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* EvilIsSexy: And he knows it.
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* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Everyone considers him kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wears a sweet smile and maintains a gentle demeanor. Underneath it all, he's seething with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder.]]
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* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Everyone considers him kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wears a sweet smile and maintains a gentle demeanor. Underneath it all, he's seething with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder. He’s also nowhere near as receptive of Mo Ran’s affections as Mo Ran thinks he is, practically hating him for what he did to Chu Wanning in the first timelne.]]
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* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Most of Mo Ran's struggles and mistakes in the first timeline can be traced back to him failing to see past the superficial and look deeper. He got tricked by Rong Jiu, played by Song Qiutong, and [[spoiler: used by Shi Mei]] because of their soft, harmless appearances, while antagonizing the likes of Chu Wanning and Ye Wangxi.
to:
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Most of Mo Ran's struggles and mistakes in the first timeline can be traced back to him failing to see past the superficial and look deeper. He got tricked by Rong Jiu, played by Song Qiutong, and [[spoiler: used by Shi Mei]] because of their soft, harmless appearances, while antagonizing the likes of Chu Wanning and Ye Wangxi.Wangxi, both of whom are a lot harsher and colder, but deeply, deeply loyal and honorable.
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* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Between not realizing the truth about the day Shi Mei died, to the wantons, to [[spoiler: his own lacking memories]], Mo Ran repeatedly fails to notice that he doesn't know nearly as much about the past and the future as he thinks he does.
to:
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Between From not realizing the truth about the day Shi Mei died, to or who really made the wantons, wantons he loves so much, to [[spoiler: his own lacking memories]], memories]]; Mo Ran repeatedly fails to notice that he doesn't know nearly is not quite as much knowledgeable about the events of the past and the future as he thinks he does.is.
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** After giving Xue Meng a long spiel about how Chu Wanning never cared about him, [[spoiler: Mo Ran is finally told Chu Wanning died saving him. Over the next few days, Mo Ran has to come to terms with just how unfair and unjustifiably cruel he's been to Chu Wanning in both lifetimes.]]
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** After giving Xue Meng a long spiel about how Chu Wanning never cared about him, [[spoiler: Mo Ran is finally told Chu Wanning died saving him. Over the next few days, Mo Ran has to come to terms with just how unfair and unjustifiably cruel he's been to Chu Wanning in both lifetimes. It almost breaks him.]]
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* OlderThanTheyLook: A thirty year-old in his younger self's teenage body.
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* OlderThanTheyLook: A thirty thirty-plus year-old mind in his younger self's teenage body.
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* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Repeatedly. [[spoiler: That he didn't get this and Chu Wanning died before him, leaving him all alone, is what lead Mo Ran to suicide in the first timeline.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses.
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses.
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* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Repeatedly. [[spoiler: That he didn't get Being denied this and when Chu Wanning died before him, leaving him and left him all alone, alone is what lead Mo Ran to suicide in the first timeline.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses. This is both played for comedic value and drama. [[spoiler: Given his missing memories and the flower infection he carries, he has a deeply skewed picture of pretty much everything that happened in his first timeline and is unable to see Chu Wanning’s honorable nature, awkward love and kindness for what it is until a deeply grieving Xue Meng forces him to open his eyes.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses. This is both played for comedic value and drama. [[spoiler: Given his missing memories and the flower infection he carries, he has a deeply skewed picture of pretty much everything that happened in his first timeline and is unable to see Chu Wanning’s honorable nature, awkward love and kindness for what it is until a deeply grieving Xue Meng forces him to open his eyes.]]
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* [[spoiler: HopelessSuitor]]: [[spoiler: Much like Mo Ran, he has a deep and obsessive love for Chu Wanning. Unlike Mo Ran, his affections were not returned in either life. In some ways it made it worse for him in the new timeline, as he had to go along with pretending to reciprocate Mo Ran’s supposed feelings for him, while knowing everything Mo Ran did to Chu Wanning as Taxian-jun.]]
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* AnythingThatMoves: Before his affair with Chu Wanning in his first life, Mo Ran was also quite the frequent customer of many a brothel.
* ExtremeOmnisexual: Before his affair with Chu Wanning in his first life, Mo Ran was also quite the frequent customer of many a brothel.
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* WhipItGood: His holy weapon in the second timeline, identical to Chu Wanning's.
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* WhipItGood: WeaponSpecialization: His holy weapon in the second timeline, timeline is a whip, identical to Chu Wanning's.
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* WhipItGood: His primary weapon is a willow vine that he uses as a whip. As Mo Ran can attest, he's an expert with it.
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* WhipItGood: VineTentacles: His primary weapon is a willow vine that he uses as a whip. As Mo Ran can attest, he's an expert with it.
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* LethalChef: The tofu and vegetable dish he cooked after his whipping looked so horrifying that no one else besides his disciples, who ate three plates each, is willing to eat his food. The three of them had upset stomachs the entire day.
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Moving to English title
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Mo Ran (墨燃)]]
!!! '''Voiced by''': Shang Tong (audio drama)\\
'''Played by''': Chen Feiyu (live-action - adult), Xu Zien (live-action - child)
[[quoteright:237:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_2019_10_18t211936470_0.jpeg]]
----
* AllMenArePerverts: Mo Ran simply cannot keep it in his pants, especially where Chu Wanning is concerned.
* AnimalMotifs: As indicated in the novel's title, Mo Ran is the husky of the pair.
* AnythingThatMoves: Before his affair with Chu Wanning in his first life, Mo Ran was also quite the frequent customer of many a brothel.
* AntagonistInMourning: While technically not the antagonist, he is quite plainly this following Shi Mei and Chu Wanning's deaths in the original timeline.
* TheAtoner: Gradually comes to realize how ridiculously cruel his past actions were, but doesn't truly settle into this role until [[spoiler: Chu Wanning dies for him, again. He spends the next five years struggling to be the person Chu Wanning always wanted him to be, eventually becoming known far and wide for his kind and heroic deeds. Moreover, he tries his hardest to atone for his past indiscretions against Chu Wanning, deciding to dedicate the rest of his life to ensuring Chu Wanning gets to live a happier life.]]
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Attempts to pull this in Butterfly Town, trying to impress Chu Wanning with Chu Wanning's own explanation for the events going on there. He's not bad at it later on, even without the advantage of already knowing the answer, as his knowledge of forbidden techniques helps him analyze multiple situations other cultivators fail to recognize.
* BecomingTheMask: Initially starts out playing the role of the cheeky but sweet disciple while maintaining his Emperor attitude behind the mask, but as time goes on, he starts to see the people around him more clearly, genuinely caring about people he ruthlessly destroyed in the first timeline. [[spoiler: Taxian-jun calls him out on it, pointing out that playing the part doesn't erase the blood on his hands.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: As Taxian-jun, during the slaughter of the Rufeng Sect, he admits he wants someone to love him enough that they'd die for him, like Ye Wangxi. [[spoiler: Once he realizes that Chu Wanning did, twice, in both timelines, he completely breaks down.]]
