Lin Chuan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Lin Chuan is the eldest legitimate son of Lin Boyuan, the Marquis of Loyal Martial Valor, and Madam Lin. His father designated him as the Lin Household’s future successor. At twenty-five, he had spent seven years studying at Supreme Splendor Academy and normally returned home on his monthly day off 368.

His single wood spirit root, diligence, and steady temperament made him the household’s foremost genius. Within the academy, he held second place for years, while his swordsmanship ranked among its top ten. Nevertheless, the gap between him and Lan Lingwei, the academy’s leading disciple, remained substantial 368 375 644.

Appearance

• Build and features: Tall, straight-backed, and handsome. His brows resemble Lin Boyuan’s, though his overall appearance is closer to Madam Lin’s 367.
• Bearing: Clean-cut and scholarly, contrasting with his father’s heavier, battle-hardened presence 367.
• Usual clothing: Moon-white brocade robes with the Lin Household’s sword emblem embroidered on the cuffs, accompanied by a longsword at his waist 367.
• Market attire: Silver-white brocade robes, a dark-gold cloud-patterned belt, and a dark-green sword scabbard edged with fine spiritual-light threads 424.

Personality

Lin Chuan is courteous, diligent, and willing to examine his own shortcomings. After losing to Qin Tiexin, he admitted defeat without resentment and accepted his father’s criticism rather than making excuses. He then sought repeated practice, rapidly reducing the pauses and telegraphed movements left by academy training 370 371 372.

His concern for others is practical rather than merely formal. When Qin Tiexin failed to return from Foundation Establishment cultivation, Lin Chuan searched the available cultivation chambers in Cloud Ford Ward and waited outside the correct one. Before the Secret Realm Trial, he also insisted that Qin accept a protective jade talisman, citing his responsibility as the person who had recruited him 415 435.

He respects his friends’ privacy. After recognizing Qin Tiexin beneath another identity, he protected him without exposing the disguise. His later precautions over the Pure Land Chan Temple affair impressed Chen Xi, who praised his discernment and handling of the situation 551 552 564.

Beneath his composure, Lin Chuan is intensely competitive. Accustomed to shouldering responsibility, he rarely voices his frustration at falling behind exceptional peers. His decision to gamble on an ancient willow branch reflected his desire to close that gap 644.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Lin Chuan combines precise spiritual-power control with agile sword handling. During his first spar with Qin Tiexin, he adjusted the activation of his sword’s three wood spirit runes separately for thrusts, rising slashes, and downward cleaves 368 369.

• Hundred Herbs Swordsmanship: An orthodox academy sword art. Its Eight Leaves Strike Together produces eight genuine attacking sword tips rather than illusory images 369 371.
• Reserved techniques: During team drills, he withheld both the final five moves of Hundred Herbs Swordsmanship and his flexible sword 435.
• Azure Ribbon thrust: His finishing strike pierced the demonic ape’s blood-baleful defense and entered the back of its skull, killing it 449.
• Flexible-sword training: He later obtained a flexible sword art from the Library Pavilion. Qin Tiexin considered it a possible reason for his improved performance against Fu Qingge, rather than a confirmed explanation 643.

Golden Thread Wood-Grain Armor

A wood-attribute defensive martial technique that forms golden threads and wood-grain patterns across his body 369.

• Adjusts its defensive density toward incoming attacks and disperses frontal impacts across the armor 369.
• Was shattered by Qin Tiexin’s Arhat Fist during their first spar 369.
• Had visibly improved by the demonic ape battle: its golden threads were more than twice as thick, with denser wood-grain patterns 446.

Grass Travels a Thousand Li

A movement technique that releases pale-green spiritual light beneath his feet, allowing a swift backward sweep 369.

• Can be combined with a sword ray to create distance while forcing an approaching enemy to defend 369.
• Failed to stop Qin Tiexin’s initial rush because Qin took the sword ray directly on his body and continued advancing 369.

Physical Conditioning and Unarmed Combat

Although not a body cultivator, Lin Chuan has tempered his body with wood spiritual power for years. Qin Tiexin judged his balance, force transmission, and bodily control exceptional for a Foundation Establishment cultivator 369.

