Li Tianming

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Tianming (李天明)
Alias(es)	Old Li; Principal Li; Professor Li; “Uncle Li” to Xiaofei 97 200 395
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ju’an School; Southern Glory / Nanrong University; Tiger Cards; later the United Government’s principal research collaborator 48 480 823 1733
Occupation/Role	Principal; professor; former university associate dean; Sequence researcher; Qin Siyang’s mentor and Insurance Provider 48 97 138 1139
Sequence Ability	Mimic; publicly registered as Shaman 48 1139
Tiger Cards Rank	Diamond Ace 823
Family	Li Pengfei (“Xiaofei”), son; Ye Hongqing, ex-wife 165 392 395
Status	Alive in his latest documented appearance 1931
First Appearance	Chapter 48 — earliest appearance in the provided passages 48

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Sequence Level Three	49	Reveals his level while restraining Qin Siyang and demonstrating the level-two skill Primordial Totem.
Sequence Level Five	1140	Retrospectively explains that he needed to remain at level five while modifying his body into a multi-sequence “vessel”; premature advancement would impose restrictions that hindered the research.
Origin Sequence Level One	1139 1140 1188	Secretly survives his first God-Worship Ritual and enters the Path of Self-Verification. Can now mimic skills normally acquired on the Path of the Believer.
Domain Sequence — level unspecified	1755	Identified among the Domain Sequence users defending the Eighth Domain’s river border; becomes a colossus hundreds of meters tall.
Domain Sequence Level Four	1914	Reaches level four during a three-month expedition involving Large Gods’ Succession Trials, accelerated by Qin Siyang’s divine feast fragrance.

• Guo Jiuxiao repeatedly treats Li as an ordinary Sequence Level Six user during their battle, but Qin explicitly identifies his actual rank as Origin Sequence Level One 1179 1188 1203.
• Li obtains primordial starshine after being killed and revived during a Skywalking Lion-Eagle encounter; no subsequent level increase is stated there 1301.

Background / History

Academic downfall

Li was an admired professor and former university associate dean before being implicated in a case involving dozens of deaths. His public record attributed the deaths in Area No. 14121 to negligence and recorded his transfer out of the Education Bureau to become Ju’an School’s principal. Later accounts identify the case as a framing orchestrated by Guo Jiuxiao 48 138 165 528.

Following his conviction, Li’s forum accounts were banned and he was forbidden from contacting other Sequence Ability Users. His research team disbanded, and he spent two years isolated on the Safe Zone’s outskirts without even contacting his son. Ye Hongqing’s apparent betrayal further damaged his willingness to trust former associates 165 166.

Partnership with Qin Siyang

Qin discovered Li’s hidden abilities while snooping through his computer. Li noticed the altered unread-message count, prevented Qin from leaving with Earth Bind, and abandoned his harmless-principal façade to insist on an honest conversation 48 49.

Their initial partnership involved negotiated favors. Li protected Qin beyond the Safe Zone, assisted with God-Hunting Points and Special Admission, and helped resolve matters involving Chen Fenghe. In return, he expected Qin to find a Deceiver connected to his framing 93 97 140.

The arrangement became a close friendship. Qin entrusted Li with a Crimson Crystal for research and publicly acknowledged his protection and support. Later, Qin recognized the security he felt around Li as something resembling the familial affection he had never experienced 199 200 355.

Return to research

By the research conference, Li had cleared his name but expected to rebuild his team alone. Wu Yu, Chang Tianxiang, Chang Tianxiong, Lu Daoxing, and Hao Liang publicly volunteered to work under him again; Zhang Kuang followed. Their unconditional support convinced Li that Ye’s betrayal did not represent everyone he had known 165 166.

Li recovered artifacts and research results hidden before his downfall. With Qin’s help, he gradually acquired the rare materials required for his remaining major project, eventually confirming that he had everything needed and withdrawing into concentrated research 256 528 529 968.

