Shi Nian

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Canghui Academy and Forced Recruitment

Shi Nian came from a commoner background and spent years teaching at Canghui Academy. Before his recruitment, he was withdrawn, rarely appeared at the academy, and lived alone in a secluded courtyard on the eastern outskirts of the Balak Kingdom’s capital 106 121.

Mu Rong Chen selected him to become Fengyun Academy’s public administrator while its founder remained out of the spotlight. He valued Shi Nian’s teaching ability, illusion techniques, ambition, and willingness to operate with few moral restraints 106.

When Mu Rong Chen entered his courtyard, Shi Nian trapped him in illusions. Discovering his opponent’s 50,000-year Medusa head soul bone provoked Shi Nian into trying to kill him for it. Mu Rong Chen shattered his illusions, inflicted severe spiritual backlash, and then overwhelmed him physically 106 107 108.

Shi Nian initially refused allegiance, but a further beating forced him to reconsider. Mu Rong Chen offered twice his Canghui salary, cultivation resources, and the position of dean. The prospect of directing his own teaching and research also appealed to him. Shi Nian swore loyalty on his martial soul, then was forced to swallow a poison pill that placed his life under Mu Rong Chen’s control 109 110.

Establishing Fengyun Academy

Shi Nian became responsible for Fengyun Academy’s daily administration and teaching, assisted by vice dean Kachino. Although disappointed by the academy’s humble village setting, he soon helped challenge Shrek Academy’s treatment of applicants and defended Fengyun’s recruitment drive against Zhao Wuji 110 111 112 113 114.

Seeing talented children rejected by Shrek increased his respect for Mu Rong Chen’s judgment. The new students’ determination rekindled his sense of accomplishment as a teacher, and he began seriously planning their lessons 115 116.

He helped secure official recognition for Fengyun Advanced Soul Master Academy, then used Shrek’s lack of a permit to embarrass Flender. Before leaving to cultivate, Mu Rong Chen entrusted him with admissions, curriculum planning, resource allocation, and the personal guidance of promising commoner students. He also ordered Shi Nian to secretly eliminate Flender and Zhao Wuji if they attempted sabotage 117 121.

Rejuvenation and Defense of the Academy

Dugu Bo delivered a pill refined by Mu Rong Chen to improve Shi Nian’s constitution, talent, and mental power. After verifying its origin with his colleagues, Shi Nian consumed it and underwent a painful transformation. His rejuvenation turned reluctant service into wholehearted gratitude: he declared that he would remain dean and protect Fengyun Academy 128 129.

With Dugu Bo’s assistance, he obtained his sixth soul ring and became a level 62 Soul Emperor. Upon returning, he announced both his advancement and Dugu Bo’s appointment as advisory dean 130 131.

During another admissions confrontation, Shi Nian freed Orlan from Zhao Wuji’s gravity attack and trapped Zhao Wuji in the Remnant Dream Domain. He subsequently caught Flender in an illusion involving Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang. Dugu Bo subdued the other Shrek teachers, and Shi Nian dispelled Flender’s illusion in front of the crowd, exposing his behavior and damaging Shrek’s reputation 133 134 135.

Later, Shi Nian worried that Fengyun Academy would be vulnerable while Dugu Bo remained absent for nearly three months 148.

Appearance

Shi Nian’s appearance changes markedly after taking Mu Rong Chen’s immortal-herb pill 129.

• Before rejuvenation: An ordinary-faced man appearing about forty, with exceptionally bright eyes, a sinister smile, a gray robe, and a low, hoarse voice 106.
• Signs of aging: Graying hair, facial wrinkles, and loose skin are described before the pill reverses them 129.
• After rejuvenation: Glossy black hair, firmer rosy skin, and the appearance of a stern instructor in his early thirties 129.
• Later attire: A charcoal-gray robe embroidered with cloud patterns; he stands tall and straight, with impeccably groomed hair and abyss-deep eyes 133.

Personality

Shi Nian is proud, sinister, and protective of his dignity. He initially regards serving a much younger Soul Master as intolerable humiliation. His desire for a powerful head soul bone overrides his caution, while defeat replaces his murderous confidence with fear and resentment 107 108 109.

He is also pragmatic and ambitious. Beyond survival, the dean’s position attracts him because it offers resources and freedom to teach and research on his own terms. His concern for students becomes increasingly visible as Fengyun grows: he condemns the exploitation of commoner applicants and rediscovers satisfaction in teaching 109 112 116.

His loyalty develops rather than appearing immediately. Before receiving the rejuvenating pill, he thinks about escaping Mu Rong Chen’s control; afterward, he sincerely commits himself to the academy. He nevertheless conceals the humiliating circumstances of his recruitment when Dugu Bo asks, claiming that admiration alone brought him into service 129 130.

Abilities & Skills

Remnant Dream Martial Soul

A mental and illusion-oriented martial soul suited to spiritual control 109 133.

• Its spiritual fluctuations unsettle Zhao Wuji even while Shi Nian is a lower-ranked Soul King 113.
• Following rejuvenation, it emits holy white light, indicating a qualitative transformation in spiritual power 129.
• Shi Nian can condense spiritual power into a sharp edge, which he uses to kill the subdued Illusory Sound Demon Cicada 130.

Nightmare Illusions

Shi Nian’s initial Nightmare ability replaces his target’s perceived surroundings with a highly realistic illusion 106 107.

