Dong Tian

Biodata

Power Progression

The mutations and battlefield transformations shown before the impostor’s death belong to Elder Ge’s clone, not the real Dong Tian 58.

Background / History

Scientist and Garden Master

Born in the Ayinai System, Dong Tian grew into the Garden of Existence’s youngest and most gifted leader. Elder Ge described him as the greatest genius the Garden had produced in a century: intelligent, diligent, proud, and capable of independent insights 49 59 63.

He first attracted Elder Ge’s attention at a technology research and development conference by presenting the Antenna, a defensive weapon capable of piercing a planet. On the awards platform, he announced his ambition to become Garden Master and lead the organization back to the goddess’s side. When challenged over the weapon’s destructive nature, he argued that a weapon’s moral purpose depended on its wielder—an answer that won Elder Ge’s approval 49.

Dong Tian also developed the Broodmother, the core device of his Gene Warrior Project. He personally searched for a fragment of the Ambrosial Arbor’s “molted remains” to construct it. His intended division of responsibilities was clear: the Antenna would deter external threats, while the Broodmother would strengthen elite soldiers to combat levels comparable to Pathstriders 59.

Imprisonment and the Impostor

Elder Ge drugged and kidnapped Dong Tian during a private meeting, then used cloning technology to replace him with an identical impostor. Ge initially controlled the Garden through this substitute, but the clone eventually pursued forbidden experiments and became too powerful for him to control 58.

The impostor carried out the purge, destroyed Ayinai’s statue, and fought the Alliance Army under Dong Tian’s name. After Xiahou Chan killed it, Elder Ge revealed the deception and produced the real Dong Tian in a cage. The prisoner had been subjected to extensive experimentation, leaving his uniform torn and his body covered in needle marks, cuts, and burns 31 32 57 58.

Despite his condition, Dong Tian recognized Amo, expressed trust in him, and urged him to kill Elder Ge. He subsequently identified the corrupted Broodmother and condemned Ge for interfering with the seal beneath the Garden 58 59.

Death and Recognition by Ayinai

When Elder Ge threatened to devour both armies, Dong Tian protested that the soldiers were living people and shouted for them to escape. Ge then pierced his heart with an energy beam and discarded his body 60.

In Ayinai’s forest, Dong Tian recovered his memories under her care. She led him into the Corridor of Existence and granted him his own Divine Stele of Existence, recognizing his achievements. He chose a Garden-issued coin as the object to place within it 62.

Ayinai offered to make him her Emanator, but Nous and Qlipoth also sought him. Dong Tian chose Ayinai; the three Aeons ultimately agreed to share him as their Emanator. Their empowerment made him the first Three-Path Emanator and raised him to Throne-level strength 62 63.

Return and Departure

Before returning to the battlefield, Dong Tian received the Book of Fronny, which conveyed Froni’s knowledge and philosophy of Existence. He returned alive, restrained Elder Ge with vines, and fought alongside Qingzhu and Amo. He also remotely activated the Antenna against Ge 64 65 66.

Afterward, Dong Tian helped reinforce Voracity’s damaged seal by placing the Heart of Nihility inside the Broodmother to regulate its power 67.

He asked to travel with Akivili so he could visit places described in Froni’s book and spread the Path of Existence. He also chose to leave the Garden to give Amo a fair opportunity to lead—though privately, he welcomed an escape from the Garden Master’s enormous paperwork burden. After briefing Amo, he boarded the Astral Express 67 68 73.

Two hundred years later, Dong Tian had traveled through several star systems with Akivili. He formally accepted an Express pass, joined the Nameless, and helped stabilize the train when Akivili’s attempt to clean a toilet with a powerful plant went disastrously wrong 75 76.

Appearance

As a prisoner, Dong Tian has long brown hair hanging over his face and dull gray eyes. In the Corridor of Existence, his hair is described as white; the supplied account does not explain the change 58 62.

• During imprisonment: Wears a tattered director’s uniform, with exposed skin marked by needles, cuts, burns, and other experiments 58.
• After recovering his memories: Blushes readily when Ayinai watches or teases him 62 63.
• Not his appearance: The four-armed body, enlarged right arm, and eight-limbed monster seen during the war belong to the clone 31 48 56 58.

Personality

Dong Tian combines exceptional talent with pride and ambition. As a young researcher, he publicly declared that no other candidate was as suited to become Garden Master. Elder Ge characterized him as contradictory and conceited, while ordinary citizens remembered him as a kind, approachable leader 49 50.

His devotion to Ayinai takes precedence over personal advancement. He had previously refused Nous’s invitation because of her, and after becoming a Throne, he hurried to assure her that he had no wish to become an Aeon himself. In private with her, his confidence gives way to embarrassment and an eagerness for approval 50 62 63 70.