Family crisis and renewed resistance

Li Pengfei returned with memories altered so thoroughly that he could not recognize Li as his father. Zhang Kuang warned that forcing recognition might cause severe, possibly incurable mental illness. Li refused that risk and cared for the boy as “Uncle Li,” later planning to rebuild their relationship through adoption 392 395 787.

His son’s condition weakened his resolve against Guo Jiuxiao and made him consider setting research aside. Qin challenged his reliance on Guo’s supposed restraint. After learning that Guo had sacrificed innocent men in an impersonation scheme, Li finally committed to fighting back 395 407.

Guo later exploited Li’s grief through an illusory hospital ward and claims that Ye Hongqing’s memories had also been altered. Qin defended Li against the resulting self-blame and condemned Guo’s psychological manipulation 783.

Research breakthrough and confrontation

Li secretly completed his God-Worship Ritual, leaving farewell letters with Zhang Kuang beforehand and burning them after surviving. His body-modification research allowed him to wield multiple sequences simultaneously, giving him the confidence to confront Guo 1139.

During their battle, Li revealed more than a dozen simultaneous sequence abilities, some enhanced twice. He destroyed multiple Mirror Image bodies, feigned exhaustion to draw out Guo’s finishing attack, and then overwhelmed the remaining doubles. The provided confrontation ends with his attacks closing on Guo’s exposed original body, without establishing the final outcome 1179 1181 1202 1203.

Later research leadership

Li’s work expanded from personal combat research to artifacts, elite training, and large-scale military support. He eventually became the researcher most relied upon by the United Government, despite holding no official government position. The Three Prosperities Research Institute shifted toward supporting his projects 1465 1633 1733 1910.

He wanted to accompany Qin’s expedition because loved ones were participating, but Qin judged his continued work in the Safe Zone too important to remove him solely for that purpose 1751.

Appearance

• Earlier appearance: Handsome, with flowing long hair in his old profile photograph 48.
• Principal-era appearance: A protruding belly and a bald spot, sharply contrasting with his younger image 48 49.
• Sequence manifestation: A multicolored mask; enhanced combat states turn it scarlet or pitch-black 49 1179.
• Modified body: Skin gives off a faint golden-silver sheen, while his blood vessels appear red tinged with green 1139.
• Combat transformation: Can enlarge into a metallic-looking giant; at Domain Sequence, his height reaches hundreds of meters 1180 1755.

Personality

Li combines a sharp tongue and calculating pragmatism with genuine loyalty. He bargains over details as small as travel fuel, investigates potential partners, and initially withholds his Vine Heart until former colleagues demonstrate that they will support him without reward 78 182.

His caution comes from experience rather than timidity. Having been framed and stripped of his connections, he repeatedly warns Qin that powerful enemies can destroy both a person and their support network. His protective anger is especially fierce when Qin enters military-family disputes that have already killed thousands 199 480.

Li is not free of greed or resentment. He envies Qin’s hunting profits and later admits that he briefly considered exploiting Qin’s death to seize materials for revenge. Rather than conceal that temptation, he uses the confession to explain why Qin should never unnecessarily test another person’s loyalty 60 525.

Family and friendship remain stronger priorities than ambition. He refuses dangerous memory restoration for Xiaofei, fears abandoning an injured colleague even when impersonation is possible, and quits smoking because he has a child at home. His distress can make him passive, but threats to those close to him can also restore his determination 259 392 395 407 953.

Li describes himself as an atheist and materialist. He studies theology because it offers the most internally consistent available account of the God-Worship Ritual—not because he accepts its religious claims 308.

Abilities & Skills

Mimic

Li’s true sequence ability reproduces skills from sequences he has studied deeply. Unlike a Deceiver’s imitation, the reproduced abilities have real effects and can be modified 1139.

