Li Yu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Transmigration and First Rank Hall

Before transmigrating, Li Yu had recently graduated from university and joined a private company. After a client pressured him into drinking high-proof liquor supposedly excavated from an ancient tomb, he awakened in Western Xia. His new body belonged to an eighteen-year-old First Rank Hall agent who had been gravely wounded during a mission. By his first appearance, approximately half a year had passed since the transmigration 1.

Two months before reaching Gusu, he received orders in Lingzhou to travel south. Gao Jingzong subsequently identified his bronze credential as the sovereign’s Heavenly Mandate Token, one of only two issued when First Rank Hall was founded. It potentially placed him on equal footing with Helian Tieshu and authorized him to control half the organization 1 4.

His assignment was to raze Mantuo Manor and capture Madam Wang alive. Li Yu understood the mission as part of the sovereign’s struggle with Li Qiushui, Madam Wang’s mother. Although he wanted independence, he considered both fleeing and joining the opposing faction unsafe 4 5.

Taking Over the Fish-Dragon Gang

• Gao Jingzong handed Li Yu responsibility for local affairs and the Fish-Dragon Gang’s leadership token 4.
• At Black Sand Wharf, Li Yu initially confused the Black Flood Dragon Gang with the Fish-Dragon Gang. Fu Rong revealed that the former had occupied their territory after Gao disappeared 7.
• After weakening Zhang Biao with Ten Fragrances Tendon-Softening Powder, Li Yu killed him with a sword thrust and publicly claimed leadership of the Fish-Dragon Gang 7 8.
• Fu Rong disclosed that Gao had fled with the gang’s valuables two months earlier. Li Yu nevertheless accepted leadership and retained her as deputy, entrusting her with its daily affairs 8 9.

Flower-Honoring Banquet and the Divine Dragon Cult

• Recognizing Zhang Hengye’s banquet invitation as bait, Li Yu sought allies among Lake Tai’s Seventy-Two Peaks. His first approach to Lin Mang did not immediately secure their support 13 16 17.
• He arrived alone before the Fish-Dragon Gang’s plaque could be destroyed and challenged Zhang Hengye 21 22.
• During their duel, he used the pavilion’s confined space and Zhang’s concern for a camellia associated with Mantuo Manor to compromise the longer whip’s advantages 22.
• When other fighters intervened, Mu Wanqing’s crossbow bolt saved him from Sun Laoba. Li Yu then broke through to the third-rate tier while surrounded 23 25.
• By the time Fu Rong and Lin Mang arrived, several attackers lay dead and roughly a hundred gang members were afraid to advance. Li Yu offered mercy for surrender, and the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s men dropped their weapons 24.
• He subsequently appears as the Divine Dragon Cult’s leader, with a growing reputation in Gusu 25.

Red Flower Society and West Canal Gate

• Li Yu destroyed the Red Flower Society in a nighttime operation. Its hidden treasury yielded thousands of taels of silver, gold, and other valuables 26 27.
• He ordered the dead returned and the society’s crimes publicized, presenting the Divine Dragon Cult’s action as carrying out Heaven’s will and upholding justice 28.
• After Ge Zhixiong’s forces ambushed Lin Mang and seized the society’s headquarters, Li Yu ordered a withdrawal rather than an immediate counterattack 28.
• Once his lightness skill improved, he joined a coordinated raid on West Canal Gate. Disguised as one of its disciples, he wounded Ge Zhixiong’s leg, tested his strength, and escaped over the rooftops 29 30 31.

Mantuo Manor

• Li Yu entered Mantuo Manor to rescue Mu Wanqing, whose earlier identity as “Qin Xiu” she then openly acknowledged 34 35.
• The pair hid in Wang Yuyan’s courtyard and later killed Yan Ruhua while rescuing Wang from her ambush 34 39.
• Li Yu requested access to the Langhuan Jade Grotto as repayment, hoping particularly to obtain a first-rate internal cultivation art 39.
• Before their escape, he stopped Wang Yuyan from stepping off a cliff and reassured her that her mother still cared about her. She gave him an annotated Soul-Losing Finger manual 41.
• He and Mu Wanqing escaped by boat, but she declined to return with him to Green Willow Manor 41.

