Deng Qing

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Deng Qing (邓青) 1
Alias(es)	Xie Xuan — identity used as a Grade A Sword Examiner; “Offal Martial Saint” — self-deprecating nickname tied to his offal-based cultivation diet 23 75
Species/Race	Human 52
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Celebration Hall; formerly served as a First-Class Sword Tester at the Yanshan Prefecture Martial Arts Hall 52 61 81
Occupation/Role	Personal Disciple of Li Dashan; martial artist; sword examiner 52 56 81
Status	Alive; investigating suspected surveillance near the Li Family camp in Yanshan Prefecture 83
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Mortal	1	Awakens a mysterious status display after refusing to stop practicing despite hunger and physical weakness. His Tiger-Subduing Fist begins at 0%. 1
Skin Tempering First Layer	5	Reaches the first formal cultivation layer after entering Celebration Hall; later panels confirm this realm. 5 14
Skin Refining Second Layer	25	Breaks through after months of dangerous work, medicinal baths, furnace-tending, and intensive nourishment. 25
Skin Tempering Third Layer	41	His skin, membranes, waist, hips, legs, and feet become more fully integrated, allowing qi and blood to respond without delay. 41

Background

Deng Qing is a transmigrator who begins in Everjoy County as an impoverished young man living in a ruined temple. He spends his last three taels of silver to enter Celebration Hall as an apprentice, but hunger and extreme physical weakness initially prevent him from performing even basic Tiger-Subduing Fist forms properly. His refusal to remain down after repeated falls awakens the status display that declares, “Heaven helps those who help themselves; effort is never wasted.” 1

Li Dashan recognizes Deng Qing’s determination and allows him to work at Celebration Hall sweeping grounds and tending horses in exchange for two meals a day. Deng Qing uses this fragile stability to establish a disciplined routine of eating, laboring, sleeping, and practicing martial arts. 1 2

His early advancement is repeatedly endangered by labor conscription, war, famine, and his inability to afford proper food or medicine. Rather than surrender, he seeks cheap sources of qi and blood, most notably pig offal, and turns manual labor, medicinal refining, and battlefield rewards into cultivation resources. 4 13 23 32

Appearance

Deng Qing is a young man whose body becomes lean and muscular through relentless training and cultivation. 7 74

• Wore Celebration Hall’s white robes after advancing beyond basic labor duties. 7
• Frequently disguises himself as a refugee or laborer with dirt, ash, and worn clothing when caution is necessary. 9 33
• Uses Mongqi Hide to completely alter his facial features and assume the identity of Xie Xuan. 75 80

Personality

Deng Qing is exceptionally persistent, but his perseverance is paired with pragmatism rather than reckless idealism. He weighs risk against reward, refuses meaningless duels against stronger opponents, and exploits favorable circumstances rather than relying on pride. 9 17 48

His poverty makes him highly conscious of food, medicine, money, and social obligations. He budgets for gifts, shares food with neighbors and laborers, repays debts, and distributes credit when doing so can strengthen reliable relationships. 12 23 42

He deliberately conceals much of his strength, preferring to appear modest or lucky until revealing ability becomes strategically useful. This caution becomes harsher in Yanshan Prefecture, where he intimidates Meng Hui and constructs social leverage to prevent retaliation. 12 27 63 64

Abilities & Skills

Mysterious Status Display

Deng Qing possesses a status display that appears after sustained effort and records his realm and martial-art proficiency. Its recurring message is: “Heaven helps those who help themselves; effort is never wasted.” 1 14

• Records percentage-based progress in his techniques. 2 14
• Its exact origin and full limitations remain unknown. 62
• Does not remove the need for food, medicine, rest, or physical conditioning. 2 4

Tiger-Subduing Fist

Deng Qing’s foundational boxing art develops from a crude common technique into an instinctive close-quarters style with seamless offense and defense. 11 19 62

• Advances from 1% to 13% Beginner after learning and combining the first six forms. 2
• Reaches 60% Mastery after refining a Ginseng Pill and performing Tiger-Subduing Mountain Crusher. 9
• Achieves Major Mastery during his battle with Mountain-Crossing Wind, using evasive footwork and controlled counterattacks to exploit the enemy’s wound. 11
• Reaches 75% Grand Mastery through intensive meat-fueled cultivation after the Mountain God Temple battle. 38
• Reaches 80% Perfected Mastery after refining three Ginseng Pills; the art becomes an instinctive whole integrated with his breathing and body. 62
• Excels in grappling, disarming, joint control, and exploiting an opponent’s muscles, blood flow, and qi circulation. 63
• Is disadvantaged against armed opponents when Deng Qing fights bare-handed. 13

