Martial Warrior

Biodata

Power Progression

Martial System

Martial Warriors cultivate both an internal art and an external combat art. Internal cultivation nourishes qi and blood, while external techniques turn that strength into killing power 5.

• Internal cultivation — Stance exercises build qi, blood, endurance, and bodily strength. The Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall uses the Coiling Python Stance Technique 5 6.
• External cultivation — Fist, saber, sword, and other combat techniques are used to defeat opponents 5.
• Technique stages — Martial arts normally progress through Initiation, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection 5.
• Force Realm — A rare stage above Perfection available only to certain supreme arts. It unlocks an exclusive secret technique; the Wild Bull Fist’s Force Realm technique is Wild Bull Force, which can strike an opponent from a distance 5.
• Blood Vitality subdivisions — Established martial realms are further divided into Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection according to the degree of Blood Vitality refinement. These subdivisions are distinct from mastery of an external technique 17.
• Technique comprehension — Advancing external martial arts depends on comprehension and practice rather than medicinal supplementation alone. Major Accomplishment in Wild Bull Fist requires understanding the fearless momentum of Blood Bull Charge and smoothly controlling the release and withdrawal of force 40 41 43.
• Movement arts — Techniques such as Wind-Riding Steps supplement offensive arts through mobility. Wind-Riding Steps has no direct killing moves, but improves fighting movement, travel, and escape 55.
• Physical foundations — Refining a rank beyond its ordinary standard can strengthen later cultivation. Shen Ao’s Iron Skin foundation ordinarily restricts him to Iron Sinew-Flesh at Second Rank, although a rare fortuitous opportunity may allow him to attempt Copper Sinew-Flesh 26.
• Breakthrough process — Ordinary practitioners must control surging Blood Vitality while directing it against the Realm Barrier. Zhou Chen’s Divine Statue instead guides that process for him, allowing his First-Rank Perfection breakthrough to proceed with unusual ease 61.

Resources and Specialized Tempering

Quality matters more than quantity in martial nourishment. Precious medicine or spiritual meat can provide more useful nourishment than enormous amounts of ordinary food, which a practitioner cannot necessarily consume or digest efficiently 7.

• Qi-Blood Soup — The Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall’s soup is made from White Taisui Meat. It supplies concentrated nourishment with comparatively little Miasma Poison 6 26.
• Taisui Meat — Inner City aristocratic families provide it to talented descendants to accelerate cultivation while reducing contamination. Black Taisui Meat is exceptionally valuable, costing ten thousand taels of silver per jin 26.
• Blood-Boiling Powder — Accelerates Blood Vitality circulation and improves training efficiency. Martial employers may include doses in a practitioner’s compensation 27 28.
• Blood-Boiling Pills — Provide substantial Blood Vitality for internal cultivation. Zhou Chen uses them to advance toward First-Rank Perfection, but their cost rises as political turmoil increases demand for martial resources 52 55 61.
• Flesh Lingzhi — A rare medicinal treasure used to temper skin and flesh, worth nearly a thousand taels. Zhou Chen uses its medicinal power to refine Copper Skin into Golden Skin 32 35.
• Golden Skin expenditure — Lian Taoze estimates that attaining Golden Skin requires at least a thousand taels in resources under ordinary circumstances 27.

Capabilities

Enhanced Physique

Martial cultivation strengthens the body through qi and blood, allowing Martial Warriors to surpass ordinary people in speed, force, endurance, and durability 4 5.

• Skin Tempering can make a practitioner’s body resilient to ordinary impacts and scrapes 12.
• Exceptional First-Rank practitioners may attain Copper Skin, greatly increasing skin toughness and physical strength 17.
• Copper Skin can potentially be refined toward Golden Skin with sufficient resources 17.
• Martial Warriors require adequate food, medicinal supplements, and sleep to maintain qi and blood; cultivation without nourishment can damage the body 5 17.
• Iron Skin is another documented skin-tempering attainment. Ma Pengcheng possesses it at First-Rank Major Accomplishment, while Du Ruming has refined his Iron Skin to Perfection without being able to reach Copper Skin 17 31.
• Golden Skin is exceptionally tough, making ordinary sharp weapons struggle to wound its possessor. Zhou Chen’s strength also increases substantially when he obtains it 35.
• At First-Rank Perfection, Zhou Chen’s Golden Skin becomes flawless rather than merely displaying a bright surface radiance 61.
• Strong Blood Vitality can radiate considerable heat. Zhou Chen trains bare-skinned in early winter and melts nearby frost upon reaching First-Rank Major Accomplishment 40 41.
• Second-Rank practitioners possess abundant Blood Vitality and iron-like muscles and sinews, creating a substantial physical gulf between them and ordinary First-Rank opponents 36.

