Xiao Yan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Xiao Yan was once celebrated as the Gama Empire’s foremost young genius. His cultivation inexplicably regressed three years before his introduction, reducing him to the Third-Stage Qi Disciple realm and turning former admirers into mockers. The cause was Medicine Elder’s absorption of his Dou Qi while dormant within Xiao Yan’s ancient black ring. 4 10

He possesses the soul of an adult from a previous life and initially regarded his childhood grudge with An Yi as too immature to pursue. Their relationship began when both attempted to enter Xiao Xun’er’s courtyard as children; An Yi exposed Xiao Yan as a nighttime intruder and repeatedly defeated him in their subsequent fights. 3 4

Nalan Yanran’s visit to dissolve their engagement compounds Xiao Yan’s humiliation. Although the dissolution is handled without the expected public confrontation, Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran later establish a Three-Year Pact to settle their grievance. 4 13 120

Personality

Xiao Yan is proud, stubborn, and acutely sensitive to humiliation after his fall from genius status. He resents being patronized, but he regains his resolve quickly when confronted with setbacks, including An Yi’s hidden breakthroughs and overwhelming strength. 4 10 35

His banter with An Yi often becomes openly hostile, yet he recognizes that An Yi never changed his treatment of him when his status collapsed. Beneath the insults, Xiao Yan views An Yi as one of the few people who still treated him like a familiar brother rather than a discarded genius. 4

Abilities & Skills

Fire-Attributed Dou Qi

Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi is naturally fire-attributed, granting it explosive force but making sustained fine-control movement techniques difficult to maintain. 16

• His fire attribute is suited to sudden bursts of speed and offensive techniques. 16
• Its violent nature prevents him from easily replicating An Yi’s prolonged, precise footwork. 16

Wind Anger Dragon Flame

Xiao Yan wields the eighteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Wind Anger Dragon Flame. 136

• Its emergence creates a disturbing wind howl that disrupts nearby cultivators’ focus and causes several competitors’ cauldrons to explode. 136
• It allows him to refine an excellent Wind-Walking Pill during the Alchemist Convention. 136

Alchemy

Medicine Elder trains Xiao Yan in alchemy and guides his cultivation after awakening from the ancient ring. 10 136

• He refines the Wind-Walking Pill in the convention’s second round, placing just below An Yi’s result. 136
• His concealed master, rare Heavenly Flame, and performance lead Fa Ma and other senior alchemists to treat him as a major young talent. 136

Flight Battle Skill

Xiao Yan possesses the Purple Cloud Wings, a flying battle skill given to him by An Yi. 129

• The wings allow him to travel through the air despite not having reached the Great Dou Master realm. 129
• Medicine Elder considered obtaining a flight Dou Technique a major improvement to Xiao Yan’s survival prospects outside the Xiao Household. 37 40

Equipment / Items

• Ancient black ring — Houses Medicine Elder’s soul; An Yi later temporarily takes the ring to use Medicine Elder’s expertise during the Alchemist Convention finals. 122 139
• Purple Cloud Wings — Flying battle skill gifted by An Yi. 129
• Green Lotus Seat — Given by An Yi to Medicine Elder as part of their alchemy-inheritance exchange; it gathers qi, steadies the mind, and aids Xiao Yan’s cultivation. 123

Relationships

• An Yi — Childhood rival and reluctant brother-like companion. An Yi relentlessly mocks and blackmails him, but remained consistent during Xiao Yan’s fall from genius status; Medicine Elder later secures An Yi’s promise never to deliberately kill Xiao Yan. 4 6 123 138
• Medicine Elder / Yao Chen — Teacher and protector residing in Xiao Yan’s ring. He had unknowingly caused Xiao Yan’s regression by absorbing his Dou Qi, then guides his recovery, cultivation, and alchemy. 10 122 123
• Xiao Zhan — Father. He remains one of the few people who supports Xiao Yan after his cultivation decline and seeks to protect his reputation during the engagement dispute. 4 6
• Nalan Yanran — Former fiancée. Their dissolved engagement leads to a Three-Year Pact and a future duel at the Misty Cloud Sect. 13 120 138
• Xiao Xun’er — Household companion who supports Xiao Yan during the engagement incident and often observes his quarrels with An Yi. 3 4
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li — Xiao Yan’s brothers. Their hostility toward An Yi stems from An Yi’s earlier humiliation of Xiao Yan. 80

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Fall from genius — Publicly reduced to a Third-Stage Qi Disciple, Xiao Yan is marginalized alongside An Yi during the Cloud Mist Sect’s visit to the Xiao Household. 3 4
• Engagement dispute — Nalan Yanran’s attempt to cancel their engagement reshapes Xiao Yan’s future and culminates in the Three-Year Pact. 4 13
• Discovery of An Yi’s true nature — Xiao Yan follows An Yi into the wilderness with Medicine Elder, witnesses him kill a Cloud Mist Sect disciple, and discovers evidence of his hidden training and abnormal strength. 16 17 18
• Return to cultivation — With Medicine Elder awake, Xiao Yan rebuilds his strength, reaches the Dou Practitioner realm, and begins acting under the black-robed identity of Yan Xiao. 10 35 55
• Alchemy inheritance exchange — He learns that An Yi caused the Magic Beast Mountain Range upheaval that endangered him, but also receives the Green Lotus Seat after Medicine Elder trades his alchemy inheritance to An Yi. 123
• Alchemist Convention — Xiao Yan reveals the Wind Anger Dragon Flame, refines a Wind-Walking Pill, and is publicly presented by An Yi as the fellow disciple of a mysterious master. 136
• Final-round coercion — An Yi pressures Xiao Yan into lending him Medicine Elder’s assistance by threatening Xiao Yan’s identity and upcoming Three-Year Pact. 138 139