Cao Dezhi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Cao Dezhi (曹德智)
Alias(es)	Heartless Douluo; First Dad, Eldest Dad, and Big Dad, as addressed by Cao Xin 1 2 25 31
Gender	Male 1
Affiliation	Tang Sect; Blood God Legion until its disbandment 1 144
Occupation/Role	Tang Sect Master; defender of the abyssal passage 1 71
Martial Soul	Ruthless Sword—a unique, top-tier mutated Martial Soul 6 7
Cultivation	Peak Quasi-God 7
Family	Zang Xin, partner; Cao Xin, their biological son 7 34
Status	Alive; returns to Tang Sect Headquarters after the abyssal war ends 144
First Appearance	Chapter 1, “Two Fathers” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Innate Full Soul Power	6	Retrospectively confirmed to have possessed Innate Full Soul Power when his Martial Soul awakened.
Peak Quasi-God	7	Identified as the continent’s third Peak Quasi-God. His breakthrough method is not described; he later recalls encountering an oppressive power upon reaching this realm 116.

Background / History

Family and divided duties

Cao Dezhi divides his time between governing the Tang Sect and fighting abyssal creatures with the Blood God Legion on the far northern frontier. Traveling between these responsibilities leaves him few opportunities for leisure 1.

He and Zang Xin are Cao Xin’s biological parents. Yun Ming later explains that their son’s unusual birth involved Qiankun Wenqing Valley and the fallen Love God’s power. Cao Xin’s birth also eliminated the rejection between their Martial Souls, allowing them to achieve perfect fusion 34 117.

Before Cao Xin turns six, Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin repeatedly take him to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to obtain treasures that nourish his body and spiritual power. Cao Dezhi’s strength—and the threat of his fusion with Zang Xin—makes the Immortal Herb Kings reluctant to refuse these arrangements 67.

Cao Xin’s awakening and training

Cao Dezhi witnesses Cao Xin awaken both the Sentimental Sword and Ruthless Sword. He responds with hearty laughter and sees the dual inheritance as a promise of the Tang Sect’s future 2.

When suitable Soul Spirits cannot be found, the two fathers obtain Soul Rings from the Soul Beast Pool instead. Cao Dezhi selects Autumn to complement Zang Xin’s Once, deliberately leaving its effects for Cao Xin to discover through absorption. He later chooses Winter, continuing the seasonal sword-intent theme, and approves Cao Xin’s training in the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform 4 5 6 7.

Confrontation with Shrek Academy

After Cai Yue’er sends the Shrek Inspection Corps to assassinate Cao Xin, Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin arrive together through a spatial rift. While Zang Xin checks their son for injuries, Cao Dezhi approaches the surviving Seven-Ring Soul Sage 29.

At Sea God Island, Cao Dezhi demands accountability from Cai Yue’er. He and Yun Ming conclude that Long Yeyue enabled the assassination despite Cai Yue’er’s confinement. Cao Dezhi warns Yun Ming not to intervene and rejects the claim that Shrek elder status shields Cai Yue’er from punishment 30.

His declaration that Cao Xin is his biological son exposes the attack as a personal blood feud. Long Yeyue withdraws her support for Cai Yue’er after assessing the danger of opposing both fathers. Cao Dezhi worries when Cao Xin proposes settling the dispute himself, but allows the challenge to proceed. After Cao Xin kills Cai Yue’er with two strikes, Cao Dezhi tells Yun Ming to consider the matter settled 31 33.

Retaliation against Star Luo

When Zang Xin reports the Star Luo Royal Family’s attempts to kill Cao Xin, Cao Dezhi immediately decides to retaliate. The two travel by Tang Sect submarine to Star Luo City, where Hu Jie briefs them on the artillery plot, military encirclement, and Tong Yu’s attack 109.

From the Tang Sect branch, Cao Dezhi destroys Star Luo Palace with three Ruthless Sword strikes. The attack reduces its halls, gardens, and symbols of imperial authority to ruins; the narration explicitly states that he does not care how many people die in the destruction 109.

Defense against Tang Hao

During the artillery attack on Shrek City, the two Level 12 shells disrupt the surrounding space and prevent Cao Dezhi from teleporting in. He arrives only after their energy fields dissipate, confirms that Zang Xin and Cao Xin are safe, and learns how his son neutralized the weapons. He recognizes that Cao Xin has surpassed him and responds with unmistakable pride 116.

When Tang Hao attacks Cao Xin, Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin immediately activate Emotion Moves Heaven to shield their son. Cao Xin joins them, transforming the technique into Ruthless Great Dao, which strips Tang Hao of his planar authority and kills him. Both fathers survive the fusion, though their auras weaken and their faces become pale 116 117 118.

End of the abyssal war

Cao Dezhi fights the Devil Emperor while Blood God Legion soldiers hold back the abyssal invasion. Recognizing that he is outmatched, he orders Zhang Huanyun to request reinforcements from Parliament, Shrek, and the Tang Sect. He continues fighting despite injury until Cao Xin arrives and kills the Devil Emperor 140.

