Chen Wu

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Chen Wu (陈吾)
Alias(es)	Zhu Huang — masked underground-arena identity used through his secondary body, Zhu Wu 29 32 34
Species/Race	Human; bearer of the Holy Demon Embryo special physique 3
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jinlian No. 1 High School special training class; Alchemist Association; Xin'an Police Precinct holiday employee 14 44 48
Occupation/Role	Senior high-school student; senior alchemist; martial artist trainee 14 42
Special Physique	Holy Demon Embryo; publicly concealed as the Heavenly Spirit Sacred Body 3 28 45
Status	Active 50
First Appearance	3

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
True qi source seed condensed	4	Condensed directly from heaven-and-earth primordial energy, bypassing the ordinary body-tempering and pill-dependent process.
Essence Tempering, First Level	5	Reached after beginning cultivation with the Holy Demon Embryo.
Essence Tempering, Second Level	5	Stopped because his formerly frail body could not yet support further advancement.
Essence Tempering, Third Level	5	Reached after a night of automatic nourishment by spiritual qi.
Essence Tempering, Fourth Level	5	Consolidated his foundation at the physical limit of his body.
Essence Tempering, Fifth Turn	7	His true seed refined itself while he trained; his Primordial Palm and Eight Extremes Fist also reached major mastery.
Fifth-turn source seed detonated	17	Destroyed his main body's source seed to defeat a Myriad Evils Cultist; retained access to cultivation through Zhu Wu.
Origin Tempering, First Turn (reconstructed)	18	Rebuilt his source seed with the Profound Origin Art; its quality exceeded an ordinary second-turn seed.
Origin Tempering, Second Turn	19	The reconstructed seed required vastly more qi but became several times stronger than a normal seed at the same realm.
Origin Tempering, Third Turn	19	Reached through continuous absorption and refinement of spiritual qi.
Origin Tempering, Fourth Turn	19	His true qi output was already comparable to, or stronger than, an ordinary sixth-turn cultivator.
Essence/Origin Tempering, Fifth Turn	23	Regained the fifth transformation while training with saber and halberd.
Essence/Origin Tempering, Sixth Turn	23	His Profound Origin Art foundation made his source seed stronger than that of an ordinary seventh-turn cultivator.
Spirit Refinement — Dao-Demon Battle Diagram formed	37	Successfully created a visualization image, greatly improving divine sense and fine true-qi control.
Body Refinement — entered the path	37	Used the Iron Shirt as a foundation to begin tempering his flesh, organs, tendons, and bones.
Golden Bell Shield, Stages One–Three	38	Created and named his body-refinement art; gained inner strength, protective qi, resistance to blades, and initial rebounding force.
Tempering Origin, Seventh Turn	38	Broke through after reinforcing his body through body refinement.
Golden Bell Shield, Fourth Stage	40	Concealed protective force beneath his skin; ordinary sharp weapons could no longer cut through it.
Tempering Origin, Eighth Turn	40	Achieved after his fourth-stage body-refinement breakthrough.
Golden Bell Shield, Fifth Stage	46	Completed a more stable golden-bell aura; its feedback pushed his Origin Seed to the peak of the eighth refinement.

Background

Chen Wu transmigrated into the body of a formerly withdrawn, underdeveloped high-school student. The original Chen Wu had lost both parents: his father died shortly after divorcing his mother, while his mother died four years earlier during the Golden City Beast Tide Disaster. She had been a Rank Six precinct squad captain who held back the beast tide to protect civilians and was posthumously awarded a Special-Class Merit as a martyr. Her death left Chen Wu hostile toward martial arts; by the end of his second year of high school, he had only barely sensed qi. 3

Upon transmigrating, he awakened the Holy Demon Embryo, a physique with two bodies and three souls. The awakening restored his drive to cultivate and gave him the means to pursue the unprecedented Ninefold Essence Refinement. Rather than reveal the true nature of his physique, Chen Wu and Gu Yuyue use the publicly known Heavenly Spirit Sacred Body as a cover for his direct absorption of spiritual energy. 3 4 28

Appearance

Chen Wu was initially a skinny, frail youth due to years of neglecting martial training. After resuming cultivation, spiritual-energy nourishment and body refinement transformed him into a lean, powerful young man whose classmates could barely recognize him after summer break. 3 42 46