* BeingEvilSucks: It takes him a long time to get there, but eventually Mo Ran comes to understand that life of an EvilOverlord isn't exactly fulfilling.
* BestServedCold: Schemed and worked in secret for a long time after Shi Mei's death in the first timeline, preparing his revenge against the world right under everyone's noses.
* BerserkButton: Pretty much everything and anything to do with Chu Wanning has the potential to send Mo Ran into a fury depending on his mental state at the time.
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Has the largest penis in the cultivation world and Chu Wanning is very impressed with him in bed.
* BornUnlucky: Mo Ran's whole life has just been one tragedy after another. Meeting Chu Wanning was probably the best thing that ever happened to him, but according to him at the start, also his greatest misfortune. [[spoiler: He's not entirely wrong; he might have had a better fate if he hadn't offered himself up to Hua Binan in Chu Wanning's place.]]
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Turns out to have been this the entire time.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: Chu Wanning's death in the first timeline [[spoiler: and the second]] thoroughly breaks him. For all his power, arrogance, and cruelty, losing the one person that was always there drives him over the edge.
* BroughtDownToBadass: Mo Ran's rebirth into his teenage self means the loss of his incredible powers that allowed him to take over the cultivation world, but he's still a formidable cultivator.
* CharacterDevelopment: The gradual shift of Mo Ran's emotional maturity and going from absolutely hating Chu Wanning's guts to moving the heavens and earth because of his love for Chu Wanning is truly fascinating to read.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Mo Ran is extremely possessive of Chu Wanning and goes ballistic at even the thought of someone else getting close to him.
* ControlFreak: Surprisingly, he has serious shades of this, likely the result of his years as a tyrannical emperor and his use of the forbidden chess technique, which allowed him to control people like puppets. That he could never fully control Chu Wanning is something that he both loves and hates.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Both his actual childhood and his previous life.
* DeclarationOfProtection: To Shi Mei, after being reborn. Later on, [[spoiler: he makes a much more serious and grave vow to Chu Wanning, determined to stand in front of him and protect him even if he doesn't deserve to be by Chu Wanning's side.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: Shi Mei's death served as this in the original timeline, driving Mo Ran to eventually become the murderous emperor Taxian-jun.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Specializes in this. If someone is nice to him, he'll repay them a thousand times over. But if someone is even slightly cruel to him, he doesn't forgive and doesn't forget.
* DomesticAbuser: To Chu Wanning in the first timeline. He gets better.
* DontTellMama: Is genuinely terrified of everyone, but especially Chu Wanning, finding out the truth about him, [[spoiler: whether it being his true origins or his actions in the other timeline. He eventually has to face it.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: After Chu Wanning's death in first timeline, he killed himself leading to the present timeline. Not even Xue Meng expected to find him half dead.
* DyingAlone: In the first chapter.
* TheEmperor: Both initially played straight and a thorough deconstruction.
* EvilGloating: Prone to this during his time as Taxian-jun, but rather than make him seem more menacing, it only made him seem more pitiful and lost.
* EvilOverlord: Taxian-jun excelled in the role, between crushing his enemies, betraying his friends, and abusing his "wives". He leaves the role behind relatively easily in the new timeline, thoroughly fed up with lifestyle.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Given that the beginning of the story has him transmigrate back to his teenage years, this trope comes with the territory.
* GuiltComplex: Develops a serious one later on, but considering everything he did in the original timeline and his initial carelessness in the new one, it's pretty justified.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pulls one directly ripped from Chu Wanning in the original timeline in an attempt to save his family and friends, [[spoiler: shattering his own core.]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Most of Mo Ran's struggles and mistakes in the first timeline can be traced back to him failing to see past the superficial and look deeper. He got tricked by Rong Jiu, played by Song Qiutong, and [[spoiler: used by Shi Mei]] because of their soft, harmless appearances, while antagonizing the likes of Chu Wanning and Ye Wangxi.
* {{Hunk}}: Mo Ran is canonically described to be tall, muscular, and with a handsome face. [[spoiler: Xue Meng isn't exactly happy to find out he also apparently has the largest penis in the cultivation world.]]
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Between not realizing the truth about the day Shi Mei died, to the wantons, to [[spoiler: his own lacking memories]], Mo Ran repeatedly fails to notice that he doesn't know nearly as much about the past and the future as he thinks he does.
* IHatePastMe: Comes to despise his past self and actions, [[spoiler: especially when said past/future self shows up in the new timeline.]]
* IndifferentBeauty: Mo Ran is attractive enough to have dozens of admirers constantly flocking to him, but he only has his eyes for Chu Wanning.
* IWishedYouWereDead: Repeatedly expresses how much he wants Chu Wanning dead, only to be consumed by despair following his actual death(s).
* JerkassRealization: Has several.
** After giving Xue Meng a long spiel about how Chu Wanning never cared about him, [[spoiler: Mo Ran is finally told Chu Wanning died saving him. Over the next few days, Mo Ran has to come to terms with just how unfair and unjustifiably cruel he's been to Chu Wanning in both lifetimes.]]
* KnightErrant: Settles into this role during the five year timeskip.
* LonelyAtTheTop: As Taxian-jun. Especially after Chu Wanning's death.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Initially seems to be a case of this, following Shi Mei's original death.
* MoreThanMindControl: Fell victim to this [[spoiler: in the first timeline, with the flower devouring all his positive memories and with Shi Mei purposely stoking the flames of his hatred. Hua Binan denies any responsibility for Mo Ran's crimes as Taxian-jun, pointing out that he didn't make Mo Ran do anything; Mo Ran did it all, all by himself.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: A thirty year-old in his younger self's teenage body.
* PetTheDog: Mo Ran spends the entirety of Chapter 32 looking after Chu Wanning, much to his own chagrin.
** [[spoiler: Over the years of their marriage, Taxian-jun occasionally would be kind or gentle with Chu Wanning: spending long periods of time taking care of him when he was sick, letting Chu Wanning have access to the library and other areas on the peak, and buying his favorite wines and foods. Both of them look back on these moments with very complicated emotions.]]
* PlayingWithFire: His weapon in the second timeline.
* PowerPerversionPotential: Mo Ran uses magic to create an special earring that makes Chu Wanning weaker to his advances.
* PurpleIsPowerful: His eyes are frequently mentioned to have a hint of purple.
* RedIsHeroic: His spiritual energy goes from green to red after his rebirth, signaling the shift in his nature.
* SexGod: His sexual prowess is legend.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Not nearly as foolish as people tend to believe, as Chu Wanning points out.
* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Repeatedly. [[spoiler: That he didn't get this and Chu Wanning died before him, leaving him all alone, is what lead Mo Ran to suicide in the first timeline.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Didn't realize someone else was pulling his strings for the entire first lifetime.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Had a serious one following Chu Wanning's death in the first timeline, leading him to boil his wife alive, rave at Chu Wanning's corpse, and ultimately cumulating in his suicide.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Repeatedly states he wants to do all sorts of horrible things to Chu Wanning, but upon being left alone with an injured and defenseless Chu Wanning with no one watching, Mo Ran ends up dutifully taking care of him the entire night, much to his own frustration.
