Yuan Jin

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Early years and apprenticeship

Yuan Jin was one of Old Sect Leader He’s three disciples, alongside Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing. After their master’s death, the three survived by pooling their resources. Yuan Jin became their principal fighting force before Jiang Qing matured, hunting beasts and protecting his fellow disciples; at twelve, he was already charging enemy formations and killing opponents 46 51 260 285.

Kang Dabao cultivated connections and paid for Yuan Jin to apprentice in artifact refinement at a workshop in Xuanwei City. Yuan Jin spent years there learning under Master Qi. He undertook the craft partly to earn resources and ease Kang Dabao’s burden, rather than from a strong personal interest in refinement 3 4 46 489.

Defending the recovering sect

During the Ye Household rescue, Yuan Jin helped lure enemy reinforcements into an ambush and killed the Fire Saber Stronghold master. In the subsequent fighting, he confronted Zhao Gu and coveted his Tiger Sha Staff. His bloodlust became so severe that Kang Dabao later slapped him out of a violent frenzy 48 51 52.

Against Ge Yangfeng and his two superior-grade Black-Haired Zombies, Yuan Jin initially found himself badly outmatched. Poisoned claw winds penetrated his defenses, and the zombies battered him despite his talismans. He continued fighting, crippling one zombie, but required Kang Dabao’s intervention when Ge Yangfeng’s ancient sword nearly killed him 100 101 102 103.

Alongside combat duties, Yuan Jin handled patrols, maintained old contacts, trained disciples, and refined equipment. Kang Dabao eventually named him the person who should take charge of the sect if he died 194 204 213.

The White Ape Scripture’s hidden danger

Yuan Jin repeatedly refused to abandon the White Ape Scripture and disperse his cultivation. He initially believed that his understanding had allowed him to suppress almost all its adverse effects. Later, dangerous episodes returned, forcing him to rely on the Calming the Mind Incantation 137 285 312.

He concealed these relapses from Kang Dabao, fearing that his senior brother would insist he start over or prohibit cultivation of the scripture. Already over forty, with Four Spirit Roots, Yuan Jin considered rebuilding his cultivation prohibitively costly. Pride, loyalty to the scripture’s legacy, and concern for his sons all strengthened his determination to continue 312.

By the time he prepared for Foundation Establishment, essence blood gathered by his fellow disciples and his perfected incantation had brought the violent demonic Qi under control. Kang Dabao also supplied spirit dew, although drinking it produced no apparent immediate reaction 375.

Alliance commander

During the conflict with the Changning Sect, Yuan Jin led the Thief-Catching Office patrolmen against a besieging force several times their size. After breaking the siege, he requisitioned the stockade’s supplies and incorporated its remaining fighters into his own force, bringing his command to more than sixty cultivators 283 285 286.

He later organized the Double Brightness Alliance’s relief expedition against E Yuan’s beast horde. His command of the Azure Jue Six-Leaf Battle Lotus Formation revealed that he—not Kang Dabao—had truly mastered founding patriarch Zhang Yuandao’s military notes 428 431.

In the Crimson Heart Cult campaigns, Yuan Jin coordinated uneven allied contingents, committed elite reserves at decisive moments, and pressured stronger allies to contribute. During a later crisis, he and Yuan Changsheng carried the great standard forward despite their wounds. Yuan Jin helped trap an exhausted staff-wielding False Core cultivator and delivered the killing blow with his Mixed Gold Staff 493 494 495 535.

Later responsibilities and cultivation

Yuan Jin rejected Yuan Buwen’s proposal to merge the Chongming and Le County Yuan households. Although the arrangement would benefit his family, he feared that future descendants might transfer their loyalties away from the Chongming Sect 459.

When Tie Liuyun brought the Xiezhi Iron Guard to the sect, Yuan Jin refused to yield. Backed by Yuan Buwen, Yang Jue, and a Third Tier Spirit Slave, he invoked the sect’s imperial fief and threatened to report the incursion to the Office of the Duke of Qin. Tie Liuyun withdrew 555 557.

By this period, both Yuan Jin’s sons and his old wife had died, leaving him deeply lonely. He increasingly sought refuge in cultivation and noticed that grief accelerated the growth of his internal ape demon. He hoped eventually to refine that demon to nourish his own body and overcome his cultivation bottleneck, despite Lian Xuepu’s warning about the method 530 552.

