Lian Youming

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Lian Youming is conscious of having been reborn. Before encountering the hidden martial world, he intended to use his second life to seize opportunities, make money, and rise in society. His father, formerly a reconnaissance-company commander, exposed him to military skills and taught him several lethal combat techniques. Encounters with his father’s unusually skilled comrades also gave him an eye for recognizing trained fighters 1.

As the eldest child in a military household, he endured demanding training but never came to regard martial artists as supernatural beings beyond ordinary weapons. He also learned trap-setting from villagers near the Qinling Mountains, where his father had grown up through the support of local households 13 61.

His departure for the Northeast as a sent-down youth brought him into contact with the Mountain-Guarding Old Man, Third Brother Xie, and other figures in the martial world. What began as curiosity became sustained training, dangerous alliances, and repeated life-and-death battles 4 8 12 23.

He later gained university admission and moved south, arranging to live off campus because dormitory life would interfere with training. His relationship with Yan Lingyun developed into marriage and parenthood, while his Green Gang connections and ties to Hongmen drew him into wider struggles over martial inheritances and leadership 134 141 272 273.

Appearance

• Early appearance: Sturdy but still boyish, with a fair face and a scholarly air 61.
• After training in the Northeast: Tall, dark-skinned, and powerfully built, with broad shoulders, a broad back, callused hands, and short hair as stiff as halberd blades. His transformation is pronounced enough that his mother initially fails to recognize him 61.
• Identifying mark: A mole between his eyebrows, which helps his mother confirm his identity 61.
• After the Mount Lu battle: Noticeably thinner from depleted vital essence, but still tall and leanly powerful, with increasingly compact flesh 273.
• Combat transformation: Can swell to nearly two meters tall, with bulging muscles and bristling hair 291 322.
• Later bearing: His unified bodily control gives him an uncanny impression of completeness and beauty even while motionless 345.

Personality

Lian Youming often presents himself as playful, boastful, and irreverent. Third Brother Xie initially judges him an unreliable boy who grins and talks nonsense, overlooking the vigilance beneath his chatter. His teasing also persists at home, where he jokes with Yan Lingyun and her family 10 141.

Danger makes him more deliberate rather than less rational. He regards panic as surrendering his chance of survival and freely supplements martial techniques with firearms, traps, concealed tools, and deception. He respects martial skill without deifying it 13 18 95.

His competitiveness is inseparable from his appetite for learning. Even in deadly combat, he studies an opponent’s methods and uses the experience to improve himself. He can acknowledge an enemy’s ingenuity, tolerate an opponent’s breakthrough, and grant respect without abandoning the fight 91 229 480.

He takes trust and family obligations seriously. Despite Third Brother Xie’s hostility, he accepts responsibility for the man’s granddaughter. He also raised his younger siblings and supports Lian Shuang when her preferred university subject causes conflict at home 76 445.

Marriage and fatherhood introduce hesitation into his willingness to enter danger, but do not erase his martial ambitions. He does not consider himself a savior; nevertheless, his later resolve develops toward standing at the front so others can remain protected behind him 171 498 572.

Abilities & Skills

Golden Bell Cover and Toad-Fishing Skill

Two complementary internal arts underpin his defense: Golden Bell Cover consolidates his flesh and muscles, while Toad-Fishing Skill uses internal breath to counter external force 24 58.

• Deflects blade edges and draws wounded flesh together through muscular contraction; this is explicitly not healing 58.
• Uses Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover to withstand simultaneous attacks from Xue Hen, Gu Chan, and Gong Wuer 253.
• Develops a circulating defensive response that can rebound force from his chest 360.
• Retains a handful of vulnerable points because Golden Bell Cover has not reached complete mastery; opening all twelve gates remains an unfulfilled requirement 477.

Iron Shirt and Bodily Control

His Iron Shirt training supports dramatic expansion of his physique, while increasingly precise control lets him alter how his body receives attacks and moves through confined spaces 322 384.

• Drives his body into a towering combat form while circulating Iron Shirt 322.
• Compresses himself sufficiently to squeeze through a food hatch in an iron door 384.
• Breaks Gan Xuansu’s four katanas with his fists 417.

