Liu Zheng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Liu Zheng (柳争)
Alias(es)	Inspector Liu; Captain Liu; Section Chief Liu 14 59 179
Species/Race	Human; described as having begun his Tower expeditions as a mortal 241
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Inspection Bureau, Investigation Division; Tower Climbers 150 333
Occupation/Role	Section Chief of the Inspection Bureau’s Investigation Division; commander of Bureau-affiliated Tower Climbers; captain of an Adventure Ship in the Secret Sea 232 333 465
Family	His father is the director of the Inspection Bureau 333
Primary Power Path	Martial Dao / Essence Refinement; later abandons immortal cultivation to pursue the Divine Intent Realm 416 686
Status	Alive at his latest documented appearance, returning through the Ancient Gate 687
First Documented Appearance	Fighting Beastskin-clad bandits in the Newcomer Secret Realm 7

Power Progression

Liu Zheng’s exact intermediate cultivation tiers are not supplied. His stated intention to enter the Divine Intent Realm is not a confirmed breakthrough 686.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Mortal; equipment-dependent combatant	7 43	Fights through psionic weapons and shields. Chen Lingling describes his immediate combat strength without modern equipment as practically nonexistent.
Talent-tree enhancements	120	Uses the newly available talent skill tree and acknowledges that Great Ruins Source Points directly improve strength; his particular upgrades are not identified.
Advanced Martial Dao cultivation; tier unspecified	241	His blood qi resembles scorching magma to Wu Yu’s perception. Bureau resources allow him to make consecutive breakthroughs through accelerated training; comparatively little has been invested in Qi Refining or Spirit Refinement.
Further Essence Refinement; limited progress on the other two paths	416	Has accumulated immense transcendent blood qi, but rapid, resource-heavy advancement has outpaced his body’s transformation and risks damaging it.
Immortal cultivation abandoned; Divine Intent Realm targeted	686	Explicitly states that he has given up the cultivation path and may attempt a Divine Intent breakthrough at the Inspection Bureau. Despite the group’s initial assumption, he has not become a Foundation Establishment Adept.

Background / History

Liu Zheng comes from a politically influential family: his father directs the Inspection Bureau, while Liu himself becomes Section Chief of its Investigation Division. His position gives him access to restricted psionic equipment, institutional funds, and substantial cultivation resources 7 182 333.

He and the original group begin their Great Ruins expeditions as mortals. As the Tower’s influence expands, Liu Zheng gathers Bureau-affiliated climbers under his command and channels institutional support into his own advancement. His access to premium medicines contrasts sharply with Yu Tiezhu’s low-grade supplies 148 149 232 241.

Appearance

• Tall build: Bai Xiaotian’s attack sends his “tall” body into a rock wall 31.
• Official clothing: Appears in an Inspection Bureau uniform during his call to Wu Yu and in formal attire before a later expedition 59 352.
• Advanced combat armor: Wears armor incorporating microscopic robots and interwoven spirit-energy formations after the Dusk City expedition 179.
• Period disguises: Changes into local clothing in True Martial City, but complains that his outfit makes him resemble a servant 77.

Personality

Liu Zheng cultivates the image of a serious, dependable official. He reassures frightened teammates, promises Bureau protection, and presents cooperation as a duty shared by the group. Wu Yu nevertheless judges that his fairness lasts only while it does not conflict with his personal interests 8 14 15 70.

Reputation and hierarchy matter strongly to him. He enjoys praise, expects deference from subordinates, and frequently lectures others. His confidence is not matched by consistent discretion: Liu Yu draws confidential Bureau plans out of him, and Market District swindlers exploit his misplaced trust in local traders 183 241 331.

His ambition combines institutional authority with a desire for personal advancement. He defends concentrating resources in a selected force as a means of maintaining order, but makes promised benefits conditional on Bureau membership and contributions. Wang Yan’s poor expedition result later exposes the cost of serving Liu Zheng’s objectives 180 686.

He is also capable of composure under severe injury. After being revived from a Kalia Cult ambush, his first concern is whether the group secured its prize, not the condition of his body 544.

Abilities & Skills

Psionic Warfare

• Uses pistols, rifles, drones, explosive shells, shields, cannons, missiles, and laser arrays to compensate for or supplement personal strength 7 283 317 522.
• Deploys twelve Laser arrays simultaneously, suppressing more than a dozen opponents using either technology or transcendent powers 522.
• His equipment can be exhausted: bandits deliberately wear down his energy reserves before their leader attacks, while Bai Xiaotian strikes before he can replace a psionic battery 7 31.
• His heavy dependence on technological support repeatedly reduces his Tower settlement rewards 180 331 547 686.

