Xia Fan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xia Fan (夏凡)
Alias(es)	Nine Heavens Thunder Envoy
Species/Race	Human; later becomes a Fused Lifeform
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Bureau of Military Affairs; Jinxia City
Occupation/Role	Fangshi; Lingbu Official; researcher and inventor
First Appearance	13

Background / History

Xia Fan participated in the Qingshan Town Scholar Examination, where he formed a temporary alliance with Wei Wushuang and defeated examinees attempting to rob him. He used medicine-pouch dust to incapacitate the attackers, displaying an early preference for improvised and pragmatic solutions 13.

During the Great Desolation Evil Night, he rejected evacuation and organized the examinees into a defensive settlement using Qingshan Town’s houses and inns. When the west wall collapsed, he volunteered to restore the torches and drive the Demon from the breach despite lacking long-range Sorcery Arts 25 31. He later fought alongside Luo Qingqing to ignite the exposed beams around the Demon, relying on her protection while pushing through Mei attacks 32.

After the examination, Xia Fan received an appointment to Jinxia City. He entered the Bureau of Military Affairs as an eighth-rank official and later became a Lingbu Official, though the local bureau obstructed him by removing staff and withholding a proper handover 43 51 83.

His work within Jinxia increasingly focused on protecting ordinary people rather than accepting the Bureau’s stated priority of national security over individual Evil Spirit cases. He compiled a Guide to Self-Rescue Against Evil Spirits, explaining how to identify Demons, ghosts, Guai, and hallucinations, and how civilians could escape danger using available tools and terrain 51 140.

In the Skywell era, Xia Fan gained access to Predecessor technology through consciousness-based control systems. He voluntarily became a Fused Lifeform, gaining new capabilities and learning that naturally born humans are classified as Legitimate Lifeforms while many people are synthetic lifeforms 743 759 765.

Personality

Xia Fan is analytical, cautious, and strongly motivated by practical outcomes. He tends to assess systems through their effects on ordinary people, which puts him at odds with Bureau officials who view the protection of commoners as secondary to national stability 50 51.

He is willing to take personal risks when others are endangered, from volunteering at Qingshan Town’s breached wall to remaining behind to delay a Demon during Jinxia’s evacuation 31 167. In combat and research alike, he favors experimentation, environmental advantages, and unconventional applications of Sorcery Art over established methods 73 103 168.

He is also protective of his companions, particularly Li, whose identity as a Fox Demon he repeatedly conceals from the Bureau of Military Affairs 44 62. Despite this protectiveness, he respects others’ choices, as shown when he supports Luo Qingqing’s departure by giving her historical and Sorcery Art manuscripts 527.

Abilities & Skills

Zhen Attribute

Xia Fan possesses the rare Zhen Attribute, which is considered difficult to refine. His affinity allows him to develop thunder- and electricity-based Sorcery Arts 50.

• Uses electrical attacks in direct combat.
• Applies Zhen principles to research rather than relying solely on conventional talismans and medicinal catalysts.
• His mastery earned him the title “Nine Heavens Thunder Envoy” 103 270.

Thunderclap

A Zhen Technique used as an immediate offensive strike.

• Used against Qingzi after she evaded Li by dissolving into dust 73.
• Can be countered by opposing Sorcery Arts, as Qingzi answered it with a fire technique 73.

Flowing Light / Electromagnetic Imprint

Xia Fan developed an improved form of the First-Order Sorcery Art Zhen Technique Guichen, Flowing Light.

• Broke Qingzi’s restraint during their deathmatch 74.
• Generates electromagnetic force strong enough to punch through a courtyard wall 103 104.
• Has potential military value because of its speed and lack of flammable ammunition.
• Remains immature and is constrained by the limits of the user’s physical vessel 104.

Xunyin

A wireless communication Sorcery Art derived from Flowing Light.

• Uses electromagnetic waves to transmit messages across long distances 219.
• Was successfully tested between Fengyang Mountain Villa and the Jinxia Bureau of Military Affairs, roughly three miles apart 219.
• Works through the Xunyin Instrument, a magical artifact developed with Mo Yun 219.
• Could potentially support communication across all of Da Qi 219.

Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder

A powerful large-scale Zhen Technique.

• Leaves no apparent blind spots once successfully cast 458.
• Its Qi consumption is immense; Xia Fan struggles to cast it twice in succession 520.
• Was considered decisive enough that Bai Zhan believed he could not overcome it in a direct confrontation 458.

Zhen Technique—Dongfeng

A late-developed Zhen Art that controls metallic objects and launches them as electrically charged projectiles.

• Turns ordinary weapons into high-speed projectile attacks 521.
• Creates explosive impacts when launched weapons strike the ground 521.
• Completely suppressed Feathered Garment Bai Zhan, preventing him from approaching Xia Fan 521.

Direct Electric-Field Control

Xia Fan eventually learns to manipulate electric fields directly.

• Used an unknown Zhen Technique to sever Bai Zhan’s arm during their final duel 520.
• Represents a major expansion of his Zhen Technique mastery beyond conventional spellcasting 520.

Gewu and Mechanical Research

Xia Fan applies observation, experimentation, and Sorcery Art to mechanical development.

