Li Xiuwen

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Xiuwen (李修文)
Alias(es)	A Wen; Little Blade Wen 1 99
Species/Race	Human; transmigrator 1
Gender	Male
Age	Twenty-one when introduced to Big Brother Mo 61
Residence	Originally Longjin Road in Fragrant Sea’s Walled City; later resides in the Learning Society’s Winter Division 6 202
Martial Constitution	Servant physique, repeatedly assessed as having poor cultivation prospects 43 68
Affiliation	Sea Sand Style; Four Seas Martial Arts Hall; Ever Joy Learning Society; Hesheng Tu; Axe Gang 94 130 190 228
Occupation/Role	Former salon worker; head instructor for Little Loudspeaker’s family; gang territory manager; Hesheng Tu Red Pole; Four Seas Martial Arts Hall’s Fourth Prodigy; Azure Hall’s Senior Brother 1 60 94 130 190 210
Titles	Crossing River Association Youth Division Martial Champion; Dragon-Raising-Head Dharma Assembly Path Champion 136 229
Cultivation	Tiger-Elephant Gate, exceeding the normal Elephant-Hurling limit; twenty blood-energy seeds fully condensed by the assembly’s final rounds 211 225 228
Status	Alive following his Path Champion victory 229
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Realm breakthroughs and named technique milestones are listed below. Where the actual breakthrough occurs outside the supplied passages, the chapter records its first explicit confirmation.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Untrained	1	The Incense Burner initially lists no martial arts and no cultivation stage.
Beginner Martial Arts Knowledge — Beginner	6	Registered through studying anatomy and martial theory, establishing that scholarly learning also counts as a skill.
Blue/Azure Membrane — 88%	17	First explicit cultivation readout; fish balls accelerate stance training and improve his physical attributes.
Binding Armor Skill — Entry	23	Adapts unusually quickly to body tempering and suspects a special aptitude.
Purple Membrane	23	Breaks through by repeated stance practice without using a fish ball for the final push.
Sea-Sand Stance — Minor Mastery	23	Advances alongside Purple Membrane; the exhausted incense stick is replaced by a larger one.
Sand-Turning Palm — Minor Mastery	31	Huang recognizes his grasp of the Soft Palm’s essence.
Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance — Entry	39	Demonstrates the ability to take ten steps across water without sinking.
Sand-Turning Palm — Great Mastery	41	Combines hard and soft force to develop the delayed explosive Hard-Soft Palm.
Sea-Sand Stance — Great Mastery	43	A final night of training with a fish ball opens the way to Black Membrane.
Black Membrane	43	Completes the skin-membrane gate’s final stage; qi and blood reach roughly three times an ordinary person’s.
Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance — Minor Mastery	63	Can take more than thirty steps across water and evade Za Jiu for a hundred exchanges in simulated combat.
Beginner Martial Arts Knowledge — Minor Mastery	64	Recorded at 73% after sustained reading and study.
Binding Armor Skill — Minor Mastery	64	Reaches a level normally requiring Second Gate cultivation while still at Black Membrane.
Second Gate	68	Confirmed after surviving initiation through an unusual method he asks Huang to conceal.
Sand-Turning Palm — Perfection; Red Whale Momentum	77	Perfects the palm in just over four months and comprehends its rare higher force, earning recognition as a potential “Child of the Red Whale.”
Heart Furnace Three Forgings — Completed Method	82	Removes the method’s “incomplete” designation and begins practicing its fully reconstructed form.
Python Muscle	88	Huang confirms the breakthrough and directs him toward deeper use of the Sleeping Shark Technique.
Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance — Great Mastery	90 91	Extended training greatly improves his agility, climbing, and movement through the Enclave.
Sand-Containing Book — Minor Mastery	94	Seven days of practice improve concealed-weapon range, power, and accuracy.
Shattered Sea — Great Mastery	100	Its Tornado Kill helps him defeat Lu Yu in simulated combat despite her superior cultivation.
Cook Ding’s True Interpretation — Basic Movements	99	Begins learning the blade method taken from Pig Butcher.
Flood Dragon Muscle	106 108	Enters the realm and later reports it to Huang, surprising him with the speed of advancement.
Sleeping Shark Technique — Great Mastery	108	Demonstrates exquisite control of muscles that writhe like coiling dragons.
Fight to the Death — First Level	108	The Incense Burner registers the technique after he studies Huang’s manual.
Fight to the Death — Second Level	108	Breaks through after a week; burning blood temporarily raises his effective qi and blood.
Heart Furnace Three Forgings — Second Layer	110	Completes the first tempering; a Heavenly Dragon pattern solidifies around the Heart Pellet in his niwan palace.
