Gu Chen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Previous Life

Gu Chen grew up in the Shangjing Gu Family as Gu Beichi’s son. His father’s failed breakthrough and ruined meridians led to their expulsion, after which they moved to Zhou City. The Zhou Family, which had arranged Gu Chen’s engagement to Zhou Xue’er, sought to sever the marriage agreement once his father lost his standing 1 86 88.

On April 11, Gu Chen was caught in a hotel-room scheme involving Su Qingqing. Desperate to avoid Zhou Xue’er’s misunderstanding, he jumped from the fourth floor and shattered his legs. His father subsequently sought help in Shangjing, where humiliation and persecution drove him to his death. Within two months, Gu Chen’s family had been destroyed 1 2.

Gu Chen later jumped from a cliff in despair, but Luo Yunxi rescued him and took him away from Earth. He cultivated on Heavenly Nether Star for thousands of years and became a Divine Emperor. His unresolved regrets included his father’s death, his failure to kill Gu Changfeng personally, and his inability to give Zhuxin a proper place beside him 1 70 279 308.

Rebirth

By reversing time and space, Gu Chen returned to his younger body on April 11, before the hotel trap could ruin his life again. Although his cultivation was gone, he retained his memories and refused to repeat his former decisions. He instructed Su Qingqing to remain inside while he confronted the people outside, then began rebuilding his strength at Jasper Lake 1 2 4 375.

Appearance

• Youthful face: His appearance after rebirth contrasts with his thousands of years of experience; at twenty, he can look entirely harmless 1 335.
• Cultivated physique: His first session at Jasper Lake leaves him with sharply defined muscles, keen eyes, and a solemn, cold bearing 4.
• Family resemblance: Gu Muyu recognizes a strong resemblance to the younger Gu Beichi 342.
• Intimidating gaze: When enraged, his eyes are described as resembling those of a predatory wolf, carrying cruelty and bloodlust 332.

Personality

Gu Chen is composed under scrutiny and difficult to intimidate. Campus gossip barely affects him, and the status of wealthy families does not compel his respect. His maturity repeatedly surprises people who expect an ordinary student 15 29 59.

His vengeance is deliberate rather than merely impulsive. He sometimes preserves an enemy because that person is more useful alive, as with Xu Zhongwen, and openly favors giving powerful opponents hope before plunging them into despair. Against Gu Changfeng, he conceals his true cultivation specifically to reverse the confidence of the man responsible for his father’s suffering 29 85 317.

His severity softens around his father and people who have shown him genuine kindness. He helps the aging Uncle Liu with household work, treats Su Qingqing tenderly, and seeks to spare Gu Beichi further burdens. Despite his former Divine Emperor status, he also respects knowledge beyond his own and sincerely asks the mysterious old Daoist for guidance 23 89 112 264 323.

Abilities & Skills

Heaven and Earth Creation Art

Gu Chen’s principal cultivation method supports his recovery of power and provides the deep reserves needed for prolonged combat 104 198 275.

• Absorbs spiritual energy from natural locations, spirit stones, and other spiritual materials 4 161 359.
• Sustains repeated techniques against opponents who expect his energy to run out 189 275.
• Benefits substantially from the abundant spiritual energy in the Land of Heaven and Earth 367.
• At Peak Revolving Illumination, a circulation that previously took one or two minutes can take a minute or less 359.

Divine Sense

An intangible perception ability that distinguishes cultivators from ordinary martial artists 72.

• Initially reaches less than ten meters; later expands to a thousand-meter radius 72 359.
• Tracks surrounding attackers and allows him to inspect people or overhear conversations 314 332 339.
• Can attack the soul, briefly overwhelming Gu Muyu with intense pain and disrupting her response 353.
• Is used to begin breaking the Emperor’s Vein’s third restriction 380.

Sword Control Technique

Gu Chen remotely controls swords through true qi and spell seals 104 125 353.

• Flying Sword Technique: Directs a sword through the air without holding it; he also travels while standing on a flying sword 104 332.
• Sword-Splitting Technique: Divides one sword into eight flying swords, forming a net that traps Jiang Yi and later Gu Muyu 125 353.
• Precision attacks: Deliberately strikes Jiang Yi without killing him, intending to remove his ability to fight 125.
• Early limitation: Fine control drains his true qi rapidly and requires intense concentration 104.
• Unmastered technique: Identifies Sword Transformation as more powerful, but admits he has not mastered it 125.

Emperor Style and Emperor’s Ultimate Strike

Combat methods developed from Gu Chen’s previous-life experience 375.