While Cao Xin enters the Abyss Plane, Cao Dezhi and Yun Ming guard the defensive line. After Cao Xin destroys the plane, the passage is sealed and the Blood God Legion is disbanded. Cao Dezhi returns to Tang Sect Headquarters, where Zang Xin welcomes him home 144.

Appearance

• Posture: Stands “straight as a pine,” with an imposing presence that discourages others from meeting his gaze even when he restrains his aura 1.
• Expression: Usually stern and cold; his smiles are especially noticeable when greeting or praising Cao Xin 5 144.
• Clothing: Wears a dark military uniform when returning from the completed abyssal campaign 144.

Personality

Cao Dezhi is restrained, decisive, and careful in his preparations. His selection of Cao Xin’s early Soul Rings emphasizes compatibility rather than isolated strength, and he confidently lets his son discover Autumn’s nature through experience 5 7.

His severity contrasts with his open paternal pride. Cao Xin remembers the rare smiles accompanying his returns from the Blood God Legion; later, Cao Dezhi openly celebrates his son’s victories and accepts being surpassed 5 116 144.

Threats against Cao Xin provoke uncompromising retaliation. Cao Dezhi refuses to let Shrek’s hierarchy excuse an assassination attempt, while his destruction of Star Luo Palace shows that this protectiveness can extend to disregard for collateral casualties 30 31 109.

He also respects Cao Xin’s privacy. After the unexplained three-person fusion, he accepts his son’s refusal to reveal its mechanism. His attempt to reassure Cao Xin by claiming to have secrets of his own leads to a comic argument with Zang Xin, followed by hurried denials and apologies 118.

Abilities & Skills

Ruthless Sword

Cao Dezhi’s Martial Soul is a unique mutated sword that did not exist before him 7.

• Classified as a top-tier Martial Soul 6.
• Its sword strikes can devastate large structures; three destroy Star Luo Palace 109.
• Inherited by Cao Xin, whose later Four Seasons Cycle and Time Law techniques are explicitly recognized as a different path from Cao Dezhi’s own 2 33.

Spatial Travel

His Peak Quasi-God cultivation allows him to tear through space and travel instantly across the Douluo Continent 25.

• Cao Xin receives a special communicator through which he can summon Cao Dezhi in an emergency 25.
• Spatial interference can prevent his arrival: the Level 12 artillery shells’ energy fields block his teleportation into Shrek City 116.

Emotion Moves Heaven

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill performed with Zang Xin 30.

• Cao Xin’s birth removes their Martial Soul rejection, enabling one-hundred-percent fusion 117.
• They transform into two enormous swords, reaching a thousand meters in height when intercepting Tang Hao’s attack 116.
• Their combined power can contend with Tang Hao as Plane Lord, crossing several major power realms 117.
• Cao Xin estimates that they could easily suppress a Third-Level God without sacrificing themselves 44.
• The comparison with the original storyline describes a different outcome: their weaker counterparts sacrificed their lives to seal the First-Level God-strength Abyssal Sage King for three days 117.

Ruthless Great Dao

An unprecedented Trinity Martial Soul Fusion Skill formed when Cao Xin joins Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin 118.

• Manifests as a gigantic ancient eye associated with judgment, time, creation, and destruction 118.
• Strips Tang Hao of his Plane Lord status, reduces his cultivation, and erases his consciousness 118.
• Refines Tang Hao’s Clear Sky Hammer into a seven-colored divine artifact 118.
• Leaves Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin weakened but alive; neither understands how Cao Xin achieved the necessary compatibility 118.

Relationships

• Cao Xin — Biological son and only heir. Cao Dezhi provides cultivation resources, defends him against powerful enemies, and openly takes pride in his achievements 2 31 116 144.
• Zang Xin — Partner, fellow Tang Sect leader, and co-parent. Their fusion reaches perfect compatibility after Cao Xin’s birth; their private exchanges mix affection, familiarity, and teasing 7 34 117 118 144.
• Yun Ming — Longtime teammate and close friend who calls him “Captain.” Their friendship survives the Shrek confrontation, and Yun Ming eventually leaves the academy to assist his campaign 30 49 72 144.
• Cai Yue’er — Enemy after ordering Cao Xin’s assassination. Cao Dezhi rejects her appeals to Shrek authority and protects Cao Xin from consequences after her death 30 31 33.
• Long Yeyue — Opposing Shrek elder whom he identifies as having enabled Cai Yue’er’s actions. Her seniority does not persuade him to abandon retaliation 30 31.
• Hu Jie — Tang Sect branch leader who briefs Cao Dezhi on Star Luo’s attacks. Witnessing the palace’s destruction convinces Hu Jie to personally oversee future matters involving Cao Xin 109.
• Zhang Huanyun — Battlefield associate who relays his request for reinforcements during the Devil Emperor’s assault 140.

Notable Quotes

“Since Cai Yue’er wanted to kill my son... No one can stop me today!” 31

“As expected of my son.” 116

“He’s my son. What is there to be modest about?” 144