Qin Tiexin

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Upbringing in Soot Alley

Qin Feng brought Qin Tiexin to Ink City as a swaddled infant and raised him above the family smithy. He presented Tiexin as his biological grandson, saying that the boy’s parents had died shortly after his birth. Tiexin called him “Grandpa” publicly and “Master” privately. Before Qin Feng’s death, both acknowledged that Tiexin had already understood they were not related by blood; the grandfather title had helped protect him from other children’s bullying 2 4.

Qin Feng taught him smithing and the household body-tempering method, and sent him to private school at seven. The family initially lived comfortably on Qin Feng’s savings and reputation for forging hundred-refined steel 1 2.

Their circumstances deteriorated after the Heavenly Craft Workshop opened across the street. Its lower prices drew away commissions while Qin Feng’s illness worsened. Tiexin took over the forge, shifted toward household implements and farm tools, pawned possessions for medicine, and cared for his bedridden master 1 2.

Inheriting the Smithy

Before dying, Qin Feng left Tiexin the shop and charged him not to abandon the craft. He also asked that, if Tiexin ever met someone surnamed Ouye, he convey the apology of Qin Feng, an unworthy disciple of the Hundred Refinements Sect 4.

Tiexin cremated Qin Feng and buried his ashes beside those of his wife and son at Emerald Cloud Mountain. He handled the burial alone, then returned to Soot Alley determined to keep the smithy. He rejected Zhao Ming’s offer of six hundred taels for the property 5.

The Heavenly Craft Workshop subsequently undercut his repair prices and bought up good iron. Tiexin survived on small commissions, hauling work, mountain firewood, and food from his neighbors. When Zhao Ming and four workers confronted him, he defeated them and broke Zhao Ming’s folding fan 6 9.

Further pressure included exclusion from dock work, a false claim against his shop’s ownership, and a fabricated customer complaint. He moved to the southern freight yard, defended his ownership with the purchase deed and tax records, and exposed the false complaint through his ledger and the knife’s markings 10.

Li Zhenwei’s Saber and Enlistment

During this period, Tiexin awakened the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts and began studying restoration in its virtual forging hall 11.

Li Zhenwei sought him out after learning of his hardships and examining evidence of his craftsmanship. Tiexin agreed to attempt the repair of Li’s severely cracked military saber, which had belonged to a fallen comrade. Unwilling to preserve it merely as a display piece, he sought a repair that would retain its Intent and return it to battle 16 17.

Using rare materials supplied by Li, Tiexin completed the restoration. Li demonstrated the result by cutting through the Heavenly Craft Workshop’s Armor-Piercing Spear, then invited him into the Northern Army’s craftsmen’s battalion. Tiexin initially refused to leave his master’s shop and accepted only five taels for the repair 18 19.

He ultimately chose military service as a way to broaden his craft without surrendering the smithy. He paid five years of management fees using an advance from Li, entrusted the key to Aunt Wang, and repaired his neighbors’ tools free of charge before leaving. Although Li had arranged to waive his two-tael fine for unauthorized timber cutting and cremation, Tiexin insisted on paying it himself 16 20 21.

Before departure, he forged Edgeless. He then survived a poisoned-needle attack associated with the Heavenly Craft Workshop: Li intercepted two needles, while Tiexin blocked the third with his new saber. Li placed both Tiexin and the shop under Northern Army protection, and they departed Ink City 22 23 26.

On the journey north, Tiexin asked to ride rather than slow the party’s progress in a carriage. He successfully mounted Black Cloud, endured severe saddle sores without complaint, and eventually returned the horse to walk with ten veterans. He kept pace with them for two days before reaching Xinyang Pass 27.

Craftsmen’s Camp

At Xinyang Pass, Tiexin was assigned as Zhou Cang’s assistant in Third Section, Seventh Group. Zhou initially dismissed him and challenged him to forge ten acceptable standard sabers from inferior iron within five days. After this test, Zhou stopped trying to drive him away, and Tiexin began learning weapon repair at his side 28 29 34.

Their working relationship developed into a formal apprenticeship after Tiexin eased the pain of Zhou’s injured knee during a storm. Zhou subsequently taught him the Battlefield Quenching Technique 36 37.

Tiexin also developed armor-piercing arrowheads to counter the Northern Di’s hardened leather armor. After successful tests, he shared the method with the camp rather than keeping it to himself, explaining that faster production could help end the war sooner 35 36.

Team A and First Combat

Tiexin passed Li Zhenwei’s selection trials, securing the final flag after defeating Sun Yun despite substantial injuries. He entered Team A and trained in weapon handling, formation assaults, riding, stealth, and other military skills while continuing his work at the forge 39 41 42 45 46.

His first killing occurred during an ambush against a Northern Di patrol. Although he executed his training successfully, he returned nauseated and repeatedly rubbed at the blood on his hands. Nightmares, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite followed, prompting a pause in his training 46 47.

During a later Night Scout attack, Tiexin froze at the sight of blood. Zhou Cang pushed him away from a charging horseman and lost his already injured leg. The threat to his teacher broke Tiexin’s paralysis: he confronted the rider, used a shoulder strike to unbalance the horse, and attacked before carrying Zhou back to Xinyang Pass for treatment 47 48.

After promising to provide for Zhou, Tiexin returned to duty. His report of Night Scouts near Team A’s mission site alerted Li that the unit might be entering a trap. Sent ahead on Black Cloud, Tiexin broke into the valley battle and reunited with his teammates. He later pursued the fleeing Helian Zhen, hurled Edgeless from horseback, and returned to the pass with spoils and half a corpse 49 50.