At Joyful Sight Mountain, enemy Pill Masters specifically targeted him as the formation commander. His damaged Third Tier spiritual puppet and guards held them off until Yuan Buwen intervened 641.

After repeated encouragement from his fellow disciples, Yuan Jin finally changed cultivation methods. By Foundation Establishment Peak, he possessed a middle-grade Golden Core Formation Pill, but eliminating the ape demon remained a prerequisite for attempting Core Formation 655.

Appearance

Yuan Jin is short, stocky, and powerfully muscled, with a resolute face 102 283 312.

• Nine fingers: His fists are described as having nine fingers in total; the cause is not given 387.
• Cultivation disturbances: Severe White Ape Scripture episodes produce bulging veins, black Qi across his face, burning skin, and entirely red eyes 312.
• Battlefield armor: Uses a talisman that covers his body in dazzling silver armor 283.

Personality

Yuan Jin combines fierce loyalty with considerable pride. He supported Kang Dabao through the sect’s poverty and refuses to regard himself as a dependent merely because his fellow disciples advance faster. His refusal to merge households reflects a willingness to place the sect’s interests above his descendants’ immediate advantage 312 459.

His attraction to killing is not entirely attributable to the White Ape Scripture. Although the method intensifies his bloodlust, he recognizes a genuine delight in battle even when he believes its adverse effects are suppressed. In warfare, he is willing to accept deaths and make ruthless decisions that more cautious colleagues hesitate to contemplate 51 285 557.

Outside combat, he is experienced and difficult to deceive. Years of trading and dealing with dangerous people make him skeptical of vague promises of “great benefits.” He also acknowledges his limitations, judging Ye Zhengwen and Pei Yi better suited to routine sect administration while he takes responsibility for military rescue operations 205 390 428.

Abilities & Skills

White Ape Scripture

The Chongming Sect’s inherited method grants ape-demon strength but can corrupt a practitioner’s temperament 51.

• Written by a False Core cultivator who had acted as half a master to Patriarch Zhang 51.
• Daoist Black Shoes suspects the inherited version lacks its fundamental mental cultivation method 179.
• Yuan Jin develops an understanding beyond that achieved by earlier generations of the sect, but never fully escapes its dangers 283 285 312.
• His later plan to nurture and refine the internal ape demon offers a potential breakthrough at substantial risk 530 552.

Ape Demon Cannon Fist / Cannon Hammer

A powerful fist technique that established Yuan Jin’s early reputation among nearby low-level cultivators 51 179.

• Breaks hostile Sha Qi, damages defensive artifacts, and shatters formation points 51 194 283.
• Remains effective after Foundation Establishment, allowing him to pressure Tie Xishui’s mid-grade defensive Spirit Artifact without relying continuously on his staff 387.
• Powerful charged attacks require preparation and can consume a large share of his spiritual power 51 102.

White Ape Step

Footwork that makes his sturdy body move with an ape’s agility 179.

• Used to evade claw winds, weave through weapon attacks, and close rapidly on fleeing enemies 100 179 283.
• At perfection, briefly outpaces the Black Blood Colt in battlefield pursuit 283.

Mental stabilization

Buddhist techniques help Yuan Jin resist the White Ape Scripture’s psychological and spiritual effects 312 375.

• Calming the Mind Incantation: Quells dangerous episodes; at perfection, helps shorten his preparation for Foundation Establishment by approximately two years 312 375.
• Sea of Wisdom scripture: Kuang Liuting gives him the Scripture of Purifying the Heart, Crossing Calamity, and Realizing Truth in the Sea of Wisdom. Lian Xuepu later cautions that this Buddhist method may not accomplish his intended heart-ape refinement 403 530.

Military command and battle formations

Yuan Jin specializes in drilled formations, battlefield coordination, and leading from the front 285 431 535.

• Azure Jue Six-Leaf Battle Lotus Formation: Employs it with a mastery absent from the Fenli Zhang Household for sixty years 431.
• Blood Zhang Burning Formation: Reconstructs part of an incomplete formation found in county military records and trains the Crimson Zhang Guard to use it 533.
• Combined forces: Coordinates formation cultivators, elite guards, auxiliary troops, and more than eighty Star-Shooting Crossbows during the beast-horde rescue 431.
• Troop development: Devotes himself to military formations in hopes of developing the Azure Jue Guard beyond a prototype Dao soldier force 489.

