Xu Cheng

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Xu Cheng transmigrated into the Douluo world as the reigning Sun Moon Emperor’s eleventh son. His mother was an imperial consort who died shortly after his birth. He grew up in the imperial palace, but received little attention from his father. His mother’s surviving connection to the border military became an important source of personal support 1 15 44.

At six, he secretly revealed Blood Eyes and attracted the attention of Holy Spirit Cult leader Zhongli Wu. He initially refused Zhongli Wu’s invitation, but the arrival of the Charity King system changed his decision: its main quest required him to join the cult and persuade its members to do good. Zhongli Wu subsequently helped him leave the palace 1 15.

During the following years, Xu Cheng reorganized cult branches around Mingdu and cultivated a faction loyal to himself. His charitable reforms included settling homeless children and supporting branches that provided free Martial Soul awakenings and education to commoners. These activities also served his larger ambition: unifying the continent and opposing Tang San’s long-term influence over its future 1 10 15 35 36.

Appearance

Xu Cheng has a youthful, exceptionally handsome face, with fair skin and naturally blood-red eyes 5 8.

• Height: Approximately 1.7 meters during his early academy days 5.
• Eyes: Compared to amber or jewels; their crimson color gives him an eerie beauty 5 8.
• Clothing: Wears a black robe during his early dealings with Tang Ya, reinforcing his mysterious image 3 5.
• Family resemblance: Huo Qing is visibly moved by his resemblance to his deceased mother 37.

Personality

Xu Cheng combines genuine care for vulnerable people with calculated political planning. He rescues children, comforts Nana, and treats military personnel courteously, but he also understands how compassion and restraint can win loyalty. His reforms are both meaningful aid and a means of building an independent power base 1 14 31 37.

He is pragmatic rather than conventionally righteous. He threatens Tang Ya with torture, considers using cult experts to seize an expensive Soul Bone, and deliberately exploits his opponents’ assumptions. Nevertheless, he abandons the auction robbery idea because its consequences could cost him the political initiative 6 16 42.

Soul Tool research brings out his curiosity and persistence. He declines Meng Hongchen’s invitation to be her dance partner in favor of research, then spends a month studying material far above his formal engineering rank to repair her dagger. Around Xiao Hongchen, his imposing Holy Son persona gives way to teasing, laughter, and unusually open generosity with technical knowledge 10 11 18 29.

Abilities & Skills

Sun Martial Soul

The Sun is Xu Cheng’s publicly displayed Martial Soul and a recognizable trait of the Sun Moon Imperial Family 1 8.

• He uses it for his academy admission test while keeping his second Martial Soul concealed during that examination 8.
• The provided passages do not identify any named Sun-based Soul Skills.

Blood Eyes and Mental Techniques

Blood Eyes is a spiritual-type Martial Soul responsible for Xu Cheng’s unusually strong spiritual power 6 14.

• Spiritual Detection: Surveys nearby people and their movements. After his skull enhancement, its observed range is approximately 200 meters in diameter, with improved precision 25.
• Domain skill: Xu Cheng identifies the blood-red-eye phenomenon witnessed by Tang Ya during her rescue as his domain skill; its name is not supplied 5.
• Mental confinement: Tang Ya experiences a world-shattering disorientation during his coercive exchange. Xiao Hongchen later describes Xu Cheng’s assessment technique as trapping someone inside their own little world 6 23.
• No current detection-sharing function: He tells Xiao Hongchen that his Spiritual Detection cannot yet be shared, suggesting only that this might change in four years 23.
• Limits: His spiritual power exceeds that of peers at the same rank, but remains insufficient for unrestricted high-level Soul Tool construction 14.

Neural Prediction

Neural Prediction is the skill granted by the sixty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant skull. It predicts an opponent’s next movement and works alongside Spiritual Detection to reveal extremely fine bodily motion 25.

• Makes Feng Ying’s high-speed attacks appear dramatically slower to Xu Cheng 26.
• Allows precise interception of an agility-type opponent with ranged Soul Tools 26.
• Improves concentrated targeting rather than relying solely on broad suppressive fire 25.
• During the final assessment, Xu Cheng stops his assault immediately when Xiao Hongchen’s Invincible Shield breaks 29.

Charity King System

The system is governed by the Heavenly Dao and seeks to reform the world through charitable missions 2.

