Li Chen

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Chen (李尘)
Alias(es)	Li Bai; Elder Bai; Hu Ze, the King of Pingqiu; Green Lotus Hermit, also known as Rogue Taibai and Tang Taibai 920 926 960 1013 1073
Species/Race	Human reborn from Earth; later extensively reconstructed through Puppet Conversion 2 499 503
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Puppet Dao; Creation Sect; Golden Sun Gate as a vassal lord; Ink Gate 109 253 418 694 1002
Occupation/Role	Puppet Master Grandmaster Artisan; ruler of Materialized Heaven; founder of Jixia Academy; pioneer of mechanical intelligence and cultivation industrialization 712 1136 1210 1294
Cultivation	Early Primordial Spirit Realm; also attained Second Sage status in the Confucian Dao 1128 1298
Status	Alive and active in research, governance, and military development 1352 1360 1372
First Appearance	Chapter 2, “Li Chen” 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Refining — foremost expert	120	Three years of foundational training under Zhao Ke consolidate his accumulated techniques and experience. Replacement of his Spirit-Infused Blood also preserves his youthful face and physique.
Foundation Establishment	151	Breaks through while his puppets endure Master Artisan Luo’s assault. True essence condenses into spirit liquid, his meridians and acupoints transform, and the Orthodox Xuanmen Qi-Channeling Method becomes available. His cultivation exceeds ten times its previous level.
Foundation Establishment — initial Puppet Conversion enhancement	499	Installs spirit seeds, prosthetic weapons, armor, and new nerve and meridian systems. Gains creation-attribute magic power and progress equivalent to several decades of cultivation, but remains far from the realm’s peak.
Foundation Establishment Peak / half-step Core Formation	503	Completes the Five Elements Treasure Body after six days and nights of reconstruction. Accumulated magic power slightly exceeds three hundred years of cultivation; mechanical arrays and restrictions replace his original spiritual-root aptitude.
Nascent false core forming	530	Enters seclusion to overcome the Void-Opening Art’s dimensional-folding bottleneck. His essence, energy, spiritual sense, and magic power turn inward as a false core begins forming.
Core Formation	548	Publicly reveals his advancement during a confrontation with an investigative delegation. Uses spatial interception, lightning-powered hair, and the Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger to kill Leader Gu.
Five-Star Modification Art mastered	608	Integrates life-modification methods into a complete enhancement ladder from early Qi Refining to Core Formation.
Grand Artisan — confirmed standing	624	Explicitly identified as a Grand Artisan while bringing the Yan Pond Sea Kingdom under his authority. Subsequently participates in the formal artisan assessments.
Core Formation — further breakthrough, precise stage unspecified	845	Mass battlefield data processing strengthens his divine sense and magic power. His divine sense already exceeds ordinary late-Core Formation standards before the breakthrough occurs.
Nascent Soul / Grandmaster Artisan	876 877	His sublimated divine soul links directly with Heavenly Pivot. Fully masters Primordial Spirit Reconstruction; Skin-Painting, Capture Shadows, Refine Souls, Awaken Spirituality, and intelligence-related spellcraft reach great completion.
Seven-Star Mechanical Body	876 877	Rebuilds his former five-star body around its Five Elements Treasure Body foundation. Creation Sect specialists help forge the new body, whose initial construction takes three months.
Grand Confucian	944 965	Develops a Literary Palace and a Confucian Dharma Form and Dao Fruit. Its purple Sage Dao qi indicates potential for further advancement.
Early Primordial Spirit Realm	1128 1151	Body and soul remain early-stage, but his mastery of Creation Law allows cheap, freely generated mundane matter. His Wisdom Dao mental-certification Dao Fruit gives him exceptional divine sense.
Confucian Dao Second Sage — confirmed attainment	1298	Reports that, after reaching Second Sage, he brought his mundane-material techniques to great completion while studying Creation Law. The exact breakthrough chapter is not specified.

Background / History

Earth and the Heavenly Crafts Academy

Li Chen retains memories of a previous life on Earth, including knowledge of programming and modern technology. Reborn in the cultivation world, he initially lives as a lonely rogue cultivator. A classroom at the Heavenly Crafts Academy in White Rock Ward reminds him of his former school life 2.

