Deng Qing

Biodata

Power Progression

The table distinguishes permanent cultivation gains from technique mastery and temporary medicinal boosts. Bone-Forging and Bone Tempering are variant renderings used for his later realm.

Latest Recorded Levels

Learning a Bone-Forging technique and fighting Bone-Forging opponents did not initially mark a realm breakthrough: he remained in Skin Tempering while preparing for Aperture Condensation 100 107 109 112. His actual advancement follows his Martial Origin Pill cultivation, with Bone-Forging First Layer explicitly established afterward 115 117.

Background / History

Deng Qing crossed into the novel’s world from a previous life associated with the information age. After a year of poverty, he spends his last three taels to become an apprentice at Celebration Hall. Initially weak and starving, he deliberately knocks himself unconscious against a pillar to secure food. Li Dashan recognizes his determination and allows him to sweep the gate and tend horses in exchange for two filling meals each day 1 67 91.

His early training is threatened by compulsory labor service. He first negotiates a month’s delay with Li Liang, then works for butcher Wu Yun in exchange for unwanted pig intestines and lungs. This cheap nourishment supports his breakthrough to Skin Tempering First Layer. Registration as a Named Disciple subsequently protects him from county labor drafts 2 5 6.

After the butcher shop reclaims the offal stored in his yard, Deng Qing confronts Wu Yun and accepts a replacement arrangement providing daily meat and pig’s blood for three months. He continues combining external training with the newly learned Violet Palace Method 7.

Within roughly half a year of entering the hall, Deng Qing rises from a starving apprentice to a Personal Disciple. Li Dashan intends Zhang Yan to manage Celebration Hall in the future, with Deng Qing providing the martial strength needed to uphold its standing 52 54.

His resource gathering at Liangshan eventually enables him to enter Bone-Forging. During the subsequent Desolate Soil examinations and operations, he serves as an Inspector, receives an honorary eighth-rank commandant merit rank, and establishes connections beyond Everjoy County’s martial circles 117 134 155.

Appearance

• Early condition: Terribly thin; regular meals gradually remove the sickly look from his face 2.
• Personal Disciple insignia: A Violet Robe and Bronze Command Token identify his rank at Celebration Hall 54 87.
• Usual weapon placement: Carries the Blacksteel Soft Sword coiled around his waist 72 109.
• Refugee disguise: Uses old clothes, disheveled hair, and dust on his face when scouting during unrest 9.
• Xie Xuan disguise: Mongqi Hide changes his face, while a black robe and new boots conceal recognizable clothing 75.
• Mongqi Hide’s effect: Slightly rounds his lean cheeks and subtly alters his brow and nose, producing a natural-looking face with no visible seams 75.
• Later build: Tall and slender, with a lean, increasingly powerful physique. His exposed shoulders and back are broad and proportionate, with a normal spine despite accusations concerning Wasteland Blood 120 121 165.
• Facial features: Companions teasingly praise his looks and describe his eyes as peach-blossom eyes 161.
• Desolate Soil disguise: Reuses Xie Xuan’s face with gray robes and later adds a red cloth armband to pass as a Donghuang Cult member 171 172.

Personality

Deng Qing’s persistence is practical rather than ceremonial. He organizes much of his life around eating, working, training, and recovering, treating food and medicine as resources to convert into strength. Even after gaining money and status, he continues looking for affordable offal and trains whenever circumstances permit 2 13 38 45.

He prefers calculated risks to heroics. Against stronger opponents, he uses wounds, timing, witnesses, bargaining, and concealment rather than relying on direct force. His panel gives him confidence that patient cultivation remains an alternative to gambling his life for quick rewards 11 88 91.

His generosity also has a strategic dimension. Sharing credit strengthens his friendships, and he repays loans, covers the cost of favors, and compensates people whose help he values. He understands that information and relationships can be as important as martial ability 12 23 42 89 104.

Compassion does not prevent him from being ruthless toward perceived threats. He recognizes that bandits may be farmers driven to desperation, yet coerces Meng Hui into a protective confession and knowingly sells Zhang Quan a fake treasure. By the time he learns the Devour Heaven Scripture’s blood-refining nature, he prioritizes its usefulness over whether others would call it sinister 44 64 92 109.

