Lu Mian

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Lu Mian (陆眠)
Alias(es)	Ghost King — a supernatural disguise used against the Thousand Blades Gang 136.
Species/Race	Human; a transmigrator who acquires Weird Being abilities and ghostly transformations 136 156 181.
Gender	Male 51.
Age	Eighteen when seeking a Foundation Establishment method 107.
Origin	Southern Sky County, as stated in his introduction to Chen Xiuzhu 2.
Affiliation	Sunflame Sect, Songmingzi’s lineage; Sunflame Daoist Grounds in Martial Might Commandery City 97 132 133.
Former Affiliations	Dust-Returning Courtyard; Falcon Guard, Sixteenth Squad 17 20 60.
Occupation/Role	Former corpse collector and Falcon Guard; Sunflame inner disciple, chief of the local Daoist Grounds, and ruler of Martial Might Commandery City 2 97 133 160.
Cultivation Realm	Fourth Realm: Fate Mansion, also translated as Life Mansion; subsequently advances through two unspecified minor stages 191 211.
Innate Talent	Ten Thousand Ghost Furnace 14.
Remaining Lifespan	300 years at the latest explicitly shown status check 211.
Status	Alive after the Four Seas Tavern battle 220.

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Turtle Fist — mastered	6	Seven days of practice and improved nutrition strengthen his blood-qi and resistance to cold.
Snake Fist — learned	7	Bookworm Heart greatly accelerates his understanding of the manual.
Tortoise-Snake Fist — basics	7	Combines Turtle and Snake Fist, generating Tortoise-Snake Force.
Tortoise-Snake Fist — minor mastery	8	Learns to blend the two styles seamlessly; plentiful food supports his growing physique.
Tortoise-Snake Fist — major mastery	14	Blood-replenishing medicine fuels the breakthrough. His lifespan increases from 30 to 40 years, but he remains unranked.
Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade — beginner	21	Reaches beginner level during his first training session.
Iron Shirt — entry level	23	Toughened fascia begins dispersing the force of incoming blows.
Tortoise-Snake Fist — perfection; blood-qi perfection	28	Controls vigorous blood-qi and near-dormant circulation through the harmonized turtle and snake principles.
Iron Shirt — minor mastery	34	Six days of hammer training and medicinal recovery produce iron-wire-like muscles; lifespan increases by five years.
Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade — major accomplishment	45	Breaks through while fighting a crowd of resentful souls; his swings produce tiger-like roars.
Iron Shirt — perfection	52	Squad-assisted mace training, followed by medicinal nourishment, hardens his muscles like steel. Perfecting a second martial art completes his preparation for qi cultivation.
First Realm: Qi Accumulation	53	Converts his abundant blood-qi into balefire qi at the Heaven-Slaying Fiend site, using No Truth to suppress violent impulses.
Fiery Baleful Qi Scripture — sixth level	73	His clone handles missions while his original body cultivates continuously at baleful-energy sites.
Second Realm: Meridian Opening	84 85	Confirmed as a recent breakthrough before leaving Thousand Chimes; his lifespan reaches 100 years. The exact breakthrough is not shown in the supplied passages.
Gluttonous Stomach → Starved Ghost-Swallowing Stomach	95	Spends 50 origin power to gain the ability to consume anything containing spiritual energy and absorb it more effectively.
Bookworm Heart → Book-Reading Wraith Heart, Carved Dragon	95	Spends 50 origin power to deepen textual comprehension and develop new techniques from his insights.
Heavenly Fire Scripture — second level	95	His evolved comprehension and stomach allow him to understand the scripture and absorb dawn solar qi more effectively.
Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade — perfection	95	Perfects the art during his journey to the Sunflame Ancestral Court.
Heavenly Fire Scripture — third level	98	Opens the meridians in his left hand; still limits himself to gentler dawn qi.
Third Realm: Foundation Establishment	118 121	Songmingzi recognizes his concealed cultivation. A subsequent status check records 200 years of lifespan.
Spirit-Eye Wraith Gloom → Spirit-Eye Wraith Seizure	142	Origin-power evolution strengthens perception and illusions and adds temporary mind control.
Ghost Gate — first activation	156	Its transformation raises his combat strength enough to contest the fourth-realm Lü Suhu.
Annihilation Ghost Halberd — basics	160	Quickly comprehends the looted art through Literary Heart, Carved Dragon, establishing another fighting style and concealed identity.
Cultivation — eighth level	162	Reaches the eighth level before investigating the ruined secret realm; he has not yet entered Fate Mansion.
Stone God: Corundum → Jade Marrow	186 187 191	Spends 100 origin power on the evolution; the resulting constitution helps him withstand increasingly scorching sun true qi.
Fourth Realm: Fate Mansion / Life Mansion	191	Establishes a stronger connection with the sun. Sunlight enhances his Mystic Qi and physique, and his lifespan rises to 360 years.
Wood Buddha Gate → Wood Buddha-Hand Gate	191	Spends 100 origin power to form two additional ghost arms.
Life-Seizing Ghost Gate — confirmed in use	207	Absorbed life force strengthens his physique beyond ordinary body-refining methods. He reports having opened three Ghost Gates.
Fate Mansion — two further minor-stage breakthroughs	211	Advances twice within the realm; the individual stage names are not supplied. His remaining lifespan reaches 300 years.
Burning Wind Palm — perfected	218 219	Understands its ultimate principle, Flying Embers, which burns blood essence for exceptional explosive strength.

