Meng De's Dao Protector
Meng De's Dao Protector is the unnamed great-circle Ancient Realm cultivator assigned to keep Meng De alive during the journey to the 33 Hells.
Biography
Journey to the 33 Hells
The protector first appears beside Meng De when their ship encounters Meng Hao. He initially joins Meng De’s attack, but the danger becomes obvious almost immediately. After seeing what Meng Hao can do and recalling his destruction of the Blacksoul Society and Dao Realm pursuers, the old man knocks Meng De unconscious, bows, and tries to withdraw the entire retinue under the excuse of mistaken identity. His private assessment is blunt: he considers his charge a brainless young master who has provoked a calamity. (Chapters 1230–1231)
His caution continues when Han Qinglei appears. The protector steps forward, activates the ship’s shield, and answers the Echelon cultivator without unnecessary provocation. At the 33 Hells he later receives the disguised Meng Hao as the apparently sole surviving Meng Clan entrant, questions why everyone else died, and investigates the death of a servant without discovering Meng Hao’s role. (Chapters 1234 and 1249)
Ambush and death
When nine black-robed attackers isolate the ship, the protector is the first person to detect the ambush. He sounds a constrained alarm, orders the Young Lord protected, and tries repeatedly to contact the Meng Clan. With communications blocked, he displays the clan insignia and speaks from a position of strength, hoping its reputation will deter the attackers. (Chapter 1251)
The enemy force includes a leader at the same great-circle Ancient Realm level. The protector engages that leader while the rest of the ship is slaughtered. Once wounded and confronted by the attackers’ combined battle-axe, he abandons his mission and attempts to save himself. A hidden cultivator appears behind him, pierces the back of his head, and destroys both head and Nascent Divinity. His death leaves Meng De without the protection on which his arrogance depended. (Chapter 1251)
Appearance and personality
He is an old man. The protector is cautious, politically aware, and much more realistic than Meng De. He can swallow pride, apologize, and retreat when a fight is unwinnable. His loyalty is professional rather than absolute: he warns and defends Meng De through the ambush, but chooses his own survival once the ship is lost. That final choice does not save him.
Abilities and cultivation
Great-circle Ancient Realm
The text explicitly places him at the great circle of the Ancient Realm, not the Dao Realm. His cultivation lets him sense an incoming ambush before the rest of the ship, bolster his voice with overwhelming force, and fight an enemy of equal realm in a sustained exchange. A mid Ancient Realm gap in the Meng formation is still enough to make the overall defense untenable.
Protective awareness
He uses vigilance, divine sense, and political judgment to protect Meng De before combat begins. He recognizes Meng Hao’s identity and reputation, treats Han Qinglei cautiously, investigates irregularities aboard the ship, and notices the ambush while seated in meditation. These strengths repeatedly compensate for Meng De’s lack of judgment.
Ship defenses and clan signaling
The protector activates or directs the ship’s shield and raises a huge “Meng” character as a deterrent. The signal combines clan prestige with his cultivation base, but the attackers have already blocked communication and planned to ignore the warning. The scene shows the limitation of inherited authority when opponents know reinforcement cannot arrive.
Relationships
- Meng De: Assigned charge whose recklessness he repeatedly contains until the final ambush.
- Meng Hao: Feared outsider who travels aboard the ship in disguise and observes the protector’s actions.
- Han Qinglei: Dangerous Echelon cultivator whom the protector answers cautiously near the 33 Hells.
- Black-robed ambushers: Organized attackers who isolate the ship and kill him.
Items
- Meng Clan ship: Not his personal property, but the defensive platform whose shield and clan signal he uses.