Jin Tao

Jin Tao, called Jin Tou in his introductory passage and nicknamed Dumb-Mutt Jin, is an NEU problem student who becomes one of Lan Jue’s most determined disciples. His low innate Talent makes ordinary advancement nearly impossible, but exceptional endurance convinces Lan Jue to offer a dangerous artificial reconstruction. Jin Tao survives the Fantascia Genetica Decoction, develops a mastiff-like transformation, and turns the ferocity once expressed through school fights into service as a Star Division squad leader.

Biography

A problem student finds a lesson worth hearing

Jin Tao begins as a failing junior pilot with a pink mohawk, a cigarette, few friends, and a reputation for biting at everyone around him. He first treats the Etiquette teacher as another target for mockery. Lan Jue’s account of aristocracy as responsibility nevertheless reaches him. Instead of leaving the inspiration in the classroom, Jin Tao goes directly to train despite having mastered only elementary mecha controls. (Chapters 38–49)

His response reveals the distinction that later defines him: academic performance and social discipline are poor, but effort becomes extreme once he believes a goal matters. He is repeatedly beaten bloody while seeking improvement and refuses to explain or abandon the process. Other teachers see a student unlikely to graduate; Lan Jue sees stubbornness strong enough to survive a different route. (Chapters 107–120)

Rebuilding a body with borrowed potential

Lan Jue accepts Jin Tao and Tang Xiao as personal disciples but warns that Jin Tao’s genetic Talent may never pass the third rank without artificial intervention. Jin Tao chooses the risk after being told that the training may fail and will be far more painful than his friend’s. His sister Jin Yan gives family consent for an extended absence, while Hua Li helps supervise the dangerous early stage. (Chapters 118–124)

The Fantascia Genetica Decoction fractures and reconstructs his physical foundation rather than granting effortless mastery. Jin Tao survives cell-level torment, gains strength, perception, and a changed body, and then must learn to govern unfamiliar power. His endurance is the decisive complement to the medicine: the drug supplies potential, while repeated cultivation, healing, and control make that potential usable. Failure or death remained possible during the process. (Chapters 121–124 and 266–268)

The disciple who refuses to stop

In the A.R.C. training program, Jin Tao withstands brutal physical and DreamNet repetitions longer than many naturally stronger students. He emerges from one extended cycle on the eighteenth day and treats pain as familiar evidence of progress. His boastful speech survives, but the contempt beneath it changes direction. He wants his family to see that he is not worthless and begins to imagine strength as the ability to protect them rather than merely humiliate people who dismissed him. (Chapters 266–298)

He also proves more observant than his school record suggests. A childhood interest in ships lets him recognize the design and weapons of a specialized patrol craft when Tang Xiao cannot. The moment does not turn him into an engineer or commander; it shows that Jin Tao can learn deeply when fascination overcomes resentment. Lan Jue’s method succeeds partly by finding motivations conventional schooling never reached. (Chapters 292–293)

From Dumb-Mutt to squad leader

Jin Tao’s Discipline develops into a huge, golden-haired lion or mastiff-like transformation whose physical savagery surprises Lan Jue. When offered a place in Star Division, he immediately wants to become a soldier and protect the Alliance that gives his family a home. Lan Jue forces him to consult that family rather than accepting an impulsive declaration. Jin Tao returns committed, turning the old need to prove himself into an explicit wartime duty. (Chapters 512–513)

He chooses a Tibetan-mastiff mecha named Black Gold because the animal answers the nickname he both hates and claims. As a First Brigade squad leader, he commands beast-Discipline pilots in matching animal-form machines. He is not among the division’s strongest officers, but his head-on courage and the body-control interface make him effective at breaking into alien lines and shielding ranged allies. His charge-first instinct also risks encirclement and requires correction from teammates. (Chapters 542–543, 571, and 664)

Ferocity disciplined by a team

During planetary rescues, Jin Tao and Tang Xiao bicker constantly over kills but agree beforehand to share credit and fight in close coordination. Their rivalry has become a working bond rather than the isolating hostility of his NEU introduction. Jin Tao’s squad attacks at close range while higher officers watch for concealed enemies that could kill them, preserving a clear limit between fierce local leadership and strategic battlefield control. (Chapters 739–745)

