Xiao Yan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xiao Yan (萧炎)
Alias(es)	“Little Flame Fist” 23
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Xiao Clan; Canaan Academy; Pill Tower Formal Disciple 4 44
Occupation/Role	Dou Qi cultivator; alchemist; Enforcement Squad trainee
Status	Active 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1: The Rising Prodigy

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ninth Stage, High Rank Dou Qi	1	Completed six years of cultivation and stood on the verge of condensing a Qi Vortex.
One-Star Dou Practitioner	2	Compressed his Dou Qi into a Qi Vortex despite the dangerous resistance of the process.
Three-Star Dou Practitioner	7	Registered at Canaan Academy at age eleven and received a Super S-grade aptitude rating.
Fourth-Rank Dou Practitioner	12	Used his speed to evade academy students seeking information about his dual talents.
Nine-Star Dou Practitioner	15	Reached the peak of the Dou Practitioner realm through relentless cultivation, physical training, and alchemy study.
One-Star Dou Master	18	Forced a breakthrough with a third-grade Qi-Boosting Pill during the Hu Jia rescue; gained the Dou Qi Veil.
One-Star Dou Master, stabilized	21	Consolidated his new realm after returning to Canaan Academy.
Three-Star Dou Master	23	Fought Enforcement Squad targets and matched Lin Xiuya in ordinary sparring.
Peak Three-Star Dou Master	29	Assessed by the Library Pavilion guardians, who also recognized his unusually strong soul power.
Five-Star Dou Master	35	Ye Zhong discovered his cultivation after Xiao Yan reached the Central Domain.
Peak Dou Master	40	Maintained a near one-star-per-month pace during half a year of training in the Ye Clan.
Great Dou Master	48	Condensed a Dou Crystal, gained external Dou Qi projection, and formed Dou Qi Armor.

Background

Xiao Yan was raised in the Xiao Clan of Wutan City as Xiao Zhan’s youngest son and the younger brother of Xiao Ding and Xiao Li. His brothers protected him after their mother’s death and encouraged him to pursue strength beyond the safety of the clan 2. His extraordinary cultivation speed made him the clan’s celebrated prodigy and earned him the Young Clan Leader’s Token 1 4.

After becoming a Dou Practitioner, Xiao Yan rejected a sheltered future in Wutan City. Xun’er’s gift of the Flame Manipulation Formula and her recommendation of Canaan Academy gave him both a superior cultivation path and a goal beyond the Xiao Clan 3 4. He entered the academy as an eleven-year-old three-star Dou Practitioner with Super S-grade aptitude 7.

His rise at Canaan Academy drew attention from the Alchemy Department, the Enforcement Squad, and the academy elders. Su Qian ultimately permitted him to pursue Dou Qi cultivation and alchemy simultaneously, on the condition that he could maintain both disciplines 11 12. After earning access to the Library Pavilion, Xiao Yan obtained the Mid-Earth Tier technique Nether Dragon Prison-Suppressing Song and accepted Su Qian’s offer to travel to the Central Plains 31.

In the Central Domain, he entered the Ye Clan’s sphere of influence and agreed to aid its future Pill Tower assessment. He later became a Formal Disciple of the Pill Tower, where his rapid progress and dual combat-alchemy talent placed him in rivalry with prodigies such as Cao Ying 35 42 44.

Personality

Xiao Yan is ambitious, self-reliant, and intensely committed to growing stronger. He does not view talent as a reason to become complacent; instead, he actively seeks difficult opponents, wider horizons, and stronger techniques 6 21 31.

He returns kindness with loyalty and refuses to exploit people who have helped him. He declined to treat Hu Gan’s reward as a personal debt, asked that Wu Hao be rewarded for his role in rescuing Hu Jia, and vowed to repay Canaan Academy for investing in his future 12 22.

Although generally polite and composed, Xiao Yan responds harshly to deliberate humiliation, threats, and manipulation. He is willing to use deception, intimidation, and lethal force against hostile enemies, particularly in the Black-Corner Region 6 16 19 27. He nevertheless accepts responsibility when his anger causes excessive harm, as shown after injuring Hu Jia in self-defense 14.

Abilities & Skills

Dou Qi Cultivation

Xiao Yan cultivates fire-attributed Dou Qi through the Flame Manipulation Formula, a method whose quality gives him a major advantage over opponents using weaker techniques 4 7.