Fallen Comrades and Return to Ink City

After the later fighting around Black Wind Valley, Tiexin loaded Li Zhenwei’s body, the unconscious Tu Dazhu, and their fallen comrades onto a cart. He found Lin Feng’s sword but no trace of Lin Feng himself. Joined by the surviving members of Team A, he personally helped pull the cart back to Xinyang Pass, refusing the cavalry’s offer to take over 62.

At the mourning hall, he prepared the bodies, led the cremation, and collected six comrades’ ashes into jars, placing Lin Feng’s sword separately. Tiexin, Tu Dazhu, Zhao Ziliang, Zhao Ling, and Li Shun promised to care for the dead men’s loved ones and return their remains home 62.

During this homeward journey, Tiexin visited Shi Meng’s mentally impaired elder brother. Rather than tell him directly that Shi Meng had died, he said that his comrade remained at the frontier and had sent money home. He entrusted ten taels to a neighbor and asked her to help ensure that the brother did not go hungry or cold 64.

Tiexin subsequently resumed smithing at the Qin Household Blacksmith Shop, where a lame old man, a man missing a hand, and a child were reported to be staying with him. His return and sale of brush knives again attracted Zhao Xuan’s attention. He also continued visiting Qin Feng’s grave with offerings 65 68.

Entering the Cultivation World

Tiexin’s original purpose in entering the cultivation world was to find Lin Feng, whose body had never been recovered. Years later, he still identified that search, rather than power or advancement for its own sake, as the reason he had left the mortal battlefield behind 345.

While working at the Metal and Stone Pavilion in Green Cliff Town, Tiexin earned money repairing ordinary weapons and Semi-Law Artifacts whose Spirit Runes remained intact. His reputation spread among local rogue cultivators despite his lack of spiritual power. He also volunteered to fetch water in return for the substantial meals provided to him 77 78.

He later joined the Flowing Cloud Sect and worked as a menial disciple at the Discarded Artifact Pavilion. There, he pursued both Qi cultivation and body tempering, learned about competitions offering advancement into the outer sect, and developed the ability to reconnect broken Spirit Runes. Old Wu tested his first successfully restored saber and encouraged him to earn money through weapon repairs 87 88 90 302.

Tiexin’s cultivation depended heavily on income and materials. At Fallen Star Pavilion, he spent most of his savings on dragon sinew vine, supplementary herbs, and an old book recording the Iron Spine Sect’s decline and disappearance in the Black Meteor Mountain Range. The cost of stronger medicines led him to consider additional forging work 121.

After placing in the top ten of a minor artifact-refining competition, he attracted further attention by holding off a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast while at Qi Refining Fourth Layer. In a later tournament, he defeated higher-layer opponents through straightforward close-range attacks. After winning, he received Spirit Stones, merit points, and a Library Pavilion token, and became an inner disciple under True Person Luo Ling 134 137 146.

Luo Ling Peak and Secret-Realm Experience

Nangong Yao helped Tiexin collect his inner-disciple supplies and settle into a cave abode on Luo Ling Peak. Before leaving the menial disciples’ courtyard, he distributed one hundred grains of Spirit Crystal among its residents. Old Wu reacted with shock and painful emotion when Tiexin told him that Luo Ling had accepted him, prompting Tiexin to wonder about their history 146.

Tiexin later addressed Wu Zhen as Martial Uncle and met Chen Xi as his senior brother. His studies expanded into artifact refining, nurturing bone materials, and combat applications of specialized equipment 163 170.

In a secret realm, he fought alongside other cultivators, including Liu Qing, and obtained a crimson Jade Slip from the Fire Domain after helping kill a Flame Demon. Touching an artifact token subsequently drew him into an extended illusion in which he lost his sect standing, cultivation, and physical abilities but continued living and teaching as a mortal. He recognized the illusion and emerged with his actual life and possessions intact 183 185 186.

The apparent return to Ink City, Zhou Cang’s death, Tiexin’s disabilities, and his own eventual death in that sequence belonged to the illusion, not his real history. What stayed with him was the imagined self’s refusal to abandon his craft or his obligations even after losing almost everything 186.

After returning, Luo Ling identified his difficulty against nimble opponents and ordered regular sparring with Nangong Yao. Her Cloud Gauze Handkerchiefs defeated him within ten breaths, and Luo Ling forbade him from using Edgeless during these lessons, requiring a short saber instead 198.

Devil Encounters and Wind and Snow Pass

While investigating Maple Creek Village, Tiexin discovered an opponent using a Shadow Fox to consume vital essence. The ensuing battle exposed the enemy’s Blood Sha Qi, regeneration, and eventual wings. Tiexin ultimately killed the fleeing opponent with throwing spears and returned to the sect to report the encounter 215 216 217 219 220.

At Wind and Snow Pass, Nangong Yao told him about the increasing Devil Race harassment, explained an Ice Devil’s dependence on replenishing Cold Qi, and secretly left him three Refined Blood Pills. Tiexin also investigated a red-and-black pearl that Edgeless had produced after killing a Blood Devil 230.

He fought alongside Duan Xuan, developing coordinated tactics in which one pressured an enemy while the other exploited the opening. After reaching body tempering perfection, he discussed the different branches of body refining with her and prepared to seek a Qi and Blood Realm method at the Body Refining Master Conference 260 266.

The Mysterious Arm and Loss of His Right Arm

During his exploration of the ruins, Tiexin encountered a withered, sentient severed arm that insisted they shared a blood lineage. This contradicted the human identity established by both his Flowing Cloud Sect entrance examination and the testing at Wind and Snow Pass. The arm could not remember its name, race, or history and asked him to help discover its identity 302.