* WhipItGood: His holy weapon in the second timeline, identical to Chu Wanning's.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: As Taxian-jun. His rule was so marked by constant attempted upheavals, bloodshed, and rebellions that even he got tired of it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Chu Wanning (楚晚宁)]]
!!! '''Voiced by''': Qua Xiu (audio drama)\\
'''Played by''': Luo Yunxi (live-action - adult)
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cf_3.JPG]]
----
* NumberOneDime: He keeps the cut strands of hair from his and Mo Ran's fake wedding as a sentimental keepsake.
* TheAce: Chu Wanning is the best cultivator in the world and even the antagonists know to exercise extreme caution once he pulls out one of his weapons.
** [[spoiler: Managed to pull off one of the three forbidden techniques, the Spacetime Gate of Life and Death, without a spiritual core, using nothing but some notes he scraped together, a holy weapon, and his own soul. It took Taxian-jun years longer and far more resources just to open a rift in space.]]
* AlmightyJanitor: Even though he's universally agreed to be the best cultivator in the world and the upper cultivation sects all want him in their rank, he chooses to stay in the at the comparably poorer Si Sheng Peak so that he can do more good in the world and protect more people.
* AnimalMotifs: As indicated in the novel's title, Chu Wanning is the white cat of the pair.
* [[spoiler: ArtificialHuman]]: After two-hundred chapters, it is finally revealed that [[spoiler: he was [[PlantPerson carved out of wood]]]].
* BadassAdorable: As the adorable Xia Sini, he's still got all of his original power and skill.
* BigGood: Greatest and strongest force for good in both timelines.
* BlindedByRage: Chu Wanning's not so stellar reputation partly comes from his inability to properly control his anger. Though, his anger is usually quite justified.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Chu Wanning is quite the eccentric loner, to say the least, but he's still the best cultivator in the world.
* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler: His own teacher ignoring the chaos of the world and then demanding Chu Wanning cut out his own spiritual core if he wants to help them, leading to two lifetimes of distrust.]] As a result, Chu Wanning refuses to rely upon anyone but himself, even under terrible circumstances.
* {{Determinator}}: Nothing short of death can stop him, once he's made up his mind to do something. Both Mo Ran and his former teacher note that once Chu Wanning has decided on a path, he follows it to the end.
** [[spoiler: Dragged himself and an unconscious Mo Ran up over three thousand stairs despite being severely wounded, exhausted, and his hands being in shreds. Everyone that witnessed it could scarcely believe it.]]
* DeterminedDefeatist: In the first timeline, even after years of powerlessness, Chu Wanning refuses to give up, even though he knows there is little he can still do. [[spoiler: After realizing the truth about Mo Ran and what is planned, he knows he has to find a way to at least prevent the destruction of the other world and the people in it, even if he can barely save anyone from his own world anymore. He tears his own soul apart just to give his other self a chance to change their fates.]]
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Pulled this on Mo Ran in the original timeline twice. The first time, Mo Ran managed to revive him. The second death, however, was very, very permanent.
* DragonRider: Summons a massive dragon to [[MundaneUtility carry him places]], because it's cooler than admitting he's afraid of flying on his own.
* TheDreaded: The one Mo Ran admits to fearing the most before the loss of his core, and the first sight of Chu Wanning back to his original power fills Mo Ran with dread.
* DrivenToSuicide: First timeline Chu Wanning was driven to kill himself trying to stop Mo Ran from killing Xue Meng and Mei Hanxue, by using the last of his strength to summon his last sacred weapon.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: He doesn't bat an eye in the face of his impending execution by Mo Ran in the first timeline, which only makes Mo Ran that much angrier.]]
** [[spoiler: Chooses to die saving his disciples in his original world instead of escaping Taxian-jun and disappearing into the other world.]]
* FatalAttractor: If a character is attracted to him, they've probably committed at least one grievous crime.
* ForTheGreaterGood: This is one of Mo Ran's primary grievances against him, as Chu Wanning spends so much time trying to protect the common people and save the world, he doesn't spare enough caring and compassion for the people closest to him. In the end, there is little Chu Wanning won't do for the greater good, [[spoiler: including resolving to kill Taxian-jun.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: Excels at mixing machinery and spells. Single-handedly invented and mass-produced the Night Guardian golems that protect common people from evil spirits, as well as the creator of numerous spells, charms, talismans, and other tools.
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: His primary color scheme, pointing towards his righteous nature and [[spoiler: divine origins.]]
* GoldColoredSuperiority: His spells and spiritual energy take the form of golden light, which no one short of Taxian-jun can match.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Mercilessly whips his own disciple and the sect leader's nephew in front of the entire sect, who compare him to a cold-blooded demon. Still, it was in accordance to the sect rules and it's not like Mo Ran didn't deserve it.
* GreenThumb: Using Tianwen, he can make willow vines, roots, and entire trees erupt from the ground.
** [[spoiler:At the novel's climax, Chu Wanning creates a massive, horizon-spanning wall to hold back the [[TheGreatFlood world-ending flood]] long enough for everyone to retreat.]]
* HatesBeingTouched: Can't stand being touched by strangers.
* HeroicSacrifice: Is always the first to throw himself into danger to save someone else, in both timelines. He takes numerous nearly fatal hits to protect his disciples, shatters his own core to save everyone from Mo Ran, gives his life to save Xue Meng and the other rebels, [[spoiler: tears his soul to shreds to help Mo Ran and the world, dies bringing Mo Ran home after exhausting himself closing the breach in the barrier, and much later on, chooses to stay behind and face down an army of chess pieces and Taxian-jun so everyone else can escape, knowing full well that there is no way for him to escape the tombs if Mo Ran doesn't come back for him.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Chu Wanning holds himself to the same high standards he expects of everyone else, and spends most of the novel struggling with his own immense self-loathing.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Despite all the good he does, he doesn't have a very positive reputation.
* HotTeacher: Mo Ran is never not about to jump Chu Wanning's bones. The Si Sheng peak disciples pretty unanimously agree that Chu Wanning is stunning.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Goes from being known as the strongest cultivator in the world to [[spoiler: a concubine of the emperor,]] living out the rest of his days in the first timeline under house arrest as Mo Ran's plaything. Despite this, he still refuses to give up, and manages one last stand.
* IAmNotPretty: Chu Wanning is blind to his own attractiveness and insists that he's ugly and because of this, Mo Ran would definitely never return his feelings. [[spoiler: After getting together, Mo Ran makes sure to constantly insist that he's wrong.]]
* TheIdealist: An oddly cynical, pessimistic example. He believes fiercely in justice and compassion, and will do anything to save someone he believes is innocent, but he doesn't trust others at all and is perfectly capable of recognizing the worst in people.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How everyone else views him. His inability to actually live up to this further fuels his self-loathing.
* ItsAllMyFault: Dies claiming this, much to Mo Ran's furious disbelief and incomprehension.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Eventually resolves himself to kill [[spoiler: Taxian-jun]], not out of hate or resentment, but because he knows [[spoiler: the real Mo Ran]] would never want to keep hurting people.
