Zhao Feng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhao Feng (赵峰)
Titles	Prince of Northern Pacification; previously Duke of State Support 357 383.
Gender	Male
Origin	Transmigrator from Blue Star; his new life begins in a body belonging to a young man from Jiazi Ravine Village 4 303 306 348.
Affiliation	Huo Family Martial Arts School; Nine Yang Gate; Great Yan Imperial Court; Martial Suppression Bureau; Four Seas Trading House 34 130 230 348.
Occupation/Role	Commandant of the Martial Suppression Bureau; imperial prince; Nine Yang Gate personal disciple; Four Seas Trading House Attendant 130 230 348 383.
Root Bone	Fifth-grade, repeatedly regarded by instructors and rival sects as a limitation on his potential 29 113 150.
Highest Documented Realm	Late Innate, advancing toward its peak before the Hidden Sect Grand Assembly 381.
Status	Alive, but recovering from grave Dantian damage and a nearly shattered golden body after fighting the Demon Sect’s young master 395.

Power Progression

Pill Embracement is also called Embracing Elixir Force in the supplied passages. Temporary boosts are distinguished from permanent advancement.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Bright Strength	13	Breaks through during stance training. Gains sharper senses, freer circulation of blood and vital energy, and recognition as Huo Shan’s registered disciple.
Eight Extremes Fist — minor mastery	14	Continued practice qualifies him to learn the Second Form and its coiling force.
Eight Extremes Stake Skill — minor mastery	20	Recorded at 256/1,000 experience; his fist technique is also at minor mastery.
Bright Strength — peak	29	Reached after roughly two months of intensive practice supported by beast meat, Vitality Pills, powders, and medicinal baths.
Hidden Force; stake and fist skills — major mastery	34	Succeeds on his first breakthrough attempt. Develops compact internal force and becomes Huo Shan’s sixth inner disciple.
Cloak Saber and Wind God Leg — major mastery; Golden Bell Shield — minor mastery	76	Saber and movement techniques become effective together against groups. Golden Bell Shield reaches the iron-skin level.
Transformation Force	83	Breaks through through Eight Extremes stance training and immediately tests the force with fistwork.
Tai Chi Toad-Fishing Force — beginner	85	Reaches 1/1,000 after an hour of practice with the manual obtained from the confiscated Zhu estate.
Transformation Force — full mastery	103	Eight Extremes Gate examination stewards explicitly recognize the depth and power of his force.
Eight Extremes Fist — perfection and limit break	113	Integrates Six Harmonies Great Spear practice with fistwork. Unlocks Eightfold Waves, initially sustaining only two of its possible eight layers.
Pill Embracement	130	His breakthrough is confirmed, alongside his appointment as the Nine Yang Gate sect master’s fourth personal disciple.
True Yang Cotton Palm — minor mastery; second Pill Embracement qi strand	141	Palm practice strengthens his Nine Yang cultivation. Jasper Wave True Water Technique supplies a separate water-element strand, which he conceals.
Pill Embracement — late stage	207	Yang and water true qi both reach late-stage strength. He can deliver four layered fist blasts and a Four-Star Chain Shot.
True Yang Cotton Palm — limit break	228	Unlocks Yang Extreme Break, a concentrated defense-piercing strike with heavy true-qi consumption.
Overlord Sun-Splitting Spear — limit break	228	Unlocks Thousandfold Shatter, which exhausts the type of true qi used to power it.
Eight Extremes Everlasting Spring Art — late Pill Embracement	228	Brings his wood-element qi to the same stage as his fire and water qi, improving vitality, endurance, and recovery.
Thunderclap Saber — perfection	229	Discovers its strong compatibility with Geng metal true qi.
Early Astral Force — temporary	258	A Bloodburst Pill raises him from late Pill Embracement long enough to ambush Yu Shi; the boost carries severe backlash.
Astral Force — permanently attained by this point	266	Huo Shan learns of his realm. During the siege, Zhao advances thick-earth and Geng metal qi into true essence.
Tai Chi Golden Body Art and Primordial Unity One-Qi Art — beginner	267	Both register 1/4,000. Primordial Unity cultivation requires all five qi streams to become true essence and be capable of merging.
Nine Yang Divine Fist and Nine Yang Sword Technique — introductory	272	Each requires three days of practice to reach 1/5,000 experience.
Golden body, Primordial Unity, Nine Yang fist and sword — major mastery	294	The panel also records major mastery in Blood Soul Secret Art and Breath-Concealing Technique, plus the saber’s Thunderclap One-Saber Slash trait.
Blood Soul Secret Art and Breath-Concealing Technique — perfection	306	Gains near-total aura concealment and a blood-colored soul phantom capable of leaving his body.
Astral Force — late stage	310	Completes cultivation of Primordial Unity One-Qi Art during the return to Bing Province; becomes capable of contending with Innate opponents.
Golden body, Primordial Unity, and Nine Yang sword — perfection	312	All listed arts except Nine Yang Divine Fist have reached perfection, though their distance from their ultimate limits varies.
Nine Yang Divine Fist — perfection	317	Combines it with True Yang Cotton Palm through Left-Right Mutual Combat, sharply strengthening his unarmed offense and defense.
Blood Soul and concealment arts — limit-breaking traits recorded	331	His panel lists Blood Soul Return to Origin and Turtle-Breathing Great Art.
Innate Realm	339	Explicitly described as newly entered while facing Ying Yang with the Nine Yang Divine Sword.
Seven Heaven-Cleaving Forms and Primordial Unity Innate True Canon — entry level	340	Uses Su Qingwan’s translated saber manual and begins the successor to his previous cultivation method.
Perfect golden body; Nine Yang Divine Fist — limit break	349	His body gains strong resistance to sinister yin forces. Unlocks Nine Suns Incinerate Heaven, nearly exhausting his innate true essence.
Yin-Yang Body Tempering True Scripture — minor mastery	369	Further cultivation at this stage requires dual cultivation; Su Qingwan is the only partner he considers.
Innate Realm — late stage	381	Advances toward the peak after twenty days of training. Li Cheng’en assesses his combat strength as roughly equal to an ordinary newly advanced Profound Mastery expert, but far below Lu Bing.