• His fire Dou Qi strongly suppresses the Blood Sect’s sinister and toxic Dou Qi 19.
• His Dou Qi Veil enhances his strength, speed, and defense after reaching the Dou Master realm 18.
• His Great Dou Master breakthrough granted him Dou Qi projection and Dou Qi Armor 48.

Alchemy

Xiao Yan is an exceptional alchemist despite beginning his formal training after entering Canaan Academy. Fire Elder initially judged him capable of becoming a high-grade alchemist, while the academy allowed him to study alchemy alongside martial cultivation 11 12.

• Reached the standard of a qualified first-tier alchemist and refined the healing medicine Ice-Clear Paste 15.
• Advanced from a beginner to a second-grade alchemist within roughly a year 26.
• Uses alchemy to produce healing medicine, earn money independently, and support his training 15.
• Obtained a sixth-grade medicinal-pill formula from the Library Pavilion 31.
• His soul strength was judged sufficient to potentially refine third-tier pills while still a Peak Three-Star Dou Master 29.

Soul Perception and Spiritual Attacks

His alchemist soul power gives him senses and combat options beyond ordinary cultivators.

• Detected a hidden bandit’s ambush before the attacker struck in the Black-Corner Region 16.
• Used soul power to knock out the exhausted Liu Qing and win the end-of-term tournament 29.
• Resisted Han Xian’s covert spiritual-power array and turned the sabotage attempt back on its users 26 27.

Combat and Tactical Skill

Xiao Yan specializes in aggressive close-quarters combat, supported by extensive body-tempering under Wu Protector. He adapts quickly during battle and places high value on experience, technique quality, resolve, and battlefield judgment rather than cultivation level alone 6 13 16.

• Defeated five-star Dou Practitioner Ge Shi in his first major peer battle using Iron Mountain Fist 6.
• Killed the Wei Brothers through disguises, false factional claims, calculated ambushes, and exploitation of their greed 18 19.
• Rescued Hu Jia alongside Wu Hao despite Blood Sect interference and a confrontation with Fan Ling 17 20.
• Defeated the stronger Liu Qing by exhausting him through repeated technique clashes, then using a concealed soul attack 28 29.
• Defeated Cao Ying’s Nine-Star Dou Master-level challenge through superior practical combat experience while deliberately holding back 46.

Nether Dragon Prison-Suppressing Song

A Mid-Earth Tier soundwave Dou Technique obtained from the Library Pavilion. Modeled after a dragon’s roar, it can assault both an opponent’s body and soul, with the potential to shatter meridians and destroy spiritual essence 31.

• The technique selects its own master; numerous previous students had failed to obtain it 31.
• Xiao Yan began mastering it during the journey to the Central Plains with Su Qian’s guidance 33.
• Its training strained Xiao Yan’s voice during travel 34.

Metalstone Break

A High Mystic Tier close-combat and body-tempering Dou Technique given by Hu Gan as an academy reward 22 23.

• Designed for practitioners willing to endure intensive physical tempering 23.
• Can shatter metal, stone, iron, and jade at mastery 23.
• Destroyed Sun Shi’s Dou Qi Veil and killed him with a strike to the dantian 23.

Other Dou Techniques

• Iron Mountain Fist — Yellow Tier high-grade technique used to overwhelm Ge Shi 4 6.
• Stone Shattering Palm — Yellow Tier low-grade technique selected from the Xiao Clan’s Battle Technique Hall 4.
• Flame-Splitting Palm — Yellow Tier high-grade fire-attributed technique obtained through Xiao Zhan 4.
• Flame Sky Cleave — Fire-attributed technique used against Blood Sect cultivators, including Tall Wei and Fan Ling 19 20.

Equipment and Possessions

• Flame Manipulation Formula — Cultivation method gifted by Xun’er 3 4.
• Young Clan Leader’s Token — Symbol of the Xiao Clan’s expectations that Xiao Yan will eventually lead it 4.
• Low-grade storage ring — Given by Xiao Zhan before Xiao Yan departed for Canaan Academy 8.
• Medicinal pills — Includes healing pills, Ice-Clear Paste, Blood-Replenishing Pills, and pills refined for the Xiao Clan 15 18 32.
• Dagger and disguises — Used during the rescue of Hu Jia and the operation against the Wei Brothers 18 19.
• Smoke bombs — Concealed in his medicine cauldron to counter Han Xian’s sabotage during the alchemy test 27.

