Xia Daoming

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Xia Daoming (夏道明)
Alias(es)	Brother Xia; Master (to Liu Qiaolian)
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School; formerly Dragon Serpent Martial Hall
Occupation/Role	Martial artist; personal disciple of Liang Jingtang
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Second-Rank Martial Master	1	Had reached the Second Rank at the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall after transmigrating into the body of a young man with the same name. His system had already strengthened his meridians to Level Six, letting him contend with several Second-Rank opponents.
Third-Rank Martial Master	1	Advanced while fleeing the Blood Wolf Hall and consuming Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng; completed the Second-Rank realm’s nine meridian strengthenings before breaking through.
Fourth-Rank Martial Master	1	Completed nine strengthenings at the Third Rank and broke through during the twelve-day pursuit. His accumulated meridian strengthening gave him power far beyond an ordinary Fourth-Rank Martial Master.
Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master	18	Cultivated Hidden Strength from the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram and opened his fifth meridian after four months at the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School.
Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master	33	Completed nine Fifth-Rank meridian strengthenings through sustained pill consumption and travel, then opened his sixth meridian.
Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master	46	Used Golden Crow Returning Origin Soup to complete the Sixth-Rank realm’s ninth strengthening, open the seventh meridian, and begin the second level of Seventh-Rank strengthening.

Background

Xia Daoming transmigrated into the body of a young man sharing his name roughly a year before the events of Chapter 1. He practiced under Qiu Zhiheng at Black Stone City’s Dragon Serpent Martial Hall and relied on a system that displayed his cultivation and allowed repeated meridian strengthening. 1

After Qiu Zhiheng discovered a century-old Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng, Wei Mao massacred the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall to seize it. Xia escaped with the herb, used it to advance rapidly during twelve days of pursuit, and killed Wei Mao, the Blood Wolf Guards, and later Wei Mo to avenge Qiu. 1 2

Seeking the techniques needed to reach the Great Martial Master realm, Xia traveled toward Li City. During the journey, he rescued Ji Wenyue from the Liao family, later saved Liu Qiaolian from bandits and her cousin’s betrayal, and accepted Liu as his attendant. 3 4 11

In Li City, Xia became Liang Jingtang’s personal disciple at the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School. He paid three thousand taels and offered the head of Wu Changlu as his pledge of allegiance, gaining access to the school’s Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram and advanced Dragon Serpent techniques. 14 15

Appearance

At twenty-four, Xia is a robust, tall young man with a slightly above-average appearance. Prolonged desert travel initially left him unshaven, rough-skinned, and weathered; after settling in Li City, he appeared cleaner, younger, and carried a refined, scholarly air. 5 8 20

• Strong, tall build. 8
• Usually dresses in martial attire; wore black martial clothes and a bamboo hat for the Vast Mountain Range expedition. 39
• Often carries two short spears while traveling. 39
• Can deliberately suppress his cultivation aura through Dragon Concealment. 35

Personality

Xia is pragmatic, alert, and intensely focused on survival and advancement. He treats medicinal resources, money, alliances, and dangerous opportunities as essential parts of cultivation rather than luxuries. His caution is evident in his use of detours, disguises, concealed strength, and preemptive action against threats. 1 14 25 35

He is capable of extreme ruthlessness toward enemies, killing Wei Mao’s pursuers, Shi Yingdeng, Lin Lu, Xu Shisen, and Xu Zhiji when he judges them to be irreconcilable threats. Yet he repeatedly intervenes for vulnerable people, including Ji Wenyue, Liu Qiaolian, and an unnamed captive girl. 2 4 10 11 14 30 45

Xia is also playful, shamelessly self-assured, and prone to flirtatious teasing—particularly around Ji Wenyue. Beneath this behavior, he respects boundaries and takes responsibility for those under his protection. 6 20 21

Abilities & Skills

Meridian-Strengthening System

Xia possesses a system that displays his cultivation and meridian-strengthening progress.

• Allows nine documented levels of meridian strengthening within each Martial Master realm. 7
• His strengthened meridians can hold more vital energy and make it more condensed. 17
• Greatly improves his ability to endure and convert medicinal power, enabling unusually rapid advancement through pills and rare herbs. 1
• Requires enormous quantities of resources; higher strengthening levels demand increasingly potent medicine. 22 33

Dragon Serpent Art

Xia’s foundational cultivation method is the Dragon Serpent Art, inherited through Qiu Zhiheng and later expanded under Liang Jingtang.

• Its first four levels emphasize agility and cunning; from the fifth level onward, it becomes more powerful and domineering. 27
• Its Hidden Strength is notably robust compared with that of Great Martial Masters at the same level. 27
• Xia’s understanding of the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram let him grasp methods reaching from the fifth through the eighth ranks, though the seventh- and eighth-rank portions were initially unclear. 16

Hidden Strength

After studying the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram, Xia converted his already-condensed Manifest Strength into Hidden Strength.

• Hidden Strength penetrates a target’s body and attacks internally as well as externally. 6
• Xia cultivated it for four hours on his first night, far exceeding the usual initial endurance of even talented martial artists. 17
• Within two months, the Hidden Strength he had accumulated surpassed that of a typical Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master. 18
• His concealed strength allowed him to gravely injure Fifth-Rank Jing Xuanying with one punch and kill Fifth-Rank Lin Lu by shattering his heart through penetrating force. 23 29

Dragon Serpent Martial Techniques

Liang Jingtang taught Xia the higher techniques of the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School.