* KnightInSourArmor: He's well-aware of how twisted and harsh the world has become, but still strives to do the utmost to protect people, whether they be commoners or weaker cultivators. That doesn't mean he's nice about it, though.
* LightIsGood: Heavily associated with light, warmth, and the heavens.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Became one to Mo Ran in the original timeline, not that Mo Ran would willingly acknowledge it.
* LoveMartyr: In both timelines, he's this. Over and over again.
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: A rare heroic example. [[spoiler: His death in the first timeline is the cause of Mo Ran's suicide, and the reason Mo Ran wakes up in the new timeline with all his memories, and the key to preventing the destruction of the two worlds.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Comes to view failing to notice [[spoiler: Mo Ran's infection by the flower]] before it was too late as this.
* ObliviouslyBeautiful: Chu Wanning insists on his own ugliness, not knowing that he's so attractive that it's rumored a girl got kicked out of the sect for attempting to peek at him bathing.
* OneManArmy: Single-handedly brings the army of the dead in Buttefly Town to a standstill, as well as decimates Mo Ran's forces in the first timeline with his MagicMusic.
* PowerStereotypeFlip: Chu Wanning is the most powerful cultivator in the world, and a brilliant inventor associated with light. But he's also extremely short tempered, socially awkward, and his room looks like something exploded in it.
* TheScapegoat: For Mo Ran.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Chu Wanning doesn't care about damaging his own reputation and throwing propriety to the wind if it means doing what's right and exacting justice on those who deserve it.
* SexSlave: Taxian-Jun's in the original timeline.
* SourOutsideSadInside: He seems bitter, cruel and uncaring, but this is mostly a facade to hide his insecurities and loneliness, as well as the result of sad, loveless life of betrayal and disappointment.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Despite having zero knowledge of the other timeline for most of the novel, his typical role in each arc is ruining the more well-informed antagonist's scheme through his sheer power, selflessness, and shrewd nature. Both Taxian-jun and [[spoiler: Hua Binan]] also viewed him as this in first timeline.
* TheStoic: Whether he's in agonizing pain or broiling in despair, Chu Wanning refuses to show it. This leads to many, many misunderstandings.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Two out his three disciples developed obsessive romantic and sexual feelings for him. Taxian-Jun would have just killed him instead of making Chu Wanning into a SexSlave had he been less beautiful.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: His words and demeanor are icy but he is a kind person who shows he cares through quiet actions.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Sums up his experience with [[spoiler: the Rufeng Sect.]]
* ThousandYardStare: Prone to them in the first timeline, after years of sexual abuse and watching the world burn without being able to do anything about it.
* ToughLove: Practiced this a little too thoroughly. [[spoiler: But considering his history, it's hard to blame him.]]
* TragicHero: Can't get anymore tragic or anymore heroic than Chu Wanning.
* {{Tsundere}}: He is the tsun-tsun type. Harsh and cold at a glance but rather soft and tender inside.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Mo Ran and to the Sisheng Peak Sect, but very subtly. It takes over a hundred chapters for Mo Ran to come to terms with this.
* [[spoiler: WhatMeasureIsANonHuman]]: Chu Wanning's humanity, or the hypothesized lack of it, is foreshadowed and alluded to throughout the novel, [[spoiler: ultimately cumulating in TheReveal that he wasn't born, but carved out of wood from a divine tree. His master tried to convince himself that Chu Wanning is nothing but a wooden doll, but ultimately acknowledges that Chu Wanning has his own soul.]]
* WhipItGood: His primary weapon is a willow vine that he uses as a whip. As Mo Ran can attest, he's an expert with it.
* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Dies completely dressed in white in both timelines.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Mo Ran believes Chu Wanning is this in the first timeline.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: Shi Mei]]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shimei.png]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Tells Mo Ran that he chose Chu Wanning as his teacher because Chu Wanning held an umbrella over him in the rain, soaking his own shoulder in the process.
* TheLostLenore: His role in the first timeline. When Shi Mei died, Mo Ran felt like his chance at happiness died with him.
* [[spoiler: TheMole]]: [[spoiler: Reports the events in the new timeline to his other self.]]
* [[spoiler: RegretfulTraitor]]: [[spoiler: Starts to regret the path he chose and turns against his AlternateSelf, eventually helping Chu Wanning escape Hua Binan and Taxian-jun.]]
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Everyone considers him kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wears a sweet smile and maintains a gentle demeanor. Underneath it all, he's seething with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Xue Meng]]
* HotBlooded: Much like his master, and unlike his more laidback parents, Xue Meng has a quick and fierce temper.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Extremely pure-hearted, so much so that he ends up being pretty much the last bastion of good in the first timeline.
* LonelyRichKid: Has few friends besides Shi Mei, so ends up clinging to his master.
* RoyalBrat: A more likable version than most. As the young master of the sect, Xue Meng has been completely spoiled by his parents.
* {{Tsundere}}: Plays the tough guy, but adores his family and master
* WellDoneSonGuy: Downplayed. Xue Meng desperately wants to make his parents and his master proud, but really, they already are very proud of him.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Seems to have pulled this on Mo Ran in the first timeline multiple times, all in vain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Hua Binan '''(SPOILERS!)''']]
* AlternateSelf: Of Shi Mei.
* AlternativeSelfNameChange: Goes by his real name, and resents being called Shi Mei or Shi Mingjing.
* BigBad: The mastermind behind Mo Ran's corruption and the destruction of the cultivation world in the first timeline, as well as the cause behind most of the shifts in the new timeline.
* DarkMessiah: Has shades of this, working ruthlessly and with unfettered, single-minded determination to get his people to the Demon Realm. [[spoiler:He even sacrifices his life to hold the gates to the Demon Realm open with his own body as the other Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts scramble to get through, and manages to hold on long enough for all of them to reach the Demon Realm. The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts also clearly see him as a hero of their people.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He's the schemer that masterminded everything. He also clearly loves and respects his mother very much, though she was killed when he was a child.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As mentioned above, he loves his mother dearly. [[spoiler:He also cares deeply about his older adopted half-sister, Mu Yanli, despite her not being a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast. When she self-detonates in order to build the last thirty steps of the Path of Martyrdom, he's devastated, his eyes afterward being described as blank yet filled with madness.]]
* FreudianExcuse: His entire race has faced slavery, rape, and cannibalism for centuries, with no escape and no reprieve. His father ate his mother alive, mutilating her. She died desperately trying to keep him from doing the same to Hua Binan, screaming at him to run. He believes the only chance they have is returning to the Demon World, regardless of the cost.
* [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice: A very rare example from a villain, although the Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts see him as a hero. He uses his own body to stop the gate to the Demon Realm from closing, making sure all of his people get through to safety, before he's crushed to death. He's even relieved that they all make it before he dies.]]
* HiddenVillain: The true mastermind behind literally everything.
* ManipulativeBastard: An expert at reading people, and manipulating them accordingly.
* TheChessmaster: The mastermind behind everything, and the one behind Taxian-jun.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Slips right into this once he's captured Chu Wanning.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Schemes repeatedly to kill the reborn Mo Ran, and not just for the sake of his EvilPlan.