His low birth does not translate into acceptance of humiliation. After killing Zhang Quan, he confronts Li Cheng over the assumption that benefits and apologies should compensate for being used as a disposable scapegoat. His declaration that he is a descendant of the Yan and Huang Emperors expresses pride in his original heritage, rather than establishing a royal lineage in this world 121 122.

Although he avoids unnecessary obligations, he accepts responsibility when leading others. After the battle with Huo Dongfeng, he personally helps the wounded, distributes medicine, prepares the dead for burial, and blames himself for failing to save two companions; the survivors reject that blame and credit him with saving them 145.

He also distinguishes friendship from dependence. He refuses a valuable two-petal Qi Petal after Xiao Jinglin’s guards win it without his contribution, and he often declines companionship because traveling alone protects his secrets 155 157.

Abilities & Skills

Clear Radiance Status Panel

• Displays his cultivation realm and technique proficiency beneath the motto “Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted” 1 100.
• Records the observed mastery thresholds: Initiation at 1–19%, Minor Mastery at 20–59%, Grand Mastery from 60%, and Perfected Mastery from 80% 13 62 74.
• Helps him recognize and correct faulty exertion and disconnected movements through practice, rather than endlessly repeating the same mistakes 109.
• Begins displaying realm percentages after he practices the method recorded as Devour Heaven Scripture 100.
• Can reflect temporary physical enhancement: his Fourth Layer reading falls from 98% to 13% after a Blood-Burning Pill wears off 100.
• Gives him a measurable reference during breakthrough attempts, allowing him to judge his Qi-Blood accumulation more precisely than relying on experience alone 115.
• After his Bone-Forging advancement, older Skin Tempering techniques disappear from the default display but reappear when he practices them; their accumulated mastery is not lost 117.
• Its origin and full rules remain unexplained 1 100.

Tiger-Subduing Fist

• A nine-form external martial art: six foundational forms followed by three killing techniques 3.
• Its foundational movements teach centerline control, interruption of an opponent’s force, and transmission of strength through the waist and back 2.
• At Grand Mastery, links attacks and defenses with few openings, allowing him to withstand the stronger, wounded Mountain-Crossing Wind 11 12.
• At Perfected Mastery, the forms merge with his breathing and bodily reactions rather than remaining separate memorized moves 62.
• Combined with a Blood-Burning Pill, forms a defensive momentum that Bone-Forging First Layer Zhang Yan cannot quickly break 101 102.
• Remains mastered after his Bone-Forging breakthrough, but its original circulation and exertion methods cannot fully carry his increased Qi-Blood and strength 117.

Seven Forms of Settling Solitude

• Concentrates bodily force along the blade and exploits brief openings during an opponent’s changes of movement 40 41.
• Works in confined spaces: he practices with his soft sword in a furnished room without striking anything 59.
• At Grand Mastery, can curve attacks around obstacles while preserving their force 42.
• At Perfected Mastery, sharply improves his perception of openings; he disarms Yuan Chong and Ma Zhong with precise strikes 76.
• Can gather Sword Momentum into a circle and release or restrain it at will, earning Chen Kong’s explicit praise 109.
• His earlier display reveals a faint trace of something resembling sword intent, impressing the White-Clad Woman 97.
• Remains exceptional for Skin Tempering, but the White-Clad Woman advises him to learn stronger swordsmanship as he advances into Bone-Forging 80.
• Anticipates the transitions in Zhuo Lin’s Sword Python Art and repeatedly interrupts its changes before its full momentum can unfold 77.
• After entering Bone-Forging, he confirms that its technique framework cannot smoothly channel all his new strength, despite his mastery remaining intact 117.

Violet Palace Method

• An internal cultivation method received after becoming a Named Disciple, with Tu Wei assigned to guide him 6.
• Converts food into Qi-Blood, supports recovery, and settles the strain of fist training 13 20.
• Enables him to digest enormous meat-heavy meals; he later claims to process twenty catties of meat at once, astonishing Li Dashan 38 98.
• Controls the violent medicinal surges caused by Ginseng Pills and Blood-Burning Pills 62 99.
• Provides the unusually strong foundation that lets him practice the Pure Jade Method more independently than Zhang Yan 100 107.
• Does not safely settle every surge: during Moving Wild Qi exposure, activating it intensifies the incoming heat, forcing him to switch methods 109.
• Assists his Martial Origin Pill cultivation as his Fourth Layer realm percentage rapidly rises toward breakthrough 115.