• Dragon Snake Nine Transformations — an intent-focused set of fist and foot techniques with innumerable variations. 17
• Soaring Dragon Nine Steps — movement technique. 17
• Dragon Snake Nine Spears — spear technique. 17
• Serpent Head Fist and Serpent-Shaped Saber — earlier snake-inspired striking techniques used in his revenge against the Blood Wolf Hall. 1 2

Concealment, Strategy, and Survival

• Uses traps, caltrops, insect-repellent powder, ice silkworm threads, and terrain to control encounters. 1 2
• Employs disguises and false displays of weakness to ambush stronger enemies. 14 44 45
• Concealed his actual Sixth-Rank cultivation as Fifth Rank during the Vast Mountain Range expedition. 35 44
• Successfully planned and executed the assassination of Sixth-Rank Wu Yueli inside Wu Family Fortress, then seized his private treasury. 23 25 33

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Two short spears — carried during the Vast Mountain Range expedition. 39
• Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram — studied to cultivate Hidden Strength; Liang Jingtang later entrusted the Hidden Dragon Art’s diagram to Xia in advance. 16 48
• Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng — rare herb consumed during his flight from Black Stone City, driving his early breakthroughs. 1 2
• Golden Crow Grass — fire-element herb Xia retained until he could refine it with an Ice Rabbit’s heart into Golden Crow Returning Origin Soup. 26 44 46
• Longevity Jade Liquid — valuable liquid recovered from Xu Zhiji and retained for emergencies. 45 50

Relationships

• Qiu Zhiheng — deceased first master and head of the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall. Xia avenged his murder by destroying the Blood Wolf Hall’s leadership. 1 2
• Liang Jingtang — master at the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School. Liang eventually regards Xia as his successor and entrusts him with the school’s secret diagram. 15 37 48
• Liu Qiaolian — attendant, martial companion, and intimate partner. Xia rescued her twice, accepted her service, supports her cultivation, and promises to help avenge Liu Family Village. 11 17 33 37
• Ji Wenyue — alchemy prodigy and Ji Family elder whom Xia saved in the desert. She provides him with pills and cultivation resources; their relationship is affectionate and teasing. 4 21 39
• Yuchi Xiao — senior fellow disciple. Xia decisively defeated him in a spar, earning his respect. 17 37
• Liu Xiaoqiang — senior fellow disciple and proprietor of Jade Flower Pavilion. She supports Xia and gives him funds for cultivation expenses. 49 50
• Jing Xuanying — former chief steward of Wu Family Fortress. After Xia defeated him, Jing revealed the secret passage that enabled Wu Yueli’s assassination. 23

Story Role / Major Arcs

Blood Wolf Hall Revenge

Xia’s opening arc centers on avenging Qiu Zhiheng and the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall. He turns Wei Mao’s pursuit into an opportunity for breakthrough, defeats the Blood Wolf Hall’s forces, and returns to Black Stone City to kill Wei Mo and plunder the hall’s resources. 1 2

Journey to Li City

While seeking advanced Dragon Serpent Art techniques, Xia saves Ji Wenyue from Elder Liao, survives Crimson Flame Valley, and rescues Liu Qiaolian from bandits. Liu then guides him safely to Li City and becomes part of his household. 3 4 10 11 13

Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School

Xia becomes Liang Jingtang’s personal disciple, studies the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram, cultivates Hidden Strength in secret, and reaches the Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master realm in four months. 15 16 18

Li City Undercurrents

After Jing Xuanying’s failed ambush, Xia learns of Wu Yueli’s secret passage, assassinating the fortress lord and obtaining his treasury. He recognizes that the killing worsens Li City’s already dangerous factional tensions. 23 25

Southeastern Journey

Xia and Liu travel in search of pills and rare medicinal ingredients. Xia kills Shi Yingdeng and Lin Lu, purchases Blazing Qilin Ginseng, reaches the Sixth Rank, and sells Wu Family Fortress techniques and a Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram for fifty-eight thousand taels. 29 30 31 33

Vast Mountain Range Expedition

Xia accompanies Liang Jingtang on the Xu Family’s Ice Rabbit hunt. While concealing his Sixth-Rank realm, he and Liang ambush Xu Zhiji, kill both Xu Zhiji and Xu Shisen, and obtain the ingredients needed for Golden Crow Returning Origin Soup. 39 44 45

Seventh-Rank Breakthrough and Succession

Xia consumes the Golden Crow Returning Origin Soup to become a Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master. After returning to Li City, Liang increasingly treats him as the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School’s heir and entrusts him with its secret diagram. 46 48

Notable Quotes

“The hatred for my master's murder is irreconcilable. What is risking danger to Daoming!” 14

“I've dedicated myself to martial arts; I have no interest in managing the school.” 36

Trivia

• Xia’s system enabled him to complete repeated meridian strengthening at every rank, an advantage that makes ordinary medicinal pills far more effective for him than for most martial artists. 1 7
• He initially appeared to Liang Jingtang as a disciple with ordinary talent, while privately understanding far more of the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram than his master realized. 16
• At the Sixth Rank, Xia believed he could defeat a Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master and contend with some Eighth-Rank opponents. 34