• Previously had a weak physique and depleted vitality and blood. 3 5
• Developed a visibly athletic build through martial cultivation and the Golden Bell Shield. 42 46
• Zhu Wu, his secondary body, shares his appearance but has red hair. 6
• Uses black clothing, a hood, and a mask when operating as Zhu Huang. 29 48

Personality

Chen Wu is ambitious but notably cautious. He aims for Ninefold Essence Refinement and cultivates essence, qi, and spirit together, yet repeatedly avoids exposing the full extent of his talent. He accepts Gu Yuyue's plan to conceal his authorship of the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palm because becoming a target before reaching the middle ranks would endanger both himself and his sister. 4 35 36

He is practical and resourceful, using alchemy to support the household, his secondary body to gain combat experience, and police work to gather information on criminals. He is also deeply attached to food and cooking, treating meals and rest as part of a balanced cultivation life. 5 9 29 48

Abilities & Skills

Holy Demon Embryo

The Holy Demon Embryo is Chen Wu's true special physique, created by Heaven-Abandoning Emperor. Its defining trait is “two bodies and three souls.” 3

• Twin bodies — Chen Wu and Zhu Wu can fight separately or together, vastly improving his combat options and survivability. 3
• Injury transfer and body switching — He can transfer injuries between bodies or switch to the uninjured body during battle. 3
• Shared cultivation across distance — The two bodies can transmit strength and cultivation to one another regardless of distance. 3 17
• Revival safeguard — If one body dies while the other remains, he can be revived. 29
• Extreme recovery — So long as a breath remains, the physique can rapidly recover injuries and mitigate the hidden damage of intense training. 10
• Automatic absorption — Dual Qi Flow and True-Absorbing Divine Formula circulate autonomously, drawing in heaven-and-earth qi to nourish his body. 3 5
• Reverse-Returning Demon Origin traits — His innate arts can reflect incoming true qi, replenish internal essence from the environment, weaken and convert enemy attacks, and support simultaneous attacks. 3

Three Souls

Chen Wu's three souls provide unusually strong perception, mental processing, and technical deduction. 4 9

• They allow uninterrupted simulation and deduction of martial arts, alchemy, and other technical skills. 9
• They permit silent communication and shared understanding between Chen Wu and Zhu Wu. 7
• They warn him of dangerous cultivation limits, preventing damage when his body cannot support a breakthrough. 37
• Their precision enables high-level pill refinement and delicate control of true qi. 11 37

Martial Arts

Chen Wu learns martial techniques at an exceptional speed and has repeatedly turned accumulated combat experience into original techniques. 22 23 35

• Primordial Palm — Reached major mastery through sparring with Zhu Wu and later perfection. 7 19
• Eight Extremes Fist — Reached major mastery alongside Primordial Palm and was later used at the consummate realm in school competition. 7 44
• Trace-Hiding Step — Mastered in less than a morning with the assistance of his three souls. 8
• Sky-Piercing Strike — An exclusive Holy Demon Embryo martial art that directs heaven-and-earth qi at an opponent and can be combined with other moves. 19
• Dragon-Subduing Divine Leg — Initially deduced as four moves and used by Zhu Wu to overturn a losing arena match. 32
• Gale Saber Art — Perfected during his month of independent school training; he also comprehended the Windmoon Slash. 46

Dragon-Subduing Divine Palm

Chen Wu created the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palm from combat experience, deduction, and guidance from Gu Yuyue and Qi Ruyan. Its initial ten forms were already judged at least mid-grade Mysterious rank; it later expanded to twenty-eight forms. 34 35 41

• Balances hardness and softness while maintaining powerful offensive force. 36
• Includes defensive counters, grappling breaks, overwhelming palm strikes, and desperate finishing attacks. 34 35
• Its strongest demonstrated move is Regretful Dragon Soars to Heaven, which projects dragon-like qi over distance. 46
• Gu Yuyue publicly claims authorship to protect Chen Wu; the art is later certified as high-grade Profound rank and donated for public learning. 35 46

Golden Bell Shield

The Golden Bell Shield is Chen Wu's self-created body-refinement technique, developed from the Iron Shirt and his own deductions. It cultivates body, qi, intent, and spirit together. 37 38

