Zhao Er

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhao Er (赵耳)
Alias(es)	“Number One Below Meridian Opening,” an informal title spread by his mission companions 154.
Gender	Male 4 85.
Origin	A farming family in Zhao Family Village 9 57.
Affiliation	Zhao Family; Ningjin Prefecture Martial Academy, Criminal Law Lineage 113 155.
Occupation/Role	Martial Guard; captain of Third Squad at the Southern Mountain Mine 112 129.
Teacher	Academy Head Lu Zhi 112 139.
Cultivation Realm	Fourth martial realm—Primordial Unity; confirmed at great accomplishment 121 155.
Status	Alive; preparing to challenge for a steward position at the latest documented appearance 165.

Power Progression

Skill levels and body-tempering layers are distinct from martial realms. Entries based on status-panel snapshots indicate when an advancement is confirmed, rather than necessarily when it occurred.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Poison Sand Palm—perfection	7	Achieved in roughly fifty days. Zhao Da confirms the toughened skin and faint dark coloration of his palms.
Transition to Five Poisons Art	10	Replaces Poison Sand Palm on his interface while retaining its experience. Zhao Er estimates that the conversion has increased his strength by at least 20%.
First realm—Blood Condensation	24	Uses blood-energy circulation and the manual’s yang-aspected breath to form blood-energy force. His strikes can now discharge accumulated toxins.
Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body—lv.2	25	Recorded after his martial breakthrough, alongside increased poison resistance and two skill points.
Five Poisons Fist—lv.1	25	Confirmed on his post-breakthrough record.
Five Poisons Fist—lv.2	26	Channels Toad Force through his whole body. Spirit Snake Flicking Tongue delivers three nearly instantaneous strikes, with over 30% greater speed and more than double the destructive power.
Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art—lv.1	36	Confirmed after several days of training; its defensive gains make him confident he could withstand the Wang Family steward’s punches.
Poison Resistance—lv.2	36	Confirmed on his status panel.
Nine-Turn Golden Body Art—lv.1	43	Created by fusing Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art with Yin Body Art.
Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds—lv.1	43	The panel supplies basic comprehension and coordination; sustained practice builds proficiency.
Second realm—Bone Tempering	52	Physical strength at least doubles. With Iron Body active but no blood-energy force, he punches an imprint into iron.
Basic Halberd Art—perfection	57	Dian Zhang verifies smooth coordination between his halberd movements and blood-energy force, then rewards him with Army-Breaking Halberd Art.
Nine-Turn Golden Body Art—Copper Body, later confirmed lv.3	72 80	An ambush settlement supplies strengthening and healing energy; the subsequent panel confirms lv.3.
Essence Reaping Art—lv.2	80	Advances passively despite Zhao Er not actively practicing it.
Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body—lv.3	80	Confirmed after a month spent absorbing poisonous-spider toxin and the captured Caiyuan Sect cultivators’ toxins.
Army-Breaking Halberd Art—lv.3	80	Confirmed on the same status panel.
Starry Scatterhand—lv.2	88	Three days of practice enable qi-blood reinforcement of his fingertips, strengthening his ice-needle attacks.
Third realm—Sinew Transformation	90	Internal-organ cultivation replenishes blood-energy force, strengthens his body, and sharpens his senses. An unaugmented punch buries his arm in rock without injuring it.
Light Swallow Art—lv.1	96	Quickly develops stronger leaps and quieter movement after accepting the manual as a peace offering.
Nine-Turn Golden Body Art—third layer, Silver Body; lv.4	97 100	A month of cultivation unlocks the fine-gold energy trait. His panel subsequently confirms the art’s gold grade and lv.4.
Essence Reaping Art—lv.3	100	Confirmed before the Grand Exam.
Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body—lv.4	100	Confirmed as he progresses through Sinew Transformation; strengthened organs improve stamina, healing, digestion, and resistance to internal injury.
Golden Metal Sky-Rending Halberd—lv.3	100	Confirmed after obtaining the yellow-grade manual from Dian Zhang.
Light Swallow Art—lv.3	100	Confirmed before the Grand Exam.
Five-Element Origin-Returning Poison Art—fusion complete	120	Combines Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body, Five Elements True Cultivation Method, and Essence Reaping Art. The five organs refine element-aligned poisons.
Fourth realm—Primordial Unity; fused Poison Art lv.5	121	Forms five-element inner force. The breakthrough repairs old injuries, greatly strengthens him, and removes the toxic residue that made ordinary contact dangerous.
Poison Resistance—lv.3	121	Advances alongside his Primordial Unity breakthrough.
Nine-Turn Golden Body Art—Golden Body, confirmed lv.5	125 126 137	His defensive art catches up with his new realm; the later panel records lv.5.
Light Swallow Art—perfection	132	Moves silently, leaves no tracks in snow, and changes direction in midair while carrying his heavy spirit halberds.
Golden Metal Sky-Rending Halberd—lv.4	137	Confirmed after the Great Year Mountain battle. The settlement also brings his inner-force strength close to mid-stage Primordial Unity.
Thousand Mechanisms Eye Art—level increase	143	Improves movement reading and anticipation enough to catch the newly accelerated White Marten; realm identification remains unavailable at this stage.
Halberd art—perfection	154	Confirmed after the Tyrant Blade Martial Hall campaign and its large settlement reward.
Primordial Unity—great accomplishment	155	Explicitly confirmed while discussing the family’s iron trade with Zhao Da.
Thousand Mechanisms Eye Art—lv.3	159 162	Can examine lower-realm martial artists and discern essence, energy, and spirit, allowing him to distinguish staged combat from genuine fighting.

