Gu Zheng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Gu Zheng (顾征)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Rain City Middle School; later Rain City University’s Genius Class 25 85
Occupation/Role	Student, gene cultivator, and leader of a student hunting squad 33 69
Gene Aperture	Fourth-tier gene aperture 69
Fused Gene	Fourth-order Morning Star Rank Sword-Feather Peacock Gene 25
Cultivation Level	Second-order gene cultivator 34 38
Status	Alive at his latest documented appearance 91
First Appearance	Chapter 25 25

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Fourth-order gene fusion	25	Introduced having already fused with the Sword-Feather Peacock Gene, a Morning Star Rank gene renowned for sword talent. This is his gene’s rank, not his current cultivation level.
Second-order gene cultivator	34	His companion reveals that Gu Zheng broke through shortly before their encounter with Ji Zhixing’s group. The breakthrough itself is not shown.

Background / History

Recognition as a Genius

Gu Zheng attends Rain City Middle School and awakens a fourth-tier gene aperture. When he visits Third Middle School’s hunting camp with a teacher and four fellow students, he stands out as the only member fused with a fourth-order gene; the others possess third-order genes. Fourth-order fusion is rare enough that Rain City Base City produces, at most, roughly a dozen such cultivators annually 25 69.

After Qi Xingzhou recounts Ji Zhixing’s decision to choose a first-order Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene, Gu Zheng dismisses Ji as unworthy of attention. He later brushes off complaints about his group’s rudeness, reasoning that his impending university enrollment will separate him permanently from first-order cultivators 25 31.

Otherworld Secret Realm and the Hematite Trap

Gu Zheng and three companions accidentally enter an Otherworld Secret Realm through a spatial passage on Lake Center Island. They discover valuable hematite guarded by a third-order Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python. Gu Zheng initially refuses to provoke it, placing his group’s survival above the ore 33.

When Ji Zhixing, Li Qiang, and Zhao Gang arrive, Gu Zheng welcomes them and offers to lead them toward a spatial passage. His companions surround the weaker students and take them to the python’s valley instead. Gu Zheng then reveals that they must lure the beast away so his group can collect the hematite; Chen Wenjie enforces the demand with his Elf Bow 33 34.

Li Qiang is wounded by the archer and swallowed by the python, while Zhao Gang escapes into the forest. Ji Zhixing dives into the lake. A Black Eagle attacks the python, forcing Gu Zheng’s group to retreat, and Ji uses the distraction to seize the largest piece of hematite. Gu Zheng orders his companions to watch for Ji rather than rush into the dangerous valley 34 35.

The group pursues Ji to a passage back to Stone Lake, but he escapes underwater again. Yu Zhirou points out where someone entered the lake while claiming she did not recognize him. Gu Zheng cannot follow because he lacks diving equipment 36.

Earth Core Spirit Liquid and Liu Qing’s Death

After abandoning their wait at Stone Lake, Gu Zheng’s group returns to Lake Center Island. They help teacher Zhou Hang and classmate Jiang Chen kill a wounded Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle, then collect Earth Core Spirit Liquid from its cave. Gu Zheng receives the largest share 38.

Liu Qing secretly leaves to pursue Ji Zhixing’s hematite and is killed by Ji near a concealed Whirlpool Sandworm. Gu Zheng hears a scream and investigates, but Ji has erased the visible evidence. During the subsequent search, the sandworm catches Chen Wenjie; Gu Zheng and Zhou Hang kill it and discover Liu Qing’s decomposed corpse inside. Gu Zheng, Chen Wenjie, and Han Shuang silently suspect Ji’s involvement without voicing an accusation 39 40.

Accusations and University Pressure

Zhao Gang returns injured and reports that Gu Zheng forced the three weaker students to provoke the python. Principal Zhou Chenghong warns him against making accusations without evidence, explicitly citing Gu Zheng’s fourth-order gene and future university admission. He Yanbing believes the account warrants anger but feels unable to act 44.

At the base-city gate, Gu Zheng encounters Ji alive and accuses him of stealing the hematite. He also tells Ji’s companions to stay away from him if they intend to remain Ji’s friends. Ji publicly counters that Gu Zheng used students as bait and failed to catch him despite overwhelming advantages. Gu Zheng restrains himself because they are at the city gate 69.

Zhao Gang is later found murdered with a sword after spreading word of the secret-realm incident. Ji suspects Gu Zheng, but his responsibility is not confirmed 70.

At Rain City University, Ji’s prospective roommates leave their assigned room, and other students avoid openly associating with him. Ji attributes this isolation to Gu Zheng’s hostility. Xiao Mingyue challenges that pressure by defending Ji and invoking her cousin Qin Xiaoran, a senior-year Genius Class student whom Gu Zheng’s associates cannot afford to offend 71 72 75 76.

Blood Beast Secret Realm Rivalry

Ji’s first-day ranking above Gu Zheng turns their feud into a public embarrassment. Gu Zheng, who previously expected to dispose of Ji whenever they met in the wilderness, decides he must eliminate him as soon as possible 85.

During a contest for five Weapon Tokens, fellow Genius Class students mock Gu Zheng over Ji’s ranking. Gu Zheng joins the assault on the third-order Red-Scaled Blood Beast guarding the tokens, but his sword-light also threatens another competitor. When he notices Ji at the cave entrance, he stops focusing on the tokens and fixes his attention on his rival 89 90.

