Zhang Wei

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Zhang Wei and Sun Shang were once celebrated as the “twin stars” of the Bureau’s three armies. Both attracted attention from senior officers and became close friends through shared life-and-death experiences 40.

Three years before the Nine Nether Town campaign, Zhang Wei’s fiancée, Sun Nai’er—Sun Shang’s younger sister—died. Her death turned the two men into enemies. Zhang Wei later confirms that the woman he loved died saving him, though the circumstances are not described 40 41.

As commander of the Third Battalion, Zhang Wei divides his time between field missions and accumulated administrative work. He also oversees recruitment, noting that severe manpower shortages have forced the Bureau to hold selections frequently and lower its standards 1 7.

Appearance

• Features: Described as handsome and spirited during his battle with Bai Sha 38.
• Clothing: Wears brocade robes at his introduction 1.
• Bearing: Addresses recruits with a formidable presence and an authoritative manner 1.

Personality

Zhang Wei is protective of his subordinates and willing to accept responsibility for their actions. He warns Chu He to retreat if a mission becomes dangerous, promises that the Third Battalion will shoulder the consequences together, and later offers to take the punishment for Chu He’s killing of Divine Sword Sect disciples 7 25.

He values talent without resenting its success. Although he recognizes that recommending Chu He could benefit his own career and prospects of entering the Heavenly Mansion Pool, his concern remains genuine when Chu He becomes his equal in rank 25 49.

His loyalty is stronger than his grasp of high-level political strategy. He initially treats the Divine Sword Sect dispute as a disciplinary problem, failing to recognize its implications for the Bureau’s authority until Qian Hao explains them 25.

Abilities & Skills

Saber Techniques

Zhang Wei fights with a Demon-Suppressing Saber, using both large-scale blade Qi and a named offensive technique 38 39.

• Golden blade Qi: Releases a thirty-meter-long slash that splits Bai Sha’s poisonous gas and continues toward him 38.
• Demon-Slaying Strike: Combines a descending saber attack with sound waves that distract the target 39.
• Limit: His direct clash with the Fourth Rank late-stage tiger-headed demon leaves him grievously injured, while the demon suffers no injury 39.

Close-Quarters Combat

• Punches Bai Sha into the ground and prepares to finish him before the tiger-headed demon intervenes 39.
• Reacts immediately to Chu He’s warning, evading an ambush that would otherwise have killed him 39.
• Uses a blood-restoring pill, thrown dust, and evasive movement to escape pursuit while wounded 39.

Battlefield Coordination

• Coordinates seamlessly with Sun Shang despite their years of hostility, attacking the tiger-headed demon’s lower body while Sun Shang pressures it from above 40.
• Their combined assault temporarily forces the stronger demon onto the defensive, but cannot prevent its eventual counterattack 40.

Equipment / Items

• Demon-Suppressing Saber — His principal weapon; he binds it to his right hand with torn cloth before joining Sun Shang’s desperate assault 38 40.
• Blood-restoring pill — Taken after suffering severe injuries against the tiger-headed demon 39.

Relationships

• Chu He — Recruit, subordinate, and later fellow Hundred Household Commander. Zhang Wei arranges his assignment to the Third Battalion and supports his advancement; Chu He eventually promises to give him full support in return for his care 6 49.
• Sun Shang — Former close friend turned rival after Sun Nai’er’s death. Their old battlefield coordination survives the estrangement, and Sun Shang ultimately dies protecting him 40.
• Sun Nai’er — Deceased fiancée and Sun Shang’s younger sister. Zhang Wei remembers her as the person he loved most and states that she died saving him 40 41.
• Qian Hao — Superior officer who directs his deployment, corrects his political judgment, and orders him to compile a dossier on Chu He 25.
• Tie Jun — Fellow Hundred Household Commander and friend stationed elsewhere. Zhang Wei boasts to him about Chu He, and Tie Jun later sends word of Chu He’s breakthrough 17 20.
• Yuanbao — His most outstanding company commander, whose death deeply affects him. Yuanbao’s vacant position prompts the selection won by Chu He 20 21.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruitment and Chu He’s First Assignment

Zhang Wei explains the Trial Mountain examination and oversees the selection. Concerned for the daughter of the Marquis of Might and Reach, he sends an armored officer into the mountain after a participant dies. At the trial’s conclusion, he praises Chu He for killing a First Grade Vajra Leopard and rewards him with Blood Qi Pills 1 2.

He subsequently asks prison staff to look after Chu He and arranges for the recruit to enter his battalion. When Chu He requests an immediate mission, Zhang Wei offers two choices but warns that the Moon Ancient Village assignment may be a scheme. Chu He accepts it despite the warning 5 6 7.

Company Commander Selection and the Divine Sword Sect

After Chu He returns with credit for two missions and a White Lotus Cult protector’s death, Zhang Wei authorizes him to select a Fourth Grade martial skill. He then presides over the competition to replace Yuanbao and appoints Chu He company commander following his decisive victory 20 21 22.

When Chu He kills a Divine Sword Sect disciple at the Bureau entrance, Zhang Wei offers to bear the punishment. Qian Hao instead explains that the killing helped deter factions testing the Bureau’s apparent weakness. He assigns Zhang Wei to the Nine Nether Town operation and requests a dossier on Chu He for an interested senior figure 24 25.

Nine Nether Town Campaign

Zhang Wei’s Third Battalion serves as the operation’s overt force, ordered to display the Bureau’s strength while five other battalions infiltrate covertly 25.

During the battle, Zhang Wei gains the upper hand against Bai Sha but is overwhelmed by a Fourth Rank late-stage tiger-headed demon. Chu He’s warning saves him from its initial ambush. Sun Shang later rescues him, and the former friends fight together until Sun Shang pushes Zhang Wei aside and is torn in half by the demon 38 39 40.

Unable to stand because of his injuries, Zhang Wei mourns both Sun Shang and Sun Nai’er. He also recognizes Chu He’s use of the Nine Demonic Latent Arts and tries unsuccessfully to rise and stop him, believing the technique will kill him 41.

Search, Memorial, and Chu He’s Return

After Chu He disappears, Zhang Wei leads more than a hundred guards in searching for him. The discovery of bloody shoes beside the river convinces him that Chu He has likely died, but he insists on recovering the body and honoring him properly 44 47.

With no body found, he orders a uniform placed in Chu He’s coffin and announces his posthumous honors at Heroes’ Tomb. Chu He returns during the ceremony. Zhang Wei welcomes him enthusiastically and later congratulates him on becoming Hundred Household Commander of the Sixth Battalion 48 49.

Notable Quotes

“But if there’s any danger, retreat immediately. Whatever happens, the Third Battalion will shoulder it together.” 7

“The person I loved most died saving me back then, and now my most important brother has died for me too.” 41

Trivia

• A separate character named Zhang Wei, an inner-sect senior disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect nearing Third Rank, is mentioned during a discussion of young competitors. He is not the Bureau commander 27.