Zi Yan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zi Yan (紫妍)
Alias(es)	Brute King; Inner Academy’s number-one fist-wielder
Species/Race	Ancient Void Dragon
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Jia Nan Academy Inner Academy
Occupation/Role	Rank-one Strong Ranking List student; Lu Heng’s herb-finding and back-mountain partner
First Appearance	Chapter 164

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Early Dou King; infancy	168	Despite ranking first on the Strong Ranking List, she is still an immature Ancient Void Dragon. Her physical body and treasure intuition make her a key ally against the Snow Demon Sky Ape.
Peak mid-Tier 5	198	Reaches the peak of mid-Tier 5 after five months of seclusion in the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower; the environment is difficult for her bloodline.
Peak Dou Wang	409	Possesses strength that ordinary Dou Emperors cannot easily overcome, but loses a direct contest to a late-stage Dou Emperor Black Rock Rhino.
Approaching Dou Emperor	432	Her peak Dou Wang bottleneck loosens after she continues consuming Magic Cores and cultivating in her own way.
Early Tier 6; equivalent to roughly a three- to four-star Dou Emperor	454	Breaks through after digesting Lu Heng’s specially prepared energy-compressed pills and her accumulated Magic Core energy. Her breakthrough occurs through a cocooned metamorphosis and greatly improves her speed and combat power.

Background

Zi Yan is an Ancient Void Dragon who appears in the form of a small girl. Her bloodline carries the pressure of a supreme magical-beast ruler: Lu Heng senses it immediately upon meeting her, while even Su Qian later feels a profound palpitation when her bloodline aura erupts 164 186.

Before meeting Lu Heng, she routinely searched the Inner Academy’s back mountain and herb storehouse for things to eat. She found raw medicinal herbs bitter and unpleasant, but became attached to Lu Heng’s pills because of their taste 165. Lu Heng turns this appetite into a partnership: Zi Yan locates medicinal herbs and treasures, while he refines suitable pills for her 164 177.

Su Qian formally places Zi Yan’s rations under Lu Heng’s care, asking him to refine the high-tier materials she finds rather than let her waste their medicinal power by eating them raw 177.

Zi Yan’s maturation is tied to her exceptionally pure dragon bloodline. Following her advancement to the sixth tier, her aura is linked to a faint Dragon Emperor Bloodline fluctuation detected by Eastern Dragon Island; the island’s Third Elder Zhu Li subsequently dispatches Hei Qing to locate the bloodline’s bearer on the Dou Qi Continent 483 484.

Appearance

Zi Yan has the appearance of a petite young girl, which contrasts sharply with her overwhelming physical strength and status in the Inner Academy.

• Usually wears a white dress 164 176.
• Has long purple hair, sometimes styled in twin-tails 178 409.
• Has large purple eyes 395.
• Her cheeks puff up like a hamster’s when she noisily chews pills 165 177.
• During her sixth-tier cocoon metamorphosis, she briefly assumes the appearance of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl before reverting to her usual immature form 453 454.

Personality

Zi Yan is straightforward, impulsive, and extremely food-motivated. She openly dislikes the title “Brute King,” prefers to be called by her name, and treats medicinal pills as snacks rather than precious cultivation resources 164 165.

She is fearless toward stronger opponents and impatient with anything she considers boring, including the Strong Ranking Tournament and prolonged seated cultivation 178 189 196. Her confidence can become recklessness: she provokes powerful magical beasts, has little concept of holding back in a spar, and can leave opponents psychologically shaken 181 212.

Despite her brashness, Zi Yan is lonely and strongly attached to Lu Heng. His scent reminds her of her own kind, and his kindness, food, and willingness to accompany her make him one of the few people she trusts deeply 166 395 396.

Though she often behaves childishly and schemes for extra pills, Zi Yan is dependable when her companions require protection. She deliberately delays her own breakthrough while Lu Heng and Han Yue are absent because she fears Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin would otherwise be left undefended 451. After Lu Heng begins training her in the Wildwood, she also accepts that brute force alone is insufficient and agrees to temper her combat instincts 460.

Abilities & Skills

Ancient Void Dragon Bloodline

Zi Yan’s true race grants her extraordinary physical ability and a bloodline capable of suppressing magical beasts.

• Exudes a natural bloodline pressure that alarms powerful cultivators 164 186.
• Forces the berserk Snow Demon Sky Ape into submission when she becomes enraged 186.
• Possesses physical defense described as inherently absurd even among magical beasts 221.
• Can fight powerful magical beasts directly, though higher-realm opponents such as the Black Rock Rhino can still overpower her 181 409.
• Her sixth-tier breakthrough takes the form of an oviparous magical-beast cocoon metamorphosis, confirming the unusual maturity process of her high-tier bloodline 453 454.
• A pure Dragon Emperor Bloodline trace is detected in the northern Central Plains after her arrival there, drawing the attention of Eastern Dragon Island 483 484.

