Zhan Yan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhan Yan (詹岩)
Alias(es)	Hall Master Zhan; Master Zhan
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Crafting Cave — Casting Hall; formerly Divine Weapon Ridge 101 119
Occupation/Role	Casting Hall Master, master weaponsmith, martial artist, and Xu Yunfan's master 101 102
Status	Alive; remains at Heavenly Crafting Cave to preserve Divine Weapon Ridge's legacy through forging 436
First Appearance	Chapter 101

Background

Zhan Yan is a surviving inheritor of Divine Weapon Ridge. After the ridge was destroyed and its inheritance severed, his branch endured; he later created the Heavenly Crafting Forging Art through twenty years of work at the forge, combining Divine Weapon Ridge's Dragon-Spine Iron-Forging Method with Heavenly Crafting Cave's Hundred Refinements Entangling Silk Force 101 119.

He became the Casting Hall Master of Heavenly Crafting Cave and one of Cangzhou's few weaponsmiths able to forge Precious Artifacts. His reputation carries enough weight that his decision to accept a True Inheritance disciple draws attention from the cave's other divisions and outside sects 102 104 115.

By the events beneath Divine Weapon Ridge, Zhan Yan is nearly ninety years old. Despite his age, he remains consumed by the desire to forge weapons and protect the lineage he inherited 220 436.

Appearance

Zhan Yan is an elderly, heavily built weaponsmith whose body retains the strength of a hardened martial artist. Years beside the forge have left him visibly scarred and weathered 101 120.

• Broad, palm-leaf-sized hands and exceptionally muscular arms 101.
• Burn scars across his hands and a physique tempered by years working near the Thunderfire Pool 101 120.
• Bristling gray-white beard and often bloodshot, intense eyes 101.
• Later described as having a single eye 436.
• Wears blood-red heavy armor during Heavenly Crafting Cave's emergency mobilization 136.

Personality

Zhan Yan is blunt, fiery, and intensely proud of his craft. He has little patience for interruptions to his forging schedule or for techniques that prioritize ornamentation over a weapon's practical killing power 119 170 171. His arguments with Mo Han are loud and habitual, but they do not prevent him from seeking the Mechanism Hall Master's help when Xu Yunfan is in danger 108 172.

Beneath his rough manner, Zhan Yan is deeply protective of his disciples and lineage. He recognizes Xu Yunfan's potential immediately, supplies his training, searches ancient records for a solution to the Apex Path Remains, and remains willing to risk everything if Xu Yunfan calls for aid 101 102 172 283. Xu Yunfan's accomplishments bring him genuine fulfillment because they prove that Divine Weapon Ridge's inheritance will survive 213 220.

Abilities & Skills

Blood Exchange Realm Martial Cultivation

Zhan Yan is a renowned Blood Exchange Realm martial artist who practices Divine Weapon Ridge body-tempering arts. His body has been further conditioned by years of forging beside the Thunderfire Pool 120.

• Uses heavy weapons and direct physical force in battle.
• Can transmit layered force through an opponent's body and accurately target muscles, joints, and nerves 165 167.
• Continued fighting at Divine Weapon Ridge despite being pierced by seven armor-piercing arrows and suffering extensive wounds 211.
• His injuries and long-standing martial bottleneck were substantially repaired and loosened after Xu Yunfan gave him Ginseng Qi 214 217.

Heavenly Crafting Forging Art

Zhan Yan created the Heavenly Crafting Forging Art after two decades of forging. It unites the heavy, impurity-clearing hammer methods of Divine Weapon Ridge with the precise force control of Heavenly Crafting Cave 119.

• Uses the Thousand Jun Hammer Method to drive slag and impurities from metal.
• Uses Hundred Refinements Entangling Silk Force to penetrate and unify material internally 119.
• Personally forged the Thunder Fire Qilin Hammer, a Precious Artifact, over two months 108.
• Can forge weapons of the finest grade and personally undertook Xu Yunfan's weapon commission 102.
• Instructs Xu Yunfan through practical work, demonstrations, and forging orders rather than abstract lectures 119 120.

Thousand Jun Mountain Shaking Hammer Technique

Zhan Yan preserves and teaches the advanced Divine Weapon Ridge hammer art that succeeds the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art and Cloak Hammer. The technique includes the Mystic Steel Hundred Refinements External Training Body and Crimson Dragon Coiling Mountain Strength, with a path reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm 101.

• Demonstrates its three stages of training and corrects Xu Yunfan's force application directly 167.
• Teaches force generation, force dispersion, Spiral Force, and the principle that muscles should move “like flowing water” rather than resist impact rigidly 166 167.
• Can use the technique to receive and redirect attacks while minimizing recoil 166.
• Entrusts the technique's secret manual to Xu Yunfan 168.

Martial and Historical Knowledge

Zhan Yan possesses extensive knowledge of ancient inheritances, divine weapons, martial history, and the dangers accompanying the return of primal spirit qi 171 173 217.