His exchange with instructor Zhao Bin establishes his defense of the Puppet Master path: even conventional qi cultivation borrows external spiritual energy, so tools and crafts are not inherently inferior to bodily divine abilities. He demonstrates a self-designed four-rotor Flying Disc whose original control system impresses Zhao Bin, who encourages him to submit its blueprint for sect recognition 2.

Rogue Cultivator and Craftsman

Li Chen develops practical skills through hunting, equipment repair, and experimentation. He makes a lifelike covering for Old Hou’s mechanical arm, but declines to modify You An’s advanced War Armor after recognizing that it exceeds his expertise. Magnetism Components attract his interest because of their possible connection to antigravity technology 34.

He studies Magnetic Levitation, Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting, body deconstruction, and puppet construction. Rather than pursue every available enhancement, he concentrates on Puppet Mastery, the Swarm of Bees Technique, and eventual formation and restriction studies 60 72 103.

His Craftsman standing opens opportunities within the Creation Sect that his rogue background could not provide. Zhao Ke welcomes him to study with the sect’s disciples and use its books and materials 109.

Patronage and Three Years of Training

After Old Hou and You An’s deaths expose the vulnerability of rogue cultivators, Li Chen accepts service as Zhao Ke’s retainer. He had rejected Artisan Lei’s offer because it lacked a definite service term and adequate compensation 113.

In Coldwind Valley, he learns Silk-Threading Art and String-Puppet Theater while performing errands and escort duties for Zhao Ke. He resists Qian Wanli’s attempts to turn hospitality and small gifts into political obligations. Three years of focused study make him one of the leading experts of the Qi Refining realm 115 120.

Crouching Tiger Hill and the Search for Independence

Following Foundation Establishment, Li Chen seeks stable resources rather than aristocratic favors. He establishes Crouching Tiger Hill as a source of cultivation provisions, acquires the battered Red Owl mecha, and secures Feng Household protection. Before preparing to leave, he declares the settlement permanently neutral to protect its inhabitants from factional conflict 151 253.

Years of commissions in Armor Capital reinforce his need for a dependable livelihood. Through the Wu Household, he obtains an introduction to the Golden Sun Gate. He chooses the prospect of protected vassalage over direct discipleship because he wants to build his own foundation without becoming fully bound to a sect 330 331 337.

Broad Cloud Peak and Heavenly Dragon Peak

Li Chen develops Broad Cloud Peak with investment, workers, machinery, and supplies from allied households and merchants’ associations. He appoints Dong Pengfei ward master, separating market administration from his own spiritual leadership 418.

His conflict with the Heavenly Dragon Gate combines military force with impersonation. He uses Mei Xuan’s original body as an avatar while keeping her alive in a controlled clay body, concealing her survival from outsiders 442 470.

After defeating the Centipede Daoist, he retains Heavenly Dragon Peak as personal property. The settlement grants merchants commercial access but denies them control over the Blessed Land and mineral resources; it also prohibits the trade in abducted Shaman Folk 477 478.

Core Formation and the Mei Family Conflict

Puppet Conversion raises Li Chen to Foundation Establishment Peak, and he subsequently reaches Core Formation. His selective killings and negotiated settlements isolate the Mei Family politically rather than turning every member of the investigative delegation into a permanent enemy 503 548 552.

A Five-Star Battle Puppet badly injures him, demonstrating that his newly advanced body lacks the combat readiness implied by his realm. The Golden Sun Gate offers powerful equipment and materials in exchange for deeper institutional obligations 559.

Li Chen later captures the Mei Family’s Flame Fang Battle Puppet. He preserves its pilot as bargaining leverage and salvages its false core and Flowing Rainbow Fire Dragon Mechanism to support construction of a Five-Star Battle Puppet of his own 564.

Academy, Industry, and Chess Mountain

Li Chen establishes Jixia Academy to teach the hundred crafts while spreading Intelligent Chips, rune-script restrictions, and his Dao of Wisdom. Its opening also brings recruitment, financing agreements, and plans to replicate the Heavenly Hero Divine Crane 712.

