Li Ping'an

Biodata

Power Progression

Li Ping'an's documented progression uses melody levels, technique proficiency percentages, fate traits, and the development of bodily secret repositories. His Heaven's Punishment constitution prevents ordinary qi-refining cultivation, but he develops an alternative path through accumulated qi and blood, the Six Mysteries of the Human Body, and Great Dao Runes. The supplied status panels do not assign him a conventional numbered cultivation realm 125 137 175 190 413.

Background / History

Before transmigrating, Li Ping'an was a professional erhu player. He became blind in his new life, grew up in a beggars' den, and remembers neither parent. He raised Old Ox from calfhood and eventually supported himself through street performances. His erhu system awakened six months before the opening chapter 1 2 13.

Initially living in a ruined temple, he survived winter through a self-developed warming exercise. As his system-granted techniques improved, he expanded his musical work to weddings and funerals, though food, lodging, and medicine remained recurring financial concerns 1 2 7 14.

His later travels bring him into contact with the wider cultivation world, where Gu Xizhou identifies him as a Heaven's Punishment One. Rather than following ordinary qi refinement, he develops his bodily repositories and continues accumulating strength through his system, techniques, resources, and sustained practice 125 137 190 236.

He eventually joins Shushan under Qingfeng, becoming Heaven-Reaching Peak's chief and only disciple. Medicine-making, farming, and the restoration of the peak provide a comparatively stable home between long journeys through the mortal and cultivation worlds 268 312 355 431.

Appearance

Li Ping'an has sharply defined features, sun-darkened skin, and a build that is not especially burly. Liu Yun sees steadfast strength in him despite his weathered appearance; cultivation improves his skin and makes him look younger 10 14.

• Eyes: Pale; ordinarily able to make out only blurry outlines within roughly half a metre. Later descriptions also refer to gray or azure eyes and to his use of a Dharma Eye, but do not establish that his ordinary eyesight has been restored 1 6 42 405 452 608.
• Early clothing: A straw hat and shabby vest while busking 1.
• Later clothing: Sometimes wears a blue robe; he also uses a straw rain cape and rain hat when travelling. A later description places him in a blue-green robe embroidered with green patterns and White Deer Leather Boots 20 48 527.
• Eye covering: Wears a strip of black cloth over his eyes while treating an injured couple 47.
• Left arm: Destroyed by Wu Shishun, then regenerated after he consumes Monk Jiyan's Sharira 25 49.
• Apparent age: Much later, an observer judges that he looks no older than thirty despite his formidable abilities and extensive history 579.
• Recognizable travelling appearance: His combination of blue robes, slender build, erhu, bamboo walking pole, and accompanying ox becomes sufficiently distinctive to undermine his attempts at anonymity 101 407.

Personality

Li Ping'an values safety, health, good food, wine, and a quiet home over fame or political power. He wants neither court office nor grand heroic responsibility, and usually avoids unfamiliar dangers. He is willing to pay bandits or protection money when doing so seems less troublesome than fighting 1 9 30 37 42.

His caution does not erase his gratitude or compassion. Miss Wang's kindness motivates him to kill Guo Yu, and he later protects people who have previously robbed him. He honors the agreed bounty split with Xiao Wu, forgives the caravan escorts' earlier disrespect, and releases Pei Zhuxuan after learning her circumstances 5 7 17 40 43.

He remains mild and understated even when others insult or underestimate him. When he decides violence is necessary, however, he can be ruthless: he kills two ambushers and stages their deaths as mutual slaughter to prevent further trouble 13 17 20.

Chen Chusheng's fate exposes the limits of his preference for peaceful living. He respects the boy's courage, searches for him at the front, and kills the cultivator responsible for his squad's deaths. On returning home, he conceals the death from Aliya by saying Chusheng has gone to find his mother 46 48 49.

His generosity is practical rather than indiscriminate. He gives nearby beggars small sums, old coats, and bedding when able, but limits food loans in an impoverished village because he cannot support every household and needs substantial nutrition for his own cultivation 55 208.

He takes accepted responsibilities seriously even when others do not. After agreeing to teach Wang Yi, he distinguishes the boy's disinterest from his own obligation to teach wholeheartedly. Similarly, he continues his street performance after receiving a system reward rather than abandoning his work 55 56.

His caution develops alongside increasing sociability. At Shushan, he cultivates friendships, observes formal courtesies, and gives gifts rather than needlessly making enemies. He gets along with scholars, cultivators, and ordinary travellers without deliberately adopting a lofty or reclusive manner 345 383 384 529.

He can nevertheless hold small grudges and enjoy petty retaliation. After treating an injured disciple at a competition, he lets the man fall before the latter can finish thanking him, amusing Old Ox 277.

Wandering eventually becomes an enduring part of his identity. Although he appreciates Shushan as a home, he does not regard it as his final destination. His reflections connect his continual travel not only to curiosity but also to the boredom and alienation he feels as someone originally from another world 431 516 660.

His reluctance to seek danger does not prevent him from making consequential commitments. He promises to aid the Mist Forest's Demon Slayers even if he cannot obtain reinforcements, and later accepts responsibility for defending a sector of Demon-Suppressing Pass 531 793.

Abilities & Skills

Erhu System

Playing the erhu grants Li Ping'an lifespan, melody experience, techniques, and medicinal knowledge 1 2 7.

