Chen Yu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Chen Yu (陈煜)
Alias(es)	“Smiling Tiger”; “Dao Sect lapdog”—labels used by White Lotus Sect members 177 181
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Age	18 at introduction; 21 upon reaching the second layer of Foundation Establishment 1 202
Origin	Heishui County, Xun Prefecture, Xia Kingdom; possesses memories of a previous life in another world 1
Affiliation	Dao Sect; Heavenly Union Association; Nine-Bend Peak under Elder Yun 46 167 172
Occupation/Role	Inner Sect disciple; Nine-Bend Peak’s Senior Master Brother; poison researcher 167 171
Cultivation	Second layer of Foundation Establishment 202
Spiritual Root	Initially a false spiritual root, also called a false spirit embryo; later identified as a five-attribute mixed spiritual root 2 169 202
Status	Alive; seeking to relinquish his leadership position at Nine-Bend Peak 202
First Appearance	“Who Said Yin Qi Wasn't Qi?” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Mortal, −1/10	1 2	Begins in a severely depleted body. Discovers that cultivating amid the Mass Burial Grounds’ yin qi generates system experience.
Qi Refining, first layer	2	Allocates 11 experience points. The breakthrough restores his body and enables him to circulate spiritual power through his meridians.
Mortal, 0/10 — deliberate regression	5	Allows Yun Miaozhen to drain his cultivation over two days, restoring his faster experience-gain rate at the burial grounds.
Qi Refining, third-layer peak	7 17	Allocates 99 stored experience points after the Qi Guiding Art reaches its limit. His third-layer progress is later shown as 39/40.
Qi Refining, fourth layer, 9/50	17	Uses Ah Zhen’s spirit essence as a cultivation catalyst, then spends ten points while retaining forty to avoid conspicuously rapid advancement.
Qi Refining, fourth-layer peak, 49/50	26	Allocates the remaining forty points before beginning attribute-specific cultivation.
Qi Refining, fifth-layer peak	31	Masters the Qi-Concealing Art, then allocates sixty points earned through the Flame-Transforming Art.
Qi Refining, sixth layer, 20/70	44	Cultivates the Earth-Warding Art while buried in soil, aided by two Qi Refining Pills. Allocates twelve points and gains access to flame transformation.
Qi Refining, sixth-layer peak, 69/70	53	Allocates forty-nine points. The Earth-Warding Art’s protective gang qi becomes available on his skin.
Qi Refining, seventh layer, 3/80	56 57	Earns experience by pressing a controlled flying sword against his dantian while cultivating the Heavenly Blade Art, then allocates four points.
Qi Refining, seventh-layer peak, 79/80	61	Combines Heavenly Blade cultivation with renewed practice of his fire and earth arts, using three Qi Refining Pills.
Qi Refining, eighth layer, 1/90	72 73	Seventeen spirit herbs and wood-attribute spirit essence make Evergreen cultivation practical. Allocates two points to break through.
Qi Refining, ninth layer	85	Cultivates for two days using Qi Refining Pills and supreme-grade Heart-Calming Grass, advancing from the eighth-layer peak.
Qi Refining, ninth layer, 3/100; five elemental arts perfected	98	Exploits the Nether Ruins Sect’s elemental cultivation chamber. Completes his remaining elemental arts and accumulates ninety-six allocatable points.
Foundation Establishment threshold, 99.99/100	100	Practices the Origin-Returning Foundation Establishment Art, combines all five attributes, and forms his first strand of Foundation Establishment true qi.
Foundation Establishment, first layer	99	Takes the exceptional-grade Foundation Establishment Pill to overcome the final barrier. Retains the abilities granted by his Qi Refining arts.
Foundation Establishment, first layer — true qi partially liquefied	131	Uses Poison No. 38 and heart-calming grass to cultivate the Foundation Establishment section of the True Essence Profound Canon, then allocates twenty points.
Foundation Establishment, first layer — fire spirit seed	150	Absorbs true essence fire while practicing the True Yang Technique. Sixteen allocated points form a fire seed and refine his spirit embryo’s fire attribute.
Foundation Establishment, first layer — metal cultivation advanced	169	Shortens the Flowing Light True Art’s circulation route and stores metal true qi in gathering spirit jade. Allocates sixteen points, strengthening his meridians and attack speed.
Foundation Establishment, first layer — water spirit formed	182	Uses unusual essence produced while refining Chen Hong to cultivate the Water Spirit Mystical Method. Allocates sixteen points, completing his fourth elemental seed.
Foundation Establishment, second layer, 0/100	202	Completes Yi Wood Heart Sutra cultivation and forms a wood spirit seed. His divine-sense range expands by nearly ten meters; all five seeds can now nourish one another.