• Protective qi and rebounding force — Strengthens the body against blades and returns force to attackers. 38
• Internal and external tempering — Reinforces skin, muscles, organs, tendons, bones, and meridians. 37 38
• Fifth-stage defense — Provides a powerful gathered-force rebound that can protect against blunt impacts. 41 46
• Chen originally envisioned twelve stages, but could only deduce the first six before acquiring further reference material; later deductions extended the method through the ninth stage. 38 40

Dao-Demon Battle Diagram

Using the Contemplation Method, Chen Wu formed the Dao-Demon Battle Diagram within his sea of consciousness. 37

• The diagram autonomously absorbs heavenly essence and gradually solidifies the figures within it. 37 41
• It improves his divine sense and enables highly precise true-qi manifestations, such as a true-qi dragon. These displays consume too much qi for sustained use at his current level. 37
• The solidified Daoist Zhe Shan Jun and demonic general Buddha-Swallowing Child battle within the diagram, allowing Chen Wu to obtain fragments of their arts. 41
• Later additions include the Daoist Mo Chenyin and demon general Life-Sparing Child. 46

Alchemy

Chen Wu became a senior alchemist shortly after beginning formal pill refinement. 11 14

• Refined Qi-Accumulating, Spring-Nourishing, and Origin-Restoring Pills to top-grade quality in bulk. 11
• His work drew the attention of Golden City's Alchemist Association president, Lu Chun. 12
• Accepted the Association's senior-alchemist agreement to provide ten top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills monthly in exchange for resources, formulas, and reduced ingredient prices. 14
• Uses alchemy as a source of income and contribution points while supporting his cultivation. 9 14

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Windmoon Severer — Custom saber designed by Chen Wu and forged from Starsteel and Astral Iron by a Forge Master Mountain master. 33 41
• Silver Evil — Custom halberd designed alongside Windmoon Severer and forged from the same materials. 33 41
• Pill furnace — Received through the Alchemist Association after becoming a senior alchemist. 14 19
• Primal Heaven Mirror manuals — Acquired the first two levels, White Cloud Smoke and Roseglow Lament, intending to make the art his future foundational method. 16 29
• Pocket space — An exclusive storage ability awakened by Zhu Wu after the sixth transformation; it later expanded from one cubic meter to three. 32 41
• Spatial ring — Received with Windmoon Severer and Silver Evil, used as a public disguise for his own pocket-space storage. 41

Relationships

• Gu Yuyue — Adoptive older sister, ten years his senior. She raised and protected Chen Wu after their mother’s death, teaches him martial arts, and helps conceal his true talent. 3 20 35
• Zhu Wu — Chen Wu’s red-haired secondary body. He is mentally linked to Chen Wu, trains alongside him, and operates as Zhu Huang in the underground arena and against criminals. 6 7 29
• Chen Wu’s mother — Deceased Rank Six martial artist and police squad captain. Her death during the Golden City Beast Tide Disaster initially caused Chen Wu to reject martial arts. 3
• Qi Ruyan — Gu Yuyue’s longtime friend and a military martial artist who treats Chen Wu as a younger brother. She recruits him for National Martial University, trains him, and keeps his talent confidential. 24 26 36
• Lu Chun — President of the Golden City Alchemist Association branch. He recognizes Chen Wu’s rare talent and registers him as a senior alchemist. 12 14
• Li Xuanran — Police officer who worked under Chen Wu’s mother as an intern. He helps protect Chen Wu’s identity after the Myriad Evils Cult arrest and secures him a points reward. 17 18

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Return to the martial path — Awakens the Holy Demon Embryo, rapidly begins Essence Tempering, and resolves to pursue Ninefold Essence Refinement. 3 4
• Alchemy and foundation rebuilding — Becomes a senior alchemist, acquires the Profound Origin Art, detonates his source seed against a cultist, then reconstructs it into a superior foundation. 14 17 19
• Underground arena — Sends Zhu Wu to fight under the identity Zhu Huang, gaining real combat experience, arena fame, and the “Undying Vermilion Emperor” reputation. 29 31 34
• Three-path cultivation — Begins spirit and body refinement, creates the Golden Bell Shield, and advances through the seventh and eighth Origin Tempering transformations. 37 38 40
• Provincial league preparation — Joins Jinlian No. 1 High School’s special training class, wins its internal martial-arts competition, and receives an independent training room. 43 45
• Police precinct work — Takes a holiday position at Xin'an Police Precinct, while Zhu Wu secretly investigates criminal hideouts and confronts Dragon Guard attention. 48 50