Preparing for Apricot Grove

West Canal Gate bribed Chen Youchun of the Beggars’ Sect to force Li Yu into a public duel to the death with Ge Zhixiong. Li Yu recognized that Ge’s internal power and experience exceeded his own; killing an exhausted Yan Ruhua by ambush had not made him capable of confronting a strong second-rate expert directly 44.

After acquiring the Minor Formless Skill, he continued training the Soul-Losing Finger but remained unable to master its first move. With the Apricot Grove battle a month away, he learned of Hegemon Wine at Wuxi’s Pine and Crane Tower. Seeing a possible opportunity to strengthen himself, he announced secluded cultivation and refused visitors 45 46 49.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and straight, with a handsome face and heroic bearing 1 2.
• Eyes: Distinctive peach-blossom eyes whose shifting gaze appears tender 1.
• Hair: Locks hang beside his temples 1.
• Hands: Long, slender fingers described as suitable for either playing a zither or wielding a sword 5.
• Usual clothing: Blue-green or blue robes, commonly accompanied by a wine gourd and sword 1 22.
• Concealment: Wears a green-gauze hat during the Mantuo Manor incident; Mu Wanqing urges him to keep his face covered to avoid attracting unwanted attention 37.

Personality

Li Yu combines ambition with a practical awareness of his limitations. He speaks of seeking dominion over the jianghu even while commanding fewer than thirty people, but treats small beginnings as necessary groundwork. When facing Ge Zhixiong, he openly admits that he is not confident of victory rather than mistaking his earlier successes for proof of superior strength 10 49.

He favors preparation, deception, and favorable terrain over rigid notions of honorable combat. Poisoning Zhang Biao, trapping Zhang Hengye’s whip in a pavilion, and disguising himself to ambush Ge Zhixiong all reflect this approach. He is equally willing to retreat when immediate retaliation would expose his followers to greater danger 7 8 22 28 31.

His teasing manner often obscures genuine concern. He embarrasses Qin Xiu with suggestive remarks but gives her space and medical help; later, he risks entering Mantuo Manor to rescue her. He accepts her concealed identity without resentment, telling her that a name does not change who she is 2 5 34 35.

Abilities and Skills

Wine Worm

A crimson creature residing in Li Yu’s dantian converts wine Qi into internal power 2 13.

• Early drawback: Before fully awakening, it consumes much of his own cultivation 16 45.
• Recovery: Wine rapidly replenishes his expended internal power; ordinary strong liquor cannot permanently increase its foundation 19 45 49.
• Foundational growth: Suitable aged wine can increase foundational power when processed through the Minor Formless Skill 45.
• Per-wine limit: Repeatedly drinking the same vintage eventually stops increasing foundational power, although it still restores ordinary internal power 45.
• Training aid: He uses plum wine to guide his sword practice and seeks a fiercer aged wine to help him understand Giant Wave Finger 13 46.

Returning Wind Brushes the Willow

Also called the Returning Wind and Swaying Willow Sword Technique, this superior sword art contains eight forms and emphasizes yielding, leverage, and changes of momentum 13 17.

• Willows Sway in the Wind: Produces three sword afterimages at minor mastery 13.
• Other demonstrated forms: Parting Flowers and Brushing Willows, Dark Willows and Bright Flowers, Willow Leaf Flying Arrows, and Swallow Returns to the Willow Grove 17 18 22.
• Applications: Deflecting heavier weapons, exploiting openings, and maintaining balance on unstable boats 17 18 22.
• Limit: Superior technique does not eliminate the disadvantage of substantially weaker internal power 31 44.

Cloud-Piercing Step Shadow

A superior lightness skill recovered from Red Flower Villa, where its manual had been used to prop up a bed leg 28.

• Training requires two thirty-jin bronze leg bands and precise Qi circulation while moving across posts 28 29.
• Li Yu overcomes calf stiffness by practicing while intoxicated, keeping his mind clear as his body relaxes 29.
• Once mastered, he crosses wine jars without disturbing them despite wearing sixty jin of leg weights 29.
• The skill improves his swordwork and supports rapid rooftop escapes 30 31.

Minor Formless Skill

An internal cultivation art revealed through the bronze mirror’s moonlight-and-shadow secret 45.

• Manifests foundational internal power as bodhi-leaf images in his dantian, each representing one year of cultivation 45.
• Allows him to refine suitable wine-derived power into a lasting foundation rather than merely replenish expendable reserves 45.
• Helps him progress in finger-technique training, although his short cultivation time remains a limitation 46 49.