Martial Dao and Blood Qi

• Focuses his resources primarily on Essence Refinement rather than developing all three transcendent paths equally 241 416.
• His blood-qi defense repels a Beauty Snake’s surprise attack, allowing him and his companions to kill it with Psionic Rifles 283.
• Excessive use of advancement medicines leaves his blood qi insufficiently integrated with his body, creating a risk of self-injury 416.
• Plans to pursue the Divine Intent Realm after abandoning immortal cultivation 686.

Talent and Expedition Logistics

• His talent’s name and exact mechanics remain undisclosed. Liu Yu attributes some of his equipment advantage to it, while Chen Lingling speculates that it may be spatial 43 99.
• Appears able to bring more supplies into the Tower than other members of the team 416.
• Wu Yu believes the talent affects transporting people or resources through the Great Ruins. Liu Zheng states that no spatial talent or equipment allows climbers to take humans out of a Great Ruins world 622.

Command and Intelligence Gathering

• Commands a large contingent of Bureau Tower Climbers and directs coordinated operations using institutional equipment 161 232.
• Uses a Micro Drone apparently to record Redfang Village; damaged data chips later frustrate him after his capture 15 44.
• Deploys machinery at the ruined temple while Yu Tiezhu scans and repairs it 86.
• Announces a partnership with Deep Space Bank to establish a recorded, taxed Tower Trading Spirit Realm 241.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Psionic Pistol — Kills ordinary bandits efficiently but only lightly wounds their transcendent leader 7.
• Micro Drone — Fires psionic shells and apparently records video for intelligence gathering 7 15.
• Psionic Shield Belt — Automatically deflects incoming arrows. Wu Yu notes that even a secondhand belt can cost 500,000 yuan 7.
• Psionic Batteries — Replaceable power sources; changing one leaves him vulnerable during his clash with Bai Xiaotian 31.
• Healing injections — Rapidly stop bleeding and repair wounds; a powerful injection helps restore him after his rescue from Lostway Cave 8 44.
• Spatial spirit-energy chip — Wu Yu identifies it as the source of replacement equipment produced after Liu Zheng’s capture 44.
• Advanced armor — Incorporates microscopic robots and spirit-energy formations 179.
• Psionic Rifles — Used with Wang Yan and Yu Tiezhu to kill the Beauty Snake 283.
• Psionic Core Cannon and a purple cannon — Part of his heavy loadout for demon-hunting missions 317.
• Ten heavy Spirit Energy missiles — Brought into the Spirit Void Ancient Realm; Liu Zheng claims they could destroy a small mountain 317.
• Twelve Laser arrays — Provide overwhelming fire support against Western Tower Climbers 522.
• Substitute Death items — Nearly exhausted during the Kalia Cult ambush that leaves him critically wounded 544.
• Hotel membership card — Lent to Yu Tiezhu so his family can enter the Riverside Grand Hotel 345.

Relationships

• Wu Yu — Teammate and rescuer. Wu Yu revives him in Lostway Cave but conceals the expedition’s true events and misdirects his evacuation route. Liu Zheng later acknowledges the rescue and becomes more deferential after Wu Yu reaches Foundation Establishment 44 59 596 622.
• Yu Tiezhu — Loyal subordinate. Liu Zheng arranges secure housing, directs his training and reward choices, and reprimands unauthorized behavior. Yu repeatedly defends him and accepts his authority 68 148 181 279.
• Wang Yan — Subordinate and combat companion. Supplies resources for Liu Zheng’s attempts at the Divine Ability Wall and helps protect him; later hides resentment after Liu Zheng’s use of him contributes to a Grade C settlement 283 316 686.
• Bai Xiaotian — Hostile teammate. Bai attacks him in the Newcomer Secret Realm and condemns the Bureau’s failure to stop corporate experimentation on orphans. He later cooperates pragmatically but refuses to rely on Liu Zheng’s politically connected assistance 31 68 333.
• Liu Yu — Teammate and frequent critic. Uses sarcasm and calculated flattery to expose Liu Zheng’s claims, extract information, and challenge his handling of Source Points 119 183 241 331.
• Chen Lingling — Wary teammate. Initially questions freeing him from his cocoon, later relays his invitation to the Kalia Cult campaign, and eventually accepts a private group dinner despite her conflict with the Bureau 43 525 686.
• Fang Wujiu — Younger teammate who helps carry him to treatment after the Kalia Cult ambush and preserves the recovered skull 448 544.
• His father — Director of the Inspection Bureau. Liu Zheng invokes his father’s influence when offering help with sensitive affairs 333.
• Zhou Dongdong — New teammate who pledges obedience. Liu Zheng later angrily condemns his departure from the group and questions his account of his previous team’s destruction 353 414.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Newcomer Secret Realm

