Ji Du

Ji Du is the fifth prince and eventual emperor of the Ancient Shi. By correctly identifying Wang Lin and asking to become his adopted son, he turns a dangerous meeting into the alliance that secures his succession; later conduct shows that calculation growing into genuine filial loyalty. (Chapters 2003–2082)

Biography

Recognizing the White-Haired Ascendant Empyrean

Prince Ji Du leads Ancient Dao ambassadors through the Ancient Shi when they encounter Wang Lin near Blackstone City. He initially lets an ancient demon test the stranger, then quickly apologizes when a glance terrifies the beast. The apparent mistake is calculated: Ji Du has studied an image of the White-Haired Ascendant Empyrean, suspects that Wang Lin is also Xuan Luo's disciple, and uses the confrontation to confirm it without openly accusing him. (Chapters 2003–2007)

Once certain, Ji Du abandons ordinary royal pride. He kneels, asks to become Wang Lin's adopted son, and offers support in exchange for future help winning the throne. An uncle's life-ending divination told him that this meeting could transform his fate and that failure would leave him less than a century to live. Wang Lin does not immediately accept the title, but takes Ji Du's contact jade and promises that, if driven from the Ancient Dao, he may one day allow the prince to call him godfather. (Chapter 2007)

Succession through chosen loyalty

Ji Du's prediction proves politically astute. He watches the Ancient Dao emperor alienate Wang Lin and waits rather than forcing the bond. When Wang leaves, Ji Du protects Song Zhi because he understands her importance to Wang and has guards ensure that she is not mistreated. That attention to an emotionally important but politically weak person demonstrates that his usefulness rests on observation and follow-through, not only flattery. (Chapters 2018–2043)

Wang Lin helps clear Ji Du's path to succession, while Song Tian ultimately recognizes him as Ancient Shi's next emperor. The old emperor transfers armies and state secrets to him over decades. During Wang Lin's century-long Three Soul Splits in the ancestral temple, Ji Du visits constantly, protects the forbidden zone, and grows anxious for his godfather's safety even after the throne is effectively his. On coronation day he delays as long as possible, kowtows outside the temple, and leaves only when duty requires it. (Chapters 2043–2057)

Emperor of the Ancient Shi

Ji Du completes the imperial ceremony and receives Wang Lin's personal affirmation and crown. He understands that his rise was enabled by the adopted bond, but by then the relationship is no longer merely opportunistic. Centuries later he remains an Ancient Shi ruler able to cooperate with celestial and Ancient Grand Empyreans. At the battlefield left by Wang Lin and Gu Dao, he proposes a seven-person reversal method so they can witness the past conflict, showing that the cautious prince has become a cultivator and sovereign capable of coordinating former enemies. (Chapters 2057, 2066, and 2081–2082)

Appearance and personality

Ji Du is a young prince when he meets Wang Lin and appears mature by his coronation a century later, wearing the Ancient Shi royal robe and crown. He is exceptionally cunning, observant, and willing to abase himself for a life-changing opportunity. His early filial language is strategic, but consistent protection of Song Zhi and anxiety during Wang Lin's seclusion reveal authentic loyalty behind the calculation. (Chapters 2005–2007 and 2043–2057)

Abilities and cultivation

Ancient Shi royal foundation

Ji Du's exact early cultivation realm is not stated, and political authority—not personal battle strength—is his main tool as a prince. As emperor he can strike the imperial war drum, receive the worship of the Ancient Shi, and govern armies inherited from his father. These rites channel collective imperial legitimacy; they do not mean that his early self could defeat an Ascendant Empyrean. (Chapters 2003–2007 and 2056–2057)

Strategic perception

His most consistently demonstrated capability is analysis. From location, behavior, an intelligence portrait, and the ancient demon's fear, he identifies Wang Lin while hiding that conclusion even from his entourage. He also anticipates that the Ancient Dao emperor's narrowness will drive Wang away. This insight creates openings, but it remains probabilistic: Ji Du stakes his life and succession on a deceased uncle's incomplete divination rather than possessing certain foreknowledge. (Chapters 2006–2007 and 2042–2044)

Cooperative time reversal

Centuries later Ji Du knows a formation that lets seven powerful cultivators temporarily reverse a battlefield's residual time and send their divine senses into the recovered scene. The method requires all seven participants to form seals around the site, and each side demands faith oaths before cooperating. It reconstructs observation rather than changing the historical outcome, making it an investigative group spell, not unrestricted travel into the past. (Chapter 2066)

Relationships

• Wang Lin: Ji Du asks Wang to become his godfather in exchange for loyalty and aid. Their alliance secures his throne, while his long vigil and grief at parting make the adopted relationship genuine. (Chapters 2007 and 2043–2057)
• Grand Empyrean Gu Dao: Gu Dao's status underpins imperial succession and later leaves a battlefield that Ji Du helps reconstruct; the two do not share a close personal bond. (Chapters 2006–2019 and 2066)
• Xuan Luo: Knowledge that Wang is Xuan Luo's disciple helps Ji Du identify him and assess the Ancient Dao court's likely reaction. (Chapters 2003–2007)

Items

• Ji Du gives Wang Lin a one-use jade containing the power of one finger from the Ancient Ancestor. Wang later studies and reproduces the spell during a critical confrontation. (Chapters 2007 and 2049)