* OmnicidalManiac: Has Taxian-jun slaughter pretty much the entire world.
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:in the 0.5 timeline. Everyone remembers him as being kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wore a sweet smile and maintained a gentle demeanor. In truth, he's absolutely burning with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder.]]
* TeenyWeenie: According to the undead Taxian-Jun his penis is so small that the emperor almost mistook him for a little girl.
* TheDeterminator: Thousands of years of his race's brutalization being utterly normalized in society won't stop him from trying to overturn everything (extremely violently) and put an end to it.
* TheLostLenore: Subverted and deliberately invoked. He played the lost love of Mo Ran, [[spoiler: faking his death to drive Mo Ran to messing with time and space.]]
* TheUnfettered: He will stop at ''nothing'' to accomplish his goal of getting his race to the Demon Realm so they will no longer be persecuted. For that end, he schemes, manipulates, kills, and orchestrates mass murder. Twice.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Taxian-jun '''(SPOILERS!)''']]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/txj.JPG]]
* AlternateSelf: Of Mo Ran.
* AttractiveZombie: A given, since he's Mo Ran.
* AxCrazy: Slaughters pretty much the entire cultivation world, though not entirely of his own volition.
* ConquerorFromTheFuture: Arrives in the new timeline with an army of chess-pieces and every intention of starting the slaughter again.
* DemotedToDragon: Begrudgingly takes the role of TheDragon to Hua Binan's BigBad.
* DramaticUnmask: Seems to take immense satisfaction in being unmasked by Chu Wanning.
* EvilIsSexy: And he knows it.
* ExhaustedEyebags: Notably looks more tired and sickly than Mo Ran. Mostly because he's DeadAllAlong.
* GreenAndMean: His spiritual energy, which is wood type, takes an eerie green color.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Has no qualms about assaulting Chu Wanning, but not even Hua Binan will get away with attempting the same.
* MadeOfIron: Seriously difficult to kill.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Schemes with Hua Binan to kill his AlternateSelf, knowing afterwards, Chu Wanning will have no where else to go.
* UndeathlyPallor: Compared to his other self, who is both alive and frequently in the sun, he's very pale.
* TheUnfettered: [[spoiler: Thanks to Hua Binan's flower,]] he's not above slaughtering his entire sect and family, and eventually, the entire world.
* {{Yandere}}: For Chu Wanning.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder:Mo Ran (墨燃)]]
!!! '''Voiced by''': Shang Tong (audio drama)\\
'''Played by''': Chen Feiyu (live-action - adult), Xu Zien (live-action - child)
[[quoteright:237:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_2019_10_18t211936470_0.jpeg]]
----
* AllMenArePerverts: Mo Ran simply cannot keep it in his pants, especially where Chu Wanning is concerned.
* AnimalMotifs: As indicated in the novel's title, Mo Ran is the husky of the pair.
* AnythingThatMoves: Before his affair with Chu Wanning in his first life, Mo Ran was also quite the frequent customer of many a brothel.
* AntagonistInMourning: While technically not the antagonist, he is quite plainly this following Shi Mei and Chu Wanning's deaths in the original timeline.
* TheAtoner: Gradually comes to realize how ridiculously cruel his past actions were, but doesn't truly settle into this role until [[spoiler: Chu Wanning dies for him, again. He spends the next five years struggling to be the person Chu Wanning always wanted him to be, eventually becoming known far and wide for his kind and heroic deeds. Moreover, he tries his hardest to atone for his past indiscretions against Chu Wanning, deciding to dedicate the rest of his life to ensuring Chu Wanning gets to live a happier life.]]
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Attempts to pull this in Butterfly Town, trying to impress Chu Wanning with Chu Wanning's own explanation for the events going on there. He's not bad at it later on, even without the advantage of already knowing the answer, as his knowledge of forbidden techniques helps him analyze multiple situations other cultivators fail to recognize.
* BecomingTheMask: Initially starts out playing the role of the cheeky but sweet disciple while maintaining his Emperor attitude behind the mask, but as time goes on, he starts to see the people around him more clearly, genuinely caring about people he ruthlessly destroyed in the first timeline. [[spoiler: Taxian-jun calls him out on it, pointing out that playing the part doesn't erase the blood on his hands.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: As Taxian-jun, during the slaughter of the Rufeng Sect, he admits he wants someone to love him enough that they'd die for him, like Ye Wangxi. [[spoiler: Once he realizes that Chu Wanning did, twice, in both timelines, he completely breaks down.]]
* BeingEvilSucks: It takes him a long time to get there, but eventually Mo Ran comes to understand that life of an EvilOverlord isn't exactly fulfilling.
* BestServedCold: Schemed and worked in secret for a long time after Shi Mei's death in the first timeline, preparing his revenge against the world right under everyone's noses.
* BerserkButton: Pretty much everything and anything to do with Chu Wanning has the potential to send Mo Ran into a fury depending on his mental state at the time.
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Has the largest penis in the cultivation world and Chu Wanning is very impressed with him in bed.
* BornUnlucky: Mo Ran's whole life has just been one tragedy after another. Meeting Chu Wanning was probably the best thing that ever happened to him, but according to him at the start, also his greatest misfortune. [[spoiler: He's not entirely wrong; he might have had a better fate if he hadn't offered himself up to Hua Binan in Chu Wanning's place.]]
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Turns out to have been this the entire time.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: Chu Wanning's death in the first timeline [[spoiler: and the second]] thoroughly breaks him. For all his power, arrogance, and cruelty, losing the one person that was always there drives him over the edge.
* BroughtDownToBadass: Mo Ran's rebirth into his teenage self means the loss of his incredible powers that allowed him to take over the cultivation world, but he's still a formidable cultivator.
* CharacterDevelopment: The gradual shift of Mo Ran's emotional maturity and going from absolutely hating Chu Wanning's guts to moving the heavens and earth because of his love for Chu Wanning is truly fascinating to read.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Mo Ran is extremely possessive of Chu Wanning and goes ballistic at even the thought of someone else getting close to him.
* ControlFreak: Surprisingly, he has serious shades of this, likely the result of his years as a tyrannical emperor and his use of the forbidden chess technique, which allowed him to control people like puppets. That he could never fully control Chu Wanning is something that he both loves and hates.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Both his actual childhood and his previous life.
* DeclarationOfProtection: To Shi Mei, after being reborn. Later on, [[spoiler: he makes a much more serious and grave vow to Chu Wanning, determined to stand in front of him and protect him even if he doesn't deserve to be by Chu Wanning's side.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: Shi Mei's death served as this in the original timeline, driving Mo Ran to eventually become the murderous emperor Taxian-jun.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Specializes in this. If someone is nice to him, he'll repay them a thousand times over. But if someone is even slightly cruel to him, he doesn't forgive and doesn't forget.
* DomesticAbuser: To Chu Wanning in the first timeline. He gets better.
* DontTellMama: Is genuinely terrified of everyone, but especially Chu Wanning, finding out the truth about him, [[spoiler: whether it being his true origins or his actions in the other timeline. He eventually has to face it.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: After Chu Wanning's death in first timeline, he killed himself leading to the present timeline. Not even Xue Meng expected to find him half dead.