Soul-Losing Finger

A superior finger art recorded in Wang Yuyan’s annotated manual 41.

• The actual Soul-Losing Finger uses a forceful thrust to produce a sound wave that disrupts the listener’s thoughts before the finger force strikes 41.
• Its first move, Giant Wave Finger, remains unmastered: his projected force disperses only a few inches beyond his thumb 46.
• He regards a powerful aged wine as a possible guide to grasping its forceful character 46.

Other Martial and Covert Skills

• Burning palm attack: Kills Cui Jingui with a palm strike that burns through his chest; Qin Xiu later asks about the Flame Blade he used 1 2.
• Spy training: His body was trained by First Rank Hall from childhood, giving him sharp perception and experience with dangerous terrain, climbing, and water 16 18.
• Drug-assisted tactics: Uses Ten Fragrances Tendon-Softening Powder to weaken stronger opponents before committing to a decisive attack 7 8.

Equipment and Items

• Tempered-steel longsword — A well-made Western Xia weapon, though not a treasured blade; his principal weapon throughout the early conflicts 1 17.
• Concealed dagger — Kept in his sleeve for emergencies and practical tasks such as cutting Mu Wanqing’s bonds 1 2 4.
• Yellow-skinned wine gourd — Carries wine for cultivation, recovery, and emergency bursts of strength 1 2 19.
• Large wineskin — Holds ten jin of ordinary strong liquor during the Mantuo Manor rescue 35.
• Heavenly Mandate Token — The sovereign’s bronze credential, bearing Western Xia characters and a five-clawed dragon 4.
• Bronze mirror — Obtained from the Langhuan Jade Grotto; ultimately reveals the Minor Formless Skill 44 45.
• Soul-Losing Finger manual — Wang Yuyan’s handwritten copy, with extensive instructional annotations 41 46.
• Folding fan — Frequently carried during meetings and travel 4 9 10.

Relationships

• Mu Wanqing / Qin Xiu — Rescues her from the Funiu Sect disciples; she later saves him with a crossbow bolt. Their shared dangers develop into affection, and he accepts her true identity without reproach 1 2 25 34 35.
• Fu Rong — Deputy and trusted administrator. Urges him to take genuine leadership of the Fish-Dragon Gang, manages its affairs, and advises him on alliances and retreat 8 9 13 49.
• Lin Mang — Initially a cautious prospective ally; later a supporter and the Divine Dragon Cult’s White Dragon Envoy 16 24 46.
• Abi — Friend who nicknames him Young Master Carp, warns him about Yan Ruhua, and rescues him from her ship. Li Yu later arranges for her to teach Guo Xie 17 18 19 44.
• Wang Yuyan — He helps rescue her and prevents her from stepping off a cliff. She provides access to the Langhuan Jade Grotto and gives him the annotated Soul-Losing Finger manual 39 41.
• Guo Xie — Subordinate entrusted with messages, operational tasks, and inquiries into aged wines; Li Yu also supports his martial development 26 44 46 49.
• Gao Jingzong — First Rank Hall superior who transfers the local mission and Fish-Dragon Gang token to him, leaving him to rebuild a depleted organization 4 8.
• Yan Ruhua — Attempts to force him into service for her own pleasure. He escapes with Abi’s help and later kills her alongside Mu Wanqing 18 19 39.
• Ge Zhixiong — Principal rival in the conflict with West Canal Gate and his scheduled opponent at Apricot Grove 28 31 49.
• Chen Youchun — Beggars’ Sect intermediary bribed by West Canal Gate; becomes personally committed to the Divine Dragon Cult’s defeat 44 48.

Notable Quotes

“Outside strength is no sure support; only the sword in my hand.” 17

“A name is only a label. Qin or Mu, you’re still you.” 34

“We can’t count on someone reasonable in the Beggars’ Sect stepping forward to uphold justice. To forge iron, you must be strong yourself.” 49

Trivia

• Guo Yanzhi mistakes him for Southern Murong after witnessing his suddenly enhanced martial power. Li Yu responds, “I’m his father!” 1
• After watching him consume a hundred jin of liquor during training, cult members spread the saying that greater drinking capacity means greater martial prowess 29.
• He keeps a red camellia as a training reminder: its association with Mantuo Manor and Yan Ruhua helps drive away discouragement 29.