Tiexin and Duan Xuan continued through the ruins, evading concealed groups and defeating would-be robbers. When Jiang Li fled past them and dropped her storage bag at his feet, her pursuers confronted the pair over its whereabouts 303 304.

In later fighting, Tiexin displayed extraordinary regeneration, but an enemy power could prevent damaged tissue from regrowing. By the time Luo Ling, Nangong Yao, and Li Yun brought him back to Wind and Snow Pass, his own right arm had been severed and preserved in his storage ring for eventual reattachment 321 322 331.

The mysterious arm remained a separate being. It communicated with Tiexin, warned him that two people were being controlled, and later sensed a presence of the same origin near the Secret Realm Trial site. Its mental state and ability to communicate fluctuated after leaving the blood pool 335 436.

After breaking through to the Qi and Blood Realm, Tiexin asked Luo Ling for permission to travel to the Heavenly South Domain. His goals included seeking treatment for his arm and continuing the search for Lin Feng. Chen Xi accompanied him and pursued a healer capable of reattachment, while Tiexin investigated the numerous unrelated Lin households along their route 342 345 355 356.

Mingjue, the Lin Residence, and Ming’an

In the Heavenly South Domain, Tiexin used the identity of the monk Mingjue and stayed at the Lin Residence. He cultivated, practiced Buddhist techniques to maintain that identity, and sparred with Lin Chuan and Lin Wei. Although initially reluctant to enter the Star Selection, he gradually became involved in its trials 367 368 372 405 566.

Tiexin took responsibility for Ming’an, a young monk who had survived the destruction of Zhaoming Temple and was being sought by Golden Summit Temple’s people. He brought the child to the Lin Residence, introducing him as his junior brother. Madam Lin welcomed Ming’an and arranged food, hot water, clothing, and a room 392 393 397.

When traveling outside, Tiexin disguised both of them with Shape-Changing Talismans and instructed Ming’an to call him Uncle Tie rather than Senior Brother. Though uncertain how he could ultimately accommodate the child when returning to the Azure Xuan Region, he refused to abandon him to danger 397.

During the Temperament Trial, Tiexin experienced imagined mortal lives, including a life as a successful craftsman with a wife and sons and another as a distinguished military commander. These families, military promotions, and the title “Iron General” were part of the trial’s illusions, not events in his actual life 405 406 407 408.

Star Selection and the Pure Land Chan Temple

After establishing his foundation, Tiexin accepted Lin Chuan’s invitation to join a Secret Realm Trial team with Liu Suifeng, Du Heng, and Xu Ying. He judged Lin Chuan dependable and considered his own ability to hold the front line a better fit for that team than Lin Wei’s agile, fast-assault group 415 417 426.

Before departure, he refined the Red Luan Heart Flame, reached the late Qi and Blood Realm, and began forming Qi Gang. During squad drills he deliberately limited his strength and acted as a moving defensive wall, allowing Du Heng to attack without reserving as much power for protection 434 435.

The secret realm included areas where Spiritual Qi became so scarce that he could not use most spiritual-power-dependent techniques. He relied on physical strength, staff work, and combat experience. In a cave battle against Yuanshun’s monks, he endured a prolonged struggle before realizing that he could still access his storage ring and summon Edgeless 459 462 466 467.

While seeking the presence detected by the mysterious arm, Tiexin encountered Xiao Rou, Xiao Yan’s maid, threatened by a silver-white python. Despite his hostility toward Xiao Yan and suspicion of Xiao Rou, he could not bring himself to watch an uninvolved person be killed. He saved her but remained wary, repeatedly requiring her to walk ahead of him 514 518.

Tiexin entered the sealed Pure Land Chan Temple using a Buddhist Jade Slip taken from Yuanshun’s storage bag. He and Xiao Rou reached its third floor, observed the regenerating puppets of the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, and received Chen Chen’s invitation to study it. Deeper in the temple, the mysterious arm reacted intensely to a bead of the same origin, prompting Tiexin to compete for it 518 528 533.

During the ensuing events, runes forcibly reconstructed his body and raised his presence to early Meridian Opening. Afterward, Chen Xi criticized his impulsiveness in pursuing Xuanli and the bead rather than waiting for a safer opportunity. Tiexin accepted the criticism and spent his recovery reflecting on the danger of charging ahead without considering the consequences or traces he left behind 544 559 561.

Acknowledging Ming’an and Continuing the Star Selection

After returning safely, Tiexin acknowledged Ming’an as his junior brother in his own heart, rather than treating the relationship merely as part of his borrowed identity. Ming’an insisted on accompanying him when he moved out of the Lin Residence. They left together after saying farewell and presenting carved Buddha statues to their hosts 566.

Tiexin then enjoyed a period of concentrated cultivation, completing his stance training, increasing the proportion of essence blood in his body, and developing Blood Qi Heavy Abyss. He prioritized body cultivation and prepared techniques that would not expose his true identity during the Arena Trial 577 578 580 581 588.

When he identified Jiang Cheng as a descendant of Jiang Lie, Tiexin returned the ancestor’s remains and belongings, including the broken Earth Splitter Axe and a Jade Slip giving the location of buried wealth. Jiang Cheng explained that the recovery would allow his household’s incomplete axe techniques to be restored 602.

In a later fight, the assassin Chen Du injected him with concentrated poison that disrupted both Qi and Blood and spiritual power. Tiexin endured the effects long enough to wound Chen Du’s leg with Star Scar, then expended his remaining power on Blood Qi Heavy Abyss, forcing the assassin to his knees 615.

By the time the Star Selection’s top ten were decided, recruiters considered Tiexin a likely champion and sought his allegiance. A prince stopped their competing offers by reminding them that the emperor would determine the destination of the top three. The final championship result is not established by this exchange 626.