* DyingAlone: In the first chapter.
* TheEmperor: Both initially played straight and a thorough deconstruction.
* EvilGloating: Prone to this during his time as Taxian-jun, but rather than make him seem more menacing, it only made him seem more pitiful and lost.
* EvilOverlord: Taxian-jun excelled in the role, between crushing his enemies, betraying his friends, and abusing his "wives". He leaves the role behind relatively easily in the new timeline, thoroughly fed up with lifestyle.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Given that the beginning of the story has him transmigrate back to his teenage years, this trope comes with the territory.
* GuiltComplex: Develops a serious one later on, but considering everything he did in the original timeline and his initial carelessness in the new one, it's pretty justified.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pulls one directly ripped from Chu Wanning in the original timeline in an attempt to save his family and friends, [[spoiler: shattering his own core.]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Most of Mo Ran's struggles and mistakes in the first timeline can be traced back to him failing to see past the superficial and look deeper. He got tricked by Rong Jiu, played by Song Qiutong, and [[spoiler: used by Shi Mei]] because of their soft, harmless appearances, while antagonizing the likes of Chu Wanning and Ye Wangxi.
* {{Hunk}}: Mo Ran is canonically described to be tall, muscular, and with a handsome face. [[spoiler: Xue Meng isn't exactly happy to find out he also apparently has the largest penis in the cultivation world.]]
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Between not realizing the truth about the day Shi Mei died, to the wantons, to [[spoiler: his own lacking memories]], Mo Ran repeatedly fails to notice that he doesn't know nearly as much about the past and the future as he thinks he does.
* IHatePastMe: Comes to despise his past self and actions, [[spoiler: especially when said past/future self shows up in the new timeline.]]
* IndifferentBeauty: Mo Ran is attractive enough to have dozens of admirers constantly flocking to him, but he only has his eyes for Chu Wanning.
* IWishedYouWereDead: Repeatedly expresses how much he wants Chu Wanning dead, only to be consumed by despair following his actual death(s).
* JerkassRealization: Has several.
** After giving Xue Meng a long spiel about how Chu Wanning never cared about him, [[spoiler: Mo Ran is finally told Chu Wanning died saving him. Over the next few days, Mo Ran has to come to terms with just how unfair and unjustifiably cruel he's been to Chu Wanning in both lifetimes.]]
* KnightErrant: Settles into this role during the five year timeskip.
* LonelyAtTheTop: As Taxian-jun. Especially after Chu Wanning's death.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Initially seems to be a case of this, following Shi Mei's original death.
* MoreThanMindControl: Fell victim to this [[spoiler: in the first timeline, with the flower devouring all his positive memories and with Shi Mei purposely stoking the flames of his hatred. Hua Binan denies any responsibility for Mo Ran's crimes as Taxian-jun, pointing out that he didn't make Mo Ran do anything; Mo Ran did it all, all by himself.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: A thirty year-old in his younger self's teenage body.
* PetTheDog: Mo Ran spends the entirety of Chapter 32 looking after Chu Wanning, much to his own chagrin.
** [[spoiler: Over the years of their marriage, Taxian-jun occasionally would be kind or gentle with Chu Wanning: spending long periods of time taking care of him when he was sick, letting Chu Wanning have access to the library and other areas on the peak, and buying his favorite wines and foods. Both of them look back on these moments with very complicated emotions.]]
* PlayingWithFire: His weapon in the second timeline.
* PowerPerversionPotential: Mo Ran uses magic to create an special earring that makes Chu Wanning weaker to his advances.
* PurpleIsPowerful: His eyes are frequently mentioned to have a hint of purple.
* RedIsHeroic: His spiritual energy goes from green to red after his rebirth, signaling the shift in his nature.
* SexGod: His sexual prowess is legend.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Not nearly as foolish as people tend to believe, as Chu Wanning points out.
* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Repeatedly. [[spoiler: That he didn't get this and Chu Wanning died before him, leaving him all alone, is what lead Mo Ran to suicide in the first timeline.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: It becomes increasingly difficult to take Mo Ran's self-proclaimed hatred of Chu Wanning seriously as the story progresses.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Didn't realize someone else was pulling his strings for the entire first lifetime.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Had a serious one following Chu Wanning's death in the first timeline, leading him to boil his wife alive, rave at Chu Wanning's corpse, and ultimately cumulating in his suicide.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Repeatedly states he wants to do all sorts of horrible things to Chu Wanning, but upon being left alone with an injured and defenseless Chu Wanning with no one watching, Mo Ran ends up dutifully taking care of him the entire night, much to his own frustration.
* WhipItGood: His holy weapon in the second timeline, identical to Chu Wanning's.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: As Taxian-jun. His rule was so marked by constant attempted upheavals, bloodshed, and rebellions that even he got tired of it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Chu Wanning (楚晚宁)]]
!!! '''Voiced by''': Qua Xiu (audio drama)\\
'''Played by''': Luo Yunxi (live-action - adult)
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cf_3.JPG]]
----
* NumberOneDime: He keeps the cut strands of hair from his and Mo Ran's fake wedding as a sentimental keepsake.
* TheAce: Chu Wanning is the best cultivator in the world and even the antagonists know to exercise extreme caution once he pulls out one of his weapons.
** [[spoiler: Managed to pull off one of the three forbidden techniques, the Spacetime Gate of Life and Death, without a spiritual core, using nothing but some notes he scraped together, a holy weapon, and his own soul. It took Taxian-jun years longer and far more resources just to open a rift in space.]]
* AlmightyJanitor: Even though he's universally agreed to be the best cultivator in the world and the upper cultivation sects all want him in their rank, he chooses to stay in the at the comparably poorer Si Sheng Peak so that he can do more good in the world and protect more people.
* AnimalMotifs: As indicated in the novel's title, Chu Wanning is the white cat of the pair.
* [[spoiler: ArtificialHuman]]: After two-hundred chapters, it is finally revealed that [[spoiler: he was [[PlantPerson carved out of wood]]]].
* BadassAdorable: As the adorable Xia Sini, he's still got all of his original power and skill.
* BigGood: Greatest and strongest force for good in both timelines.
* BlindedByRage: Chu Wanning's not so stellar reputation partly comes from his inability to properly control his anger. Though, his anger is usually quite justified.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Chu Wanning is quite the eccentric loner, to say the least, but he's still the best cultivator in the world.
* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler: His own teacher ignoring the chaos of the world and then demanding Chu Wanning cut out his own spiritual core if he wants to help them, leading to two lifetimes of distrust.]] As a result, Chu Wanning refuses to rely upon anyone but himself, even under terrible circumstances.
* {{Determinator}}: Nothing short of death can stop him, once he's made up his mind to do something. Both Mo Ran and his former teacher note that once Chu Wanning has decided on a path, he follows it to the end.
** [[spoiler: Dragged himself and an unconscious Mo Ran up over three thousand stairs despite being severely wounded, exhausted, and his hands being in shreds. Everyone that witnessed it could scarcely believe it.]]
