Heavenly Sword

Biodata

Power Progression

The documented cultivation milestones belong to the known holder, Zhang A-Niu.

Title and Lineage

• One of the Nine Heavens: Heavenly Sword belongs to the Imperial Court’s nine Heaven Ranking masters, whose organization oversees government officials and suppresses the martial world 4.
• A distinct cultivation lineage: The Nine Heavens comprises nine factions and nine cultivation paths; Heavenly Sword heads the sword-oriented lineage 9.
• Broad recruitment: Everyone within the Nine Heavens who studies the sword automatically joins the Heavenly Sword lineage. Qi Shiyun credits this large recruitment pool with preventing its decline 9.
• Independent standing: None of the nine lineages is subordinate to another. Heavenly Sword can deploy Qi Shiyun on an assignment, but cannot make decisions for her as the Chosen of Heaven heir 16.
• Selective discipleship: Zhang considers accepting Lianshan Xin if he proves useful and possesses sword talent. His later invitation fails when Xin admits that he could not master even the Falling Goose Sword’s basics 9 22.

Background / History

Zhang A-Niu’s Early Life

Zhang A-Niu began as a countryside cowherd. At six, he witnessed two martial artists mortally wound each other; before dying, they passed their sword arts to him. Unable to read, he learned from the illustrations and entered the Body Tempering Realm after two days 50.

He later topped the Hidden Dragon Ranking, swept through nineteen provinces, defeated the peers of his generation, and became a triple examination laureate 48 50.

Becoming Heavenly Sword

Thirty years before his conversation with Lianshan Xin, Zhang’s youthful fame attracted a princess. Already married, he rejected her pursuit, but she threatened his wife and declared that anyone she desired must belong to her or be destroyed. Zhang blinded her and subsequently became Heavenly Sword 48.

He describes the outcome as the loss of his freedom to roam the martial world, despite gaining wealth, glory, power, and status. He admits that he feared the consequences but could not restrain himself when the princess threatened his wife 49.

Appearance

Zhang wears white when Lianshan Xin first meets him in the Imperial Library 6.

• Bloodless complexion: His pale face and depleted qi and blood reveal severe injuries to the medically trained Xin 6.
• Dazzling Sword Qi: His emitted Sword Qi is sharp enough to make Xin’s eyes sting. Xin cannot determine whether the leakage results from his injuries or is a deliberate intimidation tactic 6.

Personality

Zhang is cautious about prospective recruits and possible traps. He initially questions why Lianshan Xin would choose the Nine Heavens over an orthodox official career, and suspects that Xin’s offer to expose cultists could be a scheme involving the Kong Family 7.

He values useful talent and practical results. He praises Xin’s observation, approves of raising money to establish the Nine Heavens in Jiangzhou, and rewards his intelligence work. His protection is conditional rather than indiscriminate: he demands solid evidence before supporting action against politically connected enemies 7 21 22 50.

His conversations also reveal dry humor and a taste for displaying his accomplishments. He is genuinely bewildered by Xin’s poor sword aptitude, enjoys recounting his confrontation with the princess, and sharply rejects Xin’s attempt to claim a father-like relationship with him 22 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Zhang’s swordsmanship established his youthful reputation and remains the basis of his lineage 48 50.

• Reached minor mastery of the Falling Goose Sword in half an hour 22.
• Emits Sword Qi capable of causing discomfort without a direct attack 6.
• Came within a hair’s breadth of killing Thousand Faces before another expert intervened 23.
• Could not identify the intervening expert’s origins from their clash, though he suspected a connection to Kuang Mountain’s Six Teachings 23 49.

Observation and Intelligence Work

As a spymaster, Zhang reads both physical reactions and political implications 7.

• Recognizes the difference between humiliation and false accusation through Lin Xiangwen’s expression and vital-energy fluctuations 7.
• Examines Lianshan Xin and confirms his congenital deficiency 7.
• Recognizes the danger posed by officials and Nine Heavens personnel previously trained under Thousand Faces 22.
• Assigns investigations into academy infiltration and the unidentified Great Grandmaster backing the Golden Scale Alliance 22 49.

Administrative Authority

His position combines martial force with institutional control.

• Temporarily assumes the headmaster’s duties at White Deer Grotto Academy and suspends recommendations during its purge 4.
• Offers academy admission, monetary rewards, and a Qi Condensation Pill for meritorious service against the Demon Cult 8.
• Places Lianshan Xin directly under Qi Shiyun 22.
• Distinguishes genuine Demon Cult collusion from fabricated charges when authorizing lethal action 48.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Divine sword — Broken by the mysterious expert who intervened to save Thousand Faces. The weapon’s destruction accompanies the failure of Zhang’s arrest operation 4 17.
• Qi Condensation Pill — Awards one to Lianshan Xin for his merit. Qi Shiyun later explains that the pill came from the Celestial Master 22 23.

Relationships

• Lianshan Xin — Recruit, subordinate, and intelligence asset. Zhang rewards his exposure of the Qu Family, offers to teach him swordsmanship, and demands firm evidence before extending protection in further conflicts 21 22 50.
• Qi Shiyun — Cooperating heir of the Chosen of Heaven lineage. Zhang once sought to make her his disciple; she declined because she lacked sword talent. He deploys her in Jiangzhou and recognizes signs of her impending breakthrough 8 16 35.
• Thousand Faces — Principal Demon Cult quarry. The elder escapes his blade with outside help and warns his disciple not to approach Zhang because the disparity between them would risk exposing her 13 17.
• Lin Xiangwen — Academy instructor who secretly loves him. Zhang believes Xin’s revelation and orders Lin out of the Imperial Library 6 7.
• His wife — Her safety prompted his confrontation with the princess who pursued him 48.
• Unnamed princess — Pursued Zhang despite his marriage and threatened his wife; he blinded her before becoming Heavenly Sword 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

White Deer Grotto Academy Purge

Zhang personally attempts to arrest the academy’s deputy headmaster, exposed as a Demon Cult elder with overseas ties. The target escapes, Zhang’s divine sword is broken, and the headmaster resigns. Zhang takes temporary control of the academy and halts recommended admissions 4.

The defeat damages the Nine Heavens’ previously unbroken reputation for successful operations. At the same time, it gives the organization grounds to intervene in an academy that had largely served as neutral territory between the court and Jiangzhou’s martial society 4 5.

Qu Family Investigation and Xin’s Recruitment

Lianshan Xin supplies information about cultists sheltered by the Qu Family after negotiating rewards and protection for his parents. Zhang directs him to assist Qi Shiyun, but the raid uncovers a stand-in rather than Thousand Faces himself 8 13.

Zhang nevertheless ranks Xin’s merit first. He offers the Lianshan family the Qu medicinal-herb business in exchange for half its annual profits, then rewards Xin with a Qi Condensation Pill and assigns him to investigate academy infiltration under Qi Shiyun 21 22.

Golden Scale Alliance Investigation

Zhang explains the Golden Scale Alliance’s connection to the Second Prince and warns Xin against provoking Zeng Ningbing, the prince’s beloved confidante. He permits action against genuine Demon Cult collusion but explicitly rejects fabricated accusations 47 48.

He subsequently tasks Xin with identifying the alliance’s hidden Great Grandmaster backer. With young heirs being sent to Jiangzhou by the court and Nine Heavens, he warns that Xin has little time left to establish his value 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“I mean genuine collusion, not fabricated charges.” 48

“The price I paid was giving up a life of roaming the martial world with a carefree laugh. I could only become a mere Heavenly Sword.” 49

“I want evidence piled solid as a mountain. The kind you had against the Qu Family.” 50