• LV1 benefits: Circulation, meridian clearing, warmth, and increased lifespan 1.
• LV2 rewards: Internal cultivation arts, combat techniques, Aura Lock, and the Life-Pulse Powder formula 2 7 17.
• Advancement limit: The system can raise a technique only to 80%; the remaining proficiency requires his own cultivation 13.
• Slowing progress: At LV3, melody experience accumulates much more slowly 28 32.
• LV3 fate rewards: At 500/10,000 experience, receives the white fate Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness, revealing a previously unknown function of the level 55.
• Completion reward: Completing LV3 grants the purple destiny Field Cultivation Technique; subsequent panels identify the melody as LV4 266 291.
• Later bottlenecks: At LV4, progress becomes extremely slow. By the 7,000-year lifespan panel, he reflects that improvements can be separated by years 291 516.

Turtle Breath Technique

An internal cultivation art based on slow, deep breathing that conserves essence, qi, spirit, and bodily energy 3 7.

• Builds internal energy and supports powerful bursts of force 3 7.
• Early on, roughly three consecutive full-strength attacks exhaust him 7.
• Before using Life-Pulse Powder, a four-hour cultivation session leaves him weak and requires at least three days of recovery 13.
• He later practices while walking, coordinating his steps, breathing, and circulation of true qi 18.
• Its breakthrough to 90% restores his ability to fight during the near-fatal confrontation with Wu Shishun 25.
• His accumulated qi allows an explosive release that destroys Wu Peitong's restraining vines 124.
• Advancing from 94% to 95% brings much finer control over gathering and releasing qi and blood. He describes each later breakthrough as a qualitative leap despite the technique's slow progress 220.
• Reaches 98% in the later status panel 516.

Wind-Listening Saber Technique

A system-granted saber technique supported by Li Ping'an's increasingly sharp senses. Without a saber, he uses his walking stick as the weapon 2.

• Enables effective combat despite his extremely limited sight 2 5 6.
• Used to kill Yi Xuan and Guo Yu at the Mandarin Duck Tower 5.
• Reaches a bottleneck at 80%, then advances to 90% through further training 18 32.
• Comprehending new saber intent raises it to 91%; continued cultivation eventually brings it to 98% 82 516.
• In his later battlefield fighting, he favors plain cleaving, pressing, sweeping, and slicing over elaborate technique, using successive strokes to tear apart cages and formations 805.

Saber Draw · Diagonal Rising Unsheathe

A saber-drawing technique initially granted at 20% proficiency. Its name also appears in status panels as “Diagonal Upward Unsheathing” and “Diagonal Rising Draw” 17 18 32.

• Produces a swift, precise strike capable of cutting a falling leaf with a wooden stick 17.
• His saber-drawing stance and rapid staff attack overwhelm Flying Eagle Gang leader Liang Chenggang 20.
• Reaches 63% proficiency by the later Anbei status panel 44.
• Eventually passes the system's 80% threshold, reaching 82%, then 90%, and later 95% 291 336 516.

Aura Lock

A sensory skill resembling thermal imaging. It initially detects warm-bodied living creatures within ten metres 7.

• Lets him perceive an attacker even when a bronze gong interferes with his hearing 13.
• Helps him detect and examine the wounded Liu Yun 10.
• Beyond 50%, allows him to judge an opponent's strength, gathering force, and intended target from bearing, gaze, and emitted vital energy 32.
• Does not guarantee complete assessment: the Western Regions swordsman feels formidable despite having extremely feeble detectable true qi 50.
• Detects the aura of a centipede concealed within a person's body 187.
• Helps him survive Huyan Zhuo's stronger sword attacks during their frozen-river battle 195.
• Later panels generally show further improvement, although their entries are inconsistent: Chapter 336 gives 73% after an earlier 77%, while Chapter 516 includes both 80% and 78% 291 336 516.

Swallow Piercing the Clouds

A lightness technique that improves movement speed and agility 32.

• At 30%, makes his movements sufficiently swift that he believes he could escape another crisis like the Luoshui battle 32.
• Advances to 35% with continued practice 44.
• At 50%, gains the special effect Shrinking Earth into Inches, allowing him to cover five zhang in a single step 170.
• Uses that movement effect to capitalize on openings in close combat, including an acupuncture-assisted attack 224.
• Later reaches 90%, then 95% 413 516.

True Qi Control and Other Skills

• Body-Warming Divine Art: His self-developed method circulates qi and blood to warm his abdomen and frozen limbs 1.
• Fine control: After losing an arm, uses true qi to control the erhu's notes; a wooden stick held in his teeth disguises this during public performances 28.
• Improvised projectiles: Reinforces a water droplet with true qi to knock out an inn worker through a tube; also flicks a leaf accurately enough to knock down a date 28 36.
• Unarmed combat: Shatters a saber with a finger and kills Lu Cheng with a knife-hand strike through the heart 24 35.
• Archery: Fully draws the Heaven-Shaking Bow and fires an arrow through a thick tree trunk 22.
• Medicine: Cleans and dresses wounds, takes pulses, and writes medicinal prescriptions 10 47.
• Music and calligraphy: Retains his professional erhu repertoire and practices handwriting on old newspapers rather than clean paper 2 50.
• Advanced calligraphy: His writing impresses Zhao Ling'er with its forceful spirit; much later, he offers calligraphy in exchange for money at Wenlin Studio 59 600.
• Go: Repeatedly defeats Bo Ning before the latter's sustained study earns a serious victory. He also defeats Prince Heng and Princess Hewan 416 642.
• Cooking and brewing: His cooking attracts Shushan disciples, and he prepares more than thirty distinct dishes for a gathering. He also develops wine-making as a way to reduce expenses 312 374 542.
• Leadership: Organizes more than forty routed soldiers for an ambush against Turkic forces and later accepts a defensive command at Demon-Suppressing Pass 197 793.

