Lu Qingshan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Youth and Murong Yu

Lu Qingshan grew up in the impoverished Lu Clan of White Cloud City. His rapid childhood advancement made him the city's foremost genius, and he left at eighteen to seek opportunities elsewhere in Qingzhou 1.

During his travels, he rescued Murong Yu from a vicious beast in a mist-covered valley and carried her out after she collapsed while breaking a formation. She shared half her azure crystal stones with him. They later reunited in a sage's ruins, became friends, and fell in love 29.

The Murong Clan opposed their relationship. One of its experts severely injured Lu Qingshan, sparing his life only after Murong Yu intervened. When news arrived that the Lu Clan was in mortal danger, she accompanied him back to White Cloud City, where he became patriarch 29.

His duties consumed his time, leaving Murong Yu increasingly neglected. She offered to take him to Central Province and arrange protection for his clan, but he refused to abandon his responsibilities or violate the ancestral prohibition against Lu men marrying into other families. She eventually left him 29 30.

The White Cloud City Crisis

For twenty years after his return, Lu Qingshan struggled to sustain the clan while his injuries remained unhealed. The Azure Dragon Gang repeatedly targeted the Lu Clan, fearing that his recovery would create a rival to White Cloud City's three established powers 1.

As the gang attacked, he repeatedly kowtowed before the ancestral incense burner and begged for help. An ancestor answered, healing him and restoring his Peak Spirit Master cultivation. Lu Qingshan then led the clan's counterattack and drove the gang from its grounds 1 2.

He subsequently declared war on the city's three major factions. After the ancestor destroyed their attacking forces, the Lu Clan suppressed their remnants. Lu Qingshan nevertheless cautioned that the Azure Feather Dynasty still stood behind the City Lord's Manor 3 4.

The ancestor identified himself as Sage Tianyan and explained the heavenly backlash and tainted fortune behind the clan's decline. Lu Qingshan committed himself to restoring the clan before its forefather's return 5 8.

Alliance and the Azure Feather Dynasty's Fall

Tianyan appointed the reincarnated sage Lu Fan to assist Lu Qingshan with administration. He also secured an alliance with Ancestor Qingtian of the Azure Feather Dynasty and entrusted Qingtian's donated resources to Lu Qingshan 7 8.

At Tianyan's request, Lu Qingshan brought Qing Xu into the clan. He refused her proposal to become his concubine and instead accepted her as his goddaughter 10.

Seeking long-term cultivation resources, he used Ninth Prince Qing Zhe's apology for threatening the clan as leverage. He exaggerated the clan's losses, demanded fifty million spirit stones and eighth- or ninth-grade pills, and feigned an intention to kill the prince. His actual objective was a few annual places in the dynasty's Lush Wood Blessed Land 12 13.

When Central Province forces attacked the dynasty, Lu Qingshan accepted that the Lu Clan lacked the strength to intervene, though he worried about the consequences of Tianyan's alliance oath. After the dynasty fell, he encouraged Qing Xu to cultivate for revenge, accepted Qing Zhe as an adopted son, and tasked Lu Fan with gathering surviving dynasty forces 14 15 16 17.

Five Hundred Years of Development

Under Tianyan's guidance, Lu Qingshan advanced to the Saint Realm while overseeing the clan's expansion. By then, Qingtian's original resources had been exhausted, forcing the clan to seize resource sites and withdraw some of its earlier incentive policies 17.

Ancestor Danyang's awakening offered a solution through high-level alchemy, but the clan lacked suitable ingredients and even a furnace. The ancestors therefore prepared to move to resource-rich Central Province. Lu Qingshan allowed Qing Zhe and Qing Xu to remain in Qingzhou to rebuild their dynasty, while warning that they would receive neither personnel nor resources from the departing clan 18 19.

Return to Central Province

Lu Qingshan accompanied Danyang to the Alchemists' Guild headquarters, where he vouched for the ancestor's ninth-grade alchemy and negotiated the terms of a demonstration. They returned to Qiyun Mountain with roughly one hundred guild alchemists to teach the clan 21 22 26.

As the clan established its Alchemy Pavilion, Lu Qingshan approved additional resources for the talented Lu Xiangyang while respecting his refusal of a guild elder's tutelage. He also reviewed the clan's youth competition, noticed overlooked talent such as Lu Xingxing, and considered a better-organized contest 28 32.

Murong Yu returned as her clan's envoy after more than five hundred years apart. Lu Qingshan acknowledged that he had wronged her and agreed to cooperation with the Murong Clan as compensation. Later, Ancestor Murong brought them together again; Lu Qingshan asked for another chance, and the pair reconciled 28 30 38.

Defending and Consolidating the Clan

Warned by Murong Yu of an approaching attack, Lu Qingshan consulted Tianyan and placed the clan on level-one alert to limit casualties. Although he personally felt powerless before the attacking Saint Kings, Xuanzhen's formation repelled their combined assault 35 36.

Afterward, he prioritized hidden threats over visiting factions seeking favor. He approved Lu Guangyao's secret intelligence organization with half the clan treasury and later supplied Ancestor Dali with a list of surviving factions that had attacked the Lu Clan over the preceding million years 37 42.

