Zhao Changhe

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Before crossing worlds, Zhao Changhe was an energetic university athlete. Repeated nightmares placed him in bloody martial battles, where a dagger-wielding woman repeatedly killed him. The nightmares eventually intruded even into classroom naps, prompting him to seek help from a mysterious fortune-teller at Chaotic Times House 1.

He chose killing the witch as his dream-entry objective. The fortune-teller had him draw three cards, granted him the ability to see behind himself, and sent him into another world. His first encounter there was the massacre of Zhao Cuo: he tried unsuccessfully to rescue a child, received a deep facial wound, and survived only because Yue Hongling intervened 1 2.

Yue Hongling brought him to Luo Family Manor to find work and learn martial arts. After discovering the Luo family’s responsibility for the village’s suffering, he concealed his disgust and joined its outer disciples. Sleeping and waking within the manor convinced him that this was not an ordinary dream and that death would be real 2 4.

He did not want to abandon his original life or his parents. Learning cultivation initially served a practical goal: becoming powerful enough to find a way home 6.

Appearance

• Build: Tall, sturdy, and well nourished, with an athletic foundation from his school years 4 8.
• Face: Handsome and masculine; a prominent saber scar comes from his failed attempt to save the child at Zhao Cuo 2 7 13.
• Physique after training: Develops firmer muscles with sharply defined contours 18.
• North Mang appearance: Grows a full beard and messy, half-long hair, replacing his former clean-shaven, short-haired student appearance 23 30.
• Blood-baleful manifestations: His eyes turn red when the art is driven intensely; blood-colored qi can appear around his fists and saber 20 42.

Personality

Zhao Changhe is rebellious, outspoken, and quick to anger at cruelty. He initially appears quiet and guileless because he does not understand his surroundings, but he can deliberately maintain that impression to conceal his intentions. His killing of Luo Zhenwu combines deception, self-preservation, and revenge for Zhao Cuo 3 4 5.

Life among bandits makes him louder, more profane, and increasingly comfortable with intimidation. Nevertheless, he questions the morality of belonging to a group that survives through the same violence he condemned in the Luo family. He rejects another raid on Zhang Village and later secretly releases a court agent rather than hand her over to Fang Buping 11 14 30 49.

His progress rests heavily on persistence. He sets himself thousand-repetition practice targets, trains day and night, and continues cultivating despite recurring pain. He enjoys becoming stronger and earning respect, but his public swagger conceals loneliness and homesickness 13 14 37 43.

Independence is especially important to him. He refuses Blood-Stabilizing Pills because he fears dependence would place him under the cult’s control. His apparent impulsiveness also becomes a useful disguise: when confronting Fang Buping, he first gathers information about the helmsman’s injuries and available fighters 20 30 48.

Abilities & Skills

Blood Baleful Art

An external cultivation art that mobilizes blood and vitality for ferocious physical power 8 10.

• Enhances strength, speed, endurance, and resistance to blows 10 21.
• Suits his strong physique and does not require cultivation from childhood 8.
• Grows stronger through killing, but increasing baleful intent raises the danger of losing reason 40.
• Causes severe pain and can leave him depleted after brief exertion 11 20 43.
• Internal cultivation alleviates its afflictions but does not eliminate them 48.

Blood Baleful Saber Technique

A saber system taught by Instructor Sun that channels the Blood Baleful Art into broad, forceful strokes 22.

• Combines explosive attacks with complementary footwork 22.
• Zhao Changhe also practices its less commonly used intricate variations, rather than relying only on heavy slashes 32.
• His fundamentals emphasize precision, controlled force, and retaining enough strength to change the next move 9 50.
• Sparring with Yue Hongling substantially improves his ability to handle advanced techniques and combat variations 46.

Gods and Buddhas Scattered

An ultimate saber technique whose power greatly exceeds the cultivation level at which Zhao Changhe first demonstrates it 42.

• Normally requires the fifth or sixth Profound Pass level for routine use; a third-level practitioner can barely execute it once 42.
• When powered entirely by blood-baleful energy, can frighten an opponent of weak resolve 42.
• His internal true qi can support its force, though some baleful effects are diminished 42.
• His early use against Yue Hongling reopens her existing wound, but sends him crashing into a wall and leaves him exhausted 42 43.

Xia Family Heart Method

Zhao Changhe’s provisional name for the unnamed internal art transmitted through Xia Longyuan’s jade pendant 27 34.

• The pendant supplies an initial trace of true qi and demonstrates its circulation route 27.
• Produces exceptionally high-quality true qi that helps bridge gaps between cultivation levels 32 42.
• Accommodates other cultivation methods rather than immediately conflicting with them 43.
• Can be practiced standing or lying down, but requires concentration and careful control 34.
• The pendant’s instruction lacks breathing, qi-absorption methods, and key subtleties; Yue Hongling supplies these missing foundations 40.

Eyes Behind the Head

A supernatural perception ability granted by the fortune-teller’s eye card 1 2.

• Lets him observe attacks and movements behind him without turning around 2 24 50.
• Strengthens alongside his cultivation; he suspects it may be a form of the heavenly eye described in cult scriptures 34.
• Can expose him to unsettling sights as well as useful information: seeing Fang Buping’s baleful attack briefly produces fear during their duel 50.

Bloodflight Without a Trace

A relatively advanced Blood God Cult lightness skill obtained from Fang Buping 34.

• Requires substantial internal energy, which his concealed internal cultivation allows him to supply 34.
• Supports agile movement and coordinated evasions during combat 50.
• Does not erase cultivation differences: Fang Buping is faster despite using the same technique 50.

Archery and Hidden Weapons

His ranged combat combines prior archery experience with Yue Hongling’s instruction 44.