Middle-Stage Flood Dragon Muscle — 40%	112	A Flood-Dragon Elixir adds approximately eighteen percentage points to his progress.
Beginner Martial Arts Knowledge — Great Mastery	113	Recorded at 31%, reflecting continued theoretical study.
Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance — Perfection	113	Sparring with Lu Yu completes the technique and unlocks Wave-Climbing Force.
Shattered Sea — Perfection	117	Perfects the leg method in just over five months, qualifying him for exceptional access to Whale-Killing Fist.
Binding Armor Skill — Great Mastery	125	Can shift defensive patterns onto previously vulnerable areas, including his face and eyelids.
Iron Buddha Art — Entry	125	Demonstrates the art to Lion-Head Buddha, who offers a path toward a stronger family inheritance.
Tiger-Elephant Gate	130	Reveals his concealed advancement during the Deer-Chasing War and decisively kills Dao Youming.
Iron Buddha Art — First Level Completed	132	Adds another body-tempering technique to his arsenal before the Crossing River Assembly.
Fight to the Death — Perfection	132	Completes the blood-burning secret art.
Sand-Containing Book — Great Mastery	132	Strengthens his concealed-weapon repertoire before the assembly.
Killing Aura Song — First Level	132	Learns its initial layer while preparing methods to conceal his Binding Armor markings.
Whale-Killing Fist — Second Layer	133	Unlocks “Hoisting the Long Sail” and defeats Wang Yingzhao in the Illusory Realm.
Cook Ding’s True Interpretation — Great Mastery	137	Grasps “Fast and Slow Without Trace,” using timing changes to counter Thunder God Lo in simulated combat.
Red Chiuch Sixfold Shedding True Canon — First Level	163	Registers the Three Gates method after extended instruction from Mr. Long.
Intermediate Martial Arts Knowledge	163	Recorded during study of the True Canon; unfamiliar theories further improve his knowledge.
Early Tiger Hunt	170	Explicitly identified at this level while preparing for the Spring Hunt.
Cook Ding’s True Interpretation — Perfection	170	Unlocks “Harmonizing with the Great Transformation,” producing a near-continuous storm of blades.
Blood Flood Art — Initial Practice	176	Begins cultivating a method for condensing additional blood-qi seeds beyond ordinary limits.
Whale-Killing Fist — Third Level	181	Recorded at 30% during preparations against the Zhang family prodigies.
Peak Tiger Hunt	183	Three Great Elixirs, hard training, and a consolidation period develop his sixth blood-qi seed.
Dragon-Binding Skill — Third Layer	184	Recorded at 56%; its defenses are roughly comparable to Zhang Lingxuan’s Hard Qigong in simulated encounters.
Killing Qi Song — Second Layer	184	Condenses six killing swords during seclusion.
Early Elephant-Hurling	188	Gains pale-gold blood, greatly improved healing, and stronger physical abilities.
Heavenly Dragon Qi-Observing Art — First Layer	188	Reconstructs the art from the Dragon-Shaking Classic and advances with the Incense Burner’s assistance.
Main Training Method — Second Layer Completed	188	Mr. Long confirms completion and sets third-layer Perfection as a future objective.
Limitless Tremor Fist — First Level	188	Comprehends the art through the Sea Sand ancestral statue’s inherited illusion.
Seven Blood-Qi Seeds	191	Challenges Liu Cang despite the latter possessing eight seeds.
Startling Swan Wandering Dragon — Great Mastery	191	Uses multiple phantom images to attack Liu Cang from different directions.
Heart Furnace Three Forgings — Second Golden Mark; Faint Psychic Will	200	Further stabilizes the seal on his three poisons and develops limited physical influence and closed-eye perception.
Peak Elephant-Hurling — Nine Seeds	206 207	Emerges from seclusion ready to challenge Azure Hall’s strongest disciples.
Beyond the Elephant-Hurling Limit — Tenth Seed	211	Physical capabilities become approximately one and a half times normal peak Elephant-Hurling, with a much larger increase in combat power.
Whale-Swallowing Art — Perfection	211	Completes his primary cultivation art and turns toward further True Canon practice.
Red Chiuch Sixfold Shedding True Canon — Third Layer	211	Recorded at 12%; intended to become his primary method after completion.
Whale-Killing Fist — Peak Perfection	218	Unlocks “Heaven and Earth Shaken, Sea Trembled, Whale-Splitting Chan” and gains extreme realm power.
Startling Swan Wandering Dragon — Perfection	219	Achieves “One-Night Wandering Dragon Dance” and masters Wandering Dragon Force.
Windling Crossing — Second Layer	219	Advances his rare aerial-movement art before Dragon Rising.
Twenty Blood-Energy Seeds	225	Safely absorbs an Elephant-Swallowing Grand Elixir through the Blood Flood Art; the twentieth seed fully condenses and strengthens his body through resonance.

