Lu Shaolin

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Lu Shaolin (陆小霖)
Alias(es)	Boss Lu; Hall Master Lu 14 47
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Blackwater Gang; External Affairs Hall 27 47
Occupation/Role	Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall; demon and monster hunter 27 47
Status	Alive; actively investigating possible supernatural disasters in Great Xia 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1: “Life Hanging by a Thread” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Three Absolutes Spear: Proficient → Minor Mastery	3	Spent 0.3 Source Points; gained combat memories and a physically strengthened body, but the upgrade left him severely hungry and exhausted. 3
Three Absolutes Spear: Minor Mastery → Major Mastery	3	Spent 0.4 Source Points after several days of recovery and food preparation. 3
Three Absolutes Spear: Great Accomplishment → Perfection	10	Perfected the technique with 0.5 Source Points after killing Li Jian and his accomplices. 10
Reckless Bull Force: Beginner → First Layer; Early Skin Tempering	17	Spent 1 Source Point after hunting River Demons; his first formal martial-realm breakthrough. 17
Early Skin Tempering → Mid-Stage Skin Tempering	18	Spent 2 Source Points; his strength exceeded 400 jin, substantially above an ordinary breakthrough. 18
Reckless Bull Force: Second → Third Layer; Perfected Skin Tempering	21	Spent 3 Source Points after accumulating points from eight River Demons. 21
Mad Demon Staff Technique: Not Initiated → Initiated → Proficient	21	Used Source Points to gain the technique’s forms and combat understanding. 21
Reckless Bull Force: Third → Fifth Layer; Mid Tendon Tempering	28	Spent 12 Source Points across Reckless Bull Force and Mad Demon Staff Technique; his agility, coordination, and speed increased sharply. 28
Mad Demon Staff Technique: Proficient → Minor Mastery	28	Advanced alongside his Tendon Tempering breakthrough. 28
Perfected Muscle Tempering	31	Completed Reckless Bull Force, reached the first layer of Savage Bear Skill, and advanced Mad Demon Staff Technique to Major Mastery; raw strength exceeded 700 jin. 31
Savage Bear Skill: Level One → Max Level	36	Fully cultivated through the upgraded system; strength rose to roughly 1,000 jin, defense doubled, and speed doubled again. 36
Mad Demon Staff Technique: Major Success → Perfected	36	Perfected together with Savage Bear Skill. 36
Fire Venom Palm: Perfected	43	Rapidly mastered using Source Points, gaining a fire-based palm strike capable of leaving char marks on wood. 43
Golden Body Art: Full Level	43	Strength rose to roughly 1,500 jin and his skin membrane reached three layers. 43
Stonewall Art: Level Five	46	Developed a fourth skin membrane and nearly 2,000 pounds of force while remaining at Perfected Muscle Tempering. 46

Background / History

Lu Shaolin is a former undercover detective who possessed the body of a gravely injured youth in Panshan Village. He retained the body’s memories and inherited its connection to Lu Zhong, a respected hunter who taught his son the crude Three Absolutes Spear. Lu Shaolin also retained his former-life Eight Extremes Fist and habits such as setting an oil-lamp alarm behind his bedroom door. 2 3

After Lu Zhong was killed and his body could not be recovered, Demon Suppression Bureau Banner Officer Zhou Yong returned Lu Zhong’s black iron spear and killed the zombie connected to the incident. Lu Shaolin learned that his damaged internal organs gave him only three months to live; he could survive only by obtaining an extremely expensive healing pill or reaching Organ Tempering. 2

Touching the zombie’s corpse activated Lu Shaolin’s system and granted him two Source Points. Recognizing that supernatural creatures could become the resource he needed to survive, he began using the system to refine his martial arts, strengthen his body, and seek more advanced cultivation methods. 2 3

He arranged a cenotaph for Lu Zhong using the hunter’s old clothes, personally buried it at the foot of the mountain, and accepted responsibility for preserving the Lu family household. 6

Appearance

Lu Shaolin’s system-driven cultivation transforms him from a pale, severely injured youth into an exceptionally large and muscular martial artist. By the time of his duel with Wang Xiaofeng, he stands roughly 1.95 meters tall, with dense musculature and four protective layers of skin membrane. 3 21 36 46

• Initially had a pale complexion and weakened body due to severe internal injuries. 2 3
• Grew beyond 1.7 meters after advancing in Three Absolutes Spear. 5
• Reached roughly 1.8 meters at Perfected Skin Tempering and 1.9 meters after maximizing Savage Bear Skill. 21 36
• Possesses muscles described as rock-like, an increasingly heavy frame, and unusually high physical durability. 36 43 46
• His cultivation repeatedly tears apart ordinary martial clothing, requiring larger or custom-made garments. 21 36
• Usually fights with a heavy Black Iron Spear and rides a black-maned horse. 31 28