He targets Chess Mountain not only for its military assets but for its industrial cities, workshops, natural resources, and enormous mortal population. His campaign employs infiltration, seizure of Human Vessels, collaboration with insiders, and schemes against opposing Core Formation combatants 717 721 725.

The campaign also reveals limits to his expectations: Hui City’s defenders fight harder than their divided leadership, turning a rapid assault into a prolonged battle. Li Chen acknowledges that invading people’s homes does not win their support 743.

His wider objective is to make puppets and Divine Ability Mechanism Devices affordable and usable by ordinary people. He supports mortal researchers rather than merely selecting a few for conversion into cultivators 734 735.

Nascent Soul and Flight from the Immortal Alliance

After reaching Nascent Soul, Li Chen prepares enhancements for selected followers and rebuilds his own mechanical body. His civilization projects continue through improved chips, modular Electric Cores, Miniature Reactors, and increasingly spirit-independent industry 876 877 882.

Following his journey to the Blue Sea Water Realm, the Immortal Alliance pursues him. He escapes through possession, memory alteration, and more than twenty travelers carrying the same fabricated “Li Bai” identity. He rests in Cloudstride City while his Primordial Spirit recovers 918 920.

As Elder Bai, he covertly supports Xia Ziyi and gains control of the Xia family’s main-branch resources. During the pursuit, teaching demons and copying literary classics strengthen his Primordial Spirit and advance his Confucian cultivation 926 929 941 944.

Hu Ze and Great Qian

Li Chen enters the Righteous Qi Continent under Hu Ze’s identity and establishes a base near Wushan City. The disguise lets him approach Demon Empress Zhang Hua as the son of her former companion and claim standing as the King of Pingqiu 953 960 964.

Shen Longcheng assigns him to monitor the continent and counter interference in the coming conflict. Li Chen develops local infrastructure, recruits capable outsiders such as Nie Chen, and secures covert Creation Sect authorization and reserve battle puppets 965 969 1002.

He also cultivates the separate Green Lotus Hermit persona for twelve years, allowing his apparent human scholar and demon king identities to interact publicly. Through Hu Ze, he eventually serves as Great Qian’s Grand Preceptor and gains further experience in government 1013 1019 1130.

Materialized Heaven and Cultivation Industrialization

After returning to the Bone Kun Warship, Li Chen articulates a centralized social project for Materialized Heaven. His Creation Law makes mundane matter cheap to produce, but meaningful combat strength still depends on equipment, research, and accumulated resources 1121 1126 1128 1153.

His growing influence brings both support and internal hostility. After an attack on Materialized Heaven, he adopts “Fight Without Breaking”: defending his interests while trying to preserve the Puppet Dao camp’s unity. Students and commercial contacts supply leads that formal investigations failed to uncover 1237.

He launches the Armament Modernization Plan to replace workshop-scale treasure crafting with standardized assembly-line production. This includes automated manufacture of Guangyun-Brand Thunder Essence False Cores and a gradual move away from nuclear weapons against elite cultivators 1294 1295.

As his organization becomes more specialized, Li Chen increasingly directs collaborative research rather than personally mastering every field. He continues enhancing allies and weapons while confronting the costs, accidents, and governance problems created by his expanding system 1265 1348 1352 1360.

Appearance

• Original body: Retains a youthful face and physique after replacement of his Spirit-Infused Blood; three years of training leave little visible trace 120.
• Puppet-converted body: Incorporates spirit seeds, lightning hair, prosthetic weapons, armor, and reconstructed nerves and meridians 499.
• Divine Ape combat avatar: A burly ape-man wearing dark-gold alloy battle armor; can merge into his original body through blood-essence fusion 626.
• Green Lotus Hermit persona: Handsome, well-formed features and an otherworldly bearing cultivated to match his scholarly reputation 1019.
• Clay incarnation: Can dissolve its constructed body, leaving its clothing behind 1081.
• Variable identity: Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting allows genuine physical transformation, so his visible appearance is not a reliable identifier 60 964.