• Fights coordinated Beastskin-clad bandits with costly psionic equipment. Their leader waits until his supplies are depleted, breaks his shield, and pressures him into a close-range drone strike 7.
• Removes an arrow from his thigh, injects medicine, and escapes rather than finishing the wounded leader 8.
• Reappears in Redfang Village, promising to lead the others out once his own business is finished 14 15.
• Loses an arm when Bai Xiaotian breaks through his shield and attacks him at close range 31.
• Is later knocked unconscious by a flesh-puppet ambush and imprisoned in a cocoon by Fat Chef. Wu Yu orders his release for strategic reasons and revives him with Spirit Wine 43 44.
• Takes charge of the evacuation without realizing that Wu Yu has supplied a false account of events 44.

True Martial City

• Offers Bureau assistance to the revived Bai Xiaotian, but cannot answer Bai’s accusations about abused orphans 68.
• Secures the group’s agreement to cooperate despite real-world disputes, then helps establish equipment in the ruined temple 70 86.
• Faces a Weird Object duplicate whose life signature also passes the Cosmic Sphere’s identity verification 93.
• After returning, dismisses the Tower’s training facilities and attempts to purchase teammates’ Source Points cheaply. Only Yu Tiezhu agrees to part with his remaining points 118 119.

Dusk City and Bureau Expansion

• Leads an expanding force against Dusk City’s wandering knights, believing superior numbers and firepower will allow him to dominate the city. The violence awakens a dangerous Viscount 161.
• Commands Bureau climbers against the Fortress Legion and subsequently boasts about exploiting local factions 232 241.
• Reveals that River City’s leaders had prepared to flee a merger with Dusk City, abandoning ordinary residents. Also announces the Deep Space Bank trading partnership 241.

Spirit Void Ancient Realm

• Survives a Beauty Snake ambush and retreats from the Ghost Bride procession with Wang Yan and Yu Tiezhu 283.
• Spends days at the Divine Ability Wall with resources supplied by his subordinates, but fails to comprehend a Divine Ability 316.
• Returns to the demon-hunting team with heavy weapons and pushes for missions worth 100,000 spirit stones 317.
• Is swindled out of nearly all his spirit stones while trying to purchase a promising spirit beast in the Market District 331.

Five-Element Cultivation Realm

• Condemns Zhou Dongdong for leaving the group despite its available defensive trump cards 414.
• Takes part in preparations for the next expedition while Wu Yu notices the instability caused by his excessively accelerated cultivation 416.

Secret Sea

• Assembles a ship and assumes command of the group’s Adventure Ship 452 465.
• Accepts Church of Justice quests against Kalia Cultists and their collaborators. The investigation uncovers hostile Tower Climbers and develops into an aerial battle 523.
• His laser fire suppresses enemy fighters, but the Kalia Blood Sword immobilizes its targets and threatens to overwhelm the group. Wu Yu intervenes through Soul Projection and helps finish the remaining enemies 522 523.
• Suffers a later Kalia Cult ambush while investigating a noble and pursuing treasure. Amy removes the divine curse preventing treatment, after which Vina and the Chief Priest heal him 544.

Frostsky Purgatory and Change of Path

• Defers to Wu Yu’s judgment after recognizing his Foundation Establishment status, allowing him to handle the encounter with Zhao Yulian 596.
• Seeks information about a missile battle and explains the restriction against transporting Great Ruins inhabitants out of their worlds 622.
• Returns with a Grade A settlement, announces his plan to pursue Divine Intent, and invites the team to a celebration. When most decline, he arranges a separate private dinner 686.
• Spends 100,000 Source Points to reveal the next destination, Azure Heaven Realm—Thousandfall Market, then leaves through the Ancient Gate with Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan 686 687.

Documented Settlement Results

Expedition / Return	Rating	Reward Penalty / Reaction
Dusk City return	Low-C 180	Objects that the assessment discounts victories achieved through technological support.
Spirit Void Ancient Realm	Low-B 331	Questions a 60% reduction in rewards, then takes pride in his rating.
Secret Sea	Exact rating not supplied 547	Again complains that technological equipment reduced his score.
Frostsky Purgatory	Grade A 686	Reports a 30% reward reduction for using too many technological weapons.

Notable Quotes

“Rest assured, everyone. The Inspection Bureau will protect every citizen of the Federation!” 15

“Whatever disagreements we have in the real world, we’re teammates here. We should work together, not cause trouble!” 70

“I’ve given up on the cultivation path.” 686