Liu Bang

Biodata

Background / History

Cultivation background

Liu Bang attained a Residual Position of the Yin-Yang lineage through his own efforts. Although connected to the Three Enclosures and the Heavenly Market tradition, he never received an orthodox education in the mystical arts. Later responsibilities left him too busy to remedy those gaps, which became his reason for seeking another teacher for Lü Yuan 60 78.

He shares a past connection with the Two Gods of Marsh and Xun, recalling that they once set foot on the “Second Sun” together. Their acquaintance does not prevent them from regarding him as a future rival 60.

Liu Bang considers himself destined to die mending heaven and expects Lü Zhi to share that sacrifice. He privately imagines Lü Yuan eventually succeeding to the Sun Fruit Position, but objects fiercely to the possibility that his child must also spend his life serving a plan imposed by greater powers 35 58.

Meeting Lü Yuan

Liu Bang reaches the devastated Han–Wei border after detecting something unusual. He recognizes a perception barrier erected by True Lords and connects the devastation to a recent conflict involving the fall of the Shen Constellation. At a camp containing more than ten thousand survivors, he encounters Lü Yuan and initially addresses him as a concealed True Lord 31.

After testing Lü Yuan, Liu Bang learns that the boy is only an Embryonic Breathing cultivator protected by a powerful benefactor. Lü Yuan’s honesty and composure interest him, and he abandons the imposing manner of a senior cultivator in favor of drinking together and insisting on being called “big brother” 33 34.

When Lü Yuan reveals his eight-year-old appearance, Liu Bang recognizes a striking resemblance to his wife. The boy’s surname, unexplained knowledge of his own name, and possible affinity with yin and yang convince Liu Bang that he is their child. Lü Yuan initially regards this as a misunderstanding; Liu Bang accepts his discomfort and does not demand an immediate father–son relationship 34 35 36.

Refugee journey and Qi Refinement

Liu Bang takes responsibility for guiding the refugees toward Great Marsh Mountain. For three months, he leads them through the Dharma Realm rather than populated territory, avoiding outside attention and the danger that their unresolved condition might spread trouble to other settlements. No one falls behind or leaves the procession 57.

During the journey, he explains the major Dao lineages to Lü Yuan and provides Great Yin Moonlight and Sun Purple Qi for his breakthrough. Their unusually gentle response to Lü Yuan, followed by his independent resonance with Red Emperor and Wangshu, confirms Liu Bang’s conviction about the boy’s origins 36 54 55 56.

Lü Yuan also comes to accept that Liu Bang is his father in this life, while allowing that their connection may not be biological in the ordinary sense 55.

Investigating the Northern Dipper method

Liu Bang expects Lü Yuan to cultivate the Sun or Great Yin after entering Qi Refinement. Learning that his benefactor has instead supplied a seventh-grade Northern Dipper Immortal Method alarms him: he fears the child is being prepared to restore the Northern Pole Court and shoulder its dangerous responsibilities 57 58.

His opposition softens when Lü Yuan names Turning the Dipper Handle as the method’s Immortal Foundation and Divine Ability. Recognizing a possible connection to First Northern Dipper, Liu Bang asks him to postpone cultivation while he investigates 58.

He visits the Two Gods of Marsh and Xun and requests access to ancient records in the Rise and Fall Pavilion of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure. Wu Guang accompanies him, while Chen Sheng eventually agrees to look after Lü Yuan and teach him the foundations of the immortal path 60 78 79.

Conflict over Lü Yuan’s discipleship

Upon returning, Liu Bang discovers Chen Sheng inviting Lü Yuan to become his true disciple. Believing Chen Sheng has exploited his absence to draw the child into the Second Demonic Lineage, Liu Bang pulls Lü Yuan behind him and confronts his teacher 88 89.

Their Golden Core powers shake the Swan Palace and surrounding Dharma Realm, with Red Emperor and Taotie clashing overhead. An azure-robed figure intervenes, and Lü Yuan’s assurance that Chen Sheng has treated him well helps end the confrontation. Liu Bang remains sarcastic and disapproving, but acknowledges that he had failed to anticipate Chen Sheng wanting another disciple 89.

Appearance

• Appears as a young wandering swordsman, with the uninhibited bearing of a wandering knight rather than an aloof immortal 31 77.
• Wears noticeably worn clothing when visiting the Two Gods of Marsh and Xun 60.
• Ordinarily restrains his presence so completely that he seems unremarkable despite his cultivation 33 47.
• His manifested form has an unmistakably imperial bearing, surrounded by thirty-six overlapping solar halos 33.