Taiji, Xingyi, and Force Redirection

Lian Youming combines Taiji’s coiling and yielding methods with Xingyi’s direct, concentrated attacks. His repertoire includes Taiji Hammer, Crossing Fist, Crushing Fist, Pounding Fist, and elements of Baji Boxing and Bagua Palm 30 178 203 307.

• Uses Coiling Silk Force to improve strength control and generate penetrating hammer-like strikes 30 38.
• Redirects the attacks of multiple opponents rather than merely resisting them 253 519.
• Combines whip and hammer mechanics into heavy, continuous attacks designed to deny an adaptable opponent time to respond 509.
• Studies other schools’ fighting methods to expand his understanding, without demanding their protected inheritances 290.

Swordsmanship and Three Yin Seven Killings Sword

His sword training includes the Kunlun Secret Sword, Heaven-Earth-Human Three-Plate Sword, and instruction from Junk King. Three Yin Seven Killings Sword emphasizes sword intent and Momentum rather than fixed blade movements 203 213 283 416.

• Uses his fingers as blades and expresses sword intent through fists, palms, claws, and other bodily movements 203 416 437.
• Connects thunder above and Water Momentum below through the Three Yin framework, receiving Heavenly Dao killing aura through Human Dao killing aura 360 487.
• Employs a thunderous heartbeat to disturb opponents’ hearts and disrupt their attacks 360.
• Uses the Complete Transformation Fighting Method to move beyond visibly separate school forms 427 437.

Witnessing Art and Foresight

The Witnessing Art supplies a means of mentally disrupting opponents, while Foresight and Taiji Listening Jin sharpen his awareness of impending movement 231 283 357.

• Stuns or disrupts enemies to create openings for physical attacks 231 283.
• Detects movement within seven paces with exceptional accuracy 357.
• Remains below Foresight Perfection as explicitly stated later in the story, despite his formidable combat strength 466.

Heavenly Dipper Strength and Elixir Skill

Heavenly Dipper Strength gathers force from the outside inward through coordinated muscular changes, reversing the usual outward flow of strength generated by internal breath 563.

• Draws on environmental momentum, including thunder and water, while using his body as the vessel for those forces 338 339.
• Burns vital essence as Elixir Fire to intensify his combat strength 393.
• Uses an Elixir Sword against Old Monster Huang 574.
• Has not reached the Elixir Skill’s pinnacle during the fight with Mr. Corpse. Pure Yang Body Transformation is described as a future attainment, not an achieved immunity 393.

Wisdom Sword and Visualization

The Wisdom Sword removes distracting thoughts and stabilizes his mind. He also employs visualization associated with the Yama-Subduing Demon Venerable 387 437 471.

• Enters meditative absorption immediately and conceals his qi dynamics through shifts between substance and emptiness 471.
• Resists spiritual pressure with visualization and produces layered hand afterimages resembling many arms 437.
• Remains mentally steadfast even though his White Bone Contemplation is not perfected 474.

Human Extremity and Humanity’s Torrent

Human Extremity turns continued forward movement into accumulating force; Humanity’s Torrent is the personal Grand Momentum expressed through Fists Suppress the Mountains and Rivers 460 468.

• Stores increasing layers of Water Momentum through successive steps 511.
• Redirects and rebounds the coordinated attacks of thirteen martial artists during instruction 468.
• Develops alongside his determination to face enemies while shielding those behind him 572.

Mobility and Practical Skills

• Divine Mobility: Enables rapid retreats and evasive movement through pursuit, gunfire, and confined routes 543 600.
• Fieldcraft: Recognizes signs of martial training, hunts game, and sets traps 1 24 26 61.
• Weapons improvisation: Uses firearms, grenades, captured spears, and broken weapon fragments when advantageous 18 47 417 543.
• Cooking: Regularly cooks for his family and uses hunting to provide meat during his early training 24 105 451.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Gall-Illuminating Sword — His named sword, used in conventional swordplay and as a thrown killing weapon 213 417.
• Early hunting kit — A slingshot, homemade gun, hemp rope, provisions, and a three- or four-foot cattle-slaughtering knife 25.
• Captured firearms and explosives — Takes a Type 56 submachine gun in the underground passage and later gathers grenades and a light machine gun in the Underground Fortress 18 47.
• Medicines and Yellow Essence — Support his demanding training and replenish essence qi; Yan Lingyun also supplies bottled medicine before his travels 24 40 214.
• Golden Silk Glove — A blade-resistant item obtained in a snow cavern, later brought out for Xu Baishi’s sword training 528.
• Peace Amulet — Keeps it close to his body after learning Yan Lingyun is pregnant again 500.
• Two Teachings Token — The object Ma Laosi and a flying-knife expert pursue him for in the latest supplied battle 600.