Physical Combat

As the Inner Academy’s top-ranked Strong Ranking student, Zi Yan relies primarily on overwhelming bodily strength.

• Easily drives away visitors from the Alchemist Department 165.
• Defeats senior students with ease when accompanying Lu Heng to obtain resources 201.
• Wins Strong Ranking Tournament matches effortlessly and is stated to hold back against Chu Yuan 209 220.
• Is avoided in tournament draws because previous opponents had their Dou Qi Armor and protective talismans shattered by her attacks 212.
• Slaps apart Chu Yuan’s Earth-tier Thunder Dragon Burning Heaven Break without using a Dou Technique, then defeats him in ten close-quarters exchanges 220.
• After becoming an early sixth-tier magical beast, she can defeat fifth-tier magical beasts with a single punch and returns from the back mountain carrying numerous fourth- through sixth-tier Magic Cores 454.
• Begins deliberately restricting herself to roughly thirty percent strength during Wildwood training in order to develop better combat judgment against stronger opponents 460.

Treasure and Herb Detection

Zi Yan has a natural instinct for heavenly treasures and medicinal ingredients.

• Tracks fragrant herbs and pills by scent 164.
• Brings Lu Heng valuable materials from the Inner Academy back mountain, including Cold Pole Fruit and Purple Fire Ganoderma 177.
• Locates Purple Crystal Spirit Marrow guarded by the Black Rock Rhino 409.
• Helps identify valuable treasures in the Black-Corner Region’s underground markets 416.
• Functions as a living radar during Lu Heng’s later back-mountain hunts, locating sixth-tier magical beasts, Magic Cores, essence blood, and high-grade medicinal herbs 451.
• Continues to identify tempting medicinal materials and treasures while traveling beyond Jia Nan Academy 470 475.

Spatial Talent

Ancient Void Dragons are born with an instinctive affinity for space, which Zi Yan displays even while immature.

• Crosses space through ripples in the air to enter Su Qian’s study, a talent Lu Heng recognizes as an innate Ancient Void Dragon spatial ability 176 177.
• Uses space-manipulating methods to raid the Inner Academy treasury at night, removing most of its contents while deliberately leaving some resources behind for Su Qian 457.

Exceptional Consumption and Absorption

Zi Yan can consume massive quantities of medicinal materials, pills, and Magic Cores without the usual danger of excess energy.

• Treats high-grade pills, Wood Spirit Fruit Heart Pills, and Profound Realm-Breaking Pills as snacks 165 221.
• Absorbs what she consumes efficiently due to her body’s extraordinary capacity 221.
• Continues raising her cultivation by eating Magic Cores and medicinal resources rather than relying on the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower 409 432.
• The tower’s Heart Fire offers her comparatively little benefit because she is a magical beast rather than a human cultivator 409.
• Can digest the violent energy of specially prepared, incompletely refined high-tier pills that would be dangerous or fatal to human cultivators 180 454.
• Uses the accumulated energy from pills and Magic Cores to complete her breakthrough into the sixth tier 452 454.

Equipment / Items

• Storage Ring — Used to carry medicinal herbs, fruits, and other back-mountain finds 177.
• Medicinal pills and “Zi Yan Happy Pills” — Lu Heng’s flavored pill supply, prepared to suit her preference for sweet, sour, and spicy tastes 177 188.
• Magic Cores — A regular source of food and cultivation energy 432.
• Unfinished peak sixth-grade pills — Specially prepared by Lu Heng with rough, high-energy medicinal power appropriate for her Ancient Void Dragon physique; she receives a daily-use supply following her sixth-tier advancement 454.

Relationships

• Lu Heng — Close friend, pill provider, and back-mountain partner. Zi Yan trusts him to refine her finds, worries when he is absent, and wants to grow strong enough to protect him in return 164 177 395 410. She later postpones her own breakthrough to protect his absent companions and privately schemes to ensure he continues supplying her with high-grade pills 451.
• Han Yue — Companion within Lu Heng’s group. Han Yue is initially wary of Zi Yan, later accepts her presence, and at times looks after her practical needs 164 166 196. Han Yue also warns Lu Heng against letting Zi Yan recklessly consume a Tier 6 Magic Core and helps attend to her during their travels 434 483.
• Su Qian — Jia Nan Academy’s Great Elder and a long-suffering guardian figure. He is concerned by her lawless behavior but entrusts Lu Heng with managing her diet and cultivation materials 177 200. Zi Yan later raids the academy treasury but leaves part of its resources behind in consideration of him 457.
• Liu Qing — A senior student intimidated by Zi Yan’s presence; she nearly attacks him because she dislikes the scent of his herbs 167.
• Cao Yue — Zi Yan shows favor toward her after receiving Honey Fruit Preserves as a gift 204.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin — Junior companions in Lu Heng’s group. Zi Yan remains in the courtyard to protect them during her own unstable breakthrough period, later trains and travels alongside them through the Black-Corner Region 451 460.
• Han Xue — A member of the Han Clan who patiently accompanies Zi Yan through Tianbei City’s night market, paying for and carrying the large quantity of snacks Zi Yan consumes 483.
• Yao Tianhuo — Lu Heng introduces the revived Skyfire Venerable to Zi Yan; she immediately recognizes him as the former resident of the jade pendant and bluntly calls him out for freeloading 469.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Alliance with Lu Heng

Zi Yan is drawn to Lu Heng’s Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills and offers to protect him in the Inner Academy. He instead forms an exchange arrangement with her: she finds herbs in the back mountain, and he refines pills for her 164.