Background / History

Li Xiuwen came from the Prosperous State and crossed illegally into Fragrant Sea three years before the opening chapters. A Snake-Catcher Group kidnapped him, and Chen Ziyi paid twenty thousand to secure his release. Xiuwen subsequently lived with Chen and his wife, Li Ying, whose noodle workshop supported their financially strained household 2 3.

A month before the story begins, Brother Ji knocked the original owner of Xiuwen’s body unconscious. Xiuwen awakened with memories of a previous life and access to a mysterious Incense Burner. He initially worked at Wu Jun Hair Salon and saved roughly two thousand toward martial tuition, hoping to gain protection without entering gang life unprepared 1.

Although he initially preferred Night Heron’s reputation, he eventually trained at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall under Huang Sihai. His uncle supplied 2,300 toward his training, while Brother Jun provided additional wages and an advance. Xiuwen’s ambitions extended beyond self-defense: he wanted admission to the Learning Society and a secure home for the relatives who had rescued him 1 3 6 7 32.

Appearance

• Early build: Initially described as frail, contributing to his aunt’s doubts about his martial prospects 2.
• Developed physique: At Black Membrane, his muscles are balanced and streamlined rather than bulky; he compares his build to Bruce Lee’s, though somewhat fuller 43.
• Complexion: A Spring Hunt disguise reveals him as a dark-skinned man 176.
• Eyes: Practicing the completed Heart Furnace Three Forgings makes his eyes noticeably more spirited 82.
• Defensive markings: Body tempering produces purple-gold markings in his skin membrane and, at higher levels, black-gold patterns and mysterious armor 33 125 224.
• Blood: Elephant-Hurling gives him pale-gold blood; exceeding its normal limit deepens the gold and begins coating his tendons and vessels with a golden sheen 188 211.
• Clothing: Wears training uniforms and later the Young Tiger Black Robe when seated as Azure Hall’s Senior Brother 124 210.

Personality

Xiuwen is cautious, practical, and explicitly afraid of death. He refuses early gang opportunities because he lacks the strength and backing to survive them, conceals his best techniques, and delays attacks until he can control the consequences. As his standing grows, he deliberately reveals enough talent to obtain resources without exposing every advantage 1 24 117 137.

His discipline is unusually persistent. He studies on dry rations, remains after lessons, trains painfully at night, and uses repeated defeats as opportunities to improve. Romance and social approval interest him less than martial advancement, although he acknowledges that useful connections can create opportunities 6 24 41 64 170.

Family gratitude is central to his decisions. He regards his aunt and uncle as his only family, repays their sacrifices, funds his uncle’s medical care, and seeks safer housing for them. Success also makes him more willing to support trusted classmates and reward subordinates, even when money remains tight 3 30 61 94 108 117.

