Li Cheng

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Li Cheng was sickly from childhood and could not practice martial arts for years. He came to Everjoy County to recover and later confirmed that medicine obtained from the Desolate Soil cured his illness. He chose Celebration Hall because of its reputation for teaching beginners and its proximity to his family’s home 8 27 99.

His other reason for joining was to recover the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, the sword art of his granduncle, Daoist Dinggu. Dinggu had quarreled with Li Cheng’s grandfather, left the family, and never returned. Although the art spread throughout Qingzhou, the Li Family’s attempts to relearn it failed. Li Cheng wanted to master it, bring it home, and restore the family’s association with the technique 26 27.

He belongs to the prominent Li Family of Yanshan Prefecture. During the Liangshan ambush, even the attackers acknowledge the family’s reputation and offer to let him and his retainer leave while demanding Deng Qing’s life 121.

Appearance

• Wears fine brocade robes; his blue robe at the farewell feast gives him the appearance of a distinguished gentleman 54.
• Carries a sword at his waist when meeting Deng Qing at the Martial Market 95.
• Appears somewhat thinner and weary after the prefectural retest assessments 95.

Personality

Li Cheng is diligent despite his wealth. During his first month of sword training with Deng Qing, the two practice and spar every day without a break. Deng comes to recognize that Li works no less hard than he does. Nevertheless, being repeatedly overtaken by a poorer peer frustrates Li, particularly when his effort and superior resources fail to produce the lead he expected 25 27 28.

His initial dealings with Deng are tactful but shaped by social hierarchy. At North Warehouse, he offers an explanation and payment for scouting rather than issuing an order, yet resents Deng bargaining for a Ginseng Pill. He also notices that Deng lacks the usual fear or deference shown by poor youths toward wealthy people 9.

Gratitude gradually outweighs his competitive resentment. He rejects Zhang Bo’s argument that Deng’s generosity should be distrusted merely because it might also serve Deng’s interests. Later, he accepts that being surpassed by someone so devoted to swordsmanship would be no disgrace 39 41.

Li Cheng is candid about his limitations. Before the final combat retest, he acknowledges that many competitors began earlier and possess better instruction and techniques. His attempt to reconcile Deng with Zhang Bo likewise recognizes Zhang’s wrongdoing rather than excusing it, while revealing his attachment to both his friend and the elder who watched him grow up 95 99.

By Liangshan, he openly praises Deng’s potential and jokes that he will become more eloquent as Deng’s cultivation rises. He recognizes that his wealth has not allowed him to outpace Deng even in the Skin Tempering Realm, and expects Deng’s comprehension and constitution to give him a still greater advantage in the Bone-Forging Realm 118.

His efforts at reconciliation nevertheless expose a lingering paternalistic view of Deng. When confronted after Zhang Quan’s death, Li Cheng silently recognizes the truth in Deng’s accusation that he considered his poorer friend someone whose resentment could be soothed with benefits, coaxing, and an apology. He also realizes that he had never truly put himself in Deng’s position 121.

After investigating Zhang Quan, Li Cheng refuses to let loyalty to an old retainer override the evidence. He angrily condemns Zhang’s repeated attempts to harm Deng, demands disclosure of his other abuses, and warns Chen Shan against becoming another dishonest attendant. His shame over having trusted Zhang is severe enough that he announces his withdrawal from the retest 122.

Abilities & Skills

Seven Forms of Settling Solitude

Li Cheng studies his granduncle’s sword art first alongside Deng Qing, then under Deng’s instruction 26 39 40.

• Learns to restrain rushed attacks, concentrate force along the blade, and exploit brief openings between an opponent’s movements 40 41.
• Reaches Initiation, with smoother transitions and more agile advances and retreats afterward 41 42.
• Defeats three Grade-C Sword Testers and subsequently qualifies for Grade B 69 70.
• Initially struggles to distinguish Song Que’s real saber strikes from phantom shadows, leading to his disarmament 48.
• Remains substantially below Deng Qing: during a later friendly spar, Deng controls the exchange while Li believes they are trading blows evenly 43.
• Uses the art to interrupt Zhao Tang’s saber attacks at the transitions between moves, preventing Zhao from bringing his greater strength and offensive momentum fully to bear before disarming him 47.

Family Secret Hand

A Li Family hand technique used against Zhao Tang 47.

• Changes moves rapidly and attacks from difficult angles.
• Includes evasive footwork and claw-like grabs aimed at an opponent’s elbow.

Ghost-Faced Bat Control

Li Cheng directs a Ghost-Faced Bat through finger gestures and carries it in a bamboo tube at his waist 36.

• Commands it to attack Zhou Fei’s throat.
• The bat retreats when burned by Zhou Fei’s blood mist.
• Deng Qing’s blood also repels it, forcing it back into its tube.
• Also uses a whistle to direct the bat’s attack 35.

Combat Tactics

Li Cheng supplements direct combat with concealed weapons, poison, deception, and timely warnings 36 70.