* DeterminedDefeatist: In the first timeline, even after years of powerlessness, Chu Wanning refuses to give up, even though he knows there is little he can still do. [[spoiler: After realizing the truth about Mo Ran and what is planned, he knows he has to find a way to at least prevent the destruction of the other world and the people in it, even if he can barely save anyone from his own world anymore. He tears his own soul apart just to give his other self a chance to change their fates.]]
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Pulled this on Mo Ran in the original timeline twice. The first time, Mo Ran managed to revive him. The second death, however, was very, very permanent.
* DragonRider: Summons a massive dragon to [[MundaneUtility carry him places]], because it's cooler than admitting he's afraid of flying on his own.
* TheDreaded: The one Mo Ran admits to fearing the most before the loss of his core, and the first sight of Chu Wanning back to his original power fills Mo Ran with dread.
* DrivenToSuicide: First timeline Chu Wanning was driven to kill himself trying to stop Mo Ran from killing Xue Meng and Mei Hanxue, by using the last of his strength to summon his last sacred weapon.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: He doesn't bat an eye in the face of his impending execution by Mo Ran in the first timeline, which only makes Mo Ran that much angrier.]]
** [[spoiler: Chooses to die saving his disciples in his original world instead of escaping Taxian-jun and disappearing into the other world.]]
* FatalAttractor: If a character is attracted to him, they've probably committed at least one grievous crime.
* ForTheGreaterGood: This is one of Mo Ran's primary grievances against him, as Chu Wanning spends so much time trying to protect the common people and save the world, he doesn't spare enough caring and compassion for the people closest to him. In the end, there is little Chu Wanning won't do for the greater good, [[spoiler: including resolving to kill Taxian-jun.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: Excels at mixing machinery and spells. Single-handedly invented and mass-produced the Night Guardian golems that protect common people from evil spirits, as well as the creator of numerous spells, charms, talismans, and other tools.
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: His primary color scheme, pointing towards his righteous nature and [[spoiler: divine origins.]]
* GoldColoredSuperiority: His spells and spiritual energy take the form of golden light, which no one short of Taxian-jun can match.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Mercilessly whips his own disciple and the sect leader's nephew in front of the entire sect, who compare him to a cold-blooded demon. Still, it was in accordance to the sect rules and it's not like Mo Ran didn't deserve it.
* GreenThumb: Using Tianwen, he can make willow vines, roots, and entire trees erupt from the ground.
** [[spoiler:At the novel's climax, Chu Wanning creates a massive, horizon-spanning wall to hold back the [[TheGreatFlood world-ending flood]] long enough for everyone to retreat.]]
* HatesBeingTouched: Can't stand being touched by strangers.
* HeroicSacrifice: Is always the first to throw himself into danger to save someone else, in both timelines. He takes numerous nearly fatal hits to protect his disciples, shatters his own core to save everyone from Mo Ran, gives his life to save Xue Meng and the other rebels, [[spoiler: tears his soul to shreds to help Mo Ran and the world, dies bringing Mo Ran home after exhausting himself closing the breach in the barrier, and much later on, chooses to stay behind and face down an army of chess pieces and Taxian-jun so everyone else can escape, knowing full well that there is no way for him to escape the tombs if Mo Ran doesn't come back for him.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Chu Wanning holds himself to the same high standards he expects of everyone else, and spends most of the novel struggling with his own immense self-loathing.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Despite all the good he does, he doesn't have a very positive reputation.
* HotTeacher: Mo Ran is never not about to jump Chu Wanning's bones. The Si Sheng peak disciples pretty unanimously agree that Chu Wanning is stunning.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Goes from being known as the strongest cultivator in the world to [[spoiler: a concubine of the emperor,]] living out the rest of his days in the first timeline under house arrest as Mo Ran's plaything. Despite this, he still refuses to give up, and manages one last stand.
* IAmNotPretty: Chu Wanning is blind to his own attractiveness and insists that he's ugly and because of this, Mo Ran would definitely never return his feelings. [[spoiler: After getting together, Mo Ran makes sure to constantly insist that he's wrong.]]
* TheIdealist: An oddly cynical, pessimistic example. He believes fiercely in justice and compassion, and will do anything to save someone he believes is innocent, but he doesn't trust others at all and is perfectly capable of recognizing the worst in people.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How everyone else views him. His inability to actually live up to this further fuels his self-loathing.
* ItsAllMyFault: Dies claiming this, much to Mo Ran's furious disbelief and incomprehension.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Eventually resolves himself to kill [[spoiler: Taxian-jun]], not out of hate or resentment, but because he knows [[spoiler: the real Mo Ran]] would never want to keep hurting people.
* KnightInSourArmor: He's well-aware of how twisted and harsh the world has become, but still strives to do the utmost to protect people, whether they be commoners or weaker cultivators. That doesn't mean he's nice about it, though.
* LightIsGood: Heavily associated with light, warmth, and the heavens.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Became one to Mo Ran in the original timeline, not that Mo Ran would willingly acknowledge it.
* LoveMartyr: In both timelines, he's this. Over and over again.
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: A rare heroic example. [[spoiler: His death in the first timeline is the cause of Mo Ran's suicide, and the reason Mo Ran wakes up in the new timeline with all his memories, and the key to preventing the destruction of the two worlds.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Comes to view failing to notice [[spoiler: Mo Ran's infection by the flower]] before it was too late as this.
* ObliviouslyBeautiful: Chu Wanning insists on his own ugliness, not knowing that he's so attractive that it's rumored a girl got kicked out of the sect for attempting to peek at him bathing.
* OneManArmy: Single-handedly brings the army of the dead in Buttefly Town to a standstill, as well as decimates Mo Ran's forces in the first timeline with his MagicMusic.
* PowerStereotypeFlip: Chu Wanning is the most powerful cultivator in the world, and a brilliant inventor associated with light. But he's also extremely short tempered, socially awkward, and his room looks like something exploded in it.
* TheScapegoat: For Mo Ran.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Chu Wanning doesn't care about damaging his own reputation and throwing propriety to the wind if it means doing what's right and exacting justice on those who deserve it.
* SexSlave: Taxian-Jun's in the original timeline.
* SourOutsideSadInside: He seems bitter, cruel and uncaring, but this is mostly a facade to hide his insecurities and loneliness, as well as the result of sad, loveless life of betrayal and disappointment.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Despite having zero knowledge of the other timeline for most of the novel, his typical role in each arc is ruining the more well-informed antagonist's scheme through his sheer power, selflessness, and shrewd nature. Both Taxian-jun and [[spoiler: Hua Binan]] also viewed him as this in first timeline.
* TheStoic: Whether he's in agonizing pain or broiling in despair, Chu Wanning refuses to show it. This leads to many, many misunderstandings.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Two out his three disciples developed obsessive romantic and sexual feelings for him. Taxian-Jun would have just killed him instead of making Chu Wanning into a SexSlave had he been less beautiful.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: His words and demeanor are icy but he is a kind person who shows he cares through quiet actions.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Sums up his experience with [[spoiler: the Rufeng Sect.]]