Nirvana Sutra

A Buddhist cultivation scripture that helps Li Ping'an manage the foreign true qi left by Monk Jiyan's Sharira 54 55 56.

• Repeated study, aided by Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness, brings self-forgetting contemplation and substantial relief from his qi disorder 56.
• Although the Buddhist qi is not immediately integrated, his recovery makes a recurrence of the previous near-fatal episode no longer a danger 56.
• The residual Buddhist true qi is eventually listed as fully digested, while the Nirvana Sutra remains his recorded cultivation method much later 108 516.

Fate Traits

Heaven's Punishment Constitution and the Six Mysteries

Gu Xizhou explains that a Heaven's Punishment One cannot cultivate in the ordinary manner but possesses exceptionally powerful bodily secret repositories. He proposes placing Great Dao Runes within these repositories as an alternative form of cultivation 125.

• Six repositories: Mud Pellet, Heavenly Drum, Golden Turban, Heavenly Gate, Long Essence, and Mysterious Spring 125 190.
• Qi and blood storage: His secret treasuries can store excess qi and blood that would otherwise reach his body's limits 137.
• Mud Pellet: Reaches 25% completion, then eventually 100%. After his tribulation breakthrough, its circulating vital energy neutralizes a casual attack from Qingfeng 190 316 413.
• Heavenly Drum: Reaches 20%, then 80% 413 516.
• Great Dao Runes: Obtains one fragment during his first visit to Demon-Suppressing Pass and later possesses two 184 413.
• Resource dependence: At an earlier stage, ambient spiritual energy has no effect on him. He can draw power from Spirit Stones and a limited selection of pills, including Qi-Gathering and Qi-Blood Pills 236.
• Later perception: Eventually senses the world's Spirit Qi for the first time; the passage does not specify a new conventional realm 754.

Flying Swords, Enchantment, and Divine Abilities

• Fine Rain control: Erases Kong Yang's lingering presence from the captured sword and learns to move it through concentrated thought. Initial use is tiring and weak, but continued practice improves its combat utility 63 64 65 68.
• Sword-nurturing: Keeping Fine Rain in the Sword-Nurturing Gourd improves the sword and contributes to his own bodily strengthening and flashes of sword intent 129.
• Written enchantments: Uses Liu Yun's Knight-Errant Brush to add characters such as “cleave,” “fire,” and “tranquility” to his arsenal. The “fire” enchantment gives the Staff-Sword a magical attack resembling a dormant fire dragon 96.
• Early enchantment limit: At the time of his experiments, can effectively write only two characters per day; a third produces negligible effects even if he has enough strength to attempt it 96.
• Dharma Eye / Azure Eyes: Uses extraordinary ocular perception in combat and investigation, despite continuing to be described as blind 405 452 516.
• White Jade Capital: Deploys it offensively to overwhelm enemies and break a Minor World, and defensively to block most of an Extraterrestrial Demon's immortal arts 676 708 811.
• Myriad Things Sense: Perceives the Anbei Four Garrisons through this sense after returning home 754.
• Immortal-sword abilities: During his fight with an Extraterrestrial Demon, unleashes successive immortal swords' divine abilities while fighting across changing minor worlds 811.

Medicine, Acupuncture, and Poison-Making

His early practical medicine develops into professional medicine-making and poison refinement at Shushan. Benevolent Healer supplies extensive medical knowledge, while Liu Zongcheng teaches him additional techniques 214 339 345.

• Qi-guided acupuncture: Six needles gather meridian qi and produce a Qi Dispersion effect. A powerful opponent can force the needles out, but the brief disruption still creates an opening 224.
• Treatment experience: Gains Benevolent Healer experience after treating an injured disciple 277.
• Wartime medicine: Assists Medicine Valley disciples in producing healing medicines for the front lines at Bamboo Leaf Peak 339.
• Poison talent: Liu Zongcheng regards his talent for poison-making highly and believes Qingfeng fails to make full use of it 345.
• Experimental tools: Uses unfamiliar medicine-making apparatus to combine potent poisons. His work unsettles an injured woman's gu insects, but tasting the poison makes him turn green and collapse, showing that experimentation is not without risk 437.

Divination

Li Ping'an studies divination with the aid of Single-Minded Devotion and Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness. Each successful emergence of a trigram result consumes a small amount of origin qi, described as the cost of communicating with heaven and earth 519.