• Uses a well-practiced, unnamed fist technique with simple, sweeping movements 372.
• Held an advantage in speed and reactions during spiritual-power-free sparring with Qin Tiexin, while Qin held the advantage in strength and toughness 372.
• Learned to shorten openings between attacks, use shoulder checks, and sidestep into counterattacks instead of automatically retreating 372.
• His initial weakness was limited life-and-death combat experience, particularly his reluctance to abandon a trapped weapon 370 371.

Wood-Element Manipulation

Lin Chuan can transform wood spiritual power into fine vines 452.

• Used underground vines to level disturbed ground and cover footprints, rubble, and battle traces in the herb garden 452.
• Also erased bloodstains, gouges, and residual spiritual-power traces around the nearby temple to conceal the team’s activities 452.

Team Leadership

Lin Chuan is his team’s acknowledged leader and makes its final operational decisions 438.

• Recruited sword, formation, medical, and frontline specialists, then arranged coordination drills before the Secret Realm Trial 415 434 435.
• Assigned Liu Suifeng to establish defensive, concealment, and warning formations before harvesting the herb garden 444.
• Applied a clear loot policy: individually obtained spoils belonged to their finder, while jointly obtained spoils were divided equally 471.
• Ordered discretion, reduced outings, and canceled group gatherings when their connection to Pure Land Chan Temple risked attracting attention 564.

Cultivation Knowledge

• Explained the formation of Golden Core Sacred Relics and the distinction between Innate and Acquired Sacred Relics 629.
• Knew that extracted Golden Cores could serve as seeds of principles, but carried resentment and were generally used by Evil Cultivators 629.
• Frequently questioned Qin Tiexin about Buddhist teachings, including the conflict between compassion and a predator’s need to kill 372.

Equipment & Items

• Longsword: Initially a middle-grade law artifact awarded by Supreme Splendor Academy, forged from spirit iron and engraved with three wood-attribute spirit runes. His longsword is later described as an upper-grade law artifact 368 375 586.
• Azure Ribbon: A special upper-grade flexible sword given to him by Lin Boyuan. Its slender gold-and-silver blade is concealed in a belt sheath and serves as a rarely revealed reserve weapon 370 448 601.
• Wood-attribute scabbard: Made and gifted by Qin Tiexin after placing third in the artifact-refining assessment. Its three coordinated spirit runes provide attack, defense, and repair functions; it fits Lin Chuan’s sword precisely and replaces an inadequately ranked scabbard 586.
• Remnant Nascent Soul swordsmanship jade slip: Contains two relatively complete wood-attribute moves that compress sword intent before releasing it immediately before contact. Lin Chuan intended to study it during the team’s next rest 453.
• Charred willow branch: A Golden Core Sacred Relic from High Antiquity, chosen from the imperial treasury on Qin Tiexin’s recommendation. It trembled in response to a faint strand of sword intent emerging from Lin Chuan 644.
• Storage ring: Used to carry items including the jade slip containing information about his prospective teammates 416.

Relationships

• Lin Boyuan — Father and principal mentor. Named Lin Chuan his successor, diagnosed his combat weaknesses after his first spar with Qin Tiexin, and later arranged his Jade Star City posting 368 371 658.
• Madam Lin — Mother. Proud of his achievements and attentive to his welfare; she helped introduce him to Qin Tiexin through her account of the visiting monk 368 658.
• Lin Feng — Younger brother. Lin Chuan’s initial wish to look after Qin Tiexin partly arose from Qin’s friendship with Lin Feng. He also explained Lin Feng’s disputed betrothal to Xiao Yan 373 586.
• Lin Wei — Younger sister and fellow academy student. Their close relationship includes teasing and mock fights; she struck him with her scabbard after learning he had recruited Qin Tiexin before she could 371 417.
• Qin Tiexin / Mingjue — Sparring partner, teammate, and close friend. Lin Chuan sought his instruction, protected his concealed identity, and later received a custom-made scabbard from him 372 552 586.
• Xu Ying — Medical cultivator, teammate, and prospective marriage partner. Lin Boyuan and Madam Lin planned to propose on Lin Chuan’s behalf once he reached Core Formation. She was due to accompany him to Jade Star City as a government-workshop alchemist 415 658 669.
• Du Heng — Fellow sword cultivator and teammate, recruited at Foundation Establishment late stage 415.
• Liu Suifeng — Formation-master teammate who coordinates tactical preparations with him 435 438.
• Ling Shuyao — Later addition to the group. Lin Chuan recognized her connection to the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop and welcomed her 494.
• Lan Lingwei — Stronger academy peer and tournament opponent. He trusted her ability to protect Lin Wei, but lost to her in the Arena Trial’s round of sixteen 437 475 607.
• Xiao Wan — Old acquaintance whom he opposed when she demanded that he surrender Qin Tiexin 551.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Meeting Mingjue

