Sun Mingke

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Sun Mingke comes from a family that is not well-off. Daoist Guanlong took him as a disciple in Chang’an and brought him to Taiyi Abbey six months before Lu Moniang’s visit. His second senior brother was already astonished by his swordsmanship 2 45.

Guanlong selected him to practice the unfinished Nine Profound True Scripture because the martial paths of his older disciples were already established. Sun Mingke consequently learned seventy or eighty percent of the method before its completion, without knowing he was testing its first version 2.

After teaching the completed scripture, Guanlong ordered him to accompany Lu Moniang in hunting White Chrysanthemum. Sun Mingke’s first fight after leaving the mountain ended with him defeating and severely wounding the notorious offender 2 40.

Appearance

• Youthful appearance: Introduced as a boy, with no exact age specified 2.
• Sable cap: Wears one during his early cavalry expedition 90.
• Twin swords: Carries a pair of swords at his waist, later identified as Xiaoguang and Jilang 2 40.

Personality

Sun Mingke is lively, competitive, and eager to prove himself. He delights in sparring, readily accepts Wang Chong’s challenges, and insists that he can earn military achievements without being handed another person’s credit. Commanding several hundred soldiers initially appeals to him partly because of the prestige it offers a young man 2 45 89.

His secluded training leaves him inexperienced in worldly affairs. He initially accepts Wang Chong’s explanations at face value and knows little about officialdom. Nevertheless, he can notice practical details: when told to destroy his clothes after a covert outing, he points out that replacing the outfits Lu Moniang recently bought him would itself look suspicious 41 44 89.

His courage can become recklessness or excessive force. At Cloud-Gathering Mountain, he kills hundreds before remembering to offer surrender. At the Heroes’ Assembly, his experience fighting ruthless enemies leaves him poorly accustomed to holding back, and he nearly kills Huo Mo after knocking him down 96 144.

He is also generous toward younger comrades. Recognizing Jiang Wenyue’s service, he spends four hours teaching him a superior martial art and excuses him from duty so that he can practice. He continues offering Jiang guidance long after their initial commander–soldier relationship 158 234.

Abilities & Skills

Nine Profound True Scripture

Guanlong’s newly completed internal cultivation method is the foundation of Sun Mingke’s rapid advancement 2 197.

• Accelerating cultivation: Even before learning the completed method, Sun Mingke notices his internal cultivation becoming faster rather than slower 2.
• Anticipating opponents: His unusual internal power detects changes in an opponent’s body and the circulation of internal power and True Qi, helping him predict attacks 40.
• Adaptable force: Channels subtle, shifting True Qi through his cavalry lance to overcome Gajuli’s weapon and injure him 96.
• Powerful palm strikes: Uses the scripture directly in a palm-force contest with Huo Mo’s Vajra Prajna Palm, eventually overwhelming him 143 144.
• Limits: Prediction does not guarantee an advantageous response. Against Wang Chong’s speed and substantial internal power, he must meet attacks head-on despite anticipating their paths 40.

Shenshang Sword Technique

Sun Mingke’s principal sword art is practiced with twin blades. His early proficiency impresses both his second senior brother and Lu Moniang 2.

• Identifies flaws in Lu Moniang’s moves, while acknowledging that her superior martial ability would still defeat him 2.
• Interweaves Xiaoguang and Jilang into a sword net and uses sword intent to constrain Wang Chong’s escape 40.
• By the journey to the Heroes’ Assembly, his twin-sword prowess has advanced enough to overshadow either Dong Qing or Mo Zhenxing individually 130.

Golden Light Shrinking-Earth Technique

A Taiyi lightness skill that Sun Mingke adapts into close-combat footwork and kicking attacks 143.

• Drives an Innate Realm challenger backward with rapid kicks until the opponent falls from the tournament platform 143.
• Later defeats Jiang Wenyue through changing footwork and successive kicks while keeping his internal power one or two ranks below Jiang’s 234.

Vajra Prajna Palm

Sun Mingke memorizes the manual recovered from Tie Mole’s leg wraps when Lu Zongfeng shares it with him and Wang Chong 48.

• Recalls the text accurately when Wang Chong tests him using passages selected out of order 48.
• Teaches Jiang Wenyue the entire mental method and its movements from memory 158.
• Can share this acquired art, unlike Taiyi techniques, which require his master’s permission to transmit 158.

Mounted Combat and Command

Sun Mingke excels at battlefield combat as well as martial duels. Wang Chong regards his ability to adapt during campaigns as an almost innate gift 100 157.