By the winter of his second year of study, he progresses from trivial questions to divining particular people and events 519.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Erhu and stool — His livelihood and means of system progression; Old Ox carries the stool with his horns 1.
• Walking sticks — Serve as mobility aids and substitute weapons. Liu Yun gives him a bamboo cane with a cloth-wrapped end and a bell hanging from a red cord 2 19.
• Azure Sky / Azure Heaven Saber — Borrowed from Chen Shun's father's treasure cellar. A long, narrow, slightly curved weapon with an azure sheen; shattered during the fight with Wu Shishun 22 25.
• Heaven-Shaking Bow — Obtained alongside the saber and used against Lu Cheng, the hunched cultivator, and Wu Shishun 22 24 25.
• Nine blades — Carried for the confrontation with Yang Kai; eight are broken by the flying sword before Li Ping'an delivers the killing slash 48.
• Life-Pulse Powder — Restores depleted strength and enables repeated cultivation sessions. Its expensive ingredients repeatedly strain his savings, especially in the Anbei Four Garrisons 13 14 32.
• Monk Jiyan's Sharira — Recovered from a hidden cache inside the City God Statue. Consuming it restores his missing left arm, but not his sight, and leaves unfamiliar true qi inside him. That residual Buddhist true qi is eventually fully digested 31 49 108.
• Wine gourd — Added to his belongings after he learns to drink; he frequently shares wine with Old Ox 2 17.
• Fine Rain / Drizzle Sword — Kong Yang's captured, hiltless azure flying sword, generally described as three inches long. Li Ping'an painstakingly removes its former owner's residual Sword Qi before learning to control it 63 64 68.
• Fusang Staff-Sword / Fusang Saber — A weapon transformed from the Fusang Tree, serving as a walking implement and a powerful blade. He later enchants it with the Knight-Errant Brush and continues wielding it against Demon Sages 82 96 126 805.
• Knight-Errant Brush / Xia Ke — Given by Liu Yun; retains some rules laid down by a Confucian Sage. Enables written magical effects and weapon enchantment, subject to his strength and daily limits 96 108.
• Sword-Nurturing Gourd — Received from Dragon-Tiger Mountain's old Daoist after Li Ping'an agrees to introduce a disciple. Its wine stimulates his qi and blood; it strengthens the body and nurtures Fine Rain 128 129.
• Sword-Grinding Stone — Associated with Zhang Song; Li Ping'an uses it to sharpen Fine Rain after burying him. Remains listed among his treasures 184 413.
• White Jade Capital — A major treasure used for suppression, protection, and large-scale combat. The Third Young Master is encountered within it during his travels 413 590 676 811.
• Huyan Zhuo's Sword Case — Looted after killing Huyan Zhuo; contains twelve flying swords 201.
• Spirit Stones and tribulation defenses — Uses Spirit Stones as cultivation resources and savings. His major tribulation preparations include gold brick stone, Lightning-Attracting Needles, and a hidden reserve of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones 236 312 315.
• Travelling iron pot — Acquired from Xiong Da, allowing him and Old Ox to prepare hot food while travelling 165.
• Bone whistle — Given by a white wolf that guides him toward a human settlement in Yong Province; he pays the wolf with a fourth-rank pill 590.