Background / History

Lu Mian is a transmigrator living in a body whose original owner became separated from his family. He identifies himself as being from Southern Sky County and enters the Dust-Returning Courtyard under Captain Chen Xiuzhu. His earliest documented circumstances include a cramped, damp stone room in the Refugee District and Black Snake Gang demands for protection money 2 4 17 181.

His corpse-collecting work exposes him to supernatural transformations, but also provides opportunities to acquire unusual powers. After surviving the transformation of a resentful scholar, he obtains Bookworm Heart and uses it to accelerate his martial training. He eventually moves from low-status corpse collection into the Guard Hall, then the Demon Extermination Palace and the Sunflame Ancestral Court 7 17 60 97.

Despite his increasing independence, he continues searching for the original owner’s relatives. Chen Xiuzhu initially undertakes the search; after Chen’s death, Lu Mian asks Zhuang Shen to continue it in the quarantine zone 17 61.

Appearance

Lu Mian develops into a tall, powerfully built young man through sustained nourishment, martial training, and cultivation. His usual appearance can change substantially through disguise techniques or Ghost Gate activation 14 51 156 173.

• Early clothing: Thin gray corpse-collector robes; he also smears ash on his face to conceal his improved health 6.
• Sect robes: Pale gold robes patterned with crimson suns 98.
• Ghost King disguise: A mask, spectral horse, and ghostly presentation designed to make him resemble an evil spirit 136.
• Ghost Gate form: Over three meters tall, with crimson eyes, swollen muscles, ashen skin, and numerous ghostly markings 156.
• Cultivation-induced changes: His blood becomes hotter than boiling water while he practices the Divine Radiance Scripture 160.

Personality

Lu Mian is patient, suspicious, and intensely self-reliant. He hides his early gains, tolerates humiliation until retaliation becomes practical, and avoids accepting favors that might draw him into a faction. He questions apparently generous behavior and repeatedly keeps his original body away from dangerous public situations 6 9 21 97 134.

His pursuit of strength is disciplined rather than comfortable. He endures brutal body-tempering exercises, spends heavily on nourishment, and even uses No Truth to negate his own resistance to monotonous cultivation. He treats greater power and access to resources as necessities for survival 22 51 73 84.

He is ruthless toward enemies but capable of loyalty and compassion. He shares food with refugees, discreetly supports Zhuang Shen, and avenges Songfengzi. Conversely, he kills escaping attackers to prevent future danger and later uses coercion, executions, and altered loyalties to secure his rule 25 34 74 117 160.

Abilities & Skills

Ten Thousand Ghost Furnace

His central talent allows him to absorb dissipating supernatural power in exchange for lifespan. Origin power provides a separate means of evolving acquired abilities 7 94 95.

• Absorbing the scholar’s power costs ten years; several Fierce Spirit abilities cost thirty; Wood Buddha Gate and Corundum each cost fifty 7 53 103 130 170.
• Cultivation and martial breakthroughs replenish or extend his lifespan 14 34 85 121 191.
• He can refuse an absorption when the ability does not justify its cost 43.
• Evolution costs increase: upgrading his already-evolved stomach requires 300 origin power, exceeding his available supply at the time 186.