Personality

Liu Bang is informal, teasing, and openly expressive. He dislikes needless hierarchy, insists that Lü Yuan call him “big brother,” and treats mortal refugees without the condescension expected of a Golden Core True Lord. His refusal to suppress his feelings is deliberate: knowing his expected fate, he wants to live according to his own wishes while he can 34 35 57.

His care for Lü Yuan is generous without being intrusive. He answers questions, freely supplies rare cultivation resources, and does not pry into the precise nature of the boy’s supernatural favor. Over their three months together, this consistency persuades Lü Yuan that he can speak honestly to him 54 57 58.

Threats to Lü Yuan’s future can overturn his usual composure. His anger at the Northern Dipper method comes from fear that adults are assigning the child another lifetime of obligations. Even then, he revises his judgment when new information appears; during the confrontation with Chen Sheng, he also stops to hear Lü Yuan’s account 58 89.

Abilities & Skills

Sun Lineage and Red Emperor

Liu Bang cultivates the Sun, one of the Two Governors, and holds its Red Emperor Residual Position 36 56.

• Voluntary fallen-position state: Says that leaving this condition is a matter of a single thought 34.
• Solar manifestation: Produces a towering, emperor-like form whose light dispels darkness across eight hundred li of wilderness 33.
• Golden Core combat: Clashes with Chen Sheng’s Taotie power and forces him to step back during their confrontation 89.
• Controlled force: Holds back substantially when testing Lü Yuan; during the later fight, both True Lords prevent their aftershocks from harming the child 83 89.

Swordsmanship

• Possesses one Sword Intent, illustrating the difficulty of attaining that level even for a Golden Core True Lord 59.
• Wields the Crimson Firmament Sword through his solar manifestation 33.
• Detects the Sword-Ray imbued in leaves Lü Yuan distributed to the refugees 36.

Dharma Realm Travel and Mental Interference

• Opens a route through the Dharma Realm and guides tens of thousands of mortals along it before returning them to the physical world near Great Marsh Mountain 57.
• Sends Han Fei back to Xinzheng, leaving him unable to remember why he had been traveling with the refugees. The technique is not named 41.

Leadership and Cultivation Knowledge

• Keeps the refugee procession orderly for three months, with no stragglers or departures; the narration explicitly places his organizational ability above Han Fei’s 57.
• Explains the Three Enclosures, Four Remainders, Seven Governors, Northern and Southern Dippers, and Twelve Stars to Lü Yuan 36.
• Recognizes the significance of Turning the Dipper Handle, but seeks historical verification rather than claiming complete knowledge of the method 58 60.
• Acknowledges the limits of his own education by arranging formal instruction under Chen Sheng 78.

Equipment / Items

• Crimson Firmament Sword — An ancient sword that arrives as crimson-gold light in the hand of his solar manifestation, blazing like fire 33.
• Great Yin Moonlight and Sun Purple Qi — Two precious strands of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi given to Lü Yuan for his Qi Refinement breakthrough. Liu Bang says they could serve as primary materials for Purple Mansion spiritual treasures 54.

Relationships

• Lü Yuan — Son and pupil in worldly cultivation knowledge. Liu Bang respects his initial reluctance to acknowledge their relationship and later opposes attempts to determine his future without parental involvement 36 57 58 89.
• Lü Zhi — Wife and Great Yin cultivator, affectionately called “E Xu.” Liu Bang regards Lü Yuan’s resemblance to her as an early clue to his parentage 34 35 36.
• Chen Sheng — Longstanding acquaintance entrusted with Lü Yuan’s introductory education. Their arrangement becomes a dispute when Chen Sheng seeks to take the boy as his true disciple 78 79 89.
• Wu Guang — Accompanies Liu Bang to the Rise and Fall Pavilion to investigate the Northern Dipper inheritance 79.
• Southern Dipper / First Manifest Under Heaven — A powerful figure Liu Bang initially believes sent him to aid Lü Yuan. His respect becomes suspicion when he fears that the Northern Dipper inheritance is part of a plan to burden his son 34 58.
• Han Fei — Removed from the refugee journey by Liu Bang, who remarks that it is not yet time and jokes that Han Fei is intruding on a trip with his child 41.

Notable Quotes

“Why bother with useless things like rank and hierarchy?” 34

“If you're not used to it, we can keep things separate from now on. I'll call you Little Lü, and you can call me big brother—” 36

“Was it not enough for E Ju and me to die for the great undertaking of mending the heavens? Must my child also devote his life to the world?” 58