Yuzhenzi

Yuzhenzi (simplified: 玉真子, traditional: 玉真子, pinyin: Yùzhēnzǐ, jyutping: juk6 zan1 zi2) was the junior brother of Priest Musang and a former disciple of the Iron Sword School. Initially a righteous martial artist, he turned to evil after his master’s death and served the Later Jin. He was ultimately killed by Yuan Chengzhi on Mount Hua.

Biography

Early life and training

Yuzhenzi was trained in the Iron Sword School alongside his senior brother Priest Musang. In his youth, he was known for being diligent in martial arts training and maintaining a righteous character. However, after their master died and there was no one to restrain him, Yuzhenzi’s personality completely changed.

Descent into evil

After his master’s death, Yuzhenzi fell in with bad companions and underwent a complete moral transformation. Despite having been a monk since childhood who had abstained from women, he began committing rape, theft, and murder, becoming utterly wicked. His martial arts skills were extremely high, making it difficult for anyone to stop him.

This transformation represented a tragic fall from grace, as Yuzhenzi abandoned the principles and discipline that had guided him during his training.

Confrontations with Priest Musang

Priest Musang, unable to accept his junior brother’s descent into evil, confronted Yuzhenzi twice. During their first confrontation, Priest Musang had the upper hand but could not bring himself to kill his junior brother. Their master had asked Priest Musang to take care of Yuzhenzi before his death, and Priest Musang felt responsible for Yuzhenzi’s moral decline and showed mercy.

In their second confrontation, Yuzhenzi had learnt some evil techniques from an unknown source and managed to stab Priest Musang in the chest. However, Priest Musang was wearing a protective vest that prevented the sword from penetrating. Yuzhenzi, thinking Priest Musang had developed some powerful technique, was distracted, allowing Priest Musang to gain the upper hand again. However, Priest Musang still could not kill Yuzhenzi.

After these confrontations, the two brothers formally severed their relationship, with Priest Musang drawing a line on the ground to mark their separation (划地绝交 — huàdì juéjiāo).

Obtaining the Iron Sword

The Iron Sword School had a unique tradition: whoever possessed the school’s iron sword (铁剑 — tiějiàn) was considered the school’s leader, and all members of the school were required to obey them. Yuzhenzi managed to obtain the iron sword in Tibet, which gave him authority over the Iron Sword School, including his senior brother Priest Musang.

This created a crisis for the school, as Priest Musang was forced to obey Yuzhenzi despite his evil nature, as the sword represented the authority of the school’s founder.

Service to the Later Jin

Yuzhenzi entered the service of the Later Jin (后金 — Hòujīn), the Manchu state that would eventually become the Qing dynasty. He served as a martial arts advisor and protector, earning the title “Protector of the State Real Person” (护国真人 — Hùguó Zhēnrén). In this capacity, he worked against the Ming dynasty and supported the Manchu cause.

Confrontation with Yuan Chengzhi

Yuzhenzi encountered Yuan Chengzhi twice during the novel. The first encounter occurred when Yuan Chengzhi attempted to assassinate Hong Taiji (皇太极), the Later Jin emperor. During this confrontation, Yuan Chengzhi was surrounded and captured by Yuzhenzi, who struck him three times with finger techniques.

The second encounter occurred when Yuan Chengzhi and Hu Guinan (胡桂南) attempted to steal back the Golden Snake Sword. During this confrontation, Yuan Chengzhi struck Yuzhenzi with a punch and a palm strike, and also kicked him, causing Yuzhenzi to be humiliated in front of Hong Taiji.

However, both confrontations occurred under unusual circumstances, and it was difficult to determine a clear winner. Yuzhenzi’s second defeat and humiliation occurred just as Dorgon (多尔衮) was murdering Hong Taiji. Dorgon falsely claimed that Yuzhenzi’s strange appearance had caused the emperor’s death and attempted to have him arrested. Yuzhenzi, who was severely injured and unable to resist, managed to escape.

Final confrontation and death

After the fall of the Ming dynasty and the establishment of the Qing, Yuzhenzi, confident in his martial arts abilities, went alone to Mount Hua (华山 — Huà Shān) with the intention of destroying the Huashan School single-handedly. He defeated several Huashan disciples, demonstrating his formidable skills.