Her reputation immediately proves useful when she drives away suspicious visitors to Lu Heng’s courtyard. Her acceptance of his pills also surprises Han Yue and the academy’s elders, who know how difficult Zi Yan usually is to manage 165 177.

Snow Demon Sky Ape Expedition

Zi Yan leads Lu Heng and Han Yue toward the Snow Demon Sky Ape’s territory in pursuit of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and other treasures 177 178. She serves as the main distraction, provoking the Rank 5 beast while Lu Heng infiltrates its lair 181.

When the ape threatens Lu Heng, Zi Yan’s anger triggers her bloodline suppression and forces the beast to kneel 186.

Inner Academy Life and Strong Ranking Tournament

Zi Yan uses her status to help Lu Heng access herbs and cultivation resources, while Lu Heng provides tailored pill supplies and keeps her more settled than before 188 200.

As the Strong Ranking List’s first-ranked student, she finds the tournament unchallenging. She easily defeats Wu Dahu and Chu Yuan, while becoming frustrated whenever she receives byes instead of fights 196 209 212 220.

Separation and Reunion

During Lu Heng’s three-year absence, Zi Yan becomes lonely in the academy and anxiously waits for him to return 285 396. Upon sensing his scent after his return, she runs from the back mountain and throws herself into his embrace, afraid that he would not come back 395.

Back-Mountain Sweep and Future Resolve

Zi Yan brings Lu Heng to confront the Black Rock Rhino after it defeats her and claims the Purple Crystal Spirit Marrow she had discovered. Lu Heng defeats the beast in one strike and retrieves the treasure 409.

Seeing the gap between their strength, Zi Yan resolves to grow stronger so she can protect Lu Heng. He reassures her that she should cultivate steadily and grow up happily 410.

Sixth-Tier Metamorphosis

While Lu Heng is occupied with cultivation and threats surrounding the academy, Zi Yan suppresses her imminent breakthrough so she can remain available to protect Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin 451. Lu Heng subsequently gathers resources with her, refines compressed energy pills tailored to her physique, and sends her into seclusion to overcome her bottleneck 451 452.

Zi Yan undergoes a cocooned metamorphosis and advances to the early sixth tier. Although she briefly transforms into an older teenage form, her body cannot yet maintain it; she returns to her usual appearance while retaining strength comparable to a three- or four-star Dou Emperor 453 454.

Departure from the Academy and Black-Corner Region Training

Before Lu Heng’s group departs, Zi Yan raids the Inner Academy treasury through her spatial talent, taking roughly seventy percent of its contents while leaving a portion behind for Su Qian 457. She then joins Lu Heng, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin on their journey through the Black-Corner Region 460.

In the Wildwood, Lu Heng requires Zi Yan to stop relying solely on instant victories and to fight fifth-tier magical beasts with restricted strength. Though displeased at first, she accepts the training’s purpose and begins tempering her combat instincts 460. During the journey to Maple City, she proves particularly effective in hunting magical beasts, killing more than Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin combined 461.

Journey to the Northern Central Plains

Zi Yan accompanies Lu Heng’s group through Demon Flame Valley and onward to Horizon City, remaining eager to claim medicinal resources before anyone else 470 472. She travels through the spatial wormhole to Tianbei City with Lu Heng, Han Yue, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin 474 483.

While in Tianbei City, Zi Yan indulges in the local night market under Han Xue’s care. Around the same period, Eastern Dragon Island detects a pure Dragon Emperor Bloodline aura from the northern Central Plains and begins a search for its source 483 484.

Trivia

• Zi Yan dislikes being called the “Brute King,” even though the Inner Academy widely uses the title 164.
• She considers raw medicinal herbs unpleasant and values flavor as much as medicinal efficacy 165 188.
• Her appetite is so immense that Su Qian describes it as bottomless, while Lu Heng can usually keep her cooperative with snacks 200.
• She can enter the sixth floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower simply by approaching; the barrier opens for her automatically 188.
• She once mistakes Lu Heng’s improvised explanation for kissing Han Yue as a genuine dual-cultivation technique and impulsively kisses him in an attempt to learn it 179 180.
• She considers the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower boring and far less useful than hunting magical beasts or eating pills 189 198.
• During a single night-market outing in Tianbei City, she consumes more than half of twenty honey-fried longan pastries within minutes before ordering another twenty 483.