Background / History

Zhao Feng is a transmigrator from Blue Star who has lived two lives. His new body’s original owner wanted to join local thug Huang Biao. After seeing Wang Jinlian flirt with Huang, the original owner confronted them, was beaten, and was pushed into the water. Zhao’s memories of his previous family remain painful even after he develops strong attachments to the Zhao household 4 303 306.

Born into his new life’s impoverished circumstances, he pursues martial training despite poor root bone and widespread expectations of failure. Bright Strength lets him remain at the Huo Family Martial Arts School and earn money through martial work. Wei Yuan’s flexible employment offer provides ten taels monthly, treasure fish, and meat without consuming all his training time 13 16.

His first-attempt Hidden Force breakthrough changes Huo Shan’s assessment: exceptional comprehension can offset his weak physical aptitude. Later success transforms the family’s fortunes through tax and labor exemptions, a larger home, and support for Zhao Shuo’s scholarly ambitions 34 63 98.

Appearance

• Physique: After intensive body tempering, his skin is described as luminous and white as jade, with a proportioned build and muscles containing explosive strength 277.
• Official attire: Wears a Flying Fish Uniform beneath a black cloak while commanding Martial Suppression Guards 264.
• Disguises: Uses human-skin masks and Bone-Shift Shape-Changing Art to alter his face, build, and overall silhouette 258 379.
• Concealed presence: His outwardly harmless appearance can conceal formidable cultivation, particularly after perfecting his aura-concealment art 306.

Personality

Zhao Feng is persistent, practical, and unusually willing to learn from weaker or unfamiliar fighters. He treats sparring and tournament observation as opportunities to study force, timing, and counters rather than simply prove superiority. Social condescension rarely distracts him from training 22 23 50 113.

His loyalty is expressed through material help and personal risk. He rescues Wei Yuan, supports Zhao Shuo’s education, supplies his family with money and medicine, and continues bowing to Huo Shan after surpassing him. He values those who helped him before his rise 93 98 192 229 266.