Pure Jade Method / Devour Heaven Scripture

• Li Dashan teaches him the Pure Jade Method, a Bone-Forging internal art that tempers meridians and refines Wasteland Blood 99.
• His panel instead identifies the learned technique as Devour Heaven Scripture: Initial Understanding; the naming discrepancy makes him suspicious 100 101.
• Refines Wasteland Blood deposited in his body through Li Dashan’s residual medicine 98 101.
• Rapidly restores stamina after pill-enhanced combat 102.
• Reaching Minor Mastery supplies previously unknown incantation and Qi-directing instructions, revealing a blood-refining art that draws sustenance from living beings 109.
• Allows him to refine Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood more effectively than Jia Yu expects, take control of Jia Yu’s accumulated portion, and remove its former owner’s aura 113.
• Can separate Wasteland Qi from blood nourishment extracted from Wasteland Beast offal and store the resulting Wasteland Blood in his Dantian for later refinement 130.
• Expels incoming Wasteland Qi, allowing him to conserve the Blazing Sun Pills issued during his patrol duties 125.
• At Grand Mastery, its refinement speed increases dramatically. Paired with the perfected Elephant-Throwing Method, it empties a replenished Dantian of Wasteland Blood in roughly half an incense stick while efficiently nourishing his body 170.
• Its relationship to Li Dashan’s Pure Jade Method remains a source of concern. Jian Ruyu warns that Wasteland Blood refinement can cause human mutation, but finds no signs of contamination when examining Deng Qing 152.

Blood-Burning Pill Enhancement

• Temporarily compresses and drives existing Qi-Blood rather than creating strength without cost 99.
• Repeated use widens his meridians and prepares him to activate the medicinal power faster in battle 101.
• Sustains the enhancement for nearly five hundred breaths, compared with roughly one hundred to over three hundred for the examples Zhang Yan describes 102.
• Allows him to contend with Bone-Forging First Layer fighters despite remaining in Skin Tempering at that time 101 102.
• Carries a strict risk: the White-Clad Woman warns that failing to obtain a Martial Origin Pill and break through within a month may leave his meridians damaged for years 98 104.
• Uses the enhancement against Jia Yu, combining his temporary strength with superior sword control to wound him and force him to retreat 113.

Elephant-Throwing Method

• A later martial method practiced through movements including Phoenix Swaps the Nest, Carrying the Elephant Across the River, and Elephant Hurls, Mountain Crumbles 120.
• Develops coordinated force through the limbs, waist, and back, with training involving heavy stones and resistance from a waterfall 120 123 127.
• Waterfall practice teaches him to borrow and redirect external momentum rather than simply resist it, helping him reach Minor Mastery and Bone Tempering Second Layer 123.
• At Grand Mastery, enables him to uproot and break a tree and lift and hurl a boulder weighing over two thousand jin 130.
• Uses grappling and throws to overturn Qi Beasts and smash them into one another, turning live combat into further practice 154.
• At Perfected Mastery, directs the nourishment produced by Wasteland Blood refinement to the parts of his body that need it most, complementing the Devour Heaven Scripture 170.

Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood

• Acquires and refines it during the confrontation with Jia Yu 113.
• Can spread over the body under mental direction to protect skin, flesh, tendons, and bones against weapons 113.
• Appears on his panel as Initial Baleful Intent and improves by consuming blood nourishment, not by ordinary circulation or martial practice alone 120 129.
• Its protective coverage expands as its recorded progress rises 129.
• Gives him additional protection while practicing Collapse Step amid Qi Beasts and their supernatural attacks 158.
• Can be directed into the ground as a wisp of blood baleful intent 146.
• His later bodily defense lets him ignore repeated saber strikes to an arm while closing in to kill a Donghuang Cult member 172.