Combat Ability

Martial arts are explicitly taught as skills for killing and surviving conflict rather than ceremonial practice 5.

• Real combat doctrine emphasizes concealment, surprise attacks, decisive strikes, and retreating from unwinnable fights 13 14.
• Strong enough practitioners can immobilize ordinary people with a touch or overwhelm them so completely that resistance is futile 4.
• First-Rank Martial Artists can intimidate or destroy low-grade Mist Monsters through vigorous qi and blood and direct attacks 12.
• A Wild Bull Fist user who reaches the Force Realm can use Wild Bull Force to harm enemies from roughly a meter away 5.
• Proper striking power depends on the legs and a stable lower stance. Zhao Tianhong stresses that an opponent can exploit a weak stance immediately in a life-or-death fight 43.
• A superior tempering foundation can offset an opponent’s greater experience within the same rank. Lian Taoze defeats Shen Ao shortly after entering Second Rank because of the Copper Skin he cultivated beforehand 17.
• Major Accomplishment in an external art is unusual among the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall’s First-Rank disciples. Zhou Chen’s Wild Bull Fist achievement earns him recognition, medicine, and increased financial support 50 52.
• Concealed weapons, poison, and psychological manipulation can supplement direct martial force. The Record of Concealed Blades teaches weapon construction and “verbal concealed weapons,” including feigned surrender, false respect, and misleading speech 38 39.
• Ordinary martial arts must account for the practitioner’s physical limits to avoid damaging bones, tendons, and muscles 65.

Movement Ability

Movement training can be as strategically important as offensive power. Martial Warriors are reluctant to provoke someone with a Major Accomplishment leg technique because such an opponent can approach, escape, and harass them with little opportunity for retaliation 61.

• Wind-Riding Steps improves speed without providing direct killing techniques 55.
• At Major Accomplishment, Zhou Chen’s movement leaves a blurred afterimage, and his heightened perception of air currents allows him to use the wind to assist his motion 61.
• Leg-technique training is particularly painful, making its higher stages difficult and discouraging ordinary practitioners from pursuing them 61.
• Mastering both an offensive art and a movement art at Major Accomplishment while remaining First Rank is exceptional. Jiang Tianming, a Second-Rank practitioner with years of training, is shocked by Zhou Chen’s simultaneous attainments 61 63.

Resistance to Mist Monsters

Martial Warriors are the primary human defense against threats emerging from the Black Mist 1 12.

• Mist Monsters are classified as low, middle, and high grade, corresponding to the three initial ranks of Martial Warriors 12.
• Low-grade Echoing Wraiths can lure victims outside by copying familiar voices and dreams; a Martial Warrior’s qi and blood can deter them 11 12.
• High-grade Mist Monsters are dangerous enough that even Old Zheng would choose escape over confrontation 12.
• Newly cultivated Blood Vitality can also attract an Echoing Wraith when a beginner’s aura leaks outward, before that practitioner becomes strong enough to intimidate it 12.
• Knowledge of a monster’s behavior and particular weaknesses remains important; brute strength alone is not a sufficient survival strategy outside the city 45.
• Strange beasts can threaten specific tempering attainments. A mature Blood-Horned Bear rivals First-Rank Major Accomplishment, and its iron-hard antlers can pierce Iron Skin 47.
• Experienced Martial Warriors hunt strange beasts and Mist Monsters for valuable meat, bones, medicinal materials, and other resources, although the Black Flesh Forest exposes them to deadly mist and attacks 41 61.

Exceptional Individual Abilities

Zhou Chen possesses supernatural advantages that are not established as ordinary Martial Warrior capabilities 7 17 35.