Background / History

Zhao Er comes from a poor farming household in Zhao Family Village. Before becoming a martial artist, he catches Golden-Clawed Heavenly Dragons around the mountains. His elder brother, Zhao Da, tries to discourage these dangerous trips; when persuasion fails, he obtains Poison Sand Palm so Zhao Er can toughen his hands and cultivate with the creatures’ venom 6.

His parents initially hope marriage will persuade him to stop entering the mountains. Zhao Er refuses, choosing martial training instead. His rapid progress surprises Zhao Da, whose orthodox cultivation took nearly four months to reach Blood Condensation 4 7.

Dian Zhang later provides the body-tempering and halberd methods that broaden Zhao Er’s strength beyond poison attacks. His recommendation also secures Zhao Er’s route into the Martial Academy, where Lu Zhi supplies a cultivation method capable of carrying him beyond Sinew Transformation 31 57 104 111.

Appearance

Zhao Er is a young man with an exceptionally robust physique, upright bearing, and a steadiness that appears unusual for his age 93 109.

• Early poisoned palms: Toughened skin with a faint dark tinge beneath it 7.
• Mountain-worn appearance: Returns from prolonged hunting with disheveled clothing and deep claw marks and bite scars across his chest, abdomen, and shoulders 93.
• Characteristic weapons: Carries twin halberds on his back 109 121.
• Body-tempering coloration: His active defensive art can produce gray-black, copper-red, silver-white, or golden coloration as its stages develop 52 91 101 162.

Personality

Zhao Er’s ambition is rooted in family protection, but his response to mistreatment is uncompromising. After the Longwind Gang whips his father, he rejects the idea that returning a single lash would be adequate revenge. He promises not to act rashly, yet later leaves home with a blade because he cannot sleep while the humiliation remains unavenged 9 10.

He is experimental and exceptionally pain-tolerant. Rather than abandon techniques with weaknesses, he tests their mechanics and combines them with other methods. His willingness to train Golden Armor Art with free iron dregs instead of expensive filings earns Dian Zhang’s admiration, although Zhao Er also learns that overtraining and sudden gains can undermine recovery and control 26 42 43 153.

Zhao Er values practical benefits over prestige. He sells his tournament withdrawal because he already has an Academy recommendation, invests heavily in resources that accelerate cultivation, and declines gatherings that would take time away from training. He remains cautious about revealing poison abilities, even to institutional allies 96 104 129 140.

