Cheng Li

Wu Cheng Li is a member of the Pirate Federation and teacher at the Pirate Academy. She's the daughter of the notorious Chang Ko Li. Her first appearance is as deputy captain on The Diablo in Demons of the Ocean. Her position was later taken by Cutlass Cate in Tide of Terror. She then became a teacher at the Pirate Academy.

Appearance
Cheng Li is a young, Chinese woman. She is described in Demons of the Ocean as wearing leggings and leather boots, with her trusty twin katanas always strapped to her back. She wears a tight ponytail tied together with leather straps. Around her waist she wears her father's trusty jian, even though the blade had been cut with only foot of it left--according to Cheng Li, she only wears it to remind herself that the pirates who killed her father held "superior weaponry".

While a deputy captain, she wears a leather wristband with a dark stone, to signify her position.

Despite her stoic face, her dark eyes tell what she's feeling.

Personality
Confident, ambitious, and sharp-tongued, Cheng Li already has a reputation for being ruthless and cunning. She's blunt and at times cold, seeming to blame her father for his own death, but not typically not ill-intentioned. She's fairly solitary, rarely divulging her true feelings to someone and only if she respects the person.

She holds herself accountable for her actions, as seen when she accepts responsibility for the surprise assassination attempt on Captain Molucco Wrathe. She also is shown to be quiet mature, especially for her age, as she refuses to ever fight back against Captain Wrathe's antics. Cheng Li is open-minded about the supernatural, stating she's not averse to believing that vampirates exist. Due to her ambition, Cheng Li can prove to be manipulative and underhanded at times, but never without reason.

Background
Despite only being 19 and a fresh, prodigious graduate of The Pirate Academy, Cheng Li is made deputy capitain to Molucco Wrathe on The Diablo. Assigned to him to act as a spy for The Pirate Federation while simultaneously gaining first-hand experience, Cheng Li did her best to influence Captain Wrathe towards the ways of the Federation, but ultimately wound up routinely being scolded and humiliated by him. After being offered a teaching position at the Pirate Academy, Cheng Li quickly accepted and left her position at The Diablo,.

Eventually, Cheng Li is given permission by the Federation to captain her own ship, which she names The Tiger.

Abilities
Cheng Li is described as a pirate prodigy, being especially gifted in sword-fighting to wield two weapons at once.

Her role as a secret agent for The Pirate Federation proves she's skilled in discretion.

Relationships
Connor Tempest: Having rescued him from drowning, Connor immediately feels indebted to Cheng Li. It's this feeling of gratitude that allows him to see Cheng Li in a different light than most of the crew onboard The Diablo. Cheng Li sees a lot of potential in Connor, and includes him in her vision of the future of piracy. Despite her colder disposition, Cheng Li shows concern for Connor's mental state during his search for Grace.

Molucco Wrathe: Both Molucco and Cheng Li despise each other. They butt heads constantly throughout Demons of the Ocean. Molucco outright went out of his way several times to publicly embarrass her, all the while Cheng Li was spying on him for the Federation. However, it does seem Cheng Li tried her best to be a positive influence on Wrathe, reminding him about Federation regulations such as sea-lanes, but all advice was ignored by Molucco. Bart theorizes that Molucco, along with a lot of The Diablo 's crew, doesn't respect Cheng Li due to her learning her pirating skills at the Academy, rather than learning through experience.

Grace Tempest: During Grace's stay at the Pirate Academy, Grace grows to trust Cheng Li and her good listening skills. Grace decides to divulge everything she experienced on board The Nocturne, and in her visions, to Cheng Li. All the while, Cheng Li comes to the conclusion that Grace is suffering from stockholm syndrome, and despite her promise to secrecy, it is hinted at that Cheng Li shares Grace's tales with Commodore Kuo.

Trivia

 * "Cheng" is typically a masculine name meaning "Accomplish; Succeed", while "Li" is unisex meaning "Pretty" or "Powerful"
 * Her surname "Wu" means "Military; Martial" or "Affairs; Business"
 * She has stated that her father would probably hate that she uses the Japanese Katana, rather than a traditional Chinese weapon
 * She has reading spectacles
 * Apparently she has trouble making facial expressions, smiling in particular