Lu Ziyou

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Rise in the Yin-Yang Holy Land

Lu Ziyou was a science student before transmigrating. In his new world, he rose from an ordinary menial disciple to an inner disciple of the Yin-Yang Holy Land, eventually becoming a candidate Holy Son. He regarded his succession as inevitable and planned for the current Holy Son to die suddenly before his return, without the death appearing connected to him 32 36.

His tomb-exploration experience brought him to Ji Changsheng’s attention. Ji brought him to Luoyang to investigate the supposed tomb and inheritance of Li Shiyi, whom the gathered Saints suspected to be the Decaying Great Emperor 27.

Investigation of the Ye Residence

Although Ji Changsheng sent him to investigate the Li family residence, Lu Ziyou explored the abandoned Ye residence with a compass and his hidden companion, Mingque. He knew Ji intended to use him to test the dangers ahead, but considered Mingque—whose existence Ji did not know—his greatest advantage 28.

Lu Ziyou believed Li Shiyi was a fellow transmigrator whose legacy might include an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon. While searching the ancestral hall, he found a fallen spirit tablet bearing the name Li Nianyu. He also questioned whether Li Shiyi had possessed a red-haired companion like Mingque 28 29.

A girl in coarse linen expelled him from the residence and instructed him to wait until midnight on the Ghost Festival. Outside its gates, he encountered Gu Baishui and threatened to kill him unless he withdrew. The old beggar intervened and nearly killed Lu Ziyou with Saint pressure, but Ji Changsheng arrived and secured his opportunity to enter 32 33 34 35.

The False Inheritance Trials

Inside, the residence suppressed both youths’ cultivation. Lu Ziyou chose the science examination because of his previous education, only to struggle with advanced mathematics. He eventually noticed that the examiners accepted completed papers regardless of accuracy and concluded that the tests were identifying transmigrators rather than assessing knowledge 35 36 40.

He interpreted this as a senior transmigrator selecting an heir. The final trial instead forced him and Gu Baishui to wager their lifespans against the red-robed judge in Fight the Landlord. Lu Ziyou lost nine hundred years in the first three rounds and another eleven hundred in the fourth, before winning the final round with a hand that included both jokers 40 41 42.

Convinced he had secured the inheritance, Lu Ziyou openly confirmed that he was a transmigrator. His confidence collapsed when the judge revealed that the residence’s inhabitants had killed Li Shiyi rather than served him. They were hunters of transmigrators, and the judge subsequently killed Lu Ziyou 42 43 45.

Survival and Exposure

Lu Ziyou subsequently appeared in Mingque’s red-haired monster body and seized a bronze dagger left to Gu Baishui. The monster claimed an innate forbidden art allowed its soul to move between red-haired monsters. Gu Baishui deduced that Mingque’s soul had been destroyed and that Lu Ziyou now had only one life remaining 47 48.

Lu Ziyou proposed cooperating to deceive the Saints outside. He believed the dagger was Li Shiyi’s emperor weapon and the accompanying box contained further inheritance. Gu Baishui instead revealed his identity as Third Mister, burned the letter inside the box, and left the dagger as the only surviving object connecting Lu Ziyou to Li Shiyi 48.

After swallowing the dagger, Lu Ziyou briefly believed he had escaped. At dawn, Gu Baishui announced that the supposed inheritance was inside him. The Saints immediately destroyed his cultivation; Gu Baishui then publicly exposed him as a transmigrator 49.

Appearance

• Exploration clothing: Black clothes, a hood, and a face covering while moving through the Ye residence 28.
• Unmasked appearance: Described as having a cold, self-assured countenance 32.
• Later body: Appears as a red-haired monster after his human body is killed 45 47 48.

Personality

Lu Ziyou views himself through the conventions of transmigrator stories. He believes transmigrators are born protagonists destined to prove their Dao and become emperors, and considers possible imperial titles while still at the Immortal Platform Realm. This conviction leads him to mistake the Ye residence’s hostility for an inheritance prepared specifically for him 29 40 42.

His ambition is ruthless: he plans the current Holy Son’s death and repeatedly threatens Gu Baishui. Nevertheless, he becomes visibly frightened when confronted by overwhelming power, including the old beggar’s killing intent and the revelation that the residence’s inhabitants slew an emperor 32 33 34 43.

He also expresses homesickness. He asks Mingque to scatter his ashes beyond the stars if he dies, hoping that they might eventually reach his original home 29.

Abilities & Skills

Tomb Exploration

• Experienced enough that Ji Changsheng recruits him for the Luoyang investigation 27.
• Uses a compass to search for abnormalities and researches the histories of the Li and Ye families 28.
• Recognizes that Ji is using him to probe danger, but overestimates the protection offered by Mingque 28 34.

Cultivation and Combat

• Reaches the peak of the Immortal Platform Realm and possesses numerous Dharma treasures 33.
• Wields a longsword when threatening Gu Baishui 33.
• Cannot resist Saint pressure; both the old beggar and the gathered Saints overpower him without a conventional fight 34 49.

Otherworldly Knowledge

• Recognizes science subjects and Fight the Landlord from his previous world 36 40 41.
• Infers that the examinations are searching for a transmigrator 40.
• His education does not enable him to solve the advanced mathematics presented in the trial 36 37.

Survival Through Mingque

• Continues in a red-haired monster’s body after the judge kills him 45 47 48.
• Attributes further soul transfer to the monster’s innate forbidden art, rather than an ordinary cultivation technique 47.
• Gu Baishui concludes that Mingque’s destroyed soul leaves him without another life to spare 47.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dark yellow compass — Used to investigate the Ye residence 28.
• Longsword — Drawn against Gu Baishui outside the gates 33.
• Dharma treasures — Carries numerous unnamed treasures as a candidate Holy Son 33.
• Bronze dagger — Stolen from Gu Baishui and swallowed to conceal it. Lu Ziyou believes it is an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, but that identification is not established 47 48 49.

Relationships

• Mingque — Hidden red-haired companion and greatest perceived trump card. Lu Ziyou later survives in the monster’s body at the cost of Mingque’s soul 28 47 48.
• Ji Changsheng — Recruits him for his tomb-exploration skills and saves him from the old beggar; Lu Ziyou understands that Ji is also using him to test the residence’s dangers 27 28 34.
• Gu Baishui — Rival for the supposed inheritance. Their hostility culminates in Gu exposing the concealed dagger and Lu Ziyou’s transmigrator identity 32 41 48 49.
• Li Shiyi — A presumed transmigrator predecessor whose legacy Lu Ziyou hopes to inherit. His belief that Li Shiyi was the Decaying Great Emperor is later disproved 29 42 45.
• Red-robed judge — Oversees the lifespan wager, exposes Lu Ziyou’s misunderstanding of the residence, and kills him 40 41 42 45.
• Current Yin-Yang Holy Son — Intended obstacle to his succession; Lu Ziyou plans for his sudden death before returning to the Holy Land 32.