Personality

Li Chen is curious, analytical, and persistent. He studies established designs, records experiments, and turns programming concepts into cultivation tools. He is willing to admit technical limitations: advanced War Armor exceeds his early craftsmanship, and an electromagnetic cannon is useless unless its projectiles can overcome cultivators’ defenses 34 103 167 176.

Freedom is his original personal ideal. He rejects indefinite service, resists favors that create dependency, and sometimes abandons potential advancement to avoid powerful patrons’ scrutiny. Experience gradually teaches him that resources, allies, and institutions are necessary to sustain that independence 113 115 315 337.

He judges people by practical ability rather than inherited status. He shares knowledge, supports mortal researchers, and offers opportunities to overlooked students. Yet his mentorship can be invasive and manipulative: he secretly implants Han Li’s chip, engineers Ying Si’s supposed inheritance, and uses suggestion to recruit informants 734 929 950 1332.

His ideal of universal freedom coexists with increasingly authoritarian methods. He acknowledges that his own regime relies on coercion, but later claims unlimited authority and responsibility to decide what benefits his subjects. Mei Xuan repeatedly challenges this contradiction 765 1126.

Li Chen is ruthless in war and political competition, accepting deception, assassination schemes, and selective punishment as legitimate tools. He nevertheless recognizes limits to research: he prohibits human experiments likely to cause irreversible harm or violate the Human Dao, explaining his restraint through broad benefit rather than a claim of superior personal morality 725 1265.

Abilities & Skills

Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting

One of Li Chen’s principal specialties, this art changes bodies rather than merely projecting an illusion. His understanding extends to the relationship between appearance, identity, perception, and behavior 60 410.

• Physically transforms himself and others, including disguises used to escape surveillance 60 315.
• Restores youthful appearance while preserving a client’s recognizable identity 171.
• Conceals avatars so thoroughly that their aura, magic power, and divine sense can match the original person 442.
• Combines with memory alteration and the Heavenly Demon Hide to sustain complex assumed identities 964.
• Later strengthens Han Li’s skin to nine-star durability, comparable to a Primordial Spirit 1352.
• Faces external constraints: Qi Yuetian’s cultivated poison repeatedly corrodes painted skins, requiring an additional solution 178.

Dao of Wisdom, Rune Script, and Artificial Intelligence

Li Chen’s primary cultivation focus is the Dao of Wisdom. His programming background supports a new mechanical intelligence architecture and a Rune Script language integrating Dao patterns, restrictions, and formation arts 11 214 704.

• Develops an operating system, compiler, and original puppet-control methods 11.
• Uses artificial intelligences for research, production, administration, and military command 325 530 845.
• Creates Auxiliary Brain Chips and Spirit-Particle Memory Memes to improve learning, perception, and information processing 929 950.
• Links his divine soul directly to Heavenly Pivot after reaching Nascent Soul 876.
• Uses distributed cloud computing where isolated intelligence cores cannot provide sufficient performance 442.
• Recognizes that computational models cannot fully account for loyalty and political momentum 717.

Puppet Control and Silk-Threading Art

Silk-Threading Art refines magic-power threads that can serve in place of meridians. It forms the foundation of the String-Puppet Theater tradition developed through Draw Silk, Rejoin Meridians 109 115.

• Directly controls puppets with precision beyond their autonomous mechanical judgment 151.
• Installs worker-bee systems in purchased puppets to expand his controllable squad 103.
• Coordinates large formations through intelligences, communications systems, and multiple terminals 530 845.
• Studies thread-guided projectiles as a possible way to transmit Gang-piercing power 167.

Creation-Promotion and Life Modification

Li Chen uses the Creation-Promotion Secret Art to reconstruct living bodies and puppet chassis. His methods eventually form a complete advancement ladder from early Qi Refining to Core Formation 344 608.