• Uses abilities from multiple sequences simultaneously, including Shaman vines, Mental Mentor mind control, and Pharmacist poisonous mist 1139.
• Eventually operates more than a dozen sequence abilities at once 1181.
• Can imitate Path of the Believer skills after entering the Origin Sequence 1139.
• Cannot imitate unknown Path of Self-Verification skills merely by assuming they exist 1139.
• Differs from Guo Jiuxiao’s Person in the Mirror, which controls other users’ bodies and accesses their abilities through those bodies 1140.

Multi-sequence vessel

Li modifies his own body to withstand incompatible sequence forces. Without sufficient reinforcement and repair, simultaneous imitation strains his organs toward collapse or rupture 1139.

• Yellow-silver star ore increases bodily durability 1139.
• Vine Heart essence is fused into his blood to continuously repair accumulated damage 1139.
• Crimson Crystal and other rare materials support simultaneous imitation and skill optimization 1139.
• The finished research lets him enhance some trump-card skills twice, producing attacks far above his nominal Origin Sequence level 1181 1188.

The project’s documented material requirements include:

• Thunder Snow Wolf fangs.
• Corrosive Black Centipede corrosive fluid sac.
• Ice Crystal Giant Moth ice crystal wings.
• Lava Crocodile lava hide.
• Titan reed inner leaves.
• A whole, fist-sized Crimson Crystal.
• Yellow-silver star ore 266 528.

Shaman support and restraint

Li’s public Shaman identity is backed by a functional repertoire of support and crowd-control skills 48 49 118.

• Earth Bind: Immobilizes Qin with earth around his legs; a formation dozens of meters across restrains an entire Ghost-Faced Heron 49 118.
• Primordial Totem: Raises a wooden pillar covered in totem symbols and strengthens nearby Qin 49.
• Summoned ravens: Seal his office door during their confrontation 49.
• Giant vines: Restrain enemies, carry allies, elevate Li, and launch him toward airborne targets 325 521 1301.
• Early limitation: Li complains that the Shaman repertoire provides support and control but no direct attack suitable for killing the restrained Heron 118.

Enhanced offensive abilities

Ability / Manifestation	Documented application
Red vines and binding totems	Absorb powerful incoming attacks, immobilize a psychic-attacking clone, and tear apart Tier Four Armor 1179.
Crimson Falcon	Seizes an enemy occupied with a mental assault and carries him into Li’s binding formation 1179.
Black flames	Consume a glass-like attacker and its shapeshifting armor 1179.
Black draining vines	Attach to defensive shields and drain their energy before follow-up attacks 1202.
Blue sword formation	Pierces armor and destroys controlled bodies; later deploys more than a hundred light swords 1181 1202.
Radiant defenses and arrows	Blocks a combined black-lightning scythe and destroys three airborne clones through cracks in their armor 1202.
Lava manipulation	Produces lava-coated fists and enormous fireballs; enhanced lava changes from orange-red to dark gold 1180 1181 1202.
Earth Walker	Burrows underground to evade a Tier Four Artifact and reappears behind Guo 1203.

• Twice-enhanced skills bypass the level suppression Guo expects from higher-ranked opponents 1179 1203.
• Li’s four-part fusion combines a lightning spear, ice shield, light-arrow barrage, and three-headed shadow wolf. The wolf devours counterattacking power and intercepts Guo’s artifact 1203.
• The sudden cooldown resets in the battle are assisted by Qin’s Profane Feast; they are not established as an independent property of Mimic 1202.