• After witnessing Qin Tiexin demonstrate basic Buddhist martial techniques, Lin Chuan challenged him to a spar. Qin broke his armor, disrupted him with Lion’s Roar, and drove him toward the arena’s edge with a thrust kick. Lin Chuan conceded, though Qin offered to call it a draw 368 369 370.
• Lin Boyuan used the match to explain the difference between academy proficiency and practical combat experience. He ordered Lin Chuan to spend half a year gaining experience in the army or a mercenary company after the Star Selection, without revealing his family identity 371.
• Lin Chuan returned for several days of unarmed and weapon practice, improving his habits while developing a friendship with Qin Tiexin 372.
• When Xiao Yan arrived over Lin Feng’s betrothal, Lin Chuan brought Qin to the main hall and explained the households’ history and changing positions on the engagement 373.

Canglan Secret Realm Trial

• Lin Chuan recruited Qin Tiexin as the fifth member of his team alongside Du Heng, Liu Suifeng, and Xu Ying 415.
• He led the group through the realm’s unstable terrain and organized the collection of spirit medicines. During the herb-garden battle, he protected Xu Ying and ultimately killed the demonic ape with Azure Ribbon 439 444 446 449.
• He and Qin Tiexin defeated monks associated with Withering and Flourishing Temple, then rejoined their companions and distributed the spoils under the team’s established rules 470 471.
• After Qin entered Pure Land Chan Temple alone, Lin Chuan set a five-day deadline before the group would return to search for him. He later urged the others to continue their approach despite the danger 497 513.
• Recognizing Qin beneath his saber-wielding disguise, Lin Chuan led the team to his aid against Xiao Wan. He refused to hand him over and subsequently pretended not to know him, allowing Qin to introduce himself as Liu Qing 551 552.
• The expanded six-person team completed the mission with every member surviving and received full marks 557.

Skills Trial and Arena Trial

• Lin Chuan did not enter the Skills Trial, concentrating instead on securing a strong Arena Trial result 579.
• He advanced through the opening round without revealing Azure Ribbon, then used it to disarm a saber cultivator and reach the top sixteen 592 601.
• Lan Lingwei defeated him in the round of sixteen despite his use of both swords 607.
• He subsequently won all three challenges to his selected place, becoming steadier after a dangerous opening match against a swift-saber rogue cultivator 627.
• His final overall Star Selection ranking was tenth 658.

Treasury Reward and New Posting

• Following further training, Lin Chuan defeated Fu Qingge in a difficult challenge match, overcoming an opponent whose abilities had previously presented a substantial obstacle 643.
• Allowed one selection from the imperial treasury, he considered three sword- or wood-related sacred relics before choosing the charred willow branch. He hoped it would help him catch up with rivals such as Lan Lingwei and Gu Ting 643 644.
• After investiture, he learned that Lin Boyuan had arranged his assignment to Jade Star City. Xu Ying planned to travel with him and work there as an alchemist 658 669.

Notable Quotes

“You are formidable, Master. I have lost.” 370

“I was the one who brought you onto the team. And you’re Brother Feng’s brother. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to get past it. Take it.” 435

“He is a good friend of mine. Forgive me, but I cannot comply.” 551