Gluttonous Stomach

Also rendered as Starvation Ghost Stomach, this ability rapidly extracts nourishment and medicinal essence. Its evolution, Starved Ghost-Swallowing Stomach, extends that capacity to substances containing spiritual energy 14 95.

• Makes medicinal absorption faster and more efficient than that of ordinary practitioners 14.
• Enables daily Qi-Nourishing Pill consumption despite the pharmacy’s advice to wait fifteen days between doses 22.
• Repairs damage from body-tempering exercises and combat when supplied with sufficient nourishment 22 52 159.
• Supports solar-qi cultivation and recovery using elixirs and Spirit Stones 95 187.

Bookworm Heart / Literary Heart, Carved Dragon

Bookworm Heart absorbs written knowledge and greatly improves comprehension. Its evolved form adds the ability to develop new methods from thoroughly understood texts 7 95.

• Accelerates martial and cultivation study 7 95 160.
• Absorbing the Tortoise-Snake manual leaves its pages blank 18.
• Helps him discover the ultimate principle of Burning Wind Palm 218.

No Truth / Unfathomable

The context also names this negation-based power Deluded Monk Truth. Lu Mian uses it to reject thoughts, emotions, and imposed influences 28 43 103 134.

• Breaks his fascination with the White-Dressed Woman’s dance 43.
• Suppresses baleful energy’s violent impulses and his own reluctance to cultivate 53 73.
• Counters supernatural amplification of fear and other emotions 103.
• Erases loyalty to Lü Suhu and belief in the Great Void Snake Mother 150 160.
• Helps fabricate the baleful-bone explanation for his cultivation speed 84.

Ghost Eye

Initially acquired as Spirit-Eye Wraith Gloom, then evolved into Spirit-Eye Wraith Seizure, Ghost Eye combines supernatural perception with sensory and mental manipulation 48 142.

• Detects evil spirits and Weird Beings and induces hallucinations through its gaze 48.
• Creates realistic illusions, obscures his presence, and distorts opponents’ perceptions 142 150 168.
• Temporarily controls minds, allowing him to interrogate Wan Quan without the elder remembering the encounter 142.
• Strong-willed or mentally guarded targets are difficult to control; unconscious or illusion-trapped targets are more vulnerable 142.
• Experienced opponents can counter visual deception by relying on other senses, as Lü Suhu does 156.

Mirror Nightmare Clone

Associated with the Faceless One Nightmare ability, the clone substitutes for Lu Mian in missions, investigations, and public affairs 72 85 108 160.

• Earns money and pills while the original body cultivates 72.
• Can impersonate another person; Lu Mian uses it to assume Yun Qizi’s identity 113.
• Lets him investigate Songfengzi’s disappearance and attend dangerous meetings without exposing his original body 108 146.
• Limitation: The clone lacks his supernatural abilities 72 134.
• Its cultivation rises with the original body’s; cultivating through the clone is therefore unnecessary 160.

Ghost Gates

Wood Buddha Gate transforms his body with ghostly energy and greatly increases combat strength. Later forms add extra arms and life-force absorption 130 191 207.

• Its first activation changes his physique and allows him to contest Lü Suhu despite a cultivation disadvantage 156.
• Wood Buddha-Hand Gate: Forms two additional ghost arms 191.
• Life-Seizing Ghost Gate: Strengthens his body through life force taken from slain cultivators 207.
• Ghost Gate activation changes the nature of his Divine Radiance Qi, helping conceal his underlying cultivation method 160.
• By the time he reassesses his fighting style, he has opened three gates and believes his enhanced body can withstand an ordinary fifth-realm cultivator’s magical power 207.

Stone God: Corundum / Jade Marrow

Corundum transforms his flesh and skin into exceptionally hard material. Its evolved Jade Marrow form supports his increasingly demanding solar cultivation 170 186 187.

• Obtained by spending fifty years of lifespan on the Stone God’s power 170.
• Evolves for 100 origin power 186.
• Helps him endure hotter sun true qi and accelerate his approach to Fate Mansion 187.