Background / History

Chen Yu awakens in the Dao Sect after eating an unusual meal and falling asleep in his previous world. His new body belongs to an eighteen-year-old from the Xia Kingdom, one of the young people sent to the sect through its three-year recruitment arrangement. The body had already spent three years as a nominal disciple without forming close friendships or making enemies 1 2.

The Dao Sect randomly assigns male and female nominal disciples as Dao companions. Chen Yu inherits a relationship with Yun Miaozhen and a body weakened by her cultivation-harvesting method. His immediate goal is survival: disciples who fail the approaching assessment face being refined into spirit essence or Spirit Charm Coins 1 2 3 4.

Appearance

Chen Yu has handsome features, a tall, straight-backed figure, and a deep, magnetic voice 3 45.

• Before his first breakthrough: Frail and physically depleted, with dizziness, cold sweat, and weak legs 1 3.
• After reaching first-layer Qi Refining: Appears healthier, more handsome, and gracefully poised 3.
• Sect clothing: Changes from blue nominal-disciple robes into white Outer Sect robes; later wears Inner Sect robes when representing Elder Yun 17 172.
• Black Mist Marsh equipment: Wears a full-face mask with transparent eye lenses and a round protrusion over his mouth and nose 179.

Personality

Chen Yu is inventive, pragmatic, and unwilling to accept inefficient cultivation methods without testing alternatives. He treats cultivation requirements as conditions he can reproduce for his system: a quilt supplies heat, burial supplies earth pressure, and a sword pressed against his abdomen supplies the sensation of metal sharpness. His willingness to experiment extends to painful poisons and deliberately surrendering cultivation when doing so improves his future gains 5 26 41 56 131.

Secrecy usually matters more to him than recognition. He hides his cultivation, avoids collecting conspicuous treasures, and chooses Liu Jun’s monthly ranking rewards over publicly taking the ranking himself. His caution can be extreme: before confronting Xiao Lei, he prepares a formation containing 121 poison traps and considers an estimated ninety-eight percent kill probability only barely acceptable 45 60 193.

He distrusts both the Dao Sect’s exploitation and the White Lotus Sect’s promises. Although he wants to oppose the Dao Sect, he refuses to become cannon fodder for another faction. His moral restraint is selective: he rejects secretly refining people merely to obtain spirit essence, but considers refining Chen Hong justified when she attempts to kill him through self-detonation 81 121 181 183.

His relationships reveal a warmer side without eliminating his self-interest. He repays Wu Wenjie’s help with medicine and preserves his remains, supports Lü Yanyan’s studies, and works to secure her place at Nine-Bend Peak. Nevertheless, he also uses Wu’s ashes as bargaining leverage and Xiang Baiwei as a shield during combat 102 130 171 194.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation System

Chen Yu’s system tracks cultivation, techniques, experience, and spiritual-root information. Allocated experience becomes spiritual power or true qi and advances his cultivation 2 17 131.

• Simulated cultivation: Reproducing an art’s required sensation or effect can generate experience even when conventional practice would be slow or impractical 26 41 72 169.
• Resource catalysts: Spirit essence can help the system register suitable cultivation conditions without Chen Yu directly extracting its energy 17 69.
• Immediate recovery: Allocating points replenishes depleted spiritual power as well as advancing cultivation 31.
• Technique limits: Individual manuals stop generating experience at their current caps, forcing him to develop additional attributes or obtain higher-realm manuals 7 17 99.
• Unusual stability: His spiritual power resists an external draining effect that affects other disciples; he does not establish whether this comes from his system or cultivation canon 141.

Five-Element Cultivation

His cultivation combines fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. The Foundation Establishment stage eventually produces a spirit seed for each attribute 100 182 202.

Attribute	Principal arts	Documented applications
Fire	Flame-Transforming Art; True Yang Technique	Produces flames and later true flame, which Chen Yu identifies as stronger than spirit flame and useful for combat and artifact refining 44 150.
Earth	Earth-Warding Art; Mountain-Suppressing Technique	Provides protective gang qi. He selects the Foundation Establishment earth art for its defensive emphasis 53 150.
Metal	Heavenly Blade Art; Flowing Light True Art	Supplies sharpness and killing intent; Flowing Light emphasizes fast true-qi attacks and improved weapon performance 99 168 169.
Water	Azure Sea Art; Water Spirit Mystical Method	Enables water condensation and later forms a water spirit in his dantian 99 182.
Wood	Evergreen Art; Yi Wood Heart Sutra	Uses medicinal potency and plant essence for cultivation; retains gentle, rejuvenating properties after Foundation Establishment 69 99 201.