His protective instincts coexist with calculated brutality. He kills extortionists, cripples dangerous captives, and considers eliminating enemies before they can become greater threats. Nevertheless, victories against stronger opponents do not make him believe himself invincible; he repeatedly accepts that higher realms and better-prepared fighters remain dangerous 27 112 130 218 226.

Abilities & Skills

Incense Burner

• Registers martial arts, theoretical knowledge, cultivation stages, and proficiency percentages 1 6 17.
• Associates learned arts with incense that burns through practice; breakthroughs can replace a stick with a larger one, while Perfection may leave golden smoke instead 23 113.
• Makes effort produce permanent progress without martial bottlenecks; it does not directly accelerate training 23.
• Does not replace instruction, nourishment, medicine, or the knowledge needed to begin an advanced method. Xiuwen initially cannot learn Heart Furnace Three Forgings because his theoretical foundation is insufficient 1 48.

Grand Void Illusory Realm

• Provides repeated, immersive combat against reproduced opponents, allowing Xiuwen to lose, die, reform, and try again 63.
• Builds practical fighting instincts and detailed knowledge of opponents’ techniques 44 49 154.
• Improves proficiency in combat arts, movement techniques, and concealed weapons through simulated practice 42 90 113.
• Supports reconnaissance: he records the surroundings and sewer routes near Lin Xiasheng’s residence before considering intervention 176.
• Simulated victories do not automatically establish real-world superiority. Xiuwen continues to assess cultivation gaps, surprise factors, and whether he can kill a target safely 139 170 226.

Binding Armor Skill / Dragon-Binding Skill

• His principal body-tempering art and a repeatedly concealed life-saving advantage 49 190.
• Uses medicines and painful conditioning, including having relatives strike his body with a hammer 33 41.
• Strengthens both defense and striking power through markings within his skin membrane 33.
• At Great Mastery, lets him move defensive patterns over vulnerable areas such as his face and eyelids; groin reinforcement remains an active training objective 125.
• Its later Black-Gold Mysterious Armor deflects Xiao Feng’s hidden weapons and repairs damaged sections 224.
• Is not invulnerable: Chang Shixian’s inner-heaven-and-earth force shatters the armor and splits Xiuwen’s skin during their tournament battle 228.

Sea Sand Combat Arts

Art / Force	Function and documented applications
Sand-Turning Palm	Develops from Soft Palm into the Hard-Soft Palm, blending opposing forces into delayed internal explosions 31 41.
Red Whale Momentum	Rare higher force that substantially strengthens a perfected Sand-Turning Palm and marks potential Sea Sand inheritance 77.
Shattered Sea	Leg technique incorporating hard-soft force; its Tornado Kill lets him challenge Lu Yu despite weaker qi and blood 91 100.
Whale-Killing Fist	Sea Sand Style’s foremost Shark-tier combat method, taught to him by exception after he perfects Shattered Sea 117.
Limitless Tremor Fist	An ancestral inheritance whose advanced stages require stronger cultivation; it can transform the style’s core Martial Way Aura 188 190.
Whale-Splitting Chan	Whale-Killing Fist’s ultimate form, unlocked at Peak Perfection; concentrates his abundant qi and blood into extreme realm physical force 218.

• Transfers principles between arts, including hard-soft force into kicks and blade timing into Whale-Killing Fist 91 137 139.
• Uses unusually developed combat instincts to bring techniques to bear more effectively than inexperienced tournament rivals 135.

Movement Techniques

• Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance: Enables water-crossing and increasingly light, elusive movement. Its perfected form unlocks Wave-Climbing Force, allowing him to evade almost all of Lu Yu’s attacks during simulated testing 39 63 113.
• Startling Swan Wandering Dragon: Advanced Red Chiuyou Style movement taught by Mr. Long. At Great Mastery, it produces numerous phantom images; at Perfection, it unlocks Wandering Dragon Force 143 191 219.
• Windling Crossing: Rare aerial-movement art, advanced to its second layer before Dragon Rising 219.