His concern for life contrasts sharply with the impostor’s brutality. Even while dying, he objected to Elder Ge treating soldiers as nourishment and warned both armies to flee. Froni’s teachings later strengthened his conviction that Existence should protect living beings’ right to choose; he added a vow to hunt those who used Existence to erase others 60 64.

He also has a jealous and mischievous streak. At the victory banquet, he prepared the Book of Fronny while glaring at Akivili for monopolizing Ayinai’s attention. His decision to yield leadership to Amo was likewise partly motivated by his desire to avoid administrative work 68 70.

Abilities & Skills

Three-Path Authority

Dong Tian simultaneously wields Existence, Preservation, and Erudition, granted by Ayinai, Qlipoth, and Nous respectively 63.

• Power balance: Existence forces the other two powers into submission and keeps their coexistence from destroying his body 63.
• Physical enhancement: The empowerment ritual increases his physical capabilities exponentially 63.
• Restraint: Uses vines to immobilize Elder Ge during the final confrontation 65.
• Stabilization: Uses Existence to steady the Astral Express during a violent onboard disturbance 76.
• Limit of documented feats: The supplied events do not separately identify specific combat techniques derived from Preservation or Erudition.

Scientific and Engineering Expertise

Dong Tian independently created the Antenna and designed the Broodmother’s original genetic-enhancement system 49 50 59.

• Integrates optical materials into the Antenna to keep it invisible while inactive 49.
• Links the Antenna to the Garden’s vast energy reserves 50.
• Uses an implanted chip to communicate with and activate the weapon remotely 66.
• Adapts the Broodmother to regulate the Heart of Nihility’s power during the repair of Voracity’s seal 67.

Martial Arts

According to Elder Ge, Dong Tian mastered and integrated every introductory martial art within a month of enrolling, then developed a technique of his own 50.

• The technique concentrates Path power at the point of impact and detonates it inside the target, destroying nearby living tissue 50.
• The injury Elder Ge presents as an example was inflicted by the impostor; it is not a direct combat feat of the real Dong Tian 50 58.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Antenna — His independently developed defensive superweapon. It can pierce a planet and contaminate it for nearly a century, preventing new life from developing. Each use requires substantial energy replenishment, supplied through its connection to the Garden’s reserves 49 50.
  • Dong Tian remotely fires it against Elder Ge after returning. He explains that imprisonment had previously left him without enough stamina or Path power to operate its control chip 66.
• Broodmother — A genetic-enhancement device built using a fragment of the Ambrosial Arbor’s remains. Its original purpose was to empower elite soldiers; it was later corrupted into a system for extracting and injecting divine power 59 62.
• Book of Fronny — Froni’s diary, transformed into a weapon by Ayinai and named by Dong Tian. It imparts Froni’s knowledge and insights into Existence, and can manifest environments recorded within its pages 64 70.
• Implanted control chip — Enables remote communication with the Antenna, provided Dong Tian has sufficient stamina and Path power 66.
• Astral Express pass — A pale blue-and-white pass accepted when he joins the Nameless 76.

Relationships

• Ayinai — His goddess and foremost allegiance. She restores his memories, recognizes him in the Corridor of Existence, grants him Emanator power, and permits his journey aboard the Express 62 63 67.
• Elder Ge — Initially an admirer and supporter of his leadership; later his kidnapper, experimental abuser, and killer. Dong Tian returns to help defeat him 49 58 60 65.
• Amo — His successor as Garden Master. Dong Tian trusts him even while imprisoned, later briefs him on the Garden’s affairs, and leaves rather than compete with him for leadership 58 68 73.
• Nous — Previously had an invitation refused by Dong Tian. Later grants him Erudition power as part of the Three-Path arrangement 50 62 63.
• Qlipoth — Grants him Preservation power, accepting the shared Emanator arrangement rather than gaining Dong Tian exclusively 62 63.
• Froni — A respected predecessor whose writings shape Dong Tian’s philosophy and inspire his travels. Dong Tian names the Book of Fronny to spread Froni’s legacy 64 67.
• Qingzhu — Fellow Emanator of Existence and ally against Elder Ge. They also share jealousy over Akivili’s attention to Ayinai 65 66 70.
• Akivili — His traveling companion and connection to the Astral Express. Despite resenting Akivili’s closeness to Ayinai at the banquet, Dong Tian spends the following two centuries traveling with them 70 73 75.
• Duolike and Pom-Pom — Welcome him aboard the Express. Duolike values the security provided by a Pathstrider of Existence, while Pom-Pom introduces him to the train’s rules 75 76.

Notable Quotes

“So, in my view, the meaning of a weapon's existence depends entirely on the person who wields it! If that person is wicked, even a fork can become a deadly weapon!” 49

“Bastard! Stop! They're all living people!” 60

“I am your follower, and you are the only one I will ever follow!” 63