• Divine Statue — Converts Mist Incense into cultivation or technique proficiency and assists breakthroughs. It also permits Zhou Chen to exploit contaminated meat and denser Black Mist without suffering the normal cultivation restrictions imposed by Miasma Poison 7 17 43 61.
• Crimson Baleful Transformation — A Blood Incense-powered transformation that enlarges Zhou Chen’s body and more than doubles his strength, speed, and defense. One inch of incense lasts approximately fifteen minutes, and his initial test produces no immediate weakness or exhaustion 35.
• Combined defense — Golden Skin reinforced by Crimson Baleful Transformation withstands Ma Pengcheng’s full-power attack with soreness and numbness but no pain; iron caltrops likewise leave only white marks during the fight with Yin Mengbo 38 51.
• Cross-rank combat — At First-Rank Perfection, Zhou Chen initially conjectures that perfected Golden Skin and two Major Accomplishment martial arts will let him face a Second-Rank Minor Accomplishment opponent without transformation. Later confrontations establish his ability to pressure Second-Rank opponents; Jiang Chuan, a Second-Rank Major Accomplishment swordsman, is driven into alarm by Zhou Chen’s transformed physique and mobility 61 63 65.
• Relaxed physical constraints — In his transformed state, Zhou Chen can unleash extreme killing moves without the restraint normally required to protect a practitioner’s own bones, tendons, and muscles 65.

Limitations

• Realm Barriers can halt advancement permanently after repeated failures 5.
• Bone aptitude and constitution strongly influence training speed and long-term potential 4 6 16.
• Miasma Poison from contaminated food can obstruct meridians and acupoints, impair qi-and-blood circulation, and prevent future breakthroughs 5.
• Martial training is resource-intensive: quality meat, nourishing soups, medicine, and cultivation time are essential advantages usually controlled by wealthy families 7 15 18.
• Excessive Miasma Poison can cripple cultivation, rupture meridians, or cause death. Martial Warriors are therefore advised to avoid Black Meat, limit Gray Meat, and eat White Meat whenever possible 26.
• Accumulated contamination normally limits Outer City practitioners to Third Rank. Inner City methods for expelling it permit advancement to Fourth Rank 26.
• Realm Barriers can obstruct progress within a rank as well as promotion to the next rank. Lian Taoze remains stuck at Second-Rank Minor Accomplishment despite substantial spending and repeated attempts 33.
• External-technique mastery cannot ordinarily substitute for a deficient cultivation realm. The physical difference between First and Second Rank remains a major obstacle even for a skillful First-Rank fighter 36.
• Maintaining higher-rank Blood Vitality requires daily nourishment; without sufficient supplies of meat, fish, and nourishing soups, it can decline 18. Advanced age has also reduced the Fishery boat boss’s Blood Vitality despite his First-Rank status 12.
• Rare medicines can be dangerous if their power is not controlled. Zhou Chen must use the Coiling Python Stance Technique to tame the overwhelming medicinal force of Flesh Lingzhi 35.
• Potential-stimulating secret techniques normally carry serious aftereffects, ranging from Blood Vitality depletion to shortened lifespan. Zhou Chen’s initial lack of such effects from Crimson Baleful Transformation is exceptional 35.
• Blood Incense nevertheless threatens Zhou Chen’s self-control by intensifying his desire to kill, prompting him to finish transformed combat quickly 52.
• Resource-gathering outside Black City also exposes practitioners to treacherous attacks by other Martial Warriors. Unfamiliar hunters are reluctant to form teams because valuable discoveries can provoke betrayal 46.
• Factional employment can produce injuries or lasting setbacks despite generous compensation. Wan Yingying remains in recovery after serious injury, while Chu Lin eventually leaves the Four-Family Alliance 68.

Status and Society

Martial Warriors occupy a position of major social authority in Black City. Their status can protect both themselves and their relatives from gangs, exploitative employers, and everyday violence 1 8 12.