Artifact refinement

Yuan Jin’s aptitude, accumulated experience, and access to ancestral notes allow him to advance from Master Qi’s apprentice to a First-Tier Supreme-Grade Artifact Refiner 137 489.

• Reforges Kang Dabao’s Garrison Earth Azure Origin Shield with better materials and improved efficiency 137.
• Repairs a supreme-grade beast-shaped cauldron after nearly half a year of preliminary study 213.
• Eventually leaves most forging work to He Yuanyi, preferring cultivation and military training 489.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Gauntlets — Used for his early fist techniques, including breaking Zhao Gu’s tiger Sha black Qi 48 51.
• Tiger Sha Staff — Formerly Zhao Gu’s weapon; surrounds its strikes with vicious Sha Qi. Yuan Jin’s White Ape cultivation increases its effectiveness 51 78 283.
• Mixed Gold Staff — A Second-Tier Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact suited to his fighting style. Shortly after Foundation Establishment, its spiritual-power demands prevent prolonged use 387 535.
• White Bear Fang Banner — Activates the restrictions Forge Courage and Strengthen Heart to bolster his troops 285.
• Six-Leaf Azure Lotus Great Banner — Bears it while commanding the alliance’s central army 493.
• Silver armor talisman — Protects him during charges through enemy ranks and withstands multiple Law Artifact strikes 283 285.
• Golden bell talisman treasure — Briefly blocks an exhausted False Core cultivator’s retreat, consuming much of the enemy’s remaining spiritual power 535.
• Third Tier Spirit Slave / spiritual puppet — Supports his confrontation with Tie Liuyun and later protects him at Joyful Sight Mountain despite extensive damage 557 641.
• Middle-grade Golden Core Formation Pill — Receives one of the two pills obtained by Kang Dabao; possession does not signify successful Core Formation 655.

Relationships

• Old Sect Leader He — Master. Yuan Jin retains his teaching that self-reliance is more dependable than outside support 451 459.
• Kang Dabao — Eldest senior brother and sect leader. Raises and supports him, funds his apprenticeship, seeks remedies for his cultivation problems, and appoints him a potential successor 4 213 260 312.
• Jiang Qing — Junior martial brother, affectionately called “Little Sanzi.” Yuan Jin protects him, shares suitable treasures with him, and later urges him not to burden Kang Dabao with personal grudges 78 380 387.
• Master Qi — Artifact-refinement teacher who recognizes Yuan Jin’s aptitude 46 137.
• Dong Ningxin and Dong Wanxi — His two wives; both worry deeply during his prolonged isolation in the workshop 166.
• Yuan Changsheng — Eldest son and Pei Yi’s alchemy disciple. Fights beside Yuan Jin beneath the great standard; has died by Yuan Jin’s later years 138 312 535 552.
• Yuan Ruyi — Second son, born without Spirit Roots. Becomes deputy city lord of Chongming City before being murdered by members of the Wu Household 312 373.
• Ye Pingshui — Disciple and workshop assistant. Yuan Jin struggles with his slow learning but appreciates his exceptional devotion 166 204.
• Zhou Xinran — Disciple in name who ultimately concentrates on managing sect trade rather than arduous cultivation 489.
• He Yuanyi — Gifted artifact-refinement disciple whose competence allows Yuan Jin to leave regular forging behind 489.
• Ye Zhengwen — Fellow sect leader and administrative collaborator. Respects Yuan Jin’s growing resolve, though the two disagree over preferential treatment for He Chang 451 557.
• Lian Xuepu — Martial uncle who privately warns him about nurturing the heart ape and later identifies purging it as necessary for Core Formation 530 655.
• Yuan Buwen — Powerful ally whose clan-merger proposal Yuan Jin declines. Later supports him against Tie Liuyun and rescues him at Joyful Sight Mountain 459 557 641.

Notable Quotes

“Mountains fall and waters flow away; rely on yourself alone, and you need not worry.”
— Recalling his master’s teaching while declining the clan merger 459

“Today, I, Yuan Jin, and my unworthy son will stand with the great standard at the front and dare to lead you all! I, Yuan Jin, never speak empty words either.”
— Rallying the alliance before advancing with Yuan Changsheng 535