Li Xianyu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Xianyu (李羡鱼)
Gender	Female
Affiliation	First-year Key Martial Arts Class 1; East River Martial Arts Hall trainee 9 23
Occupation / Role	Martial arts student; Chen Lie's Cloud Smoke Step student 14 15
First Appearance	Chapter 9

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Cloud Smoke Step: novice → beginner	15	Completed the C-rank footwork technique flawlessly after less than two hours of Chen Lie's guidance, despite having remained a novice after more than half a year of prior practice.
Vitality value: 0.91 → 0.94 calories	15	Her first test after reaching the beginner stage showed a 0.03-calorie increase; Qu Xinyou attributed her expected rapid growth to mastering a C-rank martial art.
Cloud Smoke Step: freely usable; produces afterimages	19	Under continued instruction, she could produce two or three afterimages during her footwork.
Vitality value: 0.94 → 0.98	26	Her accelerated growth brought her close to the 1-calorie threshold and eligibility to use blood vitality serum.
Advanced Cloud Smoke Step variant identified	30	Lu Qingchan and Li Muge recognized her footwork as an advanced version of Cloud Smoke Step, likely comparable to a B-rank martial art.

Background

Li Xianyu is Chen Xingyao's classmate and one of the two leading students in their key class. The two had kept pace with one another in academics, training, and their progress past 0.9 calories of vitality, making them close companions as well as direct rivals 15.

She initially sought enrollment in Qu Xinyou's twelve-session Cloud Smoke Step guidance course, but forgot her referral letter. When Chen Lie offered to teach her a footwork technique for 100,000 Star Credits, she dismissed the proposal because of his seemingly low vitality and the difficulty of B-rank martial arts 9. After witnessing his extraordinary Cloud Smoke Step, she paid him and accepted his instruction instead 10.

Chen Lie's guidance transformed her cultivation. She progressed from novice to beginner in the technique in a single session, drew Qu Xinyou's attention, and gained the possibility of entering the elite class far ahead of her family's original schedule 15. She later kept Chen Lie's identity secret when questioned by Li Muge and Lu Qingchan, believing that her benefactor did not want recognition 30.

Appearance

Li Xianyu is a delicate, lovely girl around fourteen or fifteen years old, compared to a carved doll 9.

• Crisp, youthful voice 9
• Often presents herself respectfully around Chen Lie, addressing him as “Senior” 14 25
• Became visibly uneasy and self-conscious while waiting at Sunflare Group headquarters 18

Personality

Li Xianyu is diligent and highly motivated by visible progress. Once Chen Lie's teaching proved effective, she continued practicing alone after their lesson and chose to train further even after reaching the beginner stage 15. Her rapid improvement strengthened both her confidence and ambition.

She is competitive with Chen Xingyao, resenting the prospect of falling behind their shared rival. After her breakthrough, she began to question whether Chen Xingyao had been benefiting from Chen Lie's guidance all along 15. Nevertheless, she is loyal to Chen Lie and refuses to reveal his identity even to her older sister, viewing his instruction as a major personal favor 30.

Li Xianyu can also be impulsive and impressionable. She secretly redirected the tuition intended for Qu Xinyou's course to pay Chen Lie, initially lying to her mother about having enrolled 10. Her encounters with Zhao Jinglan and Sunflare Group left her deeply impressed by Chen Lie's hidden status and abilities 18 19.

Abilities & Skills

Cloud Smoke Step

Li Xianyu specializes in the Cloud Smoke Step, a C-rank movement technique that Chen Lie refined and tailored to her.

• Reached the beginner stage after less than two hours of direct instruction 15
• Can perform a complete set of the technique without mistakes 15
• Produces two or three short-lived afterimages while moving 19
• Her version was judged by Lu Qingchan to resemble an advanced, likely B-rank form of Cloud Smoke Step 30
• Continues to require practice to deepen her understanding and stabilize the technique 15 19

Rapid Martial Arts Comprehension

Her improvement under proper guidance was recognized by Qu Xinyou as exceptional.

• Mastered the basics of a C-rank martial art far faster than expected 15
• Qu Xinyou predicted she would exceed 1 calorie within ten days and invited her to join his elite-class mentorship if she advanced 15
• Her vitality rose from 0.91 to 0.98 in only several days after mastering the footwork 15 26

Relationships

• Chen Lie — Senior and martial arts instructor. She paid him 100,000 Star Credits for Cloud Smoke Step instruction, developed deep admiration for his skill, and protects his identity from others 10 14 30.
• Chen Xingyao — Classmate, close companion, and longstanding rival in their key class. Li Xianyu's sudden progress causes tension when she surpasses Xingyao in vitality growth 15 26.
• Li Muge — Older sister and an elite-class student. Li Xianyu dismisses her offer to teach combat techniques after experiencing Chen Lie's instruction, straining their dynamic 15 30.
• Qu Xinyou — Cloud Smoke Step instructor who recognizes her progress and offers future elite-class mentorship 15.
• Lu Qingchan — Li Muge's elite-classmate, who is brought in to guide Li Xianyu but instead discovers that Li Xianyu's footwork has surpassed the ordinary Cloud Smoke Step 23 30.
• Zhao Jinglan — Executive president of Sunflare Group. Li Xianyu is initially intimidated by her authority during a meal arranged through Chen Lie 18.
• Li Xianyu's parents — Support her cultivation after learning of her rapid vitality increase, arranging blood vitality serum to help her reach the elite class 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Cloud Smoke Step Instruction

Li Xianyu approaches Chen Lie for help with a place in Qu Xinyou's course, then becomes his first paid martial arts student after seeing his demonstration of Cloud Smoke Step 9 10. Her remarkable progress validates Chen Lie's teaching ability and provides him with his first independent income 10 15.

Sunflare Group Visit

She accompanies Chen Lie to Sunflare Group headquarters, where she learns that he is treated as Zhao Jinglan's honored guest. The encounter expands her perception of Chen Lie from a talented senior to an unfathomably connected figure 16 18 19.

Rivalry and Recognition

Li Xianyu's rise to 0.98 vitality intensifies her rivalry with Chen Xingyao and earns the support of her parents 26. When Lu Qingchan and Li Muge assess her footwork, they recognize that Chen Lie has taught her a version of Cloud Smoke Step beyond the standard C-rank form 30.

Trivia

• Li Xianyu used the 100,000 Star Credits intended for Qu Xinyou's course to hire Chen Lie instead 10 26.
• She initially did not know Chen Lie's name when waiting for their first lesson and worried that he had taken her money and disappeared 14.
• She considers Chen Lie potentially more impressive than a member of the Provincial Youth Genius Group after witnessing Zhao Jinglan's treatment of him 26.