Caution does not make him merciful toward serious threats. He gathers intelligence before acting, conceals incriminating evidence, and avoids dangerous pursuit, but kills enemies and would-be blackmailers decisively. His treatment of Bald Zhang and Gu He contrasts sharply with his reputation as an honest, kindhearted young martial artist 14 75 88 93 277.

He prefers martial independence to comfortable patronage, refusing a prestigious Han Family post and marriage opportunity. Severe injuries later undermine that confidence: fearing permanent loss of strength, he withdraws emotionally and pushes Su Qingwan away 94 395.

Political Views

• Advocates “the world belongs to all,” extending political concern to commoners rather than only rulers and elites 249.
• Argues that authority and inherited obligations should serve the common good, not that bonds to sovereign, parents, and teachers must be discarded 295.
• His “the people matter most; the ruler matters least” position attracts hostility from academy students and scrutiny from political factions 296 303.
• His protection of civilians gives these views practical weight: imperial recognition credits him with saving one hundred thousand people while fighting barbarian cavalry 295.

Abilities & Skills

Experience Panel

• Tracks individual martial arts through named proficiency stages and numerical experience values 20 34 294.
• Allows Zhao to measure incremental gains from practice and sparring; a physical exchange with Luo Xiong adds three points to Tai Chi Golden Body Art 272.
• Records limit-breaking traits beyond perfected techniques 113 228 331.
• Does not eliminate training difficulty: high-level Nine Yang arts require days merely to enter their introductory stage 272.

Eight Extremes Fist and Stake Skill

• Combines explosive close-range elbows, knees, shoulder strikes, and ramming attacks with Long-Range Pigua 22 53.
• Uses inch force to exploit joints and openings; applies Character-Transformation Force to dissolve or redirect incoming power 38 53 89.
• Iron Mountain Lean becomes especially destructive when combined with Golden Bell Shield, internal tempering, and true qi 149 203.
• Lifting-Character Force strengthens the arms but reduces lower-body stability, requiring evasive footwork 55.
• Eightfold Waves stacks up to eight increasingly powerful force layers; his usable number rises with cultivation reserves 113 207.

Multi-Element Cultivation and Primordial Unity

• Cultivates fire/yang, water, wood, earth, and metal energies rather than relying on a single true-qi reserve 228 229 266 267.
• Successfully fuses yang and water qi with Eight Extremes force; the resulting power exceeds ordinary same-stage reserves in both quantity and quality 207 229.
• Nine Yang training increases the power of his Eight Extremes Fist by roughly 30% at an earlier stage, adding scorching penetration 111.
• Uneven development among his energies initially obstructs further fusion, prompting him to balance their strength 207.
• Primordial Unity Innate True Canon later provides self-sustaining circulation that cleanses and strengthens his body, meridians, and innate foundation 340.

True Yang Cotton Palm

• A soft-exterior, hard-interior palm art using adhesive, entangling, yielding, and transforming force 128.
• Redirects attacks and disrupts opponents’ balance, meridians, and qi circulation 141 152.
• Helps him counter Mu Xingze’s close-range fist assault before revealing fused yang and water energies 187.
• Its limit-breaking strike, Yang Extreme Break, pierces strong defenses but consumes most of his available power 228 267.

Body Tempering

• Golden Bell Shield: At iron-skin level, ordinary weapons can scarcely injure him unless strengthened by internal force 76.
• Tai Chi Toad-Fishing Force: Tempers internal organs, absorbs and disperses blows, and eventually resonates internal force through the body; requires costly medicinal baths 85.
• Tai Chi Golden Body Art: Combines those external and internal defenses with yin-yang tempering of meridians, muscles, and bones 272 277.
• Perfect golden body: Gives major resistance to yin baleful forces and supports endurance under the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s increased gravity 349 386.
• Limitation: His evergreen true origin can slowly repair his injured Dantian, but cannot repair his shattered golden body during the documented recovery period 395.