He later hides his presence in order to surprise Lan Jue during a training-like challenge, splits the apparent lion-shaped machine to avoid the teacher’s strike, and helps damage Lan Jue’s mecha. The feat shows genuine piloting growth without implying that Jin Tao has surpassed his master; it depends on teamwork, deception, and Lan Jue evaluating rather than trying to kill them. His last appearance finds him alive with Tang Xiao and Tang Mi after the rescue campaign, invested in Lan Jue’s breakthrough. No later rank or death is stated. (Chapters 777–799)

Appearance and personality

Jin Tao initially wears peach-pink hair in a mohawk, smokes, slouches, and presents deliberate delinquency. Before entering serious training he cuts the mohawk down to short black hair. Fantascia Genetica and cultivation rebuild him into a much stronger young man, while his Discipline expands him beyond eight feet and covers him in coarse golden hair. The transformed shape resembles a savage lion or mastiff rather than an elegant humanoid Adept. (Chapters 41, 108, 124, 266, and 512)

He is loud, crude, impulsive, competitive, and extraordinarily persistent. Insults and bravado conceal insecurity created by years of being treated as a family embarrassment. Pain rarely deters him once improvement is visible, but endurance is not the same as judgment: he charges too readily and needs Lan Jue, Tang Mi, and his squad to channel him. His growth lies in attaching ferocity to protection and teamwork without losing the unruly energy that made the opportunity possible. (Chapters 38–49, 118–124, 266–298, and 512–664)

Disciplines and abilities

Fantascia-altered beast transformation

Jin Tao begins with extremely weak genetic Talent. The Decoction reconstructs his body and creates a foundation from which his Discipline can grow, but the result depends on surviving severe pain and later learning control. His mature transformation increases size, muscle, senses, durability, and close-range force, taking a golden lion or mastiff character. It does not raise him to Paragon or erase the advantage of naturally stronger Adepts. (Chapters 118–124, 266–268, and 512)

Beast-mecha piloting

Black Gold uses a body-motion interface rather than the command-heavy controls of a humanoid mecha. Jin Tao’s reinforced physique and beast transformation let him synchronize with the quadrupedal machine, fly, claw through armored targets, and change direction in direct pursuit. The suit favors impact and melee protection over long-range versatility. Charging beyond support can leave him surrounded, and elite aliens still require higher-ranked cover. (Chapters 542–543, 571, 664, and 739–745)

Endurance and squad leadership

His outstanding quality is sustained will. Jin Tao persists through long DreamNet repetitions, gravity, injury, meditation, and reconstruction that defeat more gifted students. As a squad leader he gives similarly aggressive beast Adepts a coherent point of attack and protects ranged formations. His leadership remains tactical and small-unit: he follows brigade and division commanders, shares results with Tang Xiao, and benefits from teammates who curb his overextension. (Chapters 266–298, 512–543, and 739–799)

Relationships

• Lan Jue: Teacher, Drillmaster, and division commander. Lan Jue recognizes the will beneath Jin Tao’s failures, secures the Decoction, and insists that power be joined to family consent and public duty.
• Tang Xiao: Fellow personal disciple, constant rival, and reliable battlefield partner. Their insults disguise agreed cooperation and complementary fighting styles.
• Tang Mi: Teammate and the person whose approval Jin Tao awkwardly seeks. She recognizes his endurance, challenges his self-pity, and can stop his arguments or reckless behavior.
• Jin Yan: His older sister and family representative. Her low expectations wound him, but her consent and concern help make his dangerous reconstruction possible.
• Star Division: The institution that turns Jin Tao’s childhood military ambition into service. Within it he leads a squad but remains accountable to brigade commanders and collective tactics.

Items

• Fantascia Genetica Decoction: The rare enhancement drug used to reconstruct Jin Tao’s weak genetic foundation, at severe risk and with no guarantee of success.