Divine Mark

Biodata

Power Progression

Divine Marks follow a fixed color sequence. Under the standard system, a person can awaken up to seven; the number attainable depends on their talent 2.

Duan Ming's Documented Progression

Awakening

Initial Ceremony

• Organization: Jiangcheng City Divine Power School holds an annual awakening ceremony. Du Qinggang supervises it on behalf of the Divine Mark Association 1 2.
• Method: Students enter a large glass container individually. Air currents strike and enter the body before the marks emerge 3.
• One-time opportunity: A person can use the ceremony's awakening method only once in their lifetime 3.
• Sensations: Awakening may cause intense heat, cold, pain, or itching. Pain at the site can persist for several days 3 10.
• Typical result: Most students initially awaken one mark. Fang Cheng and Zhou Yao awaken two each, while another student awakens three 3 4.

Later Awakening

• Additional marks can emerge through diligent training, the development of latent potential, and a suitable opportunity 2.
• Progress is not guaranteed: some people never awaken a second mark. The narration estimates that only about one in ten first-mark users will awaken their second within three years 3.
• Lin Qiao awakens her second mark two years after her first 3.
• Duan Ming reaches the green stage less than two months after enrolling, during his life-threatening battle with Qiu Yan 26 30.

Appearance

• Form: Marks can appear as luminous stripes beneath the skin. Fang Cheng's first mark is approximately ten centimeters long 3.
• Placement: Locations vary between users and can include the hands, wrists, face, chest, and back 3 44.
• Visibility: Marks fade after awakening and light up again when their power is used 4 13.
• Color: Each standard stage has its own color. Activated Qi can also reveal the user's stage, as shown by green Qi and golden Qi 21 28 44.
• Arrangement: Duan Ming's marks appear on both wrists; Huang Shanya's five marks extend from his shoulders down his back 26 44.

Abilities & Mechanics

Qi Amplification

A Divine Mark's principal function is to strengthen the user's existing Qi, also called Divine Power 2 6.

• Activation: The user makes the Qi within their body resonate with the mark 6.
• Applications: Amplified Qi supports greater strength, speed, and defense. Qi can be concentrated in individual body parts or spread across the body's surface 5.
• Practical use: Students employ Qi and Divine Marks to break stones and complete demanding running exercises 18.
• Control requirement: Awakening a mark does not automatically make it usable. Sufficient Qi and control are necessary to draw on its power 6.
• Example: Fang Cheng initially cannot activate his green mark, despite having awakened it during the ceremony. He learns to wield it through subsequent training 6 41.

Relationship to Base Strength

• Qi can be cultivated and used without activating any Divine Mark. Du Qinggang demonstrates this by shattering the ground with a light step using Qi alone 2 5.
• Mark count does not determine every battle. Duan Ming defeats a white-and-green-mark opponent whose Qi is stronger than his own by relying on speed and saber technique 21 22.
• Users with the same number of marks can differ greatly in strength. Du Qinggang regards five-mark Huang Shanya as far beyond himself if Huang's former strength remains intact 42.
• Lower-mark users can defeat higher-mark opponents: Huang Shanya defeated six-mark Divine Power Masters in his prime despite possessing five marks 42 44.

Power of God Awakening

A Power of God is a special ability distinct from both Qi and Divine Marks. Awakening a Divine Mark provides a chance to obtain one, usually at the third mark 21.

• Early awakening: Qiu Yan possesses a Power of God with only two marks. Duan Ming also obtains his abilities upon reaching the green stage 25 26.
• Normal number: A Divine Power Master normally awakens only one Power of God 26 40.
• Conditions and restrictions: These vary by ability; some have activation requirements, usage restrictions, or both 26 29 34.
• Additional abilities: Li Zhengming confirms that special methods can grant a second Power of God without Dual Divine Marks, but usually at an enormous cost 40.

Dual Divine Marks

Dual Divine Marks means possessing two marks of the same color—not merely possessing two marks in the standard sequence 3.

• Accepted belief: Lin Qiao teaches that a person can awaken only one mark of each color. Students describe Dual Divine Marks as a rumor supposedly debunked decades earlier 3 4.
• Confirmed exception: Duan Ming's two white marks operate independently. He can activate either one alone or both together 6.
• Amplification: Using both white marks makes his Qi more than twice as strong as that of his newly awakened classmates 6.
• Stage distinction: Two white marks do not necessarily surpass a white-and-green pair. Duan Ming encounters a conventional two-mark opponent with stronger Qi than his own 21.
• Connection to special abilities: Duan Ming suspects his two Powers of God result from his Dual Divine Marks; Li Zhengming later treats that connection as expected 26 40.
• Secrecy: Li Zhengming orders Duan Ming to conceal the anomaly and supplies another explanation to witnesses. Duan Ming continues denying rumors to avoid worldwide attention before he becomes stronger 13 35 40.

Notable Practitioners

Social Significance

• Divine Marks are widely understood and regarded as symbols of Divine Power Master status, though Du Qinggang stresses their practical function over their prestige 2 4.
• Divine Power Schools train qualified masters; graduates may join the Demon Suppression Army, Divine Mark Association, or City Protection Bureau, or choose civilian life 23.
• The Divine Mark Association fights demons within national borders and maintains public order, while the Demon Suppression Army confronts demons beyond those borders 23.