Spear, Saber, and Sword Arts

• Six Harmonies Great Spear: Its thirty-six forms support both battlefield practice and refinement of Eight Extremes Fist 93 113.
• Overlord Sun-Splitting Spear: Heavy, sweeping attacks can incorporate fused qi and Eight Extremes force 216.
• Thousandfold Shatter: A limit-breaking spear attack capable of devastating armor and terrain, at the cost of exhausting its fuel 228.
• Thunderclap Saber: Particularly compatible with Geng metal qi; develops Thunderclap One-Saber Slash 229 294.
• Seven Heaven-Cleaving Forms: Refines earth momentum, decisive speed, relentless force, and spreading shockwaves through repeated tower battles 349 385.
• Nine Yang Sword Technique: Can be paired with the saber art; on the eighth tower floor, he combines Army-Breaking Slash with Scarlet Sun Sky-Piercing 386.

Nine Yang Divine Fist and Left-Right Mutual Combat

• Nine Yang Divine Fist emphasizes supreme yang, hardness, and purity rather than elaborate movements 272.
• Left-Right Mutual Combat combines its hard attacks with True Yang Cotton Palm’s soft control, allowing simultaneous offense and defense 303 317.
• At its ultimate perfected limit, the fist art develops Nine Suns Incinerate Heaven, concentrating nearly all his innate true essence into one strike 349.

Archery and Movement

• Places first in the county examination’s archery and horsemanship tests and hits all ten mounted-archery shots in the later examination 63 237.
• Uses chain shots against fleeing enemies; late Pill Embracement permits Four-Star Chain Shot 203 207.
• Wind God Leg Technique closes distance against ranged fighters and counters elusive footwork 53 149.
• Its Wind-Controlling Escape trait supplies repeated bursts of speed during his retreat from Yu Shi 258.

Soul Arts, Concealment, and Observation

• Blood Soul Secret Art strengthens divine sense enough to detect concealed assassins and extremely fine poisoned needles 294.
• At perfection, his soul can manifest as a blood-colored phantom, leave his body, and potentially attack another soul 306.
• Breath-Concealing Technique nearly suppresses his aura completely; its recorded limit-breaking trait is Turtle-Breathing Great Art 306 331.
• Bone-Shift Shape-Changing Art changes facial structure and body proportions, complementing mask disguises 277 379.
• His hunting-family background helps him identify Xiang Wentian’s false elderly-hunter disguise through gait, skin, and hands 177.

Command and Leadership

• Organizes roughly four thousand defenders and civilian supply carriers during the siege of Big Stone County 266.
• Rewards subordinates from captured wealth, giving particular consideration to the wounded 254.
• Commands three thousand Martial Suppression Guards drawn from Qingzhou’s twelve prefectures 290.
• Uses battlefield victories, investigations, and imperial authority to counter political threats as well as military ones 274 310.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mountain Burner — Twelve-foot red treasure spear purchased for him by Lin Ziwei; used in tournament duels and later combat 152 203.
• Treasure Bow and Inkfeather Arrows — Used for long-range kills and force-infused chain shots 93 207 267.
• Custom heavy bow commission — Requests a treasure bow of at least ten shi draw weight from Meng Youwei before trusting him with spear reforging 260.
• Nine Yang Divine Sword — Initially requires recognition and sufficient spiritual sense before he can wield it; later used against Ying Yang 272 339.
• Human-skin mask — Conceals his identity at auctions, black markets, and during secret cultivation 254 258 277.
• Fire Thunder Bomb — A rare explosive gifted by Mu Xuanzhou; its close-range detonation severely injures and disfigures Ma Yuan 213 266.
• Red Shadow — Prized steed given by Mu Xuanzhou for the Jinyang mission 213.
• Cultivation medicines — Relies on pills, beast meat, treasure fish, and medicinal baths; monthly costs rise from over 3,500 taels to nearly 10,000 as his cultivation expands 207 277.
• Bloodburst and Turtle Breath Pills — Used to conceal himself and gain the temporary realm boost needed for his ambush of Yu Shi 258.
• Nine Netherworld Divine Lantern shards — Possesses three by the assembly’s preparation period, secretly replacing the shrine’s genuine shard with an imitation 381.
• Ice Mountain Golden Lotus — Medicine Su Qingwan obtains for his injuries at the cost of contracting cold poison 395.

