Zhang Junbao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Childhood at Shaolin

An orphan, Zhang Junbao was found and raised by Master Jueyuan, who treated him like a son. At Shaolin Temple, he performed menial work, including carrying water, chopping wood, washing clothes, and cooking. Jueyuan taught him basic martial arts, but his guardian’s low standing prevented Junbao from entering the Arhat Hall or Dharma Hall for formal instruction 1 11 14.

Junbao entered a selection tournament intended to give promising disciples access to higher training. He defeated every opponent, including a guest-reception monk who had practiced internal cultivation for two years. Rather than accept his ability, the Dharma Hall chief accused him of secretly learning Shaolin internal arts. Jueyuan took his own life to protect him from punishment, and Junbao was expelled 1.

Meeting Zhang Qingyuan

Junbao met Zhang Qingyuan while hungry and without work. Qingyuan shared half a flatbread with him, listened to his account of Jueyuan’s death, and offered to face the future together as brothers 1.

They settled in Sanhe Town, where Qingyuan paid for their lodging and necessities while Junbao concentrated on martial arts and Daoist scriptures. Their arrangement also made Junbao responsible for their protection. After discovering that Junbao already possessed internal power, Qingyuan arranged for Zhao Pengju to explain the principles he needed to develop it further 2 6.

Junbao subsequently created six martial arts over six months. Qingyuan supplied concepts and scriptures, while Junbao worked out practical techniques and cultivation methods 7.

Appearance

Zhang Junbao has a youthful, puppy-faced appearance, with large eyes and lingering baby fat. His early embarrassment is often visible in his blushing and lowered gaze 1 7 10.

• Clothing: Begins wearing Daoist robes after settling with Zhang Qingyuan; he wears blue robes during the confrontation with the Mount Song Sword Sect 2 33.
• Hair: Wears long hair secured in a topknot with a hairpin. When the pin falls out before his battle at Thousand Dragon City, his loose, tangled hair gives him a slovenly appearance 33.

Personality

Junbao is talkative, playful, and openly enthusiastic rather than solemn or withdrawn. Although initially meek and deeply wounded by his expulsion, he becomes more confident under Zhang Qingyuan’s influence, eventually teasing his companion and enjoying opportunities to show off 2 16 30 32.

Gratitude strongly shapes his loyalties. He regards Qingyuan as a true brother because he fed him, supported his studies, and found someone to guide his cultivation. He likewise immediately helps Zhao Pengju when the man who taught him is attacked 7 8.

His ambition to become a great hero extends beyond defeating other martial artists. He believes heroes should protect vulnerable people and confront injustice wherever they encounter it. Wealth, family standing, and sect authority do not excuse wrongdoing in his eyes 14 33 40.

Despite his extraordinary talent, Junbao considers himself inexperienced and even slow-witted. He studies Daoist scriptures closely to understand the world, apply their principles, and compensate for the limited experience of his upbringing 14.

He is also competitive and capable of holding petty grudges. He challenges Qingyuan over their teaching ability, then accepts defeat when the results become clear. When Zhao Nianzhi mocks his teaching, however, Junbao retaliates with demanding scripture study and repeated sparring victories 46 47 48.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts Creation

Junbao’s defining talent is turning broad principles into functioning martial arts. A rough explanation from Zhang Qingyuan can provide enough inspiration for him to construct an original technique 6 7 26.

• Combines cultivation theory, Daoist scriptures, observed techniques, and his own experimentation 6 7 30.
• Reviews real battles to identify shortcomings and refine his methods 9 13 18.
• Continually revises existing arts rather than treating their first versions as complete 7 30.
• Still needs sufficient knowledge and inspiration: he cannot work out the Thirteen Swords until witnessing Jiang Muye’s sophisticated swordsmanship 49.

Internal Cultivation

Junbao creates four documented internal cultivation methods 7 30.

• Beyond their first three stages, the Meridian-Concentrating methods circulate automatically during everyday activity. This passive cultivation is slower than dedicated meditation 14.
• Can project internal power outward, including a blue-white cyclone released from a palm strike 8.
• By nineteen, cultivates both Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang to the eighth level 43 44.

Swordsmanship

Junbao creates the Purple Firmament Thunder Ultimate Sword Technique, a lightning-associated sword art that he repeatedly supplements and refines 7 22 30.

• Combines sword attacks with palm or finger techniques in his free hand 24 43.
• Uses Thunderbolt to shatter the Mount Song disciples’ combined sword-Qi formation 33.
• Gains an understanding of sword force during the spar with Chen Xugu 43.
• Reproduces the Pure Yang Two Forms Sword with exceptional proficiency after seeing a disciple demonstrate it once 47.
• Acknowledges that Jiang Muye’s sword technique is more sophisticated than his own, despite judging his overall martial power superior. Watching it gives him the insight needed to develop the Deadly Thirteen Swords, though completion is not shown 49.

Fist, Palm, and Finger Techniques

• Unnamed original fist technique: An early self-created routine containing feints, throat attacks, defensive counters, and responses to grappling. He teaches it to Qingyuan in Sanhe Town 3.
• Taiji Fist: Initially emphasizes overcoming hardness with softness and combining hard and soft approaches. Junbao redirects attackers into one another and turns an opponent’s falling momentum into a throw 7 9 16.
• Nine Yang Palm: One of his first six creations; he uses it alongside swordsmanship against Zhou Haojie and the Wang family’s guards 7 24.
• Primordial Unity Finger: Converts innate True Qi into a powerful surge of force released through the index finger. Inspired by Qingyuan’s descriptions of the Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger and One Yang Finger 30.

