Zhou Rui

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Zhou Rui lost his parents early and grew up in poverty. Through arduous training and an outstanding college entrance-examination performance, he gained exceptional admission to Suhang University. He had also worked as a tutor: Li Wanting remembered him patiently teaching her at home roughly half a year before his national tournament victory 118 120.

At the beginning of the semester, Dean Wu Mang placed him first in the freshman rankings despite objections that a heavily armored support class would develop too slowly. Zhou Rui subsequently won the university’s freshman competition and became Principal Wang Hui’s personal disciple 117.

Zhou Rui also remembers a previous life, referring to both that life and his current one when reflecting on his attraction to Jiang Churan 123.

Appearance

Zhou Rui is tall, long-legged, handsome, and straight-backed. His black armor and enormous battleaxe give him an imposing presence, while his bloodline produces a cold aura that contrasts sharply with his holy-light abilities 114 115 121.

• Eyes: Clear black-and-white eyes, described as cold as an icy pool during combat 116.
• Usual combat attire: Ink-black Violent Dragon Light Armor and the Weeping Blood Battleaxe 114 125.
• Bloodline manifestation: A biting chill can drift around his body 114.
• Buffed appearance: Golden holy radiance surrounds him, with Holy Light Cross and Holy Flame Halo shining behind him 119.

Personality

Zhou Rui is confident and uncompromising in formal matches. He regards injuries as an unavoidable part of competition and does not soften his attacks merely because an opponent is female. Against Wei He, he deliberately chooses direct confrontation rather than waiting for his opponent’s temporary enhancements to expire, trusting his own offensive power 115 119.

His confidence rests on disciplined practice. He performs more than a thousand battleaxe swings daily, making the weapon feel as natural as his own limbs. Even after entering a relationship with Jiang Churan, he maintains his training routine and prioritizes becoming stronger over worrying about her family’s approval 117 124.

Outside combat, he is protective and considerate. He insists that Zhou Yun personally choose whether to enter the Zhou family’s training program, promises to accompany her on her first long journey, and uses healing skills to help Jiang Churan recover after exhausting matches 113 114 115 117.

Abilities & Skills

Hybrid Paladin Combat

Zhou Rui combines melee damage, ranged spellcasting, healing, and team enhancement rather than specializing exclusively in support or retribution 116 120 125.

• Strength: Overpowered Feng Qiang, a fighter who invested every attribute point into strength, in a direct weapon clash 115 116.
• Estimated attributes: Shuri inferred at least 450 total strength and well over 350 base strength from that exchange; these are her estimates, not displayed statistics 116.
• Spellcasting: His wisdom is described as exceeding that of an ordinary mage, allowing high-burst magical attacks alongside his axe techniques 116.
• Durability: Zhou Heng’s blood-testing needle initially failed to pierce his skin; additional force from the second-advancement expert was required 113.
• Mobility: His speed and reactions allow nimble footwork despite his heavy weapon 115 116 119.

Frost Titan Bloodline

His bloodline combines ice and titan traits. A standard ice-bloodline test returned 17.6, nearly matching the Zhou family ancestor’s reading of 18 113.

• Can roughly sense the strength of other people’s related bloodlines, but cannot accurately measure his own 113.
• Possesses exceptional natural affinity for lightning, improving casting speed and stability 120.
• Has an S+-rank Frost Titan secret art, which he did not need to use against Wei He 120.
• Using the bloodline’s secret art leaves him briefly drained 117.

Punishment of Light

Summons thunderclouds and repeatedly strikes targets with lightning 117 119 120.

• Eliminated level-18 mage Mu You with a single strike 117.
• Against Wei He, shortened the interval between bolts to less than half a second through lightning affinity and extensive practice 120.
• Repeated strikes interrupted Wei He’s advance despite his 80% damage reduction, eventually knocking him unconscious 120.
• The unusually rapid casting does not establish a skill level above LV20; that possibility was Wei He’s mistaken speculation 120.

Holy-Light Offense and Axe Techniques

• Spear of Victory: Projects a golden spear capable of piercing heavy armor and pinning an opponent’s limb. It inflicted little damage against Wei He’s enhanced defensive aura 116 119.
• Rising Slash: An axe technique used to launch Feng Qiang into the air and intercept Wei He’s saber attack 116 119.
• Hammer of Repentance: Summons a massive holy-light warhammer that strikes from above and releases destructive radiance after impact 116.
• Holy Light Cross: Creates an offensive holy-light effect that Wei He entered during the final 119.
• Hand of God: A high-tier spell that destroyed most of Wang Xuan’s constructed combat components during an earlier team match 116 117.
• Lingering punitive energy: His violent holy light interferes with priests’ gentler healing. Unless purged, it reduces the effectiveness of their treatment 116.