Relationships

Family

• Zhao Youlin and Yang Shi — Parents in his new life. Their security is central to his decisions, and his success frees the household from taxes and corvée 43 63 77.
• Zhao Shuo — Elder brother. Zhao rescues him from Black Cloud Stronghold and funds his scholarly ambitions; they later debate public welfare and Confucian hierarchy 98 295.
• Tian Cuihua — Sister-in-law and Zhao Shuo’s wife; shares in the reunited household and its rising fortunes 43 98 341.
• Zhao Youfang — Little aunt. He threatens Tao Qing against mistreating her and continues regarding her as part of the same household 17 274.
• Qiao’er — Cousin and developing martial artist. He increasingly sees her as a future protector of the family when he travels beyond Great Yan 229 267 298.
• Zhao Bao’er and Zhao Zihuai — Younger family members. He avoids imposing his own methods too early; both later enter the Upper Capital Martial Academy 192 341.
• Zhao Sheng and Zhao Xing — Cousins whose fortunes contrast with his rise. Sheng fails the Martial Scholar examination; Zhao secures the imprisoned Xing’s release 16 63 85.

Mentors, Allies, and Companions

• Huo Shan — First martial master. Recognizes Zhao’s comprehension, develops his techniques, and remains his acknowledged master after Zhao surpasses him 34 55 192 266.
• Wei Yuan — Senior brother, early sparring mentor, and employer. Zhao repays his help by rescuing him from bandits; Wei later promises to protect Zhao’s family 14 16 93 101.
• Mu Xuanzhou — Nine Yang Gate master. Accepts Zhao as his fourth personal disciple, supplies resources, and recommends Bureau service when the weakened sect cannot protect him 130 213 244.
• Huo Yao — Senior martial sister and longtime ally. Supports his recruitment and reputation; Zhao intervenes when she is endangered and helps her after the war. She initially states that she has no romantic feelings for him 94 107 130 203 271.
• Lin Ziwei — Four Seas Trading House ally and confidante. Supports his cultivation, buys Mountain Burner, advises him politically, and assists with reconstruction 130 152 268 274 340.
• Su Qingwan — Deep personal attachment and martial collaborator. Publicly supports him, translates the Seven Heaven-Cleaving Forms, and is his intended dual-cultivation partner. Their later estrangement culminates in her dangerous search for medicine after his injury 306 340 369 382 395.
• Lu Bing and Li Cheng’en — Senior court protectors and advisers. Help prepare him for Profound Mastery opponents and oversee his care after the secret-realm disaster 380 381 395.
• Emperor Jing — Patron and sovereign. Rewards his achievements while monitoring his wealth, family, and connections; backs his confrontation with hidden sects 310 340 381.
• Xu Commandant — Early official ally. Exchanges resources for Zhao’s evidence against the Zhu Family, but disputes over spoils leave Zhao wary of his self-interest 77 98.
• Yue Lang, Luo Xiong, Jiang Chen, Xie Qiu, and Mu Xingze — Members of his later command network. Luo becomes a valued physical sparring partner; Mu Xingze’s earlier respectful defeat develops into later service alongside him 187 272 343 368.

Rivals and Enemies

• Chu Fan — Former companion and fellow disciple whose envy becomes open hostility. Zhao kills him during the confrontation with Chu and Su Chi 13 34 203.
• Pan Jie — Sabotages Zhao’s Eight Extremes Gate recruitment by keeping the intended gifts; the sect later extends his mine punishment to ten years 107 150.
• Xue Xiangling — Proposed marriage match who rejects him before meeting him. After Zhao rescues her and Wei Yuan, she apologizes and regrets the rejection 29 93.
• Ma Yuan — Revenge-driven enemy whose disciple Chu Fan dies by Zhao’s hand. Zhao first injures Ma with an explosive, then kills him during the county siege 203 266 267.
• Yu Shi — Late Astral Force pursuer seeking Zhao’s cultivation secret; defeated through concealment, a temporary pill boost, and Thousandfold Shatter 258.
• Cloud Crane Academy — Institutional opponent of his political ideas. Its students attack his reputation before his investigation exposes criminal records and damages the academy’s influence 295 306 310.
• Gu He, Gu Rong, and Wan Chengliang — Attempt to blackmail him over demonic cultivation and seize the Nine Yang Divine Sword; Zhao kills all three 277.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Martial School and County Rise

Zhao’s early arc centers on overcoming the financial and social barriers surrounding poor martial students. Breakthroughs establish his place at the school, while confrontations with local gangs let him protect his relatives and exercise growing influence. His county Martial Scholar result—first in archery and horsemanship, seventh overall—changes the standing of the entire undivided household 13 34 43 63.