As defeated forces surrendered, Lu Qingshan distributed personnel between his own administration, Lu Guangyao, and Lu Chen. He reassured Lu Chen that the clan needed to develop defenses capable of functioning without constant ancestral intervention 44.

The Supreme Purity Palace eventually delivered the Lush Wood Blessed Land and Qing Yun's damaged soul to him. Lu Qingshan accepted both but did not consider the palace's debt settled, leaving a future reckoning for Qing Zhe and Qing Xu's return 50.

Appearance

• Initially: Somewhat graying hair and an embroidered robe washed pale; he maintains a calm expression despite the clan's desperate circumstances 1.
• After bloodline awakening: His remaining white hairs disappear and his face regains its youth. He is described as handsome, with unmistakable authority in his brows 7.
• At his Saint Realm breakthrough: Appears as a middle-aged man standing in the air 17.

Personality

Lu Qingshan places the Lu Clan above personal happiness. His separation from Murong Yu follows not from a lack of love, but from his refusal to leave the clan he feels responsible for preserving. He later recognizes the hurt he caused her rather than exploiting the Murong Clan's newfound dependence on his favor 30.

He is pragmatic and willing to manipulate negotiations. His extravagant compensation demands against Qing Zhe are a calculated opening move toward securing access to the Lush Wood Blessed Land, not a literal assessment of the clan's losses 12 13.

His confidence grows alongside the clan's strength, but his assessment of his own talent becomes more measured. By the time he reaches the Saint Realm, he recognizes that being White Cloud City's greatest genius means little on a continental scale and remains encouraged by the possibility of improving talent after birth 17.

He also pays attention to his subordinates' morale. He deliberately uses the victory over the Azure Dragon Gang to restore the clansmen's confidence and later helps Lu Chen recover his conviction when ancestral intervention leaves the defensive forces feeling unnecessary 2 44.

Abilities & Skills

Dao of Metal

Lu Qingshan manifests sharp golden power through the Dao of Metal 13.

• Uses golden power to lift Qing Zhe from the ground without physical contact 12.
• Gathers a dazzling, sharp-edged golden light in his hand while threatening the prince during negotiations 13.

Divine Sense

His Spirit Concentration breakthrough forms divine sense within his sea of consciousness 4.

• Can survey the entire Lu Clan and White Cloud City immediately after forming it 4.
• As a Saint, detects Ancestor Murong's Saint King presence despite the latter's attempt to conceal it 38.

Combat

• Defeats the Azure Dragon Gang leader with a single strike at Peak Spirit Master Realm 2.
• Leads the clan's counterattack rather than allowing the invading gang to withdraw unchallenged 2.
• Remains far below Saint King attackers in direct power; he feels unable to resist their assault on Qiyun Mountain 35.

Clan Administration

• Defense: Commissions Lu Chen to form an elite clan guard, preferring quality over numbers; later approves recruiting outsiders to compensate for the clan's limited manpower 6 11.
• Intelligence: Tasks Lu Guangyao with developing an intelligence network and later commits half the treasury to a secret organization 6 37.
• Population: Approves expansion policies requiring Lu women to marry husbands into the clan rather than marry out 6.
• Talent cultivation: Supports specialized alchemy talent, reviews competition shortcomings, and announces the selected youths' visit to the Murong Clan 28 32 33.
• Personnel management: Allocates surrendered forces and encourages independent defensive development despite the ancestors' overwhelming strength 44.

Relationships

• Sage Tianyan — Ancestor, cultivation mentor, and principal strategic adviser. Lu Qingshan trusts his judgment but also worries about the personal cost of his alliance oath 14 17 35.
• Ancestor Danyang — Accompanies him to the Alchemists' Guild and assists in securing alchemy instruction for the clan. Danyang explicitly praises his years of service as patriarch 18 22 26.
• Lu Guangyao — First Elder and intelligence organizer. Initially doubts Lu Qingshan's reliance on ancestral prayers, but later receives major funding and personnel under his leadership 1 37 44.
• Lu Mutong — Second Elder, responsible for the clan's population program. Lu Qingshan teases him about gifts but affirms his trust in his character 17 50.
• Lu Chen — Third Elder and commander of the clan's defensive forces. Lu Qingshan supports his recruitment decisions and reassures him when his troops lack opportunities to contribute 11 44.
• Lu Fan — Reincarnated sage assigned to assist with clan management. Lu Qingshan entrusts him with Qing Zhe's detention and the recruitment of dynasty survivors 7 13 15.
• Qing Xu — Adopted daughter. He rejects a concubine arrangement, shelters her after her homeland's destruction, and supports her resolve to become strong enough for revenge 10 15.
• Qing Zhe — Adopted son and former negotiating hostage. Lu Qingshan accepts him after Qing Xu vouches for his changed character 13 16.
• Murong Yu — Former lover with whom he eventually reconciles. Their original separation stems from her clan's opposition and his prioritization of patriarchal duties 29 30 38.
• Ancestor Murong — Helps repair Lu Qingshan's relationship with Murong Yu after acknowledging the Murong Clan's interference 38.

Notable Quotes

“Ancestor, your descendant will do everything in his power to restore our Lu Clan to its former glory!” 8

“But what about the future? If we need the ancestors to handle everything, what use are we?” 44