• Uses explosive sleeve darts and Lung-Eroding Powder against the stronger Zhou Fei 36.
• Warns Deng that Zhou Fei’s Blood-Burning Pill enhancement lasts only about a hundred breaths 36 37.
• Feigns exhaustion to draw a Grade-B examiner into an attack, then wins with a counterstroke 70.
• In his final Grade-B match, accepts a shoulder injury to enter his opponent’s guard, causes both swords to fly free, and wins by kicking first 70.

Knowledge and Connections

• Uses his connections to investigate medicine shortages and promptly informs Deng of Tianshun Apothecary’s troubled convoy at Blackwind Ravine 13.
• Knows of the True Yang Martial Sect’s influence over southern Qingzhou and the affiliations of Li Dashan and Song Wuliang 40.
• Explains the struggle between Yanshan Prefecture and the Donghuang Cult over Liangshan’s new Desolate Soil entrance and wasteland vein 99.
• Is knowledgeable about history, but cannot identify any recorded Huaxia dynasty or Yan and Huang Emperors when trying to interpret Deng’s declaration of ancestry 122.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword / Iron Sword — Uses an Iron Sword during early practice at the Li estate and carries a sword at the Martial Market 27 95.
• Explosive sleeve darts — Set Zhou Fei’s sleeve alight during their fight 36.
• Lung-Eroding Powder — Released from a shattered porcelain bottle to create a choking cloud around him 36.
• Bamboo tube — Houses his Ghost-Faced Bat 36.
• Ginseng Pills — Uses them to replenish Qi-Blood. Gives one to Deng as scouting payment and later rewards his teaching with five pills and one hundred taels 8 9 41.
• Brocade robes — His clothing is later used by Zhang Bo to make Deng resemble him without explaining the danger 82 92.

Relationships

• Deng Qing — Fellow disciple, close friend, former practice partner, and sword instructor. Deng saves his life and yields Zhou Fei’s head to him; Li reciprocates through food, medicine, money, hospitality, and support for Deng’s future 27 37 39 41 54 81. Their friendship is seriously strained when Deng kills Zhang Quan and confronts Li over his failure to understand the harm Zhang inflicted. Li subsequently protects Deng through a false official account of the deaths and, after investigating, recognizes that Zhang deceived him and deserved his fate. No subsequent reconciliation is shown 121 122.
• Zhang Bo / Zhang Quan — Bone-Forging Realm family retainer who watched Li Cheng grow up. Evaluates his training partners and assists his pursuit of examination credit. Li later reprimands him for harming Deng and seeks reconciliation on his behalf 27 37 99. Zhang uses Li to invite Deng to an apparent reconciliation dinner, then knocks Li unconscious during the ensuing ambush. After Deng kills Zhang, Li initially grieves and blames Deng, but later discovers that Zhang had minimized his crimes and abused the Li Family’s name for personal gain over the years 118 120 121 122.
• Daoist Dinggu — Granduncle and the martial artist associated with the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude. Li Cheng hopes to restore his sword art to the family 27.
• Li Dashan — Master at Celebration Hall. Li Cheng values his ability to introduce beginners to martial arts 27.
• Fan Sheng — Senior disciple and companion in the North Warehouse affair. Li celebrates his promotion to Initiate Disciple 12.
• Zhou Tie and Wang Wei — Fellow disciples and friends. Shares the North Warehouse experience with them and arranges their farewell feast when they leave for official posts 9 12 54.
• Song Que — Opponent at the Dongting gathering. Song defeats and disarms him while mocking the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude 48.
• Chen Shan / Uncle Chen — Li Family attendant who reports a false account of the ambush to the Command Center to shield Deng. Li orders him to investigate Zhang Quan, rejects his criticism of Deng, and forces him to disclose Zhang’s longstanding abuses despite his reluctance to expose his former associate 122.

Story Role / Major Arcs

North Warehouse and Examination Eligibility

During the shortages at North Warehouse, Li Cheng asks Deng Qing to scout the streets and ultimately agrees to pay him with a Ginseng Pill. After Deng kills Mountain-Crossing Wind, Li receives a share of the credit under Fan Sheng’s proposed account. His family uses that recognition to secure him a place in the Martial Arts Examination, and he hosts a celebratory dinner for the group 9 12.

He subsequently helps Deng locate an opportunity to obtain medicinal resources, reporting that Tianshun Apothecary has approached Celebration Hall about recovering medicine from Blackwind Ravine 13.

Recovering the Family Sword Art

Li recruits Deng to study the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude together because he recognizes Deng’s talent and believes paired practice will reduce the risks of learning without a complete lineage. Their unequal progress initially strains the arrangement: Deng accidentally disarms him, prompting Li to bring Zhang Bo to assess Deng’s skill 26 27.

After witnessing Deng’s swordsmanship against Zhou Fei, Li asks him to become his instructor. He provides generous meat-rich meals during the lessons and rewards Deng after reaching Initiation 39 40 41.