• Applies bone, marrow, blood, organ, nerve, flesh, and skin modifications according to each subject’s needs 344 1189.
• Constructs the Five Elements Treasure Body, including a Five Qi Returning to the Origin Array formed from the five viscera 503.
• Replaces innate spiritual-root aptitude with arrays and restrictions, approaching artificial spiritual roots 503.
• Enhances beasts, demons, followers, and biological weapons using secret arts and genetic engineering 704 941 1189.
• Uses the Fire-Origin Formula’s life-healing energy to restore a dissected body without visible marks 72.
• Treats brain reconstruction as especially dangerous because mistakes can destroy the soul; postpones it during his early self-conversion 499.
• Finds that powerful modification remains limited by materials, resources, and production time 420 876 1352.

Primordial Spirit and Mental Techniques

Li Chen’s intelligence research develops into extensive control over primordial spirits, memories, perceptions, and virtual personalities 877 918.

• Masters Primordial Spirit Reconstruction, enabling him to strengthen followers’ mental foundations and assist high-realm advancement 876.
• Creates artificial primordial spirits and virtual personalities, including an incarnation modeled on his own thought patterns 1081.
• Reads and alters memories, possesses hosts, and distributes false identities across multiple travelers 918 920.
• Changes perceived beauty into repulsiveness to demonstrate the unreliability of appearances 649.
• Uses Dream of the Yellow Millet to offer simulated lifetimes within an illusion realm 997.
• Recovers fragments of a dead attacker’s memories from surviving brain tissue using a device based on Luo Changshan’s research 294.
• Refines his mechanical mind Dao Fruit until he can act without leaking detectable mental power; also improves countermeasures against True-Sight techniques 1372.

Spatial Arts and Concealment

Li Chen studies folded space, Void-Opening Art, and the relationship between void power and primordial energy 264 489 530.

• Uses folded-space power while still at Foundation Establishment, extracting practical value from an art associated with Core Formation 264.
• Conceals a spatial void within his body and summons the Puppet Sisters from it 627.
• Absorbs a massive sword strike into a spatial rift during his Core Formation reveal 548.
• Uses the Mysterious Nonbeing Art to appear and vanish, seeking openings against stronger opponents 1153.
• Refines the Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear until his observations leave no detectable form or trace 994.

Creation Law and Void Creation

At early Primordial Spirit, Li Chen can create mundane, non-spiritual matter cheaply and at will. Mei Xuan recognizes that the process appears to create matter without an external source 1128.

• Produces electronic components, machinery, hydrogen bombs, and a furnished building 1128.
• Converts created matter into Solar Dao divine thunder, primordial energy, and magic power 1128.
• Supplies the material basis of Materialized Heaven and its industrial projects 1153 1237.
• Later transforms materials and condenses spiritual essence into weapons capable of threatening Primordial Spirit opponents 1352.
• Cannot simply divide his power to perform several demanding enhancements simultaneously 1352.
• Remains primarily productive rather than directly combat-oriented; battlefield strength depends on weapons and external assets 1153.

Confucian Dao and Fortune

Teaching, literary transcription, and study allow Li Chen to develop a Confucian cultivation path alongside the Puppet Dao 941 944.

• Condenses a Literary Palace, Dharma Form, and Dao Fruit associated with the Confucian Dao 944.
• Uses the Confucian Sacred Fruit to strengthen the power of the mind for his planned Primordial Spirit Dharma Body 1092.
• Reaches Second Sage status and integrates this progress with his study of Creation Law 1298.
• Examines Nie Chen’s fortune to assess his blocked official prospects and their compatible destinies 1002.
• Uses Confucian propriety to maintain Hu Ze’s persona and deflect Zhang Hua’s advances 960.

Engineering, Manufacturing, and Military Organization

Li Chen connects cultivation techniques with experimental science, industrial standards, and specialized research teams 734 1294 1348.