His generosity is deliberate rather than indiscriminate. He shares meat and gifts with villagers, gives his father opportunities to gain public respect, supports his family’s martial development, and divides mission spoils with useful companions. At the same time, he avoids promising scarce resources or offering unsolicited favors that could change an existing relationship 25 42 137 141 155.

Abilities & Skills

Settlement Panel and Skill Fusion

• Event rewards: Completed hunts, ambushes, and battles grant proficiency, skill points, and strengthening energy. That energy can restore injuries and replenish exhaustion 72 84 137.
• Assisted comprehension: Registering a martial art supplies basic understanding; increasing proficiency brings further insights, including twin-weapon coordination 43.
• Method fusion: Combines compatible arts into a single cultivation method, preserving complementary properties without requiring separate cultivation routines 43 112 140.
• Advanced skill points: Permit a second fusion involving previously fused skills 137.
• Delayed settlement intake: Reward energy enters his body when he formally examines the settlement, allowing him to postpone it until after combat 153.
• Limits: Weaker encounters yield little experience; mountain trips eventually stop triggering settlements. Excessive reward-driven growth can temporarily exceed his coordination and control 25 134 153.
• Breakthrough preparation: His progress display lets him cultivate to a realm’s limit. Zhao Er suspects this explains why his breakthroughs are smoother than those attempted earlier by other martial artists 158.

Five-Element Poison Cultivation

His poison cultivation evolves from toxic blood and marrow into an internally contained, regenerating five-element system 85 120 121.

• Organ refinement: Fire poisons enter the heart, wood the liver, earth the spleen, metal the lungs, and water the kidneys 120.
• Environmental absorption: The fused art draws in surrounding toxins without requiring him to swallow them, including during combat 121.
• Regeneration: Poison characteristics endure while inner-force seeds remain in his organs, overcoming his earlier dependence on finite accumulated toxins 25 121.
• Toxin upgrading: The incorporated Essence Reaping Art lets stronger absorbed toxins merge with existing ones and contribute their characteristics 121.
• Recovery of released poison: Can draw surrounding toxins back into his body 152 153.
• Extraction limit: Cannot directly absorb toxins while they remain inside another person; he can extract them through an open wound 137.
• Later control: By the steward-ranking period, his ability to control toxins makes his concealed combat strength substantially more dangerous 165.

Poison or source	Documented application or effect
Heavenly Dragon toxin	Early cultivation resource; discharged through toxin-laced palm strikes after Blood Condensation 6 24.
Blackwater Strange Serpent toxin	Dense yin qi soothes it and may help transform it. It later serves as a benchmark for the White Marten’s stronger poison 54 143.
Tranquilizing Giant Bee venom	Causes extreme pain; a trace can be injected through a light touch. Later contributes to his incapacitating projectile attack 92 93 152.
Earth-Vein Miasma Mother	Slows qi-blood and obstructs inner force. Its ordinary fumes are too weak to support his cultivation, so he uses the mother toxin itself 113 114.
Gold-eater toxin	Combines with fine-gold energy and Tranquilizing Giant Bee venom in his dark-gold “sharp sword” projectile 152.
White Marten’s black mist	Drains vitality; Zhao Er can absorb and shape it. Its potency exceeds Blackwater Strange Serpent toxin and can threaten Primordial Unity fighters 143.
Yuchan Toad toxin	Fails as a pain-dulling aid: it makes bodily destruction and repair clearer to him, intensifying and prolonging cultivation agony 87.

Nine-Turn Golden Body Art

A defensive art formed from Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art and Yin Body Art. The original Golden Armor method tempers the flesh by absorbing metal through repeated impacts; the fusion adds flexibility and a less labor-intensive means of absorbing metal and yin energy 32 43.