However, Yuan Chengzhi, who had trained under Mu Renqing of the Huashan School, confronted Yuzhenzi. In their final battle, Yuan Chengzhi combined techniques from three different schools—the orthodox Huashan School techniques, the Iron Sword School qinggongs, and the unorthodox Golden Serpent techniques—creating a unique and unpredictable fighting style.

During the battle, Yuzhenzi was distracted by the Golden Snake Sword, which had a unique forked tip. Yuan Chengzhi took advantage of this distraction and struck Yuzhenzi with the Hunyuan Palm (混元掌), knocking him to the ground. As Yuzhenzi fell, he was bitten on the back of his neck at the Tianzhu acupoint (天柱穴 — Tiānzhù Xué) by the Golden Snake that Yuan Chengzhi had brought with him.

The Golden Snake’s venom was extremely potent, and within moments, Yuzhenzi’s entire body turned black and he died. This dramatic end marked the conclusion of Yuzhenzi’s evil career and demonstrated that even the most powerful martial artists could be defeated by a combination of skill, strategy, and circumstance.

Personality and character

Yuzhenzi represented the tragic figure of a martial artist who fell from righteousness into wickedness. His transformation from a diligent, righteous student to a completely evil person demonstrated how the loss of proper guidance and discipline could lead to moral corruption.

He was characterised by his arrogance and confidence in his martial arts abilities, which eventually led to his downfall. His decision to challenge the Huashan School alone demonstrated his overconfidence and underestimation of his opponents.

Yuzhenzi’s service to the Later Jin showed his willingness to align himself with foreign powers against his own people, making him a traitor in the eyes of many. His use of the Iron Sword School’s traditions to gain power over his senior brother demonstrated his cunning and lack of respect for the school’s principles.

Martial arts

Yuzhenzi was an extremely skilled martial artist, having been trained in the Iron Sword School’s techniques. After turning to evil, he learnt additional techniques from unknown sources, which made him even more formidable.

Techniques

Iron Sword School techniques — Yuzhenzi was trained in the orthodox techniques of the Iron Sword School, including their swordplay and qinggongs.
Evil techniques — After his master’s death, Yuzhenzi learnt some evil techniques from unknown sources, which increased his power but reflected his moral corruption.
Finger techniques — Yuzhenzi was skilled at using finger techniques to strike acupoints, as demonstrated when he captured Yuan Chengzhi by striking him three times.

Weapons

Long sword (长剑 — chángjiàn) — Yuzhenzi’s primary weapon, which he used with great skill.
Iron Sword (铁剑 — tiějiàn) — The symbol of leadership in the Iron Sword School, which Yuzhenzi obtained in Tibet. This sword gave him authority over the school but also represented his manipulation of the school’s traditions for his own purposes.

Relationships

Senior brother

Priest Musang — Yuzhenzi’s senior brother, who tried to stop his descent into evil but could not bring himself to kill him. The two formally severed their relationship after two confrontations.

Master

Unknown Iron Sword School master — Yuzhenzi’s master, who died before Yuzhenzi’s transformation. The master had asked Priest Musang to take care of Yuzhenzi, but Yuzhenzi’s moral decline occurred after the master’s death.

Enemies

Yuan Chengzhi — The protagonist of Sword Stained with Royal Blood, who ultimately killed Yuzhenzi in their final confrontation on Mount Hua.
Huashan School — Yuzhenzi challenged the entire Huashan School, seeking to destroy it, but was defeated by Yuan Chengzhi.

Legacy

Yuzhenzi’s story served as a cautionary tale about the dangers of moral corruption and the importance of proper guidance and discipline in martial arts training. His transformation from a righteous student to an utterly evil person demonstrated how quickly someone could fall from grace when freed from restraint.

His death at the hands of Yuan Chengzhi demonstrated that evil, no matter how powerful, could be defeated by the combination of righteous techniques, proper training, and moral purpose. The manner of his death—being killed by the venom of the Golden Snake—was particularly symbolic, as it represented the defeat of evil by unorthodox but ultimately righteous means.

Yuzhenzi’s manipulation of the Iron Sword School’s traditions, using the iron sword to gain authority over his senior brother, also demonstrated how traditions and rules could be exploited by those with evil intentions, highlighting the importance of moral character over formal authority.