• Designs affordable weapons from artificial spirit iron and synthetic alloys 734.
• Develops communications networks, remote puppet operations, and intelligence-supported military administration 478 530 1001.
• Directs research into superconducting materials, electromagnetic cannons, energy storage, and compact weapon systems 741 742.
• Promotes standardized magical-treasure factories and mass-produced Thunder Essence False Cores 1294 1295.
• Moves away from nuclear weapons when their effectiveness against elite cultivators no longer justifies their cost 1294.
• Organizes collaborative research rather than relying exclusively on personal mastery; specialists can equal or surpass him within narrow fields 1348.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Flying Discs — Four-rotor mechanism craft built around his original control architecture; later used for support and tissue recovery 2 11 103 294.
• Water Spider — An early major puppet with reinforced legs and detachable spatial storage. Disguised as a Steel-Legged Patrol Spider and able to fold into an armored sphere 60 72 103.
• Sharp Warrior Type Three / Keen Warrior — A spell-capable humanoid puppet valued for both combat and structural research 103 151.
• Puppet Sisters, Xiao Die and Xiao Ying — Long-serving combat puppets equipped with costly weapons; later receive gradual nine-star material upgrades 327 488 1352.
• Mechanized Flying Chair — Personal vehicle whose Thunder Gang Magnetic Ring inspires projectile-weapon research 167 626.
• Divine Ape combat avatar — A high-ranking Five-Star creation blended with Kun Blood; merges into his original body through blood-essence fusion 626.
• Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger — Lightning-based prosthetic incorporated into his reconstructed body; used to kill Leader Gu 498 499 548.
• Thunder Spirit Hair — Detachable, lightning-powered hair grown from implanted spirit seeds; also used to restrain opponents 498 548.
• Truth-Piercing Eye and Fire-Observing Dharma Eye — Ordered to detect subtle physical differences and living beings’ life flames, countering concealed attackers 498.
• Spirit-Energy Attached Horns and Dragon-Scale Mimetic Armor — Add-on bodily components incorporated during Puppet Conversion 498 499.
• Yu Xiao Tiger Battle Puppet — Five-Star asset leased from the Golden Sun Gate rather than personally owned 704.
• Silver Pearl Flying Boats — Fast craft intended for force deployment 478.
• Magic Cube Maze — Protected location used for storage, experimentation, imprisonment, and cultivation seclusion 473 498 530.
• Heavenly Pivot and the other artificial intelligences — Computational infrastructure supporting production, research, strategy, and administration 325 530 876.
• Myriad Realms Talismans and Puppet World Heavenly Net — Communications tools and network supporting exchanges, remote command, and covert contact 608 965 1001.
• Heavenly Demon Hide — Supports impersonation and infiltration, including his Hu Ze identity 721 964.
• Bone Kun Warship — Main body of Materialized Heaven and a platform for population management, industry, and military infrastructure 1126 1251.
• Book of Years — Research aid dependent on scarce Temporal Dao materials 1153.
• Borrowed Desolate Beast Battle Puppets — Pan Ning offers four seven-star and one eight-star puppets for covert operations, with two nine-star assets available only as a last resort under additional restrictions 1002.

Relationships

Teachers and Senior Allies

• Zhao Bin — Early instructor and supporter. Recognizes the Flying Disc’s value, encourages sect recognition, and teaches Li Chen to rely on his own value rather than favors 2 109 115.
• Zhao Ke — Patron and cultivation mentor. Welcomes him into the Creation Sect’s artisan circle and guides three years of foundational training 109 113 120.
• Shen Longcheng — Protective Creation Sect elder and intelligence contact. Warns him about Zhang Hua, supports his covert work, and collaborates on long-term schemes 964 965 1332.
• Pan Ning — Senior collaborator in biological and artificial-spirit research; supplies reserve Desolate Beast Battle Puppets and supports covert political operations 1001 1002 1332.
• Dongfang Mao and Mo Qing — Established grandmasters who favor his work. Mo Qing offers Art Dao instruction in exchange for his future guidance of her associates 649 1305.

