Yao Family

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Yao Family (姚家)
Alias(es)	Jinling Yao Family
Affiliation	One of the Eight Great Families
Occupation/Role	Millennium-old aristocratic clan based in Jinling; controller of Seeing Truth Lake
Status	Active, but severely weakened and politically pressured
First Appearance	2

Background / History

The Yao Family is a long-established Jinling clan whose ancestral residence is said to have once been an imperial palace. The family traces its historical prestige to the Yao Dynasty and credits the Great Golden River Skill with preserving its martial inheritance across successive dynasties. It later ceded imperial rule but retained its family foundation and status among the great aristocratic houses. 63 245 307

The Eight Gates Rebellion devastated the family. Its Grandmasters were killed in large numbers during the Stove Sect Holy Maiden's assault on the Yao Residence, and the clan nearly collapsed. The family has not publicly produced a Great Grandmaster for nearly a century; its known Grandmaster ranks were badly depleted, leaving it among the weakest of the Eight Great Families. 2 63 245 287

Following the rebellion, the family pursued alliances to prevent rivals from exploiting its weakness. It sent its gifted disciples—including Yao Tianchuan—to the nearby Hidden Sword Pavilion, expanded ties with other sects and families, and used public events such as the Little Hidden Dragon Meet to preserve influence in the martial world. 2 287

Estate and Holdings

• Yao Residence — The Jinling family estate, built around a refined waterside pavilion used for major banquets and clan gatherings. Its central hall seats the Family Head, elders, and leading branch figures. 15
• Ancestral residence — A heavily protected stronghold containing mechanisms, formations, concealed experts, and secret treasures; it is substantially more dangerous to infiltrate than an ordinary aristocratic estate. 185 245
• Clan-protecting divine weapon — The family possesses the Son of Heaven Sword, described as a former Human Emperor divine weapon. 63
• Seeing Truth Lake — A secret-realm relic beneath a lake once reserved for the family. After the Eight Gates Rebellion weakened the clan, the Yao Family began opening access to major sects and aristocratic families rather than retaining exclusive control. 241
• Wangjiang Tower — Venue for the Little Hidden Dragon Meet, a public martial competition hosted by the family in Jinling. 287

Martial Inheritance and Resources

Great Golden River Skill

The Great Golden River Skill is the Yao Family's core Inner Strength inheritance and one of the foremost Inner Strength methods in the world. It was the martial foundation of the Yao Dynasty and remains central to the clan's ability to sustain martial power across generations. 307

• The method is treated as a family secret; Xie Yuan was required to swear not to reveal it when leaving the Yao Residence. 63
• Yao Tianchuan's study contained nearly half of the family's finest martial techniques, including manuals, pills, weapons, defensive treasures, and rare cultivation resources. 49
• The family later selected three promising youths to study under Xie Yi as compensation for Yao Tianchuan's death; they became exchange students at the Xie Family. 63 297

Little Hidden Dragon Meet

The Little Hidden Dragon Meet is the Yao Family's major public tournament, intended to attract martial artists, expand the clan's influence, and build ties with exceptional independent cultivators and rival factions. 287

• The First and Second Qi and Blood Transformation Realm divisions each award a quota for Seeing Truth Lake. 287
• The family grants relic access even to unaffiliated winners, using the opportunity to cultivate goodwill with talented outsiders. 287
• The event drew more than ten thousand spectators during an exceptionally large Mid-Autumn gathering in Jinling. 287

Internal Structure and Factions

The Yao Family is governed by Family Head Yao Yuzhi, whose approach emphasizes survival, negotiation, and the long-term preservation of the clan. He repeatedly accepts compromises that preserve the family from open conflict with stronger powers. 63 109

Its branches compete intensely over limited cultivation resources. Yao Tianchuan's direct-line elders had died, leaving other branches to dispute how much support the family's foremost genius should receive. 15

• Yao Yuzhi's faction — Prioritizes Yao Tianchuan's value to the family and seeks practical alliances that can restore the clan's standing. 15 63
• Second branch — Led by Grandmaster Yao Yilong; opposed Yao Tianchuan's rising influence because its own descendants, including Yao Tianming, competed for resources and expedition positions. 15
• Fourth branch — Associated with Grandmaster Yao Yunwu and his son Yao Tianhong; it also had longstanding resource disputes with Yao Tianchuan. 15
• Autumn Wind Pavilion faction — Connected to the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master, who favors strength, pride, and decisive action over Yao Yuzhi's concessions. 63 153