• Built and improved a Mechanical Beast prototype capable of trotting steadily without falling apart 191.
• Conducted public demonstrations involving air pressure, capacitors, and a flying biplane model 246.
• Developed technology and magical artifacts with Mo Yun, including the Xunyin Instrument 191 219.
• Investigated the military implications of gunpowder weapons after discovering a primitive muzzle-loading firearm 102.

Skywell and Escape Tower Control

Through consciousness manipulation and his status as a Fused Lifeform, Xia Fan can access Predecessor facilities.

• Used a deceased Predecessor’s identification card to open a special train cockpit and access a three-dimensional orbital model 743.
• Received partial Escape Tower control as a legitimate lifeform before choosing fusion 759 765.
• Gained abilities capable of clearing Evil Spirits from the Skywell 765.
• Used the Zhen Art to disrupt Ping Tian Venerable Yao Wu’s attempt to open a Boundary Gate 764.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Medicine pouch — Contains dust Xia Fan used to incapacitate robbers during the Scholar Examination 13.
• Copper rods and wooden frames — Used in his early Zhen Technique experiments 103.
• Xunyin Instrument — Magical communication device that transmits and receives Xunyin messages 219.
• Protective Suit — Used during exploration of the Dead Silent Land; its failure led Xia Fan to discover he could still breathe after its countdown expired 743.
• Predecessor identification card — Opened the cockpit of a special train 743.

Relationships

• Li — Fox Demon companion and publicly presented disciple. Xia Fan protects her identity from the Bureau and works alongside her in combat and research 44 62 73 168.
• Wei Wushuang — Early ally from the Scholar Examination and later fellow Bureau appointee 13 43.
• Luo Qingqing — Combat ally and trusted companion. She protected Xia Fan during the Qingshan crisis; he later supported her decision to leave Jinxia and explore the old order 32 527.
• Princess Ning Wanjun — Political supporter and ally. She calls herself Xia Fan’s backing, entrusts major Demon threats to him, and recognizes the military potential of his inventions 83 104 166.
• Mo Yun — Mechanical-research collaborator who worked with Xia Fan on Mechanical Beasts and the Xunyin Instrument 191 219.
• Fang Xiandao — Diviner and occasional ally. Xia Fan presses him for actionable answers during crises and enlists his help against the Demon threatening Jinxia 166 167.
• Qian Zhi — Ally whose ice structures supported Xia Fan’s plan to destroy a Demon with a launched bronze bell 167 168.
• Xin Wu — Bureau envoy and mentor figure who trusts Xia Fan’s potential and encourages him to enter the Bureau’s core 265 275.
• Bai Zhan — High-ranking Fangshi and adversary defeated by Xia Fan’s Zhen Arts despite reaching Feathered Garment status 520 521.
• Li Mengyun — Companion during the Skywell expedition who becomes increasingly attentive to Xia Fan’s knowledge of Predecessor ruins and protective of his safety 743 765.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Qingshan Town Scholar Examination

• Defeats would-be robbers using medicine-pouch dust 13.
• Builds support for defending Qingshan Town during the Great Desolation Evil Night 25.
• Volunteers at the collapsed west wall and fights beside Luo Qingqing against the Demon 31 32.

Bureau of Military Affairs Service

• Receives an appointment to Jinxia City and becomes an eighth-rank official 43 51.
• Learns the Bureau prioritizes national security and major Evil Spirit incidents over individual civilians 50 51.
• Becomes a Lingbu Official but faces institutional obstruction in Jinxia 83.
• Conceals Li’s involvement during an official inquiry into the Gaoshan County incident 62.

Jinxia Development

• Produces a civilian survival guide against Evil Spirits 140.
• Conducts Zhen Art research and develops electromagnetic applications 103 104.
• Helps advance Mechanical Beast development and long-range magical communication 191 219.
• Oversees Affairs Bureau work, including civil-servant recruitment and dispatches to Anshen and Baisha 262.

Capital Region and Record Department

• Attends the Shangyuan Lantern Festival and meets the Bureau’s core Fangshi 266 270.
• Investigates the Capital Region Bureau and its Record Department following the Crown Prince assassination attempt 273 275.
• Establishes radio contact while exploring the Record Department’s lower levels 280.

Final Conflict with Bai Zhan

• Uses high-consumption Nine Heavens Thunder in the final battle 520.
• Severes Bai Zhan’s arm through direct electric-field manipulation 520.
• Develops Dongfeng and overwhelms Feathered Garment Bai Zhan, then agrees to spare him so the Tianshu Envoy’s soul can be extracted 521.

Skywell and Escape Tower

• Explores Predecessor technology in the Dead Silent Land and special train 743.
• Gains partial access to the Escape Tower system and chooses to become a Fused Lifeform 759 765.
• Stops Yao Wu from opening a Boundary Gate and summoning a Great Mo 764.

Trivia

• Xia Fan’s disciplined Bureau routine reminds him of university life 52.
• He is known for making fried crab, which Luo Qingqing considers better than the food served at the Lantern Banquet 266.
• Rumors in Shangyuan City later portray him as a mysterious figure who visits brothels without leaving a trace 324.