Movement and Lightness Techniques

• Cloud Ladder: A lightness technique included among his first six martial arts 7.
• Blue Butterfly Cloud-Gliding Wandering Body Steps: Improvised while fighting bounty hunters, then refined and recorded as a manual. Its butterfly-like movement helps evade coordinated attacks while conserving stamina and internal strength; Qingyuan gives it its name 18 20.

Learning and Teaching

Junbao closely studies Daoist texts, seeking both precise recall and practical understanding. His reading also extends to medicine, in which he claims some knowledge after studying books at Taiqing Palace 14 36.

• Can rapidly comprehend and perform unfamiliar martial techniques 47.
• Gains repeated combat insights under pressure, sometimes matching Qingyuan’s breakthroughs moments after they occur. Qingyuan suspects a mysterious connection between them, but no binding system is confirmed 22 43.
• Struggles to explain martial arts to less gifted students. His demonstrations show mastery without supplying the intermediate explanations they need 44 47.
• Ultimately concedes that Qingyuan is the better martial arts teacher 47.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword: Carries an iron sword during the bounty pursuit and later uses a newly acquired treasured sword against the Mount Song Sword Sect 18 33.
• Hairpin: Secures his topknot; falls out during the Thousand Dragon City confrontation and is later redeemed by Qiao Tianci 33 35.
• Martial arts manuals: Carries written versions of his creations, including annotations and insights. Offers manuals for inspection when accused of stealing Shaolin arts 20 26 29.
• Daoist scriptures: Regular reading material, including while traveling 2 14.

Relationships

• Zhang Qingyuan — Closest companion and senior brother, two months older. Supports Junbao financially, provides martial concepts, and helps him recover from his expulsion; Junbao turns those ideas into practical arts and teaches them back to him 1 2 7.
• Jueyuan — Adoptive father figure and first teacher. Raised Junbao from childhood and died protecting him from Shaolin’s punishment 1.
• Zhao Pengju — Early benefactor who explains internal cultivation without divulging his sect’s private methods. Junbao later helps rescue him and his family 6 8 9.
• Li Xuanxin — Deceased former master of Taiqing Palace. Daoist leaders formally place Junbao and Qingyuan under him to establish suitable seniority within the Daoist community 28.
• Chen Xugu — Senior Daoist brother, protector, host, and sparring partner. Saves the brothers from Juekong and later supplies the combat pressure behind their eighth-level breakthroughs 26 43 44.
• Wu Miaoxin — Senior brother at Taiqing Palace. Receives Junbao’s Taiqing Cave Profundity Skill for the palace’s use 30 31.
• Juekong and Yankong — Shaolin monks who challenge his departure from Buddhism and the legitimacy of his martial arts. Junbao rejects returning and presents his manuals to refute accusations of theft 25 26.
• Zhao Nianzhi — Chen Xugu’s fourth disciple. His mockery of Junbao’s teaching leads to enforced scripture study and a succession of losing challenges 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Leaving Sanhe Town

Junbao and Qingyuan reveal their strength while defending Zhao Pengju, then attack the River Crocodile Gang’s headquarters to rescue his family. Junbao holds off the gang members with Taiji Fist while Qingyuan searches the compound 8 9.

Their subsequent encounter with the Blood Lump Sect exposes their lack of experience against coordinated martial artists. They adapt during the fight and afterward deliberately review their gains. Learning about the Water-Parting Sword also forces them to reconsider how far they remain from the world’s strongest fighters 11 12 13.

Wang Family Feud

At a roadside inn, Junbao intervenes after hearing how the Wang family’s eldest young master and his men killed Xiaohua and her family. The young master’s death brings hired attackers and an escalating bounty upon the brothers 14 16 18.

The pursuit becomes an opportunity to improve through repeated combat. At the final public confrontation, Junbao kills Old Wang and Zhou Haojie while the brothers defeat the family’s guards and hired fighters 18 24.

Shaolin then attempts to reclaim him and challenges the origins of their techniques. Junbao explains their creative process and submits manuals for examination; other martial artists confirm that the arts are not Shaolin’s. Chen Xugu intervenes when Juekong attacks 25 26.

Taiqing Palace

After their formal admission as Li Xuanxin’s disciples, the brothers spend a year at Taiqing Palace studying, cultivating, and attending devotions. Junbao creates the Primordial Unity Finger and two additional internal methods, improves his earlier techniques, and reaches the seventh level in both Meridian-Concentrating arts 28 30.

Before leaving, he gives the palace the Taiqing Cave Profundity Skill. The brothers resume their travels toward Bingzhou to visit Chen Xugu 31.

Thousand Dragon City

Junbao and Qingyuan help a scholar obtain medical aid for his wife, who is hemorrhaging during childbirth, despite the Mount Song Sword Sect’s restrictions on leaving the city. Junbao stays behind to prevent pursuit 33.

He destroys the disciples’ sword formation. By Qingyuan’s return, more than thirty disciples lie dead around him, and sect leader Pei Wuya is wounded 33 34.

Pure Yang Palace and Continued Travels

At Pure Yang Palace, Junbao and Qingyuan investigate Chen Xugu’s marriage, initially suspecting that he mistreats the Third Princess. Meeting her reveals that she regards the marriage warmly; the brothers also obtain the account of the couple’s youth they had been seeking 39 40 41.

Their spar with Chen Xugu produces repeated insights and eighth-level breakthroughs. A later teaching competition exposes the difference between Junbao’s intuitive mastery and Qingyuan’s ability to explain techniques to ordinary disciples 43 44 46 47.

After leaving, the brothers destroy three bandit strongholds, rescue captives, and distribute stolen grain to commoners. Near Mount Hua, watching Jiang Muye fight the Eight Eminences of Central Province gives Junbao fresh inspiration for the Thirteen Swords 49.