• Strength and durability: Supports powerful unarmed blows and protects him during exchanges with stronger opponents 52 91 126.
• Fine-gold energy: Can be expelled as a small projectile or channeled into weapons to increase sharpness 97.
• Material efficiency: Hundred-forged fine iron raises his cultivation speed at least threefold compared with his previous materials; the mine’s environment further accelerates training 96 117.
• Compatibility restriction: Fine-gold energy merges only with metal-aligned objects. Initially incompatible with his available toxins, it later combines with gold-eater toxin 98 137 152.
• Absorption hazards: Concentrated spirit-ore energy initially overwhelms his arm. Later, draining mineral energy around his residence causes the structure to collapse 120 154.

Twin-Halberd Combat

• Dian Clan Eight Methods: Establishes coordinated twin-weapon fundamentals and the integration of blood-energy force into each movement 43 57.
• Army-Breaking Halberd Art: An offense-focused successor intended to carry him through the first three martial realms. Committing fully to an attack can expose him to counterstrikes 57 91.
• Golden Metal Sky-Rending Halberd: A yellow-grade art drawing on gengmetal energy. Its Sky-Rending killing move can be applied through other techniques 98 127.
• Spirit-weapon enhancement: His spirit halberds permit a ranged air-cutting strike before his technique alone has fully reached that capability 132.
• Element combinations: Uses earth–metal force for weight and sharpness, and metal–water force for concentrated, icy attacks 162.

Five Poisons Fist

• Attack forms: Scorpion Tail Sweep, Spirit Snake Flicking Tongue, and Spider Entangling Hands 26.
• Toad Force: Coordinates force through the feet, hips, spine, shoulder, and striking limb, correcting the poor penetration of his early attacks 26.
• Centipede Shell Retraction: Contracts muscles and bones into a unified defensive structure, though the Wang Family steward’s penetrating punch initially overcomes it 24.
• Poison delivery: Combines bodily strikes with toxin-bearing blood-energy force 24 26.

Hidden Weapons and “Sharp Sword”

• Starry Scatterhand: A hand technique that also functions as a finger technique; he adapts it to launch yin-qi ice needles 87.
• Ice needles: Quiet and difficult to see, they shatter on impact and can spread corrosive toxins. He develops them partly to answer opponents’ breath-holding and pore-closing defenses 87 88.
• “Sharp sword”: A secretly expelled dark-gold projectile combining fine-gold energy, gold-eater toxin, and Tranquilizing Giant Bee venom. It pierces a Meridian Opening instructor’s back and creates the opening for Wu Xing’s finishing blow 152.

Light Swallow Art

• Mobility: Supports leaps, pursuit, escape, and quiet movement 96.
• Perfected movement: Allows silent landings, trackless travel over snow, and midair changes of direction despite the weight of his spirit halberds 132.
• Concealment: Provides a stealthy alternative to his conspicuous, aggressive public fighting style 96 134.

Thousand Mechanisms Eye Art

A red-grade Criminal Law Lineage technique granted by Lu Zhi, ordinarily reserved for lineage stewards 139 141.

• Combat reading: Sharpens perception and predicts movement, supporting precise feints and coordinated attacks 143 152.
• Realm assessment: At lv.3, can examine lower-realm opponents, but cannot fully read martial artists of his own realm at a glance 159.
• Deception detection: Reads differences in essence, energy, and spirit between genuine and staged fighting, unless an aura-concealing method interferes 162.
• Limits: Cannot yet identify cultivation methods as comprehensively as Lu Zhi; fails to track Steward Li Qi’s rapid approach 146 159.
• Training risk: Incorrect practice can damage the eyes 141.