Collapse Step

• A footwork technique he trains alongside blood refinement and his other martial methods 138.
• Allows him to match the rhythm of Death Scythe’s rotating blades and slip through their overlapping attacks without relying solely on obvious bursts of speed 142.
• Uses its elusive changes of position to evade Qi Beasts’ frost and flame attacks while continuing to practice under pressure 158.
• Reaches Grand Mastery during the deeper expedition 169.

Blood Control Art

• Uses blood as a medium for locating related blood signatures 171.
• His own refined Wasteland Blood fails to locate Zhang Yan, but a trace extracted from Zhang Yan’s farewell letter produces nine blood-red points 171.
• Identifies an isolated point as Zhang Yan’s likely location and follows its direction after parting from his companions 171.

Observation, Negotiation, and Fieldcraft

• Wears down wounded enemies through retreat, feints, and controlled delays 11.
• Uses mirrors for covert surveillance and hidden markers to detect intrusion 83 88.
• Learns herb identification, harvesting, storage, tracking, navigation, and danger avoidance during thirteen days with Uncle Huang 104.
• Uses insect-luring powder and rabbit entrails to draw Ladybug Qi Beasts away from their nest 104 105.
• Structures payments to give intermediaries a continuing incentive to protect his interests 104.
• Recognizes the faint smell of Wasteland Blood beneath a cliff after remembering a sample shown at the Merit Office 110.
• Uses saved Wasteland Beast heart and lung fragments as bait to attract creatures during the examinations 130.
• Adopts a Donghuang Cult red armband, claims to serve Senior Brother Xiong, and wins cooperation by sharing the workers’ grievances, allowing him to gather information without immediately fighting them 172.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blacksteel Soft Sword — Taken from Song Que and awarded to Deng Qing as legitimate spoils by Zhang Yan. Flexible enough to coil around his waist and execute tightly curved attacks 19 59 109.
• Leather Armor — Borrowed from Fan Sheng for Blackwind Ravine. Reinforced over vital areas, but restricts shoulder and back movement 13 14.
• Silver Crow Handwraps — Rented protection against blades; their fine silver threads tighten when he makes a fist. Returned after the mission, with his twenty-tael deposit refunded 14 19.
• Soft Armor — Fan Sheng delivers it before Deng Qing departs for Liangshan, insisting he take it for protection 102.
• Mongqi Hide disguise — A face-changing item molded specifically for him. The White-Clad Woman lets him keep it and instructs him to oil it periodically to prevent drying and cracking. He later uses it again while searching for Zhang Yan 75 80 171.
• Black Jade / Wasteland Bone — A valuable Bone-Forging resource identified by Li Dashan. Deng Qing agrees to exchange the genuine object for two Martial Origin Pills after previously selling Zhang Quan a fake. Zhang Yan later takes it back for their master 92 94 152.
• Ginseng Pills — Replenish Qi-Blood and sustain intensive training; medicinal surges also help him cross mastery bottlenecks 9 41 62 74.
• Blood-Burning Pills — Purchased in enough quantity for thirty days of dangerous meridian-widening cultivation 98.
• Martial Origin Pill and Ice Soul Bottle — Obtains one pill through Merit Points and buys the bottle to store it while seeking additional pills. Later uses a Martial Origin Pill during his Bone-Forging breakthrough cultivation 107 115.
• Monk Tang’s Buddhist Staff — Keeps the weapon after the Mountain God Temple battle 38.
• Meng Hui’s written confession — Secured through coercion and used to discourage retaliation by threatening its publication if Deng Qing is harmed 64.
• “Meritorious Household” plaque — Awarded for his North Warehouse service 13.
• Desolate Iron Sword — A treasured sword carried on his back during the Desolate Soil examinations. Its edge remains undamaged after repeated battles with Qi Beasts; Deng Qing credits Chen Xiaotian for obtaining it 126.
• Treasure Armor — Protects him from Huo Dongfeng’s sword attacks while he waits for an opening 145.
• Ten Thousand Blades Sword — Uses it in the killing exchange against Huo Dongfeng 145.
• Huo Dongfeng’s Narrow Sword — Takes it after killing Huo Dongfeng; its appearance on his back helps the surviving students recognize the outcome of their duel 145.
• Wooden Box of Wasteland Beast offal — A portable source of blood nourishment that he extracts and stores for cultivation and recovery 130.
• Image Recording Needle — Records his patrol activities for verification alongside submitted Qi Petals. At this stage it records images but not sound 125 126 134.
• Blazing Sun Pills — Daily issued medicine that he saves rather than consumes because the Devour Heaven Scripture can expel the surrounding Wasteland Qi 125.
• Zhang Yan’s farewell letter — Preserves a trace of Zhang Yan’s Wasteland Blood that Deng Qing later extracts for the Blood Control Art 171.
• Recorded swordplay — Records a woman’s sword demonstration from a wall onto a Divine Shadow Stone, then copies the material to Xiao Jinglin’s stone and requests shared research findings 169 171.
• Su Yun’s Desolate Soil notes — Receives a booklet of practical notes before Su Yun leaves the expedition 171.

