Jiang Tianming

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Jiang Tianming (姜天冥)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jiang Household; Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall 50 55
Occupation/Role	Direct Disciple and Third Senior Brother of Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall; young master of the Jiang Household 50 64
Cultivation	Second-Rank Martial Artist, Minor Accomplishment 50 63
Status	Deceased; killed by Zhou Chen 64
First Appearance	Chapter 50 50

Appearance

• Wears black martial attire with silver eagle patterns embroidered on the cuffs, identifying his martial arts hall 50.
• Has long, narrow eyes and a gloomy, sinister expression when investigating his sister’s disappearance 50.
• Wears a bamboo hat while following Zhou Chen outside Black City 61.

Background / History

Investigation into Jiang Qin’s disappearance

Jiang Tianming begins investigating after his younger sister, Jiang Qin, and fellow disciple Lin Xuan fail to return from a Blood-Horned Bear hunt. He questions Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall disciples, then checks the city gate. The guards confirm that both hunters left that morning but never returned, extinguishing his remaining hope 50.

Knowing that Jiang Qin had prepared beast bait for the hunt, he asks whether anyone returned with Blood-Horned Bear meat. The gate captain conceals having seen such a hunter, fearing involvement in a feud between powerful martial artists 50.

Accusation against Zhou Chen

Jiang eventually identifies Zhou Chen as the hunter who returned with the bear’s meat. He attacks him at Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, intending to take him back to the Jiang Household for interrogation under torture. Lian Taoze blocks the attack and refuses to surrender his junior martial brother 54.

Jiang’s suspicion rests on a specific discrepancy: Blood-Horned Bears hibernate during winter and normally require beast bait to draw them out, yet witnesses saw Zhou leave without bait. Zhou claims he merely encountered an injured, berserk bear and argues that his apparent strength could not have overcome both missing hunters. Jiang hesitates, apologizes, and offers a reward for further clues 54.

Rather than leave outright, Jiang secretly circles back and listens from behind a vendor’s stall. After overhearing Lian’s reassurance to Zhou, he announces that he now believes Zhou was uninvolved. His subsequent actions contradict that assurance 54 55.

Plans for retaliation

Jiang reports the encounter to his father, Jiang Chuan. His father orders him to wait until attention fades, then quietly seize Zhou for interrogation. Jiang Chuan is willing to kill Zhou even if he is innocent, treating the execution as an offering to Jiang Qin’s spirit. Jiang Tianming accepts the plan 55.

After dealing with household matters, Jiang follows Zhou through the city gate, intending to kill him in revenge for his sister 61.

Defeat and death

Outside the city, Zhou’s habitual bluff draws Jiang out of hiding. Zhou pretends to offer an oath by Heavenly Dao Power and agrees to return for questioning. Jiang briefly doubts his accusation and lowers his guard, allowing Zhou to attack with poisonous powder and poisoned Money Darts 62.

Jiang survives the ambush through muscle control, concealed armor, Blood Vitality, and a Detoxification Pill. In the ensuing direct fight, however, Zhou shatters his sword and overwhelms him with Major Accomplishment fist and movement techniques backed by Golden Skin. Jiang withstands roughly twenty exchanges before a strike to his back leaves him incapacitated 62 63.

He first threatens retaliation by his father, then offers to abandon the feud and invest in Zhou. His threats against Zhou’s family eliminate any prospect of mercy: Zhou kills him with a punch through the chest, loots his money, and destroys the body to help forest beasts erase the evidence 63 64.

Jiang’s warning also prompts Zhou to attack the Jiang Household that night. Zhou kills Jiang Chuan, leaving the household without its Second-Rank protector 64 65.

Personality

Jiang Tianming is explicitly described as petty-minded; even though he is not among Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall’s strongest Direct Disciples, others avoid slighting him. Lian Taoze likewise warns that Jiang retaliates over the smallest grievances. His concealed return after apparently accepting Zhou’s explanation demonstrates vigilance and distrust 50 54.

His desire for revenge coexists with uncertainty about the culprit. Zhou’s apparent sincerity twice makes him reconsider whether he has accused an innocent man. Once defeated, his confidence collapses into threats and bargaining, including an offer to cooperate with the opponent he had intended to kill 54 62 63.

Abilities & Skills

Second-Rank Body Control

• Precisely controls his muscles, suppressing his breathing and energy fluctuations while making his footsteps silent 62.
• Closes his pores and holds his breath to prevent poisonous powder from penetrating his body 62.
• Uses Blood Vitality to contain poisoned wounds and force embedded darts and fragments out of his flesh 62.
• Recovers from heavy impacts and renews his attacks through coordinated muscle control; this lets him endure blows that would incapacitate an ordinary First-Rank fighter 63.

Ancestral Swordsmanship

• Has cultivated the Jiang family’s ancestral sword technique to Major Accomplishment after years of Second-Rank training 63.
• Deflects a volley of Money Darts with a tight sword arc, although the darts burst into poisoned fragments on contact 62.
• Launches an airborne downward slash accompanied by a piercing sonic boom 63.
• Cannot match Zhou’s combination of speed, fist power, and Golden Skin; his refined-iron sword breaks under Zhou’s punch 63.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Refined-iron longsword — His principal weapon; shattered during the fight with Zhou Chen 63.
• Concealed soft armor — Protects vital areas from Money Darts and allows him to absorb some fragment attacks on armored portions of his body 62.
• Detoxification Pill — Taken after he expels the first poisoned darts 62.
• Coin purse — Contains three taels of gold and several taels of loose silver when Zhou searches his corpse; no martial arts manuals are found 64.

Relationships

• Jiang Qin — Younger sister. Her disappearance and death drive his investigation and pursuit of revenge 50 54 61.
• Jiang Chuan — Father and head of the Jiang Household; a Second-Rank Major Accomplishment martial artist. Approves the plan to capture Zhou, and Jiang later invokes his strength as a threat 55 63.
• Lin Xuan — Fellow Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall disciple and Jiang Qin’s hunting companion. Jiang investigates his disappearance alongside hers and considers him responsible for protecting her 50 54.
• Zhou Chen — Suspected killer of Jiang Qin and eventual killer of Jiang Tianming himself 54 64.
• Lian Taoze — Opponent in the dispute over Zhou. Prevents Jiang from seizing Zhou and openly challenges his authority, citing the equal standing of their households 54.

Notable Quotes

“It's time I freed up my hands to swat you dead, little fly. Consider it an offering to my sister's spirit in heaven!” 61

“I deliberately suppressed my breathing and every fluctuation of energy. I even controlled the muscles in my feet so they made no sound. How did you find me?” 62