Relationships

Family

• Yan Lingyun — Wife and medical partner. Helps establish his early training, treats his Mount Lu injuries with acupuncture, and studies medicine partly to support his martial path. She is pregnant with their second child by Chapter 500 23 273 445 500.
• Little Stone — Son. Lian Youming shares in his care and worries about his safety during prolonged absences 306 441 451.
• Zhao Lanxiang — Mother. Affectionate but stern about his conduct, especially his romantic responsibilities 61 62.
• Father Lian — Father and former reconnaissance-company commander. Provides his early military influence and remains a demanding parent 1 13 134.
• Lian Shuang and Lian Lei — Younger siblings whom he helped raise. Both promise to look after Yan Lingyun while he is away 214 445.
• Yan Beitong — Father-in-law. Accepts him into the Yan household and urges him to balance martial affairs with responsibility to his wife and child 138 202 311.

Mentors and Allies

• Junk King — Master and swordsmanship teacher. Demonstrates Ape-Strike Sword, helps name the expected baby, and secretly arranges protection for Yan Lingyun and Little Stone 213 356 441.
• Mountain-Guarding Old Man — Early instructor and uneasy ally. Their relationship begins with mutual suspicion, but Lian Youming later risks his life to break the old man’s battle stalemate 8 30 129.
• Li Da — Martial guide and battle companion. Helps develop his footwork, explains other schools’ techniques, and fights beside him against Mr. Corpse 40 47 93 393.
• Xu Tian — Baji Sect elder and trusted supporter. Lian Youming values his instruction and lack of sectarian prejudice 130 346.
• Yang Shuang — Sworn younger sister and martial ally. He promises to become her family and supports her claim to lead the Taiji Gate 116 272 346.
• Xie Ruomei — Third Brother Xie’s granddaughter, whom he agrees to protect. She treats him with particular warmth 76 101.
• Wu Jiu — Close associate who recognizes Humanity’s Torrent and participates in Lian Youming’s group instruction 468.
• Zhu Yuan — School acquaintance and combat ally. Fights beside him against men connected to abductions and offers support for his Taiji Gate challenge 151.
• Liu Wudi — A separate associate whose name Lian Youming also uses as an alias 120 164.

Rivals and Changing Alliances

• Third Brother Xie / Xie Tianhong — Initially threatens to force him into the White Lotus Sect. At death’s door, entrusts his granddaughter to the former enemy he believes will protect her 12 76.
• Gong Wuer — An early source of guidance, later an opponent and battlefield ally. Recognizes his ability to keep learning during deadly combat 88 91 253 574.
• Xue Hen — Rival and benchmark whose techniques influence Lian Youming’s development. Later joins him against Old Monster Huang 60 358 427 574.
• Gu Chan — Former opponent who later exchanges martial understanding with him openly, benefiting both of them 253 307 405.
• Situ Wudi — Opponent and kindred spirit. Their contest is marked by mutual appreciation and trust in the other’s determination to continue forward 485.
• White Lotus Sect Master — An adversarial figure who later enters an unexpected spiritual union with him, enabling coordinated combat against Mangus’s group 508 519.
• Gu Feiyan — Dangerous enemy whose versatile techniques initially overwhelm him. He later gains the initiative and defeats her through sustained, forceful attacks 434 509.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“Starting today, I’m your family. Wherever you go in this world, I’ll have your back. You can treat me as your big brother.” 116

“If I rise, I’ll become a force in my own right.” 463

“I have to win this battle!” 500