• Elemental nourishment: At second-layer Foundation Establishment, he successfully passes essence through the five seeds in a continuous nourishing cycle 202.
• Elemental counters: Uses attribute relationships to assess opponents, but lacks a suitable wood art when facing Xiao Lei’s earth defenses 194.
• Attribute bottlenecks: His mixed root produces metal true qi slowly, and some arts require an internal seed or spirit that he cannot initially form 133 169 171.

Qi-Concealing Art

Chen Yu gathers his power within his dantian, meridians, and acupoints to present a misleading cultivation level 31.

• Commonly disguises himself as a fourth-layer Qi Refining disciple even after reaching Foundation Establishment 57 99 102.
• Later presents himself as a sixth- or seventh-layer Qi Refiner while preparing for and entering the Inner Sect 151 180.
• The art is described as capable of hiding cultivation from most Foundation Establishment cultivators when spiritual energy is not being used 26.
• Concealment is not absolute: Xiao Lei detects him through both his concealment art and the Black Mist Marsh’s mist 195.

Flying Sword Technique and Divided Attention

Chen Yu remotely controls swords for attacks, cultivation experiments, and concealed-weapon delivery 54 56 64 171.

• Early range: Can control his sword within one hundred feet after mastering the technique 56.
• Precision: Foundation Establishment makes sword control more agile and reduces its true-qi consumption 169.
• Two-sword control: Practices the Distraction Technique for two months and learns to control two flying swords simultaneously; a third remains a training goal 171.
• Integrated weapons: Installs hidden-arrow devices in the Nine Springs Sword and a mid-grade Spirit Sword 171.
• Combat limitation: Greater raw power does not compensate for his initially inferior close-combat experience against Elder Sun 143.

Movement and Escape Arts

• Wind-Riding Art: Lightens his footwork, supports short-distance wind-riding, and helps him evade attacks or lose followers 35 57 73 143.
• Water Escape Technique: Mastered by second-layer Foundation Establishment; lets him turn his body into water and slip into a body of water 202.
• Immortal Ruins retreat: Uses entry into the ruins to interrupt dangerous encounters. Elder Sun recognizes that Chen Yu may have to reappear at the same location 143.

Divine Sense

Chen Yu masters the Soul Refining Art by using a bright flash to create afterimages, then mentally reconstructing his surroundings during meditation 201.

• Initially surveys a radius of roughly sixty to seventy meters; the second-layer breakthrough adds nearly ten meters 201 202.
• Perceives rooms and nearby spaces with his eyes closed and supports more precise flying-sword control 201.
• Can exert mental pressure on opponents with lower cultivation; destructive divine-sense attacks require additional specialized arts 201.
• Cannot probe the mysterious coffin within the Immortal Ruins 201.

Poison Research and Weapon Crafting

Chen Yu studies the ancient Poison Scripture and develops poisons, delivery mechanisms, and cultivation regimens from its knowledge 129 131 171.

• Fire-Poison Powder: Produces an advanced formula accepted by Elder Yun, securing permission for Lü Yanyan to remain at Nine-Bend Peak 171.
• Poison No. 57: Uses it against Elder Sun and leaves a sample that Elder Yun later examines without knowing its creator 171.
• Cultivation poison: Combines Poison No. 38 with heart-calming grass to compress true qi; written instructions compensate for the poison’s memory-erasing effect 131.
• Herbal incapacitation: Prepares ghosttail grass powder for intense itching and soul-trapping flower essence for dizziness and sleepiness 121.
• Concealed devices: Begins artifact modification and develops sword-mounted arrow launchers 120 143 171.
• Research restraint: Deliberately avoids recreating the lost original Fire-Poison Powder formula because excessive success could attract suspicion 167.

