Lu Zhao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Previous Life and the Lu Household’s Destruction

Lu Zhao was a materials science doctor who died in a laboratory explosion at the age of thirty. Seven years before the opening chapter, he awakened in the cultivation world as a collateral descendant of the Lu Household. He initially viewed Puppet Art as another form of technology, but his previous-life knowledge did not make mastering it straightforward 1 2.

Two years after his arrival, demonic beasts overwhelmed the Lu Household’s Clan-Protecting Grand Formation. Following his third uncle’s warning, Lu Zhao fled toward a back-hill cave. The cave collapsed, leaving him trapped in a crevice while his clansmen were killed; he emerged from the ruins three days later 1.

He subsequently wandered from Northern Plains Commandery to Changfeng Commandery. Having sold his magical artifacts and exhausted his spirit stones, he survived with help from Wang Yun’s demon-beast hunting team, which sheltered him from the most dangerous assignments 5.

Zhou Household Service

Three years before the opening chapter, Lu Zhao became a Zhou Household guest retainer. His duties required him to submit ten jin of cold iron ore each month in exchange for accommodation, access to the Cold Pool, a monthly spirit stone, and a Cold Jade Pill 1.

Completing his first graded puppet unlocked the Puppet Pearl’s inheritance and gave him a new source of income. Graded puppets were rare in Changfeng Commandery, making his work unusual even within the territory of the dominant Zhou Household 1 4.

After reaching middle-stage Qi Refining, he received a middle-rank Guest Elder Token. He accepted a three-year garrison assignment at Green Vine Ravine, where the richer spiritual spring offered better cultivation conditions. Patrol work, puppet crafting, and periodic market visits became his routine 8 11 12.

Zheng Household Attack and the Snake King Hunts

Reports of strangers seeking makers of flying Beast Puppets unsettled Lu Zhao because the visitors came from Northern Plains Commandery. He connected their inquiries with the destruction of his own household, though he lacked proof of a connection 19.

He later survived an attack by two Zheng Household cultivators, including the ninth-layer cultivator Zheng Yuan. A Small Thunderclap Talisman countered Zheng Yuan’s killing blow, but its recoil badly injured Lu Zhao. Both attackers died, and their belongings included Zheng Ping’s identity token and a quasi-second-tier Ice Dragon Talisman 20 21.

Rather than immediately flee, Lu Zhao sought protection through the Nine Abyss Pavilion’s Shopkeeper Zhou. The shopkeeper assured him that the declining Zheng Household could not pursue him effectively in Changfeng Commandery. Lu Zhao nevertheless resolved to revisit Northern Plains Commandery after reaching Foundation Establishment 21.

At Green Vine Ravine, he joined Liu Fengchun, Yin Jiu, and Chen Moyang in fighting the Snake King. His Ironwood Guards helped restrain it, although their damage exposed their limits against stronger beasts. Reviewing the battles, he judged himself comparable to an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator but identified weaknesses in his spells and decisive striking power 29 31 33.

War Against the Tianfang Zhao Family

As war approached, Lu Zhao spent roughly 330 spirit stones stockpiling pills, talismans, and puppet materials. He also warned Chen Fang to prepare supplies. The Zhou Household eventually reclaimed his ravine residence for military preparations and assigned him Cold Bamboo Court, Unit C-7 37 40.

He was then ordered into the Hundred Arts Battalion’s Artifact Division. As its only Puppet Master, he supplied a rare craft, but remained subject to production quotas, movement restrictions, and wartime requisitions 41.

During the siege of the Zhao Family Market District, Lu Zhao took an attack shift once every ten days. Between deployments, he cultivated, crafted puppets, and studied formations. The prolonged siege improved both his spell proficiency and crafting success rates 46 47.

After his sixth-layer breakthrough, Zhou Hua offered a quasi-second-tier Ice Sword Talisman if Lu Zhao would accept his youngest son as a disciple after the battle. Lu Zhao requested time to consider it. Zhou Kang subsequently advised him to delay transmitting his Puppet Art until reaching the seventh layer, when he would have greater freedom to negotiate 48 49.

When the army ordered two thousand Qi Refining cultivators into an all-out assault, Lu Zhao advanced with the Hundred Arts Battalion and spotted Zhou Kang among an elderly late-stage assault force 49.