Relationships

• Old Ox — Lifelong companion, raised from calfhood. Li Ping'an refuses to sell him and trusts his warnings; Old Ox helps him escape pursuit, urges him to rescue Liu Yun, and fights beside him. Their partnership later extends to farming, household work, tribulation preparations, and alternating day-and-night defense at Demon-Suppressing Pass 1 10 24 26 268 315 455 795.
• Miss Wang — A tofu seller who protects him from bullies and gives him food and money. He repays her kindness by confronting her persecutors 1 2 3 5.
• Xiao Wu — Bounty-hunting partner in the capture of Ma Sandao; introduces him to Wang Dali 6 7 8.
• Liu Yun — Princess whom he shelters and nurses. Their shared domestic life develops into affection; she kisses him before their separation and receives a wooden hairpin he made. Later gives him the Knight-Errant Brush. After she becomes empress, they continue to reunite; he advises her not to destabilize the country through overly hasty reforms 10 18 26 96 376 642.
• Wang Dali — Tong Ren Tang contact who supplies medicinal ingredients, pays him generously, and recommends him for escort work 8 13 14 18.
• Chen Shun — Caravan companion saved from a tiger. Admires Li Ping'an, unsuccessfully seeks discipleship, and helps him obtain weapons 17 21 22.
• Ma Sanniang — Commission broker at the Spring Beauty Courtyard. Reserves the Sharira assignment for him and deliberately entrusts Pei Zhuxuan to him because she expects him to spare her. Later checks on his recovery and tells him about a wager involving the Western Regions Swordsman 28 29 43 56.
• Duha and Aliya — Neighbours who become close to him after he rescues Aliya from a tree. They bring him supplies and share celebrations with him; Hammud asks him to care for them. He later escorts Aliya and her companions to Huailu Academy, and she remains deeply attached to him as an uncle figure 28 30 31 44 325 335.
• Pei Zhuxuan — Initially his bound bounty target, later a travelling companion whom he releases with money and a farewell letter 35 36 42 43.
• Chen Chusheng — Young martial-arts aspirant whom he shelters and teaches. After the boy dies in a betrayed military operation, Li Ping'an buries him and avenges the squad 44 45 46 48.
• Liu Yong — Previously robs him, then receives his protection against Turkic cavalry. Li Ping'an praises his courage rather than holding the robbery against him. They later meet again while Liu Yong is serving under General Xiahou 40 63.
• Monk Changqing — Close friend who recuperates under Li Ping'an's care. Their conversations about travel and local customs quickly draw them together; later they bury Zhang Song together at Demon-Suppressing Pass. Li Ping'an continues regarding him as a friend after he becomes a Buddhist holy son 54 184 325.
• Wang Shan — Pays off Li Ping'an's debt, prompting a visit of thanks. Persuades him to teach Wang Yi the erhu and later helps convey food and drink to his former Spring Beauty Courtyard colleagues 56 71.
• Wang Yi — Begins as an unwilling erhu student more interested in martial arts, then becomes diligent in calligraphy in hopes of becoming Li Ping'an's final disciple. Li Ping'an teaches him patiently without changing his basic attitude toward him. Wang Yi later becomes Mo Chun's direct disciple and son-in-law, providing a connection through which Li Ping'an agrees to defend Demon-Suppressing Pass 56 63 793.
• Jing Yu — Academy disciple and close friend. Writes accounts of Li Ping'an's life that inspire others, travels and fights alongside him, and later dies before Li Ping'an discovers his old letter and realizes he missed the funeral feast 96 325 405 600 754.
• Zhao Ling'er — Acquaintance from the Anbei younger generation who admires his calligraphy and whom he escorts toward Huailu Academy. Much later, their disagreement over her plan culminates in his defeating the Southern lineage heads and her challenging him with All Living Beings 59 325 676.
• Gu Xizhou — Explains the nature of his Heaven's Punishment constitution and suggests cultivation through bodily repositories and Great Dao Runes. Later arrives at a critical moment during the defense of Demon-Suppressing Pass and throws the exhausted Li Ping'an back onto the battlements 125 129 806.
• Qin Shi and Dragon-Tiger Mountain's old Daoist — Li Ping'an declines the old man's offer to become Chief Senior Disciple but introduces Qin Shi instead, receiving the Sword-Nurturing Gourd in exchange 128 325.
• Yan Shisan — A concubine-born son of the Yan household whom Li Ping'an helps overcome a mental obstacle. Yan Shisan advances in cultivation and becomes Zhang Tai's disciple; their later reunion reveals him as a much more troubled man than the hopeful youth Li Ping'an remembers 126 325 488.
• Zhang Song — Acquaintance at Demon-Suppressing Pass whose body Li Ping'an refuses to leave exposed to public scrutiny. Buries him, plays at his grave, and privately chooses to call him Zhang Yingqi 184.
• Qingfeng — Master at Shushan and a protective patron. Arranges for him to travel rather than enter the war, while Li Ping'an helps maintain Heaven-Reaching Peak and cares for him in everyday matters. Qingfeng reacts with furious distress on finding him gravely wounded at Demon-Suppressing Pass 355 358 431 807.
• Run Tu — Chah companion first caught stealing spirit herbs in Medicine Valley. Becomes part of the household, assists with recording fights and cultivation preparations, and receives patient cultivation instruction from Li Ping'an 268 277 292 312.
• Liu Zongcheng — Shushan elder and poison specialist who becomes both teacher and friend. Li Ping'an warns him of internal danger, helping the Alchemical Workshop avoid disastrous losses; Liu subsequently secures recognition for him 345 356 384.
• Situ Lei and Qin Miaomiao — Shushan friends whose courtship, marriage, and growing family Li Ping'an witnesses over the years. Their children address him as Martial Uncle Li 268 291 384.
• Lin Xue — Former business associate whose shop employs him as an alchemy master. He distances himself after suspecting Evil Sect ties involving her and Heaven-Reaching Peak's master. Later visits her in prison and buries her on the peak after her death 289 291 292 356.
• Lu Bai — Elder whose embezzlement and hostility toward Li Ping'an's cheaper medicine lead to enmity during his Medicine Valley employment 268.
• Han Yu and Ye Liang — Mist Forest Demon Slayers who explain their community's deteriorating situation. Li Ping'an promises to seek Shushan's assistance and return personally if necessary 529 531.
• Kitten / Little Girl — Later travelling and household companion, also called Cat Aotian and using the Jianghu name Scarface. Trades alongside him, earns money catching mice, cooks, and welcomes him home to the Anbei Four Garrisons 590 642 696 729 754.
• Yang Jianbai — Second Palm Master of the Daoist Lineage, encountered during Li Ping'an's later stay at Demon-Suppressing Pass. Li Ping'an subsequently takes over his defensive position; Gu Xizhou drives Yang back during the battle in which Li Ping'an is nearly exhausted 786 793 806.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Miss Wang and the Mandarin Duck Tower

Li Ping'an first endures Da Hu's bullying without retaliation. When Da Hu threatens Miss Wang over her husband's gambling debts, he disarms and injures him. The conflict escalates to the Mandarin Duck Tower, where Li Ping'an kills Guo Yu and others, leaves a demand for justice, and escapes with Old Ox. The authorities identify him and issue a bounty 1 2 3 5.

Luoshui City and Liu Yun

Capturing Ma Sandao gives him enough money for better food and lodging. Through Xiao Wu and Wang Dali, he gains access to medicinal ingredients and paid work. After the attack on the imperial treasure ship, Old Ox brings the wounded Liu Yun to his courtyard, where Li Ping'an treats and shelters her 6 7 8 10 13.