Formations and Spirit Refinement

• Star-Dipper Maze Formation: Deploys a ten-meter-radius formation containing 121 traps made from twenty-one poisons before confronting Xiao Lei 193.
• Formation resources: Obtains the nearly lost Array Dao Manual, the formation diagram, and its materials during the Black Mist Marsh expedition 198.
• Rhyme Spirit Refinement Method: Uses Foundation Establishment true qi to contain and refine Chen Hong’s destabilizing spiritual power, preventing her attempted self-detonation 181.
• Unexpected cultivation benefit: The resulting essence contains traces of spirit embryo essence and enables rapid Water Spirit Mystical Method cultivation 182.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Immortal Ruins Jade Pendant / Key — Grants private access to the Immortal Ruins. After refining it with Foundation Establishment true qi, Chen Yu can eventually enter directly from his residence rather than traveling to Little Bamboo Peak 45 99 108.
• Hidden key from Yun Miaozhen’s bedding — Discovered in a compartment beneath her sleeping place and retained because of her mysterious identity 13.
• Ah Zhen spirit essence — The inferior spirit essence refined from Yun Miaozhen. Chen Yu names it after her and initially uses its pure power as a non-depleting cultivation catalyst 13 17.
• Glowing Jade — Flares intensely when supplied with spiritual power, then crumbles. Used to blind opponents, distract followers, and support his divine-sense experiment 10 12 55 201.
• Standard-issue longsword — His basic Outer Sect weapon; blackens its blade for the nighttime duel with Liu Jun and later incorporates a concealed launcher into an ordinary-looking sword 17 57 143.
• Immortal Ruins Spirit Sword — A powerful sword Chen Yu initially leaves behind to avoid suspicion, later retrieves using his Storage Ring, and employs against an assailant 45 62 64.
• Nine Springs Sword — A mystic-grade weapon obtained in the Alchemy Hall; later fitted with a Hidden Weapon Device 169 171.
• Storage Ring — Allows him to conceal and transport treasures, herbs, weapons, and battlefield spoils 62 64.
• Flowing Cloud Robe — A defensive garment he estimates to be at least mid-grade Spirit Artifact quality. Protects him from serious injury in Black Mist Marsh, but exhausts its energy after blocking a Foundation Establishment attack 76 198.
• Heavenly Union Association Identity Token — Confirms his membership and provides access to Association facilities 46 49.
• Poison Scripture — Ancient reference containing powerful poison methods; unfamiliar terminology and materials initially impede his study 129.
• Gathering spirit jade — Stores metal-attribute true qi for Flowing Light cultivation 169.
• Cultivation pills and herbs — Qi Refining Pills triple his experience-gain rate for two hours; later resources include True Essence Pills and high-quality herbs from the Immortal Ruins 44 144 201.