Blade Arts, Concealed Weapons, and Firearms

• Cook Ding’s True Interpretation: Uses twin pig-slaughtering blades; its Fast-Slow principle counters opponents who depend on superior speed 99 137.
• Harmonizing with the Great Transformation: Perfected blade form producing a near-continuous cutting storm 170.
• Hybrid blade technique: Combines Fast-Slow principles with Hard-Soft Force to defeat Wang the Fat in the Illusory Realm 139.
• Sand-Containing Book: Concealed-weapon art improving range, power, and accuracy; works effectively alongside Palm Thunder 94 113.
• Three-Kick Flying Knives: A signature skill associated with his street name, “Little Blade Wen” 99.
• Firearm tactics: Uses accurate shooting, feints, and targeted leg shots to neutralize dangerous opponents, including Little Loudspeaker’s Flood Dragon Muscle attacker and Bucktooth Zhen 90 112.

Cultivation Methods and Blood Flood Art

• Sea-Sand Stance / Sea of Stake Training: Builds his early membrane cultivation; Huang later offers an advanced form capable of concealing his aura 23 43 68.
• Sleeping Shark Technique: Supports muscle-stage cultivation and develops fine control over his muscles 88 108.
• Whale-Swallowing Art: Sea Sand Style’s final training manual, later brought to Perfection 130 211.
• Red Chiuch Sixfold Shedding True Canon: An orthodox method for crossing the Three Gates, studied under Mr. Long alongside his existing cultivation 143 163 211.
• Blood Flood Art: Allows additional blood-qi seeds during Tiger Elephant if the body and skin membrane are sufficiently strong. His Dragon-Binding training makes him particularly suited to it 176.
• Uses the Blood Flood Art to survive and absorb the Elephant-Swallowing Grand Elixir, fully condensing his twentieth seed 225.
• Has not been shown entering Golden Network in the supplied material; greater seed capacity and Golden Network-level attacks remain distinct from an actual realm breakthrough 211 226 228.

Mental Cultivation and Perception

• Heart Furnace Three Forgings: Trains the mind rather than the body, strengthens willpower, and develops a Heart Pellet in the niwan palace 82 110.
• Its golden marks help stabilize the seal restraining his three poisons 200.
• Faint psychic will: Slightly affects the physical world and senses rough outlines within approximately ten feet, even with closed eyes 200.
• Heavenly Dragon Qi-Observing Art: Senses cultivation and dragon-vein energy; its higher potential includes predicting an opponent’s movements 188.
• Detects white dragon qi at a Martial Tomb and later reads his companions’ cultivation at a glance 207 211.
• Studies Youshan Aura Painting Art to cultivate an embryonic inner-heaven-and-earth aura, but the supplied passages do not confirm completion of that goal 200 228.

Secret Arts and Spirit Invocation

• Fight to the Death: Burns blood to amplify qi and blood. Its higher levels offer stronger bursts at increasing bodily risk 108 132.
• Killing Aura / Killing Qi Song: Develops killing swords through cultivation; its second layer produces six 132 184.
• Spirit Invocation: Invokes the ancestral master’s spirit to enhance combat. Xiuwen uses it against Wen Tianming and opens the spirit-summoning state against Zuo Tianqing 198 228.
• Little Mystic Heaven Finger: Iron Bone-level striking art that penetrates Xiao Feng’s defenses in simulated testing. It can injure or kill a Golden Network opponent under favorable conditions, but does not make such opponents reliably beatable 225 226.
• Frenzy Dragon State: A limited-duration combat state considered in his assessment of fighting Golden Network enemies 226.

