. 15
• Prevents others from discerning his true realm. 15

Corpse Control Technique

A technique Shen Chu uses after surviving Zhao Dezhu's arranged ambush.

• Controls the corpses of the two guards sent to kill him. 26
• Uses a controlled corpse to infiltrate Zhao Dezhu's courtyard and gather information. 26

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Forging hammer — Shen Chu's primary tool and the instrument through which he trains Thousand Hammer Refinement. 2 32
• Low-Grade Short Blade — A blade Shen Chu forged and carried for self-defense; he used it to slay a ghost. 14
• Stone-Shattering Fist manual — Given to him by Steward Li. 4
• Nether Ghost Control Technique manual — Taken from Han Tieshan after Shen Chu confronts him. 15
• Protective iron armor — Prevents Zhao Dezhu's hidden weapon from killing him. 27
• Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron longsword — A rare-material weapon forged for Li Chengwen with Sun Ping's assistance. 30 32

Relationships

• Sun Ping — Mentor, master, and close working partner. Sun Ping teaches Shen Chu forging, later formally takes him as an apprentice, and assists with the Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron longsword. 2 9 32
• Li Chengwen — Eldest Young Master and increasingly trusting patron. He gifts Shen Chu Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron, rewards his craftsmanship, and provides resources for Shen Chu to complete an emergency blade order. 30 33 39
• Steward Li — Early supporter within the Li Residence. He promotes Shen Chu, provides the Stone-Shattering Fist manual, and refuses Han Tieshan's demand to demote him. 3 4 6
• Han Tieshan — Former rival and attempted master. Han tries to force Shen Chu into apprenticeship, later curses him with evil arts; Shen Chu kills him after extracting the Nether Ghost Control Technique. 4 5 14 15
• Zhao Dezhu — Former steward who tries to recruit and then murder Shen Chu. Shen Chu survives the ambush, uncovers Zhao's plot, and kills him. 23 26 27
• Li Jiwu — Second Young Master whom Shen Chu regards with caution after witnessing his cruelty toward Han Tieshan. 12
• Madam Liu — The woman in white who recruits Shen Chu as a sword-forger; later revealed as Master Li's second wife. 1 16

Story Role / Major Arcs

Entry into the Li Residence

After failing the Li Family's guard selection, Shen Chu becomes a sword-forging apprentice and discovers the profession system that defines his path to strength. 1 2

Rise as a Bladesmith

Shen Chu earns promotion to formal bladesmith, rejects Han Tieshan's coercive apprenticeship offer, and helps Sun Ping forge a low-grade short blade. Sun Ping subsequently takes him as an apprentice. 3 5 8 9

Han Tieshan Conflict

Han Tieshan's resentment escalates into a supernatural curse. Shen Chu kills a ghost sent after him, tracks the curse to Han's hideout, learns the Nether Ghost Control Technique, and executes Han after taking his secret manual. 14 15

Zhao Dezhu's Rule

Under Zhao Dezhu's stewardship, Shen Chu and Sun Ping remain neutral amid the Sword-Forging Courtyard's factional division. Shen Chu rejects recruitment attempts, survives Zhao's assassination attempt, then kills Zhao and burns his room to hide the evidence. 20 23 26 27

Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron and Emergency Order

Li Chengwen entrusts Shen Chu with rare Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron. Shen Chu forges it into a longsword, advances Thousand Hammer Refinement to lv2, and later leads the effort to replace sabotaged and missing weapons before the government delivery deadline. 30 32 39

Trivia

• Shen Chu's original occupation was game designer. 1
• He initially sought to become a guard, believing it was his best chance of survival. 1
• He considers forging a form of cultivation: “forging blades was cultivation, and hammering iron was training.” 32
• Despite his restraint, his output at Thousand Hammer Refinement lv2 can match several ordinary bladesmiths if his stamina holds. 39