• Identifies the dangers of Extreme Path Experts and their vessels, warning Xu Yunfan that apparent inheritances may be attempts at body possession 171.
• Investigates the Apex Path Remains and identifies treasures that may delay its activity, including the Ice Soul Stone 172 173.
• Explains the history and requirements of the Eighth Order Divine Weapon, Dragon Blood Armor 217.
• Recognizes that the armor's Jiaolong soul requires a master capable of suppressing it 217.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Double Blossom Heavy Hammers — Zhan Yan's battle hammers, used while defending Divine Weapon Ridge 211.
• Black profound-iron heavy armor — Worn during the crisis caused by the Incense Fire Sect's infiltration of Heavenly Crafting Cave 136.
• Scarlet Copper Forging Hammer — Used in his Casting Hall forge 135.
• Thunder Fire Qilin Hammer — Precious Artifact forged by Zhan Yan for Xu Yunfan with Mechanism Hall methods incorporated into its design 108 109.

Relationships

• Xu Yunfan — Disciple and True Inheritance disciple of the Casting Hall. Zhan Yan recognizes his completed Golden Skin State, accepts him as a disciple, teaches him Divine Weapon Ridge's advanced hammer art, and repeatedly acts to protect him 101 102 166 172.
• Fu Jin — Senior disciple associated with the Casting Hall. Fu Jin brings Xu Yunfan to Zhan Yan's attention and later supervises forging work during Zhan Yan's absence 101 177.
• Lü Cheng — Junior martial brother from Divine Weapon Ridge. They reunite after twenty years; Lü Cheng later helps Zhan Yan and Xu Yunfan escape through the ridge's secret passages 196 214.
• Mo Han — Mechanism Hall Master and frequent argumentative counterpart. Although they bicker over forging and mechanisms, Mo Han assists Zhan Yan's search for information on the Apex Path vessel 108 172.
• Bi Yuan — Dao Sect Grandmaster who seeks Xu Yunfan as a disciple. Zhan Yan reluctantly permits Xu Yunfan to maintain two master lineages for the sake of his future cultivation 279 280.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Accepting Xu Yunfan

After Fu Jin brings Xu Yunfan to him, Zhan Yan recognizes the youth's perfected Crimson Flame Copper Body Art and Cloak Hammer, as well as Lu Yi's authentic Black Iron Token. He immediately offers Xu Yunfan entry into Heavenly Crafting Cave and accepts his formal bow as master and disciple 101.

Zhan Yan arranges Xu Yunfan's accommodation, provisions his cultivation with spirit fish, exotic beast meat, and Candle Origin Pills, and promises to forge him a suitable Precious Artifact 102. He subsequently creates the Thunder Fire Qilin Hammer and supports Xu Yunfan's elevation as the Casting Hall's True Inheritance disciple 108 114.

Heavenly Crafting Cave Crisis

When Xu Yunfan exposes Zhou Yuande's connection to the Incense Fire Sect, Zhan Yan believes him and strikes the Nine Peaks Bell to declare an emergency. He identifies Bao Yan as the likely person capable of secretly tampering with Heavenly Crafting City's mechanisms 136.

During the ensuing battle, Zhan Yan leads the Casting Hall while armored and wounded. The conflict costs the hall nearly half of its rotating disciples 141.

Mentor to an Exceptional Disciple

Zhan Yan begins teaching Xu Yunfan weapon forging, only to be stunned by his disciple's ability to reproduce and innovate upon the Heavenly Crafting Forging Art. Xu Yunfan's rapid progress leaves Zhan Yan needing time to recover from the shock 119 120.

He later personally trains Xu Yunfan in the Thousand Jun Mountain Shaking Hammer Technique. Though Xu Yunfan's talent repeatedly overturns his expectations, Zhan Yan continues to provide direct corrections, testing, and access to the full manual 165 166 168.

Divine Weapon Ridge and Dragon Blood Armor

Zhan Yan travels to Divine Weapon Ridge, reunites with Lü Cheng, and becomes involved in the ridge's defense against Great Qian and the Web 196 211. Nearly killed while defending the remaining disciples and furnaces, he is saved by Xu Yunfan's Ginseng Qi 211 214.

After recovering, he guides Xu Yunfan into Divine Weapon Ridge's true foundation and explains the history of Dragon Blood Armor. He later watches Xu Yunfan subdue the armor and sees this as the fulfillment of his long-held hope that Divine Weapon Ridge would produce an ultimate inheritor 217 220.

Two Master Lineages and Later Life

When Bi Yuan offers Xu Yunfan a Dao Sect lineage, Zhan Yan agrees despite his reluctance, prioritizing his disciple's future and the continuation of the Thousand Jun Mountain Shaking Hammer Technique 279.

He eventually leaves Xu Yunfan at the Dao Sect with warnings about its internal factions and a promise to return if needed 283. When Xu Yunfan later offers to take him to the Taihua Spiritual Void Realm, Zhan Yan refuses, choosing instead to remain at Heavenly Crafting Cave and devote himself to forging 436.

Notable Quotes

“The Heavenly Crafting Forging Art was something I created after twenty years of hammering metal here.”
— Zhan Yan 119

“Muscles aren't iron plates. Learn from flowing water.”
— Zhan Yan 167

“In this life, having a disciple like you is already heaven's greatest blessing. Now, I only want to guard the legacy Divine Weapon Ridge left behind!”
— Zhan Yan 436