• Emperor Fist: Projects the force of a spell across a distance during his fight with Ning Yufeng 195.
• Emperor Style, Third Form: Gathers true qi from 365 qi channels into his palm, producing a half-moon-shaped attack 274.
• Emperor Body Protection: Reinforces his body, swelling his muscles and giving his skin a bronze-like appearance. It does not prevent injury under the Gu and Chen families’ combined assault 314.
• Emperor’s Ultimate Strike / Qi-Moving Art: Draws on the five elements of heaven and earth. Gu Chen releases more than sixty layered strikes against flying insect demon beasts, nearly exhausting his true qi 375 377.
• Realm restriction: Emperor Style’s fourth form and later forms remain beyond his available power before Qi Refining 375.

Qi Control and Defensive Techniques

• Manipulates people and objects at a distance, pulling Gu Kang to his feet and drawing Chen Shumeng’s sword from its sheath 319 353.
• Controls his descent after jumping from a mountain road; stops his falling car in midair and strikes it away 240.
• Briefly pauses in midair after reaching Peak Revolving Illumination 359.
• Creates a True Qi barrier that repels and injures a Water Cloud Sect elder 176.
• Uses Torrential Rain Needles to strike nine armed bodyguards’ wrists and disarm them 210.

Alchemy, Medicine, and Instruction

Gu Chen retains extensive previous-life knowledge of pill refining, artifact refining, and talismans 70.

• Produces Crimson Flame Fire, an artifact fire used for refining 70.
• Uses his self-created Vortex Pill Fusion Technique to condense medicinal liquid into pills 70.
• Treats injuries with true qi and prepares medicinal decoctions 176 259 290.
• Offers to repair Zhao Bo’s incomplete Undying Divine Skill and guides his cultivation 53 55 323.
• Gives Su Qingqing the Exquisite Heart Sutra and permits her to share it with Zhao Mo’er, Qianqian, and Li Jing 262.

Martial Comprehension and Other Skills

• Swordsmanship imitation: Reproduces and improves the Chen Family’s sword technique, using superior understanding to compensate for a cultivation gap 310 311 312.
• Cultivation concealment: Suppresses himself to early Revolving Illumination against Wei Aozhong and to Late Bone-Forge during parts of the Gu Family confrontation 277 315 317.
• Academic ability: Completes Chinese in under twenty minutes, a perfect mathematics paper in just over ten, and English and management papers in about ten minutes each 16.
• Chess: Solves Xiang Linde’s chess problem, earning a favor that helps him confront the Zhou Family 48.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Emperor’s Vein — Stores possessions, including the Dragon Scale Sword, Zhuge Kun’s map, and array flags. Contains restrictions that Gu Chen works to open as his power recovers 104 262 359 380.
• Dragon Scale Sword — A low-grade wooden magical artifact covered in dragon-like scales. It accompanied his original growth as a cultivator and remained preserved even after he became a Divine Emperor. Later damaged, it continues to serve in combat while he seeks repair materials 104 189 360.
• Medicinal cauldron — Supplied by Zhao Haiqing and used for pill refining at Zhao Bo’s residence 66 69 70.
• Jade Guanyin — A possession sought by the Liu Family, whose demands lead to repeated confrontations 66 90 186.
• Spirit Gathering Array and array flags — Used during his breakthrough to Peak Revolving Illumination; the flags are subsequently stored in the Emperor’s Vein 359.
• Map of the Land of Heaven and Earth — Given by Zhuge Kun; marks unusual locations but does not comprehensively list smaller families 262 335.
• Message-receiving jade pendant — Learns that it can receive messages and has exposed his location to the Shangguan Family 365.

Relationships

Family

• Gu Beichi — Father and the central focus of Gu Chen’s efforts to change his past. Gu Chen protects him, investigates his ruined meridians, and arranges a succession ceremony to establish him as Gu Family head 14 88 319 323.
• Unnamed mother — Absent throughout his remembered childhood. Gu Beichi reveals that she intervened in a crisis when Gu Chen was three and was imprisoned by the Mystery Gate’s Law Enforcement Office. Her identity and absence provoke both hurt and anger 324 325.
• Gu Changfeng — Eldest uncle and principal family enemy. Gu Chen exposes his role in sabotaging Gu Beichi’s breakthrough and severs his arms while demanding the truth about his grandfather 317 319 320.
• Gu Mingheng — Older cousin and Gu Changfeng’s only son. His contempt for Gu Chen and Gu Beichi carries over from the previous life; Gu Chen challenges his standing in the Land of Heaven and Earth 222 340 342 347.
• Uncle Liu — Loyal household elder who followed father and son from Shangjing to Zhou City. Gu Chen expresses gratitude for his sacrifices 23.