Personality

Lu Shaolin is pragmatic, alert, and intensely survival-oriented. His former life as an undercover detective left him cautious about intrusion, observant of danger, and accustomed to preparing for betrayal. He considers money, food, weapons, legal consequences, and cultivation resources as interconnected necessities rather than separate concerns. 3 10 31

He is deeply motivated by gratitude and remembers those who help him. He treats Zhou Yong’s rescue as life-saving grace, recruits Li Cai after the clerk’s earlier assistance, and protects Li Si from a dangerous reassignment despite Li Si declining to join the External Affairs Hall. 1 27 37

Lu is also ruthless when he decides someone is a continuing threat. He killed Li Jian and his accomplices after they invaded his home, slew Li Ping during a nighttime revenge attack, and later killed both Ouyang Zheng and Ouyang Sheng after their conflict escalated into violence. 9 19 41

Despite his brutality, he protects people under his responsibility. He sheltered Dong Jia and Dong Linger, refused to make them servants, includes them in meals, and regards them publicly as family. 23 25 44

His overriding ambition is martial advancement. He rejected a share of New Wharf’s profits and He Zhonglang’s marriage proposal in favor of earning the chance to learn the Iron Chain Across the River Technique. 47

Abilities & Skills

System

Lu Shaolin possesses a system that records his martial realm, cultivation methods, martial techniques, and Source Points. It can directly improve learned techniques and physically reshape his body as though he had trained for years. 2 3

• Gains Source Points by touching the corpses of demons, monsters, and supernatural entities; killing an ordinary wolf gave him no points. 2 5 17
• System upgrades can provide martial knowledge, complete physical transformations, and unusually flawless breakthroughs. 3 18
• Every major upgrade creates extreme hunger and requires substantial food to sustain his transformed body. 3 17 21
• Cannot create missing follow-up cultivation methods; Lu was unable to enter Tendon Tempering until he acquired the appropriate manual. 21 24
• The system temporarily shut down for twelve hours after announcing an automatic upgrade caused by a bug. 35 36

Three Absolutes Spear

The spear technique inherited from Lu Zhong has three core moves: Falling Star, a downward strike; Water Severing, a horizontal sweep; and Skybreak, a direct thrust. It is a combat method rather than a cultivation technique and cannot raise his martial realm on its own. 2 3

• Uses refined force application to channel more than half of his body’s strength into a strike. 3
• Skybreak is his preferred killing thrust, used against Li Jian, River Demons, and other enemies. 9 17 21
• Its reach allows him to control saber users and avoid meeting stronger opponents’ weapons directly. 9
• Perfected through the system before his entry into the Blackwater Gang. 10 14

Mad Demon Staff Technique

A Yellow-rank mid-grade long-weapon technique that Lu adapts for use with his spear because the Blackwater Gang’s Martial Arts Pavilion had no spear manuals. 13 36

• Contains thirteen staff forms and is wielded through his spear as a staff-like weapon. 13
• Its Berserk State turns his eyes bloodshot and enhances both strength and speed. 23
• He used the Berserk State to destroy Liu Bao’s horse with a single strike and to counter Ouyang Zheng. 23 40
• Reached perfection through the system. 36

Body Cultivation

Lu combines several external cultivation methods to create an unusually powerful physique at Perfected Muscle Tempering. 43 46

• Reckless Bull Force — Yellow-rank high-grade foundational method; its completed stages advanced him through Skin, Tendon, and Muscle Tempering. 12 31 36
• Savage Bear Skill — Yellow-rank mid-grade method that emphasizes the chest, back, shoulders, and upper body. 31 36
• Golden Body Art — strengthened his body to three layers of skin membrane and raised his force to roughly 1,500 jin. 43
• Stonewall Art — added a fourth skin membrane, leaving him with defense compared to extremely thick leather armor. 22 46
• By Chapter 46, he possesses nearly 2,000 pounds of force and speed beyond ordinary Tendon Tempering martial artists. 46

Fire Venom Palm

A fire-based Yellow-rank technique chosen specifically to fight Vengeful Souls. 43

• Turns his hands blackish red and can leave charred marks with a fingertip. 43
• Can damage supernatural souls through its Yang Fire attribute. 43
• Used to destroy the red-clad Vengeful Soul haunting his home. 44
• Lu considers it insufficiently effective against resentful souls and seeks either further improvement or Fire-Pattern Steel weaponry. 44

Hunting, Trapping, and Fieldcraft

Lu uses practical traps, bait, terrain, and weapon reach instead of relying solely on brute force. 17 21

• Lures River Demons ashore with live poultry tied to ropes. 17 21
• Used fishing nets, sand pits, burial pits, and precise spear thrusts to control River Demon encounters. 17 21
• Hunts ordinary game to sustain his immense food requirements and earn money through pelts. 5 6 40
• Learned horseback riding from Ma San and rapidly progressed to galloping. 28