Restored Arm and Rebuilt Zhaoming Temple

Su Qing eventually confirmed that Tiexin’s reattached right arm had healed well. She nevertheless forbade heavy impacts and use of Edgeless for at least twenty days. Chen Xi applied four talismans to make the arm invisible, allowing Tiexin to return to the imperial palace’s Spirit Vein while maintaining the appearance of continued injury 640.

After reaching Qi and Blood Realm peak, Tiexin investigated the requirements for opening his meridians. By then all of his blood had become essence blood, but the limitations of his realm still prevented him from freely combining the strength of different bodily regions 662.

With his arm restored and a prospect secured for Martial Uncle Wu’s medicine, Tiexin began preparing to return to the Azure Xuan Region. Before leaving, he brought Ming’an to the rebuilt Zhaoming Temple on Pure Light Mountain and installed the old bronze bell he had recovered from Golden Summit Temple. The bell still contained some power of faith and remained connected to Chen Xi’s plans concerning the curse 674 677.

Tiexin ultimately left Ming’an at Zhaoming Temple with Su Qing, promising to return. He encouraged the boy to eat properly and cultivate diligently, then departed without looking back because he feared he would be unable to leave. By this point he could fly short distances on Qi and Blood power alone 685.

Return to Great Xuan and First Disciple

Tiexin later found himself back in Great Xuan. Seeing Xinyang Pass brought back memories of Li Zhenwei, Shi Meng, Lin Feng, Zhou Cang, and his military comrades, and he wondered how those he had left behind were faring 715.

At Welcome Immortals Village, he exchanged a forged axe for Lin Feng’s dagger and gave axes to the village chief and Sun Aji’s family. After discovering that Aji possessed a Spirit Root, he offered to teach her cultivation. With her parents’ consent, he accepted her formal bow as his first disciple and left the village with her 717.

The villagers named their completed bridge Immortal Qin Bridge. The bridge contributed to the village’s prosperity, and decades later the Thorn Fairy covered it with vines that formed a lasting green walkway 717.

At Qin Feng’s grave, Tiexin encountered Zhou Nan offering incense with a four-year-old boy. Zhou Nan was astonished to see him after nearly six years without news. The child called Tiexin his father, prompting him to question how he could have a son when he had never married 719.

Zhou Nan explained that the boy was Qin Hu, Tu Dazhu’s younger son, given in adoption during Tiexin’s prolonged absence. Tiexin was deeply moved that Dazhu had been willing to give up his then-only son. He also learned that Dazhu had become chief constable and had since had another son, while Zhou Cang’s health had weakened but the old smith remained determined to live until Tiexin returned 719.

Appearance

• Large, muscular frame: At sixteen, he is described as nearly eight chi tall, with broad shoulders, a thick back, and a tight waist. Li later estimates that he approaches nine chi and weighs more than two hundred and fifty jin 1 18 26.
• Bronze skin and burn scars: Scattered forging burns mark his skin; Qin Feng calls them “a blacksmith’s medals” 1.
• Callused hands: His large-knuckled hands carry both old and new calluses from smithing 5 29.
• Youthful facial details: Despite his mature physique, fine fuzz at the corners of his mouth reveals his age 1.
• Military bearing: After his initial secret training, his straighter posture and steadier gaze make him appear more confident and less withdrawn 43.
• Body-tempering membrane: Completion of the third body-tempering layer creates an extremely faint membrane over his already dark skin, difficult to notice without close inspection 87.
• Missing and restored right arm: For a substantial period he has an empty right sleeve and fights primarily with his left hand. His own arm is later reattached, though he temporarily conceals the recovery with invisibility talismans 331 392 640.
• Disguised appearances: Shape-Changing Talismans can make him tall and thin with a leaner face and longer hair. He later grows hair to his earlobes through bodily control and suppresses his vigorous presence while traveling incognito 397 686.

Personality

Tiexin is quiet, direct, and stubbornly self-reliant. He resists selling the shop even when poverty forces him into hauling work, and refuses his neighbors’ money toward the county fine because he believes he can still earn it himself. He nevertheless accepts food assistance and carefully records each gift rather than treating it as something owed to him 5 6 9 11.

His craftsmanship is attentive and practical. He shortens a hoe handle to suit an elderly customer’s height, charges only fair material and labor costs, and credits unsolicited gifts against later work. His meticulous accounting also gives him the evidence needed to defeat a fraudulent complaint 6 10 20.

He respects rules without accepting mistreatment. When the camp cook shorts his meals and tries to drive him away, Tiexin brings the dispute to Clerk Wang and recounts the facts without embellishment. He accepts a paid food supplement once the terms are clearly established 31 32.

His strength does not make him emotionally indifferent to killing. The youth of his first victim and the physical memory of blood deeply disturb him. After Zhou’s injury, he becomes capable of acting decisively under threat, but his immediate concern remains securing treatment for his teacher 46 47 48.

Loyalty and responsibility remain central to his later decisions. He personally escorts his fallen comrades home, arranges support for Shi Meng’s brother, and enters the cultivation world in search of the missing Lin Feng. The temptation to gain wealth or power does not erase his obligations to others, as shown when he returns Jiang Lie’s inheritance to Jiang Cheng 62 64 345 602.

His compassion is governed by personal principles rather than indiscriminate trust. He remains suspicious of Xiao Rou and dislikes her association with Xiao Yan, but refuses to let that association justify watching an innocent person die. Similarly, he accepts the risks of sheltering Ming’an rather than abandon a hunted child 397 514 518.