Relationships

• Xiao Xun’er — Childhood companion, confidante, and Xiao Yan’s closest emotional bond. She supplied the Flame Manipulation Formula, accompanied him to the Central Plains, and secretly arranged Ling Lao’s protection over him 3 32 39.
• Xiao Zhan — Father and Xiao Clan leader. He supports Xiao Yan’s academy ambitions, provides clan resources, and entrusts him with the Young Clan Leader’s Token 4 8.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li — Older brothers whose departure inspired Xiao Yan to seek the wider world; they share a pact of future rivalry and reunion 2.
• Su Qian — Grand Elder of Canaan Academy and a major mentor. He supported Xiao Yan’s dual cultivation, granted him Library Pavilion access, and escorted him to the Central Plains 12 29 33.
• Fire Elder — Alchemy instructor who recognized Xiao Yan’s talent early and provided the foundation of his alchemical education 11 15.
• Wu Protector — Combat instructor who identified Xiao Yan’s weak physical foundation and trained him through harsh practical exercises and Black-Corner Region missions 13 16.
• Wu Hao — Training partner and trusted friend. He protected Xiao Yan during his breakthrough and helped rescue Hu Jia from the Blood Sect 18 19.
• Hu Jia — Initially hostile after attacking Xiao Yan, but later became a bickering friend and ally after he and Wu Hao rescued her 14 19 21.
• Lin Xiuya, Qian Mo, and Yan Hao — Xiao Yan’s first close friends and roommates at Canaan Academy. Lin Xiuya especially helps him recognize weaknesses in his combat arsenal 9 21.
• Ye Zhong — First Elder of the Ye Clan and Su Qian’s old friend. He arranged Xiao Yan’s entry into the Pill Tower and relies on him as a possible answer to the Ye Clan’s decline 35 41.
• Xin Lan — Ye Clan alchemist and Xiao Yan’s study partner. Their relationship is awkward because Ye Zhong attempted to arrange a marriage between them 36 38.
• Cao Ying — Pill Tower rival. She was defeated by Xiao Yan in Dou Qi combat and vowed to surpass him through alchemy 42 46.
• Dan Xuan and Dan Chen — Pill Tower acquaintances from the Dan Family. Xiao Yan formed a more relaxed friendship with Dan Xuan and shows patience toward the timid Dan Chen 46 48.

Story Role

Xiao Clan and Canaan Academy

• Emerged as the Xiao Clan’s leading prodigy, reaching the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi after only six years of cultivation 1.
• Became a Dou Practitioner after Xiao Ding and Xiao Li left Wutan City, turning his brothers’ departure into motivation to seek strength and adventure 2.
• Enrolled at Canaan Academy with a Super S-grade aptitude rating after defeating Ge Shi during the academy’s newcomer initiation 6 7.
• Became the subject of a dispute between Fire Elder and Hu Gan after revealing exceptional potential in both alchemy and martial cultivation 11 12.

Black-Corner Region

• Entered the Black-Corner Region under Wu Protector’s instruction to gain real combat experience 16.
• Performed his first killing after detecting and stopping a bandit ambush 16.
• Broke through to Dou Master while rescuing Hu Jia from the Blood Sect 18.
• Killed the Wei Brothers, fought Fan Ling, and escaped only after the intervention of the mysterious Dou Emperor later revealed to be Ling Lao 19 20 39.

Academy Tests and the Central Plains

• Earned Metalstone Break after rescuing Hu Jia and later used it to defeat Enforcement Squad target Sun Shi 22 23.
• Passed both alchemy and combat end-of-term tests, retaliating against Han Xian’s sabotage and defeating Liu Qing in a brutal tournament match 27 29.
• Obtained Nether Dragon Prison-Suppressing Song from the Library Pavilion, then left Canaan Academy for the Central Plains with Xun’er and Su Qian 31 33.
• Became involved in the Ye Clan’s struggle to retain its Pill Tower standing and entered the Pill Tower as a Formal Disciple 35 44.
• Continues to draw rivalry and hostility within the Pill Tower, including from Cao Ying and Song Qing 46 50.

Notable Quotes

“Growing stronger is my conviction. No matter what my talent may be, I will definitely become strong!” 6

“Those who treat me with courtesy will receive every bit of courtesy from Xiao Yan; those who intend to offend me, however, will receive no mercy from me!” 7