Pending Cultivation Fusions

Fusion	Cost and duration	Intended benefit
Five-Element Origin-Returning Poison Art + Five-Element Primordial Unity Art	One advanced skill point; thirty days 141.	Fuse multiple elemental inner forces to increase their power. Combined elemental attacks are later demonstrated 141 162.
Nine-Turn Golden Body Art + Myriad Poisons Tempering Body Art	Thirty days 156.	Add poison resistance and control, particularly over toxins released outside his body 156.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Spirit twin halberds — Gifted through the Dian Family Matriarch after his Primordial Unity breakthrough. Formerly belonged to a Dian elder’s late husband; their nearly six-hundred-jin weight suits his strength and metal-aspected energy 132.
• Hundred-forged fine-iron halberds — Earlier replacement weapons, substantially stronger and sharper than his original iron pair 98.
• Copper Martial Token — Identifies him as an Academy Martial Guard and grants access to exchanges and official duties 112 113.
• Dian Zhang’s Silver Martial Token — Recommendation token that also provides access to rare resources beyond his copper token’s authority 104 108 113.
• Qi-Blood and Qi-Gathering Pills — Replenish cultivation resources and support sustained training; their cost and availability repeatedly influence his plans 43 121 144 145.
• Metal and spirit ore — Essential resources for body tempering. His demand increases as ordinary iron becomes less effective 96 120 154.
• Dragonblood Horse — Tamed by enduring its attempts to throw, bite, and kick him. Purchased for thirty thousand merit and thirty-five thousand silver taels; remains hostile toward other people 148.

Relationships

• Zhao Dazhu — Father. His whipping motivates Zhao Er’s early revenge; Zhao Er later helps restore his public standing through village distributions 9 25.
• Zhang Xuan’e — Mother. Worries about his dangerous training, supports his mountain trips with handmade leather baskets, and misses him after his departure 4 43 149.
• Zhao Da — Elder brother and early benefactor. Provides Poison Sand Palm; later manages the family’s growth and shares profits from Zhao Er’s iron allotment 6 85 155.
• Ning Mu — Sister-in-law. Supplies introductions, metals, and weapon arrangements. Her pregnancy prompts Zhao Er to distance himself while his body remains dangerously poisonous 31 96 98.
• Zhao Shan — Younger sister. Admires and imitates his halberd training; he encourages both literacy and martial practice and leaves her a halberd art 43 95 149.
• Dian Zhang — Mentor and patron. Supplies key martial arts, defends Zhao Er’s unorthodox cultivation, and arranges his Academy recommendation. Entrusts him with monthly visits to the Dian Family Matriarch 33 57 104.
• Dian Family Matriarch — Recipient of Dian Zhang’s continuing request and a source of later support, including the spirit halberds delivered on her behalf 104 115 132.
• Lu Zhi — Teacher and Academy Head. Rewards his missions, advises on weaknesses, and respects his secrets. Warns him not to let improvement through slaughter become an obsession 139 140 158.
• Wu Xing — Senior martial brother, sponsor, and mission partner. Reserves his Academy place, assists with pill supplies and weapon sales, and guides his steward ambitions 108 144 152 165.
• Sun Yuanying — Friend and practical ally. Warns him about threats, helps trade his hunting materials, and conveys the Red Tiger Gang’s settlement. Their connection includes affection but no established romance 88 95 155.
• Han Zhong — Initially a coercive investigator, later a respected mission partner. Becomes deferential after Great Year Mountain and handles the sale and division of their spoils 129 137 138 144.
• Jiang Zhi — Former squad captain and mine colleague. Protects him during questioning and offers guidance, though Zhao Er remains suspicious of his involvement in the mine’s cover-up 116 129 132.
• Ning Jin — Subordinate Martial Guard. Cooperates with Zhao Er’s administration, arranges replacement housing, and receives a defined share of the squad’s iron allocation 154 157.
• White Marten — Companion and cultivation partner. Saves him from the Wang Family steward; later supplies vitality-draining poisonous mist. Zhao Er hides its variant-beast nature from the Academy 24 143 149.
• Zhao Xiaohu — Village friend. Zhao Er worries about his bloodletting-based cultivation, advises him about Medicine King Valley, and ultimately respects his decision to leave 64 99.