He can be reckless when a goal becomes emotionally urgent. After the Secret Realm Trial, he accepts Chen Xi’s criticism that he charged forward without adequately considering the aftermath. He later recognizes the need to stop, recover, and cultivate steadily rather than repeatedly wager his only life 559 561 578.

Although slow to understand romantic implications, Tiexin is capable of deliberate deception when necessary. Li Yun finds his exaggerated performance of pain conspicuously unlike his normally restrained response to injury, while his later use of disguises becomes more careful after earlier inadequacies create trouble 331 335 686.

Abilities & Skills

Old Qin Household Body Tempering Method

A daily eight-movement discipline taught by Qin Feng, providing the foundation of Tiexin’s strength and bodily control 1.

• Develops lifting power, muscular resilience, controlled breathing, and sensitivity to air currents 1 8.
• Remains part of his routine after enlistment, when he practices with Edgeless 26 29.
• Requires substantial nourishment; prolonged hunger causes trembling, dizziness, stiffness, and declining performance 8 20.
• Eight rounds are described in the manual as a mortal’s limit; exceeding them causes severe pain 1.

Smithing and Restoration

Tiexin combines Qin Feng’s traditional teaching, Zhou Cang’s battlefield experience, and the Catalog’s simulations 2 34 37.

• Custom toolmaking: Adjusts balance, edge resilience, and dimensions to suit the user 6.
• Intent-sensitive repair: Restores Li Zhenwei’s saber without discarding the purpose and history embodied in its Intent 17 18 19.
• Battlefield quenching: Studies how horse urine, saltpeter earth, black oil, and muddy water affect blades 37.
• Armor work: Studies bright armor and restores it alongside Zhou; later adds tightly woven short sleeves to his own chain mail 43 45 46.
• Material assessment: Learns to read forging patterns, quenching layers, balance, and even signs of previous repairs by touch 45.
• Semi-Law Artifact restoration: Initially repairs only physical damage when Spirit Runes remain intact. Later learns to reconnect a broken Sharpness Spirit Rune, making more extensively damaged weapons usable again 77 78 90.
• Artifact-refining education: Receives introductory texts from Nangong Yao and studies under Luo Ling after becoming an inner disciple 146.
• Bone and fang artifacts: Learns to judge bone fibers, carving pressure, and angle. Discovers that properly nurtured bone artifacts can express sixty percent of their innate abilities even without inscribed Spirit Runes 170.

Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts

The Catalog supports weapon study, simulated forging, and the accumulation of recorded designs 11 20 21.

• Virtual Realm · Forging Hall: Allows repeated practice without consuming physical iron or fuel. His initial allowance is two real-world hours daily; by his camp assignment, he has four hours available 11 29.
• Deep Deduction: Generates possible solutions to difficult restoration problems. For Li’s saber, it proposes Mend the Heavens, Reconnect the Veins, and Nirvana 17.
• Design records: Can be built through careful Appraisal of physical weapons or media containing complete artifact information 20.
• Design repository: The blade section opens after ten different blade repairs 21.
• Limits: Deep Deduction provides core directions rather than complete blueprints and inflicts severe mental exhaustion 17.
• Early unreached reward: At his Chapter 43 review, Weapon Weakness Insight (Basic) remains a future reward, and the twenty-category objective stands at one completed category 43.
• Later activity: The Catalog remains present in his sea of consciousness during his communication with the mysterious severed arm 335.

Close Combat and Heavy Weapons

Tiexin turns the whole-body force transmission of forging into battlefield movement 42.

• Uses the Layered Edge Technique to defeat Sun Yun during the flag trial 39.
• Learns controlled chops, thrusts, lifts, and blocks rather than relying solely on Edgeless’s falling weight 41 42.
• Breaks a shield formation with a shoulder charge, earning a place at the front of future fortified assaults 42.
• Ranks first in Team A’s close combat and can withstand exchanges against three opponents in mud fighting 45 46.
• Uses heavy sweeps and body checks to create openings for teammates rather than seeking a kill with every strike 50.
• Primordial Unity Stance Fist: A nine-move fist method requiring explosive whole-body force from a balanced stance. It remains a familiar core technique even after he loses his right arm 93 362 420.
• Heavy Mountain Saber Technique: Initially links three forms—Bear the Peak and Gather Momentum, Suppress the Peak and Cleave, and Shatter the Peak and Sweep. Later thoroughly integrates its first five forms and can execute them effectively left-handed 93 217 419 420.
• Vajra Hammer Fist: Includes the Melt Gold Hand variation for grasping blades barehanded 420.
• Savage Mountain Leg Technique: Includes Crosswise Ridge Sweep, Hills and Ravines Thrust Kick, and Heavy Savage Chop. Its force is limited not only by strength but also by flexibility and the ability of his bones to withstand rebound 367 370 420.
• Stone-Shattering Staff Technique: Transfers his familiar whole-body power delivery to staff strikes, sweeps, and linked rotational attacks. Ordinary refined-iron staffs can bend under his strength 372 420 462.
• Front-line coordination: Holds the first impact for Lin Chuan’s team and deliberately limits his blows during drills to create stable attacking opportunities for his companions 435.
• Fighting style: Combines strength and durability with changes of pace, footwork, and close-range agility rather than relying on an entirely cumbersome, head-on approach 216 599.

Horsemanship and Fieldcraft

• Calms and mounts the difficult warhorse Black Cloud despite initially having no riding experience 27.
• Develops coordinated rein and leg commands, stable charging posture, and the ability to clear a ditch a zhang wide 45.
• Learns stealth movement and observation, successfully avoiding two Northern Di patrols before his first ambush 46.
• Trains in swimming, disguise, lockpicking, drugging, and the Di language; he still does not understand Helian Zhen’s Di speech during their later pursuit 46 50.
• Cultivator disguises: Uses Shape-Changing Talismans, concealed identities, and later bodily control of hair growth and outward presence. He learns to suppress his Fire of Life, heartbeat, breathing, and visible cultivation while traveling incognito 393 397 686.