Appearance

• Depicted as a young man dressed in blue 48.
• Wears a blue-gray guest-retainer cloak bearing simplified dust-repelling and aura-concealing runes 13.
• Carries a Zhou Household identity token; its rank changes from lowest-ranking retainer to middle-ranking Guest Elder as his cultivation rises 1 8.

Personality

Lu Zhao is cautious, observant, and reluctant to accept apparent generosity without examining its cost. He scouts travel routes with puppets, avoids pursuing retreating bandits, and maintains warning runes around his quarters. A concealed mantis beast’s near-successful ambush further tempers his confidence in his precautions 10 13 16 44.

He values independence but recognizes his dependence on the Zhou Household’s resources. Marriage offers and factional patronage make him wary of exchanging long-term freedom for immediate benefits. Zhou Qixing’s warnings reinforce his determination to rely on his own cultivation and craftsmanship 25 27 37.

His pragmatism does not erase his gratitude. He remains close to Wang Yun and Chen Fang, brings them gifts, and accepts a lower potential profit to preserve his relationship with Zhou Kang. Kang’s declining prospects deepen Lu Zhao’s determination to gain enough strength to control his own fate 14 40 49.

Abilities & Skills

Puppet Pearl

• Inheritance: Discovered as an unresponsive azure pearl in his mind during his first year in the cultivation world. It eventually instructed him to reach a puppet grade to receive an inheritance 2.
• Activation: Completing his first first-tier low-grade puppet unlocks the First-Tier Puppet Inheritance 1.
• Status display: Records cultivation, lifespan, spells, puppet recipes, and crafting success rates. Its initial display also lists the Azure-Patterned Rat Puppet’s remaining fang uses 1 48.
• Identification: Identifies a quasi-second-tier Ice Dragon Talisman and reveals that an apparent Earth Spirit Crystal is actually a first-tier superior-grade Earth Vein Crystal 21 46.
• Limit: Its initial reward builds upon his seven years of accumulated puppet-making work rather than granting mastery without preparation 1.

Puppet Art

Lu Zhao’s documented creations and latest recorded success rates are:

• Successfully completes his first working Ironwood Guard after repeated failures, initially reaching a ten-percent success rate 24.
• Sells smaller warning puppets whose alerts help customers avoid danger 8.
• Prepares to attempt an Icewind Wolf Puppet after acquiring Icewind Stone and three middle-first-stage demonic wolf carcasses; completion is not documented 46 48.
• Remains a first-tier low-grade Puppet Master despite planning to advance to middle-grade 37 48.

Water and Ice Cultivation

• Little Spirit Rain Art: His primary cultivation method, inherited from the Lu Household and initially recorded as incomplete and low-grade 1.
• Offensive spells: Uses Water Bullet Technique, Ice Cone Art, and a modified Ice Bullet Technique. The latter slows a pack of Spirit-Devouring Rats before he kills their king with an ice cone 1 3.
• Defense and concealment: Knows Water Curtain Technique, Breath Concealment Technique, and Water Mist Technique 1.
• Utility and movement: Learns Water-Nurturing Art and Wind-Riding Art; uses wind-assisted travel while replenishing expended power through his cultivation method 12 13.
• Cultivation regimen: Uses Ice Jade Pills followed by Meridian-Guarding Pills to extend productive cultivation time 37.
• Limit: His middle-grade water spiritual root restricts energy circulation, while prolonged Cold Pool cultivation strains his meridians 1 4.

Thousand Threads Technique

• A core puppet-control art that also tempers divine sense; separating additional divine threads strengthens divine sense 12.
• Initially remains beyond his grasp, prompting him to seek soul-nourishing materials and purchase a Concentration Fruit 12 15.
• Develops two divine threads by his fifth-layer breakthrough and three by his later residence at Cold Bamboo Court 22 40.
• Before learning it, controls puppets through traditional methods, with maneuverability deteriorating sharply beyond his divine-sense range 12.

Thousandfold Overlapping Waves Art

• Obtains a spell jade slip at the Little Cloud Terrace Gathering under a Heart Demon Oath; his later status panel records Thousandfold Overlapping Waves Art at beginner proficiency 36 40.
• Reaches minor accomplishment with six overlapping layers, then produces seven layers during the siege 47.
• When paired with the Hundred Waters Dharma Disc, his seven-layer attack rivals a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator’s strike 47.
• Its power consumption limits him to only a few such attacks 47.

