Li Xue Ren

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Xue Ren (李学仁)
Alias(es)	Insect Demon; Old Demon Worm
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ingenious Manor; Li Family
Occupation/Role	Fifth-generation Manor Lord of Ingenious Manor; Grandmaster
Status	Deceased — died of old age 331
First Appearance	Chapter 242

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Third Rank Grandmaster, Early Stage	251	His cultivation when he left Ingenious Manor more than a decade earlier.
Second Rank Grandmaster	242	Returns to Ingenious Manor having reached Second Rank; his advancement had been concealed from the martial world.
Second Rank Grandmaster, Middle Stage	285	Confirmed during the Six Sects conflict; he conceals this level by outwardly displaying Third Rank Late Stage strength.

Background / History

Li Xue Ren was the fifth-generation Manor Lord of Ingenious Manor and a practitioner of its inherited Exquisite Heart Scripture. After his son Li Wenxin broke his childhood engagement to Zhong Yunxin and married Zheng Qiuqing, Li Xue Ren left the manor in anger and wandered Great Qi. 247 248

On Northwest Snow Mountain, an avalanche exposed an ancient ruin where he found a fragment of the Heavenly God Formless Technique, a cultivation method said to surpass the First Rank Martial Saint realm. He later travelled Overseas in search of its remaining fragment, acquired the Insect Demon Inheritance, and changed cultivation methods despite the dangers such a change posed to a Grandmaster. 247 248

The Heavenly God Formless Technique allowed his Internal Qi to adapt to both his original Mechanism and Hidden Weapon path and the Insect Demon Inheritance. He became known Overseas as the Insect Demon or Old Demon Worm, eventually reaching the Second Rank Grandmaster realm. 247 248

Li Xue Ren returned to Ingenious Manor after learning that the Overseas Demonic Sects were uniting around the Dust Cleansing Platform and that Li Qi had been selected as a potential “Holy Son” sacrifice. He intended to remove Li Qi from the coming conflict and live in seclusion with him. 242 248

When Old Demon Bone attempted to seize Li Qi for the Ten Thousand Demon Dao Sect, Li Xue Ren shielded his grandson and fought the fellow Second Rank Grandmaster. Afterward, he disclosed his identity as Li Qi’s grandfather and shared the Heavenly God Formless Technique with him, though Li Qi declined to change cultivation methods. 245 247 249

Li Qi later persuaded him to reveal his Second Rank cultivation and oversee the plague-poison crisis openly while Li Qi investigated in secret. This disclosure substantially elevated Ingenious Manor’s standing in the Jianghu. 251

During the conflict at the Dragon Martial Pavilion, Li Xue Ren protected Mo Qingxian, joined the Dragon Elder in killing the Bone Demon, and covertly helped Li Qi escape with the surviving Cherishing Flower Palace disciples. 286 287

When Liu Xuan’s impending First Rank breakthrough threatened the Righteous Path, Li Xue Ren pressed the other Grandmasters to act and threatened to withdraw Ingenious Manor from the Righteous Path Alliance if they delayed. After Liu Xuan became a Martial Saint and the Demonic Path invaded, Li Xue Ren led the Li Family away from Ingenious Manor to the Great Qi capital. 303 308

During Liu Xuan’s attack on the capital, Li Xue Ren fought alongside Sun Wuwang and Dongfang Jing. His explosive arrows injured Liu Xuan but made him the Martial Saint’s target; rather than let Liu Xuan threaten civilians, Li Xue Ren prepared to self-destruct his Yan Jia at close range. Li Qi intervened before he could do so. 315 316

After the fall of Great Qi and the founding of Yu, Li Xue Ren eventually died of old age. In his final conversation with Li Qi, he urged his grandson not to forget his family despite the possibility of an extraordinarily long life. 331

Appearance

Li Xue Ren is an elderly man, though his disguise technique can instantly alter his aged face into that of a middle-aged man. 243

• Uses the Form Alteration techniques associated with Ingenious Manor and the Exquisite Heart Scripture. 243
• His aged appearance is noted near the end of his life, when illness and old age leave him with a withered hand and cloudy eyes. 331

Personality

Li Xue Ren is fiercely protective of Li Qi and consistently places his grandson’s survival above status, alliances, or Ingenious Manor’s affairs. His stern demeanor quickly vanishes when Li Qi calls him “Grandpa,” revealing an openly doting side. 242 244

His attachment to family is complicated. He remains bitter toward Li Wenxin for breaking his engagement to Zhong Yunxin and is harsh toward Zheng Qiuqing, yet he is willing to protect the Li Family at great personal cost. 242 251 308

Years Overseas made him distrust conventional distinctions between the Righteous and Demonic Paths. He considers both sides capable of cruelty and warns Li Qi not to accept righteousness as an unquestioned moral label. 243

He is cautious, pragmatic, and accustomed to concealing his strength. He built Li’s Trading Company as a secret refuge for the family and ordinarily prefers to retain hidden trump cards rather than reveal everything in battle. 310 315

His affection is not evenly distributed: he regards Li Qi as the sole heir and treats Li Qiao more as a potential marriage-alliance asset, a disparity Li Qiao openly resents. 265 270