Archery Limitations

• His strength repeatedly breaks bows; the instructors report seven snapped bows after four months of training 46.
• After ten days of focused practice, his best result is three marginal hits out of ten at one hundred paces 45.
• Correctly performed simulations do not translate into accurate real-world shooting 45.
• His later recollection treats four hits out of ten as a good result. Poor aim also discourages him from choosing precision-dependent ranged techniques and makes him cautious about practicing ranged flames near Ming’an 105 400.
• Developing a successful throwing-spear method does not eliminate all problems with remote precision; he still struggles to place Blood Qi Heavy Abyss accurately at longer distances 582.

Cultivation Methods and Bodily Reinforcement

• Basic Body Tempering Instruction: Advances him beyond the mortal household method into skin-and-flesh and sinew-and-bone tempering. Its third layer produces a protective membrane, stronger strikes, and accelerated healing 87 90.
• Finger Strength Penetration and Eagle Claw Technique: Used to temper his fingers, palms, wrists, and other extremities during fourth-layer training 90.
• Primordial Unity Instruction: Condenses his spiritual power more densely than his earlier method. Conversion initially lowers his displayed second-layer level while increasing his total Spiritual Qi 101.
• True Fire Furnace Scripture: Becomes a major part of his body-cultivation routine, helping him restore Qi and Blood and refine substantial quantities of Demon Beast flesh 561 608.
• Fire of Life: Ignited upon entering the Qi and Blood Realm, providing a rhythmic source of bodily power and significantly improving strength, speed, reflexes, and defense 342.
• Red Luan Heart Flame and Qi Gang: Refining the flame enables his late Qi and Blood breakthrough and the initial formation of Qi Gang, which reinforces his attacks and defenses 434 466.
• Regeneration: In later combat, his muscles expel a Blood Spear, wounds close rapidly, and fresh flesh grows beneath burned tissue. Certain enemy powers can inhibit this regeneration, and serious poison can overwhelm his ability to purify it quickly 321 322 615.
• Earth-connected stance: Completing nine layers of stance training gives him a sense of the ground within three zhang below him and increases the force of an ordinary punch by roughly fifty percent 577.
• Cultivation priorities: Treats body refining as his primary path and Qi cultivation as support. He is prepared to reduce Qi cultivation if it begins to hinder bodily advancement 421 608.
• Resource requirements: Progress consumes extensive pills, Spirit Stones, herbs, and Demon Beast meat. His rapid later gains depend on the resources acquired through the Secret Realm Trial 121 203 578.

Footwork, Throwing Spears, and Basic Spells

• Mountain-Shaking Steps: Provides explosive closing speed, including Dodging Step, Treading Step, and Burst Step applications 137 191.
• Five Phases Gang Steps: Includes evasive Wood Phase Steps and explosive Metal Phase Steps. He eventually switches between these steps and Mountain-Shaking Steps without conscious hesitation 215 217 420 424.
• Inch Steps: Used alongside his other footwork in close combat; later includes Inch Steps · Blood Vortex Thrust 217 588.
• Falling Star Spear: Converts his physical strength into long-range javelin attacks. His earliest three-hundred-pace test is inaccurate, but he later learns to correct trajectory through a precisely timed Divine Sense nudge 200 204.
• Specialized throwing spears: Uses Frost Spears, Profound Ice Spears, and Bursting Spears; the latter contain miniature fire formations triggered by impact 219 304.
• Basic Method Formula: Supplies inexpensive utility spells for fire, water, temporary cover, restraint, and similar field needs. Their versatility and low consumption suit him better than expensive area attacks or precision-dependent ranged martial techniques 105.
• Short-distance flight: Eventually flies using Qi and Blood power alone 685.

Buddhist Techniques and Mental Trials

• Buddhist martial repertoire: Uses Arhat Fist, Prajna Palm, and Lion’s Roar while maintaining the identity of Mingjue 367 368 370.
• Golden Light Incantation: A protective technique dependent on spiritual power 400 459.
• Dharma Aspect techniques: His later repertoire includes Vajra Dharma Aspect and Arhat Dharma Aspect Body. The latter consumes substantial Qi and Blood, while spiritual-power suppression can prevent their manifestation 459 581.
• Scriptural teaching: Discusses Buddhist teachings with Lin Chuan and teaches scripture to Ming’an 372 436.
• Illusion endurance: Recognizes the artifact-token illusion with help from Chen Xi’s signal and the shattered Soul-Protection Jade. He also undergoes the Star Selection’s Temperament Trial, experiencing entire imagined mortal lives 186 405 406 407 408.

Blood Qi Heavy Abyss

A control-type martial skill that uses the heart as an array core and converts surging blood into heavy Qi and Blood essence. Special breathing projects that essence outward to distort the perception of gravity in a localized area 580.