Formations and Security

• Carves a sense-warding formation into his Green Vine Ravine chamber and uses protective restrictions before resting or cultivating 12 21.
• Installs warning runes at doors and windows and links a concealed Frost Rat Puppet to a divine thread when receiving visitors 44.
• Studies Formation Fundamentals purchased from Chen Moyang during the siege 47.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mystic Water Tortoise-Shell Shield — A water-attribute defensive artifact that creates a blue water barrier. Particularly effective against water and ice spells, with resistance to impacts and poisonous miasma 18 19.
• Hundred Waters Dharma Disc — A first-tier middle-grade spellcasting aid bought for eighty-five spirit stones. Advertised to increase water- and ice-spell power by up to thirty percent, accelerate spell formation, and possess growth potential 26 27.
• Water-Splitting Spikes — A pair of light, swift offensive artifacts bought for 110 spirit stones. Suit his combat style but prove ineffective against the Snake King 26 27 33.
• One-Origin Heavy Water Pearl — A 3,600-jin artifact containing two drops of One-Origin Heavy Water. Restrains a target’s spiritual power, delivers crushing blows, and can draw water into a trapping whirlpool; slow movement and heavy power consumption limit its use 34 35.
• Earth Vein Black Tortoise Formation — Obtained from Chen Moyang in exchange for an Ironwood Guard. Produces a thirty-meter protective dome around his residence 34.
• Small Thunderclap Talisman — consumed — A second-tier low-grade talisman with power comparable to a casual early Foundation Establishment strike. Used against Zheng Yuan; close-range recoil severely injures Lu Zhao 18 20.
• Ice Dragon Talisman — A quasi-second-tier talisman recovered from Zheng Ping’s storage bag 21.
• Carving knives — Essential puppet-making tools; replaces his cracked, worn knife with two new ones for five spirit stones 14.
• Earth Vein Crystal — A first-tier superior-grade material acquired cheaply after being mistaken for an Earth Spirit Crystal 46.

Relationships

• Wang Yun — Close friend and former hunting-team leader. Helped Lu Zhao during his poorest period and later sources demonic-beast carcasses for his puppets 5 14.
• Chen Fang — Friend whom Lu Zhao visits with gifts. He entrusts her with thirty spirit stones for sparrow-carcass purchases and warns her to stockpile defensive supplies before war 14 37.
• Zhou Kang / Shopkeeper Zhou — Business partner, protector, and mentor-like friend. Offers warnings and favorable dealings, advises him on factional threats, and eventually asks him to remember his grandson if he reaches Foundation Establishment 21 25 40 49.
• Zhou Mo — Zhou Kang’s grandson. Quickly grows comfortable enough to call him “Brother Lu”; Lu Zhao later promises Kang to do what he can for the boy 35 49.
• Zhou Ming — Steward who initially supervises his retainer duties and later tries to recruit him through marriage into the Zhou Household. Kang warns that Ming’s patron, Zhou Qilan, employs ruthless methods 1 8 25 49.
• Zhou Qixing — Fellow ravine resident and inexpensive azure-grain wood supplier. Reveals the medicinal field’s natural formation patterns and warns Lu Zhao against becoming a pawn in factional struggles 11 27.
• Chen Moyang — Fellow retainer, formation master, and Snake King hunting companion. Trades him a defensive formation and later reconnects with him in the Hundred Arts Battalion 31 34 41.
• Liu Fengchun and Yin Jiu — Ravine colleagues and hunting partners. Their cooperation is practical and includes negotiations over the Snake King’s spoils 29 31 33.
• Zhou Hua — Zhou Kang’s successor at the Nine Abyss Pavilion. Offers a valuable talisman in exchange for teaching his youngest son Puppet Art; Lu Zhao has not accepted the arrangement 48 49.
• Shopkeeper Liu — Artifact merchant at the Hundred Refinements Pavilion. Sells Lu Zhao the Hundred Waters Dharma Disc, Water-Splitting Spikes, and One-Origin Heavy Water Pearl after negotiation 27 35.