• Zhao Zhiyuan (“Laitou”) — Former friend whose resentment damages their relationship. Later dies attempting a breakthrough while carrying injuries from serving as the Wang Family’s punching post 15 54 99.
• Gao Du — Successor to the Longwind Gang’s former leader. Offers concessions and recruitment; Zhao Er refuses membership without reopening hostilities 41 42.
• Wu Yao — First-ranked steward and operational ally. Leads the Tyrant Blade campaign and intervenes during the red-clad swordsman’s attack 150 162.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc	Major events
Longwind Gang retaliation	His father’s whipping pushes Zhao Er toward revenge. He scouts the gang, secretly kills its leader, and later receives reduced village fees and a non-harassment promise from Gao Du 9 10 11 36 41 42.
Wang Family pressure	Refuses to become the family’s servant in exchange for revealing his mountain-survival secret. A steward’s penetrating attack nearly kills him, with the White Marten providing the escape that later informs his training 15 24.
Mountain hunting and poison reputation	Survives stronger attackers, uses poisoned blood against Caiyuan Sect fighters attempting to drain him, and kills a Sinew Transformation opponent during another ambush. His strength forces local powers to reconsider further attacks 72 75 84 85.
Sinew Transformation and Red Tiger settlement	Breaks through in the mountains and survives a Rockhide Tiger encounter. After Red Tiger’s death, conceals his involvement and accepts silver and Light Swallow Art from the gang’s prospective successor 90 91 95.
Grand Exam withdrawal	Demonstrates a two-thousand-jin lift, kills Zhang Heng, and negotiates four thousand taels plus a residence to withdraw. Dian Zhang’s recommendation means he does not need a tournament place to enter the Academy 101 104.
Academy entry and mine promotion	Joins the Criminal Law Lineage, receives Southern Mountain Mine guard duty, and reaches Primordial Unity. His response to a mine rebellion earns Third Squad’s captaincy, merit, and unrecorded spirit ore amid an apparent cover-up 108 112 121 129.
Great Year Mountain mission	Rejects a lengthy infiltration approach and defeats the mountain’s Primordial Unity fighters, leaving one incapacitated chief for interrogation. Returns with intelligence and lucrative spoils, earning Han Zhong’s respect and Lu Zhi’s rewards 133 137 138 139.
Tyrant Blade Martial Hall purge	Volunteers to handle the non-Meridian Opening opponents, kills eleven Primordial Unity fighters, and helps Wu Xing kill the head instructor. The settlement sharply increases his strength but temporarily disrupts coordination 150 152 153.
Family expansion	Uses his mine position to establish an iron trade with Zhao Da and supplies resources for the Zhao Family’s martial training. His reputation also improves the treatment of relatives and acquaintances 149 154 155.
Assassination pressure	Learns the Clear Source Sect has posted a bounty on him. Exposes a staged bandit conflict, recognizes that an unfinished settlement signals continuing danger, and fights a powerful swordsman alongside Wu Yao 158 162.
Steward challenge	More than 150,000 merit earned in two months qualifies him to challenge a steward. Wu Xing explains the responsibilities and difficult matchups; the supplied account ends before Zhao Er chooses his opponent 165.

Cultivation Costs and Limitations

• Dangerous intimacy: Before Primordial Unity, poison embedded in his blood and marrow makes contact—and potentially even his breath—lethal. He fears he cannot safely be intimate with a woman or approach his pregnant sister-in-law 85 98.
• Resolved toxic residue: Primordial Unity removes that uncontrolled bodily contamination while preserving stronger poison effects in his inner force 121.
• Resource dependence: Advanced training consumes large quantities of food, pills, metals, and spirit ore; even substantial mission profits are quickly reinvested 15 96 143 145.
• Control must catch up: After the Tyrant Blade settlement, increased strength initially reduces his coordination. More than twenty days of cultivation and practice stabilize the gains 153 157.
• Stronger opponents remain dangerous: Li Qi’s speed exceeds his perception, Wu Yao’s presence reminds him of the gap above his realm, and the red-clad swordsman’s force sends both him and his horse into a hillside 146 150 162.
• Meridian Opening is not yet documented: He is approaching its cultivation threshold and has ambitions to advance, but the supplied material does not show that breakthrough or a completed steward appointment 157 165.