Companions and Partners

• Old Hou — Early hunting companion whose mechanical arm Li Chen repairs. His death helps convince Li Chen that rogue independence lacks adequate protection 34 113.
• You An — Early companion and partner in concealment. Li Chen later honors his final wish by visiting his parents’ grave 60 113 331.
• He Ran — Fellow retainer and guide to local professional networks; shares escort duties and later accompanies his business ventures 113 115 167.
• Wu Ding — Experienced adviser who urges caution, reputation management, and stronger bargaining positions 167 178.
• Qi Yuetian — Skin-Painting client whose poison cultivation complicates restoration. Their successful dealings develop into unusually warm familiarity 178 181.
• Dong Pengfei — Founding investor, ward master, and friend. Their ten-year administrative partnership ends amicably when Dong returns to inherit his family’s business 418 597.
• Yu Youxian — Golden Sun Gate recruiting envoy, liaison, and later market chief; a familiar ally whose appointment strengthens the Yu Household partnership 351 559 597.
• Qi Maigu — Longstanding research partner and friend. Connects him with assessment candidates and later supports industrial modernization even as their weapons partnership ends after ninety-four years 371 608 1294.
• Hua Wucuo — Student, researcher, and philosophical interlocutor. Questions the implications of mortal empowerment while contributing to firearms and energy-storage research 649 735 742.
• Lin Danran — Thunder Dao collaborator whose inherited methods help create the industrial Thunder Essence False Core enterprise 1295.

Followers and Dependents

• Mei Xuan — Initially a captive confined in a controlled clay body, later a major administrator of Guangyun and Trade City. Their relationship remains marked by coercion, contentious banter, practical trust, and her challenges to his political philosophy 470 520 876 1126.
• Han Li — Rescued apprentice who becomes a true disciple. He gives her a name, learning tools, and cultivation opportunities; she remains devoted despite the shock of discovering his hidden identity 950 997 1126.
• Xia Ziyi — Protégé who knows him as Elder Bai. Receives covert physical and cognitive enhancements, then learns his benefactor’s true identity years later 926 929 1202 1210.
• You San — Street protégé whose physical and mental development becomes an early experiment in changing aptitude through systematic intervention 334 336 337.
• Lu Chen — Foremost retainer by the Nascent Soul period; Li Chen selects him for further reconstruction and advancement support 876.
• Guo Jin — Instructor trusted with assessing nominal Ink Gate disciples; later selected for primordial-spirit enhancement 694 876.
• Hua Yongshan — Formation and rune specialist who organizes battle formations and entrusts his children to Li Chen’s tutelage 511 520.
• Xiao Die and Xiao Ying — The Puppet Sisters, whose safety and continued enhancement remain personal concerns 920 1352.
• Li Shengyuan and Bei Feng — Loyal juniors and allies. Shengyuan risks himself investigating the attack on Materialized Heaven; Bei Feng delivers his warning and asks Li Chen to protect him 1237 1305.

Rivals and Concealed Alliances

• Mei Yunhe and the Mei Family — Political and military adversaries repeatedly weakened by Li Chen’s selective concessions, battlefield victories, and use of captured retainers as leverage 552 564.
• Feng Mingzhu and the Feng Household — Sources of technical knowledge and protection, but also contractual obligations that draw Li Chen into local fighting 176 178 246 253.
• Zhang Hua, the Demon Empress — Approached under Hu Ze’s identity as a supposed nephew. Her law-level bewitching power makes the relationship dangerous despite his confidence 960 964.
• Nie Chen — Unconventional scholar appointed General of the Army under Hu Ze. Li Chen values his talent while intending to preserve decisive control through artificial intelligence 1002.
• Immortal Alliance — Pursues him with institutional lockdowns and truth-revealing techniques; later enters a negotiated peace with the Puppet Dao camp 918 941 1332.
• True Person Miaobao — Quietly investigates his extraordinary destiny but cannot identify him as a reincarnated immortal, god, sage, or Dharma Dao Great Power 1302.

Notable Quotes

“Even refining qi through spiritual roots is, in essence, borrowing the power of an external thing—the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It is much the same as taking elixirs.” 2

“My ambition isn't to establish an aristocratic clan or a sect, but to cultivate and attain the Dao. Failing that, I hope to leave my name in the annals of history and pass down my own dao lineage.” 364

“All is fair in war. Winning on the battlefield has always been merely a means, not the goal. If I can accomplish it through a stratagem, why should I do it on the battlefield?” 725

“Ordinary people shrink from difficulties, killing those without powerful backers and hastily calling the matter settled. I, Li Chen, will do the opposite and pick the hardest bones to crack!” 1236