Qin Tianyu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Qin Tianyu (秦天宇)
Alias(es)	Skeletal Nightmare Beast
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Huajing University
Occupation/Role	Third-year student; Huajing University's Challenge Tournament representative
Rank	SSR-rank Awakener 35
Status	Active
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 35; appears in Chapter 36 35 36

Background / History

Qin Tianyu is a combat-trained SSR Awakener from Huajing University, two years senior to Lin Xia. Before the current tournament, he had repeatedly represented Huajing against Imperial University and established his reputation by defeating its challengers with deliberately crippling attacks. Though tournament rules forbid killing opponents, he would leave them critically injured or sever their limbs; in the previous tournament, he cut off a surrendered contestant's right arm and escaped punishment by claiming he had not noticed the surrender. 35

He harbors a deep hatred of Imperial University, blaming its elimination system for the death of the sister who loved him most. He intends not merely to take Imperial's “First Academy” title, but ultimately to kill its members. 42

Accompanied by Huajing principal Tao, Qin arrived at Imperial University to ridicule its students for failing to field tournament contestants. He proclaimed a challenge against the entire school and openly threatened those who entered the arena. 36

Appearance

Qin Tianyu is thin and roughly Lin Xia's height, with a buzz cut and a notably ruthless expression. His clothing and accessories give him a street-thug appearance rather than that of an ordinary student. 36 44

• Black leather jacket covered in skull graffiti. 36
• Silver chain necklace and coin-sized ear studs. 36
• Skull tattoo on one hand. 36
• In his Skeletal Nightmare Beast form, he becomes a 15-meter skeletal behemoth. 42

Personality

Qin is arrogant, contemptuous, and highly provocative. He treats Imperial University's students as beneath him, publicly calls them unworthy even of serving as sparring partners, and relies on intimidation to prevent challengers from entering the tournament. 36 37

He is also viciously competitive. His past tournament conduct shows that he deliberately pushes opponents to the edge of death while remaining technically within the rules. 35 When Lin Xia publicly challenged his “World's First Wave” certification, Qin escalated their conflict into a one-on-one match and threatened to make Lin Xia the third person to die under his ultimate move. 39

Beneath his confidence, Qin is driven by resentment over his sister's death. His desire to destroy Imperial University is personal rather than limited to inter-school rivalry. 42

Abilities & Skills

Combat-Type Awakening

Qin is a combat-type Awakener with balanced offensive and defensive capabilities and no readily apparent weaknesses. He has extensive practical experience and reportedly spends nearly all of his time outside eating and sleeping on combat training. 39

• Matched Lin Xia in a rapid hand-to-hand exchange during the challenge match. 45
• His tournament opponents are normalized to Level 5, as required by Challenge Tournament rules. 35

Nether Prison Black Annihilation Wave

Qin's ultimate wave-type technique was certified by the Spiritual Energy Testing and Research Institute as the “World's First Wave.” Its tested energy level was only one notch below the testing device's maximum limit. 37 38

• Qin had not used the technique in either of the prior two Challenge Tournaments. 37
• Wave-type skills are considered especially dangerous; Qin has threatened lethal use of this move against Lin Xia. 38 39
• The exact activation method and limitations of the skill have not been disclosed.

Nightmare Entanglement

Nightmare Entanglement is Qin's crowd-control technique. He emits a smoke-like gas from his palm, within which an eerie face can be seen. 39 41

• The gas inflicts no immediate physical damage upon striking a target. 41
• Its victims fall into a terrifying illusion; surviving it can still effectively end an Awakener's career. 39 41
• Lin Xia identifies avoiding this technique as a priority after studying Qin's prior match footage. 41

Skeletal Nightmare Beast

Qin can use an SSR Transformation Card to turn into a 15-meter-tall Skeletal Nightmare Beast, greatly increasing his physical combat power. 42 49

• Gains Damage Reflection, returning 100% of all received damage to the attacker. 42
• Reflected damage provides no pain feedback; attackers may not realize their health is falling unless they check their status panel. 42
• The transformation lasts for 10 minutes. 42
• When the transformation ends, all of Qin's attributes are reduced by 80% for 10 minutes. 42
• Qin considers waiting out the form's duration its fatal weakness, but believes opponents will not discover or survive long enough to exploit it. 42

Cards

• Iron-Faced Demon (SSR) — A four-armed armored summon with exceptional defense and proficiency with demonic cold weapons; it wields a greatsword, shield, bow, and arrows. 46
• Ghost Shadow (SSR) — A black-robed humanoid summon with a vortex in place of a head. 46
• Skeletal Nightmare Beast (SSR Transformation Card) — Grants Qin his giant skeletal transformation and Damage Reflection. 42
• Red Ghost (S-rank) — One of two ghost-like S-rank summons used during the challenge match. 48
• Black Ghost (S-rank) — The second ghost-like S-rank summon. 48
• Two-Headed Wolf (A-rank) — A black-flamed wolf with two heads. 48
• Axe-Wielding Centaur (A-rank) — A humanoid-upper-bodied, horse-bodied summon armed with twin axes. 48

Relationships

• Lin Xia — Rival and Challenge Tournament opponent. Qin openly despises Lin Xia after he challenges the legitimacy of Qin's “World's First Wave” title; their match becomes a one-on-one confrontation. 37 39 45
• Principal Tao — Principal of Huajing University and Qin's supporter during the challenge. Tao accompanies Qin to Imperial University, publicizes his ultimate skill, and assists in testing his transformation. 36 37 42
• Imperial University — Qin's principal target of hatred. He seeks to strip it of the “First Academy” title and holds it responsible for his sister's death. 35 42
• Unnamed sister — Deceased sister whom Qin says loved him the most; her death fuels his vendetta against Imperial University. 42

Story Role / Major Arcs

Challenge Tournament Provocation

Qin's reputation as an SSR Awakener and brutal prior tournament representative leaves Imperial University's students unwilling to enter the Challenge Tournament. 35 He arrives at the university with Principal Tao, taunts its lack of volunteers, and challenges the entire school. 36

After Lin Xia volunteers, Qin's ultimate technique is presented as the officially certified “World's First Wave.” Lin refuses to be intimidated and publicly tears up the certification document, provoking Qin into demanding a one-on-one match. 37 38 39

Challenge Match Against Lin Xia

Qin enters the arena as Huajing University's representative and initially receives strong support from the crowd. 44 He and Lin Xia begin with an evenly matched melee exchange before both reveal their cards. 45

Qin summons the SSR Iron-Faced Demon and Ghost Shadow, then answers Lin Xia's summons by deploying four additional creatures. 46 48 As the battle turns against his summons, he reveals his Skeletal Nightmare Beast transformation. 48 49

In transformed form, Qin relies on Damage Reflection to punish Lin Xia's attacks. However, Lin Xia counters by transforming into a Great Ape; Qin is shocked when reflected damage fails to reduce Lin's health and the Great Ape repeatedly attacks him. 49 50