Other Supernatural Abilities

• Plague Miasma / Sickness-Death Wraith Miasma: Secretly weakens Yu Hao; a sneeze creates the opening for a fatal strike 25.
• Heaven-Slaying Baleful Land: Fierce: Enhances weapons and imbues attacks with baleful energy that affects an opponent’s mind; also helps alter his bones for his fabricated constitution 53 84.
• Heart Specter: Kindling Thought: Ignites an emotion suppressed within another person; he later uses emotional manipulation to stir unrest among the Golden Lion Tribe 103 184.
• Hidden Wraith Form: Conceals him from sight and spiritual detection, making wilderness travel at night safer 162 185.
• Transformation Technique: Changes his face, height, and bearing sufficiently to impersonate Golden Blade 173.
• Shadow binding: Uses shadow ropes to immobilize opponents, including Shu Xing and Lü Suhu 136 156.

Cultivation and Martial Arts

Lu Mian favors close combat, combining powerful blood-qi foundations, body tempering, fire-aspected qi, and supernatural enhancements 53 119 207.

Technique	Function and documented applications
Tortoise-Snake Fist	Harmonizes turtle-like stillness with snake-like movement. Its Tortoise-Snake Sea Suppression palm defeats Zhai Yaoping 8 28 56.
Iron Shirt	Toughens fascia, muscles, and skin. At perfection, a dagger leaves only a faint mark and is itself damaged 23 34 52.
Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade	Fierce, lethal blade art; includes Fierce Tiger Soul-Chaser, used to finish a newly formed Fierce Spirit 11 53.
Fiery Baleful Qi Scripture	Converts blood-qi into powerful balefire qi, but exposes the practitioner to violent impulses 51 53.
Heavenly Fire Scripture	Develops fire-aspected Mystic Qi through solar absorption; initially requires gentler dawn energy 95 98.
Divine Radiance Scripture	Tempers his body with sun true qi and provides a cultivation path extending to the sixth realm, deification 117 160.
Purgatory Asura Blade	Advanced blade art selected at the Ancestral Court; its Asura: Hellbreaker strike is used against Lü Suhu 98 156.
Blazing Wind Fist	Explosive fist art whose Flaming Dragon Pierces the Heart delivers spiraling, fire-imbued force 98 103.
Burning Wind Palm	Its ultimate principle, Flying Embers, exchanges blood essence for explosive power 218 219.
Annihilation Ghost Halberd	Ferocious halberd art obtained from Lü Suhu; gives him a distinct alternative combat identity 160.
Spirit-Nurturing Method	Improves coordination with magical artifacts and increases their power 119 120.
Sky-Splitting Dragon Fist	Obtained after the Man Sen battle; can seize enemies through the Qi Mechanism or kill with overwhelming force. Its mastery is not yet documented 219.

His sun-linked Fate Mansion enhances him in sunlight. Before establishing it, he identifies reduced nighttime power as a likely limitation of this connection 162 191.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Peachwood collector’s token and talisman water — Early tools for suppressing transforming corpses. After entering Qi Accumulation, his balefire qi makes talisman water unnecessary 6 7 64.
• Great Cleaver — Heavy early weapon used against gang members and supernatural threats 20 25 45.
• Golden Melon Hammer — Purchased for fifty taels to train Iron Shirt 21.
• Soft-Scale Silver Armor — Taken from Han Can’s corpse; later shattered during Tian Feiguang’s ambush 26 66.
• Dark Tiger Blade / Black Tiger Heavy Saber — Dark-iron, tiger-headed weapon commissioned by Xu Yi as thanks for saving his life 54 58.
• Baleful Flame Heavy Blade — Heavy weapon used while fighting Lü Suhu 156.
• Black Dragon Halberd — His name for the Heavenly Halberd; used with Annihilation Ghost Halberd techniques 160 168.
• Storage Rings — Claims Liang Chengtian’s rare ring and later obtains a larger one after the Man Sen battle 136 219.
• Evil-Sensing Talismans — Record slain supernatural threats for payment; thirteen marks earn him 1,300 taels on one patrol 23 43.
• Shadow-Treading Ghost Horse — Supernatural mount used for travel, combat, and escape. It helps break the Thousand Blades Gang’s defenses and absorbs much of an impact during the Golden Lion King battle 136 203.
• Black Eagle Banner — Carries it from a post station and raises it at the abandoned Wasteland-Quelling Frontier Pass 162.