Violet Palace Method

The Violet Palace Method is Deng Qing’s internal cultivation art, primarily used to digest food, refine medicine, recover stamina, stabilize qi and blood, and endure toxic medicinal fumes. 13 22

• Reaches 20% Minor Accomplishment after Deng Qing endures a medicinal bath while circulating the method. 19
• Allows him to convert enormous quantities of coarse food and offal into qi and blood without destroying his body. 23 38
• Advances to 35% while he survives toxic smoke and an unstable furnace refinement. 32
• Reaches 55% Minor Mastery after repeated Sword Grove training and Ginseng Pill refinement. 67
• Reduces the harm caused by medicinal toxins but does not make him immune to exhaustion or injury. 22 32

Seven Forms of Settling Solitude

A difficult sword art connected to Li Cheng’s family and Daoist Dinggu. Deng Qing learns it while serving as Li Cheng’s sparring partner. 27

• Reaches Initiation after comprehending the art’s principles during meditation and a month of daily practice. 27
• Advances to Grand Mastery, enabling him to read opponents’ footwork, shoulder movements, elbow transitions, and fleeting openings before attacks fully develop. 42 43
• Reaches 80% Perfected Mastery through all-night training against Sword Grove’s black sword lights. 74
• Allows him to abandon rigid forms and attack through sword intent, with each movement naturally flowing into the next. 72
• Lets him defeat stronger or more prestigious sword styles by targeting their structural weaknesses rather than meeting force directly. 76 80
• Will eventually be insufficient against higher cultivation realms without a more advanced sword art. 80

Swordsmanship and Tactical Combat

Deng Qing combines precise sword control, patience, battlefield awareness, and an unwillingness to overcommit. 43 76

• Uses the flexibility of the Blacksteel Soft Sword to attack around guards and through unexpected angles. 42 43
• Defeated Song Que with Tiger-Subduing Fist, gaining the Blacksteel Soft Sword as legitimate spoils. 18 19
• Killed Monk Tang with a single concealed sword strike after identifying an opening around the Buddhist staff. 35
• Broke Zhang Bo’s tree branch in a controlled exchange despite Zhang Bo’s Bone-Forging Realm experience. 43
• As Xie Xuan, defeated multiple Grade A candidates by striking the precise point where their sword momentum converged. 76
• Avoids direct confrontation when an enemy’s realm, weapons, or unknown abilities make a fight needlessly dangerous. 11 17 48

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blacksteel Soft Sword — flexible sword won from Song Que; can channel qi and blood through its curved blade and slip around an opponent’s guard. 18 19 42
• Mongqi Hide — facial disguise made by the woman in white; alters Deng Qing’s features naturally and allows him to assume the identity Xie Xuan. He is permitted to keep it. 75 80
• Silver Crow Handwraps — rented blade-resistant handguards used during the Blackwind Ravine expedition; later returned undamaged enough to recover his deposit. 14 19
• Leather armor — Fan Sheng’s old reinforced armor, worn beneath Deng Qing’s robes for protection from missiles, stones, and lighter attacks. 13 14
• Household of Merit plaque — county-yamen award that deters ordinary runners and hooligans from harassing his household. 13
• Ginseng Pills — his principal medicinal supplement for replenishing qi and blood during breakthroughs and intensive Sword Grove training. 9 62 74

Relationships

• Li Dashan — Master and later personal master. Li Dashan first gives Deng Qing a path to survive at Celebration Hall, later recognizes his rise from starvation to the Third Layer, and recommends him for the Sword Examiner selection. 1 44 52 56
• Fan Sheng — Senior brother, mentor, and trusted supporter. He teaches Deng Qing, secures opportunities for him, lends him equipment and money, and helps him seek recognition within Celebration Hall. 2 13 38 42
• Li Cheng — Friend, patron, sparring partner, and quiet rival. Deng Qing helps him practice the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, while Li Cheng provides hospitality, resources, and social support. 27 39 43 81
• Wang Wei — Fellow Celebration Hall disciple and ally who witnesses Deng Qing’s development from apparent luck into genuine strength. 12 19 35
• Zhou Tie — Fellow disciple and ally who joins Deng Qing during the North Warehouse and Mountain God Temple conflicts. 9 12 35
• Zhang Yan — Senior disciple who leads expeditions, publicly recognizes Deng Qing’s hard-earned martial skill, and supports his advancement despite seniority disputes. 19 25
• Zhang Bo — Li Cheng’s Bone-Forging Realm retainer. He recognizes Deng Qing’s sword talent but remains suspicious of him; Deng Qing later suspects Zhang Bo is using him as bait. 43 83
• Song Que — Initially defeated rival and former owner of the Blacksteel Soft Sword; later becomes an informal adviser and fellow First-Class Sword Tester. 18 61
• Meng Hui — Hostile Sword Tester whom Deng Qing defeats, coerces into writing an incriminating confession, and publicly treats as a “friend” to prevent further retaliation. 63 64 66
• White-clad masked woman — Powerful and unnamed Martial Arts Hall authority who grants Deng Qing Sword Grove access, supplies him with Ginseng Pills and Mongqi Hide, and recruits him as Xie Xuan for the Grade A test. 59 72 75
• Wu Yun — Former Celebration Hall disciple and butcher-shop owner. Initially unsympathetic, he later becomes a practical ally who helps Deng Qing obtain cheap offal and food supplies. 4 23 33
• Elder Wu — Apothecary elder who supervises Deng Qing’s medicinal treatments, helps prepare toxic medicinal dregs safely, and supports his recovery. 19 32 33