Relationships

• Li Dashan — Master and early benefactor. Saves him from starvation, selects him as a Personal Disciple, and plans for him to support Celebration Hall’s future. Deng Qing remains grateful but questions unexplained aspects of his medicine and techniques 1 52 91 94 101. Later fears that the Pure Jade Method may be connected to refining disciples into medicine, but remains emotionally torn because of his master’s past kindness; this suspicion is not established as fact 152.
• Fan Sheng — Instructor, mentor, and close senior brother. Helps with registration, assignments, advancement opportunities, loans, armor, and investigations; Deng Qing consistently repays his support 6 13 38 42 89 102.
• Zhang Yan — Senior fellow Personal Disciple and intended future manager of the hall. Supports Deng Qing’s selection, provides secure quarters, tests his combat strength, and offers mission rewards toward another Martial Origin Pill 25 52 87 101 107. Later displays a severely deformed, protruding spine and other signs of mutation. Deng Qing subsequently uses blood from his farewell letter to search for him 164 171.
• Li Cheng — Friend and swordsmanship student. Supplies training opportunities, meals, information, and hospitality. Their friendship is complicated by Li Cheng’s attachment to Zhang Quan 40 54 81 95 99. After killing Zhang Quan, Deng Qing carries Li Cheng to safety but rebukes his failure to understand the abuse Deng Qing suffered and walks away. Li Cheng mistakes his declaration of Huaxia ancestry for a possible connection to a former imperial dynasty 121 122.
• Zhang Bo / Zhang Quan — Li family retainer and Bone-Forging enemy. Uses Deng Qing as bait, searches his home, and attempts to seize his treasure. Deng Qing deceives him with fake jade and outwardly accepts reconciliation without relinquishing his grudge 88 90 92 99. Eventually cripples and kills him during the later ambush, settling their feud 121 122.
• White-Clad Woman / Jian Ruyu — Martial Arts Hall patron and adviser. Recognizes his sword talent, arranges the Xie Xuan disguise, provides resources, and advises his dangerous preparation for Liangshan 72 75 80 97 98. Jian Ruyu later backs him during the examinations, urges him to compete rather than submit to Huang Yunfan’s threats, examines him for Wasteland Blood contamination, and publicly stands up for him 130 152 161.
• Song Que — Defeated rival turned private ally. Helps obtain an identity and travel pass, but asks Deng Qing to preserve their public appearance of hostility 57 66 92 95 108. Their shared missions develop into acknowledged friendship; Deng Qing later intervenes in a dispute involving him and Chen Kong and introduces both to Xiao Jinglin as friends 154 156.
• Chen Kong — Golden Saber Sect mission partner. Acknowledges Deng Qing’s superior sword control after they destroy a flying-ant swarm together 107 109. Later appeals to their shared experience and county origins when asking Deng Qing to help with a dispute 154.
• Zhou Tie — Friend and county official. Brings constables to protect Deng Qing during his confrontation with Zhang Quan 54 88.
• Wang Wei — Fellow warehouse defender and friend. Shares in the distributed credit before leaving for a provincial clerical post 12 54.
• Tu Wei — Guide to the Violet Palace Method. Deng Qing insists on including him in an apothecary work opportunity rather than keeping it for himself 6 28.
• Wu Yun — Butcher who exchanges discarded offal for Deng Qing’s labor, enabling his earliest cultivation gains 5. After reclaiming the stored offal, agrees to provide daily meat and pig’s blood for three months 7.
• Meng Hui — Intimidated former opponent. Deng Qing forces him into a nominal friendship and a fabricated distant-cousin relationship 64 66 67.
• Xu Ming and Xue Lin — Martial Arts Hall acquaintances whose family connections make them useful sources of information. Their relations improve after the false cousin story 67 80.
• Big Brother Zhao — Information broker and intermediary. Arranges approved substitutes for wall duty and introduces Uncle Huang under an ongoing payment agreement 103 104.
• Uncle Huang — Experienced herb-gathering teacher. Deng Qing rewards his instruction and records his practical lessons 104.
• Jia Yu — Temporary treasure-gathering partner turned enemy. Explains the protective uses of Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood, but attacks after Deng Qing takes control of the gathered blood 113.
• Chef Fei — Helps supply Wasteland Beast offal for Deng Qing’s cultivation and passes along a warning letter from Jian Ruyu. Deng Qing also helps with kitchen work 125 138.
• Chen Tai — Warns him against outshining other coordinators and later confronts him for continuing to kill Qi Beasts and accumulate credit 125 126.
• Huang Yunfan — Pressures him to stop accumulating patrol credit. Deng Qing temporarily maintains zero scores while secretly training, then receives Jian Ruyu’s encouragement to compete openly 130.
• Lin Li, Long Xiu, Chen Hong, and Hong Lin — Fellow examination participants whose doubts give way to respect after Deng Qing kills Huo Dongfeng and saves their group. They later ask him to lead them again 145 153.
• Chen Hong — Initially dismisses his results as cheating, but later accepts his claim to first place, acknowledges a debt, and repeatedly seeks to travel with him. His support also helps Deng Qing in a later dispute involving the Golden Saber Sect 134 145 146 155.
• Xiao Jinglin — Maoling Xiao Family scion who candidly acknowledges benefiting from Deng Qing’s fame and rewards. Offers protection, intervenes against Huang Bingyao, and helps resolve the aftermath of Deng Qing’s confrontation with hostile officials 152 153 156 166. Deng Qing later shares recorded swordplay with him and persuades him not to accompany the dangerous search for Zhang Yan 171.
• Huang Changhe and Huang Bingyao — Powerful antagonists connected to Li Dashan’s troubles. Huang Bingyao attempts to compel Deng Qing to accompany him; Xiao Jinglin’s intervention prevents it. By the time Deng Qing searches for Zhang Yan, he regards their collusion with the Donghuang Cult as well supported and disguises himself to avoid Huang Changhe’s search 156 171.
• Su Yun — Expedition acquaintance who values their friendship. Gives Deng Qing notes on the Desolate Soil; Deng Qing asks Xiao Jinglin to provide him a copy of the recorded sword material 171.