Their quiet household lasts more than half a year. Li Ping'an saves Chen Shun's caravan from a tiger and protects his landlord Chang Si from the Flying Eagle Gang, but spies gathering outside his home signal another threat to Liu Yun 17 18 20 21.

New Year's Eve Escape

Li Ping'an obtains the Azure Sky saber and Heaven-Shaking Bow before escorting Liu Yun out of Luoshui City. He spares Chen Zhongshi after learning he is Chen Shun's father, kills Lu Cheng, and defeats a hunched cultivator with Old Ox's help. Against Wu Shishun, he breaks through in Turtle Breath cultivation but loses his left arm 22 24 25.

He and Old Ox finish Wu Shishun, while a blue-robed swordsman eliminates the remaining assassins. Li Ping'an declines Liu Yun's invitation to accompany her and resumes travelling with Old Ox 26.

Anbei Life and the Sharira

At the Anbei Four Garrisons, Li Ping'an balances busking, cultivation, and commissions while becoming close to Duha and Aliya. His search for Monk Jiyan's Sharira leads to their father, Hammud, whose pursuit of treasure transformed him into a monster. Li Ping'an retrieves the relic but initially postpones using it because neither he nor Ma Sanniang knows the precise method 28 29 31 32.

Pei Zhuxuan's Journey

Commissioned to transport Pei Zhuxuan, Li Ping'an learns that she killed her husband to avenge her ruined family. Their journey includes a criminal inn, Turkic raids, and an escape through the Corpse Ghoul Army. He intervenes when a Turkic commander breaks his promise to withdraw, stopping three hundred armored cavalry, then ultimately releases Pei Zhuxuan rather than delivering her to torture 35 36 40 42 43 44.

Chen Chusheng's Death and Aftermath

Inspired by the cavalry confrontation, Chen Chusheng travels to find Li Ping'an and requests instruction. Li Ping'an shelters him and sets a test: the boy must manage to touch him. Chusheng later leaves for the army, but his letters stop arriving 44 45 46.

Li Ping'an finds his body and learns that a traitorous cultivator led his squad into a Turkic ambush. He confronts Yang Kai over the deaths of 128 soldiers and kills him, leaving badly injured. The Sharira restores his missing arm, but its foreign true qi disrupts his cultivation and prevents him from taking commissions 46 48 49 50.

While recovering, Aliya persuades him to watch the Western Regions swordsman's challenges at Autumn Wind Court. Aura Lock reveals an unusual contradiction: the swordsman's presence is threatening, but his detectable true qi is extremely weak 50.

Nirvana Sutra and the Anbei Students

Li Ping'an befriends Monk Changqing while caring for him, but the Buddhist true qi left inside his body erupts violently again. Studying the Nirvana Sutra and unlocking Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness allows him to stabilize his condition and resume activity 54 55 56.

After learning that Wang Shan has settled his debt, Li Ping'an brings him dates in thanks and agrees to teach Wang Yi the erhu. Although Wang Yi prefers martial arts, Li Ping'an takes the lessons seriously and also teaches calligraphy and principles of conduct 56 63.

Following his fight with Kong Yang, he spends more than ten days contesting the residual Sword Qi inside the captured short sword. He finally suppresses its resistance and begins learning flying-sword control, developing Fine Rain into a usable weapon over the following months 63 64 68.

Southern Journey, the Capital, and Guangling

Li Ping'an escorts Aliya, Zhao Ling'er, Wang Yi, and Pang Jun from the Anbei Four Garrisons toward Huailu Academy. During his travels, his growing arsenal includes Fine Rain and a Staff-Sword transformed from the Fusang Tree 82 325.

In the Capital, Liu Yun's brush allows him to experiment with written enchantments. The Zhang Family plans to seize Wang Yi and his companions to force him into the open, and he later recalls his confrontations with the Zhang brothers among his early encounters with cultivators 96 150.

Entrusted with returning a Fusang Tree seed to Guangling Prefecture, he stays at the Duke of Southern State's Residence and befriends Yan Shisan. His guidance helps the young man overcome a mental obstacle and advance toward becoming Zhang Tai's disciple 123 126 325 488.

Gu Xizhou explains his Heaven's Punishment constitution and suggests the Six Mysteries and Great Dao Runes as an alternative route to strength. Li Ping'an later leaves Guangling for Demon-Suppressing Pass, declining to let the difficulty of the journey deter him 125 126.

First Journey to Demon-Suppressing Pass

At Yumen Pass, Li Ping'an encounters Dragon-Tiger Mountain's shabby old Daoist after the latter steals a bite of his flatbread. Their dispute ends with Li Ping'an receiving a remarkable wine gourd in exchange for introducing Qin Shi as a prospective disciple 128 129.

His journey broadens his understanding of the cultivation world's dangers. Witnessing powerful cultivators fight reminds him that his victories over weaker opponents do not mean he can contend with genuine experts 150.

At Demon-Suppressing Pass, he seeks paid commissions despite having no conventional cultivation rank. During a stay of more than four months, he obtains a Great Dao Rune fragment, strengthens himself, and observes the pass's martial society. He retrieves and buries Zhang Song's body despite interference from young swordsmen, then decides to leave as the Demon Race prepares for war 175 184.