Martial Scholarship and Yin-Yang Arts

• Studies anatomy, acupoints, martial principles, and rare cultivation resources rather than relying exclusively on physical practice 6 44.
• Works through the difficult Profound Passage Classic, whose theory extends beyond his current realm 183.
• Becomes Sister Lao’s disciple and receives her notes and the Mountain-Moving Formation Diagram 198.
• The formation art concerns tomb exploration, occult restrictions, and creating favorable battlefields; receiving instruction does not establish full mastery 198.
• Uses martial metaphysics and facial observation when assessing a target’s background and disposition 202.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Palm Thunder — Firearm used in the sewer rescue of Little Loudspeaker; Xiuwen fires five shots and targets the attacker’s legs after initial shots fail to kill him 90.
• Twin pig-slaughtering blades — Ancestral weapons seized from Pig Butcher and used with Cook Ding’s True Interpretation 99.
• Jujube-Kernel Nails — Concealed weapons; one kills Chang San when he attempts to shoot Xiuwen during the Deer-Chasing War 130.
• Steel rings — Used creatively for offense and defense alongside his weapon skills 99.
• Human-Skin Mask — Used for covert reconnaissance and disguises, including scouting Chen Tingjun’s villa district 202.
• Communicator — Expensive device gifted by Little Loudspeaker when she hires him as head instructor 60.
• Wumeng Scripture — Poison-based method taken from Bucktooth Zhen. Offers a possible route beyond Tiger Elephant but is dangerous enough that Xiuwen hides it and postpones practicing it 112 113.
• Lion Vajra Body manual — Gift from Lion-Head Buddha; intended for study alongside his principal Dragon-Binding art 190.
• Fish balls and refined fish balls — Qi-and-blood supplements supplied by Huang. Their diminishing effectiveness and accumulated medicine poison eventually make Xiuwen more selective about using them 17 49 63 110.
• Great Elixirs — Major cultivation resources purchased or earned through missions; include Flood-Dragon, Blood-Coagulating, and Elephant-Swallowing elixirs 99 183 215 225.
• Cook Ding’s True Interpretation manual — Taken from Pig Butcher and studied before being exchanged at Ever Joy Tower for ten Tongbao 99.

Relationships

Family and Mentors

• Li Ying / Yingmei — Aunt-in-law who shelters and feeds him, advocates for his training, and helps with hammer conditioning. He later funds the household and encourages her health 2 3 41.
• Chen Ziyi — Uncle-in-law who pays his ransom and reluctantly finances his apprenticeship. Xiuwen repays the family’s debts and insists that Chen seek treatment for his illness 2 3 30 94.
• Huang Sihai — Principal martial master. Initially skeptical of his physique, Huang becomes his supporter, teaches core Sea Sand arts, accepts him as a direct disciple, and names him Fourth Prodigy 44 77 117 188 190.
• Old Chen — Scholarly teacher who lends him Miscellanies from a Martial Tomb and encourages critical study. Their friendship makes Old Chen’s later farewell emotionally difficult 6 139.
• Mr. Long / Mr. Dragon — Learning Society instructor who teaches advanced methods, evaluates his ambitions, introduces new opportunities, and provides a valuable letter to the Tiger-Running Spring Master 143 163 183 221.
• Sister Lao — Mountain-Moving mentor who formally accepts him as a disciple and teaches Yin-Yang arts with Learning Society funding 198.
• Tiger Granny — Senior adviser who briefs him on competitors, encourages mental cultivation, and warns him about assassination threats 188 194.
• Crown Prince Ren — Institutional supporter who rewards his killing of Thunder God Lo, helps secure admission, and leads the Learning Society delegation at Dragon Rising 132 160 219.