Story Role / Major Arcs

North Warehouse Defense

• Assigned to guard the warehouse with Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, and Wang Wei during Donghuang Cult unrest 8.
• Kills the wounded Mountain-Crossing Wind, initially known to him as One-Eyed Dragon, by exploiting the enemy’s deteriorating injury. It is his first killing across two lifetimes 11 12.
• Shares the official credit with his companions, helping them obtain promotions and appointments while securing silver, recognition, and a Medicinal Bath for himself 12 13.

Blackwind Ravine and Rise Within Celebration Hall

• Joins a medicine-recovery mission when shortages prevent him from preparing his reward bath 13 14.
• Defeats Song Que, receives the Blacksteel Soft Sword, and advances his Violet Palace Method through the bath 19.
• Reaches the Second Layer in time for Attendant selection, then develops his swordsmanship while teaching Li Cheng 25 40 41.
• Endures the dangerous refining work at Tianshun Apothecary, earns payment and medicinal dregs, and shares twenty-four taels with Elder Wu in exchange for continued medicinal support 32.
• Kills Zhou Fei after a difficult fight, obtains the concealed Ancient Jade, and gives Li Cheng the head needed for his recommendation without demanding payment 37.
• Attracts Li Dashan’s attention through restraint during a bandit attack and his account of advancing from starvation. He subsequently becomes a Personal Disciple 44 45 52 54.

