Yu Xiaoya

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yu Xiaoya (于小雅)
Gender	Female
Age	33, when discussing cultivation with Hals 32
Species/Race	Human
Affiliation	Star Luo Royal Academy; Star Luo Empire 28 107
Occupation/Role	Director of Academic Affairs at Star Luo Royal Academy; later a soul bound to Hals's summons 28 176
Martial Soul	Rhythm Spirit Leopard
Soul Master Rank	Rank 78 Agility Attack Battle Soul Master 28
Status	Deceased; continues to exist as a soul 180
First Appearance	Chapter 28

Background

Yu Xiaoya served as Star Luo Royal Academy's Director of Academic Affairs and lived in a house across the stream from the residence assigned to Hals. When Dean Song Gongran brought Hals to the academy under the alias Yu Hun, she personally investigated his background and challenged him to a duel before approving his employment. 28 31

She was decisively defeated in both human form and Martial Soul True Body form. Rather than reject the lesson, she listened as Hals explained that her reliance on speed and single decisive strikes made her predictable to an experienced opponent. She subsequently approved his position as a teacher and asked him to instruct her. 29 30

During Hals's year at the academy, Yu Xiaoya handled his credentials, assigned him to Advanced Class Nine, and evaluated his performance. She came to admire both his strength and his exceptional results as an instructor, while developing unreturned feelings for him. 31 32 42

Four years after Hals left, Yu Xiaoya watched Advanced Class Nine rise from an obscure lower-ranked class into the academy's strongest. Her pride turned to shock when she learned that “Yu Hun” was actually Hals: a Spirit Hall Elder, one of its de facto controllers, and Bibi Dong's personal servant. 106 107

Appearance

Yu Xiaoya is a fair-featured woman with long hair and a notably athletic, slender build. In battle, she can assume the form of a sleek female leopard through her Martial Soul True Body. 28 29

• Usually wears her loose hair tied back before combat. 28 29
• Her Martial Soul Possession gives her jade-lustered hands, lengthened nails, and enhanced legs. 29
• As a soul, she appears semi-transparent and gradually fades from sight. 180

Personality

Yu Xiaoya initially judges Hals with skepticism and insists on testing his strength herself, but she is capable of reassessing her opinion after defeat. She accepts criticism, recognizes her shortcomings in practical combat, and actively seeks instruction to improve. 28 30

Despite her personal interest in Hals, she remains diligent in her administrative duties. She prepares his qualification certificate, briefs him on Advanced Class Nine's composition, and allows him broad authority over his classroom. 31 33

Her strongest loyalty is to Star Luo and her students. Learning of Spirit Hall's expansion plans and Hals's deception leaves her devastated, but she refuses to let the empire or the academy's students be endangered. She later confronts Hals directly while attempting to protect Advanced Class Nine. 107 117

Even after death, Yu Xiaoya retains warmth beneath her grief and resentment. When Su Xian recognizes her soul, Yu Xiaoya resumes her familiar concern for the academy's teachers and seeks help rather than frightening her further. 180

Abilities & Skills

Rhythm Spirit Leopard

Yu Xiaoya's Martial Soul is the Rhythm Spirit Leopard, making her an agility-attack Soul Master. Her seven-ring configuration is yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, and black. 28 29

• Uses high-speed movement, afterimages, and abrupt changes of direction to seek openings. 29
• Fights in an assassin-like style: strike once, then withdraw if the attack misses. 29
• Her speed is her principal advantage, but Hals identifies her overreliance on one powerful strike as a tactical weakness. 29

Martial Soul True Body

Yu Xiaoya can transform into a sleek, muscular female leopard, substantially increasing her speed. 29

• Circles opponents at high speed while searching for vulnerable points. 29
• Retains human intelligence while transformed. 29
• The transformation sacrifices the greater variety of attacks available in human form, making her fighting pattern easier to read for experienced opponents. 29

Administrative and Teaching Leadership

As Director of Academic Affairs, Yu Xiaoya manages teacher appointments, class assignments, and school operations. 28 30 32

• Approved Hals's appointment after personally assessing him. 28 30
• Assigned him to Advanced Class Nine and provided a full breakdown of its thirty-six students. 32
• Continued to regard Advanced Class Nine as her students and fought to protect them when Hals turned on the class. 106 117

Relationships

• Hals / “Yu Hun” — Initially tested him as a teacher candidate, then approved his employment and sought his guidance after losing their duel. Yu Xiaoya developed feelings for him, only to discover that he had concealed his identity as a Spirit Hall Elder. She later opposed him to protect her students, yet remained emotionally conflicted even as a soul. 28 30 42 107 117 176
• Song Gongran — Her dean and father figure. Song Gongran regards Yu Xiaoya as his own daughter or granddaughter and is willing to sacrifice everything to save her. 28 108 118 182
• Advanced Class Nine — The class entrusted to Hals under Yu Xiaoya's administration. She takes pride in their growth and refuses to abandon them during Hals's massacre. 32 106 117
• Su Xian — A younger academy teacher who encounters Yu Xiaoya's soul in the academy offices. Yu Xiaoya entrusts her with contacting Elder Huang. 180
• Bibi Dong — Hals's wife and the Pope of Spirit Hall. Yu Xiaoya's knowledge of Hals's devotion to Bibi Dong deepens the pain of her unrequited feelings. 107 176

Major Arcs

Hals's Entry Test

Yu Xiaoya challenges Hals to verify that he is qualified to teach at Star Luo Royal Academy. His overwhelming victory exposes her lack of combat experience, but his tactical explanation convinces her to employ him and seek his instruction. 28 30

Advanced Class Nine

Yu Xiaoya assigns Hals to Advanced Class Nine and supports his authority despite his severe methods. Over the following four years, she watches the class become the academy's strongest, crediting their transformation to Hals. 32 33 106

Discovery of Hals's Identity

A Spirit Hall intelligence file reveals that Hals entered the academy under an alias and may be directing operations against Star Luo. Yu Xiaoya feels personally betrayed but prioritizes the safety of her homeland and students. 107 108

Defense of the Academy

When Hals descends into slaughter and kills his own students, Yu Xiaoya attacks him despite the enormous gap in power. She declares that the students remain his as well as hers, refusing to abandon them. 117

Life as a Soul

After her death, Hals summons Yu Xiaoya's soul in Star Luo and coerces her into helping him. She later returns to the academy, where Su Xian recognizes her and agrees to deliver a message to Elder Huang. 176 180

Fading at the Former Home

Yu Xiaoya reunites with Song Gongran after his transformation into a soul-devouring vine-like creature. Contact with him causes her soul to weaken and become nearly transparent, while Hals claims that Song Gongran's body's instinct to devour souls is responsible. 181 182

Trivia

• Yu Xiaoya's house stood directly across a stream from Hals's academy residence. 31
• Hals considers her talented for reaching Spirit Saint level at thirty-three, but criticizes her practical combat experience and understanding of her Martial Soul. 30 32
• She continues to care about academy affairs after becoming a soul, asking Su Xian whether she has encountered any problems at work. 180