Li Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Yan (李岩)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Bay City Martial Arts High School; Li family of Yu Prefecture; Bay City Li Group
Occupation/Role	Class monitor; martial arts student; Yang Sheng’s former sparring-partner employer
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Great Completion of Bright Force	8	Had reached this level before becoming one of the school’s few Dark Force practitioners.
Dark Force	2, 8	Entered Dark Force two months before Yang Sheng’s awakening; recognized as one of Bay City Martial Arts High School’s three Dark Force students.

Background / History

Li Yan is a member of a collateral branch of Yu Prefecture’s Li family. His backing includes the Bay City Li Group, which controls one-third of Bay City’s real estate and one-quarter of its medicinal-herb resources, while also holding a director position at Bay City Martial Arts High School. 1

During his three years at the school, Li Yan used Yang Sheng as a sparring partner and human punching bag. Yang endured broken legs, broken ribs, and a near-fatal rear naked choke during one Bloodrage episode in exchange for limited access to martial arts training resources. 1

As class monitor, Li Yan supported the school’s Class-Divided Cultivation policy and told Yang Sheng to withdraw because of his Lower Registry background. He threatened to personally stop—and kill—Lower Registry students who attempted the Martial Arts Entrance Exam. 1

Personality

Li Yan is openly elitist and contemptuous toward Lower Registry citizens. He regards Yang Sheng not as a classmate, but as a disposable training resource, repeatedly calling Lower Registry people inferior and unfit for Martial Arts University. 1

He is arrogant, status-conscious, and quick-tempered. Li Yan assumed Liu Chang had come to recruit him into the High-Aspiration Class, then reacted with disbelief and rage when Yang Sheng was chosen instead. 8 9

His ambition is tied to immediate advantage and control. Jiang Tian considers Li Yan excessively utilitarian despite his higher cultivation, doubting his long-term potential as a martial artist. 10

Abilities & Skills

Dark Force Cultivation

Li Yan entered the Dark Force realm two months before Yang Sheng began his rapid advancement, giving him a major realm advantage at the time. 2

• Was one of only three Dark Force practitioners at Bay City Martial Arts High School. 8 9
• Could dent a heavy iron door with an enraged punch. 9
• His Dark Force strike could distort a heavy punching bag and shatter the wooden board behind it. 30

Sparring and Combat

Li Yan had sufficient combat ability to serve as a dominant training opponent for Yang Sheng and Li Ya.

• Regularly inflicted serious injuries on Yang Sheng during their sparring arrangement. 1
• Brutally trained sparring partners after Yang Sheng’s victory over Wang Meng, reportedly breaking the ribs of three partners. 30
• Instructed Wang Meng to stop holding back during his fight with Yang Sheng. 28

Influence and Resources

Li Yan’s family connections allow him to exert influence within Bay City Martial Arts High School.

• His family’s Li Group is one of the school’s seven directors. 1
• Zhao Huan concentrated his class’s resources on Li Yan’s cultivation. 28
• Wang Meng acted as his follower and class officer, carrying out his orders against Yang Sheng’s father. 26 27

Relationships

• Yang Sheng — Former sparring partner and primary rival. Li Yan exploited him for three years, sought to force him from school, and repeatedly threatened to kill him at the Martial Arts Entrance Exam. 1 9
• Father Yang — Took 10,000 yuan from him after implying he could help Yang Sheng remain in school; the recording exposing this led Li Yan to return the money. 3 29
• Li Ya — His cousin and a Rocket Class monitor. Li Yan urged him to cripple Yang Sheng during the school test; Li Ya later died in an apparent suicide under suspicious circumstances. 22 34 51 52
• Zhao Huan — Homeroom teacher and principal supporter. Zhao devoted class resources to Li Yan and later offered assistance after Li Yan became involved with a larger outside force. 28 52
• Wang Meng — Follower and class officer promoted by Li Yan. Wang attempted to remove Father Yang from the school and was later expelled after attacking Yang Sheng with a dagger. 26 27 29
• Jiang Tian — Teacher who rejected Li Yan’s earlier attempt to enter the High-Aspiration Class and later selected Yang Sheng instead. Jiang Tian criticizes Li Yan’s utilitarian mindset. 8 10

Story Role / Major Arcs

Forced Withdrawal of Yang Sheng

Li Yan informs Yang Sheng that he must withdraw from Bay City Martial Arts High School under Class-Divided Cultivation. He makes clear that Yang’s Lower Registry status, rather than effort, disqualifies him in Li Yan’s eyes. 1

He warns Yang Sheng not to enter the Martial Arts Entrance Exam and promises to stop any Lower Registry participant who does. This threat becomes the immediate catalyst for Yang Sheng’s resolve to grow stronger. 1 4

High-Aspiration Class Humiliation

Li Yan expects Liu Chang to recruit him into the High-Aspiration Class, believing his Dark Force cultivation makes him the obvious candidate. Instead, she collects Yang Sheng’s belongings after Jiang Tian approves Yang’s transfer. 8

He accuses Yang Sheng’s father of bribing Jiang Tian and becomes enraged when Yang Sheng calmly promises to beat him to death at the entrance exam. 9

Debt Exposure and Wang Meng Incident

When Father Yang confronts him over the 10,000 yuan, Li Yan denies any debt and orders Wang Meng to remove him from the school. 27

A recording proves that Li Yan requested the money while claiming that “events need funding” and that he could help Yang Sheng’s situation. Exposed before the school administration, he agrees to return the money and leaves the meeting. 29

Escalation After Li Ya’s Defeat

Li Yan becomes increasingly hostile after Yang Sheng defeats Wang Meng and rapidly improves through Eight Extremes Fist. He warns Li Ya not to underestimate Yang Sheng and orders him to end Yang’s future by crippling him. 30 34

Li Ya’s later death is declared a suicide despite his hands and feet having been bound. The Li family removes Li Ya from its genealogy, suggesting intervention by a power beyond the family’s control. 51 52

Submission to an Unknown Power

After Li Ya’s death, Li Yan states that he will still intercept Yang Sheng during the Martial Arts Entrance Exam. He explains that he is no longer acting solely on his own initiative, but because someone powerful now requires it. 52

He then prepares to disappear for a period, leaving Zhao Huan to realize that his prized student has become an instrument of a larger force. 52

Trivia

• Li Yan’s family background and resources helped him advance far faster than Yang Sheng during their first three school years. 1
• Before Yang Sheng’s rise, Li Yan considered the gap between them impossible to close because he had cultivated for three additional years. 29
• His fury at Yang Sheng’s advancement led him to take out his frustration on his own sparring partners. 30