Yanshan Prefecture Sword Examination

• Serves as a Sword Examiner and uses the Martial Arts Hall’s food, pills, and Sword Grove to accelerate his training 59 66 67.
• Volunteers to face Zhuo Lin after demonstrating his concealed sword skill to the White-Clad Woman 72.
• Receives forty Ginseng Pills, an all-night Sword Grove pass, and permission to face all candidates first under a concealed identity 73.
• Competes as Xie Xuan, defeats Zhuo Lin, and leaves the remaining candidates conceding or withdrawing; no one earns Grade A 75 76 80.
• Collects a hundred-tael payment before accepting hospitality at Li Cheng’s camp 81.

Zhang Quan’s Schemes and Escape

• Discovers that the Li family’s lavish treatment is making him resemble Li Cheng, exposing him as bait for a pursuer 82 83.
• Redirects angry examination students toward the Blue-Robed Guest by suggesting the man may be Xie Xuan 84.
• Confronts Zhang Quan with constables nearby, negotiates an eight-hundred-tael sale, substitutes fake jade, and leaves under a new identity 88 92.
• Is tracked to Cloudwater County by Li Dashan through their Wasteland Blood connection. Confesses the fraud, keeps the proceeds with his master’s permission, and returns to the hall 94.

Liangshan Preparation and Resource Gathering

• Adopts a dangerous Blood-Burning Pill regimen and learns the technique his panel identifies as Devour Heaven Scripture 98 99 100.
• Tests his enhanced strength against Zhang Yan before departing with him and Li Dashan for Liangshan 101 102.
• Military reassignment separates the disciples from their master. Deng Qing pays for information and an approved wall-duty substitute so he can gather Blazing Sun Grass 103 104.
• Harvests fifty-two stalks near the Ladybug Qi Beasts’ sleeping Insect King. Kills four members of the Seven Heroes of Shaoshang who attempt to take his haul, destroys their ghost familiar, and conceals his involvement 105.
• Secures one Martial Origin Pill, then joins Zhang Yan, Chen Kong, and Song Que in searching for a wounded Wasteland Beast to earn more 107.
• Uses Moving Wild Qi to advance his blood-refining art, then volunteers to accompany Jia Yu into a dangerous descent for a chance at greater merit 109 112.
• Takes control of the Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood and fights Jia Yu, using a Blood-Burning Pill and threatening the beast carcass to force him back into combat 113 114.
• Begins Martial Origin Pill cultivation and enters Bone-Forging, then discovers that his former Skin Tempering techniques no longer fully exploit his increased power 115 117.

Settling the Zhang Quan Feud

• Trains the Elephant-Throwing Method intensively while pursuing the opportunity arranged by the White-Clad Woman 120.
• Follows Li Cheng’s servant away from camp and encounters an ambush involving the remaining three members of the Seven Heroes of Shaoshang 120 121.
• Cripples and kills Zhang Quan, then kills Meng Kuo, Du Wencheng, and Lu Yan 121.
• Carries the unconscious Li Cheng to a waterfall and confronts him over his failure to appreciate the seriousness of Zhang Quan’s actions. Leaves after affirming his own dignity and original-world ancestry 121.
• Returns to camp relieved that the old feud is finally settled; Li Cheng remains confused by the possibility that his former instructor belongs to a lost imperial lineage 122.

Desolate Soil Examinations

• Advances to Bone Tempering Second Layer while training the Elephant-Throwing Method beneath a waterfall 123.
• Patrols as an examination coordinator and Inspector, kills Qi Beasts, and submits Qi Petals with recorded evidence. His results place him among the top three, provoking warnings from Chen Tai 125 126.
• Temporarily yields to pressure by recording zero patrol scores while secretly cultivating with Wasteland Beast offal and heavy stones 130.
• Receives Jian Ruyu’s backing to compete, then uses saved beast organs to lure creatures rather than continue surrendering opportunities 130.
• His extraordinary collection of thirty-five Qi Petals in one day attracts accusations of cheating. The Deployment Office presents recorded footage, supplemented with lip-reading because the Image Recording Needle lacks sound 134.
• Learns that Zhao Feiyan has spread rumors about his results and receives Jian Ruyu’s instruction to win the final round. An urgent order instead converts the final examination into a front-line wartime assignment 138.