Story Role / Major Arcs

Celebration Hall Apprenticeship

Deng Qing enters Celebration Hall with his last money, awakens his status display through repeated failure, and earns Li Dashan’s practical mercy by refusing to abandon martial training despite hunger. 1

He survives the first months through labor, modest meals, Tiger-Subduing Fist practice, and increasingly creative ways of obtaining nourishment while evading conscription. 2 4

North Warehouse Incident

While assigned to North Warehouse with Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, and Wang Wei, Deng Qing trades a dangerous reconnaissance assignment for Li Cheng’s Ginseng Pill and reaches Tiger-Subduing Fist Mastery. 9

He later guards the warehouse alone and kills the wounded Donghuang Cult leader Mountain-Crossing Wind, also known as One-Eyed Dragon, by prolonging the fight until the enemy’s injuries become fatal. 11 12

Deng Qing shares the resulting official merit with his companions, gaining silver, a merit plaque, stronger social ties, and a medicinal-bath opportunity. 12 13

Blackwind Ravine and Mountain God Temple

Deng Qing joins the Blackwind Ravine expedition to recover medicinal supplies, borrowing armor and Silver Crow Handwraps to compensate for his weakness against weapons. 13 14

He defeats Song Que with Tiger-Subduing Fist and claims the Blacksteel Soft Sword as spoils, earning public recognition for perfecting an ostensibly ordinary martial art through persistence. 18 19

During the Mountain God Temple conflict, he kills Monk Tang with a single sword strike and gains substantial bounty money, further funding his cultivation. 35 38

Advancement within Celebration Hall

After reaching Skin Refining Second Layer, Deng Qing is selected as an Attendant despite objections over his short seniority. His public demonstration establishes that cultivation realm outweighs seniority in his case. 25

He later reaches Skin Tempering Third Layer, impresses Li Dashan with the story of his rise through labor and offal-based cultivation, and becomes Li Dashan’s Personal Disciple. 41 44 52

Yanshan Prefecture Sword Examiner

Li Dashan recommends Deng Qing for Sword Examiner selection at the Yanshan Prefecture Martial Arts Hall. Deng Qing advances from Grade B to First-Class Sword Tester through a tactical assessment against Zhao Jia. 56 61

He trains in Sword Grove, perfects both Tiger-Subduing Fist and Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, and gains the backing of the masked woman in white. 62 74

Using Mongqi Hide and the identity Xie Xuan, Deng Qing serves as a replacement Grade A Sword Examiner. He defeats every challenger, including Zhuo Lin, preventing all twenty-two candidates from receiving Grade A status. 75 76 80

Li Family Camp Danger

After collecting his Sword Examiner reward, Deng Qing stays at Li Cheng’s camp but grows suspicious that Zhang Bo is using him as bait. He leaves discreetly, confirms Zhang Bo’s surveillance, and identifies a repeatedly appearing blue-clad man as a likely pursuer. 81 83

Trivia

• Deng Qing’s cultivation is heavily tied to his appetite; at different points he eats seven meals a day, more than ten jin of meat per meal, or seven to eight jin of meat in a single sitting. 23 27 38
• He once deliberately injured himself against a pillar and pretended to collapse so that he could receive food at Celebration Hall. 1
• He regards food as an urgent priority even after dangerous Sword Grove training, rushing to eat as soon as he notices the steward’s meal break. 66
• His request for two hundred taels’ worth of cultivation resources seems excessive to him because of his impoverished background, but the woman in white considers it unexpectedly modest. 72