Zuo Tianchang

Biodata

Appearance

• Refined and scholarly-looking despite his formidable martial strength 1.
• Approximately thirty-five or thirty-six years old when he encounters his former students during the ferocious beast riot 31.

Personality

Zuo Tianchang combines strict classroom discipline with a sardonic sense of humor. He recognizes his students’ studious behavior as an act but privately appreciates their improving ability to fool others. When Ning Yue repeatedly sleeps through class, he wakes him with a flicked projectile, then checks on him after worrying that he used too much force 1.

He gives students room to handle conflict themselves, allowing a sparring session to become a class-wide melee rather than stopping it. His tolerance ends when their safety is threatened: after Xu Shaoyang’s dog injures Gan Xiaomei, he angrily confronts its owner and threatens to report him to the principal 6 7.

He takes pride in his students’ achievements, though their progress also highlights his own limitations. Seeing former pupils reach the Third Rank in their early twenties makes him feel old, while Ning Yue’s rapid improvement changes his response to the boy apparently sleeping in class from irritation to quiet satisfaction 20 31 46.

Abilities & Skills

Third-Rank Martial Cultivation

Zuo Tianchang is an established Third-Rank martial artist in the Iron Bone Realm; no subsequent breakthrough is documented 1 31.

• Tempered body: His cultivation is described as having forged his body into “copper skin and iron bones” 1 4.
• Enhanced hearing: He hears Ning Yue’s quiet muttering and later hears Wan Qili’s deliberately subdued remarks 1 31.
• Intimidating presence: His glare and aura cow Xu Shaoyang, who has not yet reached the First Rank 7.

Vocal Force and Projectile Control

• Produces a thunderous clap to attract his class’s attention 1.
• Silences an unruly classroom with a metallic-sounding shout that reverberates in the students’ ears 4.
• Flicks a hard black lump picked from his nose across the classroom, striking Ning Yue’s forehead and leaving a bump 1.

Martial Instruction and Combat Leadership

• Organizes group body-tempering practice and paired combat lessons, recruiting five other homeroom teachers to help supervise 4 5.
• Allows a melee to continue as students practice guarding against surprise attacks, exploiting openings, and avoiding encirclement 6.
• Leads students in steadily wearing down a Third-Rank Three-Eyed Silver Wolf while guarding against a lethal counterattack 30.
• Explains the practical value of heavy weapons against large ferocious beasts. He openly acknowledges that he has not practiced the two prize techniques and cannot identify every spiritual plant offered as an examination reward 20.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Class Seven and Ning Yue’s Awakening

Zuo Tianchang teaches Class Seven, which has ranked last for three consecutive years. During his first appearance, he announces a schoolwide martial arts mock examination in three days. His attempt to wake the sleeping Ning Yue coincides with Ning Yue realizing that he has transmigrated 1.

He later announces that the academic teachers are ill and replaces the day’s academic lessons with cultivation and practical combat. The resulting sparring session spreads into a melee, which he chooses not to interrupt 4 5 6.

Xu Shaoyang’s Dog Attack

When elite-class student Xu Shaoyang arrives to provoke Class Seven, Zuo Tianchang initially moves to reprimand him but stops at another teacher’s urging. After Xu’s dog injures Gan Xiaomei and Ning Yue kills it, Zuo Tianchang intervenes directly. He threatens to seek the revocation of Xu’s college entrance examination eligibility, and the incident ends with Xu paying 50,000 yuan in compensation without being formally judged to have deliberately released the dog 7.

Mock Examination Rewards and Reforms

Ning Yue’s unexpected rise surprises Zuo Tianchang and draws Principal Chen Dao’s attention to Class Seven having four students among the school’s top hundred martial artists 14.

Following the examination, Zuo Tianchang congratulates Ning Yue and explains the available rewards, including weapons, martial techniques, spiritual plants, and medicinal meals. He also informs the third-year students that they may remain at school or apply to study independently under the new examination arrangements 20.

Ferocious Beast Riot

During the riot, Zuo Tianchang leads Wang Xueqing, Gan Xiaomei, and Liao Dong against a Three-Eyed Silver Wolf. Ning Yue intercepts a wounded Vajra Giant Ape preparing to charge their group, allowing them to continue their own battle 30 31.

Afterward, Zuo Tianchang reunites with former pupils Meng Tian, Gao Yao, and He Li. He initially approaches their group ready to stand beside Ning Yue, then recognizes them. Later, he tries to stop Ning Yue from approaching the arriving Grandmaster Lei Zhan, unaware of their personal connection 31 33.

At the City Lord’s Manor, he unexpectedly meets his younger brother, Zuo Yidao, whom he has not seen for several years. The brothers embrace, and Zuo Tianchang continues calling him “Rijiu” despite Yidao’s embarrassed request to use his current name. Zuo Tianchang ultimately leaves with his brother rather than visiting Ning Yue’s home 28 33 34.

Huaqing Challenge and Third Mock Examination

Li Changsheng assigns Zuo Tianchang to select five competitors for the elimination contest against Huaqing. He chooses Ning Yue, Wang Xueqing, Zhao Hu, and two students ranked among the school’s top twenty. Li approves of choosing the strongest students present but privately considers Zuo too inflexible for not seeking stronger absent candidates 41 42.

Zuo Tianchang subsequently announces that the third martial mock examination will take place outside the city in three days, giving students real combat experience before the college entrance examination 46.

Relationships

• Ning Yue — Student whose transformation takes him from habitual classroom sleeper to the school’s leading martial talent. Zuo disciplines him early on, later congratulates his achievements, and remains concerned for his safety 1 20 33 46.
• Zuo Yidao — Younger brother and commander of the City Guard Third Battalion. Their reunion follows several years apart; Zuo Tianchang affectionately persists in calling him “Rijiu” 28 33 34.
• Gan Xiaomei — Student whom he defends after Xu Shaoyang’s dog attack; she later fights under his leadership during the beast riot 7 30.
• Liao Dong and Wang Xueqing — Students who fight alongside him against the Three-Eyed Silver Wolf 30.
• Meng Tian, Gao Yao, and He Li — Former pupils who have reached the Third Rank by approximately twenty-one or twenty-two, prompting him to reflect on his own slower advancement 31.
• Li Changsheng — Senior-year director who entrusts him with selecting the school’s team against Huaqing, while privately finding his selection process overly rigid 41 42.
• Xu Shaoyang — Elite-class student whom he confronts and intimidates into paying compensation after the dog attack 7.