Xuan Ziwen

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Xuan Ziwen (轩梓文)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Mingde Hall; Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy
Occupation/Role	Eighth-Class Soul Engineer; Mingde Hall chief research consultant; soul tool researcher and mentor
First Appearance	Chapter 19

Background / History

Xuan Ziwen maintained a private, highly restricted research laboratory within Mingde Hall. Ye Luochen entered it by mistake after receiving unrestricted clearance, prompting Xuan to assume that Jing Hongchen had assigned the boy as his apprentice. Once the misunderstanding was resolved, Xuan initially ordered Ye to leave and keep the laboratory's contents confidential. Ye's admiration for the lab's soul tools, however, led him to accept Xuan's assessment for apprenticeship. 19 20

Ye passed by presenting a modular soul guidance shield: rather than carving all arrays into a single integrated core, he reserved energy interfaces and installed separate array modules. Although Xuan identified serious risks in the design, including added complexity and potential failure at higher grades, he immediately recognized the potential of modularization, standardization, division of labor, and assembly-line production. 21

Xuan invited Ye to join his laboratory to develop the concept into a practical prototype. Their work produced a stamping machine for first-level arrays and later an automated, modular line capable of manufacturing Class 2 Soul Guidance Cannons. 22 36

When Ye's Dark Iron Blade first devoured the laboratory's stamping-machine prototype, Xuan stayed near him despite not understanding how to help and later accompanied him until he was certain Ye had stabilized. Jing Hongchen subsequently formalized Xuan's position as Ye's mentor and tasked him with teaching soul tool technology while monitoring the blade's abnormalities. 23 24 25

Personality

Xuan is intensely research-driven. He can become cold and territorial when strangers approach his projects, but an idea he considers transformative quickly overrides his usual restraint. Upon hearing Ye's proposal for standardized production, he tried to report it to Jing Hongchen immediately, convinced it could make soul tools affordable for ordinary people. 19 21 22

His enthusiasm is balanced by technical adaptability. Xuan initially pursued modularity too far, creating third-grade cannons with twenty separate components and excessive failure rates. After Ye explained that too many connection points weakened the design, Xuan readily admitted his error and adopted a more balanced integrated die-casting approach. 41 42

Despite his fixation on inventions, Xuan genuinely cares for his disciples. He was anxious during Ye's martial soul evolutions, visited Ye throughout his month-long deep meditation, and rushed to obtain nourishing medicinal liquids when Ye awoke weakened. 23 24 121

Abilities & Skills

Eighth-Class Soul Engineering

Xuan is an Eighth-Class Soul Engineer and a Soul Douluo-level soul master. His laboratory contains soul tools whose oppressive presence Ye judged not much weaker than that of Class 9 soul tools. 20 23

• Constructed a simple stamping machine capable of processing first-level core arrays in a short time. 22
• Retrofitted an inefficient twenty-machine production process into an eight-machine integrated die-casting line. 42
• Developed automated production equipment capable of manufacturing fourth-grade soul tools and processing core formations up to the sixth grade. 113
• Can process extremely hard rare metals with a Class 6 carving knife, though only with difficulty. 24

Soul Tool Industrialization

Xuan's central research goal is to make soul tools accessible to the general public rather than restricting them to soul masters and elite users. 22

• Developed modular, detachable, interchangeable components for Soul Guidance Cannons with Ye Luochen. 36
• Recognized the need to balance modular repairability against structural reliability and material cost. 41 42
• Pursued automated batch production to reduce dependence on highly trained soul engineers. 113
• Built a mechanically driven soul tool prototype that could operate without direct Soul Power input. 114 115
• Acknowledged that the early mechanical-drive prototype still required complicated operation and recharging before it could become widely usable. 115

Research Limitations

Although Xuan possesses Soul Douluo-level soul power, he developed much of it through medicinal herbs and secret techniques to operate high-grade soul tools. He rarely uses his martial soul or soul skills and was unable to directly diagnose the Dark Iron Blade's abnormal behavior. 23

Research Projects

• Modular Soul Guidance Shield — Evaluated Ye Luochen's first modular core design, identifying its risks while recognizing its revolutionary production potential. 21
• Stamping Machine Tools — Cooperated with Ye to create machinery for array processing and automated manufacture. The first prototype was consumed by Ye's Dark Iron Blade. 22 23 24
• Class 2 Soul Guidance Cannon assembly line — Achieved fully automated shell fabrication, core-array engraving, and assembly, with detachable and interchangeable modules. 36
• Integrated die-casting production line — Reworked the over-modularized Class 3 cannon process, reducing the machinery from twenty units to eight and improving durability. The completed line was later devoured by Ye's martial soul. 41 42
• Automated high-grade soul tool processing — Advanced the assembly line to produce fifth-grade soul tools; its core-formation machine could process formations up to the sixth grade. 113
• Mechanical-drive soul tool — Created a prototype that operated without direct Soul Power. After one prototype was scrapped during testing, Xuan revealed a more refined backup; this, too, was consumed by Ye's Dark Iron Blade. 114 115 116

Relationships

• Ye Luochen — Disciple and research partner. Their relationship began through an accidental intrusion into Xuan's laboratory, then developed into a productive collaboration on modular production, automated tooling, and mechanical-drive soul tools. Xuan repeatedly prioritizes Ye's martial soul evolution over the loss of his own prototypes. 19 22 24 42 115 121
• Ju Zi — Disciple. Xuan considers her, aside from Ye, the most talented soul tool disciple he has encountered; she contributed significantly to the laboratory's later automation work. 113
• Jing Hongchen — Mingde Hall Master who approved Xuan as Ye's mentor and ordered him to oversee Ye's instruction and martial soul condition. 24

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ye Luochen's Apprenticeship

Xuan's mistaken belief that Ye had been assigned to his laboratory becomes the foundation of their master-disciple relationship. Ye's modular shield design earns Xuan's recognition and secures his place in the laboratory. 19 20 21 22

Soul Tool Production Revolution

Working from Ye's concepts, Xuan translates modularity, stamping, assembly lines, and later mechanical transmission into increasingly functional production systems. His technical expertise turns broad ideas into working machines, while Ye provides unconventional proposals and critiques. 22 36 41 42 113 115

The Dark Iron Blade Incidents

Xuan is repeatedly caught between grief for his destroyed inventions and support for Ye's evolution. The Dark Iron Blade consumes three groundbreaking prototypes connected to their work, each time provoking Xuan's exasperation but also contributing to Ye's growth. 24 42 115 116

Deep Meditation Recovery

After Ye and Ji Juechen enter deep meditation following their duel, Xuan checks on Ye daily for a month. When Ye wakes in a severely weakened state, Xuan urgently seeks medicinal liquids to aid his recovery. 120 121

Notable Quotes

“Soul devices should be things that can enter every household, things that even ordinary people can use.” 22

“I want everyone in this world to be able to use soul devices!” 22

“There’s nothing I can do... I’m tired... let it all be destroyed...” 115

Trivia

• Xuan's private laboratory was so secure that Ye could only enter because his newly upgraded clearance badge had not yet been restricted. 19
• He keeps backup prototypes because Ye's Dark Iron Blade has a history of consuming his most valuable inventions. 115
• Though he briefly claimed to disown Ye after losing another prototype, he did not genuinely intend to abandon him. 116