Loa

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Rebirth and Childhood

Loa retains memories of a previous life spent struggling with illness and pain. Although he loved traditional martial arts, his physical condition prevented him from practicing freely, and he also pursued traditional Chinese painting. His memories surface gradually during infancy after Old Jack finds him outside his shop and takes him in as his grandson 2 3 8.

At five, Loa witnesses Hillman shatter a boulder with one punch. The demonstration triggers a collision of memories and a three-day fever. On recovering, he recognizes Wushan Town as part of the world of Coiling Dragon. Unable to afford a magical aptitude test, he chooses to pursue strength as a warrior, combining independent exercise, blacksmithing, and eventually Hillman’s instruction 2 3.

Life in Wushan Town

Delivering repaired tools to Baruch Mansion gives Loa access to books through Hiri. He studies the continent’s history and medicinal herbs, meets Linley Baruch, and later helps him learn the Qi-Gathering Stance. Their friendship deepens through exhausting stamina training and sword practice, with Loa teaching Linley feints, timing, and redirected force 8 10 11 18.

At nine and a half, Loa secretly forges a sword and enters the mountains to hunt. He kills a trapped Rank 1 Rockskin Boar, but its hardened hide defeats his first thrust and the fight leaves him wounded. Old Jack helps him recover and turn the hide and tusks into protective equipment and daggers 14 15.

Bereavement and Departure

Old Jack dies in his sleep the morning after Loa’s tenth birthday. Loa washes his body, arranges a simple burial with help from the townspeople, and draws his grandfather’s portrait using a charcoal stub preserved among his keepsakes. The loss strengthens his desire to overcome frailty and gain control over his own life and death 19.

A later battle devastates Wushan Town and destroys the smithy. Loa recovers his sword, damaged pictures, armor, and dagger from the ruins, then breaks down in grief with Hillman beside him. After spending the night at Old Jack’s grave, he decides to leave. He says farewell to Linley and his neighbors, gives Wharton his childhood wooden sword, and departs as a newly advanced Rank 3 Warrior 26 27.

Establishing Himself in Fenlai City

Loa registers as a Gray Iron Rank I mercenary and supports himself through low-ranking missions. His ability to forge hundred-fold steel earns him work and lodging at Bob’s Anvil. Bob becomes another practical mentor, correcting his uneven qi distribution and teaching him the principles of thousand-fold steel forging 30 32 33 37.

Seeking money for systematic cultivation knowledge, Loa enters the underground Blood Arena as Wild Wind. He kills Skullcrusher and escapes through the sewers with 110 gold coins. He subsequently purchases cultivation books, advances to Rank 4, reunites with Linley and Hillman, and discovers his supreme-grade wind and lightning affinities 36 37 38 41 43.

Elemental Cultivation and the Mountain Range

On the first anniversary of Old Jack’s death, Loa returns to Wushan Town to offer food, ale, and spirit money at his grave. He tells his grandfather about his new life and hopes that reaching greater heights might someday let him discover whether Old Jack’s soul still exists in the realm of death 44.

After returning to Fenlai, Loa takes up elemental cultivation and later enters the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He kills a Rank 3 Rockskin Boar, survives a Dead Leaf Viper’s venom, and defeats a peak Rank 4 Shadow Cat. These encounters sharpen his awareness of concealed threats and deepen his understanding of wind before his Rank 5 breakthrough 45 46 48 49 50.

Appearance

• Build: Initially slender, with increasingly firm muscles and a broadening frame from training and forge work 7 12 14.
• Skin and hands: Darkened skin from furnace heat and sunlight; thick sword-and-hammer calluses, persistent charcoal stains, and later numerous old and new scars 11 14 49.
• Height: At ten and a half, he is already as tall as a seventeen-year-old. Bob initially mistakes him for someone at least twenty 32 33.
• Face and bearing: Strong features, a straight-backed posture, and calm, unusually mature eyes; his expression largely loses its boyish innocence after struggling to establish himself in Fenlai 33 41.

Personality

Loa approaches training as a process of testing and correction. Rather than counting repetitions alone, he analyzes force transmission, breathing, posture, and wasted effort. He welcomes practical criticism from Hillman and Bob, using it to revise both his swordsmanship and conditioning 4 5 7 33.

His reserve does not prevent kindness. He intervenes when children bully Kevin, shares his hard-earned combat knowledge freely with Linley, and quietly remembers the townspeople’s support after Old Jack’s death. His ambition is closely tied to protecting these ordinary bonds, not merely surpassing other warriors 9 18 20 26.

Loa respects other people’s secrets. Although his past-life knowledge helps him recognize the significance of Linley’s ring and Bebe, he does not press Linley for explanations. His own recollection of the original story is incomplete, having faded to broad outlines and particular events 13 27 41.

He is willing to take lethal risks for progress, including arena deathmatches, but his victories do not make him dismissive of danger. A near-fatal encounter with a dark-element fighter teaches him that raw strength and speed cannot replace adaptable footwork and responses to unconventional attacks 36 44.

Abilities & Skills

Weapon Combat Battle-qi

Loa develops his distinctive internal energy by combining past-life martial knowledge, breathing, physical conditioning, and practical experimentation. He eventually names it Weapon Combat Battle-qi 20 38.

• Enhances explosive force, speed, reactions, and precision while nourishing his trained body 14 20 28.
• Circulates through the Great Circulation during cultivation and recovery 44 49.
• Acts as a stable foundation capable of accommodating and harmonizing wind and lightning battle-qi 49 50.
• At Rank 5, supports battle-qi coating on his body and sword; his qi remains mist-like, with only faint signs of liquefaction 50.

Swordsmanship

Loa combines past-life two-handed sword principles with thrust-focused techniques refined through hunting, mercenary work, and deathmatches 4 35 39.