Buffs and Healing

• Weapon Blessing: Envelops the Weeping Blood Battleaxe’s edge in golden light 119.
• Holy Flame Halo: Appears alongside Holy Light Cross during his fully enhanced combat state 119.
• Rapid buff application: Activated his full set of buffs in approximately one second before fighting Feng Qiang 116.
• Slow Healing: Repairs injuries and, through Zhou Rui’s testing, also relieves fatigue, soothes tense nerves, and calms the mind 115 124.
• Holy Light LV6: Restores an ally’s health and removes certain negative statuses. Learned from Suhang University’s skill library, it heals faster than Slow Healing and helped Jiang Churan recover from bloodline-related weakness 117.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Weeping Blood Battleaxe — A jet-black, level-22 weapon weighing over a thousand kilograms. He carries it in a shoulder slot on his armor and wields it with ease 116 125.
• Violent Dragon Light Armor — His ink-black combat armor, also rendered as “Fierce Dragon” in the provided passages 114 115 125.
• Custom legendary-tier weapon commission — Earned the right to a custom weapon from Master Qi Jun by winning the individual championship; its finished form is not shown 115 121.

Relationships

• Zhou Yun — Younger sister. He supplies her with cultivation resources, respects her choice of training path, and promises to escort her to Tianlan Province 113 114.
• Jiang Churan — Teammate and girlfriend. He accepts her confession after their visit to Gourmet Paradise; they openly appear as a couple the following morning 123 124.
• Wang Hui — Teacher and Suhang University principal. His backing gives Zhou Rui access to resources without relying on the Zhou family 113.
• Wu Mang — Dean and tournament instructor. Defended Zhou Rui’s freshman ranking and entrusted him with winning the individual championship 117.
• Liu Yang — Teammate who enthusiastically celebrates his victories and supports the team with defensive magic 116 120 126.
• Zhou Heng and Zhou Yang — Zhou family representatives whose respective factions agreed to devote the clan’s resources to recruiting and nurturing him 113.
• Wei He — Modu University’s ace and his opponent in the individual final. Zhou Rui’s victory left Wei He too injured to participate in the next day’s team matches 120 125.
• Li Wanting — Former tutoring student who watches his championship victory with astonishment 120.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Zhou Family Recruitment

The Zhou family’s clan leader and council of elders set aside their differences after reviewing Zhou Rui’s tournament performances. They offered comprehensive support if he switched to one of their hidden ice classes, but he declined, remaining satisfied with his paladin class and existing resource channels 113.

Instead, he raised the possibility of training Zhou Yun. After learning about the three hidden classes, she chose the ice purifier path and planned to begin after graduating from middle school. Zhou Rui agreed to accompany her to Tianlan Province 113 114.

National University Freshman Exchange Tournament

Winning the individual title completed one-third of his system achievement quest, leaving the team and survival competitions unfinished 121.

Relationship with Jiang Churan

Following his championship, Zhou Rui accepted Jiang Churan’s dinner invitation. They spent four hours exploring Gourmet Paradise before buying greenfruit wine. After she became drunk, he carried her out; she confessed her feelings, and he agreed to become her boyfriend 121 122 123.

He subsequently researched the influential Jiang family. Although he anticipated difficulty obtaining its approval, he decided that improving his own strength mattered more than dwelling on a problem their new relationship had not yet reached 124.

Legendary Ape Crisis

During the match against Modu University, substitute summoner Sun Jiao’s Random: Nature Summoning produced a level-24 legendary Crimson Flame Ape. Its flames threatened the arena barrier and battered Liu Yang’s Heavy Water Shield 126.

Zhou Rui ordered his teammates off the stage, stating that he could subdue the creature but could not protect them while fighting it. The confrontation’s outcome is not shown in the supplied chapters 126.

Notable Quotes

“It's simple. I'm very satisfied with both my current identity as a holy knight and my current strength.” 113

“Letting your mind wander on the battlefield isn't wise.” 116

“Leave this match to me. All of you, get off the stage.” 126