Dan Qiulin

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Dan Qiulin (单秋林)
Alias(es)	Sword That Severs Souls
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Disciple of Mo Yuanchi; ally of Bai Yang
Occupation/Role	Swordsman; creator of original sword techniques
First Appearance	186

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Martial Master	186	Recognized as one of Qingmu County's top ten experts, bearing the reputation “Sword That Severs Souls.” 186
Second-layer Martial Master	193	Could project a two-foot Sword Qi and kill enemies from two meters away. 193
Cultivation dispersed	229	Blinded himself and dispersed all True Essence after abandoning his pursuit of Mu Tong, ending his original Martial Master cultivation. 228 229
Martial Disciple — Body Forging Chapter perfected	335	Rebuilt his body through the Thunder Secret Tome, reaching the human limit of 100,000 jin of strength. 335
Grandmaster	672	Entered the Grandmaster realm while cultivating alone and learned to fly upon his wooden sword. 672
Human King	1006	Regenerated his lost hand and healed his eyes, though he continued wearing a blindfold by choice. 1006
Earth Emperor	1040	Reached the Earth Emperor Realm and further concealed his presence until he seemed like an ordinary man. 1040
Emperor-grade	1282	His Sword Intent made swords throughout Great Desolate City tremble and submit. 1282
Early Heavenly Emperor	1314	Described himself as an early-stage Heavenly Emperor while confident he could kill the surrounding enemies with a single strike. 1314
Supreme Being	1333	Reached the Supreme Being realm after three thousand years of seclusion. 1333

Background

Dan Qiulin and his Junior Sister, Mu Tong, were orphaned children from the same village who depended on one another. When Mo Yuanchi chose Dan Qiulin as a disciple, Dan Qiulin begged his master to take Mu Tong as well so she would not be left behind. At Qingmu County, they trained alongside their Senior Brother, Jiang Shan. 187

He became a renowned Martial Master and one of Qingmu County's ten greatest experts. Despite his prestige, he was burdened by his unrequited love for Mu Tong, whose heart belonged to Jiang Shan. Bai Yang initially offered him manipulative strategies to win her affection, and Dan Qiulin agreed to repay Bai Yang with three favors. 186 187 188

Dan Qiulin ultimately could not bring himself to obtain Mu Tong through deception. Although he arranged a compromising scene for Jiang Shan, he ensured the male courtesans did not truly harm him because he could not bear to hurt Mu Tong. The fallout cost Jiang Shan an arm; Dan Qiulin gave Jiang Shan one of his own in repayment, accepted a ruined reputation, and fled from his former life. 197 228

Unable to fully let go, Dan Qiulin blinded himself and scattered his own cultivation. Rather than die, he began again from nothing, treating the sword as his companion and researching swordsmanship through an ordinary, worm-eaten wooden sword. 229 280

Appearance

After crippling himself, Dan Qiulin commonly wore coarse hemp clothing, a black cloth blindfold, and carried a worn wooden sword marked by wormholes. Though he appeared disabled and no stronger than a Martial Disciple, observers often sensed a concealed, dangerous presence. 335

• Lost an arm and blinded himself after his break with Jiang Shan and Mu Tong. 228 229
• Continued to wear the black blindfold even after reaching the Human King realm and healing his eyes. 1006
• Favored a plain wooden sword over prestigious weapons throughout his later cultivation. 335 1283
• Often tilted his head as though listening, relying on senses beyond ordinary sight. 671

Personality

Dan Qiulin is reserved, principled, and intensely devoted. He refused to force Mu Tong's affection through Bai Yang's schemes, believing love obtained by manipulation would not be genuine. His willingness to surrender his cultivation, eyesight, and arm rather than betray that conviction became the foundation of his later sword path. 228 229

He is generally taciturn, speaking little about matters that do not interest him. Beneath his calm exterior, however, he is fiercely protective of Bai Yang and Gourd Valley; he guarded the valley in Bai Yang's absence and was prepared to kill any intruder he considered a threat. 1059 1258

His emotional attachments shape both his greatest strengths and cruelties. Love for Mu Tong inspired his earliest techniques, while his desperation to restore her later turned his sword cold enough to slaughter Emperor-grade enemies without hesitation. 336 1298

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Dan Qiulin forged a sword path centered on comprehension rather than weapons or conventional cultivation. He can make a decayed wooden sword display overwhelming sharpness, defeat opponents far above his apparent realm, and control the force of his strikes so precisely that surrounding terrain remains unharmed. 336 1089

• Created his own sword techniques rather than relying solely on inherited arts. 415
• Can sense sword intent and identify the nature, strength, and dangers of another swordsman’s technique. 615 1034
• His Sword Intent can cause swords across an entire city to tremble as if submitting to him. 1282
• Can fight without relying on the sharpness of his weapon; the swordsman, rather than the sword, is fundamental to his path. 1230

First Encounter

First Encounter was created from Dan Qiulin's memory of his first feelings for Mu Tong. The technique manifests as invisible ripples from the tip of his wooden sword, annihilating attackers despite displaying no obvious True Qi or True Essence. 336