Xie Yuan exploited these divisions while impersonating Yao Tianchuan, openly humiliating Yao Tianhong and Yao Tianming and forcing Yao Yuzhi and Yao Yilong into direct conflict over the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Hunt team. 15

Relationships

• Hidden Sword Pavilion — Allied sect and training partner; the Yao Family sent its talented disciples there after the Eight Gates Rebellion to strengthen external ties. 2
• Autumn Wind Pavilion — Closely connected to the family through its master, who trained Yao Tianchuan and later supported the impostor Xie Yuan under that identity. 63 145
• Chen Commandery Xie Family — A stronger great family with a volatile relationship with the Yaos. Xie Yi forced the release of Xie Yuan and offered to train three Yao youths as compensation for Yao Tianchuan's death. 63
• Yongyang Qian Family — Former close ally. The relationship deteriorated after the Qian Family's involvement in human trafficking was exposed; the Yao Family publicly distanced itself from the Qians to avoid being purged alongside them. 153
• Imperial Court — Pressured the family through the human-trafficking investigation. After the Qian Family submitted to the imperial house, the Yao Family bore the primary burden of scrutiny and prosecution. 109 271
• Spring Rain Pavilion — Investigative force led in this matter by Su Xing; its investigation into trafficking faced repeated obstruction from the Yao Family. 109 271
• Stove Sect — Historical enemy. The Stove Sect Holy Maiden's actions during the Eight Gates Rebellion inflicted the losses from which the Yao Family has struggled to recover. 2 63 287

Story Role / Major Arcs

Yao Tianchuan and the Hidden Sword Pavilion

Yao Tianchuan was regarded as the Yao Family's greatest young hope. Sent to the Hidden Sword Pavilion from childhood, he reached the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm at twenty, defeated a Second Transformation swordsman shortly after his breakthrough, and went undefeated in nineteen consecutive Jiangnan sword matches. 2

His prominence made him both an asset and a source of internal resentment: branches whose descendants lost access to resources had reason to resist his elevation. 15

Xie Yuan's Infiltration

After killing the real Yao Tianchuan, Xie Yuan assumed his identity to gain access to the Yao Family's resources, martial arts, and place in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Hunt. 126

As “Yao Tianchuan,” he provoked the family's factions, seized control of the Second Transformation Realm expedition slots, acquired the Great Golden River Skill, and rose from junior prodigy to an influential figure whose standing exceeded that of ordinary elders. 15 49 153

Human Trafficking Scandal

A Yao branch official, Yao Zhizhang, identified himself as a Qishui Yao Family descendant while attempting to intimidate Xie Yuan during the Black River trafficking case. Xie Yuan learned that the Yao Family was implicated in the trafficking operation and executed him despite his family background. 86

The scandal later placed the family under sustained Imperial Court pressure. The clan attempted to contain the fallout, but the loss of the Qian Family as an effective shield left it politically exposed. 109 153 271

Exposure and Conflict with the Xie Family

Once Xie Yuan's identity and actions were exposed, Yao Yuzhi accused him of infiltrating the family, disrupting Seeing Truth Lake, killing Yao Tianchuan, stealing family resources, and taking the Great Golden River Skill. 63

Xie Yi intervened personally, defeated the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master, and negotiated Xie Yuan's release. Yao Yuzhi accepted compensation and a future connection to the Xie Family rather than risk a destructive war. 63

Continued Pursuit

Despite releasing Xie Yuan, the family continued seeking to capture him. Yao Yuzhi and a hooded Sixth Brother planned to deploy Mystic Water Paintings along river routes to sense his presence, while Autumn Wind Pavilion assassins pursued him through Jiangnan. 177

Xie Yuan later infiltrated the ancestral residence with Huijue and Zhang Junyi to investigate the great families' secret art, overhearing Yao Qinglai and Mister Qian discussing family plans and Wang Zhiyi's murder. 245