Dingbei Hou

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Features: A lean face and short beard 30.
• Clothing: Wears a slate-blue informal Daoist robe at his first meeting with Jiang Mi; later appears in a black brocade robe while reviewing documents in his study 30 33.
• Bearing: His imposing expression softens when receiving Jiang Mi as an honored guest 33.

Personality

Dingbei Hou’s strongest commitment is to Great Xia. He considers Jiang Mi’s extraordinary talent more important than her uncertain background and is willing to share his family’s inheritance to strengthen the country. His concern extends to ordinary border residents and soldiers, whose suffering he bitterly contrasts with the court’s indifference 31 33 38.

His enthusiasm can be blunt and overwhelming. On learning that Jiang Mi is sixteen and already at the Houtian Ninth Level, he immediately begins treating her as a national treasure, privately wishes she were his daughter, and searches for ways to keep her in Great Xia. He admires her courage and composure even after she has beaten members of his household 30 31.

He is nevertheless capable of political calculation. During the third simulation, he invents a respectable background for Jiang Mi before the emperor; she subsequently concludes that his generosity also served to make her a pawn with which to test the sovereign. His patriotism does not amount to unquestioning approval of the emperor’s conduct 35 38.

Around his wife, his martial authority gives way to embarrassment and deference. He also has a competitive streak: Jiang Mi’s rapid mastery leaves him openly jealous, though he continues to support her training 32 36 37.

Abilities & Skills

Houtian Ninth-Level Martial Arts

Dingbei Hou combines peak Houtian cultivation with years of battlefield experience 23 27.

• Jiang Mi does not assume that matching his realm would allow her to defeat him; she distinguishes her demon-hunting experience from his experience killing human opponents 27.
• His talent is considered exceptional even without comparison to Jiang Mi. His mother praised him as a once-in-a-century genius of the Li Household 37.

Raging Wind Facing the Sun Spear

The Li Household’s middle-grade spirit-tier spear technique is his most explicitly described combat specialty. He has practiced it since childhood and reached its fourth level 33.

• He states that this mastery lets him pass through Northern Frontier enemy formations as though unopposed 33.
• He claims the ability to kill Houtian eighth-level demonic beasts single-handedly and hold his own against half-step Xiantian martial artists 33.
• Despite its power, he emphasizes that the technique is exceptionally difficult to master 33.

Ancestral Cultivation Methods

Dingbei Hou possesses and teaches the Li Household’s internal and external cultivation methods 33 36 37.

• He provides Jiang Mi with occasional cultivation guidance and recognizes when her secluded training should not be interrupted 37.
• After seeing her produce a scorching punch, he admits that reaching the same point took him an entire year 37.

History

Military Service and Imperial Restrictions

Dingbei Hou earns his combat experience fighting on the Northern Frontier. By the third simulation, however, the emperor has kept him in the capital under the pretext of discussing state affairs. Dingbei Hou describes this as effective house arrest and says imperial confidants are gradually eroding his authority over the border forces, leaving his title increasingly hollow 33 38.

Death in the First Simulation

In the tenth year of Jiang Mi’s first simulation, news reaches the manor that Dingbei Hou has died on the battlefield. His wife, already in poor health, dies from grief shortly afterward. Their young son inherits the title the following year 5.

The marquis whom Jiang Mi confronts much later in her second simulation is this successor, not the original Dingbei Hou. By then, the original marquis is dead, while his son has reached only the Houtian Sixth Layer and lacks his father’s battlefield experience 23 24.

Jiang Mi’s Emancipation

In the main timeline, Jiang Mi decides to request her indenture openly rather than risk fighting Dingbei Hou. Chief Steward Liu escorts her to Jingyuan Hall, where the marquis discovers that the maid before him is a sixteen-year-old Houtian Ninth-Level martial artist 27 30.

He offers resources, cultivation methods, and family techniques, but Jiang Mi asks only for her indenture. He returns it after securing her agreement to represent Great Xia at the Northern Region Five Nations Martial Arts Tournament one month later. He also promises not to prevent her departure after the tournament 31.

After Jiang Mi destroys the contract, he invites her to breakfast and proudly introduces her to his wife. The household receives her as an honored guest, and she is assigned Qingyan Residence 32.

Teaching and the Imperial Audience

In the third simulation, Jiang Mi accepts the instruction she had initially declined. Dingbei Hou gives her four books containing the Li Household’s cultivation methods and martial techniques, then takes her to the palace to recommend her for the tournament 33 34.

The emperor questions a missing piece of bestowed jade before turning to Jiang Mi. Dingbei Hou falsely presents her as the descendant of a former soldier under his command, but the emperor objects to her uncertain origins. Jiang Mi offers to withdraw, and Dingbei Hou formally accepts the decision. The emperor then rebukes him for previous disobedience and orders him to collect more jade from the Imperial Preceptor and wear it daily 34 35.

Afterward, Dingbei Hou assures Jiang Mi that he will not reclaim the manuals and urges her to leave Great Xia. His wife intervenes, arguing that leaving the estate immediately would expose her to danger. When Jiang Mi instead requests further instruction, he agrees to continue teaching and to shoulder the surrounding political trouble 35 36.

Failed Recruitment

After Jiang Mi’s training breakthrough, Dingbei Hou reports that Great Xia has again finished last in the tournament. He explains that the rankings shape neighboring countries’ treatment of Great Xia over the following four years, citing border reinforcements, village raids, and infiltration by poison cultivators after the previous defeat 37 38.

He appeals to Jiang Mi to help the country, but she declines in favor of pursuing cultivation. That evening, his wife secretly prepares her departure while he attends a palace banquet; Dingbei Hou does not know of the arrangement 38.

Relationships

• Jiang Mi — Former household maid turned honored guest and prospective tournament representative. He becomes her benefactor and instructor, but his political use of her talent complicates their relationship. She accepts his teachings without accepting an obligation to serve Great Xia 31 33 35 38.
• Dingbei Hou’s wife — His wife and a forceful adviser. She challenges his judgment, protects Jiang Mi after the imperial audience, and ultimately arranges Jiang Mi’s escape without informing him 32 36 38.
• Emperor of Great Xia — His sovereign and the source of his political constraints. Dingbei Hou outwardly obeys him while condemning his refusal to employ capable people and his erosion of military authority 35 38.
• Young Marquis — His son and successor in the earlier simulations. The son inherits after his death; he is a separate character from the thirty-two-year-old, childless Dingbei Hou whom Jiang Mi meets in the main timeline 5 24 31.

Notable Quotes

“Who cares whether you were before? From today onward, you're one of us in Great Xia.” 31

“But those mud-legged peasants are Great Xia's people! They are Great Xia's martial artists! They are the ones guarding Great Xia's gates for those people!” 38