Romantic Relationships

• Su Qingqing — Classmate whose kindness remained constant during his previous downfall. Their relationship becomes romantic; he protects her from her family’s opponents, cares for her injuries, and teaches her cultivation 110 113 259 262.
• Xiao Zhuxin / Ye Zhuxin — Childhood beloved, referred to by both names in the account of his past. Gu Chen regrets failing to give her a proper place beside him and promises not to leave her again when they reunite 1 224 279 290.
• Li Jing — Romantic partner who worries that continuing their relationship will make her a mistress. Gu Chen reassures her that they will not be separated 259.
• Sun Jiangman — A woman he regards as his partner after Xiaoxiang Peak; he treats her other suitors as romantic rivals 164 222.
• Zhou Xue’er — Former fiancée whose scheme helped destroy his previous life. He rejects her in the new timeline and ultimately spares her life after destroying the Zhou Family 2 6 132.

Master, Disciple, and Allies

• Luo Yunxi — Previous-life master who rescues him from his suicide attempt and takes him away from Earth. Her guidance remains a reason for him to enter the Land of Heaven and Earth 227 279 322.
• Zhao Bo — Disciple. Gu Chen improves his cultivation, promises to repair his incomplete technique, and rescues him from imprisonment 53 55 176.
• Zhao Haiqing — Black Wind Hall ally who supplies his cauldron. Gu Chen rescues him from the Liu Family and later prepares an operation to repair his severed tendons 66 186 259.
• Zhao Mo’er — Protected associate whom Gu Chen finds badly injured during the Liu Family’s attack. He kills one assailant and vows that those responsible will die 186.
• Zhuge Kun — Trusted subordinate who helps reorganize Zhou City’s power structure. Gu Chen entrusts the city to him before leaving for Shangjing 257 262.
• Wang Hu — Ally who assists with transport and recognizes Gu Chen’s unusual maturity and martial knowledge 29 35.
• Xu Mo — Initially participates in the hotel trap; later seeks Gu Chen’s protection and becomes his subordinate ally 2 33 35 57.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Campus retaliation: Rejects Zhou Xue’er, defeats Jiang Yu’s hired attackers, and humiliates Brother Bao after a restroom ambush intended to stop him taking his exams 6 15 16.
• Jiang Family confrontation: Survives an assassination attempt while his internal force is depleted, then demands seventy percent of the Jiang Group’s shares as compensation for attacks against himself and his father 66 69 83.
• Destruction of the Zhou Family: Defeats Jiang Yi with immortal techniques and confronts Zhou Nanfeng over Gu Beichi’s disappearance. The Zhou Family’s destruction releases a longstanding obsession, but leaves his grudge against the Gu Family unresolved 125 132.
• Shennong Grass search: Travels to Xiaoxiang Peak, defeats the Five Tyrant Snakes en route, and later takes Wang Gui’s spiritual treasures. Despite his cultivation gains, he still needs Shennong Grass to establish his foundation 144 161.
• Defense of his followers: Rescues Zhao Bo, Jiang Qi, and Zhu Jun from the Water Cloud Sect’s cells, then confronts the Liu Family after its assault on Black Wind Hall 176 186 187.
• Aristocratic Family Assembly: Becomes a target for rival martial artists, severely injures those attacking him, and blocks the route up Starfall Cliff. Later escapes Cao Wushuang’s pursuit by jumping from a mountain road 230 231 240.
• Consolidation of Zhou City: Returns forcefully against the Qian Family’s forces and intimidates the Su Family. Zhuge Kun and Wen Ziqi redistribute influence, with Black Wind Hall replacing the Zhou Family as the third major power 257.
• Return to Shangjing: Reunites with Zhuxin, defeats the Gu Family’s defenders, exposes the conspiracy against Gu Beichi, and prepares his father’s succession. Learns of his mother’s connection to the Mystery Gate 290 308 317 319 323 324.
• Land of Heaven and Earth: Travels under Ma Gang’s name, overtakes Gu Mingheng on the Road to Heaven, enters the Dragon Ranking, and publicly displays immortal arts against Gu Muyu 335 342 353 355 359.
• Heaven and Earth Forest and Dragon Spine Mountain: Kills eight pursuers seeking his cultivation method, confronts Zhuge Wangyue, and discovers a chained Ao clansman in a dungeon. Plans to investigate the Endless Sea after opening the Emperor’s Vein’s third restriction 360 365 380.

Notable Quotes

“In this life, I will make up for my regrets and turn heaven and earth around!” 1

“When I was little, your back was as broad and unbroken as a mountain range, Father, shielding me from every storm. Now it’s time for your son to hold up the sky for you.” 89

“Even if everyone under heaven really couldn’t tell right from wrong and condemned me, do you think I would be afraid?” 317