Ji survives Gu Zheng’s sword strikes and escapes into the Blood River with tokens. Gu Zheng recognizes that Ji has reached second order and concludes that he must have obtained Liu Qing’s Earth Core Spirit Liquid. He bargains with a Blackwater Sea King Snake–gene student for help pursuing Ji, but Xiao Mingyue’s Flame Spear Scrolls interrupt the pursuit. Ji and Xiao escape through a concealed passage, leaving the Genius Class students to be rebuked by the supervising teacher 91.

Documented Rankings

Blood Beast Secret Realm Ranking	Gu Zheng	Ji Zhixing
First-day leaderboard	Sixth — 39,000 points 85	Fifth — 42,000 points 85
Second-day leaderboard	Seventh — 77,000 points 94	Fifth — 85,000 points 94

Appearance

• Handsome youth: Described as a handsome boy with a serene air at his introduction 25.
• Composed expression: Appears calm even among mutually suspicious Genius Class competitors 88.
• Controlled anger: Conceals his reaction to mockery while clenching his fists until his knuckles whiten 89.

Personality

Gu Zheng judges others heavily by gene rank and future prospects. He initially considers first-order cultivators beneath his notice and assumes that university admission will place him on an entirely different path. Ji Zhixing’s rise particularly angers him because it undermines that hierarchy and invites public ridicule 25 31 69 85.

His caution is selective: he refuses to risk his own group against a third-order python, yet willingly forces weaker students to serve as bait. He remains practical when powerful beasts threaten his squad, ordering a retreat and avoiding reckless pursuit. His usual composure gives way to vindictiveness when Ji repeatedly escapes him and gains recognition 33 34 35 85 90.

Abilities & Skills

Sword-Feather Peacock Gene

A fourth-order Morning Star Rank gene associated with powerful sword talent 25.

• Gives Gu Zheng substantially greater potential than students fused with first- or second-order genes 25 69.
• Its fourth-order classification does not mean Gu Zheng has reached fourth-order cultivation; his documented cultivation is second order 34.

Swordsmanship and Sword-Light

Gu Zheng fights with a longsword and can project sword-light carrying fierce sword intent 40 89.

• Splits a single slash into more than a dozen streaks of sword-light, covering a broad area 89.
• Uses thrusts and repeated slashes alongside Zhou Hang to kill a Whirlpool Sandworm 40.
• Injures Ji Zhixing and leaves deep sword marks in his borrowed Tidehearing Staff during the Weapon Token conflict 91 93.
• Does not prevent Ji from surviving and escaping with Xiao Mingyue’s assistance 91.

Leadership and Threat Assessment

• Directs his companions’ movements and resource-gathering plans in the Otherworld Secret Realm 33 34.
• Recognizes when third-order beasts make an objective too dangerous to pursue 33 35.
• Organizes a watch for Ji after the hematite is taken, rather than immediately entering the contested valley 35.

Equipment / Items

• Longsword — His principal weapon, used for close combat and projected sword-light. Its name and equipment grade are not provided 40 89.
• Carp-prowed boat — A palm-sized item that expands into a wooden boat when thrown into water. Used to travel across Stone Lake and the secret realm’s lake 30 34 38.
• Earth Core Spirit Liquid — Receives the largest share of the liquid recovered after the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle is killed 38.

Relationships

• Ji Zhixing — Enemy and rival. Their feud begins with Gu Zheng’s bait scheme and escalates through the hematite dispute, university isolation, rankings, and Weapon Token contest 34 69 85 91.
• Liu Qing — Squad member with Six-Eared Gale Hound genes. Helps assess dangers and secretly pursues Ji’s hematite; Gu Zheng suspects Ji after Liu’s death 33 35 38 40.
• Chen Wenjie — Elf Bow–wielding companion who enforces the bait scheme and participates in pursuing Ji. Gu Zheng later helps rescue him from the sandworm 34 40.
• Han Shuang — Female squad member who shares Gu Zheng’s unspoken suspicion about Liu Qing’s death. She later joins Chen Wenjie in targeting Ji’s teammates 40 69 97.
• Jiang Chen — Axe-wielding classmate and squad member. Unlike Gu Zheng, Chen Wenjie, and Han Shuang, he has no personal quarrel with Ji at their city-gate encounter 38 69.
• Zhou Hang — Teacher leading the Rain City Middle School expedition. Fights alongside Gu Zheng against the turtle and the sandworm 38 40.
• Li Qiang and Zhao Gang — Students coerced into luring the python. Li Qiang dies; Zhao Gang escapes and later reports the abuse 34 35 44.
• Yu Zhirou — Provides information about Ji’s escape into Stone Lake, prioritizing her future association with Gu Zheng over her former friendship with Ji 36.
• Ren Pingzhi — Former school acquaintance who recalls getting along with Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng warns him against associating with Ji 69.
• Xiao Mingyue — Ji’s ally, who counters pressure from Gu Zheng’s associates and rescues Ji during the Weapon Token pursuit 76 91.

Notable Quotes

“Our lives matter more than money.” 33

“Once you've lured it out, you can run as far as you like. If you manage to escape, you'll be safe.” 34

“My affairs are none of your concern.” 89

“I have to find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible!” 85