Friends and Allies

• Little Loudspeaker — Friend, employer, and trusted companion. They exchange secrets, work together, and grow closer after Xiuwen returns to save her from a superior assassin 60 77 90.
• Big Brother Mo — Little Loudspeaker’s father and Xiuwen’s patron. Sets advancement conditions for his instructor post, then offers a recommendation after Xiuwen saves his daughter 61 90.
• Liu Chun — Early rival and sparring partner who later joins his crew. His instruction benefits her training, and she becomes attached to their conditioning routine 41 49 117 125.
• A Zhen — Friendly classmate who offers practice, teases him about marriage, and later accepts a position among his reserve Straw Sandals 6 41 117.
• Big Silly Qiang — Supportive classmate whose strength initially exceeds Xiuwen’s. Despite insecurity over their widening gap, he congratulates Xiuwen and later joins his crew 23 42 117.
• Chen Jia — Senior schoolmate, friend, and subordinate who helps manage Galaxy Bar and participates in missions 94 108 112.
• Redhead Eight — Initially skeptical fellow gang member who later guards Xiuwen’s territory alongside Chen Jia and receives a bonus 94 108.
• Lion-Head Buddha — Hesheng Tu martial supporter who rewards missions, offers body-tempering inheritances, and agrees to help protect Xiuwen’s family after his departure 99 125 139 190.
• Lan Zixiang / Little Basket — Subordinate protected in exchange for errands and one-third of his monthly income. Xiuwen later encourages him to gain confidence through arena competition 148 207.
• Ao Jiu — Fellow Four Seas disciple and team-event partner who acknowledges Xiuwen’s unexpected Tiger Elephant advancement 133 135.
• Gui Xuanling / Green-Haired Turtle — Tournament opponent turned companion and Axe Gang recruit; both conceal more strength than they outwardly display 135 152 190.
• Chen Beiwang, Qiu Xiang, and Thunder Boy — Senior Sea Sand disciples who celebrate his achievements. Xiuwen shares Spirit Invocation with them, enabling Chen’s successful ancestral fusion 194 198 229.
• Su Cha — Martial ally who offers protection, intelligence, and practical warnings concerning Spring Hunt targets 154 169.
• Wang Daorong — Respected rival who acknowledges Xiuwen’s ability. Repeated simulated defeats against him help refine Xiuwen’s techniques and judgment 170 169 206 211.
• Zhang Lingxuan — Exceptional rival whose defeat establishes Xiuwen’s reputation; later invites him to meet again for another summit battle 194 206.

Childhood Connections and Enemies

• Brother Jun / Wu Jun — Salon employer and early benefactor who gives Xiuwen extra wages and training funds 1 7.
• Li Nanshu — Childhood friend who recognizes his hidden capability, considers him the most promising of their old circle, and hopes to help his future 27 88.
• Zhao Dalong — Old companion who reconnects him with their hometown circle; later admires his achievements while remaining committed to Heaven’s Will 7 25 137.
• Ding Sheng — Former peer whose polite distance develops into jealousy over Xiuwen’s martial success 40 137.
• Lu Yu — Paid sparring client turned recommendation rival. Their cordial exchanges conceal mutual calculation, and she stops funding extra lessons once he threatens to overtake her 88 108.
• Longlegs Seven — Early superior opponent and Little Loudspeaker’s younger brother. Xiuwen eventually defeats him, reversing their initial power imbalance 42 61 100.
• Brother Ji — Gang enforcer whose assault precedes Xiuwen’s transmigration awakening; his later death becomes a secret Xiuwen fears Third Master may uncover 1 23.
• Third Master — Extortionist killed by Xiuwen; the seized money finances debt repayment, family support, and training 30.
• Dao Youming — Persistent enemy eliminated during the Deer-Chasing War through a precisely prepared attack 108 128 130.
• Thunder God Lo — Stronger gang enemy whom Xiuwen initially avoids attacking. His later killing earns a reward from Crown Prince Ren 132 160.
• Hong Sanquan — Iron Wire bully defeated by Xiuwen; repeatedly targets him and Lan Zixiang, then vows to overcome him within a year 148 151 169.
• Wang Wu — Iron Wire enemy who admits encouraging Sun Sanpao’s attack and later travels to the Prosperous State seeking to kill Xiuwen 191 211 219 224.
• Xiao Feng — 4K Gang assassin pursuing revenge and advancement. Her mountain-hunt attack fails to kill him 186 207 224.
• Wu Meihua — Rival from the broader Quicksand Sea lineage whom Xiuwen particularly wants to defeat for Huang’s honor 194 218 228.
• Zuo Tianqing — Favored Dragon Rising contender ultimately defeated by Xiuwen despite awakening further potential during the contest 224 228 229.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Walled City Survival and Apprenticeship

• Declines Brother Jun’s gang connection and pursues martial tuition as a safer first step toward independence 1.
• Receives reluctant family funding, then begins combining physical training with martial scholarship 3 6.
• Conceals body-tempering training while advancing beyond classmates’ expectations 23.
• Kills Third Master and devotes ten thousand of the twenty-four-thousand-yuan windfall to debts and the family workshop 30.
• Becomes the only winning Four Seas first-floor disciple in the Night Heron challenge, gaining public notice and access to movement instruction 38 40.