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black Iron Spear — Lu Zhong’s original spear was returned by Zhou Yong; Lu later replaced it with a two-meter, sixty-two-jin Black Iron Spear forged entirely from black iron. Its double-sided spearhead can stab or slash. 2 31
• Black-Maned Horse — Claimed from the Blackwater Gang warehouse after joining the External Affairs Hall. 27 28
• Blackwater Gang tokens — First held a red junior-leader token, then received a black External Affairs Hall token. 13 27
• Clear-Eye Liquid — A liquid that enables ordinary people to see Vengeful Souls, usable only once every twelve hours. 43
• Gang-issued saber — Issued when he joined as a junior leader, though he continues to favor his spear. 13 14

Relationships

• Lu Zhong — Father of the body Lu Shaolin possesses; taught him Three Absolutes Spear. Lu Shaolin arranged a cenotaph and burial after Lu Zhong’s body was never found. 2 3 6
• Zhou Yong — Banner Officer of the Demon Suppression Bureau who saved Lu Shaolin, returned Lu Zhong’s spear, and explained his limited chance of surviving his internal injuries. 1 2
• Yu Shan — Blackwater Gang steward and early sponsor. He investigated Li Jian’s death, refused to seek unjust revenge, recruited Lu Shaolin, and later supported his transfer to the External Affairs Hall. 11 12 27
• He Zhonglang — Blackwater Gang leader. He recognized Lu’s strength, made him Hall Master, and promised the Iron Chain Across the River Technique in exchange for further merit. 41 47
• Chen Ying — Former deputy hall master and administrator of the External Affairs Hall. Lu leaves routine administration to Chen while retaining command over the hall’s fighting squads. 41 47
• Ma San — Loyal subordinate, hunting partner, and riding instructor. He follows Lu into the External Affairs Hall and frequently assists in demon-hunting operations. 14 27 28
• Li Si — Former dock subordinate who declined dangerous External Affairs Hall work for the sake of his wife and children. Lu arranged his safer transfer away from She Jiang. 14 27
• Li Cai — Coffin-shop clerk who helped with Lu Zhong’s burial and later became Lu Shaolin’s subordinate in the Blackwater Gang. 5 6 37 38
• Dong Jia — Household worker and member of Lu Shaolin’s adopted household. She cooks, manages domestic affairs, and is visibly concerned for his safety. 23 28 46
• Dong Linger — Dong Jia’s younger sister. Lu protects her, buys her sweets, and treats her with familial affection. 23 35 44
• Zhao Anguo — Blackwater Gang steward who assists Lu with assignments, Li Cai’s recruitment, and knowledge about Vengeful Souls. 29 38 43
• Ouyang Zheng and Ouyang Sheng — Father and son antagonists within the Blackwater Gang. Their conflict with Lu culminated in both being killed after attacking him. 34 40 41

Story Role / Major Arcs

Survival and System Activation

With only three months to live from severe internal injuries, Lu Shaolin discovers the system after the death of Lu Zhong. He spends his first Source Points improving Three Absolutes Spear and learns that rapid growth demands careful recovery and enormous amounts of food. 2 3

Panshan Village Conflict

Lu Shaolin buries Lu Zhong’s cenotaph, earns Li Cai’s respect by killing a wolf, and eliminates Li Jian, Wu Cheng, and Li Sanbao when they invade his home. The county yamen rules the killings lawful self-defense. 5 6 9 10

Blackwater Gang Recruitment

Yu Shan recruits Lu as a junior leader after learning of his combat ability. Lu joins the Blackwater Gang for access to cultivation manuals, receives Ma San and Li Si as subordinates, and begins training in Reckless Bull Force and Mad Demon Staff Technique. 11 13 14

River Demon Hunts and External Affairs Hall

Unable to advance through ordinary training, Lu begins systematically hunting River Demons for Source Points. His victories raise him from no martial realm to Perfected Muscle Tempering and earn him a position in the External Affairs Hall, where he seeks stronger supernatural threats. 17 21 27 31

Rise Within the Blackwater Gang

After defeating Liu Bao and protecting the Dong sisters, Lu’s reputation grows at the docks. He later kills Ouyang Zheng in self-defense, defeats Wang Xiaofeng in the New Wharf duel, and becomes Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall. 23 41 46 47

Vengeful Soul and Hidden Disaster Investigation

Lu learns methods for fighting Vengeful Souls, masters Fire Venom Palm, and destroys the spirit haunting his home. Later, while studying county records, he identifies a suspicious pattern of disasters across Great Xia’s outer provinces and begins suspecting a wider supernatural or political conspiracy. 43 44 50

Notable Quotes

“You may see it as merely a transaction, sir, but to me, it is life-saving grace. I will never forget it!” 1

“That so-called Gate-Breaking Saber Wang Xiaofeng is nothing more than a head waiting to be claimed in my eyes.” 46

“Miss is indeed stunningly beautiful, but I have no interest in affairs between men and women. I am only interested in martial arts.” 47