* ThousandYardStare: Prone to them in the first timeline, after years of sexual abuse and watching the world burn without being able to do anything about it.
* ToughLove: Practiced this a little too thoroughly. [[spoiler: But considering his history, it's hard to blame him.]]
* TragicHero: Can't get anymore tragic or anymore heroic than Chu Wanning.
* {{Tsundere}}: He is the tsun-tsun type. Harsh and cold at a glance but rather soft and tender inside.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Mo Ran and to the Sisheng Peak Sect, but very subtly. It takes over a hundred chapters for Mo Ran to come to terms with this.
* [[spoiler: WhatMeasureIsANonHuman]]: Chu Wanning's humanity, or the hypothesized lack of it, is foreshadowed and alluded to throughout the novel, [[spoiler: ultimately cumulating in TheReveal that he wasn't born, but carved out of wood from a divine tree. His master tried to convince himself that Chu Wanning is nothing but a wooden doll, but ultimately acknowledges that Chu Wanning has his own soul.]]
* WhipItGood: His primary weapon is a willow vine that he uses as a whip. As Mo Ran can attest, he's an expert with it.
* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Dies completely dressed in white in both timelines.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Mo Ran believes Chu Wanning is this in the first timeline.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: Shi Mei]]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shimei.png]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Tells Mo Ran that he chose Chu Wanning as his teacher because Chu Wanning held an umbrella over him in the rain, soaking his own shoulder in the process.
* TheLostLenore: His role in the first timeline. When Shi Mei died, Mo Ran felt like his chance at happiness died with him.
* [[spoiler: TheMole]]: [[spoiler: Reports the events in the new timeline to his other self.]]
* [[spoiler: RegretfulTraitor]]: [[spoiler: Starts to regret the path he chose and turns against his AlternateSelf, eventually helping Chu Wanning escape Hua Binan and Taxian-jun.]]
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Everyone considers him kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wears a sweet smile and maintains a gentle demeanor. Underneath it all, he's seething with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Xue Meng]]
* HotBlooded: Much like his master, and unlike his more laidback parents, Xue Meng has a quick and fierce temper.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Extremely pure-hearted, so much so that he ends up being pretty much the last bastion of good in the first timeline.
* LonelyRichKid: Has few friends besides Shi Mei, so ends up clinging to his master.
* RoyalBrat: A more likable version than most. As the young master of the sect, Xue Meng has been completely spoiled by his parents.
* {{Tsundere}}: Plays the tough guy, but adores his family and master
* WellDoneSonGuy: Downplayed. Xue Meng desperately wants to make his parents and his master proud, but really, they already are very proud of him.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Seems to have pulled this on Mo Ran in the first timeline multiple times, all in vain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Hua Binan '''(SPOILERS!)''']]
* AlternateSelf: Of Shi Mei.
* AlternativeSelfNameChange: Goes by his real name, and resents being called Shi Mei or Shi Mingjing.
* BigBad: The mastermind behind Mo Ran's corruption and the destruction of the cultivation world in the first timeline, as well as the cause behind most of the shifts in the new timeline.
* DarkMessiah: Has shades of this, working ruthlessly and with unfettered, single-minded determination to get his people to the Demon Realm. [[spoiler:He even sacrifices his life to hold the gates to the Demon Realm open with his own body as the other Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts scramble to get through, and manages to hold on long enough for all of them to reach the Demon Realm. The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts also clearly see him as a hero of their people.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He's the schemer that masterminded everything. He also clearly loves and respects his mother very much, though she was killed when he was a child.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As mentioned above, he loves his mother dearly. [[spoiler:He also cares deeply about his older adopted half-sister, Mu Yanli, despite her not being a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast. When she self-detonates in order to build the last thirty steps of the Path of Martyrdom, he's devastated, his eyes afterward being described as blank yet filled with madness.]]
* FreudianExcuse: His entire race has faced slavery, rape, and cannibalism for centuries, with no escape and no reprieve. His father ate his mother alive, mutilating her. She died desperately trying to keep him from doing the same to Hua Binan, screaming at him to run. He believes the only chance they have is returning to the Demon World, regardless of the cost.
* [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice: A very rare example from a villain, although the Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts see him as a hero. He uses his own body to stop the gate to the Demon Realm from closing, making sure all of his people get through to safety, before he's crushed to death. He's even relieved that they all make it before he dies.]]
* HiddenVillain: The true mastermind behind literally everything.
* ManipulativeBastard: An expert at reading people, and manipulating them accordingly.
* TheChessmaster: The mastermind behind everything, and the one behind Taxian-jun.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Slips right into this once he's captured Chu Wanning.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Schemes repeatedly to kill the reborn Mo Ran, and not just for the sake of his EvilPlan.
* OmnicidalManiac: Has Taxian-jun slaughter pretty much the entire world.
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:in the 0.5 timeline. Everyone remembers him as being kind, meek, humble, and selfless, and he always wore a sweet smile and maintained a gentle demeanor. In truth, he's absolutely burning with disgust, resentment, and hatred because of his people's suffering and his mother's murder.]]
* TeenyWeenie: According to the undead Taxian-Jun his penis is so small that the emperor almost mistook him for a little girl.
* TheDeterminator: Thousands of years of his race's brutalization being utterly normalized in society won't stop him from trying to overturn everything (extremely violently) and put an end to it.
* TheLostLenore: Subverted and deliberately invoked. He played the lost love of Mo Ran, [[spoiler: faking his death to drive Mo Ran to messing with time and space.]]
* TheUnfettered: He will stop at ''nothing'' to accomplish his goal of getting his race to the Demon Realm so they will no longer be persecuted. For that end, he schemes, manipulates, kills, and orchestrates mass murder. Twice.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Taxian-jun '''(SPOILERS!)''']]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/txj.JPG]]
* AlternateSelf: Of Mo Ran.
* AttractiveZombie: A given, since he's Mo Ran.
* AxCrazy: Slaughters pretty much the entire cultivation world, though not entirely of his own volition.
* ConquerorFromTheFuture: Arrives in the new timeline with an army of chess-pieces and every intention of starting the slaughter again.
* DemotedToDragon: Begrudgingly takes the role of TheDragon to Hua Binan's BigBad.
* DramaticUnmask: Seems to take immense satisfaction in being unmasked by Chu Wanning.
* EvilIsSexy: And he knows it.
* ExhaustedEyebags: Notably looks more tired and sickly than Mo Ran. Mostly because he's DeadAllAlong.
* GreenAndMean: His spiritual energy, which is wood type, takes an eerie green color.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Has no qualms about assaulting Chu Wanning, but not even Hua Binan will get away with attempting the same.
* MadeOfIron: Seriously difficult to kill.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Schemes with Hua Binan to kill his AlternateSelf, knowing afterwards, Chu Wanning will have no where else to go.
* UndeathlyPallor: Compared to his other self, who is both alive and frequently in the sun, he's very pale.
* TheUnfettered: [[spoiler: Thanks to Hua Binan's flower,]] he's not above slaughtering his entire sect and family, and eventually, the entire world.
* {{Yandere}}: For Chu Wanning.
[[/folder]]
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