Relationships

• Chen Xiuzhu — First captain and martial benefactor. Offers 783 taels and the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade in exchange for eventual revenge against the Black Snake Gang leader; Lu Mian later visits his grave 11 84.
• Zhuang Shen — Rescuer and loyal friend. Lu Mian repays his earlier rescue, supplies him discreetly, and entrusts him with the search for missing relatives 45 61 74 84.
• Sun Feifei — Fellow refugee and Falcon Guard colleague who provides warnings and offers support. Lu Mian appreciates her help but refuses her factional connections and later declines to join her squad 20 21 23 34.
• Shen Ruiwen — Commander and supporter who helps him obtain a qi method and enter the Palace recruitment tournament 50 51 54.
• Xu Yi — Friend and fellow fighter. Saves Lu Mian from the White-Dressed Woman, later receives Lu Mian’s help, protects his involvement in an incident, and gifts him the Dark Tiger Blade 43 51 54.
• Elder Yu — Senior practitioner who recognizes his talent and shares an affinity for Tortoise-Snake Fist 62 63 72.
• Songyangzi — Thousand Chimes branch head who supports his nomination to the Ancestral Court, accepting the fabricated baleful-bone explanation 84.
• Songfengzi — Martial uncle and adviser who offers him refuge in New Sun City. Lu Mian investigates his disappearance and avenges him 100 108 117.
• Songmingzi — Senior lineage mentor who arranges his distant transfer, reveals the ruined secret realm, and introduces him to an artifact refiner 118 119 121.
• Fa Zang — Trusted monk and recurring collaborator. Their shared operations combine Fa Zang’s desire to eliminate evil with Lu Mian’s search for origin seeds 94 124 130.
• Qinghezi — Injured chief of the Martial Might Daoist Grounds, later grand elder after Lu Mian takes charge 132 133.
• Wan Quan — Daoist elder exposed as a mole serving rival powers. Lu Mian manipulates him for intelligence and kills him when he flees 134 142 159.
• He Wen — Merchant-guild leader and pragmatic political ally whose support is constrained by self-interest 140 144 146 211.
• Zhang Hongfei and Zhao Xishan — Trusted administrators who handle much of the city’s routine business while Lu Mian cultivates 160.
• Nangong Zheyue — Spirit Clan ally connected to him through shared interests and dream meetings; helps coordinate operations against tribal and supernatural threats 171 181 191 206.
• Yang Jun — Bullied Agriculture Office boy with whom Lu Mian feels kinship. Lu Mian feeds him and later refuses the aristocratic pressure surrounding his case 161 210.
• Tian Family — Enemies after he kills Tian Sheng. Their revenge effort includes Tian Feiguang’s fatal ambush 60 61 66.
• Lü Suhu and the Void Cult — Rival ruler and allied cult whose exploitation of Martial Might becomes a target of Lu Mian’s campaign 149 150 156 160.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Corpse Collector and Refugee District

• Learns Tortoise-Snake Fist while facing poverty, dangerous corpse transformations, and Black Snake Gang extortion 4 6.
• Acquires Bookworm Heart from the scholar’s supernatural remains 7.
• Kills Luo Shi and his two subordinates, takes twenty taels, and conceals their bodies among the corpses sent for burning 8.
• Enters the Guard Hall among the assessment’s top ten, becoming its first recruit from the Dust-Returning Courtyard 17 18.

Falcon Guard and Palace Recruitment

• Joins the Sixteenth Squad and refuses Yu Hao’s attempt to buy his valuable pills at a fraction of their worth 20.
• Kills Yu Hao’s group when they attempt to murder him in Xu Family Village; subsequently takes Han Can’s armor from his corpse 25 26.
• Chooses independent extermination work under an agreement to kill ten supernatural threats monthly 34.
• Earns 6,300 taels for 63 kills, perfects Iron Shirt, and enters Qi Accumulation 50 52 53.
• Secures the Demon Extermination Palace recruitment place, kills Tian Sheng, and resigns from the Falcon Guard 60.
• Overwhelms Tian Feiguang and his two companions when they ambush him outside the city 66.

