Zhang Wenchang

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Arrival on Big Dipper

Zhang Wenchang was among Ye Fan’s classmates transported from Earth to Big Dipper by the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin. Lu Chen took the Sacred Fruit that would originally have belonged to him, along with two intended for Liu Yiyi 7 9 11.

After surviving the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, Zhang and Liu Yiyi entered Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven. Although the forbidden land had opened his Bitter Sea, its vitality-draining power aged him dramatically 24.

Life at Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven

Zhang spent more than two years at the grotto-heaven with little cultivation progress. Once the elders discovered his poor aptitude, they largely neglected him; fellow disciples openly mocked him. Liu Yiyi protected him and repeatedly persuaded the sect’s experts to help, eventually restoring his appearance from elderly to middle-aged 24 25 26.

When Lu Chen visited, Zhang welcomed him as a fellow Earthling. Watching Lu Chen help Liu Yiyi reach Life Spring rekindled his own hope of escaping stagnation 23 24.

Zhang also longed to return to Earth. Lu Chen told him that a Five-Colored Altar beneath the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land could provide a route home, but Zhang recognized that attempting to reach it with his strength would be fatal 25.

Departure and Clumsy Peak

Lu Chen persuaded Zhang to seek a cultivation inheritance better suited to him. Zhang agreed to leave, but Elder Ma Yun challenged Lu Chen’s claim that another path could help him. Zhang defended his friend and insisted that leaving was his own decision 25.

When nearby disciples began humiliating Zhang, Lu Chen silenced them, struck Ma Yun away, and carried Zhang out of the sect. During several days in the Yan Kingdom Capital, Lu Chen restored his appearance to that of a man in his twenties, while explaining that the lost decades of lifespan could not be recovered 26.

At Taixuan Sect’s Clumsy Peak, Li Ruoyu acknowledged Zhang’s weak innate foundations but recognized his own younger self in him. He offered to accept Zhang as his first disciple, and Zhang formally bowed to become his student 27.

Lu Chen later bade farewell to Zhang and Li Ruoyu before leaving Taixuan Sect 28.

Ye Fan later reunited with Zhang at Clumsy Peak while visiting with Ji Ziyue. Through Zhang, he learned something of Lu Chen’s activities after their separation 32.

Family on Earth and Homeward Journey

Zhang had left a wife and an unborn child on Earth. Throughout his separation from them, he worried about them day and night. During Lu Chen’s own visit to Earth, Lu Chen went to Zhang’s home and secretly used his powers to offer help; the precise assistance was not specified 192 283.

Nearly twenty years after the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin brought the classmates to Big Dipper, Ye Fan obtained Earth’s starry-sky coordinates from the Eternal Eclosion Ancestral Temple and arranged a homeward journey using an Eternal Kingdom spaceship. He brought Zhang from Clumsy Peak and Liu Yiyi from the Jade Pool Holy Land to join the expedition 283.

Zhang was visibly excited at the prospect of finally seeing his wife and child again, observing that his child must now be grown. Lu Chen warned the travelers that Earth’s cultivation environment was poor but declined to accompany them. Zhang departed for Earth with Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Liu Yiyi, and Ji Ziyue; his arrival and family reunion were not depicted in the provided passages 283.

Original Timeline and Foreknowledge

The narrative distinguishes Zhang’s current path from the course of events remembered by Lu Chen:

• Delayed protection: In the original course, Ma Yun reluctantly accepted Zhang as a disciple only after Ye Fan demonstrated his strength. Ma Yun died a few years later, leaving Zhang without protection again 25.
• Life as a tavern keeper: Unable to advance beyond Bitter Sea, Zhang entered the mortal world and opened a small tavern. Jade Cauldron disciples continued to humiliate him until another encounter with Ye Fan offered a turning point 25.
• Earlier opportunity: Lu Chen brought him to Li Ruoyu several years ahead of that course, sparing him years of humiliation and settling his self-imposed debt for the diverted Sacred Fruit 28.
• Potential through the Way of Nature: Lu Chen believed Zhang could eventually reach the world’s highest cultivation peaks, but only through exceptionally slow progress—breaking through and extending his life when his lifespan was nearly exhausted. This is foreknowledge, not a breakthrough shown in these chapters 24.
• Foreseen later success: Lu Chen’s early recollection included Zhang among the classmates who would achieve substantial cultivation success. The passage described almost all of that group as eventually reaching the pinnacle of the Great Saint realm, rather than documenting a present advancement for Zhang 9.

Appearance

• After partial restoration: Middle-aged, with graying hair and a haggard face when Lu Chen found him at Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven 23.
• After Lu Chen’s treatment: Regained the appearance he had when leaving Earth, resembling a man in his twenties 26.
• Rejuvenation limit: His youthful appearance did not restore the lifespan consumed by the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land 26.

Personality

Zhang is honest, reserved, awkward, and poor at expressing himself. His meek apologies fail to deter the disciples who bully him, and he initially assumes that his poor aptitude makes him destined for an ordinary life 23 25 26.

His caution reflects a clear understanding of his weakness: he knows that even the forest outside the forbidden land could kill him. Nevertheless, he desires cultivation success and immortality. Lu Chen’s encouragement gives him enough confidence to leave the grotto-heaven and try another path 24 25.

He is deeply grateful for sincere help. After Lu Chen restores his appearance, Zhang solemnly promises to remember the kindness and places complete trust in his guidance 26.

His pursuit of cultivation does not erase his attachment to his family. He worries continually about his wife and child on Earth and responds with visible excitement when a practical opportunity to return finally appears 283.

Relationships

• Li Ruoyu — Master. Accepts Zhang as his first disciple and teaches that understanding the Dao can overcome poor innate foundations. Zhang remains associated with Clumsy Peak when Ye Fan collects him for the journey to Earth 27 283.
• Lu Chen — Fellow Earthling and benefactor. Rescues him from Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven, restores his youthful appearance, and introduces him to Li Ruoyu. Later secretly helps Zhang’s family during a visit to Earth 25 26 27 192.
• Liu Yiyi — Former classmate and fellow Jade Cauldron disciple. Protects him from mistreatment and pleads with the elders for help restoring his appearance. Later joins him on the homeward expedition to Earth 24 25 26 283.
• Ye Fan — University classmate. Reunites with him at Clumsy Peak and learns about Lu Chen through him. Later brings Zhang from Clumsy Peak to join the spaceship journey to Earth 23 32 283.
• Ma Yun — Elder who brought him into Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven. Neglects his development and challenges his departure 25 26.
• Wife and child — Unnamed family members left behind on Earth. His child was unborn when he departed, and concern for both remains central to his desire to return home 283.
• Pang Bo and Ji Ziyue — Companions on the expedition from Big Dipper to Earth aboard the Eternal Kingdom spaceship 283.

Notable Quotes

“Cultivation doesn't really mean cutting off all affection and desire like the immortals in legends!” 25

“Being able to look young again is already more than enough for me. I'll remember your great kindness forever.” 26

“At last, the day has come when I can return. When I left back then, my child hadn't even been born. Now they must be all grown up!” 283

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