Relationships

• Yun Miaozhen / Ah Zhen — Sect-assigned Dao companion who harvests his cultivation. After her death, he receives her spirit essence and uses it to advance; her hidden possessions later connect him to wider mysteries 1 3 13 17.
• Lü Yanyan — Senior sister, information source, cultivation companion, and increasingly intimate partner. Helps him enter the Heavenly Union Association and manages his wagering plan; he later secures her place at Nine-Bend Peak and assists her Poison Path studies 37 121 167 171.
• Xiang Baiwei — Former neighbor and persistent White Lotus Sect recruiter. Watches his movements and investigates his hidden strength; despite their estrangement and his refusal to join her faction, they cooperate against Xiao Lei 60 81 170 194.
• Wu Wenjie — Fellow expedition member who searches for him despite venomous injuries. Chen Yu repays his concern with an Azure Flower, later preserves his ashes after Elder Sun kills him, and returns them to Ding Yiliu 99 102 130 131.
• Ding Yiliu — Wu Wenjie’s grieving Dao companion. Gives Chen Yu spirit essence, bargains for Wu’s ashes, and offers him two Rhyme Spirits when he returns the remains 130 131.
• Zhang Jiuge / Senior Zhang — Scripture Repository keeper who recommends his main canon and offers cultivation advice. Chen Yu identifies his concealed identity and interprets his damaged condition as a warning about the Inner Sect 69 153.
• Elder Yun — Poison Path mentor at Nine-Bend Peak. Accepts Chen Yu’s improved poison formula, permits Lü Yanyan to stay, and assigns Chen Yu to represent him at an Inner Sect meeting 171 172.
• Sun Shengcheng / Elder Sun — Former sponsor, creditor, and eventual enemy. Attempts to refine Chen Yu into spirit essence; Chen Yu later kills him through a prepared confrontation involving poison 15 69 141 151 171.
• Liu Jun — Tenth-ranked Outer Sect genius whom Chen Yu defeats at night. Keeps his public ranking while surrendering its monthly Contribution Points under a forfeit agreement 58 60.
• Ren Shaohua — Association acquaintance and expedition companion. Supplies useful information about Liu Jun, but later abandons Chen Yu during the Netherdark Sea expedition 55 59 102.
• Shen Fei — Former Eldest Senior Brother who expresses sincere respect for Chen Yu. Chen Yu later seeks him out while hoping to relinquish the leadership position 172 202.
• Xiao Lei — Elder Wu’s true disciple and fellow Black Mist Marsh leader. Becomes a dangerous opponent after discovering Chen Yu’s hidden Foundation Establishment cultivation 173 193 195.
• Chen Hong — White Lotus Sect member who accuses him of betraying her organization. Her attempted self-detonation forces him to use the spirit-refinement method in self-defense 181 183.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc	Major events
Surviving nominal discipleship	Finds system-compatible cultivation in the Mass Burial Grounds, confirms Yun Miaozhen’s harvesting method, and deliberately regresses to maximize experience gains before the assessment 1 3 5 7.
Outer Sect assessment	Conceals his progress until the assessment, defeats the arrogant disciple Zhou Yun using a wooden sword and Glowing Jade, and becomes an official Outer Sect disciple. He is the only one of nearly one hundred provisional disciples to return alive to Little Bamboo Peak 10 12 13 15.
Emerald Cloud Peak and the Immortal Ruins	Establishes a private cultivation routine, obtains access to the ruins, and earns 140 points from exploration. His new wealth attracts petitioners and opportunists, prompting him to seek Association protection 17 36 37 45.
Hidden ranking victory	Exploits Liu Jun’s night blindness to win without revealing his true cultivation. Takes the ranking’s monthly rewards rather than its public title 57 58 60.
Netherdark Sea breakthrough	Prepares secretly for the dangerous expedition, discovers a Nether Ruins Sect cultivation chamber, completes his elemental Qi Refining arts, and reaches Foundation Establishment 85 98 100 99.
Expanded control of the ruins	Finds that the refined pendant permits entry from his residence. Discovers organized stores of artifacts, herbs, pills, materials, and manuals, along with evidence linking the ruins to the Nether Ruins Sect 108.
Outer Sect pressure and Elder Sun	Uses concealed weapons, herbal effects, and Lü Yanyan’s betting pool to manage compulsory sparring. Preserves Wu Wenjie’s remains, develops poison-assisted cultivation, and ultimately kills Elder Sun after the elder attempts to refine him 121 130 131 141 143 151.
Entering the Inner Sect	Studies Zhang Jiuge’s fate, evaluates possible mentors, and advances alongside Lü Yanyan. Becomes Elder Yun’s head disciple at Nine-Bend Peak while continuing to conceal his Foundation Establishment cultivation 153 157 167.
Poison research and sect politics	Secures Lü Yanyan’s place through improved Fire-Poison Powder, represents Elder Yun at the Inner Sect meeting, and is unexpectedly assigned to lead the Black Mist Marsh trial 171 172 173.
Black Mist Marsh	Collects poisonous resources, refines Chen Hong to stop her self-detonation, forms his water spirit, and confronts Xiao Lei alongside Xiang Baiwei. Returns with formation knowledge, rare poison materials, and Elder Jin’s useful manuals 181 182 194 198 199.
Second-layer Foundation Establishment	Develops divine sense, masters Water Escape, completes the Yi Wood Heart Sutra, and discovers that his five elemental seeds can form a continuous nourishing cycle 201 202.

Notable Quotes

“With the system at my side, it doesn't matter how difficult this art is to cultivate. After all, I only need to simulate its cultivation process.” 16

“Does everyone in your White Lotus Sect enjoy giving people nicknames this much? First it was 'Smiling Tiger,' and now it's 'Dao Sect lapdog.' Can't I just be an ordinary person?” 181

“Ten years is too long!” 201

Trivia

• Chen Yu interprets the Immortal Ruins through concepts from his previous life, including “loot, fight, extract” games and possible reward systems 29 31.
• His fondness for chilies becomes part of his cultivation routine and a recurring point of connection with Lü Yanyan 28 53.
• He briefly acquires a stutter after interacting with Liu Jun; it disappears within several days 59 60.
• He continues calling Lü Yanyan “Senior Sister” after becoming Nine-Bend Peak’s Senior Master Brother, while she retains “Junior Brother” for him 171.
• His divine-sense testing inadvertently causes Lü Yanyan to believe something is watching her, prompting her to build a fence around their homes 201 202.