• Belonged to an archery club in his original world; cultivation improves his vision, steadiness, and accuracy 44.
• Can draw the stronghold’s Three-Stone Bow and pierce a target, though his first full-force shot strains his shoulder 44.
• Learns Falling Feather Flying Plume, quickly striking a sparrow with a thrown stone 44.
• Incorporates concealed stone attacks into saber exchanges 46.

Tactics and Leadership

• Uses misdirection to lower Luo Zhenwu’s guard before killing him 5.
• Reads supply ledgers and identifies Fang Buping’s removal of the stronghold’s money and food 30.
• Turns challengers into combat practice and income, increasing stored silver from roughly three hundred to nearly two thousand taels in half a month 37.
• Organizes traps against raiders and possible government attacks 37.
• Lures Fang Buping away from the stronghold to avoid being surrounded, then executes a planned arrow-and-saber attack 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Thick Steel Saber — Won from Deputy Helmsman Huang. A heavy, thick-backed blade weighing a little over ten jin, better suited to his strength and saber style than his original light weapon 32 34.
• Three-Stone Bow — Left in the stronghold by Instructor Sun; Zhao Changhe claims it after discovering he can draw it 44.
• Dragon-carved jade pendant — Given to him by Xia Chichi. Serves as an imperial recognition token and contains Xia Longyuan’s internal cultivation legacy 26 27.
• Wine gourd — Carried at his waist and replenished by his followers; warm wine is found to aid his Blood Baleful cultivation 17 18.
• Blood-Stabilizing Pills — Supplied by Instructor Sun. Zhao Changhe refuses to take them himself but uses one to help Huang recover after their duel 22 32 48.
• Saber manuals — Provided by Yue Hongling for study, while she advises him to retain the Blood Baleful Saber Technique as his main focus 40.

Relationships

• Xia Chichi / Luo Qi — Roommate, survival companion, and developing romantic attachment. Their shared meals and training build trust; she ultimately refuses to kill him over the Azure Dragon Seal, gives him the imperial pendant, and shares his first kiss before their separation 12 17 24 26 28.
• Yue Hongling — Rescuer, chivalric inspiration, friend, and martial guide. He shelters her while she is injured, and she teaches him without accepting the formal role of master. Her example anchors his ideal of the martial world 2 38 40 46.
• Instructor Sun — His first saber teacher and an appreciative mentor. Teaches his foundations, supports him against stronger cult members, and secretly supplies additional medicine before leaving 9 18 22 32.
• The blind fortune-teller — Sends him between worlds and grants his rearward sight. In later encounters, she says he can return by killing the demoness or mastering the Space-Time Barrier 1 34 35.
• Fang Buping — Cult superior and eventual enemy. Removes stronghold resources, pressures Zhao Changhe for more supplies, and pursues him after his departure; Zhao Changhe kills him at North Mang 30 48 50.
• Deputy Helmsman Huang — Defeated rival who yields his saber and position. Zhao Changhe gives him a Blood-Stabilizing Pill after the fight 32.
• Wang Dashan — Stronghold subordinate who accompanies his supply expedition. Zhao Changhe later kills him to obtain blood-baleful energy for his breakthrough 30 49.
• First Seat Tang — Court expert who witnesses his killing of Luo Zhenwu and warns him of its consequences. Tang’s highly accurate wanted portrait becomes less effective as Zhao Changhe’s appearance changes 5 30.
• Xia Longyuan — Emperor and indirect source of Zhao Changhe’s internal art through the pendant originally left for an imperial child 26 27 43.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Luo Family Manor and the Wanted Killer

During the cult attack on Luo Family Manor, Zhao Changhe pretends to help Luo Zhenwu escape, then stabs him in revenge for Zhao Cuo. He presents the killing as his pledge to join the cult and openly gives his name. Great Xia’s wanted notices subsequently make him publicly known 5 6.

The apparent imperial significance of Luo Zhenwu’s death initially shocks him. Xia Chichi later reveals that Master Luo had misled the emperor’s people into treating his own son as the missing prince, while concealing her actual identity as the emperor’s daughter 14 15 26.

North Mang Training and the Azure Dragon Seal

At North Mang, Zhao Changhe studies under Instructor Sun and forms a close bond with Luo Qi. Together they enter the Azure Dragon Star Mansion and find its seal. Her decision to discard her dagger rather than murder him leads to the disclosure of her identity and the transfer of the imperial pendant 9 20 24 26.

Stronghold Chief and Hidden Dragon

As stronghold chief, Zhao Changhe confronts the branch’s supply problems and defeats Huang to secure resources. His entry at rank 250 attracts further challengers, whose fights sharpen his skills and replenish the stronghold’s funds 30 32 37.

Yue Hongling’s stay gives him access to the experienced guidance his manuals cannot provide. After she leaves, he resolves to depart North Mang upon reaching the third Profound Pass level 40 46.

Departure from North Mang

After a failed breakthrough, Zhao Changhe captures a court intruder but secretly frees her when Fang Buping demands custody. Her medicine helps him advance; he kills Wang Dashan, destroys the Righteous Gathering Hall’s plaque, and leaves the stronghold 48 49.

Fang Buping’s pursuit ends in a planned battle near the Waterfall Pool. Zhao Changhe wins at the cost of exhausting his strength, rises to 91st on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and walks down the mountain at the end of volume one 50.

Notable Quotes

“My heart is clear and unburdened. What is there to regret?” 5

“The killer was Zhao Changhe!” 5

“There's nothing to regret. I don't want comfort. I want speed.” 13

“You claim to uphold the Way, yet have no Way! You call yourselves a gathering of righteousness, yet have no righteousness! What use is there in keeping this? Until we meet again!” 49