• Qi and Blood vortex: Draws continuously on his reserves. During early practice, he estimates that he can sustain the vortex for half an hour if he avoids other exceptionally demanding techniques 581.
• Close-range precision: Initially covers targets reliably within ten feet, but placement begins to deviate beyond thirty feet 582.
• Combat application: Against Chen Du, forms the domain beneath his own feet rather than at a point ahead of him, spreading it nearly ten feet and forcing the assassin to his knees 615.
• Limitations: Water- and blood-technique practitioners can resist it more effectively, potentially trace him through the distributed Qi and Blood, or attempt to contaminate the vortex 581.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Edgeless Saber — Self-forged, blunt-edged heavy saber measuring seven chi and seven cun. Tiexin initially estimates its weight at one hundred and sixty-five jin or more. Its hardness prevents effective sharpening, so he adopts crushing force as its principal advantage. Its recorded weight later rises to fifteen hundred jin, then four thousand jin, and eventually two hundred thousand jin. It also produces a mysterious red-and-black pearl after killing a Blood Devil 22 23 93 137 230 640.
• Black ring — Triggers the Catalog’s Deep Deduction while he searches for a way to restore Li Zhenwei’s saber 17.
• Chain mail — Worn beneath black clothing during later training; modified with smaller, more tightly woven rings to protect his upper arms and elbows 46.
• Cowhide armor — Close-fitting protection commissioned before leaving Ink City, concealed beneath outer clothing 21.
• Travel clothing — Thick padded jacket and trousers, extra-thick gloves, and two pairs of reinforced cowhide boots prepared for northern service 21.
• Ledgers and notebooks — Record commissions, expenses, customer details, neighbors’ gifts, and technical lessons 6 10 37.
• Qin Household Blacksmith Shop — Inherited smithy in Soot Alley; retained during his enlistment, with five years of management fees prepaid. Zhou Cang later helps look after it during Tiexin’s long absence 4 21 719.
• Lin Feng’s sword — Recovered when Lin Feng goes missing; kept separately from the fallen comrades’ ashes and associated with Tiexin’s continuing search for him 62 186 345.
• Lin Feng’s dagger — Acquired from Sun Daniu in exchange for a forged axe at Welcome Immortals Village 717.
• Wolf-fang bracelets — Four nurtured fangs tied in pairs to his wrists. Can release wind blades; a heavy expenditure of spiritual power produces four blades with Foundation Establishment middle-stage fluctuations 170 216.
• Mysterious Silk Inner Armor — Protective treasure capable of withstanding three blows from a Foundation Establishment middle-stage cultivator. Its last barrier is exhausted during a dangerous encounter 191.
• Wind-Chasing Boots — Provide evasive agility, used in combination with his heavier Mountain-Shaking Steps 191.
• Five Phases Conversion Pearl — Assists Qi cultivation and contributes to a cultivation rate stated to be four times normal during his sixth-layer period 203 204 578.
• True Fire Instruction Jade Slip — Crimson slip obtained in the Fire Domain. Luo Ling reacts sharply when its name is revealed 183 198.
• Refined Blood Pills — Important supplementary resources for body cultivation; first secretly gifted to him by Nangong Yao, later obtained in large quantities before leaving Wind and Snow Pass 230 345.
• Mysterious severed arm — A sentient, amnesiac arm distinct from his own severed right arm. Claims shared lineage with him, detects presences of the same origin, and offers guidance and protection 302 436 533.
• Storage ring — Holds equipment and preserves his own severed arm before reattachment. Access to it allows him to summon Edgeless during the cave battle against Yuanshun’s monks 331 466.
• Refined-iron staff — Used while presenting himself as a monk. Its material becomes insufficient for his increasing strength, and he sometimes has to straighten it after practice 368 420.
• Shape-Changing and concealment talismans — Support his Mingjue and Uncle Tie disguises, conceal his presence, and temporarily render his healed right arm invisible 397 640 719.
• Little peace Buddha — Carved by Ming’an and worn before Tiexin departs for the Secret Realm Trial 436.
• Buddhist Jade Slip — Taken from Yuanshun’s storage bag and used to pass the Pure Land Chan Temple’s barrier 518.
• Star Scar short blade — Used to wound Chen Du’s thigh and cripple the assassin’s speed 615.
• Wisp of a Principle Seed — An object of potential comprehension; Su Qing warns him not to force his understanding of it during recovery 640.
• Old bronze bell — Recovered from Golden Summit Temple, retains some power of faith, and is installed at the rebuilt Zhaoming Temple 677.