Second Gate and Hesheng Tu Advancement

• Uses repeated Illusory Realm fights to overtake Liu Chun without needing to expose Hard Qigong 49.
• Accepts Little Loudspeaker’s head-instructor position while initially retaining independence from gang membership 60.
• Survives Second Gate initiation and begins planning for the Crossing River Association 68.
• Saves Little Loudspeaker from a Flood Dragon Muscle attacker, earning her family’s gratitude and potential recommendation support 90.
• Joins Hesheng Tu as a Cloth Shoe, manages Galaxy Impression, and uses income and mission rewards to support cultivation and medical expenses 94 99 112.

Deer-Chasing War and Crossing River Championship

• Reveals Tiger Elephant cultivation by killing Dao Youming before the rival side can concede 128 130.
• Helps secure Hesheng Tu’s victory, dissolution of the Thunder God Shed, and acquisition of its businesses 130.
• Receives Red Pole rank and half the net profits from the conquered businesses while leaving their management to the gang 130.
• Competes alongside Ao Jiu before advancing through the individual bouts and becoming Youth Division Martial Champion 133 135 136.
• Leaves for the Learning Society with promises of protection for his relatives and a personal commitment to restore Huang’s future prospects 139.

Learning Society and Azure Hall

• Defeats Iron Wire opponents and reverses Hong Sanquan’s bullying system against him 148 151.
• Helps the Tiger-Crane Society win control of Hongfu District and receives two hundred Tongbao 169.
• Develops beyond ordinary Tiger Hunt expectations, defeating early Elephant-Hurling opponents and reaching eleventh in Azure Hall 183 186.
• Receives Sea Sand ancestral inheritance, becomes Fourth Prodigy, and expands the Axe Gang with Learning Society recruits 188 190.
• Defeats Zhang Lingxuan, becomes a Mountain-Moving disciple, and counters Wen Tianming’s assassination attempt 194 198.
• Rises through the rankings to become Azure Hall’s Senior Brother, then exceeds Elephant-Hurling’s normal physical limit 207 210 211.

Dragon-Raising-Head Dharma Assembly

• Enters as a Thirty-Two Paths seed while concealing his blood field and expanded blood-qi reserves 219.
• Finishes fifth in the seven-day mountain hunt with seventy points, qualifying for the Eight Paths; survives Xiao Feng’s assassination attempt during the stage 225 224.
• Condenses his twentieth blood-energy seed before the final rounds 225.
• Advances into the Four Paths, withstands Chang Shixian’s inner-heaven-and-earth attacks, and confronts Zuo Tianqing with spirit invocation and overwhelming qi and blood 228.
• Defeats Zuo Tianqing and is recognized as Path Champion, exceeding the expectations of senior masters who had viewed him as a limited dark horse 229.

Notable Quotes

“Master, I know what I’m working with. I just want to give it everything I have, so I won’t regret it when I’m old.” 65

“The Incense Burner’s contribution is undeniable, but my diligence was just as important... Let’s call it fifty-fifty.” 49

“Let our fists do the talking.” 191

“As Azure Hall’s Senior Brother, I welcome all my brothers and sisters to challenge me! May the Longchang Community School flourish, and may Anping enjoy happiness year after year!” 210

Trivia

• His nickname Little Blade Wen originates from his impressive Three-Kick Flying Knives rather than being a title he selects himself 99.
• He calls Brother Ji, Wang the Fat, Pig Butcher, Li Jiasheng, and the Old Madman his “five treasure stars” because of the valuable arts and opportunities associated with them 176.
• He describes himself as half an ascetic despite extensive elixir use, emphasizing the hard training performed between doses and during consolidation 64 183.
• He allows observers to mistake his concealed Dragon-Binding defenses for Dragon-Roaring Iron Cloth Shirt, even purchasing that art’s medicinal ingredients to maintain the appearance 154.
• After his Path Champion victory, an enthusiastic spectator gives him a basket of free-range eggs; he returns to his viewing stand still carrying it 229.