• Distorts the five senses and six perceptions while magnifying mental reactions 107.
• Invades the mind and draws out fear, aiming to cause collapse through terror and despair 107.
• Can be broken by sufficiently powerful spiritual resistance; repeated forced destruction causes severe backlash to Shi Nian 107.

Third Soul Skill: Remnant Dream

An invisible mental assault directed at the opponent’s mind 108.

• Described as powerful enough to drive a Soul Emperor mad 108.
• Fails against Mu Rong Chen’s heavily fortified Sea of Consciousness 108.

Fourth Soul Skill: Phantom Clones

Splits Shi Nian into four figures that move in different directions 108.

• Used to attempt escape from Mu Rong Chen’s poison mist 108.
• The surrounding dragon-scale attack destroys the clones and exposes his real body 108.

Fifth Soul Skill: Endless Nightmare / Remnant Dream Domain

The fifth skill is called Endless Nightmare in his early battles and Remnant Dream Domain after his Soul Emperor advancement 107 114 133.

• Early use: Builds illusions from a target’s buried memories, hatred, and negative emotions; Mu Rong Chen experiences scenes drawn from slaughter and loss 107.
• Layered attacks: Zhao Wuji breaks the first illusion but remains vulnerable to subsequent mental attacks 114.
• Later domain: Creates a blood-red environment containing apparitions that reform when destroyed, exhausting the victim’s soul power and attacking the mind 133.
• Defensive strength: Li Yusong’s staff attacks ripple across the domain barrier without destabilizing it 134.
• Lasting damage: Zhao Wuji remains terrified, disoriented, and mentally traumatized after Shi Nian voluntarily releases him 134.

Sixth Soul Skill: Endless Nightmares

Traps the target in an elaborate scenario rather than relying solely on frightening imagery 134.

• Makes Flender perceive a wedding involving Liu Erlong and imagine killing Yu Xiaogang 134.
• Causes Flender to act out the illusion publicly; Shi Nian later dispels it 135.

Evasion

Shi Nian uses elusive, illusion-like movements to avoid close-range attacks 108 133.

• Narrowly evades Mu Rong Chen’s initial claw strike 108.
• Slips through Zhao Wuji’s repeated palm attacks, his body appearing to ripple before shifting elsewhere 133.
• Cannot evade Mu Rong Chen’s overwhelming speed during their courtyard battle 108.

Teaching and Administration

Shi Nian combines Soul Master theory with practical combat experience and an ability to manipulate an audience’s emotions 113.

• Oversees admissions, curriculum planning, resource allocation, and instruction at Fengyun Academy 111 121.
• Personally evaluates promising students’ foundations, including Lin Dong and Su Mei 115.
• Is credited in Mu Rong Chen’s recollections with developing the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill, which distinguished Canghui’s tournament team 106.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Binding poison pill — Refined by Mu Rong Chen and consumed under threat of death. It remains the means of controlling Shi Nian’s life; no removal is documented 110 121.
• Talent-enhancing immortal-herb pill — Made from the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid and two thousand-year mental-property herbs. One of three produced, it improves constitution and talent, strengthens mental power, and rejuvenates Shi Nian 128 129.
• 500,000-Gold-Soul-Coin stored-value card — Used to strike education official Zhang Dekai and demand rapid, highest-level certification for Fengyun Academy 116 117.

Relationships

• Mu Rong Chen — Superior and benefactor. Their relationship begins with forced submission and poison-based control, then becomes sincere loyalty after Shi Nian’s rejuvenation 109 110 129.
• Dugu Bo — Fellow subordinate and Fengyun’s advisory dean. Delivers Shi Nian’s pill, helps obtain his sixth soul ring, and invites him to use the familiar name “Old Poison” 128 130 131.
• Kachino — Vice dean and administrative assistant. Helps verify the gifted pill and encourages Shi Nian to protect the academy as a member of Mu Rong Chen’s inner circle 111 128 129.
• Xiao Lin and Su Yuntao — Teaching colleagues who verify the pill’s origin and stand guard during his transformation 116 128 129.
• Orlan — Fengyun instructor whose teaching duties Shi Nian coordinates; Shi Nian intervenes when Zhao Wuji attacks him 121 133.
• Zhao Wuji — Rival academy teacher repeatedly trapped by Shi Nian’s illusions, eventually suffering severe mental trauma 114 133 134.
• Flender — Rival headmaster whom Shi Nian mocks over Shrek’s licensing and later publicly humiliates through an illusion 117 134 135.

Notable Quotes

“I, Shi Nian, swear upon my martial soul, Remnant Dream, to serve you from this day forward. Should I break this oath, may my martial soul shatter, and may I die a wretched death!” 109

“I’m staying as the dean, and that’s final!” 129

“Anyone who dares cause trouble will spend the rest of their life trapped in nightmares!” 129

Trivia

• The level 72 Soul Saint mentioned during Mu Rong Chen’s assessment belongs to his recollection of Shi Nian’s original Douluo history, not an advancement shown in this storyline. Here, Shi Nian first demonstrates five soul rings and later reaches level 62 106 107 130.
• Dugu Bo considers eventual Titled Douluo advancement possible after the pill improves Shi Nian’s aptitude; Shi Nian does not reach that realm in the provided chapters 130.