• A martial-hall disciple’s token alone can deter street thugs, though lasting safety depends on becoming an actual Martial Warrior 4 8.
• Families of Martial Warriors receive increased respect and preferential treatment; Zhao Laosi is moved to safer work after his son becomes a Martial Warrior 12.
• First-Rank Martial Artists may find work as guards, stewards, fishery managers, or retainers of wealthy households 12 17.
• Poor disciples often regard becoming a Martial Warrior as their only path out of exhausting labor, servitude, and gang exploitation 1 15.
• Inner City Martial Warriors possess superior resources and may legally use heavy armor and repeating crossbows, equipment forbidden to Outer City residents under collective punishment 12.
• Zhou Chen’s advancement brings concrete benefits to his extended family: Zhang Ying receives lighter supervisory work with higher pay, Sun Yang moves to warehouse work, and local lineages send congratulations and gifts. The Evil Tiger Gang also waives his family’s protection payments 25.
• Martial status influences how institutions handle disputes. The Night Patrol Bureau is unwilling to antagonize a rising Martial Warrior over Zhou Chen’s family conflict, while the Feng Household punishes Zhou Ping to demonstrate goodwill toward Zhou Chen 24.
• Social authority does not guarantee justice for every practitioner. Old Zheng abandons the investigation into Ma Pengcheng’s death because Ma has many enemies, limited importance, and little support from the main Ma Family 39.
• Reputation, gratitude, and human relationships affect employment and future opportunities. Wealthy sponsors expect beneficiaries to repay support through service or lending their martial prestige, and Old Zheng teaches that offending everyone can end even a talented fighter’s prospects 15 40.

Martial Halls and Recognition

• At the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, entering First Rank within the three-month trial qualifies a trainee as a Formal or Ordinary Disciple and grants access to the hall’s fist training 5 19.
• Ordinary Disciples wear gray clothing made from unusually durable silk and receive instruction from rotating Direct Disciples 19.
• Reaching Second Rank within three years qualifies an Ordinary Disciple for promotion to Direct Disciple, although the requirement is difficult and rarely met 19.
• A disciple who fails the initial deadline may be expelled, as happens to the poor disciple surnamed Chen. Du Song likewise leaves the martial path after failing to achieve Initiation 15 28.
• Displaying genuine attainment can attract support even after poor initial evaluations. Zhou Chen’s Major Accomplishment Wild Bull Fist earns increased allowance, Blood-Boiling Powder, and five Blood-Boiling Pills 52.

Employment and Political Allegiance

• Noble families, trading houses, gangs, and the Night Patrol Bureau recruit newly recognized Martial Warriors. Safer appointments can leave more time for cultivation, while more lucrative posts may impose heavier duties or greater danger 19 20 27.
• Zhou Chen becomes a Lian Household warehouse guard, receiving a datewood waist token and a post with two daily patrols that leaves ample time for training 27.
• The Night Patrol Bureau offers ordinary patrol appointments and covert Night Guard posts. A Night Guard Token permits departure from and re-entry into Black City, providing access to resources outside the walls 41 46.
• The Bureau’s formal duties include nighttime patrols, killing invading Mist Monsters, and maintaining order. Actual diligence can be poor: later patrolmen perform a perfunctory round before dispersing to rest 1 64.
• Third-Rank Martial Warriors support major Outer City powers, including the Four-Family Alliance, Black Armor Gang, and Money Gang. Second-Rank practitioners support numerous lesser noble houses and lineages 19.
• A family’s own Second-Rank practitioner is considered more dependable in an existential crisis than an affiliated attendant who may not share the lineage’s fate 19.
• The new city lord’s arrival divides Outer City Martial Warriors between local forces led by the Four-Family Alliance, the city lord’s faction, and neutral households and martial halls 44.
• Higher salaries and cultivation resources encourage defections and weaken the Lian Household. Zhou Chen and Ye Lingtian remain loyal despite repeated recruitment offers and the household’s shrinking influence 44 45 53 68.

Flesh-Cutting Tournament

• The Outer City holds a Flesh-Cutting Tournament every few years. Its winning martial arts hall gains control of the city’s flesh-cutting quota for three years 27.
• Exceptional competitors can attract Inner City patrons and gain entry into the Inner City. Gongsun Wuyang previously wins for the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall before entering the Inner City and rising in status 27.
• The Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall concentrates resources on Zhao Tianhong as its principal tournament hope, limiting the additional support available to other disciples 27 37.
• Newly arrived martial halls backed by the new city lord are also required to participate, increasing competition and political tension 39.

