Story[]
Bald Old Man is a mysterious elder from of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy's Lightning Territory. He encounters Mu Chen when the latter breaks through to the eighth level and attempts to refine Divine Lightning Beads with Jiu You. He stops them from refining beads but upon noticing that they have a blood bond, offers to give them a test. Mu Chen accepts the test to take a hit from the Bald Old Man and successfully endures it. As a result, the old man provides Mu Chen and Jiu You with a gift each and then lets them refine more beads before leaving. After the Hunting War, it was revealed that Bald Old Man is actually the Northern Sea Dragon when he arrived to ask Mu Chen to help him get the Lightning God Pill. In order to convince Mu Chen, he gave Mu Chen the full version of the Ennea Rune Lightning Physique and taught him the Divine Black Lightning Poison Finger, as well as helping him with his Spiritual Light Empowerment.
Etymology[]
Original Chinese term: 北溟龙鲲 (pinyin: Běi Míng Lóng Kūn).
Breakdown of Literal Meaning:
- 北 (Běi): "Northern" (directional specificity).
- 溟 (Míng): The "vast, dark northern seas," symbolizing primordial depths and mystery.
- Combined: Directly references the "Northern Vast Sea" (北溟), a term rooted in classical Chinese texts like the Zhuangzi, where it describes the remote northern ocean. This ties the creature to the North (associated with water, winter, and the unknown in Chinese cosmology).
- 龙 (Lóng): "Dragon".
- 鲲 (Kūn): The giant fish from the Kūn Péng (鲲鹏) myth, symbolizing primordial origins and transformation.
- Combined: A hybrid "Fish-Dragon" or "Dragon-Fish" entity, blending aquatic and draconic traits.
The term “Northern Sea Dragon”, as translated by Wuxiaworld, loses the explicit "fish" (kūn) element. Recommended English translation: "Northern Sea Fish-Dragon" or "Northern Sea Dragon-Fish".
Connection to Kūn Péng:
- The 鲲 (kūn) in Lóng Kūn (龙鲲) directly references the Kūn Péng myth. Kūn Péng is a mythical creature that embodies transformation. It starts as the Kūn (鲲), a colossal fish, and becomes the Péng (鹏), a gigantic bird with a wingspan of thousands of miles. This suggests the novel’s Lóng Kūn may be a reimagined version of the Kūn, fused with dragon traits. However, they should be different creatures. Literal English translations for Kūn Péng is “Fish-Bird” (fish-transformed-into-bird), while Lóng Kūn is “Fish-Dragon” or “Dragon-Fish”.
Trivia[]
- Previously he had provided a test to both Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong.
- He only actually keeps a clone on the eighth floor of the Lightning Territory.