Zhou Fei’s Head and Its Consequences

Li follows Zhou Fei into a ravine after Zhang Bo knocks him down, expecting to collect a corpse and strengthen his Martial Dao Trial recommendation. Instead, Zhou survives and takes a Blood-Burning Pill. Li is badly injured before Deng joins the fight and survives long enough for the pill’s effects to expire 36 37.

Deng gives Li the head without charging him, and Li submits it to claim the killing. The public credit later makes him a suspected target of Zhou Fei’s master, Blood Butcher Xiong Zhen. Zhang Bo secretly dresses Deng in Li’s clothing to divert that danger onto him 37 38 86 92.

Prefectural Sword Examination

Li efficiently passes Grade C, then earns Grade B through three increasingly difficult bouts. The third leaves him injured and exhausted. His final recorded sword result is Grade B; he later remarks that the examiner Xie Xuan prevented anyone in their batch from obtaining Grade A, unaware that Xie Xuan is Deng’s examination identity 69 70 81 95.

While Li meets influential local elders with his eldest uncle after the examinations, he instructs Zhang Bo to look after Deng and provide hospitality 81.

Liangshan Preparations and Reconciliation

At the Martial Market, Li reunites warmly with Deng but admits anxiety over the remaining combat retest at Liangshan. At this meeting, Deng believes Li still knows nothing of Zhang Quan’s actions and decides not to expose them himself 95.

Li later visits Celebration Hall and explains that a new entrance to the Desolate Soil has opened at Liangshan, where Yanshan Prefecture and the Donghuang Cult are competing over a wasteland vein. He also acknowledges Zhang Bo’s wrongdoing, offers compensation, and asks Deng to make peace. Deng outwardly agrees while privately retaining his intention to settle the grievance. The friends arrange to meet again at Liangshan 99.

At Liangshan, Li announces that he has reached Skin Tempering Fourth Layer and plans to consolidate before attempting Bone-Forging. Zhang Quan again apologizes to Deng, and Li invites Deng to an outing during the Martial Exam Students’ leave. Afterward, Li learns that Zhang is the actual host and has used Li’s invitation because Deng might otherwise refuse 118.

During the resulting dinner, Li chats with Deng about old acquaintances, training, and the Desolate Soil. He eventually notices that Deng eats only dishes Li has already tasted, making him realize how deeply mistrust persists despite the attempted reconciliation 120.

Liangshan Ambush and the Break with Deng Qing

On the return from dinner, Lu Yan, Meng Kuo, and Du Wencheng, the three remaining members of the Seven Heroes of Shaoshang, surround the group and demand Deng’s life. Li protests that Deng is his brother and invokes the Li Family’s standing. Although the attackers offer to let Li and Zhang Quan leave, Li continues to object until Zhang strikes him unconscious and prepares to carry him away 120 121.

Deng kills Zhang Quan and all three attackers, then carries the unconscious Li to a waterfall. On waking, Li learns what happened and coldly congratulates Deng on reaching the Bone-Forging Realm. Deng challenges his resentment, pointing out that Li expects sympathy for Zhang’s care of him while failing to understand what Zhang’s threats and attempts to sacrifice Deng felt like 121.

Li is left speechless as Deng exposes his assumption that apologies and material benefits should have been sufficient to settle the matter. Deng declares himself a scion of Huaxia and descendant of the Yan and Huang Emperors, then leaves. Li interprets this as a possible claim to former imperial ancestry and connects it to Deng’s longstanding lack of deference toward the wealthy 121.

Investigation and Intended Withdrawal

Li continues to speculate about Deng’s origins, taking his literacy, manner of speech, insight, and cultivation speed as possible signs of imperial ancestry. His historical knowledge supplies no Huaxia dynasty or Yan and Huang Emperors, however, leaving him increasingly bewildered 122.

Despite his distress, Li shields Deng from official scrutiny. Chen Shan reports to the Command Center that the three attackers sought to kill Li and Zhang, that Zhang died protecting Li, and that Chen himself killed the attackers. When Chen questions why Li is covering for Deng, Li replies that Deng could already have killed him if he had wished to do so 122.

Li also orders an investigation into Zhang Quan. Pressed to speak honestly, Chen reveals that Zhang’s actions against Deng were repeated attempts to harm him, not the misunderstandings Zhang had described to Li. Further questioning exposes Zhang’s longstanding use of the Li Family’s name to profit from legal disputes. Li condemns Zhang as a villain, regrets having been deceived, and declares that he will abandon the retest and return home because he has no face to meet Deng after allowing such a servant to act under him 122.

Notable Quotes

“So what if Deng Qing realized? So what if he planned it all out? Isn't that only human nature? I can't refuse to be grateful and resent him instead just because of that.” 39

“If a sword fanatic like that surpasses me, there's no shame in it.” 41

“In any case, you're one of the few friends I have, and Zhang Bo is an elder who watched me grow up. I truly don't want the two of you at each other's throats.” 99

“If he wanted to attack me, he would have done it already. Why wait until tomorrow?” 122

“Senior Brother Deng has saved me time and again, yet I had a treacherous servant like Zhang Quan under me. I have no face to see him.” 122

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