• Lance fighting: Kills Lichiluo within ten exchanges, Gajuli in a single exchange, and Longxiang Jiatuo with one thrust 96.
• Combined weapons: Fights cavalry with a sword in his left hand and a spear in his right 90.
• Tactical deception: Conceals most of his army and uses a small visible force to lure Cloud-Gathering Mountain’s defenders into the open 95 96.
• Cavalry attacks: Strikes the Wild Goose Cavalry at its weakest point, scattering its formation 100.
• Rapid conquest: Takes five cities in seven days during the Ling Prefecture campaign 162.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Xiaoguang and Jilang — Twin blades belonging to the Thirteen Daoist Divine Swords, given to him by Guanlong. Their deeper properties remain inaccessible to him while he is in the Innate Realm; Wang Chong says he will understand their benefits after becoming a Grandmaster 40 101 102.
• Great cavalry lance — Originally lent to Wang Chong by Qin Han. Sun Mingke takes it after finding its weight, dimensions, rigidity, and flexibility particularly suitable for him 96.
• Captured spear-art manual — Taken from a formidable martial artist he killed on the Great Grassland. He offers to teach its art to Jiang Wenyue as the prize in a cultivation wager 234.

Relationships

• Daoist Guanlong — Master and creator of his principal cultivation method. Provides his scripture and divine swords, while avoiding explanations that might interfere with Sun Mingke’s eventual cultivation insights 2 102.
• Lu Moniang — Fifth senior sister and protective traveling companion. Buys him clothes, supervises his early experiences outside the sect, and furiously confronts Wang Chong after learning that Sun Mingke has been sent to command troops 44 89 91.
• Wang Chong — Close friend, sparring partner, and military leader. Sun Mingke calls him “Brother Wang Chong”; Wang Chong insists that their personal relationship should not be replaced by formal address as “Your Highness” 45 89.
• Jiang Wenyue — Former subordinate, martial pupil, and close friend. Sun Mingke rewards his battlefield service with the Vajra Prajna Palm and continues helping him improve through sparring 158 234.
• Mo Zhenxing — Fellow commander whom Sun Mingke initially favors as another disciple of a renowned orthodox sect. Assigns him seven or eight hundred men so that he can field a thousand cavalry 114.
• Jade Slave — Fellow member of the wider Xuanhuang lineage. Their brief clash ends in recognition of each other’s sects; despite her youthful appearance, she belongs to a much junior generation 159.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pengshan County and the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance

Sun Mingke’s first encounter with Wang Chong begins as a misunderstanding and a sword fight. Their comparable age and martial ability quickly give him a favorable impression of Wang Chong, who becomes his regular sparring partner 40 45.

During a nighttime patrol, they discover Zhou Shaliang abducting Nan Xinlan. Following Wang Chong’s instructions, Sun Mingke conceals his face and avoids identifiable sect techniques. After Wang Chong extracts Zhou’s confession, Sun Mingke kills him with a single sword thrust and helps carry Nan Xinlan back toward Pengshan County 41 42.

Qin Han subsequently welcomes him as the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance’s sixty-third brother, unaware that Sun Mingke killed Zhou. Sun Mingke finds the alliance entertaining and tacitly accepts membership. He later accompanies the pursuit of Tie Mole and gains access to the recovered Vajra Prajna Palm manual 44 45 46 48.

Service Under Wang Chong

Heroes’ Assembly

Sun Mingke initially accepts restrictions on challenging allies for the highest Divine General positions. When a challenger claims the absent Mi Jixiang’s second-place position, he defeats that challenger and takes the position himself 143.

He then overpowers Huo Mo in a palm-force contest and attacks the other two contestants while they are occupied fighting each other. He holds his position through the tournament and is confirmed as the second-ranked Divine General 144.

Journey to Chang’an

Sun Mingke persuades Wang Chong to take him on the disguised journey to Chang’an. Their party poses as Wudang disciples, with five genuine Wudang disciples helping support the cover 234.

During the journey, he wagers that he will reach Grandmaster before Jiang Wenyue reaches the Third Grade of Martial Dao. If Jiang wins, Sun Mingke will teach him the captured spear art; if Jiang loses, he must perform ten tasks for Sun Mingke. Wang Chong judges that Sun Mingke’s imminent breakthrough makes Jiang highly likely to lose 234.

Notable Quotes

“I certainly won't need Brother Wang Chong to yield anything to me. I can kill a few formidable experts myself.” 89

“When we first met, we were both in the Innate Realm. Now he's already a Great Grandmaster, while I'm still in the Innate Realm.” 234

Trivia

• A comedic aside has Sun Mingke claim that he was the protagonist in the story’s first version, until a fortune-telling verdict declared him unsuitable for the role 2.
• His complaint about remaining in the Innate Realm understates his achievement: the narration emphasizes that advancing from early Innate to its peak so quickly is something only a handful of people could accomplish 234.