• Main quest: Join the Holy Spirit Cult and persuade its members to do good 1.
• Level rewards: Helping a little girl recover her kitten grants +0.5 levels 1.
• Technical rewards: Taking in the homeless Ju Zi grants the First-Generation Artificial Intelligence Soul Tool core formation design 42.
• Analysis Mastery: Xu Cheng explicitly identifies this ability as a system-provided cheat 17.

Analysis Mastery

Analysis Mastery breaks down a Soul Tool’s core formation, exposing its operating principles and Soul Power flow 9.

• Analyzes a basic Level 1 formation within a few dozen seconds 9.
• Can examine formations above Xu Cheng’s manufacturing rank, including Level 5–7 tools 5 14 17.
• Analysis is not replication: Understanding a formation does not provide the spiritual power needed to reproduce it 5 14.
• Analyzing Meng Hongchen’s Level 7 core nearly exhausts his spiritual power and causes some overdrawing 17.

Soul Engineering and Rune Programming

Xu Cheng develops rapidly through practical work rather than relying on analysis alone 13 18.

• Adaptive-tool repair: Restores Meng Hongchen’s dagger, whose Level 7 core adjusts its output to the user’s strength. He remains a Level 3 Soul Engineer after completing the repair 15 18.
• Advanced sealing knowledge: Explains the use of a class-five auxiliary array, dual-core formations, and the management of mutual repulsion during Cheng Baiqing’s examination 23.
• Rune programming: Writes runes into core formations to automate operations and substantially reduce manual control and spiritual-power expenditure 28.
• Remaining limit: His programmed method still requires immense spiritual power; even Xiao Hongchen cannot reproduce its effect at that point 28.
• Research ambitions: Pursues tracking, positioning, ballistic technology, and precision long-range strikes. These are development goals, not completed missile systems in the provided passages 11 13 42.

Strategic Knowledge

Xu Cheng retains knowledge of the original story and uses it to identify opportunities, threats, and future allies 1 6 27.

• Plans Tang Ya’s Soul Ring path using Tang San’s historical combinations 6.
• Recognizes Ji Juechen’s unconventional fusion of spiritual power and Soul Power, then advises him to find the proper balance 27.
• Attempts to attract the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm for three months without success; it remains a desired solution to his spiritual-power limitations 5 14.
• Treats the Holy Spirit Cult as a dangerous resource rather than a wholly obedient faction, recognizing that Ye Xishui may regard him as a pawn 39.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sixty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant skull — Spiritual-attribute Soul Bone purchased at auction by Cheng Baiqing and given to Xu Cheng as a disciple’s welcoming gift; grants Neural Prediction 24 25.
• Red Dust Protection — Level 9 defensive Soul Tool personally made and gifted by Jing Hongchen. It protects Xu Cheng from the Dragon-Peeling Pillar even while his Soul Power is sealed by the class-six Dragon-Binding Lock 30 44 45.
• Ranged Soul Guidance Tools — Uses a shoulder-mounted ranged cannon to repeatedly intercept Feng Ying’s attacks during the assessment 26.
• Self-made Level 1 tools — Produces basic melee and ranged tools, including a Soul Guidance Sword and Soul Guidance Ray, while building his engineering foundation 13.
• First-Generation Artificial Intelligence core design — System reward received for sheltering Ju Zi; Xu Cheng intends to study its applications with his teacher 42.