Marriage and Lineage Interests

• Wealthy marriage is regarded as a possible solution to cultivation’s financial demands. Old Zheng and Lian Taoze suggest suitable matches for Zhou Chen partly to secure resources for his continued training 53 56.
• Families may seek martial sons-in-law to protect their interests and sustain their standing. The Cheng and Ding households are presented as potential supporters of such a husband 56.
• First-Rank status alone may be insufficient for influential households during political turmoil. The Cheng Household wants someone likely to reach Second Rank, while the Bai Household rejects Zhou Chen in favor of recruiting Martial Warriors with greater weight 56 57.
• Limited martial potential can also redirect personal ambitions. Lian Taoze chooses marriage and hopes that his children will advance farther in martial cultivation than he can 28 40.

Known Practitioners

• Old Zheng — Master of the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall; a Third-Rank Martial Artist who has reached the Force Realm of Wild Bull Fist 5.
• Lian Taoze — Zhou Chen’s senior brother; a Second-Rank Martial Artist who attained Copper Skin before his breakthrough 5 17. Later cultivates Copper Sinew-Flesh and continues supporting Zhou Chen with employment, medicine, and protection 27 41 52 53.
• Zhou Chen — Reaches First-Rank Skin Tempering at Minor Accomplishment with Copper Skin 17 18. Subsequently obtains Golden Skin, reaches Major Accomplishment and then Perfection in Skin Tempering, and cultivates both Wild Bull Fist and Wind-Riding Steps to Major Accomplishment. His Divine Statue and Crimson Baleful Transformation give him exceptional abilities beyond ordinary First-Rank standards 35 38 41 50 55 61 65.
• Ma Pengcheng — Ordinary Disciple and First-Rank Martial Artist at Major Accomplishment, with Iron Skin and Minor Accomplishment in his fist art 17 18. Killed by Zhou Chen after attempting to arrange his assassination 37 38.
• Zhang Shaojiu — Talented disciple who becomes a First-Rank Martial Artist in less than half a month and reaches Minor Accomplishment in Wild Bull Fist within a month 13. Later reaches First-Rank Major Accomplishment and serves as an Azure Guard squad leader under the new city lord’s faction 44.
• Zhao Tianhong — Third Senior Brother of the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, Night Patrol Commander, and heavily supported tournament contender who has killed more than a hundred Mist Monsters. His Blood Vitality reaches Perfection at Second Rank, and he prepares to attempt Third Rank; his Wild Bull Fist is at Major Accomplishment 19 27 40 43.
• Shen Ao — Second-Rank practitioner from the Shen Clan who entered the rank with Iron Skin and seeks an opportunity to cultivate Copper Sinew-Flesh. Later commands Azure Guards and helps draw Martial Warriors into the new city lord’s faction 26 44.
• Ye Lingtian — First-Rank Major Accomplishment practitioner whose fist progress is comparable to Zhou Chen’s before Zhou advances his Wild Bull Fist further. Remains loyal to the Lian Household; Zhou suspects that he holds back during sparring 43 44 45.
• Du Ruming — Plum Rain Martial Hall practitioner and warehouse guard with Minor Accomplishment Plum Blossom Saber Technique and perfected Iron Skin. Fails to reach Copper Skin despite gathering resources and attempting the breakthrough 28 31.
• Qin Feng — Lian Household Martial Warrior who explains covert Night Guard work and the opportunities outside Black City. Later transferred because defections create a manpower shortage 41 45.
• Yin Mengbo — Clear River Gang leader and First-Rank Perfection Martial Warrior; confronted by Zhou Chen during the gang’s destruction 41 51 53.
• Jiang Tianming — Second-Rank practitioner with Major Accomplishment in his family’s ancestral sword technique. Pursues Zhou Chen outside the city and is shocked by his Golden Skin and simultaneous mastery of fist and leg techniques 61 63.
• Jiang Chuan — Second-Rank Major Accomplishment Martial Warrior who uses the Jiang Household’s Wild Cloud Sword. Faces Zhou Chen’s transformed First-Rank Perfection physique and Major Accomplishment movement technique 65.
• Gongsun Wuyang — Former Flesh-Cutting Tournament winner for the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall who subsequently enters the Inner City and rises in status 27.
• Fishery Boat Boss — Aging First-Rank Martial Warrior whose Blood Vitality has declined but who retains authority managing the Jia Family’s fishery 12.

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