• Killed multiple Martial Warrior-level opponents with a single visible, unhurried thrust. 336
• Was powerful enough to draw greed from onlookers who believed it might be an Iron Sword Sect inheritance. 337
• Carries severe physical strain when forced beyond its limits. 337

Heart Lake Ripples

Dan Qiulin developed Heart Lake Ripples as a sword style embodying martial will. He used it at full force against Lan Xin's killing-oriented sword technique, creating distortions in the void and a defensive field of twisting sword energy around himself. 615 616

• Can deflect and dismantle dense sword-energy attacks. 615
• Forms a circular field of sword energy capable of repelling or devouring incoming attacks. 615
• Was used as a means of honing his sword dao rather than simply defeating Lan Xin. 616

Love Sword

The Love Sword attacks the mind through emotion and memory. Those struck are overwhelmed by their deepest attachments and traumas, becoming incapable of responding to the battle around them. 1089

• Instantly killed Wang Minggui and Zhang Danyang. 1089
• Severely wounded Song Changge, who relived the memory of his mother seeing him leave home. 1089
• Represents the emotional force Dan Qiulin refined from love, loss, and remembrance. 1089

Thunder Secret Tome

After losing his original cultivation, Dan Qiulin rebuilt himself with the Thunder Secret Tome. Its Body Forging Chapter granted him immense physical strength and later allowed him to circulate lightning-like power through his body. 335 615

• Perfected the Body Forging Chapter and achieved 100,000 jin of strength. 335
• Could use his physical power and wooden sword to defeat Martial Warrior-level opponents. 335 336
• Channels blue lightning across his body when exerting the technique at full force. 615

Three Swords Open the Heavens

In Great Desolate City, Dan Qiulin used three strikes of a wooden sword to shatter the city's illusory surface and force its inhabitants into the true Desolate Domain. 1282 1283

• Injured Hua Tianyi with a section of rotten wood before beginning the technique. 1283
• His strikes embodied the will of life and death and plunged Great Desolate City into absolute darkness. 1283
• Demonstrated his willingness to challenge the rules governing an entire city to obtain the Fountain of Life. 1282

Relationships

• Bai Yang — Close friend and sworn brother in all but name. Bai Yang initially deceived him with romance strategies, but later supported his recovery, entrusted him with the Fountain of Life, and fought beside him in Great Desolate City. 187 228 1298 1324
• Mu Tong — Junior Sister, childhood companion, and the person Dan Qiulin loved most deeply. He gave up his cultivation for her happiness, guarded her grave for years, and eventually used the Fountain of Life to resurrect her before allowing her to choose her own future. 187 228 1250 1325
• Jiang Shan — Senior Brother and Mu Tong's beloved. Dan Qiulin's schemes contributed to Jiang Shan losing an arm; Dan Qiulin severed one of his own arms in repayment. 187 228
• Mo Yuanchi — Master who took Dan Qiulin and Mu Tong from their orphaned village and raised them as disciples. 187 197
• Lan Xin — Fellow swordswoman whose Sword Intent he recognized and quietly measured against his own; their paths became an implicit rivalry. 615 1034
• Song Changge — Recurring enemy traumatized by Dan Qiulin's swordsmanship. Song Changge repeatedly sought revenge but remained terrified of confronting him. 1089 1187 1254

Major Arcs

Qingmu County Love Triangle

Dan Qiulin sought Bai Yang's help to win Mu Tong, then rejected the proposed schemes when he realized they would amount to deceiving her. His refusal to harm either Mu Tong or Jiang Shan led him to sacrifice his arm, eyes, and cultivation. 187 197 228 229

Reforging the Sword Path

Beginning again as a disabled Martial Disciple, Dan Qiulin perfected the Thunder Secret Tome's Body Forging Chapter and revealed First Encounter, using a wooden sword to cut down opponents across major realm gaps. 335 336

Guardian of Gourd Valley

Dan Qiulin remained near Mu Tong's grave and guarded Gourd Valley when Bai Yang was absent. He rejected a Human King’s offer of discipleship, insisting that he already had a master and that he needed to follow a path suited to himself. 434 1059

Great Desolate City

Driven by the hope of reviving Mu Tong, Dan Qiulin split open Great Desolate City, fought through Emperor-grade foes with Bai Yang, and helped seize the Fountain of Life. Bai Yang gave the artifact to him rather than use it for his own mother. 1282 1298 1324

Mu Tong's Resurrection

Dan Qiulin used the Fountain of Life to reverse time, retrieve Mu Tong's soul, and restore her to life. Afterward, he chose not to erase her memories or bind her to him, finally releasing his attachment and allowing her to choose her own path. 1325

Notable Quotes

“With my sword as my companion, this life might not be so bad.” 280

“The most beautiful thing in life is the First Encounter. A fleeting moment freezes life, and life will have no regrets.” 336

“He's fine.” 1267

Trivia

• Bai Yang jokingly proposed renaming him “Dugu Qiubai” after witnessing First Encounter. 336
• He refused Bai Yang's suggestion to replace his blindfold with sunglasses. 335
• Song Changge began crafting rotten-wood swords in imitation of Dan Qiulin, but could not replicate the Sword Intent that made Dan Qiulin's wooden sword formidable. 1283