Zheng Xia

Zheng Xia is the captain of Team Bright, a four-student Hidden Dragon Institute party that accepts Su Chen and Wang Doushan for the Thousand Ashes Mountains expedition. Cautious and initially doubtful of Su Chen, he repeatedly revises his judgment in response to evidence and ultimately dies fighting the students who tried to sacrifice his team. (Chapters 196–227)

Biography

The Thousand Ashes Mountains

Zheng Xia enters the expedition as captain of Team Bright alongside Du Qing, Yan Fuxing, and Sun Jizu. None of the four possesses a bloodline. He privately regards the recently fallen Su Chen as a weak addition, but Du Qing insists on accepting him and Wang Doushan makes the combined party viable, so Zheng prioritizes the group over his reservations. The same practical caution shapes his conduct in the mountains: he questions unfamiliar expenses and dangerous plans, yet changes course once Su Chen's insect repellent proves useful and later trusts Su Chen to lure away one of two Giant Adamantine Apes. His gratitude is genuine because he understands that the plan exposes Su Chen to the greater danger. (Chapters 196–200)

The expedition turns lethal when Zhang Sheng'an's group attempts to divert a Clay Giant onto Team Bright. Rather than flee after surviving the trap, Zheng Xia and the others choose to strike back. Zheng and Du Qing engage Guan Shanying while their companions take other opponents, committing a bloodline-less team to a battle against students from Bloodline Nobility Clans. Zheng's own Iron Palms are explicitly inferior to Jiang Yang's bloodline-backed Stoneheart Palms, and the counterattack costs Team Bright heavily. By the time Su Chen reunites with Wang Doushan, Zheng Xia and Yan Fuxing have been killed; Wang attributes their deaths to Guan Shanying and Jiang Yang during the fighting. (Chapters 218–219 and 227)

Appearance and personality

Zheng Xia is introduced as a simple, honest-looking young man wearing the Hidden Dragon Institute's standard uniform and tall cap. He is cautious about accepting uncertain allies and spending limited resources, but his skepticism is not fixed prejudice: successful demonstrations cause him to admit value, purchase the repellent he dismissed, and entrust Su Chen with a crucial diversion. His concern for Su Chen during that maneuver and his decision to fight back after Team Bright is betrayed show responsibility toward companions as well as pride. (Chapters 196–200 and 204)

Abilities and cultivation

Zheng Xia is explicitly bloodline-less, and the corpus does not state his cultivation realm, advancement history, or broader technique set. His named combat skill is Iron Palms. The comparison with Jiang Yang's Stoneheart Palms establishes that it is a palm-based defensive or striking discipline, but also establishes its limit: it lacks the earth-type Origin Energy and powerful defense produced by the Drought Dragon clan's core technique. No activation sequence, range, cost, acquisition history, or later refinement is described. (Chapters 196 and 219)

He can participate in coordinated battles against mountain beasts and later fights Guan Shanying beside Du Qing. Those scenes demonstrate functional team combat but do not isolate a second personal skill or show that Zheng can overcome a bloodline cultivator alone. His final battle ends in death, so the corpus records no later progression. (Chapters 199–200 and 218–227)

Relationships

• Du Qing: Du Qing is Zheng's teammate and persuades him to admit Su Chen into Team Bright. She later fights Guan Shanying beside him in the team's counterattack. (Chapters 196 and 218)
• Su Chen: Zheng initially doubts Su Chen's value, then repeatedly changes his assessment after Su Chen's preparations and tactics succeed. He is grateful when Su Chen volunteers for the more dangerous ape-diversion role. (Chapters 196–204)
• Wang Doushan: Wang's strength helps make the enlarged expedition party acceptable to Zheng. Wang later survives to report Zheng's death to Su Chen. (Chapters 196 and 227)
• Guan Shanying and Jiang Yang: They are the Bloodline Nobility Clan students blamed for Zheng and Yan Fuxing's deaths during Team Bright's retaliatory battle. (Chapters 218–219 and 227)

Items

The finalized notable-item inventory for Zheng Xia contains no entries. The insect repellent he buys is a consumable expedition supply rather than an established signature possession. (Chapters 198–199)