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly God Formless Technique

Li Xue Ren’s principal cultivation method produces inherently formless Internal Qi that is neither Righteous nor Demonic. It can adapt itself to other paths and allowed him to transition from Ingenious Manor’s techniques to the Insect Demon Inheritance. 248

• Can manifest in a form aligned with Mechanisms and Hidden Weapons or with the Insect Demon path. 248
• Lets him use Righteous and Demonic cultivation characteristics without the usual conflict between the two systems. 247 248
• Its adaptability enabled him to change cultivation methods despite the severe risks normally faced by Grandmasters. 247

Insect Demon Protective Qi

His Protective Qi can form near-solid insect constructs, including a giant Iron Beetle phantom. This technique earned him the Overseas title of Insect Demon. 245 247

• Uses the Iron Beetle manifestation in combat against Old Demon Bone. 247
• Can conceal his true cultivation by outwardly presenting the aura of a lower-ranked Righteous Path Grandmaster. 286
• Retains enough strength at Second Rank Middle Stage to resist poisons that would seriously threaten lesser cultivators. 285

Exquisite Heart Scripture and Disguise

Before changing paths, Li Xue Ren cultivated Ingenious Manor’s Exquisite Heart Scripture, whose branches include dexterity, form alteration, bone contraction, item concealment, and movement techniques. 243

• Was a renowned disguise expert in his earlier years. 243
• Can alter his face into that of a middle-aged man with a gesture. 243
• Recognizes the underlying Exquisite Heart Protective Qi within martial techniques. 247

Grandmaster Combat and Strategy

Li Xue Ren is an experienced aerial combatant and battlefield planner who combines cultivation, mechanisms, and deception rather than relying on direct force alone. 245 315 316

• Fought Old Demon Bone, another Second Rank Grandmaster, while protecting Li Qi. 245
• Coordinated with the Dragon Elder to kill the Bone Demon. 287
• Chose to draw Liu Xuan away from the capital rather than risk a Martial Saint massacring civilians in the streets. 315 316
• Was prepared to sacrifice himself by detonating his Yan Jia at point-blank range against Liu Xuan. 316

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Adam Number Five Yan Jia — A fitted Yan Jia crafted by Li Qi. It normally possesses Third Rank Grandmaster strength and can raise a Grandmaster wearer beyond Second Rank; Li Xue Ren uses it to retain his combat effectiveness under Dragon Vein suppression. 314
• Modified Small Arrows / Heavenly Thunder Arrows — Yan Jia-mounted arrows inscribed with the Explosive Flame Technique. Their detonation injures Liu Xuan, though it does not kill the Martial Saint. 315 316
• Heavenly God Formless Technique fragment — The ancient cultivation-method fragment Li Xue Ren discovered in a Northwest Snow Mountain ruin. 248

Relationships

• Li Qi — Grandson. Li Xue Ren is intensely protective of him, returns from Overseas because of the threat to him, and is later saved by Li Qi during the battle with Liu Xuan. 242 248 316
• Li Wenxin — Son and successor as Manor Lord. Their relationship is deeply strained because Li Wenxin broke his arranged engagement to Zhong Yunxin. 242 243 251
• Li Qiao — Granddaughter and Li Qi’s twin sister. Li Xue Ren cares for her but treats her less favorably than Li Qi and attempts to arrange suitable matches for her. 265 270
• Zheng Qiuqing — Daughter-in-law. Li Xue Ren resents her marriage to Li Wenxin and speaks harshly to her, though he does not deny her place in the Li Family. 251
• Zhong Yunxin — His old friend’s daughter and Li Wenxin’s former fiancée. He regards her as “half-daughter” and publicly defends her connection to Ingenious Manor. 279
• Old Demon Bone — Second Rank Grandmaster of the Ten Thousand Demon Dao Sect and adversary who sought to capture Li Qi as a Holy Son. 244 245
• Sun Wuwang and Dongfang Jing — Fellow Second Rank Grandmasters who fought alongside him against Liu Xuan in the capital. 314 315
• Liu Xuan — Martial Saint and Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Demon Dao. Li Xue Ren injures him with explosive arrows, then becomes the target of Liu Xuan’s pursuit. 315 316

Notable Quotes

“Righteous Path, Demonic Path, they are just distinguished by the difference in their Cultivation Methods. The Demonic Path isn't necessarily that cruel, and the Righteous Path isn't necessarily that open and aboveboard.” 243

“Living a long time… isn’t a good thing. You’ll witness the departure of loved ones, you’ll see many, many people off…” 331

Trivia

• Li Xue Ren’s cultivation was initially centered on Ingenious Manor’s Mechanism and Hidden Weapon path before the Heavenly God Formless Technique adapted to the Insect Demon Inheritance. 248
• He secretly established Li’s Trading Company as a fallback for the Li Family long before Ingenious Manor was abandoned. 310
• Despite his hostility toward Li Wenxin, he is particularly sensitive to broken promises because Li Wenxin’s abandoned engagement was the cause of their estrangement. 243