Death Scythe and Huo Dongfeng

• Learns that the Command Center and Donghuang Cult are contending over the Wasteland Veins and the restraint of Wasteland Qi 138.
• Negotiates amid a dangerous standoff with Huo Dongfeng’s Lingbiao Squad and identifies the opponents’ fears as leverage for his own group 141.
• Uses Collapse Step to pass Death Scythe’s rotating weapons and cuts its tail with the Desolate Iron Sword 142 143.
• Extracts blood nourishment from its remaining organs and reserves the resulting Wasteland Blood for emergencies 143.
• Lures Bone Tempering Fourth Layer Huo Dongfeng into a stone grove, survives his attacks with movement, endurance, and Treasure Armor, then catches his sword and kills him 145.
• Returns to save the surviving Martial Exam Students, treats their wounded, and prepares Dong Jun and Xiao Jun for burial. Former skeptics acknowledge his leadership and achievements 145.
• Stays behind after the injured depart to gather additional resources 146.

Vein Dragon Operation and Pursuit

• Obtains a horse-feeding assignment away from the main fighting, openly telling Zhang Dahe that he paid and used connections because he feared dying in battle 149.
• Recognizes that renewed conflict may override Jian Ruyu’s earlier promise to keep him out of combat and replenishes his resources before responding to another summons 151.
• Reunites with Zhang Yan, returns the Wasteland Bone through him, and asks Jian Ruyu about the Pure Jade Method. Her examination finds no Wasteland Blood contamination in Deng Qing 152.
• Gives two tubes of blood for the coming Vein Dragon operation and joins Xiao Jinglin’s protected party, but initially separates to move and cultivate independently 152 153.
• Helps Chen Kong and Song Que during a dispute and later accepts Xiao Jinglin’s company when Huang Bingyao tries to force him to leave with him 154 156.
• Uses Qi Beasts as live training opponents while pursued, then reaches Bone Tempering Third Layer in a cave. Kills Old Jiang and multiple cloak-wearers through throws, crushing blows, and close grappling 158 159.
• Receives public backing from Jian Ruyu, further raising his standing among the examination participants 161.
• Encounters Zhang Yan with a protruding, malformed spine and signs of severe mutation, intensifying his concern over their master’s methods 164.
• Displays his own normal back before the crowd when challenged. After Cao Chun and Huang Bingyao’s hostility escalates, Xiao Jinglin helps contain and resolve the aftermath 165 166.

Recorded Swordplay and Search for Zhang Yan

• Records a woman’s exquisite swordplay from a wall with a Divine Shadow Stone rather than relying solely on memorization 169.
• Advances Collapse Step to Grand Mastery and subsequently brings the Devour Heaven Scripture to Grand Mastery, reaching 58% progress through Bone Tempering Third Layer 169 170.
• Extracts preserved blood from Zhang Yan’s farewell letter and uses the Blood Control Art to locate a likely trace of his senior brother 171.
• Shares the recorded sword material with Xiao Jinglin, requests a copy for Su Yun, and asks the Xiao Family to share any discoveries made while studying it 171.
• Persuades Xiao Jinglin not to accompany him farther, receives Su Yun’s notes, and departs alone disguised as Xie Xuan because Huang Changhe is searching for him 171.
• Kills Donghuang Cult members around a blood pool and attempts to sabotage it with fallen stone pillars, but sees the liquid draining away as though drawn elsewhere 172.
• At another pool, uses a red armband to pass as a cult member, claims an association with Senior Brother Xiong, and questions the workers about the operation and the cult’s avoidance of direct battle 172.

Notable Quotes

“Through hard practice alone, senior.” 72

“I like it when we both come out ahead. What do you say, Big Brother Zhao?” 104

“From today onward, you'd better pray I live a long and healthy life.” 64

“I am a scion of Huaxia, a descendant of the Yan and Huang Emperors. Even barefoot and clad in coarse cloth, I am of royal blood.” 121