Relationships

• Nana — Rescued when he first joined the cult and raised like a younger sister. She calls him both “Master” and “Big Brother,” is deeply devoted to him, and is identified as the person closest to him. Xu Cheng accompanies her to her parents’ graves and sees her as a future right-hand woman 13 14 31.
• Cheng Baiqing / Elder Cheng — Teacher, political protector, and powerful backer. Accepts Xu Cheng as his final disciple after testing his engineering knowledge, gives him the Evil Eye Tyrant skull, and promises support despite the succession struggle 23 24.
• Xiao Hongchen — Roommate, deskmate, close friend, and competitive peer. Provides basic formations and initially offers guidance; their friendship survives Xu Cheng’s decisive victory in the final assessment 8 9 13 29.
• Meng Hongchen — Xiao Hongchen’s sister and an openly affectionate admirer. Xu Cheng repairs her adaptive dagger and views cultivating her goodwill as both personally welcome and politically useful 10 15 18 25.
• Tang Ya — Rescued girl, prospective ally, and target of deliberate ideological persuasion. Xu Cheng challenges her inherited beliefs, arranges her academy enrollment, and later asks whether she wants to live for Tang San or build a Tang Sect of her own 3 7 8 36 49.
• Huo Qing / Aunt Qing — His mother’s former maid and a fiercely loyal military supporter. Xu Cheng respects her hard-earned authority and later assembles seven Titled Douluos to help her become a Titled Douluo and Level 9 Soul Engineer 37 49.
• Jing Hongchen — Academy headmaster and influential supporter. Recognizes Xu Cheng’s talent, gifts him Red Dust Protection, and intervenes after his arrest 19 30 46.
• Zhongli Wu — Cult leader who recruited him and designated him as the cult’s successor. Values Xu Cheng as a future route to control of the Sun Moon Empire and mobilizes senior cult figures after his imprisonment 1 43.
• Wu Yun / Crow — Powerful cult subordinate who escorts Xu Cheng and assists with Soul Beast reconnaissance and travel 4 5 6 36.
• An Yin — Shadow-Martial-Soul Soul Saint and branch altar master serving as Xu Cheng’s messenger. Rendered as An Ying during the arrest scene, where Xu Cheng stops him from intervening 17 42.
• Xu Jiran — Fourth Prince, elder brother, and succession rival. His faction uses Wang Shaojie’s death as grounds to arrest Xu Cheng 10 42 46.
• Xu Tianran — Crown Prince and another succession rival. Despite their antagonism, he considers Xu Cheng’s survival necessary to preserve the three-way balance against Xu Jiran 40 43.
• Ji Juechen — Sword-focused peer whose potential Xu Cheng recognizes. His advice on balancing spiritual power and Soul Power earns Ji Juechen’s interest 27.
• Ju Zi — Homeless girl whom Xu Cheng takes in, triggering the artificial-intelligence design reward 41 42.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Academy Entry and Engineering Breakthroughs

• Enters the Soul Tool Department’s new Class One while Tang Ya joins the Martial Soul Department 8.
• Establishes his friendship with Xiao Hongchen and rapidly advances through basic Soul Tool construction 9 10 13 14.
• Repairs Meng Hongchen’s adaptive dagger through a month of advanced study. The work attracts Jing Hongchen and Elder Cheng’s attention and leads to his apprenticeship 17 18 19 23 24.

First-Year Assessment

• Wang Shaojie provokes him on behalf of the Fourth Prince’s faction; his subsequent bizarre death draws attention to Xu Cheng’s concealed strength 23 25.
• Tests Neural Prediction against Feng Ying, preventing the agility-type opponent from closing the distance 26.
• Defeats Xiao Hongchen in the final using his developed Soul Tool-control methods. Afterward, he offers to share the underlying trick rather than hoard it 28 29.
• Receives Red Dust Protection as Jing Hongchen’s personal gift, separate from the assessment reward 30.

Tang Ya and the Charitable Cult Branches

• Intends Tang Ya’s journey to Shrek Academy to expose its darker aspects and weaken her attachment to it 34.
• Shows her a cult branch where commoners receive free awakenings and instruction, confronting the contrast between its practices and the label “Evil Soul Master” 35 36.
• Invites her to remain in the village temporarily while leaving her eventual return to the academy to her own choice. She later arrives before enrollment closes 36 49.

Border Support and Succession Politics

• Reunites with Huo Qing and prevents her from kneeling publicly, protecting her standing before her soldiers 37.
• Recognizes that his apparent coalition is unstable: many cult leaders pursue private agendas, and few supporters are entirely his own 39.
• Later strengthens Huo Qing into a Level 9 Soul Engineer and helps position her as the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Corps’ sole deputy commander 49.

Arrest by the Imperial Family Inspection Team

• Voluntarily submits to Xu Mochen’s arrest over Wang Shaojie, stops his shadow subordinate from intervening, and secretly directs Nana to alert his backers 42.
• Uses the detention to draw out weaknesses in the Fourth Prince’s faction. His defensive equipment prevents the interrogators from injuring him 42 44 45.
• Speaks directly to Xu Jiran through the captors’ communicator before Cheng Baiqing and Jing Hongchen intervene 46.
• Elder Cheng’s visible support subsequently forces court figures to reconsider Xu Cheng’s political weight 47.

Later Tournament Preparations

• Prepares for another academy assessment and the inter-academy competition involving Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy 48 49.
• Regards his close companions as the prospective core of his future administration 49.

Notable Quotes

“How will I know whether I can unless I try?” 18

“That’s all empty posturing. What good does anger do? Can it flatten Shrek Academy? Can it erase that humiliating history? … Better to quietly research soul tools, then hit them with something big...” 11

“We’re all buddies...” 29