• Whole-body force generation: Drives attacks from the feet through the waist, shoulders, and arms rather than relying on arm strength alone 4 5.
• Gale Thrust: Concentrates his body’s force and qi into a fast, precise point attack. Earlier training lets him pierce a three-inch hardwood board; later, he can select and pierce a particular falling leaf 17 21.
• Heavy Thrust and Chain Thrust: Arena-derived variations emphasizing concentrated power and rapid attacks across an area, respectively 37.
• Feints and redirection: Conceals intentions, exploits moments between an opponent’s attacks, and redirects force instead of meeting it directly 18 28.
• Style integration: Begins blending broad two-handed cuts with sudden thrusts after reaching Rank 4, though his transitions are initially imperfect 39.
• Limit: Gale Thrust can leave him disadvantaged if it misses or fails against unusually tough defenses. Committing all his strength and qi to one thrust would also leave him depleted 14 35.

Wind Battle-qi and Movement

Loa possesses supreme-grade wind affinity and incorporates wind battle-qi into his existing cultivation 43 45.

• Breeze Caresses the Willow: An evasive movement technique, also rendered as Gentle Breeze Caressing Willow, used for quiet approaches and flexible dodging 47 48.
• Airflow perception: Detects disturbances in the wind to help track attacks in darkness 48.
• Combat application: Uses wind perception and movement principles to evade the Shadow Cat’s Shadow Ambush before counterattacking 48.
• Limit: His perception is still developing; the Shadow Cat badly wounds him before he defeats it 48.

Lightning Battle-qi and Thunder Collapse

Loa cultivates lightning battle-qi through Rushing Thunder Art, which emphasizes storing and explosively releasing power. Its accompanying hammer technique, Furious Thunder Strike, offers force-generation principles adaptable to other weapons and unarmed attacks 45.

• Thunder Collapse: Combines concentrated lightning and Weapon Combat Battle-qi into a penetrating burst 46.
• Unarmed application: Kills a Rank 3 Rockskin Boar by striking its exposed abdomen after throwing it 46.
• Sword application: Delivers a concentrated downward strike to a Fang Wolf’s skull 47.
• Further research: Considers using thunder-like vibration for deeper body tempering, but this remains an idea rather than a demonstrated technique 50.

Blacksmithing

Taught first by Old Jack and later by Bob, Loa uses smithing both to earn a living and to refine strength control 3 32 37.

• Forges and repairs tools, makes his own iron sword, and independently produces hundred-fold steel billets 6 14 32.
• Learns force transmission, heat control, and sustained qi output while helping Bob forge a thousand-fold steel saber billet 37.
• Applies the same coordinated force chain to hammer blows and sword attacks 4 6.

Supporting Skills

• Perception training: Practices blindfolded listening and evasion among suspended balls from childhood 3.
• Herbal knowledge: Studies medicinal plants, gathers purpleheart grass and silverleaf vine, and uses herbs while recovering from wounds 10 15 49.
• Hunting and fieldcraft: Dresses carcasses, extracts magic crystal cores, masks his scent, and establishes concealed resting places 15 46 49.
• Drawing: Retains artistic experience from his previous life and uses charcoal drawings to preserve Old Jack’s likeness and record the magician–mercenary encounter 3 19 23.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Self-forged iron longsword — His principal weapon, repeatedly repaired and polished; survives the destruction of the smithy 14 20 26 35.
• Rockskin Boar leather chest guard and bracers — Made with Old Jack from his first magical-beast kill. Protective armor is later damaged during the Shadow Cat fight 15 48.
• Boar-tusk daggers — Made from the first Rockskin Boar’s tusks; he is equipped with them before returning to the mountains 15.
• Gray Iron Insignia and identity card — Issued upon his mercenary registration in Fenlai 30.
• Cultivation books and manuals — Includes General Principles of Battle-qi and Body Tempering and Rushing Thunder Art 37 45.
• Reference materials — An illustrated magical-beast compendium and a map of Fenlai Kingdom and surrounding regions 37.
• Medical and emergency supplies — Receives Fire Phosphorus Powder and an antidote from Bob; the antidote helps him survive the Dead Leaf Viper’s bite 33 46.
• Personal drawings — His portrait of Old Jack and drawing of the Velociraptor encounter become treasured keepsakes; damaged pictures are recovered from the smithy ruins 19 23 26.

Relationships

• Old Jack — Adoptive grandfather and first smithing teacher. His care gives Loa a home, while his death becomes a central motive behind Loa’s pursuit of strength and longevity 2 3 19 44.
• Hillman — Foundational warrior instructor and a source of emotional support. Teaches Loa to balance technique with physical strength and assures him that Wushan Town remains his home 5 7 26 27.
• Linley Baruch — Childhood friend, training partner, and swordsmanship pupil. They encourage each other’s ambitions and reunite warmly in Fenlai after Loa’s departure 11 18 41.
• Bob — Employer and later smithing and cultivation mentor. Provides work, lodging, technical corrections, and practical supplies 32 33 37.
• Hiri — Elder supporter who gives Loa access to books, herb-gathering advice and supplies, and assistance when he leaves town 8 10 27.
• Old Henry — Childhood physician and maker of the medicinal salve Old Jack uses to treat Loa’s training soreness 2 7.
• Wharton Baruch — Linley’s younger brother. Receives the wooden sword Old Jack carved for Loa during childhood 27.
• Bebe — Linley’s companion, whom Loa recognizes through his past-life memories. Their first meeting becomes friendly, and Loa orders him another roast chicken 41.

Notable Quotes

“You really can’t underestimate anyone...” 44

“Now... I can protect myself, and I’m working hard to become stronger. I’ll keep going, until I reach the highest place I can. Maybe one day... I’ll find a way to see whether you’re doing well over there.” 44