Relationships

• Qin Feng / Old Qin — Adoptive grandfather, first master, and guardian. Tiexin nurses him through his final illness and preserves both his shop and his craft. Upon returning after nearly six years away, Tiexin reunites with Zhou Nan at Qin Feng’s grave 1 2 4 5 719.
• Zhou Cang — Supervisor and later formal teacher. Their initial friction becomes a close apprenticeship; Zhou loses his leg saving Tiexin, who promises to provide for him. Zhou later helps care for the Ink City shop and, despite declining health, insists on surviving until Tiexin returns 29 34 36 47 49 719.
• Li Zhenwei — Patron, recruiter, protector, and commander. Tiexin restores his treasured saber; Li offers military service, protects the smithy, and oversees his training. After Li’s death, Tiexin helps bring his body back to Xinyang Pass 16 19 26 41 62.
• Shi Meng — Team A instructor who teaches him controlled saber work and leads his first combat ambush. After Shi Meng’s death, Tiexin arranges financial help and neighborly care for his mentally impaired elder brother 41 42 46 64.
• Lin Feng — Fellow recruit and friend. Shares trials and training with him, offers support after his first kill, and tries to calm his distress. Lin Feng later disappears, leaving only his sword behind; searching for him becomes Tiexin’s original reason for entering the cultivation world 39 45 47 62 345.
• Tu Dazhu — Heavy-weapon teammate who fights beside him during the flag trial and shares the squad’s physically demanding training. Survives the later military disaster and eventually becomes chief constable. During Tiexin’s absence, he gives his younger son Qin Hu in adoption to preserve Tiexin’s family line, an act that deeply moves Tiexin 39 41 45 62 719.
• Qin Hu — Tu Dazhu’s younger son, adopted into Tiexin’s line during his absence. Four years old when they first meet at Qin Feng’s grave; asks whether Tiexin is his father 719.
• Zhao Ling — Team A archer and comrade; teases Tiexin’s poor shooting and welcomes his arrival during the valley rescue. Later joins the survivors in escorting their dead comrades home 45 49 62.
• Zhao Ziliang and Li Shun — Surviving comrades who join Tiexin in mourning the fallen and promising to support their loved ones 62.
• Clerk Wang — Craftsmen’s Camp administrator who registers his assignment, resolves his food dispute, and supports production of his arrowheads 28 32 36.
• Commandant Sun — Investigates his background for Li Zhenwei, escorts him north, and delivers him to the Craftsmen’s Camp 16 27 28.
• Aunt Wang and the Soot Alley neighbors — Provide food and encouragement during his poverty. Aunt Wang keeps the smithy key after his departure 6 13 21.
• Zhao Ming and Zhao Xuan — Heavenly Craft Workshop adversaries who try to acquire his shop through financial pressure, false claims, and covert violence. Zhao Xuan remains hostile when Tiexin returns to Ink City after his army service 5 10 24 25 26 65.
• Black Cloud — Difficult warhorse who accepts Tiexin and becomes his trusted mount in training, rescue, and pursuit 27 45 49 50.
• Old Wu / Wu Zhen — Senior figure at the Discarded Artifact Pavilion who evaluates Tiexin’s repaired weapons and supports his development. Tiexin later addresses him as Martial Uncle and seeks medicine for him during the Heavenly South journey 88 90 146 163 674.
• True Person Luo Ling — Cultivation and artifact-refining master who accepts Tiexin after his tournament victory, provides resources, and arranges combat training to correct his weaknesses. Helps bring him back after his abduction and supports efforts to treat his severed arm 146 198 203 331 345.
• Nangong Yao — Senior sister who helps him settle on Luo Ling Peak, supplies artifact-refining texts, and spars with him under Luo Ling’s orders. Offers practical battlefield advice and secretly gives him Refined Blood Pills 146 198 230.
• Chen Xi / Yang Chen — Senior brother, traveling companion, and adviser. Helps him seek treatment, supplies disguises and intelligence, and repeatedly warns him against reckless risks and insufficient planning 163 331 356 384 559 578 640 686.
• Li Yun — Fellow sect disciple and traveling companion with whom he has known ties from the outer sect through Wind and Snow Pass. Her reactions and her comrades’ teasing suggest romantic interest, but she identifies him as her junior brother rather than confirming a dao-companion relationship 100 121 230 331 335.
• Duan Xuan — Body-refining companion and combat partner. Develops effective joint tactics with Tiexin, explains body-refining paths, spars with him, and accompanies him through the ruins 260 266 303.
• Mysterious severed arm — Amnesiac senior who claims kinship of blood, asks Tiexin to investigate its identity, and guides him toward presences of the same origin 302 436 533.
• Lin Boyuan / Marquis Lin and Madam Lin — Hosts at the Lin Residence. Welcome Tiexin and Ming’an, offer practical care, and include Tiexin in household life; Marquis Lin also helps calm an abnormal surge of anger in him 371 378 393 436.
• Lin Chuan — Lin Household heir and academy sword cultivator who becomes a sparring partner and Secret Realm Trial teammate. Seeks Buddhist guidance from Tiexin and earns his assessment as upright and dependable 372 415 435.
• Lin Wei — Lin Chuan’s sister, fellow sparring acquaintance, and prospective recruiter for her own trial team. Tiexin declines because his fighting style better suits Lin Chuan’s group 372 417.
• Liu Suifeng, Du Heng, and Xu Ying — Members of Lin Chuan’s Secret Realm Trial team. Du Heng tests Tiexin’s abilities in a spar, then learns to coordinate his offense with Tiexin’s front-line defense 426 435.
• Ming’an — Young monk initially sheltered as part of Tiexin’s borrowed Mingjue identity. Tiexin later sincerely recognizes him as his junior brother, protects and teaches him, helps restore his temple home, and promises to return after leaving him with Su Qing 393 397 436 566 677 685.
• Su Qing — Healer involved in restoring his right arm. Gives strict recovery instructions and later remains with Ming’an at Zhaoming Temple when Tiexin departs 640 685.
• Xiao Yan — A source of personal hostility because of her public attempt to break her engagement with Lin Feng and her insults toward him 514.
• Xiao Rou — Xiao Yan’s maid, whom Tiexin rescues despite mistrusting her. Accompanies him into the Pure Land Chan Temple and chooses to remain with him when Xiao Yan demands her return 514 518 528.
• Jiang Cheng — Descendant of Jiang Lie, to whom Tiexin returns ancestral remains, the Earth Splitter Axe, and information about the ancestor’s buried wealth 602.
• Zhou Nan — Young smith associated with the Qin Household shop. Maintains offerings at Qin Feng’s grave during Tiexin’s absence and explains Qin Hu’s adoption when Tiexin returns 719.
• Sun Aji — First formal disciple. Tiexin discovers her Spirit Root, gains her parents’ consent to teach her cultivation, and brings her with him on his return to his old acquaintances 717 719.

Notable Quotes

“The shop is still here. The craft is still here. I... can manage.” 5

“Master said a craftsman’s prices should be fair. Charge what you should. Taking more leaves an uneasy heart.” 20

“I came here to be a soldier, to be a craftsman. Not to be bullied by you.” 31

“Then let’s fight.” 49

“The Sect Master said that fellow disciples should help one another.” 255

“One more thing—”

“Don’t call me an immortal.”

“My surname is Qin.”

“From now on... just call me Big Brother Qin.” 711