Turkic Conflict and Village Life

After leaving the pass, Li Ping'an uses his Staff-Sword and Fine Rain in violent confrontations involving monks and concealed monsters. His later encounter with Huyan Zhuo develops into a fierce battle on a frozen river; Huyan Zhuo dies, and Li Ping'an subsequently possesses his valuables and twelve-sword case 187 189 195 201.

Amid the Turkic conflict, Li Ping'an gathers routed soldiers and organizes an ambush, experiencing the responsibility of having other men's lives entrusted to his decisions 197.

He later builds a thatched hut in a small village and continues developing Mud Pellet and his physical abilities. His cultivation's nutritional requirements and the village's poverty force him to set limits on lending food 201 208.

His medical development advances through Benevolent Healer and qi-guided acupuncture, while Turtle Breath reaches another qualitative breakthrough at 95% 214 220 224.

Shushan, Medicine Valley, and Heaven-Reaching Peak's Defection

At Shushan, Li Ping'an completes melody LV3 and receives Field Cultivation Technique. He settles into guarding Medicine Valley, growing spirit herbs, and selling medicine, while a herb-stealing chah becomes his companion Run Tu 266 268 277.

His cheaper medicine and refusal to tolerate repeated exploitation put him at odds with Elder Lu Bai. He also briefly protects Zhao Shun during a dangerous pill transaction, then refuses further work after Zhao ignores his warning about rogue cultivators; Zhao is subsequently killed 268 289.

Over the following years, Li Ping'an notices suspicious behavior among Lin Xue and other Heaven-Reaching Peak associates. He withdraws from the medicine business rather than deepen his involvement, and the ensuing defection confirms the danger. Several people he knew die, while he survives and is questioned about his former connections 289 291 292.

Tribulation and the Demon-Slaying Assembly

Li Ping'an postpones his tribulation until he can afford adequate protection, spending ten years expanding his farming, animal husbandry, and medicine-making. His eventual preparations combine expensive materials, Lightning-Attracting Needles, and a reserve of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones 312 315.

The tribulation proves unusually powerful, but his breakthrough substantially strengthens his body and Mud Pellet. A subsequent test with Qingfeng demonstrates his ability to neutralize an attack and release concentrated force 315 316.

After travelling with Old Ox, he attends the Demon-Slaying Assembly, encountering old friends whose reputations have grown during their years apart. He reflects privately on his roles in Qin Shi's and Yan Shisan's development without openly boasting of those connections 319 325 335.

Shushan War Work and Internal Attack

As war begins, Li Ping'an assists the production of healing medicines at Bamboo Leaf Peak. His interactions with Liu Zongcheng deepen into a teacher-and-friend relationship, particularly through poison refinement 336 339 345.

He later serves as a jailer and defends Cell Block A during an attack coordinated from within and outside Shushan. His earlier warning to Liu Zongcheng helps the Alchemical Workshop avoid catastrophic losses, earning him commendations and more attention than he wants 355 356.

After Qingfeng returns, Li Ping'an leaves his jailer duties and visits the imprisoned Lin Xue. He shares food and news with her; when she dies two months later, he buries her on Heaven-Reaching Peak with Old Ox and Run Tu 356.

Great Yu's War and Return to Shushan

Qingfeng arranges for Li Ping'an to travel rather than be sent directly into the war. Nevertheless, Li Ping'an joins a mortal army, receives a junior command because of his literacy, and performs duties including burying the dead while observing the conflict's escalation 358 361 362 363.

Later, while associated with Fengyangzi's disciples, he becomes a respected elder-brother figure and teaches cooking. After Fengyangzi dies in battle, Li Ping'an and Old Ox build a cenotaph, and Li Ping'an accepts Lu Renjia as Fengyangzi's successor 374 376.

As Great Sui advances and rumors of a massacre spread through Great Yu's capital, Li Ping'an suggests that his connections may help protect their sect. He eventually returns to Shushan on his master's orders and renews friendships throughout the peaks 376 383 384.

Restoring the Peak and Returning to the Road

Li Ping'an continues developing Heaven-Reaching Peak and his relationships at Shushan. His quiet activities include playing Go with Bo Ning, whose persistence eventually produces a hard-earned victory and a departure to pursue his own path 416 431.

Despite his affection for the place and for Qingfeng, Li Ping'an eventually decides that it is time to leave again. He tidies his master's room and quietly says farewell before resuming his wandering life 431.

His journeys involve medical and poison experiments, encounters with unfamiliar communities, and trade among monsters. He later reunites with Yan Shisan, now a troubled older acquaintance, and after four years and eight months of wandering reaches Qi Province under the Xia Dynasty 437 465 488 496.

Qi Province, Divination, and the Mist Forest

In Qi Province, Li Ping'an develops divination through sustained study and sends Fine Rain on an exhausting journey toward Central Province. His travels then bring him into contact with the Mist Forest's Demon Slayers 519 523 529.

Han Yu and Ye Liang explain that their community has been neglected despite old agreements with righteous sects, and that the Demon Race deep in the forest may soon awaken. Li Ping'an agrees to seek help from Shushan and promises to return himself if reinforcements cannot be found 531.