Ancestral Court and Sect Conflict

• Conceals his true advantages behind a fabricated baleful-bone constitution and receives nomination to the Ancestral Court 84.
• Evolves his stomach and comprehension abilities during the journey, then gains direct admission as an inner disciple under the changed recruitment rules 95 97.
• Avoids factional recruitment and accepts a quieter posting with Songfengzi in New Sun City 98 100.
• Investigates Songfengzi’s disappearance through his clone and uses Yun Qizi’s identity to maneuver behind the scenes 108 113.
• After taking revenge, leaves the worsening sect conflict through a transfer arranged by Songmingzi 117 118 119.

Martial Might Commandery City

• Rescues the local Sunflame Daoist Grounds from Cheng Xiong and succeeds the injured Qinghezi as chief 131 133.
• Exposes Wan Quan’s betrayal and destroys the Thousand Blades Gang’s elites while disguised as a Ghost King 134 136.
• Uses the unexplained massacre to make rival factions hesitate, then investigates the General’s Mansion and Void Cult 137 142.
• Eliminates the city’s Void Cult strongholds and confronts Lü Suhu, revealing Ghost Gate for the first time 150 156.
• Establishes himself as the city’s ruler while his clone manages affairs and his original body cultivates outside the city 159 160.

Wilds, Tribal Conflicts, and Fate Mansion

• Travels through the Wilds Great Plain, gains Hidden Wraith Form, and defeats Feng Jikong’s group and the Three Fiends of Heavenly Calamity 162 168.
• Gains Corundum and works with Nangong Zheyue against the Golden Lion Tribe, obtaining further origin power 170 171 186.
• Uses evolved Jade Marrow to accelerate solar cultivation and reaches Fate Mansion 186 187 191.
• Hears the unexplained phrase “Zhipu Lie” while attempting to communicate with the sun 191.
• Cooperates with Nangong to eliminate Yi He, removing a threat to Martial Might 206.

Four Seas Tavern Confrontation

• Escalates a dispute with aristocratic families rather than concede to their demands, ordering them to report for City Guard duty 210 215.
• Serves funeral offerings at the banquet and begins killing the assembled patriarchs and their allies 216.
• Fights the fifth-realm Man Sen, using rapid recovery and the blood-essence-burning Flying Embers principle 217 218.
• Survives the battle and obtains Sky-Splitting Dragon Fist. His original body still requires recovery while he returns to reassure his followers 219 220.

Governance

Lu Mian consolidates control over Martial Might through administrative reforms, military organization, and supernatural coercion 160.

Measure	Documented effect
City Guard, Agriculture Office, and General Affairs Office	Reorganizes defense, production, and administration 160.
Contribution system	Allows residents to earn food, money, and supplies through service 160.
Compulsory military service	Forces martial artists at blood-qi perfection into the City Guard 160.
Free martial schools and open weapons sales	Expands ordinary residents’ access to training and arms 160.
Supernatural extermination campaigns	Reduces nearby threats and reported deaths 160.
Resource development	Draws supplies from the Spirit Stone mine and Medicine King Ridge 160 187.
Alteration of loyalty and faith	Uses No Truth to break allegiance to Lü Suhu and remove Void Cult belief 160.

• Ordinary residents experience improved living conditions and often regard him as a savior; hostile factions regard him as a tyrant 160.
• Aristocratic resistance to his military demands culminates in the Four Seas Tavern massacre 215 216.
• He delegates routine administration to Zhang Hongfei and Zhao Xishan rather than interrupt his original body’s cultivation 160.

Notable Quotes

“Anyone who treats me well is a good person. Anyone who treats me badly is a bad person.”
— Explaining his personal definition of morality to Fa Zang 89.

“You think you’re the only one in the first realm?”
— Revealing his concealed cultivation against Zhai Yaoping 56.

“What’s over? The battle is only just beginning!”
— Before opening Ghost Gate against Lü Suhu 156.

Trivia

• His celebrated baleful-bone constitution is fabricated: he alters his bones with Heaven-Slaying Baleful Land and deceives Elder Yu with No Truth 84.
• Even after becoming a powerful cultivator, he continues burning defeated enemies’ bodies according to his Corpse Collector’s rule 168.
• He cremated an unnamed old man, recited the corpse-collector’s passage, and carried the ashes toward the frontier to honor the man’s final wish 123 162.
• He increasingly prefers his new world’s power and opportunities to his former life 140.