He exposes Zhu Family criminal connections, publicly reveals Transformation Force by defeating Yan Luo, rescues Wei Yuan and Xue Xiangling from the Blood Wolf Bandits, and brings Zhao Shuo home from Black Cloud Stronghold. Rather than accept a comfortable county career, he departs for the Prefecture City 77 89 93 94 98 101.

Sect Competition and the Martial Examination

Pan Jie’s interference blocks his intended Eight Extremes Gate path. Zhao subsequently rises within the Nine Yang Gate, demonstrating how perfected foundational fistwork and concealed palm and spear arts can defeat elite disciples 107 130 149 152.

His victories earn increasingly prominent Tiger Ranking positions before he takes first place on Qingzhou’s Martial Examination A-rank list. Fame also makes the limits of sect protection evident, encouraging him toward open Bureau service 177 188 230 232 244.

Official Career

Position / Honor	Chapter	Documented context
Martial Scholar	63	Seventh overall in the county examination; household gains tax and corvée exemptions.
Attached Martial Suppression Bureau post	213	Existing appointment makes inter-prefectural cooperation easier.
Hundred-Household Officer	260 263	Commands Bureau personnel during operations against hostile strongholds.
Deputy Thousand-Household Officer	274	Awarded after the rebellion’s defeat, together with a grand residence.
Thousand-Household Officer; Distant-Reaching General	290 291	Commands Qingzhou’s three thousand Martial Suppression Guards.
Pacification Commissioner; General Huaihua	295	Receives Upper Principal Third Rank and major financial rewards for capturing Liang Yong and protecting civilians.
Bing Province Provincial Administration Commissioner	310	Receives broad civil and military reconstruction responsibilities.
Martial Suppression Bureau Commandant; first-rank duke	348	Holds immense official authority; later addressed as Duke of State Support.
Prince of Northern Pacification	383 388	Represents Great Yan amid growing hostility from hidden sects and lineages.

Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Court Conflict

Zhao leads the defense of Big Stone County, kills Ma Yuan, and helps break the rebellion by killing Wu Liang. Later campaigns include the capture of Liang Yong and the defense of civilians against twenty thousand barbarian cavalry. These achievements make him one of Sun Chenzong’s most effective military executors 266 267 274 290 293 295.

His political ideas and growing power bring hostile scrutiny. The Cloud Crane Academy investigation becomes a legal and political victory when Emperor Jing authorizes the search over the Empress Dowager’s objection. Zhao then assumes responsibility for Bing Province’s reconstruction 310.

Frontier and Hidden Sect Assembly

Frontier service includes negotiating trade with several tribes, killing Wolf Tribe chief Wo Lie, and contributing to the division that enables Great Yan’s breakthrough at Changyu Pass. His subsequent return places him under closer imperial oversight through a residence and family relocation 340.

At the Hidden Sect Grand Assembly, Zhao defeats a coalition of rivals and uses the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s escalating battles to refine his saber and sword techniques. He reaches the ninth floor before emerging as the Prince of Northern Pacification 385 386 388.

Injury and Recovery

After confronting the Demon Sect’s young master, Zhao spends a month unconscious. Rare imperial medicines help treatment, but his golden body remains beyond his demonstrated ability to repair. Believing his martial future may be lost, he considers resignation and rejects Su Qingwan’s visits—until Gu Yanran reveals the dangerous sacrifice behind Su’s medicinal gift 395.

Notable Quotes

“Of course. You will always be my master. That will never change.”
— To Huo Shan after attaining Astral Force 266

“Who said that? I never said I only knew Eight Extremes Fist.”
— After revealing True Yang Cotton Palm 151

“I’ve never believed in fate.”
— In response to Liao Kuan attributing his examination victory to timing and fortune 247