The later Tengchong City events bring together many of his connections. He prepares an elaborate meal for a reunion gathering, and his role in the battle subsequently becomes a major source of his wider reputation 542 769.

Later Wanderings and Confrontations

Travelling with Old Ox and Kitten, Li Ping'an reaches Yong Province's frozen wilderness. A white wolf guides him to a stockade, where unfamiliar goods and shared food initially win a welcome, but the chief subsequently orders that he be prevented from leaving 590.

At Wind and Snow City's Wenlin Studio, he accompanies a Confucian Scholar on a bounty hunt to obtain payment for his calligraphy. He discovers that Jing Yu's writings have made him the scholar's admired example of a wandering life 600.

His later travels include intervention against assassins and a confrontation with the Yikun Sect. He defeats the peak masters who block him while distinguishing individual responsibility from the uninvolved disciples; he holds back against Daoist Yunfeng partly because of Qian He's support 608 625 626.

During a reunion with Empress Liu Yun, he advises restraint in implementing reforms. Later, a conflict involving Zhao Ling'er and the Southern clans escalates until he breaks the lineage heads' Minor World with White Jade Capital and faces Zhao Ling'er's sword challenge 642 676.

In Small Town, Li Ping'an fights through groups of cultivators using White Jade Capital, the Fusang Saber, and his fists. The deaths create an extensive network of bereaved relatives, teachers, students, and associates whose hostility later follows him to Demon-Suppressing Pass 708 769.

Return to Anbei and Jing Yu's Death

Between journeys, Li Ping'an trades with Barbarian communities, visits the Three-Headed Kingdom, and shares domestic life with Old Ox and Kitten. At Yanzhou City, Kitten earns money catching mice and proudly presents her Jianghu identity to him 696 719 729.

On returning to his small Anbei home, Li Ping'an senses the world's Spirit Qi for the first time and perceives the garrisons through Myriad Things Sense. Reading an old letter, he discovers that Jing Yu has already died and that he missed the funeral feast. He resolves to visit Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year 754.

Defense of Demon-Suppressing Pass

During his later stay at the pass, Li Ping'an operates a small inn lent by a cultivator called Qianlong. Through Mo Chun's connection with Wang Yi, he agrees to take over Yang Jianbai's defensive position 786 793.

He and Old Ox divide the defense into shifts: Li Ping'an fights by day, Old Ox by night. Their ability to recover between shifts frustrates the Demon Sages attempting to find an opening, prompting the enemy to pursue a prolonged campaign of attrition 795.

Li Ping'an cuts through formations and demon troops, destroys much of Qin Yuan's sword-cultivator force, and battles Demon Sages directly. Under successive assaults by Guiche, Shangyang, Feidan, Chitie, Baize, and other enemies, he kills Guiche and wounds or defeats numerous powerful demons, but his weapons and stamina approach exhaustion 805 806.

As he prepares to activate the formation, Gu Xizhou arrives, drives back Yang Jianbai, and throws him onto the battlements as human reinforcements descend. Severely wounded and bleeding, Li Ping'an hears Qingfeng's furious and grief-stricken voice before losing consciousness 806 807.

He is subsequently shown fighting an Extraterrestrial Demon. White Jade Capital and Great Sun-like fist intent block most incoming immortal arts, while an Ancient Sword counters an ice-and-snow minor world. Li Ping'an presses the attack with flying swords, fists, and successive immortal-sword divine abilities as the combat passes between minor worlds 811.

Notable Quotes

“Why resort to violence when money can solve the problem?” 37

“Make money, drink, eat good food, and keep living well.” 42

“I'm merely a street singer.” 24

“The road lies beneath your feet. As long as you keep walking, you'll get there, however far away it is.” 126

“I merely share two meals' worth of acquaintance with the man you want to kill. Having happened upon this, I couldn't stand by with my hands tucked into my sleeves.” 608

Trivia

• The opening narration calls him twenty years old, while the same chapter's system panel lists his age as twenty-one 1.
• He initially explains that he uses “Blind Man” only when killing, but later gives the name to Xiao Wu and Pei Zhuxuan as well 6 7 43.
• His basic boxing manual costs five copper coins. He rejects other street-stall manuals because their grandiose names seem implausible 18.
• He teaches Old Ox to drink and later finds himself bargaining with the ox over the last cup of wine 2 17.
• Before transmigrating, he enjoyed fantasy novels, but discovering how difficult it is to claim and control a cultivator's sword challenges his earlier expectations of effortless cultivation 63.
• His attempt to deny being the famous Li Ping'an becomes increasingly implausible as listeners list the blind man's bamboo pole, erhu, and ox 101.
• The captured sword is repeatedly described as three inches or finger-length, although the first control passage once calls it a “three-foot Short Sword” 63 64 126.
• His later status panels contain inconsistent Aura Lock figures: 77% is followed by 73%, and a subsequent panel includes both 80% and 78% 291 336 516.
• He jokes about successful infiltration after killing the occupants who might have noticed him, presenting this to a young girl as a lesson in assassination 187.
• While temporarily serving with an army, he records burying thirteen corpses in the language of an exemplary Shushan disciple's social-practice report, then privately curses the formalism 362.
• Jing Yu's writings make him an admired figure among people who may fail to recognize him in person 600.