Research and tactical analysis

• Teaches Qin the God-Worship Ritual, offering grades, breakthrough risks, and the vulnerable transition into the Path of the Believer 307 308 525.
• Analyzes Qin’s Origin Sequence breakthrough and questions whether humanity’s accepted advancement system follows the wrong path 564.
• Recognizes the danger of Adams’s forming third step and directs allies to attack the unfinished structure, successfully preventing its extension 1895.
• With Zhu Haifeng, selects elite trainees from millions of awakened users. Most reach level five within four months; Li treats their exceptional aptitude as possible evidence that awakening deliberately favors already-capable people 1465.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

Personal equipment

• Multicolored Mask — Appears during Shaman skill use and changes color with enhanced combat manifestations 49 521 1179.
• Protective armor — Retrieves hidden God-Hunting Artifacts after returning to Central Glory; Qin also uses an older suit belonging to him 256 326.
• Pure-Brightness Bracelets — Wears numerous bracelets beneath his clothes to prevent Guo from effectively using mental attacks 1203.
• Propulsion Tools — Mounted beneath his feet; provide the final ascent toward the Skywalking Lion-Eagle 1301.
• Crimson Crystal — Receives crystals from Qin for research; they later sign a Sharing Contract over a fist-sized crystal 199 200 529.
• Emergency medicine — Revives Qin after lethal injuries, but warns that such medicine is difficult to manufacture and cannot support unlimited attempts 1301 1393.

Developed or improved equipment

• Vine Heart-enhanced armor — Repairs Qin’s armor and incorporates Vine Heart to improve its protection 342.
• Mindguard — A Tier Five mobile artifact developed for Qin. Enables free aerial movement and assesses incoming mental attacks, releasing a disruptive shock wave when it cannot withstand them 1633.
• Mass-capacity spatial artifacts — Li and fellow researchers develop artifacts capable of accommodating forces exceeding 100,000 personnel 1910.

Relationships

• Qin Siyang — Hunting client turned close friend, research benefactor, and chosen-family figure. Their relationship combines abrasive banter with mutual protection; Qin supplies crucial materials, while Li teaches, equips, and repeatedly revives him 97 199 355 529 1393.
• Li Pengfei / Xiaofei — Son whose altered memories prevent him from recognizing Li. Li prioritizes the boy’s mental health over recovering his own place as father and cares for him as “Uncle Li” 392 395 787.
• Ye Hongqing — Ex-wife whose apparent betrayal devastated his trust. Guo later claims her memories were altered and that she is dead; Qin argues that Li could not reasonably have detected tampering that made the betrayal seem genuine 165 166 783.
• Chen Fenghe — Longstanding supporter and romantic attachment. Li hesitates to burden her with raising his son by Ye, despite Qin pointing out that she had already agreed to help 395.
• Zhang Kuang — Trusted research collaborator and friend. Examines Xiaofei’s memories, helps assess Li’s remaining projects, and safeguards his farewell letters during the secret ritual 392 528 1139.
• Wu Yu, Chang Tianxiang, Chang Tianxiong, Lu Daoxing, and Hao Liang — Former researchers who publicly volunteer to reunite under Li without demanding benefits. Li regards them as brothers rather than merely professional assets 165 166 259.
• Lu Daoxing — Fellow professor whose weapons and assistance support Li and Qin. Li is unwilling to abandon him when an apparent injury may be an impersonation trap; later, Li shares in mourning his death 259 326 1394.
• Guo Jiuxiao — Research rival and principal enemy. Frames Li, uses impersonation and psychological torment against him, and threatens his family. Their opposing research develops into a direct battle between multi-sequence imitation and multiple controlled bodies 528 783 1140 1179 1203.
• Zhao Longfei — University principal and ally with whom Li clashes over Qin’s safety. Li later thanks him for setting aside their differences to rescue him 480 787.
• Zhong Dingming — Senior professor who once defended Li against the framing. Li initially refuses to repay that kindness with coercion, but later confronts him as family threats and ore shortages worsen 529 823 849 852 853.
• Zhu Haifeng — Collaborator in selecting and training elite Sequence users; later fights beside Li at the Eighth Domain’s border 1465 1755.

Notable Quotes

“If saying something serves no purpose, why say it?” 166

“You can never go wrong by being cautious.” 199

“When theory doesn't match reality, only a stupid ass would question reality!” 1202

“Here's an old saying for you: technology is the greatest combat power.” 1203